Carpathia dodged the massive arm coming his way, though it still grazed him. He was more focused on something else—the shadow energy flooding the area.
"This energy… it's just like the Shadow Realm. Why?"
He muttered aloud, his brows furrowed.
He decided he would test it. Right here. Right now.
---
Meanwhile, Arshy, Bushy, and Mushy were caught in debate—torn between following Buddy or their newly proclaimed "Small Lord."
"Bushy no like Buddy. Bushy want Small Lord!" Bushy growled.
"Buddy strong. But Small Lord stronger!" Mushy said, his eyes gleaming with that same awe he'd had when first describing Buddy.
Ogres always aligned with the strongest. Their loyalty shifted as quickly as power did.
"Small Lord smart, wear clothes, no insult Arshy for talking too much," Arshy added with a nod. "Better still, stronger than Buddy. Arshy stay with Small Lord!"
He scratched his head at first, unsure—but as he listed the traits, his voice became confident, proud even.
---
Carpathia extended his hand. A whip of shadow energy lashed out. With his heightened visual perception, he watched it draw energy from the environment—growing stronger.
Buddy, clearly displeased at being ignored, roared. He clapped his massive fingers together, sending out a shockwave of Spiritual Energy that shattered the cave walls. Rubble fell around them.
Before it could collapse fully, Buddy traced a dark brown rune in the air. The debris hovered, then swirled together—forming a giant spear of stone.
"Hejueé!"
He commanded, and the spear hurtled toward Carpathia.
Carpathia, now understanding the odd strength he felt in this shadow-soaked world, chuckled.
"Shadows… Repel."
His voice was soft, almost flirtatious.
Shadow whips shot up from the ground, wrapping around him and the ogres like a living cage. They converged in the center and clashed with the stone spear. The force of the impact flattened the area. The ground—hardened magma—cracked beneath them.
The battle was a brutal tug-of-war, neither side relenting.
Then, a sudden warrior's cry—Arshy, war axe raised high, slammed it into Buddy's leg with a mighty roar.
Blood sprayed—and with it, a gray substance that sizzled and melted the axe's blade.
"Arshy, get in here!"
Carpathia shouted, eyes narrowing.
That substance—it confirmed the mystery of where the Morgrith hid during its reproductive cycle. Inside a troll.
It made twisted sense. No one would suspect the monstrous creature had merged into a host during its most vulnerable state. Its SE and SST would've been masked by the troll's. Hidden in plain sight.
But for Arshy, it was too late. That toxic fluid disrupted SE flow—leading to fatal spiritual misalignment.
Carpathia clenched his fists. He hadn't realized how fond he'd grown of the ogres until that moment.
He roared. The shadow whips twisted and expanded. He rammed them through the spear and into Buddy, shredding both arms. Then the legs.
"I should kill you for that… but I'll give you a chance. Where is Arithra?"
Carpathia demanded.
Buddy writhed, pain overwhelming him. Not just physical—Carpathia had twisted his spiritual perception to amplify it. The agony was unbearable.
But he would not beg.
"Go fuck yourself," Buddy snarled.
"I will," Carpathia said, and turned his back.
Buddy exploded into a million pieces. The shadow whips slithered back into Carpathia's shadow.
"There goes that lead," he muttered.
Bushy and Mushy rushed to Arshy's remains—just as a sharp spike in SE struck them.
On the ground lay a worm-like creature, 8 inches long, writhing on the magma.
Carpathia felt it too. And for a second time that day, he found himself shaken by the death of someone he'd barely known.
"Damn it—Bushy! Mushy! Move!"
He flung them aside as the Morgrith fully emerged.
"Gurraten!"
A whirlpool of SE formed in his palm—so densely packed its pressure alone could pulverize a peak Denkei.
BOOM.
The condensed energy smashed into the Morgrith's body, its hide tougher than Asterdatumm—the hardest known metal.
Carpathia increased the intensity threefold.
Only then did the Morgrith crumble—flattened into paste.
He sank to his knees, breathing hard.
"Damn these seals…"
He thought.
"If Noir came back now, I couldn't stop him. I have to find him… Uzami Tuo. The Great Librarian of the Heavens."
---
Later...
A figure slithered through the town, tailing a certain man. She was captain of the defense squadron—this kind of work was beneath her. But when she asked… you didn't say no.
Carpathia stepped out of the inn with a long yawn. Three days had passed. He'd found no leads on Arithra.
The townspeople still treated him like the plague—parents hid their children, and weapons were drawn in his presence.
But something had changed. The story of how he crushed three ogres had begun to spread.
He felt it. The fear was there—but now it was mixed with awe.
Which is why it surprised him that someone still dared to follow him.
He walked into a clothmaker's shop.
"May I assist you?" the stone troll asked warily.
"Yes. I need something that masks my aura. Indefinitely."
He dropped a heavy coin bag on the counter.
The troll's eyes widened. "Ahh... I may have just the thing."
"How soon can you have it ready?"
"By the third day from Moor," the troll replied.
"Excellent," Carpathia smiled. "I've heard high praise about your work."
The troll flushed with pride. "Oh, it will live up to it!"
"You must be a master of your craft. Been doing this long?"
"Why, yes…"
"I bet you get all kinds of customers. Must be crowded, huh?"
The troll laughed. "Sometimes too crowded! I even had to make a second exit behind the store."
Carpathia nodded, smile widening. The mental barrier was down.
He'd already broken into the troll's mind—but now he had the info without resistance. He vanished in a wisp of black dust.
---
At the back of the store, Carpathia reappeared near the secondary exit.
"A warp gate… for a shop? Seriously?"
These systems were worth millions—and the troll had used it as a back door.
He stepped out. The air was different. This was still within the town, but far removed.
Towering above him was a giant cub—15 feet tall.
"Little person?! Who are you?! What did you do to Gramps?!"
Carpathia sighed.
"You've got to be kidding me…"
A shadow whip formed and with a single strike, he knocked the giant unconscious.
.
.
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Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)