Chapter 173. Chain of Possession

-------------- Start of Act II: The Knife Twists again --------------

It has been five days since discovering the secret behind Rathma's Necropolis. 

During these five days, Michael remained in Kyovashad, helping Mina, Hoduin, and Martel with training newbies. He wasn't immensely experienced compared to the veterans, but his minions proved worthy adversaries to the inexperienced Wanderers. 

Besides that, he spent most of his time with Helen, enjoying each other's company or learning the written language of Sanctuary. Neyrelle also helped with lessons on the Horadric Code, which proved immensely helpful in finding some interesting books about Necromancers in the Vault.

Since Neyrelle was Level 49, now that the Main Quest was over, she partied with Michael, and they explored the Lost Archives, searching for interesting books. 

Unfortunately, it turns out that all the books in the Lost Archives were 'bait' as Neyrelle called them. After learning about the Horadric Code from the girl and trying to read the words in one of the books, he was shocked to see messy words without any meaning thrown around as sentences. 

After explaining things properly, Neyrelle revealed that it was a common thing Horadrim did when they abandoned a Vault. She and her mother have encountered seven other such places in their travels.

Empty-handed, the duo returned and continued their research on the only place of knowledge they had left—the Horadric Vault near Yelesna.

There were no significant discoveries, but with the help of the books there and the material Natalia, Hawezar's Night Lord, sent over, Michael could finally understand the most basic things about his Class. 

Stretching while taking in his surroundings, he looked at his empty Equipment inventory. Zivek helped him gain another 6 Iron Chunks, 3 Silver Ore, 5 Rawhides, 2 Superior Leather, 6 Veiled Crystals, 1 Coiling Ward, and 1 Baleful Fragment.

He opened his Consumables inventory and saw the Elixirs lined up neatly inside, as well as the previously purchased Whispering Keys.

3 Whispering Keys

2 Weak Elixir of Fire Resistance (requires Level 15)

2 Elixir of Demon Slaying (Level 36)

1 Weak Precision Elixirs (Level 30)

1 Elixir of Undead Slaying (Level 36)

1 Elixir of Fortitude (Level 36)

It was a good haul, and he would soon be able to use them again. Furthermore, his other inventories were in a similar condition. 

After extracting the Aspect of Dominion Occult from the Legendary boots he gained when visiting Malnok, Michael now had two Aspects lying there and waiting to be used. The second was the Aspect of the Protector, for which he still hadn't found a decent Legendary item to imprint on.

Then, there was the Materials inventory.

-32 Blightshade

-43 Lifesbane

-61 Gallowvine

-86 Biteberry

-35 Reddamine

-39 Howler Moss

-195 Grave Dust

-182 Demon Hearts

-230 Crushed Beast Bones

-29 Angelbreath

-150 Veiled Crystals

- 7 Coiling Wards

- 6 Baelful Fragments

- 4 Abstruse Sigil

476 Iron Chunks 

282 Rawhide

116 Silver Ores

137 Superior Leather

1 Crude Skull

1 Crude Amethyst

1 Crude Ruby

603 Ruby Fragments

760 Emerald Fragments

739 Diamond Fragments

746 Saphire Fragments

765 Topaz Fragments

777 Amethyst Fragments

711 Skull Fragments

He hasn't spent all his time indoors in the past five days. Rather, with the Bounty Quest he put up earlier, they were able to locate all of Lilith's Altars in Fractured Peaks but refrained from temporarily activating them.

Aylin and the other representatives researched the altars to ensure nothing bad happens after all are lit.

His Level was still at 46, but his experience was almost maxed out, staying at 436,974/447,379. 

The gold stash didn't increase either, as he was planning to salvage enough materials for his future upgrades, so now, the goal was four digits for all the materials in his possession.

Still, his gold coins reached 1,037,888 nevertheless.

Annoyedly, he kicked one of the small spiderlings at his feet while his minions cleared the spiderwebs covering the front.

Using a passage through the mountains from Mercy's Reach Dungeon, he stepped into Scosglen territory and found Sarat's Lair, a Dungeon where spiders abounded. He could finally complete the second tier of the Codex of Power upgrade through it.

"*Sigh* I know the girls mentioned that there would be many spiders, but I'm starting to develop arachnophobia from the sheer density of these creatures..."

[ Dungeon Quest issued - Sarat's Lair

Objective: Destroy Silken Spire (2/3). ]

Once the second Silken Spire fell, his level finally reached 47.

[ Class: High Necromancer

Attack Power: 639

 Armor: 3,419

 Life: 2,406

--------------

Strength: 276

Intelligence: 326

Willpower: 353

Dexterity: 330 ]

Shrugging, he continued his spider extermination. Each time a Silken Spire would be destroyed, a Matriarch Elite would jump at him from the ceiling, making the Necromancer's skin crawl.

On his way to the final objective, he found the corpse of a villager, together with a shining blue parchment.

After picking it up, Michael curiously read it.

[ Dear brother,

I am calling in a family favor. We've got a spider problem on the farm, and the wife will have my head if I don't see to it. I reckon there's a nest somewhere about. 

Round up those idiot cousins of ours and bring a jug of rotgut. I won't do this sober. ]

Looking at the man's corpse, he could tell easily how the 'spider problem' ended for the men.

Shaking his head and moving forward, he finally cleared the last Matriarch. The Elites weren't difficult to kill, it was just that they had the Waller modifier, and kept blocking his minions from advancing, after which they shot poison and silken webs from afar.

[ Dungeon Quest update - Sarat's Lair

Objective: Travel to the Queen's Room. ]

Quite surprisingly, Michael found the Boos Room rather quickly, with less than 50% of the Dungeon discovered. 

He didn't complain, though, and focused on killing the Boss. Grabbing the two Legendary items on the ground, he could feel his chest heaving with anger.

2 hours! For two full hours, he chased the damned Sarat Boss around the room!

The stupid creature would attack a couple of times, after which it would start running away, distancing itself from the minions and Michael, only to spit poison and silken webs at them, as well as randomly. 

As a result, not only was the entire floor covered by poison and webs that slowed everyone, but the fucker would also summon tons of Spider Carriers, which would explode into even more spiders upon being killed. 

It was the most disgusting fight he endured so far. Not as difficult, as Sarat didn't pose a life-threatening danger to the Necromancer, but from pure disgustingness.

Without hesitation, he used quick travel to return to Menestad. He set it up as a transfer point previously today, as he saw a Side Quest he could get there.

Exiting the portal, Michael inspected his Codex of Power upgrade and was finally happy.

[ Codex of Power (Achievement Upgrade 2): +25% increase for all Aspects. ]

He did consider the third upgrade, but it was too far away. Not only did he have to clear all 115 'official' Dungeons in the Sanctuary, as well as another 50 Nightmare Dungeons, but he also had to do all that before reaching Level 100. 

As a pleb with 25 Dungeons cleared that hasn't even reached Level 50, Michael gave up on this mission temporarily and focused on the Side Quest.

Checking the location on the MAP, he raised an eyebrow upon seeing the description. A very familiar setting!

[ Side Quest: Chain of Possession (Level 47+)

Objective: Seek out the dangerous woman and the Knight she murdered in Menestad. ]

Surprised to see it was actually a murder case and not the possession in terms of demons, Michael wondered if he should alert the local authorities first.

After all, things might get complicated when dealing with such a mess. He did not want to get stuck behind bars, so he found the closest City Guard and explained the situation. 

The man brought four more colleagues with him and silently followed behind the Necromancer.

Reaching the location marked, Michael immediately gestured for the City Guards to approach. He smelled the stench of blood.

Sure enough, behind a house, a Monk tried to heal one of the downed Knight Penitents. There were two other Knights on the floor, but judging from their dismembered limbs, they were long gone. 

The strange thing was the lack of blood on the two bodies. The place reeked of blood, but there was too little on the ground compared to the wounds the three men suffered.

[You there, what happened here!?](City Guard)

[Get up, Knight! Get up! She must be stopped before more are hurt! You there! City Guards, come help!](?)

Michael didn't hesitate and directly fed a Healing Potion to the wounded Knight, after which he turned to the raving Monk.

"Calm down, and stop yelling! Who are you, and what happened here?"

[I'm Parin, a Priest in the service of the Cathedral. A madwoman with an axe! She massacred my knights like they were children...](Parin)

"A woman with an axe?"

Taken aback, he quickly connected the dots. The Side Quest about Nevesk's serial killer!

Back then, he handed the cursed axe to the woman, as she said she'd bring it back to Menestad to her employer, Parin.

"The woman, was the one you tasked with finding the axe? The axe of the Woodsman in Nevesk?"

[Yes. Her face was pained as if she could not stop herself. The axe... it seemed to feed on the blood...](Parin)

"Well, that explains the lack of blood here. Did she go in the Cellar?"

[Yes. Someone must separate her from that accursed axe! The town militia won't stand a chance...](Parin)

Nodding at the City Guards not to intervene, he turned to the wounded Knight Penitent and asked if he was better.

[I will live. Do not... underestimate her... *Cough*.](Knight Penitent)

"I won't. I still want to live another day. Monk, why are these Knights following you? Leaving aside that cursed object, two people are dead because of you. I hope you have a good explanation."

[They served as... both protectors and observers I trusted with my work...](Parin)

"Seems like there's more to this, but we'll get back to it after I figure out the damned axe. Stay here. Don't let them go anywhere."

With the City Guards' acknowledgment, Michael entered the Cellar and directly summoned his minions.

The first thing he saw was the badly mangled corpse of a Knight Penitent. His armor was stripped, and even his bones were shattered.

The Sanctuary identified it, helping the Necromancer better understand the facts.

[ This Knight has had much of his flesh picked to the bone. Large gashes have shattered the skull and chest. ]

Michael lightly called out, realizing it was done with the object he was looking for.

"Magdalena, where are you? I'm here to help."

[*Panting* You! Anyone but you! Stay back!](Magdalena)

Hearing the words coming from the next room, he hurried there with his minions taking point. He found the woman in a pool of blood, bits of flesh covering her face. There wasn't a single spot on her body left clean.

Tears would smear the bloodstains on her face as her left hand plucked the flesh of another dead Knight and stuffed her mouth with it. The axe was in her right hand, radiating bloodlust.

Judging from her unwilling expression...

"The axe is possessed, huh..."

[Haha! This one begged for mercy. Now, she feats on human flesh. Quite amusing, don't you think, Wanderer?](?)

This one seemed lax and uncaring compared to the other demonic entities he had heard of before. They weren't many, but they each had a rather 'special' personality.

The voice was neutral and lifeless, even after being distorted by Magdalena's feminine tone. Before he could ask any other questions, the woman lunged at him with her axe, crashing through the Reapers.

A blood-red light passed by his right ear, and his right shoulder sank. Seeing the axe embedded into his shoulder, Michael was scared senseless. The woman was still a couple of meters away, and the cursed object was still in her hands, yet a bloodied axe cut deep into his flesh.

Luckily, the protection bubble manifested, and the physical object bounced from Michael's skull before it could end his life. Frightened, he quickly used the Golem's taunt, Reap, Corpse Tendrils, and Corpse Explosion in quick succession.

Adding Decrepify to slow down the possessed Magdalena, Michael tried to distance himself from the woman, only to see the axe falling toward his face once more.

Cursing, he used Evade, only to see another strike heading for his midsection. Unable to avoid it, he used Blood Mist and became invulnerable for three seconds.

In those three seconds, Magdalena fell to the ground, decapitated by one of the Reapers. 

Looking at the dead woman and the cursed axe, Michael still didn't dare to approach.

"Shit... I wasn't planning to kill her, damn it..."

[You down there, Wanderer! Is it done?](Parin)

Probably hearing the fighting sounds stop, the Priest's voice echoed through the Cellar.

Sighing, Michael took a Healing Potion and drank it.

"Yes. The threat is gone."

Looking at the woman's decapitated body, the Necromancer had mixed feelings. Hearing the footsteps and seeing Parin enter in the company of three City Guards, he nodded at the group.

Suffice it to say they were all appalled by the two 'eaten' Knights and the decapitated Magdalena. Fortunately, he had already unsummoned his minions to prevent any possible complications or rumors.