“What did you just say?” The leader of the Althea branch of the Dark Devil Church asked, slamming his fist on the arm of his dark throne.
“My lord, we couldn’t get the Atomic Divine Body because some people beat us to it. We lost all our men and only escaped thanks to the life-saving treasure you gave us.”
The three Root Great Sages deployed by the Dark Devil Church in the Althea Kingdom to investigate Lady Sandra’s death and hunt down Li Hua, who possesses the Atomic Divine Body constitution, were now kneeling before their lord.
Initially, when they left Caprath City to report their failures, they planned only to mention the emergence of a new Underworld organization that prevented them from obtaining the Atomic Divine Body.
However, knowing that wouldn’t hold much weight, they shifted the blame onto their new competitors. Perhaps this would buy them a lifeline or two.
They decided to lie, claiming this new competition had taken the Atomic Divine Body. As expected, their lord entered a deep contemplation, his face twitching occasionally.
They ensured to include details that either hadn’t occurred or they hadn’t observed, exaggerating the encounter to make it seem like they were attacked by dozens of Root Great Sages, when in reality, it was only one, riding a shadowmare.
After a while, he stood up and left. But before leaving, he gave them one final instruction.
“Go back and finish off the remaining members of the Alderford family. Wipe them all out. You can take as many men you want but ensure they are all dead.”
And just like that, the three kept their lives for a few more days.
Meanwhile, after leaving the hall, the Dark Lord entered a small room with a dark mirror hanging on the wall. He placed his palm on it and channeled his energy into it.
A few seconds later, the mirror glowed red, and a face appeared on its surface.
“We have a problem, my lord,” the Dark Lord said to the face in the mirror, offering a small bow.
“What problem, Hyx? Have you secured the Atomic Divine Body?” the man asked.
“No, my lord. My subordinate just reported to me that another underworld organization beat them to it. It appears we weren’t the only ones aware of this,” Hyx said, not daring to make any excuses.
“I see. I will send a few of my men to aid you. Under no circumstances should you allow this to leak. I will handle things from my side.” The face vanished from the screen, leaving Hyx, the leader of the Althea Kingdom’s Dark Devil Church, to sigh.
Meanwhile, the face that had appeared in the mirror also left his throne room and went to a different chamber, where a certain seductive lady, whose beauty could bring the fall of nations, lay naked on a bed.
Without saying a word, he entered her inner sanctum with his dark rod, ensuring for an hour that the lady felt his might. When he finished, the lady sat on the bed before chanting something.
A few minutes later, an image of stars filled the room.
“How can I be of help today, my lord?” the lady asked.
“I need to know what happened inside the Alderford Mansion a few days ago. Specifically, I want to know who attacked them and the current location of the Atomic Divine Body,” the man said with straight and precise words.
The lady waved her hands, and a few seconds later, scenes of the attack on the Alderford Mansion appeared.
They showed the various dark figures who invaded and began killing the guards. They also depicted John Alderford turning on his own men and nearly killing his wife.
Additionally, they revealed the saintess facing off against the Three Root Sages.
The scenes showed how she nearly died but was saved by Uncle Drew. They also displayed how John died and when Lady Olive and her men retreated.
The saintess was then seen carrying Uncle Drew back to the mansion, tears streaming down her face.
However, suddenly, a new presence entered the mansion, and the stars shattered. The lady suffered a backlash, causing her to cough up blood for several minutes.
Her face turned pale, and for the first time since the man had known her, he saw fear in her eyes. A very unexpected sight.
“What happened?” he asked, supporting her in his arms.
“I received a Karmic Backlash, my lord. A presence in that place harbored good karma so immense that, had I not acted quickly, I would have died. I’m afraid my hands are tied here. I cannot help you any longer. Have a good day.”
Before the man could respond, he found himself down the hallway, naked. The lady had used the power of the stars to move him away.
Once alone in the room, she coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood before waving her hand. Three stars appeared in the room: one white, one black, and one multicolored.
“A heavenly being, a dark being, and the bearer of good karma. How is this possible?” she muttered before forming a hand seal.
The white and dark stars vanished, leaving only the multicolored one. She gazed intently at the star for a few minutes before taking a crystal from her space ring.
She injected her energy into it, revealing her cultivation at the Root Ascension stage. The crystal glowed for a few seconds before she began to speak into it.
“A variable has appeared. He or she must be located and eliminated as soon as possible.”
That day, all Oracles in the World of Sonos experienced a karmic backlash due to the oversight of one among them. However, this also alerted them to the presence of a being in their world that threatened their nature.
Those who used life energy to practice sorcery were bound to suffer now that Kent’s good karma, accumulated over countless lifetimes, had begun to influence their world.
As for the man, after dressing himself, he issued an order to his subordinates, instructing them to dispatch ten dozen Dark Mages and Assassins to the Althea Kingdom to assist his subordinate in locating and retrieving the Atomic Divine Body.
Afterward, he departed, heading to a place where he would dedicate every fiber of his being to uncover why the Oracle had failed him.
Thanks to Oracle, the past years have been smooth sailing for him. All he had to do was give her his seed through intercourse, and by harnessing the life force within, she would assist him to the best of her abilities.
For years, she had never failed. But now, things were different, and he knew that. As someone who manages an underworld organization, he was bound to have more than one way to obtain information.
Since his usual go-to Oracle could no longer help him, he would seek assistance elsewhere.
But he wasn’t the only one taking action.
The Lady, too, set out, determined to find and seduce hundreds of men over the coming months, draining them of their life force in an attempt to gain insight once again.
She had no intention of sitting back while her world crumbled. The existence of someone capable of threatening her was intolerable.
In her eyes and mind, Kent must die for her kind to survive.