Chapter 1410 The Depraved Man’s Hand II

All of the weapons and even spells of the royal guards are aimed at Adrian but the latter did not flinch. Adrian already knew that he would get that reaction if he should say it out loud but he went and did it anyway. He was already planning on what they needed to enter the Imperial City of Hinomoto and even get the sun stone without breaking a sweat.

"Stand down." Princess Shini stated but the royal guards did not accept her command immediately.

"I said, stand down!" Princess Shini stated in a more domineering voice.

All of the royal guards stood down as the other side was also ready to clash should something happen. All of the jewels that Peridot used were ready to burst out while Kabrakan was ready to go in front of Adrian should something happen. Levin Cloud was even ready to use death magic to the princess herself if the other side did not back down.

"Seeing that you made them stand down means that I am correct in my assumption." Adrian stated.

"I will neither deny nor confirm that allegation. I am curious though of the consequences of having a part of your soul missing." Princess Shini asked in a dignified manner as she radiated the aura of what a princess should have.

"Since you asked then symptoms would be different per case basis but they do have some in common. One would be the obvious lack of energy of the person affected which sometimes manifests in pale skin and looking a bit sickly. Another would be the person's intense hunger that should not be proportional to their body frame." Adrian stated.

"One more symptom would be often dazing out into the sky as if they are daydreaming always. This can also manifest into the person being absent minded despite being attentive just a few seconds before the conversation." Levin Cloud added.

With each of the symptom that Adrian and Levin Cloud gave, the expressions that the royal guards gave made it apparent. The royal guards could check all of the boxes that the two gave as they have noticed it on their master. Some of them genuinely looked worried for the princess with each symptom given.

"The most notable one would be when it is already severe is the person suddenly blanking out. At first, the interval might be long for example years, but the timeframe will shorten. It will shorten to the span of days then to hours until the person just becomes a husk of a human." Adrian stated which sent shivers down the spines of the royal guards but Princess Shini seems to be fine or at least looked fine.

"Is there anyway to cure it?" Captain Xiang asked.

"Cure? There is only one cure and that is to have that missing chunk of soul be returned. Mortals are not like gods that can just split their souls because they want to." Levin Cloud stated.

"There is another way but that one is even more unlikely to happen." Adrian muttered.

"Can we know what this other way is?" Tiangang asked.

"The reason I said that it is unlikely is due to the fact that no mortal can ever achieve it without divine intervention. The way I am saying is the person eating food that was created or grown in the underworld. There is a downside to that as any being that eats food from the underworld would also need to return to that place every so often." Adrian stated.

Any food eaten in the underworld will make any mortal become subject to that specific area. This is not only limited to mortals as even gods can be subjected to this rule. This rule was made to make sure that any being that wanders into the underworld and takes from it can never return to being normal. It is also a precaution in place to make sure that no thieves gets any idea.

"There is another way and that is by eating the Peach of Immortality. Legends say that it is a fruit that can transform a mortal into an immortal. If that happens then the person afflicted with that condition will be safe." Captain Xiang stated.

"It is foolish to think that Immortals are immune to effects like that. I said that only gods can do something like that without any side effect. Immortals are just more evolved humans and are still subject to the rules of mortals." Adrian stated with a chuckle, but the royal guards cannot believe what he said.

"Anyways, I have something more important to talk to all of you about. I reckon that all of you should hear about this as well since you were the targets of the situation earlier." Adrian stated as all of the attention shifted towards him.

"The thing that created that abomination is called the Depraved Man's Hand. Apparently, it is not only one as some beings were born with two hands. I am telling this to all of you to move carefully and with caution as this is a cursed artifact." Adrian stated and all of them went silent.

A powerful artifact that can create a powerful undying undead which can also destroy barriers created by the Soul Princess is not something the royal guards can ignore. They fear that the attack towards the princess was just a test to see if the monster created can affect the barrier created by the former.

"Princess! This is a state of emergency! What if dozens of those monsters were to attack the capital? They could melt the barrier if they are numerous in number." Captain Xiang stated.

"Do not panic Captain Xiang. You have seen that there is only one that was created earlier. I believe that should be the restriction of that cursed artifact." Princess Shini replied.

"Not really." Adrian muttered and all of them looked at him.

"Can you please enlighten us?" Princess Shini asked in a voice that quivered for a second.

"The other party seemed to not have many bodies to use for the monster. If they had more then you would not only face one of them. We also interfered immediately which is why they were only able to make one. The cursed artifact is powerful enough to create hundreds as long as the user has enough materials." Adrian stated which made everyone gulp.

"Captain, we must return to the imperial city immediately." Princess Shini commanded as Captain Xiang gathered the guards for their departure.

"Since we are also going there then may we accompany you on the way?" Adrian asked.

"I am not small minded to not give back to our helpers and you are very knowledgeable about the artifact as well. Your help will be gladly appreciated in the imperial city. I will welcome all of you as my guests." Princess Shini stated.

"Thank you very much." Adrian stated with a slight bow to hide his smirk.

All of them then departed to the Imperial City of Hinomoto without much worry on the way. It seems that the ones that attacked them have no reinforcements. They wanted to question those that were left alive after the battle, but they just killed themselves with poison. Adrian did not need to take their souls as he did not need to bother with cannon fodder.

==

"Is the Depraved Man's Hand really that powerful?" Levin Cloud asked as his two friends also joined in.

"Not only powerful but catastrophic. Its power is determined by how long it has undergone ritual sacrifice. I left it with the Anubis to determine how powerful it is so that we can prepare for the worse. If we cannot deal with that group, then the best we could do is find the sun stone and bolt out." Adrian whispered.

"Can't we seal it back again like what we did earlier?" Levin Cloud asked.

"We could if we are able to get it. You have seen the work we put just to seal one hand. What if more than ten monsters were there? Will we be able to do the same as easily? The other party is also consisting of immortals which means the mastermind must be stronger." Adrian stated as they reached the gates of the Imperial City of Hinomoto.

Just as the name suggests, the Imperial City of Hinomoto is definitely something fitting for a place where the emperor of the east lives. The walls were five stories tall while the actual gate was even laced with gold. The tallest structure could be seen even if the walls were that high which means the castle was at least three times taller than the walls.

The most notable thing in the Imperial City of Hinomoto are the four gates. Each of the gate has a golden statue of the divine beasts that represents that direction. The walls are also constantly being patrolled by imperial guards dressed in the sturdiest looking armor that seems to be made with lesser dragon scales.