Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya did not touch the Essence Orb again.
However, the Essence Orb seemed to be aware that it was soon going to be taken back to the East Guardian Tower. It started rolling on its own.
There was an opening to the drainage by the road. The Essence Orb was planning to roll into it and escape through the sewage system.
Clearly, the creature’s movements were greatly hindered in the form of the orb. It needed to live in other organisms as a parasite to utilize its capabilities.
If it rolled into the drainage and attached itself to a rat, it was possible that it would turn into a terrifying rat beast!
Mo Fan would not allow the thing to bring any harm to the world. He locked his gaze on the orb and used his will to forcibly roll the orb back!
“Telekinesis?” Mochizuki Chihaya was startled. She glanced at Mo Fan with wide eyes.
“What telekinesis? You’ve imagined it,” Mo Fan smiled, trying to cover it up.
Mochizuki Chihaya was still in a trance. She agreed she might have seen it wrong. Mo Fan was only an Advanced Magician, thus it was impossible for him to have so many Elements…
The evil Essence Orb that was rolled back to its initial spot seemed quite furious. It began to vibrate vigorously.
However, none of that mattered, as Mochizuki Ken had finally arrived from the West Guardian Tower.
The old man with a mustache walked up to Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya. His eyes glittered as he stared at the Essence Orb on the ground for a long time!
The Essence Orb seemed to be afraid of Mochizuki Ken. It stayed motionless, as if it was just a normal black orb.
Mochizuki Ken went forward and wrapped a silver piece of cloth around it.
Mochizuki Ken was a reputable Magician in Osaka. He dismissed the police and the City Hunters, before returning to the West Guardian Tower with Mochizuki Chihaya and Mo Fan.
It was obvious that Mochizuki Ken had managed to keep the news under control, to prevent it from being made known to Commander Takagi.
——
Mochizuki Ken brought Mo Fan and Mochizuki Chihaya to a room with an open ceiling. The light emitted by the moon and the stars sprinkled down upon the room and lit up the place off the decorations hanging on the walls. It felt like they were sitting in a vast, magnificent galaxy, enjoying a bath under the light of the moon and the stars.
Mochizuki Chihaya was on her knees on the wooden floor, her hair dangling to the sides with her head lowered, like a girl who had done something wrong yet was not afraid to be punished.
Mo Fan was sitting on the ground too, observing the decorations on the walls.
Mochizuki Ken was sitting under the light of the moon with his back facing the two. He looked extremely stern.
“Chihaya, I’m very disappointed,” said Mochizuki Ken.
“I’m aware of my mistake.” Mochizuki Chihaya did not dare to raise her voice.
“Even if you found out that Iwata was locked in the East Guardian Tower, you should have investigated the whole incident first. With your reckless move, even if everything is exactly what you assumed to be, it would only make the situation worse,” said Mochizuki Ken.
“I had no idea who to ask, if even the loyal Iwata was now imprisoned in the East Guardian Tower…” said Mochizuki Chihaya while lowering her head further.
“So you chose to believe him?” said Mochizuki Ken.
Mochizuki Chihaya looked at Mo Fan and fell silent.
“I’m an outsider, so there’s no way I’ll allow myself to be caught infighting. That being said, old man Mochizuki, can you explain to us what this evil thing is first? I believe you already knew about its existence…” said Mo Fan.
“Every human has a soul, and the cultivation of Magicians focuses on refining the soul. The stronger the soul is, the stronger the Magician is. However, a human soul isn’t pure. The East Guardian Tower is under the effect of a curse that drains away the souls of the evil Magicians, but it won’t cleanse the hatred, evil, greed, anger, and desires of their soul… and on top of that, the East Guardian Tower also has a dark formation. Such an environment allows evil thoughts to grow, and ends up turning into the orb you saw,” said Mochizuki Ken.
“Japan is indeed a weird place. Vessels have demons inside them, and even a prison can give birth to a demon too!” murmured Mo Fan.
“Luckily, you managed to stop Chihaya in time. Otherwise, a new Red Demon would soon be born in Japan,” said Mochizuki Ken.
“Red Demon?” Mo Fan was confused.
“We call them Red Demons. Their souls are different than those of most creatures; they are dark red. Every organism that is controlled by them will leave a dark red evil mark after their death!” said Mochizuki Ken.
Mochizuki Chihaya nodded too. Her eyes were able to see the souls of the pedestrians when she was attacking them. On top of that, when her plants took control of them, it turned out that their souls were stamped with a dark red seal, as if they had signed a contract with a devil!
A dark red soul mark!
Mo Fan rose from the ground, shivering.
The soul of a living organism, be it a demon creature, a ghost or a devil spirit was either blue or green when they died. There had never been a red soul!
However, Mo Fan clearly remembered that Leng Qing had mentioned the strange dark red mark inside the soul of Lingling’s father when he was murdered. The same thing had happened when the vampire Nie Dong was killed!
“Old man, did a Red Demon escape from the East Guardian Tower before?!” asked Mo Fan with a stern face.
Mochizuki Ken shuddered. He turned around in shock and stared at Mo Fan, who had just asked the question suddenly.
Mochizuki Chihaya rose to her feet too. She did not understand why Mo Fan was so agitated.
The expression on the old man’s face stiffened. His brown eyes were trembling in fear of the past.
“How…how did you know that?” Mochizuki Ken fixed his gaze on Mo Fan.
The last Red Demon had been a nightmare haunting Mochizuki Ken for his entire life. Even after so many years, Mochizuki Ken would still wake up in cold sweat when he dreamed about what happened that night!
It was true that a Red Demon did escape from the East Guardian Tower many years ago. Until now, the old guardians of the tower had not dared to tell anyone about it!
He never thought a student from China would expose the secret that they had tried to keep for so many years.
Mochizuki Chihaya was startled. She had experienced how terrifying the Red Demon was first hand, and to her surprise, the East Guardian Tower had let something so dangerous and terrifying escape!