NOVPUB
Chapter 280: Shock Therapy
The Sloth Devil—Aldrian had already seen her within the memories of the Lust Devil and the Envy Devil. A beautiful woman with extraordinary talent in summoning techniques, necromancy was also one of her fortes. From what he understood, she was a master of summoning techniques, as she preferred to make her summons or those under her control do the work for her.
As people called her—the Sloth Devil—she was too lazy to do anything on her own. To compensate for this weakness, she maximized her talent in summoning techniques and even necromancy. With those skills, she could accomplish tasks without needing to move around like others. She simply ordered her summons to do her bidding.
However, many people unfamiliar with her will misunderstand the Sloth Devil as being ’weak’ among the Seven Deadly Sins because of her lazy nature. Such thinking is fatal to those who truly know her. She is called the ’One-Man Army’ for a reason.
If Commander Marcus was actually killed by the Sloth Devil and turned into an undead by her, then all his strangeness could be explained. However, the problem remains that even though he has a suspect in mind, it still does not resolve the issue with the Flamecrest family. He lacks solid proof to completely exonerate the Flamecrest family from involvement in Commander Marcus becoming a devil.
All of his strong conjectures remained in his mind with no physical proof whatsoever. If he wanted to resolve the issue with the Flamecrest family, he would need to present his findings and let the Flamecrest family explain them to the public. Alternatively, they could simplify matters by involving the imperial family for support.
"Isn’t the princess of this empire, currently in the Flamecrest family mansion?" With her presence here, perhaps he could do something about the situation and even compel the imperial family to act according to his plans.
He looked at Kroz and Jil, who were gazing at Commander Marcus’s corpse with sorrowful expressions. Aldrian approached them and asked,
"What kind of person was Commander Marcus?"
Kroz looked at Aldrian and sighed.
"He was a powerful cultivator with high integrity. He was also very disciplined but remained close to his men, like us. He never judged someone based on their cultivation or special abilities, and his loyalty to the Flamecrest family, especially to Young Master Aldrey, was unmistakable."
"That’s why, when this guy said he saw Commander Marcus turn into a devil, I couldn’t believe it. There’s no way someone like him could be swayed to become a devil," Kroz said, gesturing toward Jil.
Jil wore a sorrowful expression, he also struggled to accept that the corpse before him was truly the devil.
"I see. After seeing Commander Marcus like this, do you have any regrets about placing your trust in him?" Aldrian asked.
Kroz and Jil remained silent for a moment before Kroz finally spoke.
"No. Even now, I still feel there’s something strange about this whole devil situation. The years we spent together make me certain there’s no way Commander Marcus would choose this path. There must be something I don’t know—something amiss that caused him to end up like this."
"Same here. When I saw him exuding that kind of devilish energy, with an expression I had never seen on Commander Marcus, I felt that something was missing from this whole event. The last time I saw him was a day before that night, and he showed no signs of strangeness. That’s why I believe it’s not as simple as what I saw at the time," Jil said as well.
Hearing their opinions, Aldrian smiled.
"Good. After examining this body, I found something that confirms Commander Marcus was indeed being controlled by someone," he said.
Kroz and Jil widened their eyes.
"Is that true?"
"Yes, if even you feel there’s something wrong with Commander Marcus, the higher-ups of the Flamecrest must have felt it too. I think that’s why they’ve placed you under heavy security. There are many things that don’t make sense to them, and they want to ensure that the witnesses are not part of the mastermind’s ploy behind this event," Aldrian said.
Kroz and Jil narrowed their eyes. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
"What ploy?" Kroz asked.
"The ploy is to tarnish the reputation of the Flamecrest family and even incite the families in this empire to pit themselves against each other. The fall of the Flamecrest would greatly benefit the devils, so there’s that."
"However, all of this is still just my conjecture and not something I can prove with only words. It can’t be shown to the outside world because it’s something that can’t be easily explained. If I recklessly spread it, people would only view it as the Flamecrest family’s attempt to wash their hands of this problem," Aldrian said.
Kroz gritted his teeth, his expression resolute. He knew that this matter was tricky, and whatever the Flamecrest family said at this point would only come across as an attempt to save their reputation and avoid responsibility.
"Then, are we going to let this event continue to tarnish my family’s reputation and allow those devils to succeed with their plan? It feels like we can’t move forward and are stuck between a rock and a hard place," he asked.
"Of course not. Let me gather more solid proof, and when the time comes, we’ll expose the devil’s plan. For now, I need your cooperation. Although we can only help your family passively, it’s better than doing nothing."
"What do you need us to do?" Kroz asked.
"Kroz, become my eyes and ears inside the Flamecrest family. Only provide me with information related to this devil event. I believe the family will be even busier with the imperial family’s arrival. If you find something, come to the inn to report it."
"Jil, I want you to talk to your interrogator about what I’m about to tell you." Aldrian then explained to them the condition of Commander Marcus—that he was under someone’s control. He told them that Commander Marcus had already been dead when Jil saw him, and what Jil had encountered was an undead. Aldrian wanted Jil to explain this to the interrogator if they came back again.
However, Aldrian gave the message that Jil must convey the information in a less direct manner, as being too blunt could raise suspicion. He wanted Jil to present the information in a roundabout way, allowing the interrogator to catch the meaning or clue without it being too obvious. Aldrian believed that the people of the Flamecrest family weren’t stupid and would pick up on something from Jil’s approach.
"Alright, is everyone clear?" Aldrian asked, to which Kroz and Jil nodded.
"Then I will send you back," Aldrian said. After that, Jil disappeared from the room and reappeared inside his interrogation room.
"Kroz, I will be waiting for any information," Aldrian said before Kroz disappeared and appeared beside the main mansion buidling, where there were no guards at this time. Kroz was stunned because he was already outside and then felt something inside his robe. When he touched it, he was shocked to find that it was a pouch full of peak-level energy stones. He hurriedly hid it and looked around to make sure there was no one near him.
Kroz sighed in relief after making sure there was no one around. However, only then did he truly realize what he had just done—bringing a stranger, someone he didn’t really know, into one of his family’s secret places. He felt guilt, but also something beyond greed for the energy stones when he spoke to Aldrian earlier. He didn’t know why, but he felt he could trust Aldrian to help his family solve their problems.
Logically speaking, Kroz should never have told Aldrian anything. He didn’t know Aldrian’s origins, he didn’t know what kind of person he was, and he didn’t know if Aldrian was trustworthy—whether he was good or bad. Kroz didn’t know anything about him. He just felt that, aside from receiving the peak-level energy stones, Aldrian could be trusted to resolve the devil matter.
Then, it raised the question: who exactly was Aldrian, and what was his relationship with the Flamecrest family?
Kroz sighed, hoping that his decision was the right one and that it wouldn’t bring doom to the Flamecrest family.
-------------------------
Aldrian remained inside the morgue, staring at Commander Marcus’s corpse.
"If there is still a karmic connection between this body and the supposed Sloth Devil, doesn’t that mean her technique is still active?" This conclusion wasn’t far-fetched, as he knew that necromancers could control dead bodies, even after the soul had departed for the underworld. The body, though an empty shell, still retained some of its original power, making it a feared technique.
Aldrian suddenly grinned. With the karmic thread so clearly visible to him, he realized he could give the Sloth Devil a shock therapy.
"Well, let’s try it. I’ve never used or created a pure karmic attack before."
---------------------------------
In an unknown place, inside a comfortable chamber with a large bed, a beautiful woman lay upon it. Her long purple hair flowed across the bed as she rested her head on the pillow, seemingly asleep. Her voluptuous body was clad in scanty attire, enough to stir desire in any man who looked at her, and it would come as no surprise if they were to instantly pounce on her.
Suddenly, her sharp eyes opened, and she instantly sat up in a meditative posture. She frowned, and not long after, a small trickle of blood flowed from her nose. Her expression revealed the pain she was experiencing. After a few minutes of stabilizing herself, she opened her sharp, beautiful eyes, her frown still unchanged.
"Someone has sent a karmic attack through one of my undead!"
