Initially, the second Soul Shard he had obtained was supposed to be used in situations that determined whether he would be able to survive or die miserably. However, upon realizing that Phillip, his father and every other Blessed with the same Stigma as their were in a cahoot and somehow the cause of the Undead Cave mystery, Zayn changed his point of view of the situation almost immediately.
'There might not be a proper piece of evidence that connects the Undead Cave to the Cerk family and their followers but I am certain that they are up to no good!'
Thus, he ended up nourishing the Sparrow Spirit in an attempt to make use of it later. Zayn felt that it was necessary for his survival!
A few hours passed until Zayn finished his preparations. The Sparrow Spirit had merged with the Grimoire of the Ancient where it would rest and digest the soul particles that had been transferred to the little Spirit.
Meanwhile, Zayn made his way back to the Adventurer Inn, where he sat down on the only vacant seat at the counter.
The entire Adventurer Inn was filled to the brim and many were already drunk even though it was only early in the evening. The sun had yet to disappear behind the horizon, but everyone's stomach was full and their mood was jolly good.
'This is weird…' Zayn could only think, not understanding why everyone was already drunk at this hour, just to receive the answer to his doubts merely moments later.
"You came back already? I won't give you any beer even if that brat over there treats everyone today!" Innkeeper teased lightly, while pointing at the large table that was located in the corner next to the counter.
The table was littered with empty plates and dozens of mugs that were filled not too long ago.
'Is he actually playing around like that?'
When Zayn looked over to the table, he only saw Phillip Cerk and his bodyguards. His father and the other Blessed that belonged to the group the Sparrow Spirits had seen leaving the Undead Cave together weren't around, but that was probably for the better.
The Blessed that were present were rather 'weak' if one could put it like that. Only one of them seemed to be in possession of a Soulring. It was the bulky man who had picked Zayn up, the man whose wrist had been broken by the Normie King back at the Adventurer Hall.
The man's wrist had been healed, just like Phillip Cerk's hand had been reattached without any permanent issues.
As Zayn watched the group of six dead-drunk Blessed, he felt extremely disgusted.
'They cannot even control the ominous hue that oozes out of their arms,' He thought, nearly cursing out loud.
Zayn felt like cursing Phillip's group for the rest of the night but he couldn't keep staring at them because his seat was not too far from their position. They would notice him glaring daggers at him and soon would surround him in the blink of an eye.
In fact, Zayn's seat was just around the corner and the table at the corner was less than five meters away from him.
If Phillip and his people weren't that drunk, they might have actually noticed him. But Zayn was not really worried about getting found out.
Did it make sense for him to calmly drink his cold beverage while the people who were looking for him were only a few steps away from him? Definitely not!
"They look happy. Looks like they made some big gains," Zayn said to the Innkeeper who nodded his head while tapping a few mugs of beer.
"If you don't know the young man in the center of that group, his name is Phillip Cerk. His Stigma has grown in size, so it's only obvious that he is happy. I wonder what he did for his God to reinforce Phillip's Blessing."
The Innkeeper looked rather calm on the outside but Zayn could see a glint of frustration mixed with jealousy in his eyes. His eyes kept flicking to Phillip's group every now and then, and it was quite obvious that he was vigilant of them.
'He senses the animosity as well…well, it's not like these drunk bastards are hiding it right now…' Zayn thought, shaking his head lightly.
Under normal circumstances, it was not possible for a Stigma to enlarge. However, there were certain unique missions and other means that granted the reinforcement of a Blessed's Blessing.
However, that knowledge caused Zayn to feel even more disgusted with Phillip and his people because it reaffirmed his suspicion once again.
"This…" He blurted out just to stop himself by shutting his mouth with his hand. Zayn nearly cursed out loud, throwing a fit in the middle of the Adventurer Hall. Fortunately, he had stopped himself before doing any real damage so he was safe…for now.
A moment of rage had made him nearly forget that he was weak and just a Normie in everyone's eyes, which meant that his accusations would be groundless for everyone else.
"Is everything alright with you? Here take this…" The Innkeeper said all of a sudden, replacing his empty beverage mug with a new one before giving him a wink, "It's on the house."
The Innkeeper could tell that Zayn needed some time to collect himself and that he was a little bit confused, maybe even in an emotional crisis.
He also understood that it would do no good by bombarding the young Zayn with a bunch of questions.
Furthermore, it was not as if the Innkeeper had the time to pay a lot of attention to Zayn. His Inn was filled to the brim and everyone wanted to get drunk and eat their fill.
That way, Zayn was given more than enough freedom to eavesdrop on the conversation between Phillip and his subordinates. They were all drunk and still getting drunker as the night turned darker.
It was quite obvious that they weren't afraid of anyone in the Inn because they spoke loudly enough for the server and Zayn to hear them quite clearly.
This was good for Zayn but it created a dark atmosphere in the corner of the room as the ominosity exuding from the six Blessed intensified.
And the cause of the change in the atmosphere was a seemingly simple sentence.
"Looking at your smug expression, you seem to have forgotten that a Normie humiliated you in the middle of the Adventurer Hall!"
"Looking at your smug expression, you seem to have forgotten that a Normie humiliated you in the middle of the Adventurer Hall!" One of the members of Phillip's group said out loud, giggling lightly.
It was easy to tell that the Blessed was drunk and that he didn't even realize what words had tumbled out of his mouth under the alcohol's influence. He didn't sense the tension in the corner of the Inn either, let alone that Phillip had lowered his mug, his eyes cold like a glacier.
"This is the first and last warning because we're drunk…shut it, or I will kill you!" Phillip said in a dangerously low voice. But it cut through the entire Inn that seemed to have quieted down all of a sudden.
'Is he not drunk?' Zayn wondered as he glanced over to Phillip, who was trying to find balance while looking down at his subordinate in an overbearing manner.
'...yeah, he is drunk, thankfully!'
Phillip sobered up for a moment but that was already it. Unfortunately, the Blessed who had mentioned the incident where Phillip had been humiliated didn't think about shutting his mouth. He was already wasted and would soon fall into a deep slumber.
"Don't you think it's unfair that only you and your father gained something after all of us worked hard for the last few months? Let me have some fun as well…not everyone is as happy as you are…" The Blessed continued to blabber drunk-dazedly while pointing at Phillip. He was clearly sulking and his entire happiness had evaporated into thin air.
The other Blessed at the table looked at their colleague in understanding but they didn't dare to say anything to support his claim. After all, they weren't tired of living, no matter how drunk they were.
"You're just embarrassed because you didn't expect someone to go up against you…a Normie at that hah—..." The drunkard Blessed shouted out loud while chugging on his drink, just for his laughter to stifle all of a sudden.
Phillip's right arm lunged forward with a shocking speed that nobody expected from the drunk Blessed who didn't even possess a Soulring. He grasped his subordinate's neck tightly and choked him without hesitation. Phillip's eyes were without a trace of mercy as he lifted his subordinate into the air.
The table shook as the Blessed's leg pushed against it and a few mugs clattered to the ground where they burst. However, nobody paid any attention to the mugs as they witnessed something much more intense.
There were almost a hundred Adventurers in the Inn right now, yet Phillip didn't care about the witnesses a single bit as he tightened his grip around the Blessed's neck who was struggling wildly to free himself.
Killing intent gleamed in Phillip's eyes and it was quite clear what was about to happen when overly familiar outlines entered everyone's sight.
The Innkeeper and his wife, carrying more than twenty mugs of beer arrived at the table where they put everything down. They looked unbothered about the situation that happened right in front of them, or so it seemed at the first glance at least.
Zayn could tell more about their body language but that didn't change how courageous the Inn Owner was as he confidently picked up a mug which he handed over to Phillip.
"It looks like you guys need more drinks," He said before teasingly adding, "Instead of killing him, make sure that he is so drunk that you can humiliate him enough to make him wish that he would be dead!"
The Innkeeper spoke in a teasing tone but he was serious about his suggestion. He didn't really want Phillip, or anyone else, to kill someone in his small estate. That would leave a bad aftertaste and tarnish the reputation of his Inn!
"Alright…I'm just sparing him because it's you!" Phillip's rage subsided as he accepted the beer mug while letting go of the Blessed who crashed on the ground, his hands around his throat as he panted heavily. He slumped down back on his chair in a clumsy manner and started to drink his beer quickly.
Phillip seemed oddly satisfied with the gazes that were drawn onto him. The attention made it feel like the beer was several times tastier than before. Thus, he continued to drink while silence commenced all over the room yet again.
It took a while before everyone started to chatter amongst themselves once again and a few hours passed in which Phillip threw a few more gold coins toward the Innkeeper.
He picked them up, ignoring the snobbish attitude of Philip while Zayn seemed to have disappeared from the counter.
Zayn had been informed by the Sparrow Spirit that one of Phillip's subordinates dragged out another drunk Blessed from the Inn…and that Phillip's subordinate was crying.
That may not mean much but Zayn got a bad feeling. Furthermore, he had a few questions that could only be answered by someone emotionally wrecked and drunk. They wouldn't hesitate to speak up, which made things a lot easier.
Thus, Zayn left the Inn for a moment, following the swaying drunkards into the darkness of the sleeping town.
"Juscht leave tzeee town…you shouldn't die…take your family and run…" The drunk Blessed wailed pitifully while wiping tears off his face. He was grasping his chest tightly and swaying from left to right.
He was drunk and unable to control his emotions anymore, not after what he witnessed today.
"Leave…run…the Undeadhs." The Blessed known as a follower of Phillip spoke in the darkness, his voice traveling far enough for Zayn to hear.
"That brat and his father really did it?... And you guys helped them finish the mission?!?" The friend of the drunk and crying Blessed asked, his voice shrill and filled with disbelief. He was not drunk anymore and looked at the crying Blessed in shock.
"We had no other choice…"
Meanwhile, as the drunk Blessed of Phillip's group continued to cry outside the Inn, Zayn's eyes turned cold.
He had already expected that something bad was going to happen but the words of the drunk and emotionally wrecked Blessed clarified the guesses he had.
'They have to die!'
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