Chapter 23: Drazath
Five days later
They were currently standing in front of a lake. It was the last place and their last chance to help the village as they couldn't delay their time here anymore.
It wasn't a coincidence that the town was called Rose Lake.
Years ago, people came to bathe in there because the Lake's water was known to be beneficial for their bodies. For example, it could increase blood circulation, reduce stress, relieve pain, and on top of that, make their skin healthier.
Unfortunately, the water became darker after the curse's appearance. Its reputed benefits disappeared, and the Lake also became cursed. Because of this, the inhabitants had advised them against bathing in there.
Nevertheless, they had searched everywhere in the town except this place with the Ring's help. If they couldn't find anything, they would have to give up on helping the villagers and continue their journey.
Their original mission was to hunt down a dangerous demon, after all.
"Take this with you," Yasu said as he handed his Ring to Keitomi. "If you can find the object with it, I will give it to you. But make sure you come back here if you encounter something dangerous."
Because Keitomi was more resistant against the curse than them, he was to one who would be investigating alone.
In these past few days, he had noticed his little brother's several glances at his Ring, obviously attracted toward it. Like a nice big brother, Yasu decided to reward him if he was successful in his mission.
"Really?!"
Keitomi was greatly interested in the Ring as he had imagined himself giving it to Aiko many times. Because it looked wonderful, he was sure that it would suit her well and make her even more attractive than before. Furthermore, it was a unisex Ring, so it wasn't a problem at all.
Seeing his Nii-san nodding his head, he happily exclaimed, "I will make sure to find that thing!"
Shortly after, he dived into the water with only his shorts and the Ring in his hand.
Looking at his little brother's exciting expression, Yasu said on his mind, 'Does he have a girlfriend?'
🌟🌟🌟
Beneath the dark Lake, Keitomi was searching for the mysterious object. He was determined to find it as by giving it to her, Aiko won't lecture him too much for being enslaved by some thugs. Besides, he truly wanted to gift her the ring.
'Hehe, I might even be able to get away without any problems!' Keitomi thought happily.
Little did he knows that it was naive thinking...
Even if it was dark, he could still see everything around him. The water was actively assaulting his skin, but as an Ultimate Spirit, he didn't have to worry about that.
After searching for around two, he finally noticed something suspicious.
On the Lake ground, there was a Magic Circle. It looked like a Black Magic.
'It wasn't there last time...Is this the Illusion Array that Nii-san talked about? This Ring is definitely incredible...'
As Keitomi didn't know what to do, he simply summoned his Anti-Magic Sword and swung it at the Circle.
Even though his Anti-Magic was limited by his Magic Rank, it was still effective against something above his rank. For example, he was currently Peak A-Class, so he could use his Anti-Magic on something of SS-Class!
Unsurprisingly, the Magic Circle couldn't resist his attack and immediately broke down. Keitomi was startled in the next moment because as soon as the circle broke down, he was intently teleported in a dark cave!
Staying in a fighting pose, Keitomi looked around for any sudden movement.
The place was ghost-quiet, except for the sound of his breathing. If not for his unique eyes, he might not be able too to see anything.
"I didn't expect that someone would come to this place..." A deep voice said.
As he heard this, Keitomi was sure that it wasn't from a human.
His expression turned furious when a monster appeared in his sight of view.
It was a black demon with the shape of a regular human. His body was entirely black and had a tail on the back. Besides possessing many spiked features, his eyeballs were white. There was also a blade on the edge of his tail.
Because of his past, Keitomi had developed an intense hatred for Demons. He had lost his family because of Deliora, and everything he had to suffer till now was its fault. He had sworn himself to exterminate all of them so that other people won't lose their loved ones like him.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Keitomi asked with hostility.
Not minding the hostile glare, he replied, "Well, I am Drazath, an Etherious. I have been slumbering here for five years, continually absorbing those humans' negative emotions."
After staying in this place for years, Drazath was pleased that something interesting finally occurred to entertain its boredom.
'Five years...Wasn't it the time where the dark object fell from the sky?'
It must be related to it! Moreover, he said that it had been absorbing people's negative emotions.
Due to the curse, everyone in the town was miserable. They were never joyous because they had to constantly suffer from their sickness. Even though his Nii-san and Nee-chan didn't notice it, they were in a gloomy mood since they had arrived in the town.
It looked like his big brother's Cure Curse Potion only worked on their physical health and not their mental state.
To think that all of this was caused by a single demon, hateful!
But he will finish all of this today, and everyone would be happy again.
Keitomi still remembered his Nii-san's words. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that Drazath would let him get away to gather his allies. Moreover, he had no idea how to leave this place.
"I am Keitomi though there is no point to tell you as you will be dead soon enough."
Shortly after his gaze met Drazath, Keitomi released his killing intent, not bothering himself to hide anything at all.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone