Sylver Seeker

Chapter 251: We Have To Go Deeper

Chapter 251: We Have To Go Deeper

It took a fair bit of talking for Tristens father to allow Sylver and Edna inside. Initially, the guards told them to fuck off, but then the guards from Amelias house explained the situation, and the two foreigners were allowed inside.

When the doors opened, Sylver was taken aback at the sheer quantity of blood. Edna said the boy was about the same size as the daughter, Amelia, and yet he had bled enough to, quite literally, fill up an entire room.

With a careful hand gesture, Sylver grabbed hold of the blood and used [Dead Dominion] to make a passage for him and Edna to pass through.

Finding Tristen wasnt difficult, you just needed to follow the hoarse screaming. As Sylver walked toward the boy, he saw that the floor, ceiling, and walls were covered in deep scratching, most were as wide as Sylvers pinkie, and a few were wider than his whole palm.

The reason for the inconstant size became obvious once Sylver was close enough to see the source of the screaming.

Huddled in the bottom corner of the room, Tristen did his best to cover his body with the blood-soaked blanket, but every time he breathed in and spasmed, the blanket was further torn to shreds by the thick clear crystals sticking out of his body.

He looked like someone had jammed broken glass into him, the crystal stuck out from underneath his torn-up toenails, hung in clumps in his bloodied hair, protruded from every edge of his body, his ankles, knees, elbows, neck, and spine. His chest was barely visible underneath the glass shards, and strangely enough, his left hand was completely engulfed in sharp crystals, while his right hand was completely clean.

Ask him if he can stay still for a minute, Sylver told Edna.

The boy was squirming, every movement sliced up his body, which made him squirm more from the pain, which only further sliced him up.

ItA HErtZ! the boy, Tristen, screamed, through a mouthful of broken glass.Điscover new chapters at novelhall.come of his teeth were there, but Sylver saw the shiny crystals sticking out from where his back molars were supposed to be.

Sylver rubbed his hands together, to get the magic flowing, and extended the [Black Mass] on his torso out onto his forearms.

Im going to hold you down for a bit, try to bear with it, Sylver said calmly, while the boy took a shuddering breath between screaming.

As Sylver approached him, the boy instinctively tried to crawl away from him, but his feet were tangled in the remains of the blanket he was covering himself with.

He tried to say something in Eirish, but his accent was thick, and the fact that he saw saying it between sharp gasps and shaky moans meant Sylver had no chance of understanding him.

Sylver reached for the boys throat, and immediately the boy grabbed Sylvers wrist with both hands and tried to force him away from him.

Thankfully for both, he couldnt put much force into his attempt, and Sylver was able to reach his neck. The sharp glass embedded itself into the [Black Mass]wrapped around Sylvers arms, and when the boy kicked with his legs and nearly sent a handful of broken glass into the weakness all men shared, Sylver blocked the kick with his knee, and pressed his body against the boy and his limbs.

As he pressed on the boy, more blood leaked out, and Sylver was blinded by the cloud of blood spreading out through the water. Shards of crystal rubbed against crystal, and made razor-sharp flakes that glittered in the light coming in from the ceiling.

When he finally stopped moving, Sylver was worried he wasnt going to start moving again.

This close up Sylver could see that the boys eyes had been blinded by the broken glass, where he should have had eyeballs, he instead had what looked like squashed tomatoes.

Since he knew what he was looking for, it took Sylver less than 10 seconds to find the source of the curse, and where it had spread to.

As Sylver gradually released the pressure on the boys body, he began to scream again, somehow louder than before, and shortly after three people entered the room, and at Ednas request began to cast healing magic on him.

Unsurprisingly, it didnt numb him from the pain, all it did was refile his dwindling supply of blood. Sylver pulled out the piece of vellum he had prepared on the way here, and he swung it through the ever-darkening cloud of blood.

The text was significantly clearer than Amelias, due to how much blood Sylver was able to use.

Sylver left the healers to their work, and left the room, with Edna in tow.

Tristens father looked very similar to Amelias father, the main difference was that he wasnt as fat, and while Amelias fathers hair was unkempt and loose, Tristens fathers hair was neatly braided into his beard.

He had introduced himself when Sylver and Edna initially came here, but Sylver couldnt hear his name and didnt bother asking since Edna was going to be doing all of the talking.

While Edna spoke to the boys father, Sylver took one of the crystals embedded in the [Black Mass] on his forearm and inspected it under the light.

Once Sylver wiped the blood away, the crystal was almost completely clear, with small white cracks inside of it. Sylver brought the piece of crystal up to his eyes, and then lowered slightly, and licked it.

The conversation Edna had been in the middle of ground to a halt, as the boys father, and the 5 guards behind him, all stared at Sylver, with an indescribable level of disbelief in their eyes.

I wanted to make sure it was actually salt, Sylver explained softly.

Edna translated what Sylver said, but the father didnt look any less insulted. Sylver hid the crystal inside his robe and continued to speak.

The salt has avoided his heart, lungs, liver, and kidney, so he wont die unless he bleeds to death, or stabs something vital. In theory, if you tied him up so he cant hurt himself, he will stay alive indefinitely Most of his body will turn into salt, but hell be alive in a certain sense of the word, Sylver explained and waited for Edna to translate.

The woman was impeccable, she kept her cool and-

KAnya FiXA Hima? Tristens father asked over the sound of his son screaming in the background. Apparently, he could speak Eirish.

Sylver lifted the piece of blood-stained vellum in his hand and made it unravel so the father could see what was written on it. Sylver was a bit relieved when the father couldnt read the contents of the contract because it meant he couldnt read the modified elvish the people in the Garden wrote in.

He took the curse willingly. The only way to free him is to have the person who cursed him undo it, Sylver explained, as he lowered his hand.

The father said three long sentences, but his Eirish was so broken Sylver didnt understand a single word. He repeated himself in Finnish and gestured at Edna to translate.

Hes asking why Tristen would take the curse willingly. And what can he do to save him, Edna said.

According to the contract, in exchange for his life and Amelias life, Tristen was meant to bring someone called Euryale the Gorgoneion. Given that hes currently turning to salt from the inside out, Im going to guess that he either decided not to steal it or couldnt, Sylver explained.

His explanation caused a commotion before Edna even had a chance to translate.

2 of the guards immediately swam away towards the center of the house, where the Gorgoneion was, while the remaining 3 began to argue with Tristens father and Edna.

It was weird to see 5 people arguing without making a sound. There was a great deal of hand gesturing, one of the guards even lowered his spear as if he was about to use it, but ended up pulling it back up, and Edna gradually stopped trying to explain herself, and simply waited for everyone to calm down.

Theyre saying they cant give Euryale the Gorgoneion, Edna translated.

I figured as much. Can you ask them if the Gorgoneion is something unique to their house? Sylver asked.

Its a Symbol? Proof? The direct translation is representation of authority. Its some kind of regalia, but its also a tool? Edna tried to explain.

I see That makes sense. I was wondering how Amelia was meant to steal it from their house, Sylver said.

Amelia was supposed to steal a Gorgoneion? Edna asked.

The contact said the Gorgoneion, so I thought there was only one, Sylver said.

Amelia, had a similar contract to Tristen, except hers involved turning into sea foam. And in the space where Amelias contract mentioned saving Tristen, Tristens contract mentioned saving Amelia.

Although saving isnt the right word, because at no point in either contract did it mention anyone being safe, or saved. It mentioned them being alive and, living and, being together but both texts very specifically never once specified in what condition they would be alive.

***

Tristens father tried to force the boy to explain himself, but Tristen didnt say a single word.

Well, he screamed, but he was screaming in general, not as a response. The man was experiencing excruciating pain, and he still refused to tell anyone why he signed a contract with Euryale.

Or who Euryale was.

In terms of further bad news, a year or so ago, Tristen and his father got into a massive argument about the boys boundaries not being respected, and as a result, the guards that were meant to follow him had been forbidden from following him.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

It was most likely political.

The interrogation lasted significantly longer than it had any right to.

Thankfully Edna knew Sylver well enough to skip the details.

He said he saw Amelia heading towards the Edna asked the guard standing next to her something in Finnish, and he answered. Its like a big crack in the sea floor. And that she started feeling ill right after coming back from it, Edna explained.

Sylver covered his face with his hand, and after a while, ran both of his hands through his hair.

A big crack in the sea floor, of course, he said.

Its the only place Medusa could be. And Im willing to bet Tristen went there too, Edna offered.

Certainly not the only place, but I fear youre probably right, Sylver said.

Enda lowered her voice to a whisper, for all the good it did given how well sound travelled underwater and in an enclosed room. Youre not going to go? Enda asked.

Im thinking, Sylver whispered back.

To be more specific he was trying to determine how much his curiosity, and Tulis safety, were worth to him.

He was already deep underground, deep underwater, and it wasnt as if a few more kilometres of rock would get in Edmunds way. At most, they would make the rescue a bit longer than it needed to be, but worst-case scenario Sylver would be fine.

In the end, the prospect of meeting someone even slightly close to his level of curse knowledge was worth the relatively little extra danger of going into a big crack in the sea floor.

Alright Well go. But I want 50 of his best men to escort us, Sylver said and waited for Edna to translate.

***

The sheer quantity of negative energy leaking out of the enormous crack in the ground was enough to put any undead in a good mood.

It was actively killing the 50 men Amelias father had provided and was making Enda nauseous from the effort of keeping her barrier up, but Sylver was having the time of his unlife.

He ended up leaving the soldiers near the edge of the crack, so they could escort him back, and although Edna protested, and made a couple of good points, she eventually realized Sylver wasnt telling her to stay away just to mess with her.

She was strong, for a druid, but she would die down there if she tried to follow him.

There was a powerful stream of water coming out of the crack, not quite boiling, but hot enough that it was unpleasant.

Sylver stood on the edge of the crack and moved his hand into the stream moving upward. He pushed down against it and used [Advanced Water Manipulation] to make it move around his hand.

Sylver stepped forward, and for a few seconds was sent floating upward, before he found the right position for his water magic, and sunk down into the dark crack as if he were a rock.

It was dark, but not any darker than it was anywhere else deep under the sea.

And with this much negative energy, it truly didnt matter how little light there was, because Sylver could feel his surroundings as if he was touching them with his hands.

At some point, he noticed that there were wooden fragments embedded into the walls. Planks of wood had been caught on the rock on their way up, and the lower he went, the larger these fragments became.

Eventually, the fragments turned into nailed-together boards, which later became whole floors, and after a certain point, parts of whole ships appeared.

If Sylver knew more about ship craft he might have been able to figure out if they were from the same era, or even which country they were from, but all he could say for certain was that the ships were old and had been soaked in negative energy for so long that there werent any magical traces of their origins left.

Sylver saw an entire ship trapped under a protruding rock and decided to break the monotony of sinking by checking if there was anything useful inside.

The ship was on its side, and if you ignored the barnacles, and the things infesting the wood, it was in relatively good shape. The door hinges had rusted away and disappeared, given the nail holes in the door and the door frame, and the mast was missing, but aside from that there wasnt any visible damage to the ship.

The only thing of interest inside was a large piece of seagrass that was covered completely by creatures that looked like white beetles. They made a sizzling sound as Sylver approached them, but didnt do anything else.

The shades came back with reports of much of the same.

When Sylver tried to leave the ship, he found a figure standing in the doorway.

It was as tall as him, as wide as he was, wore a robe that looked identical to his, and had a face that looked eerily similar to his own.

Are you Medusa? Sylver asked.

The figure didnt respond and just stood there.

Menacingly.

Euryale? Sylver asked.

It lifted its right hand towards him and pointed at his face.

Look, either say something, or leave, Sylver said, as he took a step towards the figure, and it copied him, and took a step towards him, all while pointing at his head.

Sylver took another step, and the figure copied him.

This isnt going to go how you think it will. Last chance to leave, Sylver offered, as he took another step forward.

Sylver waited a moment. But the handsome figure continued to silently block the doorway.

As he walked towards it, it walked towards him, and when the figure reached to grab Sylver by the throat, he leaned towards it and put his fist clean through its chest.

Its face lost its shape, its robe turned grey, and as it tried to free itself from the forearm impaling it, Sylver sucked every drop of magic and life out of it.

[Deep See Imitation (N/A) Defeated!]

[Due to defeating an enemy 70 levels above you, additional experience will be awarded!]

[Swamp Lord] has reached level 64!

+5AP

[Draining Blight (VI) Proficiency increased to 97%!]

As Sylver walked out of the boat, he was met with 20 more identical mirror images, standing on the rock walls, like they were growing out of it.

Gentlemen! Sylver said with a flourish, as he floated to the top of the boat. There is no need to turn this into a bloodbath! Sylver explained.

The one standing closest to Sylver narrowed its eyes, as a crown of red fingers began to grow out of its head. Anothers robe shimmered as it came to life, another started affecting the rock it was standing on, and the one furthest away was manipulating the water into a cutting beam.

One copy just disappeared, it turned into an invisible cloud of fog and got crushed by the waters pressure.

But it was only when Sylver saw one of the copies wrap a layer of [Black Mass] around its hands, did Sylver realize what was going on.

He looked down at his feet and saw that thick sharp seaweed had grown around his legs and was pinning him in place.

Sylver leaned his head to the side, cracked his neck, and took his time cracking each individual knuckle, as the copies armed with his skill, perks, and traits began to approach him.

Dont say I didnt warn you, Sylver said, as the seaweed around his feet shrivelled up into nothing.