Capítulo 60: Unwritten Omens II — Ambrosya

Drinking a few sips of their own potions, King and Rose tended to their wounds. Before they left, Rose wanted to at least bury her aunt.

We checked her corpse... and there was nothing left but ashes. The fox fire had consumed all her flesh, skin, and bone.

Thus, Rose had to dig through her aunt's ashes for a half-melted amulet. All so that she had something to serve as a memento of Cheri's existence. She then collected the ashes in a jar she found nearby and kept it safely within her robes.

"My condolences, Rose," I had placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. "Your aunt was a great mage."

Rose nodded, but she stayed silent. Her expression was difficult to read.

She was unable to bear witness to the manner in which Cheri had fallen. Her focus was on her own battle. Busy was she who had to face a peak D rank threat.

She only perceived Cheri's death when the shadow summons dissipated into nothingness.

Thus, when I told her how Cheri had died, she was in disbelief for a good few moments.

With a sad expression, Rose wordlessly turned around and left. King was walking alongside her, with an arm around her shoulder. A few special gadgets were shining in King's other hand.

He was cleaning up our tracks, to make sure that no Aura Tracing could find us.

Seeing as the duo had left, I placed myself back in the present.

I looked around. Corpses, blood, and a barrier that was now slowly dissipating came into view. There was peace. I, had peace.

But that was only for now.

Once that barrier fully dissipated, the Valorous Guard would sense the anomaly in this area and dispatch a few agents for inspection. This gave me a time limit.

I had to hurry.

It wouldn't be fun to be discovered here, waltzing around piles of corpses. I switched on the enchanted item that King had given me, allowing it buzz with life. I felt a spell engulf me, severing my connection with the world's mana while keeping my mana, and therefore, my aura, from leaking out and forming a trail that people could follow.

I ran towards the central building under the illumination of Emerallia's moons. I leapt over strewn about corpses and splashed through puddles of blood. I was already dirty anyway, so what would a little more dirt do?

I swiftly arrived at the building's entrance and the stench of blood instantly intensified. It was almost palpable, as if I was in a sauna, and instead of steam, clouds of blood lingered in the air.

With Sight-Sent Senses, everything felt so much more gut-wrenching. I could taste the air, the corpses, and the blood. I could smell everything, and everything reeked of death. I could hear the subtle sounds of dripping blood from those who were shot.

In fact, I could swear that I could hear the voices of the damned, lingering around the piles of corpses, wailing and screaming.

I walked along a corpse-filled corridor and passed by rooms filled with bodies. The faces of each person I saw were all full of indignance. The wounds on their bodies resembled the strikes of a trio of tails.

That three-tailed fox had mercilessly slain all the people in this building.

It was still amazing how something so small was so beautifully lethal. I had described that three-tailed fox as rivaling the lethality of the deadly spiders from Australia. But seeing it's capabilities now, and experiencing its lethality first hand... oh man.

It really was a killer.

I would've died from a single strike had I not downed the Mana Viscosity potion.

'At least it's gone now,' I thought.

I was free to utilise and take a secret from this place. It was an unripened secret, but it would do for now.

Thus, I made a beeline towards the 8th floor of the building. I took the stairs, as the elevator was no longer functional. It was also filled with a group of dead people who still had their eyes wide open, sending shivers down my spine.

I sprinted up the steps, jumping up several at once with every stride. Then, I rushed through the hallway just as I felt the barrier completely dissipate.

The flow of mana suddenly changed, and a tsunami of bloody mist rolled outwards.

I only had a few minutes left before the Valorous Guard would take notice of this place. I increased my pace, turning two corners with breakneck speed.

I then slid to a stop in front of an unassuming door.

Click—

It was unlocked, allowing me to enter.

The horrendous scent of blood was then replaced by the pleasant smell of aged books.

"Cheri's study," I muttered to myself as I tasted the pages with my eyes.

Ugh.

I finally remembered why Sight-Sent Senses was eventually labelled the [ Pervert's Eyes ]. Why? Well, take a guess.

Anyways.

The moment that I entered, I discovered what I was looking for. It was sitting at the corner of Cheri's glass desk, looking a bit dejected.

Yes, dejected.

This unripened secret that I was talking about was a living, breathing thing. To a certain degree, at least. It was something unique in this world. There was not a single other of its kind.

It resembled a baby beast. And it didn't seem to have noticed me as it wallowed in its sadness.

With vertical, draconic irises, and scales that gleamed an ethereal golden hue, a certain serpent was curled around a magic wand. Its eyes were only halfway open as it mourned the death of its adoptive mother.

"Aventine," I called out.