Chapter 1409 The Depraved Man’s Hand I

The Anubis explained how the Depraved Man's Hand is created and Adrian paled when he learned the process. The Depraved Man's Hand is created by having a killer that ended innocent lives become a living saint by other people. The killer must be worshipped until they die as their body is preserved.

There would then be one ritual sacrifice for at least one hundred years where innocent lives are used. The Depraved Man's Hand will become more powerful as long as the ritual is still performed. When the artifact creator is satisfied then they would wrap the hand of the killer in special fabric that can preserve the energy of the faith given to it.

"The fact that something like the Depraved Man's Hand was made in the mortal realm is truly worrying and it has been undetected by even the other gods of death. The only plausible reason for this to happen is that a god is the culprit." The Anubis stated.

"You mean to say that the Depraved Man's Hand is not an artifact that was stolen in the underworld?" Adrian asked.

"All the Depraved Man's Hands that was confiscated back then were all destroyed by the God Abaddon as it is truly an item that could even affect his control over the souls of the damned." The Anubis stated.

"But how can a god interfere with the detection when it is only recently that gods are able to descend as demigods. The process that you told me meant that it will take at least a hundred years minimum for the Depraved Man's Hand to be made." Adrian stated.

"Gods are being that could trick causality as long as they know how to get around it. It might be a wild assumption but there must have been a god that descended into the mortal realm by sealing their powers to the level of a mortal." The Anubis stated.

"Then which of the gods are crazy enough to do that? From what I remember, gods and goddesses are prideful beings that see their divinity as part of themselves. The fact that one or more of them could easily give it up to end up with a  mortal shell is crazy. They could actually die as a mortal if they did that as they would be subjected to mortal rules as well." Adrian stated.

"It is very hard to believe but I have a feeling or rather a hunch on a group of gods that might be able to pull something like this off." The Anubis stated.

"Can you tell me? It might just be your hunch but it is better than nothing." Adrian stated.

"There are gods called Tricksters. From what the name suggests, they are gods that like to pull tricks but tricks made by gods are not the same as those done by mortals. The most noteworthy thing is that the Trickster Gods are the ones that know the effects of causality the most as they are the ones that are always testing its limits.

It might be my hunch as I do not view Trickster Gods in a good light. They are the ones that can make something like the Depraved Man's Hand appear in the mortal realm where records of it are destroyed. If something out of the ordinary happens, they are usually the ones that are behind the scenes." The Anubis stated as it seems to have some experience with Trickster Gods.

"Can you guys confront them at least?" Adrian asked.

"I am afraid that will no longer be in our jurisdiction as we only concern ourselves with the dead." The Anubis stated.

"Is there really no chance? Like is there no summit where all the gods attend or anything?" Adrian asked as there are stories of gods meeting with one another and partying.

"You are very knowledgeable of the affairs of gods. They do have an event called the Summit of the Gods where all gods that are part of the world are required to attend. We might be able to confirm our suspicions if one of the gods are absent there." The Anubis stated.

"Then when will it be held?" Adrian asked.

"Unfortunately, the Summit of the Gods is not an event that is held annually in the mortal timeline. It is only held in a hundred years time when converted to the time of mortals. The next one will be ten years from now if one is to be held." The Anubis stated.

"Then the culprit for the Depraved Man's Hand must have planned it carefully ever since the last summit then. It is all too coincidental for something like a well monitored dangerous artifact to be hidden from the divine senses of the gods. Whoever planned this has thought out everything very carefully." Adrian stated.

"There are exceptions for the Summit of the Gods to happen. Such exceptions are when punishing a god as the other gods will judge on the severity of the punishment or when the world is about to come to an end." The Anubis added.

"Great! Where can I find a god being punished then. It is not like mortals can see the affairs of gods." Adrian stated sarcastically.

"Anyways, brief me on the findings that you get from that immortal's soul. I need to return back to the mortal realm as my friends are still waiting for me." Adrian stated as he opened the door.

"Arbiter! I should warn you that there is not only one Depraved Man's Hand. If they used a mortal man's hand, then there could be two in existence." The Anubis stated which made Adrian's ear perk.

"You mean to say there is another one when we barely felt the signature of the other one. We only happened to get a read on it by chance as the container was faulty. The fact that there is another one is a great danger to the mortal world. Thanks for the information. I shall get you the treats… I mean the biscuits in my next visit." Adrian stated as he hurriedly returned to the mortal world.

==

Levin Cloud finished curing all the wounds of the guards that the Soul Princess had. They even marveled at how masterfully he has done it. Sometimes they would have scars left from their encounters but Levin Cloud even made their skin spotless. This made him a favorite to the female guards as they could also feel that their skin became even smoother.

Even some of the female guards that were not injured heavily came to him for treatment. He did not decline as it is very easy for him to heal them as his body has been back to normal. The last one that he healed was Princess Shini and he immediately made a complicated face when he checked on her.

"Is there something wrong?" Princess Shini asked.

"There is something wrong but there isn't. I cannot put my finger on what is the problem. Let me heal you fully first as it seems that you were injured earlier." Levin Cloud stated as he healed Princess Shini.

Everything went well as the Princess Shini could be seen with no injuries or bruises. Her skin even had a healthy glow on it when he finished the session. He checked again but there is something else that he feels wrong.

"Her soul is damaged or rather a bit incomplete." Adrian stated as he suddenly appeared before them.

"What do you mean by that?" Levin Cloud stated but the royal guards suddenly became up in arms.

Adrian saw the reaction of the guards and immediately shifted the space that they are in to make sure that no outside noise can be heard. The royal guards felt something happen in the space around them which made their alarm bells ring. The being in front of them is not someone they can easily mess with.

"Captain, tell the other guards to check the perimeter." Princess Shini stated.

"As your will." Captain Xiang replied as he already knew what the princess wanted.

All the guards were sent to check the perimeter as they must not know what Adrian will say. He then reduced the size of the spatial shift to make sure that only his friends, Princess Shini and the princess' royal guards are inside.

"What do you mean her soul is incomplete?" Peridot asked as she does not know about states of souls and such.

"I did not know what the princess did, but her soul is not completely whole. I am guessing it is related to the fact that her ability to erect barriers is directly related to her soul. She does not feed mana into her barriers but use her own soul's energy.

I got to say it is very powerful since the energy of one's soul can rival a sun if strong enough. If I am not mistaken then the barrier covering the Imperial City of Hinomoto is actually made using that missing chunk as a catalyst." Adrian surmised as all of the royal guards pulled their weapons.