joice of living

After the meeting ended, Immemorvis and Afilada didn't bother staying. They simply demanded that Winter teleport them back to Mount Ososre, instructing her to return in a couple of weeks—since no one could enter or leave the Sanzu River dimension without some form of teleportation.

Immemorvis lounge lazily by a tree, while Afilada took slow sips from his hip flask, enjoying the tranquility of nature. His mask rested in his other hand. After a moment, he put the flask away and spoke in a serious tone:

"You lied, didn't you?"

Immemorvis glanced at him from beneath the silk that concealed his eyes, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips.

"Lie about what exactly?"

Afilada kept his gaze fixed on the distance, his voice detached.

"About the shaman boy… You know who he is, don't you?"

Immemorvis giggled before letting out a lazy sigh.

"Can't hide anything from you, can I? Afilada… I'm kinda curious—how did you figure it out so soon?"

Afilada slipped his hand inside his black coat, the fabric billowing in the wind.

"Just a guess… Obscuritas. You always seem to know things you shouldn't be able to know… you and that shadow of yours, to be exact. So I don't think for a second that you wouldn't know about a shaman who could potentially interfere with your plans.

You always have all your cards ready… just like when you allied yourself with those psychos. That was one of your cards as well, wasn't it?"

Immemorvis remained silent for a moment before responding in his usual tone.

"Are you talking about my alliance with those scientists four years ago?"

Afilada didn't reply immediately. When he finally spoke, his voice was cold.

"Are you sure it's wise to trust them to uphold their side of the alliance?"

Immemorvis stretched his arms lazily, letting out a small sigh.

"Don't worry too much, Afilada. The alliance may have started with that woman… but now, things are about to accelerate to a whole new level."

Afilada looked at him with a curious expression.

"Are you talking about that shaman woman who nearly killed Hephaestus…?"

Immemorvis smirked before replying.

"Yes… Ipoh. The shaman who came from a faraway land, from an entirely different cosmos—the land of shamans called Sylvanara.

Apparently, those scientists wanted to claim her other half after she passed… Basically, they wanted to reclaim their lost lab rat's other half. A demonic half, at that."

Afilada didn't respond for a while, his voice tinged with doubt when he finally spoke.

"You still haven't told me why you allied yourself with them all those years ago… What do we stand to gain from this alliance in the end?"

Immemorvis's tone grew serious. He removed the silk covering his face, revealing empty eye sockets. Then, he pulled back his hood, allowing his long blonde hair to flow behind him, carried by the wind. A malicious smile spread across his face.

"Our benefit, my dear Afilada, at the end of all this… is the opportunity to open a gateway to Sylvanara. Once we get there, the power we wield here will be nothing more than a grain of sand compared to the knowledge and strength we can obtain from the shamans of that land."

Immemorvis stood up, dusting himself off before slipping his hand into the pocket of his white coat. His voice carried a sense of unwavering resolve as he spoke.

"Why did I pretend not to know who that boy was? To the others? It's because that shaman… Cyrus Miravine…"

Afilada's eyes widened at the revelation of the boy's name, but Immemorvis continued without pause.

"He is part of the plan as well… the most important part, actually."

Still confused, Afilada furrowed his brows and asked,

"How so?"

Immemorvis looked at him with a wicked smile, his voice unwavering, showing no hint of doubt.

"Afilada… why do you think the wicked and his followers let us escape hell? To cause as much chaos and suffering as possible? Why would they do that, when they could cause a million times the damage that all of us combined could ever do? No, that's not it…"

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"I asked myself this question for a very long time. But then I realized… our existence, our reason to be, is for the wicked and his followers' interests. I don't know why exactly, but all ten of us… we're pawns, or... bosses from some video game for someone to defeat. Or at least stand in their way."

Immemorvis turned around, his long blonde hair flying in the wind.

"It was when those scientists came into contact with me that everything started to make sense. You see, everything is connected to that one family… the wicked and his followers, and even the next request of those scientists after Ipoh. It's all tied to the Miravine family."

Afilada looked at him, his grey eyes piercing.

"The Miravine family? You mean that old family of shamans that the public knows almost nothing about?"

Immemorvis chuckled softly, then spoke while gazing into the distance.

"You know what those scientists requested from me? To study the Miravine family… specifically, the only remaining child of the family. It wouldn't be wrong to say everything is connected to the Miravine family, but it's more precise to say that the reason the wicked and those scientists from Sylvanara are all here is because… they all have their eyes on Cyrus Miravine."

Immemorvis paused for a moment, then continued.

"That boy… is abnormal. He was able to match Mnemosyne's strength and speed at such a young age, and his skill is already on par—if not better—than most master swordsmen. His potential is terrifying. It wouldn't be surprising that they have their eyes on such an anomaly. He was the one who took down Mnemosyne… but he wasn't the one who killed her. He simply defeated her."

Afilada looked at him with serious eyes and asked,

"Then who did it?"

Immemorvis turned around, replying in a nonchalant tone,

"It was me… I devoured her soul core."

Afilada sighed, grabbing his hair.

"Is that so?"

Immemorvis gave him a strange look.

"You don't seem that surprised."

Afilada shrugged.

"It's not that surprising, really… One day, one of us would kill a peer and devour their soul core. I mean, it's the easiest way to grow more powerful. One of our soul cores is worth thousands upon thousands of mundane ones."

Afilada looked at him seriously, then spoke in a cold tone,

"So one of your many plans is to devour our peers' soul cores, one after the other?"

Immemorvis reacted with a shocked expression.

"What! No… I mean, no. Not every member… not the top three at least. I'll try to devour as many as I can… because by the next chain of events, we'll need to get stronger, and fast."

He let out a chuckle before saying,

"And I also need to make Cyrus Miravine more powerful… for the sake of my plan as well."

Afilada looked at him with a curious expression.

"Make him more powerful? Why?"

Immemorvis patted him on the chest in a playful manner.

"Don't worry, you'll know soon enough."

Afilada sighed, his voice tinged with exhaustion.

"Alright, I'll just trust your call."

Then, a wicked smile spread across his face.

"If one of your plans is to take down most of the Malvados… then I have a proposition for you."

Immemorvis looked at him with a curious expression.

"A proposition? And what might that be?"

Afilada's face then twisted into one of bloodlust, a wicked smile spreading across his lips. His aura screamed with the desire for pure murder.

"Then, at some point, let me have the opportunity to kill the Primer Malvado… Servus Ipse."

Immemorvis looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, then spoke in a tone that hinted at the same sentiment.

"My dear… dear Afilada… what you're asking for is a death sentence. That man… based on what I think I know about his abilities, I'm certain he's on an entirely different dimension from the rest of us. You have no chance against him…"

Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed Afilada drooling from the mouth, an inhuman smile spreading across his face.

"No one is unkillable… everyone can die. To kill something that is far beyond my ability… isn't that the pure joy of living?"

chapter seventy-five end