Chapter 60: Manmade dragon

Perseus POV

"So we still couldn't figure out the motive?"

"No, and even then, we only found 30% of what went missing." Henry replied, but at least we made progress."

So that means that we can't leave yet, but Cedric claimed that they were making quick progress on figuring out the motives. And we then agreed to separate to do our own investigations for now. 

The undercover priest did manage to catch one of the snakes' members in secret and instead of peaceful interrogation, he went through a somewhat indescribable method where we did get a few other pieces of information, but he was not of the highest rank, so it was still limited.

As I made my way through the streets of the island, I couldn't help but have conversations that seemed to follow me wherever I went. It was clear that Cedric's presence here was a topic of much discussion among the islanders, and not all of it was favorable for some reason.

Some spoke disparagingly of the prince, questioning his intentions and suggesting that he was only here to take credit for the work of the island's authorities as they did more work than he did, saying that the information he provided would have been found sooner or later.

They voiced their skepticism about his ability to truly understand the intricacies of their situation, given his privileged upbringing as the hero and distant connection to their struggles as he was overly optimistic and too privileged to give 'solutions' to problems that he never faced.

This is true, I did see him try to correct some people in their pessimism and offer them solutions to try and make it better, not knowing that they have no way of having access to those resources. 

He's definitely...naive. One of his solutions was to tell them to invest their money, however, a few of these people couldn't afford that as they needed all the money they had to afford to barely live. They accused him of being out of touch with the realities of their daily lives and accused him of using his status to further his own agenda at their expense.

Others were more vocal in their criticism, openly expressing their frustration and resentment towards Cedric and the royal family as a whole. It wasn't my place to intervene or defend him, especially when I understood the complexities of the situation far better than most. At least I think so.

Yet, for all the criticism leveled against him, I couldn't deny that Cedric was genuinely committed to finding a solution to the island's problems. He had thrown himself into the task with determination and dedication, despite the obstacles that stood in his way.

I found myself admiring his resilience and perseverance, qualities that were often overshadowed by the weight of his royal title and being the hero. It was clear that Cedric was determined to prove himself worthy of the trust placed in him, even if it meant facing opposition from those who doubted his abilities.

I doubt that he hasn't heard any of these...criticism. Henry would at least give him a clue.

*****

As the investigation into the contaminated holy water progressed, new pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place, revealing quite a sinister motive behind the poisoning scheme.

Cedric and his team of investigators that he hired from the south to come help had been working tirelessly with the authorities here to uncover the motive, and with each revelation, the scope of the plot became clearer. It took a month and a half.

It appeared that the perpetrators had a much larger agenda in mind than simply causing chaos and unrest within the Western Kingdom. The poison used to contaminate the holy water contained a rare substance that had the ability to link individuals to a manmade hive mind monster or something.

According to the information gathered, anyone who had ingested the contaminated water had unknowingly become part of this hive mind, their consciousness linked to a central entity that has to ability to control their thoughts and actions.

It was a chilling revelation, one that filled me with a sense of dread at the thought of such a powerful lurking in the shadows. The idea that innocent people could be manipulated and controlled against their will was deeply unsettling, I had Elpis checked me since I did ingest the poison, but I was fine, which was good.

The perpetrators had planned to use the collective power of the contaminated individuals to launch an attack against the royal family of the Western Kingdom, but it seemed that the plan failed and so they made the hivemind just collect those memories and stole a part of each people's soul for itself.

It should have transformed into some sort of large strong monster, but its location has been moved, and no one that we caught knew as a boss came to collect it and would launch an attack when the organization demanded it.

[Side quest: Help the hero defeat the manmade dragon.]

Manmade dragon?

The ground beneath us then began to tremble, sending shockwaves rippling through the earth as the rumbling grew louder and more intense. I stumbled backward, struggling to maintain my balance as the world around me shook with increasing violence.

In the distance, I could see a mountain the horizon cracking and with a deafening roar, the mountain erupted, sending plumes of molten rock and ash spiraling into the sky. I thought that the mountain was supposed to be an extinct volcano.

As the earth shifted beneath our feet, I watched in horror as a massive, deformed dragon burst forth from the heart of the mountain, its twisted form looming ominously in the smoky skies.

With a thunderous flap of its wings, the dragon took to the air, its eyes blazing with an otherworldly light as it set its sights on the direction which I assumed was that of the royal castle in the distance.

"is having their royal family dying such a bad thing?"

[A: You're the assistant hero! Go help!]

"Man, that dragon was ugly."

"Let's not focus on that." Terrence responded, "Let's go check it out."