Chapter 215 Purgatory

"Keuk…"

Looking at the Bounty Hunter that I am currently choking, I find it funny how powerless he is. He is trying his best to pry my hand off his neck to no avail. He reminded me of my previous self. Though, not as strong, two months ago, I was in his position.

It is as satisfying as it is surreal knowing that I am lucky enough to have an absurd growth. Had it not been the case, I wouldn't be able to trample those bastards called "Heroes."

"Who leaked my position?" I ask neutrally, which sounds terrifying for the Bounty Hunter.

"W-We followed you…!" he answers with difficulty.

"Don't bullshit me, dude. If you had followed me, you would have known who I really am."

Even with my hand grasping his neck tightly, the Bounty Hunter still has enough passion to heatedly say, "I know! A cocky bastard…trying to be Hero!"

"Well, you don't know me then." I tighten my hold, blocking his windpipe even further. "Now, let's talk for real, shall we? Who was your informant?"

The guy merely glares at me without saying anything. His veins are popping up; his face is red from the blood building up. I wait for a few seconds to see what he will do. His eyes slowly roll the back of his head soon after and that is the cue for him to speak.

He taps my hand, prompting me to loosen my hold. His red face slowly regains its color as he breathes in a huge amount of air. He doesn't immediately speak. He spends his time coughing and filling his lungs with as much air as he could.

"Black Merchants are selling your information for a high price. No one will buy it normally but the prize that is put on your head is too mouthwatering to ignore," the guy confesses. "No one exactly knows where you are going but they already recognize you—the Black Merchant."

"Ho-oh? They know how to run their businesses, eh? Who issued the prize money for my head?"

"The Noble…"

"What about the Kingdom?"

"They are still quiet about it."

The reason why a detailed explanation of my appearance is not published yet is the fact that the Kingdom still has no interest in me. This, in turn, allows the Black Merchant to monopoly the information about me: selling it to Bounty Hunters while keeping it a secret from the public.

What they do doesn't affect me at all—people are bound to recognize me either way—but my money-grubbing ass cannot accept it. Someone is profiting off of me and I don't even get a percentage!

"How much is my head worth?"

"200,000 Gold."

Hearing the amount of money the Noble put on my head, I can't help considering faking my death and then claiming the prize money myself. 200,000 Gold is equivalent to 100,000,000 Peculia, which is equivalent to $200,000,000—it is a boggling amount of money.

"How many people want me dead?"

"All of the Viscounts, Counts, and Marquesses."

"Ho-oh? So, it means people are chasing after me while we are here chatting, huh?" I remark to myself. "Then, how much do you have to pay for my information?"

"20,000 Gold."

I have decided; I need to get these Black Merchants to pay me too. I don't mind being chased by people but I hate it if someone is profiting off of me by creating that scenario. I will get the pay I deserve, so it will be a win-win for both of us.

"H-Hey…can you—"

"No."

Crack!

I knew what the guy wanted to ask, so I kindly rejected his ridiculous request and snapped his neck. I drop his body to the ground and then burn it along with the bodies of the other Bounty Hunters. Turning to the east, I look at the situation of the town. The explosion noises have lessened, so the situation must be under control.

Since I am curious about how the Lost Soul is created, instead of coming back, I run to the south, where the Mana Vein is located. It is just 50 Absitan away; it only takes me 15 minutes to reach there. Yes, I can run at 400 Mph or 200 Aph nonstop without using any Spells.

Upon reaching there, the first thing I notice is how red and fiery the place is. The ground is constantly shooting out fire like it is a geyser. There is no gas whatsoever here; there are only fire and molten rocks. Aside from the non-existence of flammable gas, everything suits my expectation.

I look around and try to locate the creator of the Lost Soul. I am expecting to see a Lost Soul in the making; however, much to my disappointment, I can't see it even after looking around.

"Has the Mana Vein stopped its production after producing those Lost Souls in the town?" I wonder.

Sighing to myself, I walk forward, stepping my foot on the burning ground. It is hot but not unbearable. Spreading my Mana, I scan for the exact location of the Mana Vein. Much to my surprise, instead of sensing a huge amount of Mana, I sense a huge amount of Nature Energy.

"Hey, Luxia…this is only an assumption but…do you think that there is—"

"Yes. This land doesn't contain a Mana Vein but an Earth Essence," Luxia confirms my assumption.

Mana Vein is not the only thing that can affect the environment. In terms of affecting the environment, in fact, Earth Essence, the accumulated Energy of a Forest Spirit does a better job.

What it doesn't do, however, is destroy the environment. Earth Essence that destroys the environment belongs to a corrupted Forest Spirit, which is what this desert contains.

"Can I extract it?"

"Of course, you can, but what will you do with it? Just to let you know, I can't absorb it."

"Doesn't mean I can't," I retort.

Luxia sighs, finding the notion stupid. "If you want to be a living torch so much, I won't stop you."

"Nah, I am good," I quickly reconsider what I am going to do. "I don't want to be a knockoff Ghost Rider, or should I say Spirit Rider?"

"O-Oh…you sound so eager to ride me. Just…w-wait for a bit longer. You will—"

"What the fuck are you talking about, Luxia?"

Despite having come to her sense, Luxia is still corrupted, it seems. I have only met two Forest Spirits so far but I can say for sure she is the only one who likes to incorporate innuendos into the conversation.

It is not the first time she has done that, so I drop the matter and move on to do what I am going to do: extracting the Earth Essence of the Corrupted Spirit that this desert contains. I half run, following the direction my sense is bringing me to.

The closer I get to the position of the Earth Essence, the stronger the Nature Energy and the hotter the air gets. After three minutes of half running, I finally reach the place where the Earth Essence is located.

Much to my amusement, it is not contained in the ground. Something else is containing it and it is the Corrupted Spirit itself, whom I thought had died.

"Well, look at that big boy."

The Corrupted Spirit is a 21 feet tall, muscular giant with stone-like skin that is decorated with shiny, vermillion veins which, I assume, are filled with lava. The giant has a skull-like head and it is the only part of its body that doesn't have any lava-containing veins.

Hot steam comes out of its mouth as it turns to me. It drops the burning stone in its hand, attracting my interest. In the next moment, something comes out of it. It is a Lost Soul that is ready to pull a kamikaze upon being close to its target.

Clack. Clack.

Its skull rattles as it opens its mouth. It points its finger at me, making me wonder what it is going to say. Much to my humorous ire, it can't speak. It can only clatter its teeth as if hoping I will understand what it means.

"Translator!" I nudge Luxia.

"Do you think we, Forest Spirits, speak like that?" she retorts snarkily.

"Well, it is worth trying." I shrug.

Extending my hand to the side, I take Rexorem out of the Bond Seal. The Corrupted Spirit immediately stops clattering its teeth and retracts its hand. Its burning red irises shine even brighter as its Mana becomes more violent. It then extends its hand to the side, creating a gigantic sword out of the earth. Funnily enough, it resembles Rexorem's shape.

"Hey, this Corrupted Spirit is a comedian," I say funnily.

Boom!

"Well…a tough comedian."

Looking at the deep crater the Corrupted Spirit made on the ground, I immediately get serious. It hasn't used any of its Mana yet but it is already enough to produce such a strength. On top of it, it moves at an unimaginable speed for its size. If I get careless, I will end up in pieces.

Making a distance from the Spirit, I use [Senbonzakura] and create ten thousand petals of cherry blossoms. I am about to scatter them in the air when I feel a huge Mana Pressure under the ground.

A hand comes out of the ground, grabbing my foot soon after. I immediately surround myself with the petals and then jump into the air.

Boom!

The Lost Soul explodes but it doesn't harm me in the slightest. Still, the fact that the Corrupted Spirit can fight with its head makes me excited.