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After decimating the Shadow Snakes, Frank, and everyone else walked back to their Manor through the shadows of the night after stealing all the valuable things they found inside the property and the underground area by Dhuja's guidance.
Within the depths of Yurei's interior, the group finally relaxed, although most of them walked back to their rooms to go to sleep, Frank, Gwendolyn, Cathyl, and Vheslia stayed with Dhuja to ask her everything she knew about… well, everything.
As Dhuja had become fascinated with Frank, she happily talked about anything she knew about the criminal organizations, such as the Lone Wolves which was the strongest over all of the city with Akron, a Rank 5 as the leader, and about the other smaller organizations and branches, which Frank had sent Zero and her squad to take care of over the rest of the night and the next days to come.
Afterward, she spoke about what she knew about the Eastgrande Family.
"Oh, that family of rotten aristocrats? Indeed, they were my best clients this whole time! You wouldn't believe how many cultivation materials and all types of gadgets they bought from me…" she said.
"Oh? Was Gustav involved?" asked Frank, as Henrietta, Gustav's little sister who had died by his own hands hovered at Frank's side.
"Did my brother bought such things?" she asked worriedly.
"Indeed, my lord. It was Gustav Eastgrande who bought them in large bulks of materials! I was very surprised at first, to tell you the truth. Although his intentions were actually to simply serve his master, the red-skinned demoness, Danya," said Dhuja.
"Danya? So that was the name of the demon!" said Henrietta.
"The Demon that has been with Gustav? Since when she appeared?" asked Frank.
"Oh, for a long time now, more than two years, I believe. Since she showed up that she had been at the side of that man. She seems to have brainwashed him and made him into a pawn. An easy slave that she can use to gather materials. Her power is of a Rank 5, but she conceals such an Aura through special Spells… Her Attribute is mainly fire, but she has many Mana Cores inside her body to conjure more Spells," said Dhuja.
"So she's a Rank 5…" said Cathyl.
"Well, we can still beat her easily…" said Vheslia.
"So my brother was brainwashed… then… did he killed me due to her orders?" asked Henrietta.
"Hm… Are you perhaps Henrietta Eastgrande?" asked Dhuja.
"Yeah! That's me! I can't believe you don't recognize my beauty, which is an obvious trait of me being from my family," said Henrietta.
"Indeed. Danya told me about you, she said that she had killed a little cat that was not minding her own business and spying on what she and Gustav were doing… At that time I really didn't care at all, she often speaks a lot of nonsensical things… But I guess she was refereeing to you, little girl," said Dhuja.
"So she's the culprit behind my death… I can't believe she would force my brother to kill his own sister… This is awful, so awful! What a damned woman…" sighed Henrietta, she seemed frustrated, so Frank began to heal her with his Mana until she calmed down.
"Sadly, that seems to be the case, young lady…" said Dhuja half-teasingly.
"But what does this woman wants from all of this? Reach Rank 6? Why is she going to such extents? And how was she able to brainwash a member of the prestigious Eastgrande Family like that…? What about the other family members?" asked Gwendolyn.
"Do you know anything else regarding her family?" asked Frank.
"Hmmm… Indeed. She had brainwashed most of the family at this point… but it is not like brainwashing were to be a power that could be easily acquired through the use of Fire Attribute. Fire Attribute is often more aggressive and offensive, it could also be used for defense and healing, but it often for offense… Do you think that she's alone?" asked Dhuja.
"Go to the point Dhuja…" said Frank.
"Ah! Sorry, my lord, I was just trying to be a little bit playful, suspense has always been my favorite thing-"
"Just go on…" sighed Frank.
"Y-Yes! Anyways, as I said, the Demoness Danya comes from the Demon Kingdom far away from here, she had been walking through a long journey until she finally reached Westwind, the place where her plans which she had been scheming for many years could finally come to fruition… These plans are regarding the crystal ball she always holds with her…" said Dhuja.
"Crystal ball…?" asked Henrietta.
"This Crystal Ball contains the soul of an entity from the past… From the Ancient Era thousands of years ago. When Magus roamed the world freely and fought for supremacy constantly. The Era of Sects, where many experts were born, and where many reached Rank 6 and even Rank 7 and more! The Era was the Ancient Sages existed…" said Dhuja.
"The Ancient Era… I have heard about it, that's the last Era before the Gods were to wake up when the Magus reached the pinnacle many times… But after the Demon King emerged, all of them died at the end…" said Frank, who knew more or less all of that from the memories of the Gods.
In such Era, some had reached Rank 9 which were named the Ancient Sages, there were only five of them, but their names were often not so remembered as of now due to the Gods suppressing their worship.
"So the entity within the crystal ball is an old-timer then? An old demon from the past… I am guessing that he controls her?" asked Frank.
"It is just as my lord is guessing. Although I never heard his name, it is definitely a "he" as she calls him "lord" all the time. This entity seems to be but the soul of the original Magus. She is gathering materials to uphold a ritual to revive him… She already has the Jewel of Eternal Life, and is seeking the Tree of Rebirth next…" said Dhuja.
"So she has the Jewel of Eternal Life…" said Frank, who began to immediately consider going there and stealing it right away.
"My lord, bear in my mind that Danya is a very cunning woman, perhaps even more than I was. And the entity she has with her has guided and taught her many things, don't think that she won't be prepared for a raid at her hideout, which is located within the underground of the Eastgrande Family Territory…" said Dhuja.
"Additionally, I don't know how much this might be true, but there might be another force hidden within that place as well, another entity that I have faintly sensed some nights weeks ago… You must be careful my lord, and not be reckless…" said Dhuja.
"Hmm… Anything else?" asked Frank.
"Akron is also trying to get the artifacts of the Life and Nature Gods and has been negotiating with Gustav for months now but it has never come to anything, it seems that Danya is using him to bring her more materials… But I believe Akron will soon get tired of waiting ad will assault the place… He has patience, but when he finally loses it… He's a man to be afraid of…" said Dhuja.
"So even that man wants the artifacts?! Ugh, what a pain…" sighed Vheslia.
"What'll we do, Frank?" asked Gwendolyn.
"It would be for the best if we could grab the Jewel for ourselves as fast as possible… But as Dhuja says, we need to prepare… For now, let's go to sleep, and tomorrow morning we'll begin preparations," said Frank, as everyone nodded.
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