Chapter 120: A Devil among roses


    ''<em>GODS Humph! They are nothing but characters of a story</em>.''


    *


    Aldrich opened his wet eyes. But now that he had confirmed the Red-Bellerophon''s words through the shared memories, the world seemed less colorful.


    He got to know many things in just a few seconds. The Dream Initiation Ceremony, and its changed circumstances, especially caught his attention. The vastness of the Kingdoms, their ancient broken history, and the songs of the Blessed Ones became another mystery.


    The four Separations, and their unexplored parts, brought a brief rush of excitement to his mind. What, who, and how the history of Barren Earths is managed, became an undigested food in his stomach. And the news of the natural cmities that had struck thes of the 1st Quadrant became the absolute rage in his eyes.


    But the most bizarre thing that had baffled the entire Gxy became justifiable news to him. He now knew to whom ''Broken Faith'' had belonged and could only guess why the enormous being behind the Veil had ripped off the King''s hand. He just couldn''t figure out the reason for his widely known face on posters and his identity as an assassin of some Hallowed Phantom organization.


    ''Speaking of Broken Faith''


    Aldrich willed, and a threadlike vein originated from his mask. Down to his neck and then traversing through his shoulder, it reached to the palm of his right hand. The tip of the vein bloomed like a flower and out came a ck Katana, with an unseen edge and unknown sharpness.


    Countless rough and old hairlike threads were dangling down from the butt of the sword. And one of those threads was connected to the tip of the vein from which Katana hade out.


    "Shadow Homunculus, Pretty impressive! You can maintain two Items simultaneously."


    ""


    Aldrich felt the mask bing hot and two wed fingers pinching his chin. The feelings of joy and embarrassment got shared with no words with him.


    "Ah! Wait! You"


    "Daddy me Sha."


    "What?! Is that the name you have given yourself? Well, you do feel polite and well-behaved Ahh! Stop pinching me Cough!"


    Aldrich noticed the weird looks he was attracting and coughed. The blue-haired adventurer, called Tomiv, had already seemed to be prepared for a death-match as soon as the Katana had materialized. And the red-haired Count had again gone back to his kneeling posture.


    Aldrich looked at the Stats hovering above the Katana and was quite pleased and distressed at the same time.


    [


    Item: Broken Faith (Transformed Shadow Homunculus)


    Type: Sword


    Rank: Count (+1)


    Durability: NA


    Minimum Usage Condition: The Oldest One''s Authority


    Description: A Katana forged with some of the best materials in the Gxy. Gives a Count''s Rank to the wielder for 3 seconds.


    Item-specific Skill (Locked): Dream Annihtion


    Item-specific Skill''s Detail: Turn the Reality into a Dream


    Item-specific Skill (Locked): One sh to Reign the Universe


    Item-specific Skill''s Detail: Disintegrate All Creation in its Path


    Warning: The Rank of the Item had dropped to Count from King because of indigestion


    Warning: All Skills are locked until the Item regain its original Rank


    Warning: Item''s rank can be increased by increasing Shadow Homunculus'' Rank


    Warning: Unknown


    ...]


    "Sigh!"


    Aldrich sighed and let go of the sword. The vein sucked the katana back into it and receded to the mask. He approached the kneeled Count and observed his Stats. He felt more curious about the ''Curse'' mentioned in his ''Record''.


    "My Lord, pleasee with me to my. The Ancient Oracle is waiting for you."


    Aldrich heard Trifon''s pleading voice and searched through the memories of the Viscount beauty of House Firebird. The only thing she knew about the Ancient Oracle was their ability to make urate prophecies about individuals and events. It seemed her status and Rank weren''t enough for more core knowledge.


    "Hmm! But Trifon knows a lot of things. I wonder how many things I would get to know If I let Shadow Homunculus Ow! It hurts. Ok, Sha If I let Sha devour him."


    "Daddy Sha eat?"


    Aldrich muttered in English, while kneeled on the muddy ground, Trifon seemed a dutiful servant under Aldrich''s eyes. But the sheer horror and terror in Trifon''s heart came as the unceasing sweats on his face and back as death seemed unavoidable. Even the strand of Phoenix''s hair hadn''t given him such a sense of annihtion.


    Aldrich looked at waving ck Veil on his body and his gaze went to the dangling thing in between his legs. The transparent Veil wasn''t a normal cloth, nor was it an Item. The only thing Aldrich knew about it is that the ck Veil and he were the same beings. In his after-death ethereal stat, he was the ck Veil, and the Veil was him. But what changes it would go through now that it hade out in the real world, he didn''t know.


    "Trifon is it? Give me something to wear."


    Aldrich saw the baffled look on Trifon''s face upon hearing the question. But the Count soon took out a white greatcoat, white pants, and boots out of his Inventory. From the memories, Aldrich had already figured out that at the Rank of Count, normal things can be ced in the Inventory too.


    Aldrich held the greatcoat in his hands and took out the pea-sized bead. It was the condensed Devil aura that he had taken out of Sha. He threw the bead at the clothes, and the Devil''s aura engulfed them, making them pitch ck. There was no foul stench, but a feeling of disgust, unrest, and fear could still be felt vividly while looking at or being around the clothes.


    "Now this is better. Let''s go! And bring these three with you."


    Aldrich addressed Trifon and willed the ck Veil to enter within his body. He wore the pitch-ck clothes, whichbined with his Devil''s Oldest Change on his face, made him look like a True Devil.


    He looked as Trifon took out a blue-red cube and threw it on the ground. The cube turned to dust, and a portal opened up in its ce. Aldrich could smell the freshness of rosesing out of the portal.


    There were many questions that he needed to find answers to. How to return to his and who was behind the cmities in the 1st Quadrant had top priority. But even crucial was to prepare for the event that would happen one and a half yearster on Barren Earths.


    "Let''s see what is so special about this Ancient Oracle."