Myriad Devils-Chapter 88: Now now now, do it now!

Sitting high up on a tree branch, the duo was over two dozen meters above the earth. Due to the sheer size of the trees in this jungle, the duo could comfortably sit and even sleep on a single tree branch.

"Both of them?" Seth’s eyebrows rose in surprise after hearing Anon’s words. Turning towards the amber-eyed boy, Seth’s upper lip tugged upwards ever so slightly.

’For both Andrew and Catharina to opt to give up their lives so that Anon could escape...’ Seth hummed with amusement: "If you plan to manipulate the course of events, you should practice strengthening your lies."

"Dare I ask, Anon, how did they really die?" Seth stared into Anon’s eyes with eagerness. It was to the point that even Anon found it peculiar. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable or pressured by Seth’s questions, but what puzzled Anon was Seth’s interest in the deaths of those two.

Following Seth’s question was a short moment of silence. Thereafter, Anon gently touched the bracelet on his wrist, resulting in a sharp clicking sound that entered their near vicinity.

Originating from the bracelet, what appeared to be a holographic box appeared before Anon’s eyes. Therein were a couple bottles of water, three suits of folded tactical wear similar to what Anon had on currently, and notably, the necklace of a certain Catharina.

"Well Andrew really did sacrifice himself. Catharina though, I found the magical item around her neck enticing." Sticking his hand into the box, though it appeared to only be a holographic image, once exiting the box, a necklace was in his grasp.

Besides being exquisitely designed, there was even a crystal gem in the center.

Seth stared at the necklace for a while before slowly lifting his gaze. In a puzzled tone, he mused aloud, "Let me guess, did my dear Anon heartlessly kill Catharina, just to acquire a magical item, to then sell it to the academy for merit points?"

After all, Anon principle was related to the concept of Inevitability and held no direct or indirect relation to gold or ice. In Seth’s eyes, after seeing it in action back when Catharina confronted the one-winged monkey group alongside the other stellar geniuses, was that, upon activation, the necklace had amplified the power of her principles substantially.

"Well, not really," Anon shook his head. "At first, I thought it strengthened the spirit, enabling any spirit to draw more from their own principle. After all, Catharina’s principle was a mix of gold and ice, so I assumed the chances that this necklace only amplified gold and ice-related principles were very low. Clearly, it would be easier for her father to find a magical item that enhanced her spirit rather than one that specifically facilitated drawing power from gold or ice-related principles."

Only after utilizing the magical item for himself did Anon realize that the necklace he killed Catharina for, was in fact, useless to him. Even after manipulating stellar cosmic energy with his spirit to activate the necklace, it didn’t strengthen his spirit in the slightest.

"So yes, I’ll be bartering her necklace to the academy in exchange for merit points, but it isn’t really the reason why it came to an end." Anon murmured with a subtle smile on his face.

Although it was rightfully Catharina’s belongings, the academy wouldn’t know if he killed her to get it, or if he picked it up from her dead body.

In fact, they wouldn’t even know it was hers in the first place.

Of course, there was a high chance that the military academy saw everything that was taking place in the Blood-Drip Jungle.

From the one-winged monkeys to the students killing their own companions. And yet, they remained in the shadows, observing from a distance, not stepping in even in the most deplorable situations.

Killing each other occurred amongst Anon’s group, but who knew what much darker things were taking place in the other groups...

"I’ve answered your questions, Seth." The smile on his face disappeared as his gaze met with Seth’s. As a light of curiosity flashed through his eyes, Anon asked, "Now answer this, how did you find me?"

In the dusty battlefield, there was no way Seth could have known which direction Anon and the others had taken unless they had been moving together. Moreover, even if he had been fortunate enough to head in the same direction, the Blood-Drip Jungle was vast. No matter how lucky he was, it seemed impossible that Seth could have navigated through the forest for two days and three nights before encountering Anon.

At least, Anon refused to believe this.

There were many times when he was moving at top speed. For Seth to locate him, to appear before Anon, it meant that Seth also moved at high speeds, as if he knew where he was going, as if he knew where Anon was.

"Wow, you’re so wicked, aren’t you?" Seth chuckled with amusement. One of his legs was folded whilst the other swung loosely in the air as he sat on the edge of the branch, looking down at the jungle below.

"Seth, don’t change the subject." A frown etched itself onto Anon’s face. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

But before he could pressure Seth, the latter continued without giving him any chance, saying with a subtle smirk, "I didn’t expect this. I thought that the young lord of humanity would be rather caring towards his human subjects."

Anon was just about to speak, but as he heard Seth’s words, his expressions froze. Whatever words he was about to say got stuck in his throat.

As his thoughts churned, he quickly regained his composure, "No, don’t be confused," Anon glanced at the earth that was close to thirty meters beneath them.

As a second world stellar genius, his vision was tens if not hundreds of times better than anyone before the great rebirth. And it was the same for Seth.

"Whether it be you, or Catharina," Anon uttered before pointing at an unsuspecting ant less than a centimeter in size, "Or that ant. It changes nothing. All living entities produced by earth are sentient objects owned by the Xerxes royal family."

There was a lack of emotion in his eyes as he said, "As the blessed child of earth, and the heir to the human lord, how can it be considered as me being uncaring? Objects, sentient or otherwise, are just that. Catharina’s life came to an end only because her usefulness ran out. The necklace is the only thing useful now."

Just taking the necklace from Catharina would be slightly complex. It might even lead to resentment, and then danger to Anon’s life in the future.

If the heavens provided an easy path, why choose one that is more difficult?

At least, Anon thought like this.

Towards Anon’s words, Seth seemed to have had his focus shifted, not towards what Anon was conveying, but to something else that he had said, unknowingly.

Muttering under his breath, "All living entities produced by earth?" It was akin to a whisper, but Seth continued mumbling to himself, not bothering about Anon’s next words, "Thankfully, by that logic, I’m not owned by the Xerxes." Chuckling at this, he once again shifted his focus back to Anon who didn’t let up, continuing right after...

"But stop changing the subject, Seth." Anon’s eyes clearly hinted at his annoyance. His voice also did not hide his frustration, "Seth, tell me, how did you find me."

The tone he used almost appeared as if he was ready to fight Seth if he didn’t reply.

In fact, Seth was slightly surprised.

But then, it clicked.

’Ah, so that’s why he’s like this.’ Seth’s thoughts churned, ’But I’m rather intrigued as to how he’ll go about dealing with this.’

"There’s no need to threaten me, Anon." Seth spoke slowly, unbothered by the rising tension between them, continuing, "Did you know, if I so wanted to, just glancing at a mortal would be enough for me to kill them. They wouldn’t even suspect it, and then, their blood would continuously ooze from their orifices."

He smiled, saying, "Or, if I’m feeling extra bored, in the blink of an eye, the blood coursing through their entire body would solidify into thousands of swords and spears, ripping apart their internal organs and fleshy body."

As he reached this point, Seth’s ears twitched.

If one truly sought it out, they’d hear Anon’s violently thumping heart.

Placing his hand on Anon’s shoulder, he sighed, "Calm down, I’m reaching to the main point."

Shaking his head and sighing once more, he continued, "But a mortal is just that. When the mind’s eye opens, and one’s principle awakens, and one becomes a stellar fighter, unknowingly, it creates a barrier preventing us stellar fighters from simply doing anything we want to them."

"After all, they too have a principle, so the two principles cancel each other out. Now it comes down to the strength of the spirit, and how much one can draw out of their principle. But, what if...?"

Seth smiled, spitefully pausing for a couple seconds. But seeing Anon’s lack of reaction, he sighed before finally saying what Anon wanted to hear, "When a stellar fighter’s blood leaves their body and enters the real world, it suddenly looses that protection."

"In the battle against the one-winged monkeys—and even earlier, back before the camp of ten thousand, when we used to spar in Blackridge—your blood, unprotected, came under my perception. It was at that moment that I was able to use blood marking, creating a connection between your blood and mine, thereby bypassing the protection of your principle."

"Obviously, it isn’t something that directly harms you, hence, with a little bit of ability, anyone with a blood related principle could achieve this, but since then, seamlessly and unknowingly, I’d instinctively have an idea of where you are."

Whether it was from Seth’s words or something else, as Seth said this, Anon’s body trembled before he covered his face with one hand.

Remaining silent after saying this, Seth awaited Anon’s reaction.

Truthfully, he expected the latter to exclaim out of worry.

After all, Anon was already very weary of Seth, and Seth knew this. And yet, Anon’s reply was completely contrary to what he expected.

"For fuck’s sake. You’re still silent? You know right? So why do I need to say it aloud?"

Anon, with a deep scowl printed all over his face, growled angrily, "I don’t care about any of this!"

"Tell me now! Now! Now! Now!"

"Where the fuck is that fucking Bolan?!"

"Fucking hell, tell me now! Where is he?!"