Chapter 782 More Questions Than Answers

Lee Seng followed the others with Jane looped with his left arm. Lee Seng could tell Jane had taken a liking to him. He got the job done and wasn't afraid of hiding himself to anyone. She liked the 'guts' the 'kid' had. They climbed the familiar tree to the top. The inside of the tree was perfectly carved for loads of step climbing.

They followed the carpet to a large set of doors and guards saluted at James and the group. Jane saluted with her free hand and Lee Seng followed suit.

"We're here to discuss the job with the Druidess." James told the guards.

"One second, sir." Guard 1 replied. He turned and knocked on the door. He waited three seconds before slipping inside and closing the door. A few minutes go by before a knock comes to the door. The second guard turns and pushes the door open and stands at attention. The room is a large circular room with a desk looking out of a large glass window. Large tree branches and leaves cover the top as the roof and the Druidess sits with her back to the group.

"Ah, you're back so soon! I hope this means good news." The Druidess turned and greeted the group as Jane pulled Lee Seng over to the side so the Druidess could see him.

"Druidess, we are back." James salutes with his group. The Druidess waves her hand, and the entire group lowers their salute. She looks over at Lee Seng and notices his tails poking above his head.

"This is who you really are." The Druidess motioned at Lee Seng. "I don't think I've ever met someone like you. Is this your power?"

"No." Lee Seng answered. "My powers… are more complicated than my looks."

"What are you? Are you a Biohuman still or are you… something entirely different?"

"A Fox Spirit." Lee Seng answered. "A group of humanoids from another Realm. I was offered power in return for my services."

"And your services include helping us?" The Druidess asked.

"What I seek may be in your city, Druidess. The last thing I want is to shed needless blood between your people and my friends."

"You are wise beyond your years, young… Fox?" Druidess raised an eyebrow at Lee Seng. Lee Seng nodded. She stood like royalty. There was an air about her that told Lee Seng she was both 'a leader' and a 'fighter'. Her hands looked well-worn, and her body seemed in shape. "You did what you had to because you wanted this… cup? What is this cup?"

"Druidess, we should go over the job first before we talk about Lee Seng's quest." James suggested. The Druidess nodded, soaking in Lee Seng's name.

"Alright, you are all in front of me and not mad, so that must be a sure sign you've done the job, no?"

"We tracked down what was the cause of the affliction, and it turned out it stemmed from a curse." James informed the Druidess.

"A curse? Someone cursed our lands. Why?"

"It isn't like that." Lee Seng spoke up. He stepped out of line and the guard began to move at him. The Druidess raised her hand and the guard stopped. "Oh, can I not…?"

"You may." The Druidess waved. "Don't mind my men. They do their jobs well. You were saying Lee Seng…?" Lee Seng cleared his throat and nodded.

"It seems like the curses my people are familiar with, exist in this world, too." Lee Seng started. "The Curse pushed out any wildlife. That much was apparent to me, but the closer we got to where the Curse resided, it was painfully quiet. This is due to the amount of energy the Curse had gathered. Its presence was strong enough that it pushed any monsters and wildlife away. Any who dared to stay were either feasted upon or possessed."

"What curse is capable of such a thing? If you say this curse is familiar to your people, how could it come here? How are you able to come here?" The Druidess asked.

"There are pockets of energy my people can see. We use scripts to traverse the Realms. I'm not sure exactly why these curses are showing up here, but I know it exists in every Realm. The Vixen's Curse was created because there was enough curse energy around. It just happened to be that a fox trotted by and was afflicted with this energy. It became corrupt and feasted enough to shed its body entirely and became linked to the forest somehow."

"Cursed energy…" The Druidess pursed her lips, taking a moment to think. Her eyes flicked up at Lee Seng like she understood what 'cursed energy' was and turned around to grab something from the bottom drawer. "I'm sure you're familiar with our previous leader… She wielded the holiest of flames… Lady Teresa, the one you killed…" She pulled a large book out with a bunch of sticky notes in it.

"Lady Teresa… the one with the strange aura about her." Lee Seng's mind remembered her. While he was in Limbo, he finished a man's last wishes by giving her a necklace he was going to give her. Teresa had been caught in the middle of Eleven's antics and Lee Seng couldn't save her in time.

"You remember her? I didn't think a murderer would remember the dead." Eli snarkily commented. Lee Seng ignored him and focused on the book. There was a faint energy to it, but it was different from everyone in the room.

"Eleven killed her… before I could possess my body and kill him." Lee Seng sighed. "Lady Teresa… She knows something about cursed energy?" The Druidess nodded and opened the book. She flipped the pages and landed somewhere close to the middle of the filled book.

"She documented everything the Deimons told us about. Their fake promises, powers, abilities, how many of them came to this city, the transformation process and so much more." The Druidess looked up from the book. "She even goes into depth about how to harness cursed energy. If we gave ourselves into it and endured it enough, that fake promise would come true… We would become powerful beings that could manipulate dark energies no one could even imagine."

"Wielding dark energies… There are more than one?" Lee Seng whispered. The Druidess moved closer to Lee Seng and folded the book onto her finger that was set in between it. She listened as Lee Seng whispered to himself. "It would explain why cursed energy exists everywhere. Dark Matter energy is everywhere and is like Fox Spirit energy… That could mean we have dark energy we don't know yet… Would that mean—" Lee Seng looked up, just starting to speak up towards the end when the Druidess nodded.

"The Deimons always talked about harnessing both energies. They needed Biohumans who were strong and willing to give themselves up to become something better…" The Druidess handed the book over and Lee Seng went to grab it when the Druidess held it in place. "Can I trust you with this information, Fox?" Lee Seng removed his hands and took a couple steps back. Eli started to go off about how 'Lee Seng was definitely lying' when Lee Seng bowed a full ninety degrees.

"Trust me when I say I understand what you're all going through. I'm sorry she was killed. I really am." Lee Seng straightened his back after apologizing. "I've been suffering the aftereffects of what the Deimons did to me… When they found out what I was and what happened to the Deimon that tried to possess me, they grew extremely jealous and hostile. I'm a Biohuman turned Fox Spirit turned Deimon… The Deimon was killed after I tried to save him and was punished for it. I tried to save people from the reign of a Deimon and was put into a coma because of it. My friend… Her village, her grandmother – they're all dead because of what I did. Death follows me everywhere because I'm so closely connected to all of it."

It grew silent as the entire room of people took in Lee Seng's apology and information. He knew Eleven had done things he didn't even know of. He was in this mess because he was so closely tied to a Deimon who was killed… All because his father and mother were probably involved in some way, shape or form. The Druidess eventually took a step forward and handed him the book.

"You are wise to not lie in my presence." The Druidess quietly spoke. "Take the book and learn something I haven't been able to learn from it. Maybe it'll give you more of the puzzle pieces for the future." Lee Seng took the book and gave a small bow. The Druidess took a step back, sucking in a breath of air and slowly letting it go. She folded her arms together and thought some more. "I don't know what Lady Teresa was really doing. I question everyday if it was worth losing so many people to the Deimons… Even with this moment added onto it… Is it all worth it? So, Fox –"

"Lee Seng. You can call me Lee Seng, Druidess." Lee Seng interjected.

"So, Lee Seng… You've done us a service by getting rid of the Curse that plagued us for years. You and your friends are welcome to stay in the city whenever you are near as a token of gratitude. That book shall be your payment. Maybe you can figure something out that I haven't been able to…. And when you do, come see me. I'm interested in what you learn." The Druidess smiled at him, and the doors opened. "Take our guest and his friends and put them in one of our empty homes. They can rest there for as long as they stay. I remember you said you had to find a cup. If I can be of any service, do let me know."

"Thank you, Druidess." Lee Seng bowed.