Chapter 116: Not Completing the Mission
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Anna’s soul upgraded without a hitch. It was entirely uneventful, despite it being an operation performed on herself. Anavel didn’t even tell Aria and Elyanthra she was doing it.

“Do you feel anything different?” Aria asked as she stepped off the wooden platform Anna used to bring them to the island.

“Nope,” Anna said. She dispersed the mana from her platform and stepped off. “But I never felt anything before, either.”

She was curious about what it felt like but wasn’t about to lose sleep over it. Unfortunately, it joined her basket of forgotten curiosities together with the sound Zeruphirin’s planet-spanning sound.

“And now, neither will she,” Aria said, checking out the island from where they stood. “How long will it last?”

“I think our souls know how to fight it now since it’s technically resisted corruption for so long.”

Theoretically, their souls should naturally build resistance while fighting any corruption in the future. It just came down to their own mental strength. As long as they could resist it themselves, their souls should be able to take what they learned from Anavel’s process to adapt.

“Otherwise, she would need to do it frequently,” Aria said. Her ring expanded around her forehead as gold threads whistled, drawing her long katana.

“Barrier?” Anna asked.

“It’s fine.” Aria gave the katana a few swings to test its strength. “My arm has recovered well, too.”

Those healing potions were incredible.

“But we also only have two of those potions left.”

Anna expanded her ring, pulling two swords from her storage space and imbuing them with her mana. They gently floated beside her.

“I don’t expect anything to harm me here.”

“So I take it you feel nothing?”

“Of course.”

“Kind of disappointing, though—this could take a while.”

”There aren’t many places here.” Aria started moving forward, and Anna followed beside her. Both had their enhancements at a low level, Aria purposefully matching Anna’s.

Working on the island’s surface wasn’t anywhere close to as grim as the labyrinth. Despite its dull colors and heavy atmosphere—both things Anna had grown used to—something was calming about walking in the open air.

And it wasn’t quiet, thanks to the roaring waterfalls surrounding the island and snapping wood from their unconcerned steps.  

They pushed through trees and shrubs as they ventured toward a randomly picked direction.

There weren’t any remarkable paths for them to follow around the island. It was entirely unremarkable aside from the oval shrine that held the entrance to the labyrinth.

Elyanthra said there should be some structures on the island for outsider residences and beginner acolyte work areas. Somewhere in the forest, they’d find another statue, too.

And that statue was the probable location of the last key since it was more likely to have an accursed beside it.

Aria stopped once she pushed an overextended branch out of her way.

“There’s two corrupted ahead, no sigils.”

“Aw.”

But that was expected.

“They’re weak—let’s go.” Aria straightened herself and pushed forward.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

They moved a little further through the trees and found them both—they weren’t acolytes or priests.

Both Elves wore simple clothing consisting of pants and a loose-fitting shirt. Their longer hair meant they weren’t affiliated with the temple and were only visiting when the core hit.

There was a statue depicting a no-faced Elf with long, flowing robes wielding a dragon-head staff in between them.

Aria immediately dashed toward the male on the left side, piercing his heck before he could even react. His body landed against the grass, prompting the female to turn.

But Anna moved simultaneously, willing her blade forward to slice through the air and instantly cut her neck.

Just like that, both fell.

“They were probably a couple,” Anna muttered.

Even after killing so many and growing numb to seeing their bodies fall, she still felt terrible for what they had to do.

“Maybe.”

“Help me move them.”

It also felt terrible to leave their bodies where they fell.

“Okay.”

They moved the bodies near the side of the statue. Whatever it was, hopefully, it could offer them some peace.

Aria looked around the statue, but it was evident there was nothing of note around it. It seemed to be in a fairly random spot, and there wasn’t anything special to find.

“Nothing,” Aria said.

The statue didn’t have any secrets either.

“Well, let’s keep going—we should be in the right area.”

No way there was just a random statue on the island unless it was close to something important!

Aria led the way once more, choosing a random direction.

They pushed a little further through the dense trees, finding simple statues of dragon heads and occasional broken stones.

But they did find something once they reached a small clearing in the trees.

“A stone path!” Anna exclaimed.

The path ahead was uneven and broken, with patches of moss and vines snaking through the cracks, but it was unmistakably man-made. Well, Elf-made. It curved upward, winding toward what would probably be the island’s tallest point.

Aria stopped once she stepped on the stone.

“Three corrupted—two with sigils.”

That got Anna’s heart going.

Sigils most likely meant acolytes, and acolytes meant a chance for the final key. Well, it might have actually been the first key—just their technical last.

“Strength?” Anna asked, whispering.

“One is decent, the other is average.”

“Should we sneak?”

“No—we have no need for that anymore.” Accompanying Aria’s immediate answer was her threads whistling the air and drawing another katana in her left hand. She was now dual wielding them.

“Agreed,” Anna said. Sneaking around sucked and made them waste so much time in the labyrinth.

She didn’t have to recharge her items yet, but she put a crossbow bolt in each pocket of her uniform pants.

“I will immediately charge the stronger one; you focus on the others.”

“Done!” Anna deactivated one of her swords, replacing it with a crossbow bolt. Once that sword returned to her storage space, she sent Aria a nod.

“Stay close.”

“Yep!”

Anna didn’t have any fear anymore—they’d seen pretty much everything the ordinary accursed had to offer. Hunting had pretty much become a normal day, and anxiety was a thing of the past.

Without another word, Aria burst forward and up the remnants of the stone path.

Anna followed close behind.

They reached their first significant destination through the dense trees and up the incline; a residential area.

The forest was cleared. Instead, the ground was covered in stones, with fauna seeping through the cracks and along the edges. Broken down, simply wooden homes dotted the sides. In the center was a broken statue of what looked like some kind of horse but with two horns and a scaled body.

As they approached, the corrupted turned to face them, their dull grey eyes snapping toward the sound of movement. All three were acolytes, judging from their hair.

The one on the right, a woman wielding a crude dagger stepped forward first. That was the first time Anna had seen one with a weapon, but it was insignificant.

But she was also the one Aria charged toward, closing the distance in an instant. She was stopped by what seemed to be a grey light that came out of the accursed’s dagger in a crescent.

Aria ducked below the crescent, and it still went on to completely slice through a nearby tree! It started teetering, nearly about to fall over.

That was Windblade!

Fortunately, it was a fairly easy ability to fight against.

Anna veered to the left the next moment, positioning her bolt to fire at one of the other corrupted. Both were male, and one didn’t wear the simple robes of the acolytes.

She intercepted them before they reached Aria, and only one of them had a ring around their forehead.

Right as Anna released her grasp on the bolt—which still effortlessly pierced through the head of the sigiless corrupted—she felt a sudden force hit her from behind.

Rather, a harsh wind hit her and forced her forward!

It roared in her ears like a gust of wind had blasted by, and she found herself ripped toward the accursed.

“Woah!” Anna exclaimed, upping her enhancements as she reached the accursed. Her barrier rippled across her back.

Unfortunately for him, the only use of such an ability was bringing her closer. And while that was what he wanted, he just was not capable of fighting her.

She reached him, and Anna whipped her head to the side to dodge his jab while simultaneously bringing her sword effortlessly into his neck.

No barrier—a slight fear she had. It meant the evolution was spreading faster than they thought if they were even up there.

The accursed fell, his light-red ring expanding and shining above his head to drop the sigil.

A glance showed Aria had easily overcome her own opponent.

“Two sigils, both wind,” Anna said, picking up the dropped sigil.

“Appraise?” Aria asked.

Anna activated her appraisal, and a stream of information was implanted within her like she just read it.

Hers was simply called pull, and it allowed the user to create a powerful current of wind in their control zone that would always blast toward them.

“This is pull,” Anna said as she pulled it into her storage. “It’s not bad, actually. If you weren’t already with darkness, then I think this would be pretty good for melee combat.”

Actually, she didn’t even feel it become activated behind her—that was a problem. Her barrier also didn’t activate against it, but that was probably because it was technically just a strong wind.

“Interesting, but I am happy with my choice.” Aria handed Anna the Windblade, which she similarly stored.

“Well, yeah.” Anna chuckled, recalling the awesome horns and claws. “I’d say you made a pretty cool choice.”

She looked forward to seeing how that evolved further.

Aria gestured toward the two broken-down buildings opposite Anna. “You check those.”

“Okay!”

But they were empty.

Each structure was once used as a storage facility and a living quarters for what Anna assumed were the lowest-level acolytes. But every single box, crate, and container was empty.

She even checked each one individually.

Well, they were quite thorough when they left the island.

Before Anna turned to leave…

“Actually, maybe I should take some of these.”

Specifically, the crates! They were simple-looking, but she gave one a few knocks and felt the durability.

“Storage for my storage!” Anna giggled as she pulled three crates into her storage space.

One day, she wanted to see into her storage space directly. From there, she could potentially even organize it like a room! Maybe if she upgraded it. For now, it just seemed to function more like an inventory from a game—except instead of icons, it was just knowledge of the things she had stored.

“All do—”

“Annabelle!” Aria shouted from outside, and Anna, the masterful Aria decipherer, heard her excitement.

“C-coming!” With the crates stored, she eagerly stepped out of the building.

And there it was.

Within Aria’s palm was a violet orb.

Just like that.

“It was on a nightstand beside the master room in the building,” Aria said, gesturing toward one of the larger homes behind her. “We found it.”

“We… we actually did it!” Anna exclaimed, staring at the final key found so easily. She suddenly jumped at Aria.

“Wha—”

But Aria stopped when Anna wrapped her arms around her for an excited embrace.

“We did it,” Anna repeated.

One month of hard work.

One month of constant fighting, hunting, searching, and growing.

And they were finally done.

“Yes.” Aria quickly and awkwardly returned Anna’s embrace.

It only lasted a few seconds before Anna grabbed the orb and immediately activated her storage ability.

“Finally,” Anna whispered as the black glow faded.

“Let’s return,” Aria said. She lightly cleared her throat. “We should confer with Elyanthra before opening the door.”

“Yep!”

“Follow—”

But Aria abruptly stopped.

And Anna didn’t need her to say anything to figure out why that was. A shiver ran down her spine as her senses urged—screamed—at her to leave.

It was a tangible thing—almost like the entire flow of wind had been changed and replaced by an icy chill.

“Humans,” came a heavily broken, distorted voice like a demon learning to speak in the human tongue. “We were surprised to find some still remained here.”

Anna couldn’t even open her mouth to speak, nor could she run—but it wasn’t because she was too afraid to.

No, even though her heart felt like it was about to leap from her chest, and her stomach had a growing pit. It was not fear that prevented her from fleeing.

Grey chains were tying her legs to the ground, but the suppression she felt was on an entirely different level. Her entire body would not listen.

A glance revealed Aria to be in the same predicament.      

From the front—the stone path—came an Elf.

It was disgusting.

Horrible.

That thing made Anna want nothing more than to get up and fight, even if it meant her death.

But she couldn’t.

He was tall, but not as tall as Elyanthra.

His face was aged, sharp and angular but lifeless, save for his eyes—two eerie eyes that were filled with the power of corruption.

Most unordinary was his outfit.

He was wearing a long coat that was undoubtedly of Earth-origin. But to further that conclusion, he had a dress shirt and matching pants that went down to work boots. It was all dull grey, but those were clothes from Earth.

“You’ve been working here, humans,” said the Elf, his voice still sounding like he was speaking from beyond the grave. Deep, distorted, and eerie. “Your aid has been appreciated.”

Was it over? Anna found herself capable of no resistance. The chains at her feet weren’t moving, and even her enhanced strength wasn’t enough to break them.

Aria had her horns and claws, but even that wasn’t enough.

“W-wh… why?” Aria forced out.

“We have been waiting to obtain the stones, and we finally have the opportunity.” The Elf lifted his hand as if asking for something to be handed to him. “You will hand us the keys, and we will allow you to experience your final days before you join us.”

Join us? Wait…

Anna realized then what the right course of action was. She tried her best to shake her head at Aria, telling her not to activate the next stage of her boost.

That would definitely not help them and would only hurt her.

It worked—Aria’s gaze seemed like she understood that.

“O— or… w-what?” Aria asked.

“We will bring you close to death—enough to hasten your purification. You’ve resisted it well thus far, but that will be of little significance.”

Purification? Was that what the Taint thought of corruption? It didn’t matter.

Anna’s heart hurt even more. While they had a path, they were about to lose everything they had worked for.

Was there nothing else?

No—there wasn’t.

If she didn’t hand over the keys, they would die.

If she revealed Anavel, they would die.

If Aria activated her other stage, they would die.

Elyanthra obviously wasn’t nearby.

There was little choice.

“We will not wait—give the keys.”

“F—… Fi— Fine!” Anna exclaimed. Her black ring expanded around her forehead, which earned a moment of surprise from the Elf.

“Black? We are surprised; you will make a fine addition to our force.”

One by one… each key appeared from her ring. Individually, they rolled on the ground only to be picked up by those disgusting, pale hands.

Within a minute, he had all ten floating in the air around him.

Ten keys.

A month of work.

Anna bit back the tears forming in her gaze.

“We have lied,” the Elf suddenly said, switching his dark gaze to Anna. “Your power will be fascinating, so we will add you to our forces here.”

Anna felt something poke her forehead like an invisible person touched her between the eyes. It only lightly burned for a second.

Before he even finished speaking, the chains suddenly climbed to wrap around their foreheads.

And they could not resist.

Aria and Anna didn’t even get a chance to attempt to fight against the chains.

Anna’s head began hurting just in time to hear Aria softly land against the ground in a similar situation. Thankfully, she did not try to up her Demonification.

Her vision went black as she closed her eyes.

“We will return for you once we have the Waypoint Stone—we look forward to working with you.”

Honestly, it might have been a little too predictable. But everything has been too easy!!!

Annabelle's stored sigils:

Spoiler

Earth Gathering x4
Rockshell x4
Earthquake x2
Earth Ring
Firebolt x19
Flamelash x2
Flamespear x3
Firebreath x2
Flame Twister
Watershell x3
Icicle x7
Waterjet x2
Lake x2
Windblade
Windpull
Unknown Unattuned/Utility x5
Imbuement x2
Manaskin x8
Pulse
Projected Barrier x3
Projectile Reflection

[collapse]

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