The Fisherman Devil’s Corpse

Gyah!

A Shaman screamed in pain when he fell under the influence of a voluptuous woman's ability. Even though it was impossible for a Shaman to have children, they still retained all their desires, especially for one whose Devil—that they served—was dead.

During the entire ordeal, the Shaman hadn't noticed anything amiss. But by the time he sensed his lifeforce flowing out of his body, it was too late to stop, screaming in realisation, "You…you're Nedy!"

"Took you enough time to figure that out." Nedy grinned as she churned her Fear and finished absorbing the Shaman's lifeforce, moaning in pleasure as she felt like she had returned to her prime, brimming with vitality.

Nedy filtered through the lifeforce as her eyes lit up, "Wait…there's a trace!"

There was a trace of the Fisherman Devil in the Shaman's lifeforce. And when she tallied the time of the trace, she was shocked, "27 years…ago?"

"If it's then," Her mind whirred in thought as she considered many possibilities, finally understanding what was up, 'The Shaman might have come in contact with the Fisherman Devil's corpse without even being aware. It was during this time that all the Shamans under the Fisherman Devil were being brought to the Sect by the leader.'

"This means only one thing," She grinned in excitement, "The Fisherman Devil's corpse was in the Sect all along. Right, if I think further, it makes perfect sense. It always seemed like Larru and the leader had a weird relationship. Despite having his legs severed by her, he displayed zero hatred towards her."

Bzzz!

Just as Nedy intended to row her boat towards the Sect, an insect latched onto her face, instantly burying its four scythe-like arms into her, causing her to scream in pain.

Bam! Boom!

Nedy slammed her punches on the insect and only managed to produce drumming sounds. The creature's carapace was tough and was able to withstand even her attacks.

Rave Beast—Hhoka!

"It's just as Lady Vonne said. Nedy is by far the most resourceful among the Shamans." A voice resounded as the head of a person sneaked right up to Nedy's ear and whispered with a grating voice.

"W-Who is that?" Nedy was stunned as she flailed around, squealing in pain when her arm slammed into the figure's face. It felt like she had hit iron. And in response to her attack, the Hhoka only dug further into her face.

"So, where do you think the Fisherman Devil's corpse would be exactly?" Vhiny revealed a playful grin as she slung her arm around Nedy, watching the latter unable to break off from her hold. "You needn't struggle, my dear. I won't do anything to you, unless you refuse to cooperate."

"H-How long were you tailing me?" Nedy asked in fear. The moment she felt fear towards Vhiny, the Fear in her body turned rigid, unable to retaliate against Vhiny.

"From the start," Vhiny grinned, "Lady Vonne praised your capabilities. Since you overheard our conversation, you would definitely invest all your effort into searching for the Fisherman Devil's corpse. It's more efficient to tail you anyway."

"But I changed my disguise. How did you…" Nedy was unable to understand how she was caught. She had gone undercover plenty of times. So, it didn't make sense that she was caught by Vhiny so easily.

"Well, it's nothing special." Vhiny shrugged and patted the glass sphere in her possession, "Lady Vonne had long since trained over a dozen Nasps to your scent."

"So, I fell into your trap," Nedy sighed in defeat and quickly changed her tone, "I'll tell you everything I have found out. So, please allow me to live."

"Sure," Vhiny said as the Hhoka retracted its arms and crawled over to Vhiny's back, and lodged itself there.

Nedy grunted in pain as her face was bloody. But in a matter of minutes, Nedy contorted her facial muscles and stopped the blood flow. Moreover, she accelerated her body's natural healing and caused scabs to form. It was apparent that this wasn't her first time treating an injury.

"Sweet," Vhiny whistled at her actions and asked, "So, is the Fisherman Devil's corpse really in the Sect?"

"That's the only possible location," Nedy nodded and offered her conjecture, "Even if it's sealed, it's still a Devil's corpse. So, there might be some influence of it on its surroundings. Had it been stored in the palace, the massive streams of Garobu Faith flowing through it would have burned up the Devil's corpse long ago."

"Only in the Sect which is an inhabited hill, with its surroundings without any people is the perfect place. And since all the Shamans that served under the Fisherman Devil frequent the Sect, even the trace Fear they emit would be absorbed by the Fisherman Devil's corpse. And hence, the corpse would be maintained in function." Nedy gave a full analysis.

"Maybe if they needed, by using the Fisherman Devil's organs, they would be able to create Accolade Shamans. That's a weapon potential strong enough to topple a city." She concluded, "And since I sensed a trace, I'm assured that the corpse is there in the Sect."

"Where exactly in the Sect would that be?" Stunra asked after inspecting the corpse of the Shaman whose lifeforce Nedy had just absorbed. She then glanced at the wooden stumps that littered the boat, sensing an ominous energy from them.

"I'm not sure," Nedy shook her head, "But as long as we take care of the Sect leader, we'll have enough time to conduct a conclusive search."

"What do you say?" Vhiny asked Stunra who was smarter among the two.

"There's a decent possibility," Stunra nodded as she looked at Vhiny, "If I absorb the energy in that corpse, I could become the Fisherman Devil myself. We won't need to work with the Pest Devil in that case."

"Maybe we can determine a way to make you a Devil too." Stunra patted Vhiny before eyeing Nedy, "What are you waiting for?"

"Row the boat to the Sect already."

"B-But, the Sect leader is strong," Nedy said as she finally got the chance to turn around and stare at Vhiny, stunned by her appearance. But more than that was the head she was holding in her hands, held by the hair.

It was a Spirit from the Garobu Faith. And embedded within its head was an egg that displayed signs of hatching.