The Necklace of Blood Magic
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After hearing Momo's inquiry about space ring, the shopkeeper's face fiercely changed and also broke a lot of sweats.

"Dear Customer, such item... such item we do not have it! But... so did the other places in this town!"

Momo wrinkled her eyebrows, her face revealed a heavy discontent, meanwhile she actually a bit worried inside, did space ring not available at all in this town?

Alex especially told her to get as much as a space ring she could find, but... if what the shopkeeper said is true, then Alex was doomed to be disappointed...

"The entire town did not have a space ring?! How's that possible? What kind of backwater place is this?!"

Momo threw tantrum, she kicked even the table on the side, shaking the entire merchandise on the top of it.

The shopkeeper trembled, that table alone at least weighted over 10 bags of sugars (1 sugar was 5 kg), let alone adding up all the weights on the top of it, yet this woman could kick and cause tremor on it without the slightest pain?!

She even looked so slender and delicate...

"Calm down, appease your anger, baby..."

Elliot panicked when he saw Momo's sudden temper, they did not have a briefing on this, why she suddenly got mad?

Momo snorted, then she crossed her arms and threw her face to the side, refused to look at the miserable shopkeeper any longer.

"Dear Customer, if... if you really... want a space ring... one noble in the town had it... the Tibet family..."

Momo still didn't talk to him, appeared ever so haughty, Elliot knew this was his cue to take over the conversation.

"Who are they? How come they are the only ones who have a space ring?"

Elliot's voice borderline cold, he seemed annoyed while also curious at the same time.

"Well, the Tibet is the oldest noble of the town who previously one of the aristocrats in Licoris City, after a series of misfortune event befell on them, the family had been declining over the generations until they finally moved out to this town and had been living here since then... they own the biggest potion-making shop around..."

Licoris City, that's one of the cities under the jurisdiction of the Knightwalker Kingdom, famous for their dabbling in potion and herbs that the people dubbed the city as the haven of medicine...

It's not strange if this Tibet noble was in the possession of a space ring, because on the contrary with the townfolks, a space ring was nothing special among the city people, naturally, doesn't mean all of them had it, only those nobles with their elegant suit and adorned hats...

Or quite rich people...

"Heh, then we will try to visit this Tibet's family... if you're telling the truth..."

Elliot glanced toward Jason, the latter grasped the iron sword on his waist while sending glare toward the shopkeeper.

"I swear, I swear, I am telling the truth, ask anybody!"

The man's small figure as if shrinking more, Elliot coldly snorted while feeling bad inside, he thought somewhat he had gone overboard.

While waiting for the confirmation of their available stock of silverswords, Elliot brought Momo to stroll around the shop, the latter assumed another flirtatious vibe, leaving the charm of her beauty everywhere on the shop, the other customers couldn't help but send glances several times toward the pink-haired alien.

"Hey, what's this necklace do?"

Momo pointed her finger toward an accessory above a somewhat fancy-decorated table, there was a golden ornament stuck and surrounding the surface.

"Oh, this is a necklace that had been enchanted with magic, and actually carried a quite backstory..."

The shopkeeper said with a tone slightly whispering, it's like he feared will be heard by an intended party.

Momo and the others startled, couldn't help but feel curious about it.

The shopkeeper glanced to right and left, then he began to tell the story of the item.

Several centuries ago, there was a man and woman who madly in love, the man was a bard, earning money by moving from one place to another to tell a story and sing, while the woman was the daughter of a noble, the prettiest flower of the town at that time.

Both of them met in an occasion held by the town, the bard was hired to lead a theatrical performance, the noble's daughter fell in love with his voice, couldn't help but seeking a meeting with this bard, after the initial introduction, the bard also fell in love with the noble's daughter.

Despite under a romantic relationship with this noble's daughter, the bard nevertheless had a job to do, still must leave the town, but he promised by the next time visit, he would propose the noble's daughter, the latter let him go while enduring the bitterness of the separation, and she gave him a necklace as a boon of good luck.

The world was less peaceful back then, bandits and robbers were in a rampage, many towns had been subdued under their power.

Several days after the departure of the bard, the town was invaded by bandits, many men and youths had been slain, the chief of the town couldn't help but surrender and beg the leader of the bandit to not slaughter his townfolks.

The leader agreed, but the chief of the town most offered him something in exchange for the life of his people, the chief had given him golds and supplies, the leader almost satisfied with it, not until he saw the noble's daughter among the crowd of the townfolks.

The leader demanded her from the chief, although resentful, the chief complied with the demand, knowing this would save the others, the noble's girl also understood and didn't resist, eventually letting herself being taken by the bandits.

A couple of days afterward, the bard returned to the town, as he found his beloved now in the hand of criminals, he sought a method to rescue her, ran toward many places to find sellswords to hire, prepared to spend all the wealth he had accumulated.

He did finally find a group of mercenary, he hired them and together they went to rescue the noble's daughter, it was rumored that the leader of the bandit truly fascinated and fell for the noble's daughter, he wished to properly marry her, thus the maidenhood of the noble's daughter still untouched, and the bard with the mercenaries managed to rescue her and kill all the bandits before that happened.

When things ought to be good and fine, it instead backfired the bard and the noble's girl, the mercenaries found her attractive and seduced by her beauty, it's... a horrible sight... the bard was pinned down while the mercenaries took turn defiling the noble's girl, didn't know for how many nights, or even days.

And by the time it was over... the noble's girl no longer reacted to the world, her mind, her consciousness, her soul completely broken, all the stench and odor of men all over her, she didn't even twitch.

As the mercenaries departed and left the bard with his beloved in grief, the bard swore revenge and sought a powerful witch in a no man's land, the witch agreed to help him, she gave him the power to use magic through the use of his vitality as the source, the catalyst was precisely the necklace the noble's girl had given to him.

The bard didn't just stop there, he went to Ancient Wisdom and learned forbidden magic [ Eternal Sleep ], then he went to exact revenge...

Spending ten years, the bard finally tracked down the mercenaries, participating in a festival to commemorate a big hero of the mercenary, someone who is rumored killed a monster called Basilisk and saved numerous lives, many mercenaries attended the festival, due to his hatred, the bard didn't care about the casualties, even his own life, he used all of his vitality and cast the [ Eternal Sleep ] right in the heart of the area, causing many people, including the mercenaries that had raped his beloved, fell asleep and never awoke again.

At that time, in mere minutes, countless people dropped down, man and women, adults and children, old and young, they were all trapped in their slumber, as the bard sent out his last breath, calling out to his beloved.

"..."

Momo and the others listened to the story with attentive focus, couldn't help but felt sorrow and sympathy for the bard and the innocent lives he cost.

"What happened afterward?" Alexis said.

"Well, about three days later, people found the entire city had been asleep, no matter what magic or potion they tried to use, nothing could awake them from the slumber, and several days later, some of them died due to the lack of fluid... it's the biggest casualties that ever happened in one day at that time."

"This legend... I think I had read it..." Elliot frowned, his forehead collected, his days spent with books enough to give him quite a knowledgeable in lore and myth.

"Because no one really knew what happened, there was no specific book dedicated to it, but it was listed as one of the dreadful strangeness of Fantasia's History, the city of slumber..."

"Oh, right, right, the city of slumber, over 1,000,000 citizens of the city found in the state of sleeping, no one had managed to find a way to awake them... the detail of the event had never been written."

"But then, how do you know such a story if nobody knew what happened?" Jason wrinkled his eyebrows.

"The Ancient Wisdom..." Momo said.

The shopkeeper nodded, he said, "A couple of decades later, some people went into the great library and found the bard's story. they connected it with the incident of the city of slumber, but it still listed as a rumor as they unable to confirm it."

Momo frowned, then she looked into the necklace on the table, she pointed her finger toward it.

"So, this is... the necklace?"

"Yup, the necklace of blood magic, turning your vitality as the source of casting magic..."

The shopkeeper had a light smile, but when Momo stared at him, she noticed a small sweat dropped from his temple.

"How do you even manage to get it?"

"Ooh, through a complicated channel and a bit of luck..."

"Then, this is a real deal?"

"Of course... it is, hehe, but I do not advise to use it though, I mean you won't gain back the vitality that had been spent, the more you use it, the more you slowly walk toward your death, so... so... it's best just for collection..."

Momo curled her lips, such item in legend, what were the odds it appeared in some random shops? At most this item was just fraud...

"Well, I am not interested in casting magic anyway..." Momo suddenly yawned, then swayed Elliot's hand, "darling, I am sleepy, let's return to the cottage."

Her voice was such pampered that sending a chill up to Elliot's spine, the poor young man trembled and somewhat lost for words.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Momo spun her head to look at the shopkeeper, blatant insult reflected in her eyes.

"Just... just a couple while longer... please, excuse me a moment..."

The man darted out, heading toward the back of the shop, after more or less five minutes, he came back with a red face, said, "I am sorry, Dear Customer, our stock of silversword... is only about 35..."

"Well, it couldn't be helped, I... guess..." Elliot stole glances toward Momo, seeing the devilukian gave a small nod, he continued, "we take them all, please send them to the Lovely Cottage, how much of it?"

"It's 1 gold and 35 silver each," the shopkeeper pondered a bit, "the total is 47 gold and 25 silver.."

Then he saw Elliot's expression with a small wrinkle in his eyebrows.

"Err... since you buy in bulk, we can cut it to 45 golds..."

Elliot squinted his eyes, even fiercer...

"Friendly price is... 43 golds..."

But Elliot still glared at him with such threatening eyes, the shopkeeper sweated bullets.

"For... for my Dear Customer, 40 golds are the last I can give..."

Finally, Elliot smiled, he said, "I will pay after I see them at the cottage, and I do not appreciate retardation, if... I see none of them when I return..."

"Of course, of course, I will send my men posthaste!!!"

"It's good doing business with you."

Then Elliot and the others walked out of the shop, the atmosphere in the area was somewhat elevated from tension.

Outside, Elliot rubbed the side of his waist, couldn't help but stare at Momo with bitterness.

"What?" the devilukian smiled but her eyes didn't seem to share the expression.

"Just wondering why Alex need that many silverswords, is he trying to build an army?"

"Well, that's his business, our task is to buy it for him..."

Alexis pondered a bit, then asked Momo.

"Why sir Alex requires another space ring? Didn't he already has one?"

She had seen a ring on Alex's finger, although she couldn't make out the design, she suspected it was the space ring.

"I... don't know, ok? Alex didn't really share the detail, but he did say he wants to make things efficient..."

"But searching a space ring in a town it's like looking for a lake in a desert, difficult..." Alexis shook her head, "I even doubt this Tibet family will want to sell their space ring."

"Well, why not? If we give them the right price, they may receive a huge fortune, can buy another space ring with extra money left..."

"Depend on the location, the cheapest space ring can be 500 golds, and I assume these people will charge more, does Sir Alex has that many?" Alexis surprised a bit.

"Do you remember the money from the vault at the goblin's nest? Err... Alex take some of it with him..."

"But it's a mix between copper and silver, I sincerely don't think it was even more than 300 golds..."

"Alexis, I know it's confusing, but you do not worry too much over Alex's wealth, he got this cover..."

"..." the she-knight stared for quite a while before she nodded, Elliot went silent, then he suddenly reached out into his pocket and gave something to Momo.

"If Alex really needs a space ring, then take this."

Momo never saw this item, but Jason familiar with it; wasn't this the exact same ring Damian recovered from one of the goblin's corpse?

"Elliot, you..." Alexis was speechless, that ring marked the nobility of the Lionheart family, she also had one but it was taken by the goblin before, and to be honest, she didn't have that much care to it as much as she cared about Lionel Sidonis.

"Although nobody can access the ring aside from Lionheart's bloodline, I believe Alex can find a way to break it."

Elliot said it without a single sentiment in his face, Momo rendered speechless for quite some time.

"Why do you want to give this to him?"

Elliot wrinkled his eyebrows, he said, "Don't Alex need a space ring? Well, he doesn't need to spend any money, here just take it."

"Elliot, you know that's not the reason I am asking..."

Momo wrinkled her eyebrows.

"..." Elliot went silent, then he let out a sigh, said, "let's go somewhere less crowded."

After paving their way through the numerous people in the street, Momo and the others arrived at the side of a canal, they sat under the tall tree which covered the glaring sun above, Elliot grabbed a stone and threw it toward the river, resulting in a small splash and ripple.

"When my family started to alienate me, and my father considered me as not his own, I didn't have much affection toward the Lionheart, my lives are only Alexis and my mother."

He grabbed another stone, looking at it as he rubbed the stone between his thumb and forefinger.

Alexis also became downcast, clenched her own hands.

"There was nothing I appreciate being a Lionheart, aside from my innate, let alone some stupid ring..."

"Elliot," Momo suddenly said, "I actually wonder how you can be different from other Lionheart?"

The young man smiled, he threw the stone once more toward the canal before replying.

"My mother used to read me 'The Shepherding', I guess it affects more than just a bedtime's story."

"You cried if mother changed other books to tell..." Alexis gave a small laugh, Elliot couldn't help but chuckle, and Momo along with Jason had no idea what they talked about...

Jason took the blame, said, "What's 'The Shepherding'?"

Both Elliot and Alexis startled, looking at Jason with shock all over their face.

"Jason, how can you not know 'The Shepherding'?!"

Momo dropped her jaw, Jason twitched his lips, thought, 'You also don't know!'

"Well, I am not exactly a book person, neither my mother."

"But 'The Shepherding' was not just a book, it's an entire conceptualization, the belief between human and demon can be in peace, almost nobody didn't know about this..." Elliot said in a frantic voice.

Human and demon? What happened between them in the past?

"Well, I guess I belong to those tiny groups of people who never heard of it, but I am curious though..."

Elliot exchanged glances with Alexis, then he faced Jason, said, "Alright, I guess nothing's wrong telling it."

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