Chương 175: Chapter 175: Ghost Town Part 10
The crow returned.
Blackie had a thin, round glass bottle tied to his new ankle. I was expecting a letter, but what was this? I untied the glass bottle from Blackie's ankle and generously filled his food dish. After quenching his thirst and filling his belly, Blackie perched himself on the roost and soon began to nod off.
Inside the glass bottle was a half-filled amount of purple powder. I couldn't figure out what it was, so I kept turning the bottle around in my hands. Watching my actions, Lloyd extended his hand.
"Do you know what this is?"
"A little."
Lloyd responded in a reluctant tone, then lit the candleholder on the desk.
"You'd better keep your distance."
With that, he began to slowly sprinkle the purple powder over the candle flame.
-Tap, tap!
The purple powder began to shimmer and burn in the flame. The once warm and gentle orange glow of the candle quickly flared up to the size of a fist, eventually transforming into a purple blaze as big as a human face.
"...."
"Kha-Khalid…?"
The purple blaze, though burning too fiercely to see clearly, bore a striking resemblance to Khalid's head. While I stared at it in a daze, the crackling purple flames suddenly seemed to "connect" and its eyes snapped open.
– Theodore.
It was Khalid's voice.
…Couldn't you have sent a reply in a normal way?
I looked at the flame—or rather, Khalid's head—with an awkward smile on my face.
"It's been a while. Have you been…"
– Where is Legion?
"He's asleep."
– I'd like to see the shedding process myself and judge when it will progress.
"I'll be sure to keep you informed. But what I really wanted to ask you about is…"
– The Dawsons. Why are you curious about those idiots?
"Their mansion is in the village where I am now, and strange things are happening there."
– Strange things? Haha. Those two aren't smart enough to pull off anything strange. Ah, if it's Maria Dawson, she might know how to recite a spell at best.
"Of course, they wouldn't be as skilled as you, Sir Khalid, but something definitely happened at their mansion."
I briefly explained to Khalid what had happened at the mansion. Khalid burst into laughter and then began to speak in a mocking tone.
– The Dawsons. Those idiots were always obsessed with worthless alchemy. But with their skills, the best they could produce was some brass. That's all those trash were capable of.
"..."
– Only vulgar people obsessed with money would dabble in alchemy in the first place.
Alchemy, huh…
El and the villagers had mentioned gold and even the village chief had acted suspiciously.
"Is there no chance that the Dawsons' alchemy was successful?"
– Who knows? Unless they made a pact with a demon or something.
I recalled the hellfire I had seen in the mansion's basement. Khalid might have been joking about making a pact with a demon, but considering the hellfire in the basement, it might not have been just a joke.
– After Maria Dawson gave birth to a child, the two of them left Solen. Seems like they were trying to make a fortune with alchemy in the Empire.
A child.
I thought of the child in the painting that hung on the wall. Could it be that the Dawsons weren't the only ones who died in the fire? But the village chief hadn't mentioned anything about a child.
"…Thank you. It feels like I've found a clue."
– Theodo… The timing… I… di…
"What?"
Crackle, crackle. The flames flickered as Khalid's voice began to cut out. His face also blurred again before fading into a shapeless mass of flames.
– Damn it… Connection… Properly… Magic… Interference…
"Khalid, I can't hear you clearly."
Like a call with a bad signal, Khalid's figure and voice were breaking up more and more. Crackle, crackle! Suddenly, the flames flared up fiercely.
– Theodo… That place is… dan…
-Whoosh!!
Before Khalid could finish speaking, the purple flames roared as if they would swallow us whole, then vanished with a puff of black smoke.
"What in the world…"
Magic… interference? Just as strange things had happened before we arrived in this village, could something be affecting us again? Damn it. If Khalid had been here in person, I might have been able to learn more. I stared at the now-empty glass bottle and let out a deep sigh.
At the very least, I found out that the Dawson couple were alchemists and had a child.
The clues were all too ordinary, but when combined with what I already knew, they formed a startling hypothesis.
An alchemist couple, the poor villagers, and the rumors of "gold" that circulated through the village.
I looked out the window at the distant mansion's pointed roof.
Because of gold, the villagers… to the alchemist couple…
***
I could have swallowed those three whole….
A huge green snake filled the basement. Ronan writhed in agony, feeling a deep hunger. Each time he moved, green flames flickered from beneath his scales.
Occasionally, he would catch and devour the foolish villagers who sneaked into the mansion one by one, but it wasn't enough. What Ronan had originally been "promised" was not just a person or two, but the entire village.
-Bark! Bark bark!
The sound of a dog barking echoed from outside. It seemed that damned dog was chasing away the prey that dared approach the mansion again. That wretched beast was insufferable.
Dogs were creatures with annoyingly strong loyalty. Even in death, they foolishly followed their master's will. Ronan flicked his forked black tongue and glared upward. He could sense the scent of delicious humans fading away, likely scared off by the ghostly dog.
If only I had devoured those three….
Those three reeked of an especially appetizing scent. From the young one to the strong older one, and then the peculiar delicacy that carried a scent not of this world. If he had devoured those three, it would have been more satisfying than consuming the entire village. He would have regained his "power".
At this rate, I can't even make contact with the crows.
Ronan could barely maintain his form now. If this form collapsed, he would be sent back to his original place—hell. He couldn't afford to waste the hard-earned chance at descent so foolishly.
The Dawson couple had been foolish. That was precisely why the great Ronan, the green-scaled peacock, had let his guard down.
To be precise, it was that child….'
Damn it. Green flames burst from between Ronan's scales. Perhaps it was the smell, but outside, a dog began barking fiercely again.
The reason the crows had chosen the Dawson couple and this village was simple. In a small, poor village like this, no one would care if it suddenly disappeared. The village was a sacrifice meant to summon the great demon Ronan, and the Dawsons were the medium. The couple had no idea, though.
The Dawsons' daughter, Rosalyn Dawson, was a child whose very existence was a miracle. It wouldn't have been strange if she had died the moment she was born, or even if she had been born dead. She was a child with a body and soul far too fragile. Yet somehow, Rosalyn Dawson had survived for six years. Although she limped, she could still walk around the garden while leaning on the hunting dog that had grown up in the same cradle as her. Yes, as the Dawsons often said, it was a "miracle".
But "miracles" were expensive.
The cost of treating Rosalyn Dawson was far beyond what the couple could afford. That was why the Dawsons devoted themselves to alchemy. If they could create gold, they would be able to afford all kinds of treatments that were nothing short of "miracles" from the capital. However, the only thing the couple could produce was brass ore, and that was all.
There were plenty of alchemists who sold brass ore as gold. But the Dawsons were too honest to do such a thing.
And so they became perfect prey.
The most important thing to summon a demon is the "subject" that summons the demon. A single point that connects hell to the world. That was what the crows needed. Like the cultist of Rabata, like the lord of Dihid. The medium chosen to summon Ronan was none other than the Dawson couple.
The crows made the couple a very tempting offer. They told them to stop relying on the "miracles" of God and instead borrow the "wisdom" of darkness, promising that their daughter would finally gain true freedom. Rosalyn Dawson, who didn't lean on the hunting dog, didn't limp, and ran around the garden! The crows' promise was more than enough to entice the Dawsons.
At the same time, the crows spread a secret and deadly rumor throughout the village. That the wizard couple's home held an enormous amount of gold, enough to buy the entire village five times over. The rumor claimed that this immense wealth was being sacrificed solely for Rosalyn Dawson. It was a rumor potent enough to provoke the poor and starving villagers.
"If only we had that gold…"
Ronan recalled the taste of hatred that had spread throughout the village and licked his lips. If he could devour that blazing anger and desire that burned as hot as hellfire in one gulp, he would gain immense power here, just as he did in hell.
And then "that day" arrived.
Following the crows' proposal, the Dawsons decided to borrow the "wisdom" of darkness. The couple completed the preparations to summon Ronan by offering half of each of their souls. When they cut their wrists before the altar in the basement, it wasn't blood but gold that flowed out. The power to create gold! The very thing the couple had desperately longed for all their lives was one of Ronan's many abilities.
– Bark! Bark, bark!!
While the Dawsons were intoxicated by Ronan's power, something terrible was happening above ground. What the villagers who were driven by irrational rage found when they raided the mansion was not gold, but …
– Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!
It was the Dawsons' daughter, Rosalyn Dawson.
"Where's the gold? Where is the gold?!"
"Where have they hidden it?"
"It's not here!"
"If that's the case…"
The villagers, with their eyes gleaming with greed, turned toward the young girl. Her old friend the hunting dog stepped in to block their way, but it couldn't withstand the barrage of clubs.
"The gold must be inside that girl's belly."
The raised pickaxe gleamed menacingly in the air.
– Thud!!
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực