Chapter 544: Reason for Hunting!

Chapter 544: The Reason for the Hunt!

The originally joyous and harmonious atmosphere instantly plunged to a freezing point the moment Alfred uttered those words.

"Woof, woof, woof!"

Kevin barked excitedly as he spun rapidly in circles on the spot, running so fast he nearly left an afterimage.

If these words were to reach Karen's ears, would there still be any hope for him to unseal the next layer for the rest of his life?

In contrast to Kevin's emotional breakdown, Alfred appeared exceedingly calm, even taking care to use a pair of small tweezers to drop a sugar cube into his coffee cup before gently stirring it with a small spoon.

Humans, after all, are prone to change, and the more positive aspect of that change is growth.

From his earliest days of absolute confidence when he believed he could fight Dis to a standstill,

to the time he broke into a cold sweat upon hearing Dis say he had a slight cough because he used a forbidden curse,

and finally to the moment he witnessed Master Dis condense fragments of a divine persona as easily as drinking water before sealing an evil god inside the body of a dog, a sight that left him paralyzed on the ground in terror.

If, upon leaving Ruilan for Vien, Karen was merely a handsome, proper young man with some experience working at a funeral parlor, then Alfred was much the same—essentially the "radio sprite" nickname that Purr had given him;

now, however, he could aid his young master by keeping one eye explicitly fixed upon Raniedal.

This was a warning, a very blunt and explicit one, perhaps even a bit forced, manufactured solely for the sake of giving a warning;

Alfred knew this, and Kevin knew it just as well;

if warning a dog sounded somewhat unseemly, then warning an evil god elevated the sophistication of the act entirely.

Kevin finally ceased his spinning, staring at Alfred as he began to pant.

Alfred bent down, mimicking Philomena's earlier posture, and met Kevin's gaze directly:

"Some jobs just need to be done by someone, you know, and I do these things for the young master, speaking of which, don't I resemble how you used to be just a little?"

Kevin shook his canine head, signaling a negation.

"Oh, true enough, you weren't involved with the Church of Order back then, but how should I put it, the things you did for the God of Order back then are probably the same kinds of things I am bound to do now."

Kevin's ears drooped.

Alfred reached out and grasped the leash wrapped around Kevin's neck:

"I want peace of mind, you want peace of mind, we all want peace of mind, and in the future murals, if there is no room left in the young master's hands, at worst I will just hold your leash and stand behind him.

You see, you have witnessed my sincerity, in the murals I design, there has always been a place reserved for you."

Kevin's ears pricked up once more.

Alfred extended his arm, wrapping it around Kevin's neck, and gently patted the dog's back with his palm:

"But what is the prerequisite, you understand.

Now then, teach Philomena well, the young master needs truly powerful individuals by his side who can hold their own, and on that front, I am somewhat lacking."

"Woof."

"Oh, you mean the Compasini burial ground was visited for my sake? Yes, indeed, that was the young master's reward for my loyalty, you too can dream of such a day arriving, can you not?

After all, working for the God of Order is quite different from working for a God of Order who has not yet become the God of Order.

Think of the moon in your heart, Raniedal.

You once pursued the forbidden mysteries of time, and I believe you actually succeeded, for though you failed to return to the past, you have gained a new beginning."

Kevin tilted his head, his eyes filled with deep thought, before suddenly shaking his head violently to look at Alfred in astonishment, for he realized that the man before him had just enacted a "mental intrusion" upon him.

"Very well, I shall go help the young master prepare the items required for the unsealing ceremony, the young master said last night that he would unseal you today."

Alfred walked out of the room.

Kevin sat silently upon his dog cushion, his paws idly pawing at the carpet beneath him, tearing at the loose threads until they were just as tangled as his current state of mind.

At times, he himself could not entirely discern his own thoughts, for neither man nor god could remain forever clear-headed.

Unsure of how long he had sat there in a daze, Purr's silhouette flitted past the doorway before backing up.

"Stupid dog, we are going to have afternoon tea!"

Hearing Purr's voice, Kevin immediately stood up, shook his body, and ran to Purr's side to bounce slightly in place, as if revving an engine.

With immense familiarity, Purr leapt gracefully through the air, landing squarely on Kevin's back.

In Kevin's eyes, the moments spent playing and fooling around with Purr were when he felt most relaxed, a time when he could think of nothing and care about nothing, content to just be a stupid dog.

"Target restaurant, charge, meow!"

"Woof!"

...

"Madam, when was this sent over?"

Karen asked as he held the painting in his hands, admiring it.

"It was this morning."

"Very well, I understand."

The painting depicted a young man and woman riding together on a single horse across a green lawn.

The setting of the lawn closely resembled the Allen Estate, and the silhouette of the ancient castle in the distance served as the finest proof, so the young couple in the painting, without a doubt, represented the former Karen and Eunice.

That was back when he had first arrived at the Allen Estate, when Eunice would accompany him every afternoon to go horseback riding, beginning with two people and two horses, which gradually progressed into two people on a single horse.

As her father, Mr. Bedde must

"Oh right, this painting." Cullen lifted Mr. Bede's artwork. "Has Eunice seen it yet?"

"Not yet."

Madame Jenny replied instantly.

In truth, it was a deliberate omission; in her reading of the canvas, the subtext whispered that her daughter and Cullen belonged to entirely different worlds.

As Eunice’s father, wasn’t her own husband actively undermining them?

"Then let us keep it from her for now, shall we?" Cullen sought Madame Jenny's counsel.

"Very well, I agree that is for the best." A smile graced Madame Jenny's face; she had genuinely feared Cullen might erase the marriage contract.

Yet her stance diverged from that of the family; she stood solely in her daughter's shoes, knowing that if Eunice could not be with Cullen, any man she met hereafter would likely bring regret, for comparison is an instinct.

Madame Jenny felt that as a boyfriend or husband, a peer like Cullen was nigh impossible to find—not only were his qualities peerless across the board, but he was also always willing to harmonize the atmosphere.

Alfred stepped inside at that moment, reporting, "Young Master, everything is prepared."

"Then I shall leave you to your business." Madame Jenny rose immediately.

"Good day, Madame."

Once Madame Jenny had departed, Cullen pointed to the two paintings resting on the coffee table. "Take a look."

Alfred picked up the artwork to appreciate it, a touch of doubt in his voice. "Could Mr. Bede be employing a strategy of retreating to advance?"

"Do not always habitually gravitate toward the darker interpretations of things. If he wanted to retreat to advance, he would have been better off sending me the wedding venue designs directly. He told me back in the Valley of Reincarnation that he wished to design a wedding in shades of red—mind you, a festive red, not a bloody one."

"Did you discern anything from it, Young Master?"

"Nothing at all." Cullen shook his head. "Which is why I find myself increasingly convinced of how utterly right the God of Order was to suppress Rielsa. Why can people not speak plainly, or simply write it down, instead of insisting on playing the mystic and forcing others to guess?"

"Your subordinate agrees entirely."

"The arrangements are complete, then? Where is Kevin?"

"Waiting next door."

"Mm, wheel me over."

"Right away, Young Master."

"By the way, you mentioned Raniedal once assassinated a third of the Sea God Cult's high echelon. When exactly was that?"

"Your subordinate does not know, and it never specified, but presumably, if it is willing to teach for the sake of its own pride, it must have something genuine to offer. After all, it is a dual deity, a dark god nonetheless."

"If it happened before ascension, it is indeed formidable. If it was after ascension, using the stature of a deity to assassinate the high echelon of the Sea God Cult, that would be a bit... mischievous."

"Your subordinate believes the latter is far more probable."

"I think so too. I would even wager that he went to assassinate them only after beseeching the God of Order to help slay the Sea God. That dog is entirely capable of such an unrefined deed, and would even find it amusing and gloat over it."

Alfred nodded in agreement. "Such an opponent is actually far more terrifying, for it possesses no bottom line."

Having administered the subtle critique, Alfred immediately followed with a remedy:

"Just as money left on a table deliberately before a cleaning servant will inevitably rouse the latent greed in human hearts, we had best keep the coin safely locked inside a drawer."

"I am mindful of it."

...

The unsealing ritual had been arrayed, and Kevin sat squarely in the center of the magic circle.

Alfred pushed the wheelchair, bringing Cullen into the circle as well, before stepping back to initiate the rite.

Philomena, Ventura, and Muri stood vigilant at the door and the windows respectively, keeping watch.

Purr was far more casual, sitting alone and idly eating grapes.

Cullen looked at Kevin before him, offering a gentle smile. "Apologies for making you wait so long."

"Woof."

Kevin responded with an innocent, warm canine smile.

Cullen reached out, patting Kevin’s head, and the dog proactively nuzzled his face against Cullen’s leg.

"Very well, let us begin."

"Yes, Young Master."

"Woof."

Alfred activated the ritual, and Cullen’s hand rested upon Kevin’s head without moving further as the spiritual auras of both sides began to entwine.

Grandfather Hoffen, once again I am disregarding your counsel, helping a dark god break yet another seal.

Standing at the flank, Philomena felt a pang of pity for her late grandmother, who had always loved hearing her stories of the outside world—a preparation for the day she would succeed her.

Yet that did not change the fact that Grandmother was simply someone who loved a good tale.

Regrettably, she would never hear this story; her captain, Cullen—the very man her grandmother claimed was handsome just from looking at the newspapers, the grandson of the man she had murmured about for most of her life—was currently breaking a seal for a bound dark god.

Philomena blinked, adjusting her stance slightly, and the faint sentiment of pity in her mind dissolved instantly as she suddenly recalled that she had killed Grandmother with her own hands. Ah, never mind then.

Ventura stared out the window while occasionally turning his head to peek inside.

Ever since learning the true identity of this golden retriever, every time it was his turn to feed the dog, he would crouch down and feed it with utmost seriousness, sharing whatever he ate, and always offering the portions he hadn't touched.

Little Stone was not trying to flatter a dark god; he purely viewed the deity as a rare breed, and having lived a life of hardships, he naturally treated such an exotic, precious pet with great care.

Muri faced the grand door, utterly motionless.

He had to appear professional to contrast the lack of professionalism in the other two.

Alfred released his hands; the ritual was fully engaged, entering its smooth operation.

"Relax your conscious defenses," Cullen commanded.

Kevin immediately dropped his mental guard; Cullen closed his eyes, and Kevin closed his as well.

Hum!

...

Crash... Crash...

A beach. A beach once more.

Cullen heard the sound of rushing waters, but the surroundings were pitch black; looking up, no moon was in sight.

Yet he knew that Raniedal must be right beside him; this was the god's soul memory.

Just like the first time he helped break the seal, he could witness fragments of the depths of its soul, and this time was no exception.

Snap!

First came a spark, followed by the rising flames of a bonfire right in front of Cullen.

Behind the firelight sat a man clad in half-draped scale armor, his body covered in wounds, with clear traces of festering corruption in several places, but the man paid them no heed, using a broken iron sword to skewer a piece of meat and roast it over the blaze.

By the illumination of the fire, Cullen realized that the sound of waves he had heard was not the ocean at all, but rivers of blood flowing past on either side. The reason no moon or sun could be seen above was that a vast, endless wall of flesh stretched overhead, pulsing with a rhythmic, steady throb.

They were inside the body of a colossal creature.

Smack, smack, smack...

The man chewed the roasted meat rapidly, finishing it in no time, and finding himself still unsatisfied, he used his iron sword to violently gouge out another chunk right from his side, resuming his barbecue.

This method of sourcing ingredients directly on the spot was, truth be told, quite convenient.

As he ate, a violent surge of air currents rolled in from the distance, and the pools of blood on either side began to bubble, like water on the verge of boiling.

The man saw this, but merely smiled, and continued to eat.

Finally, flames began to rise from the blood, and immediately following that, from all directions, terrifying lava came grinding down toward this place.

"I haven't even eaten my fill yet, and you're already in such a hurry to roast yourself?"

The man patted his belly, stood up, and cracked his neck twice, and after a succession of crisp bone pops, he raised his fist and smashed it straight down beneath him.

"Boom!"

After this punch landed, Karen's vision began to shift along with it, because the man had shattered a hole straight through the ground below.

Following a rapid perspective change, Karen found himself back on the surface, and beneath his feet was a true sea of magma.

"Haha."

The man's voice drifted over, and like a diver surfacing, he floated up from the water, as if still not quite satisfied, he cupped the lava around him with both hands to deliberately scrub his armpits, looking for all the world like he was taking a bath in a hot spring.

Over his entire body, there gleamed a luster akin to a metallic texture, the only defect perhaps being that his whole person was completely devoid of hair.

"Splash... Splash..."

The man began to dog-paddle through the lava, making his way to the shore, and upon stepping out, he ripped off the semi-molten, nearly disintegrating scale armor from his body, casting it onto the ground with utter nonchalance, and then, completely naked, he blew a breath toward the dark expanse ahead.

In an instant, it was as if countless fireflies appeared in front of him, directly illuminating the vast abyss below.

A giant dragon, its body covered in crimson scales, lay coiled there in an extremely weakened state, barely differing in size from the frost dragon Karen had seen ridden by Foden.

Upon the dragon's belly, a wound had been opened, blood flowing from it continuously, and its breath was exceedingly withered; evidently, in the fierce battle with the man, it had fallen entirely into a disadvantage.

At this moment, the figure of a woman wearing a blue divine robe materialized, speaking to the man:

"Ranyedal, the person you want to kill is me, let it go, it is only my friend, it is innocent."

"Ptui!"

The man spat a puff of white mist onto the ground, because his saliva evaporated the moment it came out.

"When you summoned it to deal with me, you distinctly said you were going to roast and eat me, and now you come to play the affectionate and righteous card with me? Too late.

Besides, my armor is ruined, I need to extract its dragon tendons to make binding ropes, and tear off its hardest scales to make plates, so I can fashion a new set of armor."

"Ranyedal, I do not know what your purpose is in hunting me down, I have never offended you!"

"Want to know why? Fine, I will tell you, listen closely."

The man stood with arms akimbo, shouting:

"A month ago, the internal high-level conference of the Sea God Church agreed to reorder the ranking of the branch deities, originally planning to elevate Goddess Mils from thirteenth to twelfth place in the Sea God Church's sequence of branch deities."

The man pointed his finger at the woman,

Roaring:

"How dare you vote against it!"