Chapter 1178: Red Dread

Chapter 1178: Red Dread

In the middle of the elven port city of Cau Bungha, there was an inconspicuous toy shop called ‘Elf on a Shelf’. This store had been around for quite some time, and dealt in handcrafted dolls for children. Although the store itself was not all that popular, it had never shown any signs of financial trouble. Though, this could easily be attributed to the fact that the storeowner was a god, allowing them to pay with their own divinity.

This god, William Dyson, was a kitsune God of Collections. This wasn’t that uncommon of a domain, as many people believed that they would be able to gain extra divinity if they gathered a meaningful collection that people acknowledged. For most, these collections took forms like magic cards, artifacts, or monster pets. Whenever anyone asked William what he collected, he said that it was his dolls.

One day, the bell above the door rang to signal a customer, and William lifted his head with his trademark smile. “Greetings! Welcome to Elf on a Shelf! Feel free to look around at your leisure!”

The customer, a redheaded lycan, gave a big, toothy grin. “That’s fine. I already know what I’m looking for.”

William looked at the customer, a flicker of recognition in his eyes, though he quickly concealed it. “Of course, of course! What would you like, then?” Naturally, William recognized the Red Shadow, having observed him in secret in the past. However, he had never revealed his true appearance to the man, and had ensured that nobody alive among the ninjas knew what he looked like in the present day.

However, the Red Shadow’s eyes were locked onto him, his grin stretching out as if to split his face in two. Crimson smoke began to drift away from his body, and William felt as if his ki was being seized. “You are going to be the greatest gift to the Lady in Red.”

William clicked his tongue, realizing that there was no point in playing dumb. “Now now, no need for violence.” He said, snapping his finger. A white light flashed through the room, and he began to casually gather his things after feeling that his ki was no longer being targeted.

“Looks like I’ll need to set up somewhere else. Perhaps Hanbei would welcome me. Surely the psycho wouldn’t dare touch the territory of Elisae.” He muttered to himself, heading out the back door.

“Why not?” The voice of the Red Shadow spoke again, causing William to freeze. He was certain that the Red Shadow wouldn’t be able to respond for at least a few more moments, so long as he didn’t make any hostile actions. “Did you think you’d be getting away that easily?”

“I had certainly hoped.” The Collector, William said with a long sigh. “Look, buddy, I have no desire to fight with you, and I’m certain you don’t really want me to get serious. Let’s just end things here, and let bygones be bygones.”

In truth, William would indeed like to add the Red Shadow to his collection, but he knew that it was incredibly unlikely to happen. In order for someone to be added to his collection, they needed to be in a state where they couldn’t resist him. If their energy flowed too chaotically, it would break the ability before it fully settled. Meanwhile, the Red Shadow’s energy was in a constant state of activity.

Perhaps that’s why he overcame White’s light, because he is constantly in danger... from himself. William thought it over, while his opponent simply cackled.

Sure enough, a red portal opened a few moments later, and the Red Shadow stepped out, looking completely unphased. Before William could ask how he had escaped the abyss, his answer came in the form of dozens of similar portals opening. From each portal, another Red Shadow emerged.

I need to identify his real body, or this will never end. He thought to himself, sending forth his undead horde while trying to recall if there was anyone in his collection with the skills to help him here. Meanwhile, his undead horde was being quite literally dismantled, reduced to nothing but piles of broken bones.

Unfortunately, the Collector didn’t have access to a god that had the Ki domain or anything similar. If he did, it would be a simple matter to defeat the Red Shadow.

Without a word, the Collector channeled the power of the King in Silence. This was undoubtedly one of the strongest pieces in his collection. It was also how he had saved his shop and sent the Red Shadow into a star earlier. His eyes flashed, and the front line of enemies suddenly turned to stone, only to be broken without a care by those behind them.

Furrowing his brow, the next wave dissolved into water, but still more portals emerged. How many avatars did he create!? The Collector thought to himself in desperation.

As that thought crossed his mind, he felt his body jerk, a sickening crunch coming from his chest. Looking down, he saw a hand piercing clean through his body, wrapped in red energy. Divinity leaked from the wound like blood, the Collector’s eyes were wide.

“Oh, great Lady in Red. I have found the promised sacrifice.” The man standing behind William spoke in a reverent tone, his ki flooding through William’s body and tearing it apart from the inside. “Accept this humble offering, this collector of the unique.”

As the Red Shadow finished his prayer, the skies above shifted, turning blood red. Seeing this, the Red Shadow’s eyes lit up with glee. “She has accepted my prayer!” He called out, laughing like a madman. “The great goddess has acknowledged my faith!”

William’s eyes shook as he looked at the phenomenon in the sky, before a pillar of red light crashed down onto the island. From within the pillar, a small figure in a red dress emerged, her crimson hair flowing behind her. Similarly red eyes locked onto the fighting duo, annoyance evident in her gaze.

“I have done my best to ignore you all this time.” She said coldly, as one by one, the avatars scattered through the islands began to pop like balloons. “Your wickedness knows no bounds, and your sanity was lost long ago. I have not acknowledged your faith. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with you for years. For a while, I thought that ignoring you was the best answer. Maybe you’d get the hint. But no, here we are.”

William tried to speak, but his words wouldn’t come. He was still channeling the King in Silence, so he was unable to speak. Scarlet glared at him, snapping her fingers. William vanished, appearing next to Scarlet, the hole in his chest rapidly closing.

Afterwards, she turned to look at the Red Shadow again, who was frozen in place, his body unable to move. “You disgust me. Any punishment I could ever think to give, I knew you would only see as a blessing or a trial. The one time I looked into your mind, I felt sickened by the thoughts I saw. But now? I don’t care! I don’t care if you like the fact that you’re going to die. But I will not be absorbing your ki. I wouldn’t want your energy even if I was on the verge of death. I will feed you to the most horrific beasts in creation, and let them have your ki. Maybe then you’ll realize just how pathetic you are.”

Scarlet stretched her hand forward, clenching her fist. Space seemed to ripple around the Red Shadow’s body, Vaguely, black tendrils covered in triangular teeth could be seen emerging from the ripples in space, before the man’s body completely disappeared. After dealing with him, Scarlet turned to look at William, her eyes narrowed. “As for you. Don’t think we’re not aware of you. If you don’t want to join him, there are some people that you will be releasing from your collection. Otherwise, they’ll all get released when you die, anyways.”