NOVPUBChapter 725: Chapter 111: The Third Brand Chapter 725 -111: The Third Brand That evening, Aiwass lay in bed deep in thought for a long time before falling asleep, still having refrained from drinking any alcohol.
He was particularly bothered by something Bram had mentioned earlier—he said that he had been marked by the Bear Celestial Marshal.
Aiwass wasn’t sure if it was true or if that sociable giant baby Bram was just bragging…
although usually, people wouldn’t brag about something like that.
But since he believed in the Bear Celestial Marshal, it wasn’t easy to say for sure.
Furthermore, Bram was actually an Avalonian, whose father was on the verge of achieving the great fulfillment of the Round Table Hall—before Bram got into trouble, there was still a chance for his father to rise in rank and join the Round Table Hall if he hung in there long enough.
At the very least, his father was considered upper-middle class.
...
Yet Bram, who came from such a good background, chose to turn to the god of the Giants, the Bear Celestial Marshal—an entity whose people, a few hundred years ago, used to treat his kind of humans as teething snacks.
This was an enmity even greater than the conquered grudges between the Narcissus Duchy and the Antimony Kingdom, which was to say a fixture in their diet. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
And yet he had made that choice.
This made Aiwass have to consider the possibility that Bram was either crazy or an idiot.
He didn’t know what would happen if he went to see Isabel while being marked by the Bear Celestial Marshal.
Would it draw the Bear Celestial Marshal’s attention to Isabel, or would the location of “Morgan’s Wonder House” be exposed?
Or would Isabel be dragged into it as well, or would nothing happen…?
Aiwass didn’t dare to gamble.
Considering the worst-case scenario, he decided it was best to keep his distance from Isabel for the time being.
Trade with the South Continent could be negotiated anytime, but Isabel was his treasure.
Thinking about how he had been running around all day in the Holy Nation due to some inexplicable major event and would likely be busy with this matter for the time being, yet unable to see Isabel at night, Aiwass’s annoyance with the Bear Celestial Marshal grew even further.
“What an irritating lot…”
Muttering to himself and feeling disgusted, Aiwass fell into a deep sleep.
When he awoke again, he immediately heard the crackling of a campfire next to his ear.
After getting used to the intense flames around him, Aiwass’s heart sank as he realized he had been dragged into the Dream Realm again.
“You’re awake.”
A deep, powerful male voice suddenly sounded near his ear, “Or should I say, you’ve fallen asleep?”
Aiwass felt the back of his neck being lifted by someone, and then his whole body was hoisted up—only then did he realize that he was not a human.
He was the same small, weak, scorched four-legged creature as before.
When he was lifted, pain started coursing through his body.
Afterward, a woman’s light laughter could be heard around him.
“This little fox still doesn’t understand what’s happened,” she said.
“This is no ordinary fox,” came the man’s strong voice in response.
“Look, there’s a line of gold and red on his forehead, black patterns around his right eye, and a white mark on his paws.
These unique features are all divine marks.”
Being shaken about quite a bit, it took Aiwass some effort to finally catch a clear glimpse of everything around him.
Before him sat an immeasurably large red giant, seated in front of the fire.
Behind the giant lay a colossal white lion, radiating an extremely sacred golden light, while the giant was draped in sizzling red armor.
Upon closer inspection, Aiwass noticed that the giant’s body bore no skin and that the muscle fibers were clearly visible.
The giant’s armor was red-hot and burning with flames, as if the fiery metal had been embedded into his flesh, emanating sizzling white smoke.
Despite such agony, the giant made no sound of pain.
Because he had no skin, the giant looked incredibly grotesque and frightening.
However, he was attended by two very beautiful ethereal maidens.
They were pure white and translucent, giving off a spectral appearance; while they looked as if they could be ghosts, they were not at all terrifying but instead glowed like the warm flames of a candle.
The one who had picked up Aiwass was one of these ghostly young women.
She examined Aiwass with curiosity, her hand gently touching his chest, “Little guy, just how did you manage to offend the Bear Celestial Marshal?”
A cool touch spread across Aiwass’s body, slowly diminishing his pain.
He looked up somewhat bemused.
—Again and again, he confirmed that this indeed was a giant.
And not just any giant, but one of the most ferocious of the elite kinds—the Skinless Ones.
This was an ancient lineage from the Giants, considered to be an advanced version of berserkers.
Today, only a very few heirs to this lineage might still be found in the Parthian Ancient Country.
The heirs were required to flay the skin from their own bodies alive, without using any anesthesia or even drinking wine to dull the pain.
The only lubrication permitted was a mush made from the flesh of strong foes.
As long as they endured the immense pain and survived the ritual, they could gain terrifying strength from the boundless fury—an emotion that in modern times is a special ability among followers of the Bear Celestial Marshal, but in ancient times was considered a benchmark of the Path of Strength.
Among them, the Skinless Ones were perpetually enraged.
If the combination of White-Feathered Griffons and Sky Cavalry is Avalon’s trump card,
then the Skinless Ones are the trump card of the Giant Kingdom.
Aiwass had an incredibly deep impression of them, even some PTSD – in some of the high-difficulty instances later on, as long as there was even a slight relation to the Bear Celestial Marshal, you were sure to encounter the Skinless Ones, elite monsters who were fanatical followers of the Bear Celestial Marshal, powerful and dangerous.
Nameless and faceless Skinless Ones, even just one of them, could be considered a wave of lesser creatures; those with names were at least the first boss of an instance.
The mechanism of the Skinless Ones could be summed up in one sentence – if a monster only knew how to ram, then it was invincible.
The so-called “ramming” referred to the monster charging furiously and at high speed, hitting anything in its path with such force that if it didn’t kill, it would maim; one had to quickly dodge to the sides.
Although not invincible during the charge, they were immune to most forms of control; and their speed made them hard to hit with skills.
The usual tactic against the Skinless Ones was to repeatedly dodge their ramming, which would send people flying; you had to have several layers of damage reduction, shields, or invincibility to face them head-on once or several times to stop them.
Otherwise, they would ram around like uncontrolled dump trucks, bellowing ceaselessly, and could wipe out a whole group if a melee teammate made a mistake, even during the elite monster phase.
However…
Aiwass slowly began to come to his senses.
Although in the Dream Realm, Aiwass’s reactions were somewhat delayed and simple.
But he instinctively sensed something was amiss.
This Skinless One…
wasn’t it a bit too rational?
Logically, all Skinless Ones should have been completely overwhelmed by endless rage – the intense pain they endured every moment filled them with a desire to destroy and self-destruct.
Yet, this Skinless One before him was sitting quietly on the ground, legs crossed…
even with a zen-like demeanor.
“Looking at Lord Sky Rakshasa with such fear…
do you recognize the Skinless Ones?
That really is rare,” a ghostly girl beside him said with some surprise.
Sky Rakshasa…?
Aiwass suddenly realized the true identity of this great being.
“It seems you may have heard my name, that’s good,” the Skinless Giant known as “Sky Rakshasa” slowly answered: “I was once a ‘Rakshasa’, one of the ‘Four Great Destructions’ who followed the Supreme Heaven.
But now I have become a follower of Candle Celestial Marshal, and I atone for my past multitude of sins at every moment.
“The armor I wear is a gift from the Candle Celestial Marshal.
All those souls that I have tortured, killed, and imprisoned within my body now reside within this armor.
As long as there is one among them who hates me, their hate will turn into the hell fire that scorches me; only when all of them have let go of their hatred, are reborn, and reincarnated, can I be freed from this punitive armor.”
The man’s voice was calm and rational, as he spoke behind the White Lion whose golden divine light shone brilliantly: “Now, I am the Guardian of the Contributor.
A Contributor is someone who endures and inflicts pain upon himself, often choosing Silence when faced with suffering.
“But not all criminals will repent through forgiveness; some forgiveness is also indulgence.
When the good cannot act, then the ‘Sky Rakshasa’ shall act on their behalf.”
It was indeed the Sky Rakshasa!
Aiwass’s eyes widened with joy.
The scope of Sky Rakshasa’s duties was extremely narrow, but every Priest had to learn the Prayer Arts to summon the Sky Rakshasa.
—Because the “Sky Rakshasa” is the god of retribution against those who disrupt and overturn the medical order in legend!
If a Contributor rescued others but was slandered, attacked, and framed by those they saved.
If they suffered harm and were powerless to retaliate, they could seek the Sky Rakshasa for divine retribution.
He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t speak, only able to emit a weak cry.
“Perhaps it is because you have not yet become enlightened, unable to speak in the Dream Realm.
That’s why you are in animal form,” the Giant said, shaking his head slightly: “But I know what you want to say.
“You have been branded by the Bear Celestial Marshal – I was unable to stop it, I could only capture you and bring you here to prevent Him from harming your soul in the dream.
“—However, little Fox.”
The skinless, grotesque Giant’s body leaned forward slightly, slowly saying each word: “If one day, the Bear Celestial Marshal fights you to the death in the Dream Realm; if that day, you can stand and fight him in the Dream Realm, rather than just a Ursa Major hunting a young cub…
“Then call my name.
I will become your strength—
“As my atonement.”
The voice resonated so clearly in Aiwass’s heart.
So much so, when Aiwass woke up, it still echoed infinitely in his heart.
Aiwass’s chest had been marked with deeper bear claw wounds, but they had already healed…
or perhaps, they had been scorched by fire, turning into a scar.
[You have obtained the trait: Authority – Brand of the Third]
[Authority – Brand of the Third: The Bear Celestial Marshal swipes the claw of the future, declaring that such a blow will end your life.
This is the third brand, whose number must not be seven—]
