Chapter 118
Ever since that horrifying night, the unnamed teenager's life changed completely. He lived his days in fear, knowing the hunt between both sides would begin sooner or later.
He knew it. He understood it after seeing the strange circular shadow beneath him, where several kinds of supernatural beings such as ghosts, demons, wandering spirits, and jinn resided, releasing enough spiritual pressure to make his soul tremble as if it were about to leave his body.
'If I weren't under the protection of that man's power, then I would definitely die,' the unnamed teenager thought while holding his breath as he felt his body becoming slightly different than usual.
Looking at all the corpses lying before him, he was left confused when a shadow formed Wana letters right in front of Aaron Kwok's corpse, the language of the Kingdom of Synomia where he lived, as though it were the man's final message before dying for reasons unknown.
The contents of the message were:
Forgive me, young man. I sacrificed my own life so you could live, or rather, I was already tired of being hunted by them, and if you're angry at me for giving my Exorscist ability to you. Hehehe, you can kick my corpse as much as you want... and it seems I should explain things in more detail so you'll understand the true meaning behind this message.
Oh, right. I've always seen you before this dark incident happened, since you live together with your older sister. Eh, I don't really know what to say, but don't be angry with me and let me remind you once again that I'm not a stalker...
Let's skip the small talk for today, and if you've already read this message, then it means you've inherited my supernatural ability, Exorscist, at its second stage, Extraction.
Now you are a Receivers of Exorscist, and let me warn you that you didn't receive this power for free. You will have to face the bitterness of life filled with lies and inevitability while hiding from the pursuit of an order as massive as Soas Repena.
My inheritance in the form of money might help you survive their pursuit, even though that money came from theft. I hope you can accept it as compensation and as my apology for passing down a supernatural ability at the cost of a death.
....
The unnamed teenager read it from beginning to end, realizing that the man had saved his life while also dragging him into a world he never wanted anything to do with.
"Damn you... how dare you do this to me..."
After that, the message reacted, transforming into a new arrangement of words neatly organized about almost all of Aaron Kwok's important memories, which he passed on to the unnamed teenager.
The contents of the message were:
It seems after the death of the agents from the Soas Repena order, you'll be labeled as Aaron Kwok starting from this very moment. Especially since I died after performing the advancement ritual from Exorscist's first stage, Retrieval, to its second stage, Extraction. Somehow, they managed to find me while I was capturing several demons for the ritual since it was an important requirement.
Yes, this is important information, they, or rather the agents of the order who move secretly, are partly Hollows. But with the Exorscist ability, you don't need to worry, and that's exactly why they targeted me.
The Exorscist Type falls under Manifestation, and the location of the money is at the border between the two kingdoms, Synomia and Norn.
And there was still much more about how Exorscist worked at its first and second stages, even though Aaron Kwok himself had only advanced a few hours earlier.
Until the explanation reached its peak, the message became blurry as the lowest shadow of the text disappeared, like an important message that wanted to be delivered but was obstructed when the spiritual connection was severed due to death.
The contents of the lowest message:
@)#($+"!($!*;"#;#__+)"?#!#:-$)#!
....
'Exorscist? Retrieval to Extraction? What exactly happened?' Aaron thought, trying to understand the meaning behind the message even though he grasped the main point that he was currently in danger.
With all that information, what to do and what not to do, the unnamed teenager struggled quite a bit, and because he never attended school, he could only shake his head and needed several hours before finally understanding the meaning behind everything.
'Ckk, a man who almost died from the ritual even after achieving the advancement he desired. Yet he was found by the people who had hunted him for far too long until the end of his life.'
He read the lower part of the message formed from shadows.
'What a pitiful life, Aaron Kwok. And... I never expected the people sent by the... order called 'Soas Repena' to place a spell that informs them whether their agents are alive or dead.'
Realizing how critical his situation was, and still drowning in supernatural matters, the unnamed teenager immediately ran, stumbling and groaning in pain from the torture he had suffered earlier.
After arriving at a building several hundred meters away from the area he usually passed through, he climbed the stairs silently and carefully because they were covered in slippery moss.
Right on the second floor, from afar, he glanced at his sister one last time before deciding to take the money left behind by the man named Aaron Kwok, hoping that money could cure his older sister's illness before he chose to wander away and leave her behind.
Even though he was hesitant because he didn't know whether those words were true, several days after traveling toward the border between the kingdoms, the teenager finally obtained what he wanted in the form of a sum of money that could be considered enormous.
995 Pace, along with numerous silver and gold coins beneath the stacks of banknotes.
Yes, Pace was the currency used in Norn and Synomia, even though some places in Synomia used Neven as their currency despite being under the same kingdom.
After obtaining all of it, he covered the dug-up soil again so it wouldn't leave any traces. The chest filled with money, silver coins, and gold coins was sunk into the shadow beneath his feet through the shadow veil.
And from that very moment onward, the life that had once been filled with poverty became wealthy, even though he was now certainly a fugitive hunted by orders, organizations, underground groups, and bounty hunters.
When he returned to the place where he stayed every day, he told his older sister about it, though not everything. Siena naturally didn't believe him, but thanks to the money earned through her younger brother's efforts, she finally recovered from her severe illness several months later.
Days turned into months, and months turned into years. Siena finally achieved the recovery she had long wished for.
But that recovery meant nothing when she realized her younger brother had disappeared to who-knows-where, taking a third of the fortune while leaving the rest to her under two absolute conditions.
Don't look for me, and live until you have a family and children.
....
After recovering his bloodied condition from performing the ritual within five minutes while capturing the two demons that had each been sealed into those bottles, and forcefully driving the supernatural beings away from this place.
The remnants of Exorscist lingered together with the white fog around the gravestones and amidst the falling snow.
Aaron immediately stood up while shaking his head to get rid of the sharp throbbing in his forehead.
He could hear strange murmurs, Extraction's warning that the beings he had driven away earlier held grudges against him, along with the four demons inside the bottles in his coat pocket.
With a face like a corpse, he forced a smile while looking at the four demons staring at him full of intimidation.
"You'll turn into money after this..."
The fierce wind that had previously come from the supernatural beings' spiritual pressure had faded once his body fully recovered.
Since he didn't know how long he had been lingering there, he hurried to look for Zavi and wondered whether he was still waiting or had already gone somewhere else.
Until he exited the alley where the Black Graveyard was located, on his left side he saw a man wearing a wide-brimmed caping tilted low enough to cover his face, both arms crossed as the man had fallen asleep from unbearable drowsiness.
"Actitus, Actitus." Aaron said while patting his cheek. "How long are you planning to sleep in a place like this?"
Zavi, who had been sleeping half-conscious, slumped downward and ended up lying on his back as his caping slipped off his head.
Several minutes later, Zavi woke up from his sleep while Aaron kept slapping his cheeks hard.
'This man really enjoys sleeping, huh?'
Aaron watched as Zavi immediately stood up, still half-awake while bending down to put his wide-brimmed caping back on.
Without much small talk, Zavi immediately stepped forward and Aaron followed him, though several seconds later Aaron guided him toward the place where the three people were waiting.
After arriving at Jjal, the roadside where the three of them were standing. Aaron immediately took the two bottles out of his coat pocket and stared at the white-haired man's face with hidden intentions while slightly narrowing his eyes.
The white-haired man chuckled softly, then glanced toward the man on his right, a signal for him to bring out the money and finish this transaction.
The man nodded with a serious face, stepping forward while opening a suitcase.
He stopped several meters away from Aaron and handed over the money that had been prepared beforehand.
The sum of 150 Pace had now changed hands to him, but before giving over the bottles containing the demons, Aaron first made sure the amount was correct.
He checked the texture of the money, finding nothing suspicious, and after confirming the amount matched, he finally nodded in satisfaction.
He immediately slipped the money into the left pocket of his coat and took out the two bottles as he began approaching the white-haired man.
Then he handed over the bottles while making sure the white-haired man agreed and officially concluded their cooperation.
The white-haired man immediately laughed, then extended his hand for a handshake, satisfied with finally obtaining something he had desired for so long.
And from that moment onward, the payment was received and the partnership ended as the clock struck 2:00 in the morning.