Chapter 52

Nathan was led through a series of complicated hallways, that were lavishly decorated, with many guards and servants running around. What drew his attention, was the uniform of the guards.

'They do not belong to The Netherstar Kingdom…'

Nathan could already guess where he was, but that did not change anything.

Soon, they reached a room, and entered inside. The room was very lucrative but had a simple overall design. On the massive bed, a girl was soundly sleeping, with a man sitting next to the bed.

The man carried himself a dignified aura, that of a wise scholar, but he also had a very distressed expression. He lifted his eyes from the sleeping girl, and saw Nathan, causing a bit of hope to surface in his heart.

Perhaps… just perhaps… he would find a solution this time…?

The same look appeared every time someone entered the room. He was starting to get desperate!

Nathan already confirmed who these people were,

Emissaries from The Ashmoon Empire!

"Commander Ronan, would you mind introducing this masked gentleman?" 

The man who brought Nathan here, Commander Ronan, nodded his head, "Head Emissary Favian, this is the best Curse Master I could find in the city, Curse Master Eternal Night. I brought him here to take a look at her condition."

Curse Master Eternal Night was a name he used, because he didn't want others to know his name as Nathan, not yet.

"Then please, take a look at her condition. I would pay you generously if you can help her!" Head Emissary Favian beckoned for Nathan to start.

Nathan, who had not spoken a single word since he had entered the room, curiously moved to the side of the bed.

He reached out and tried to feel The Curse within her. With his affinity for Dark Energies, he indeed found a trace amount of it all over her body, but that little bit of Curse Energy was not enough to cause her any harm, yet Nathan discovered that her Life Force was continuously being drained slowly, but he couldn't track down the cause…

[Reaper's Gaze]

Nathan's eyes shimmered with a cyan glow underneath his mask. He looked at the girl, who was around 16 years old, and he came to a realization!

"No wonder why no one could discover it…" He muttered quietly.

Head Emissary Favian turned ecstatic! "Finally! We found the problem! What is it, Master Eternal Night?"

Nathan looked around the room, but he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, "The Curse has taken root… within her Soul. It would seem as she was about to be invaded by The Curse, her Soul instinctively tried to protect itself, and closed her connection to her Sea of Consciousness, hence why she cannot wake up. But her resistance turned out to be futile, and even caused The Curse to hide better."

Nathan finally looked at Head Emissary Favian, "Tell me, have you been feeding her medicine to strengthen her body and Life Force?"

Head Emissary Favian looked confused, "Indeed. That was the best suggestion we received."

Nathan nodded, "As expected. This Curse is indeed vicious. It latches onto the soul, while using the victims blood as nutrients, draining the body of its Life Force. It means that you have been indirectly helping The Curse by strengthening it."

Head Emissary Favian turned pale in horror! They had almost killed the girl with their own hands! Thankfully, they seemed to have chanced upon a ray of hope!

"What… What should we do? Can you cure her?"

Nathan took a deep breath, "The Curse is supposedly cast by someone in Meridian Refinement Stage. The chances of me curing her… are not certain."

"But there is still a chance! We have no other options! Please, do whatever you can to save her life." Head Emissary Favian was grasping onto the tiniest bit of hope he could find. 

Nathan nodded. He, too, wanted to remove this Curse. He guessed that it was also one of the reasons for Archbishop Valdis' visit to The Capital, so he could not allow whatever scheme they had to succeed.

"Then I will need full privacy. I do not wish to be disturbed in any way during the treatment process."

Head Emissary Favian looked troubled by Nathan's request. The girl had profound background, and leaving her alone with a strange man was a bit…

At this moment, Commander Ronan decided to intervene, "Head Emissary Favian, I believe you can trust this man."

Commander Ronan decided to believe his instincts. The man in front him seemed like an honorable and wise person.

Head Emissary Favian was surprised by Commander Ronan's firm belief. How many people could earn such praise from this man? Too few!

In the end, he saw no reason to reject Nathan's request, "Very well. I wish you the best of luck."

"Everyone, leave this room." Head Emissary Favian called out.

Nathan noticed that the hidden auras in the room disappeared, and when everyone left, he finally turned to the sleeping girl.

'She has such a strong backer, that even The Head Emissary is terrified of her… I wonder…'

Nathan waved his hand, and summoned The [Eye of Odin].

[Detect Curse]

Nathan waited for a moment, before the information about The Curse was delivered to him.

[Devil's Promise]

A Curse that can latch onto a soul and hide in the deepest parts of The Sea of Consciousness. When activated, causes a wave of shock to the soul, forcing the victim into a seemingly unexplainable coma.

'As I suspected. The Curse was cast by a Juvenile Soul Stage Cultivator. The gap is too wide. The difference between each Stage is a gaping chasm. Normal methods won't work… but I have The [Eye of Odin]. It is more than enough to bridge the gap. I just need some time…'

A curse to the soul was far more intricate and complicated than a normal one. The risks were also greater, else Nathan believed he could have simply used his Death Energy, but bringing such a thing close to a living soul didn't sound like a good idea.

Nathan started channeling his reserves of Vital Energy and his Soul Force into The [Eye of Odin].

He continued feeding The Eye with Energy for many minutes, gathering enough Energy to blast a Meridian Opening Stage Cultivator into pieces!

He made sure to gather more Energy than needed, and he waved his hand, and The [Eye of Odin] flew away, hovering right between the girls eyebrows, the easiest place to access The Sea of Consciousness.

Strands of pure Energy began exiting The Eye and entered directly through her Sea of Consciousness and into her soul, silently coating the entire Curse with Nathan's Energy.

After his preparations were done, Nathan began the extraction process,

[Nullify Curse!]

Blood red smoke emerged from the girl's body, and it was absorbed by The [Eye of Odin].

The process was excruciatingly slow. The Cure Energy of the caster was more pure and condensed than Nathan's Energy, so it was going to take some time.

The girl was finally starting to show a physical reaction. The Curse inflicted a lot of pain to her, and now that she was slowly waking up, the signs of the pain became clear.

Nathan kept a steady pace, not hurrying to finish. As time went on, the process became faster and faster, as the resistance of The Curse was whittled away.

Nathan's forehead was covered in sweat. He was using his Soul Force to enhance his mind. There was too much he had to control at once, since The Curse was the strongest one he had faced yet.

After a long time, the extraction process finally came to an end, causing him to sigh in relief. Fortunately, The Curse didn't retaliate against him, allowing him to finish it off cleanly.

[Absorbed Devil's Promise]

[Stat Points +150]

'Whew… so I can absorb strong sources of Energy and receive stat points for it. I should look into it more…'

"Nnngh…" The girl was starting to wake up, so Nathan put The [Eye of Odin] away.

"Where am I…?" The girl looked around with confusion, but she soon noticed Nathan's presence in the room,

"Who- Who are you?! Are you here to kidnap me?!" The girl tried to get away, but her body was drained of too much Life Force. It would take a few days before she can move again.

Nathan was left speechless… 

Lady! I just saved your life, and you call me a thief?

Nathan decided that there is a much better way to explain things.

He silently walked to the door, and opened it, seeing an extremely anxious Emissary walking back and forth.

"She is awake. You can see her."

Hearing Nathan's voice, Head Emissary Favian ran into the room, and broke into tears upon seeing the young girl awake!

"Young Lady! Thank The Gods you are awake! We thought that we may never see you again!"

Commander Ronan silently appeared beside Nathan, "Thank you, for saving her life."

Nathan nodded his head in acceptance. What he did here today was removing a seed that was planted with malicious intentions beyond the young girls life. He just did not know what the seed was for.

Nathan simply listened to The Head Emissary dramatically exaggerate the events of what happened ever since she fell into a coma…