A Sinner’s Chance

Despite the state I had fallen asleep in, I awoke in the morning feeling refreshed and well-rested, likely due to the presence of Steria and Arya who I vaguely recalled coming in at some point last night. It had already been a few weeks since Arya's theory that Ashara was molting, and therefore dormant, and yet I hadn't finished all the things I had set out to do before she awoke. There was a final task that I had been putting off for quite some time now, and the changes in the ritual room along with the blonde woman who had called herself Archangel Gabriel only gave me another reason to procrastinate.

As such, the first thing I did was head to the ritual room, fully prepared to examine the area and figure out just what had happened to it, only to find that the area was in the middle of repair. By that I meant the green haired girl was manipulating plants to stitch the cracked ground together while Damian finished the mending.

At first I was confused to their technique, it would have been much faster to just use magic on the entirety and remake it, until I realized that not just anyone had the powerful kind of mana cultivation technique I used, add on to that my stupidly large pool and it only made sense that they'd doo whatever they could to lower the cost of the spell.

After sealing the crack the two were working on they noticed me and Damian motioned that I should come over, wiping sweat from his brow as he took deep breaths. "Morning." he said between breaths. "You wouldn't happen to know what caused all the damage here would you?"

"Ah, that was me, sorry. A ritual didn't work how I wanted it to and caused some thick vines to burst through the ground." I said sheepishly.

The green haired girl looked at me incredulously, while Damian had an exasperated look 0n his face. "These vines didn't happen to be perhaps about as thick as a rope and some of the stone here became metallic did it?"

It felt like he knew what my answer to the question was going to be but he still sighed heavily when he heard it. "Just what kind of ritual were you doing that drew a Matalos here? I wouldn't be surprised to hear one lived nearby, but I can't imagine the amount of mana you poured forth to get it to come. Those things usually live of ambient mana in an area, sucking it dry and essentially creating a dead mana zone, and somehow you released enough mana to cause it to uproot itself from a spot it was likely very comfortable in and come here. Honestly."

Damian shook his head, and for a moment, he felt like a proper parent, while the green haired girl practically cowered behind him, her eyes fixated on me with both fear and confusion. However, I could only think that my plan for the day had been erased, and that since Damian was nearby I should just get the issue out of the way now.

I released a deep breath. "I want to talk to you about Ashara. Alone. And don't worry about fixing this I can do it real quick."

Damian seemed taken aback by my words but nodded. "Alright, I'll go wash up, meet me in the study? I think it's the most private place."

I closed my eyes while nodding, restraining as much mana as I could before molding the stone back into a proper floor. I was somewhat disappointed that I hadn't been able to look at the strange metallic stone or even the vines, but I made a mental note to look up Matalos later in Seshat's Library if I got the chance.

Once I finished repairing the floor I made my way to the study, only to find that Damian had beaten me there. He was sitting relatedly with what I assumed was a glass of whiskey, though since the bottle next to him was unlabeled I couldn't be sure. Despite the fact that he was far less intimidating than Demonweb, I was still rather nervous as I sat down, all he needed was a cigar, and a suit and I thought he'd make a rather convincing mob boss.

"Did something happen with Ashara? Why did you ask for this to be alone?" His voice was full of concern as he looked at me.

I shook my head. "I don't think anything has happened to her, but I thought it would be best to inform you since this will affect you the most." I said, just before taking a deep breath to calm my heart. "I don't know if my Corruption Skill is actually what affected Ashara, but if it did... It's likely she has some form of romantic attachment to me, something mutual."

Silence filled the room as Damian just looked at me and blinked a few times, likely trying to wrap his head around what my words meant, not that there was really any other way to interpret them. The awkward silence lasted for a solid ten seconds before Damian opened his mouth. "I have some complicated feelings about this, but why tell me? Why not-" He suddenly paused as if coming to a realization. "You plan on taking her with you?" He shook his head, brows furrowing. "The Races would never allow an Arachne into their midst, at least not in any legal manner. Humans especially are known for their acts of cruelty upon humanoid monsters." His voice had risen, but I had already made a sound barrier just in case so nothing would escape.

"But what if she didn't look like an Arachne, but more like I currently do? Or even Irellia? Most humans couldn't tell the difference, and those that can should know better than to mess with a monster that can take on human form alone, especially if they travel with the daughter of a Duke."

Damian slumped in his chair. "Your adopted human parents are a Duke and Duchess? Which one?" He seemed to be overwhelmed with everything happening.

"The Eldur Household, the one guarded by the Phoenix, and that border this forest."

The glass in Damian's hand suddenly shattered as he clenched it into a fist, his eyes staring at me with a strange burning. "So it's their fault. I see. What did they tell you about how you came to them?"

His sudden anger startled me, but only for a moment. "Not much." I said with a shake of my head. "Only that a passing patrol had found me in the arms of a burnt Arachne, something I took very hard at first. But what could I do? I was a powerless child then."

Damian listened intently though I could see his hands clenching and arms tensing. "They lied to you." he stated matter-of-factly. "I don't doubt they found you in the arms of a burnt Arachne, Ashara no doubt. But there was no passing patrol, they were deep in the Inner ring, not somewhere most humans can even get to, let alone regularly patrol. I assume that you were found by a third squad that was never found, as I can recall intercepting two nearly identical groups with the same emblems, that of a Phoenix, as Demonweb. They were interrogated, and there mission was to rescue a five year old child from the hands of a monster. They came specifically looking for you."

I didn't know what to do with this information other than sit stunned for a moment. Why had they been specifically looking for me? My phoenix blood? But Alcrem had two other daughters with highly potent Phoenix blood as well, and mine wasn't even a proper Phoenix, but rather a corrupted and dark one. So what on earth was his plan? I didn't doubt for a moment that he'd sent three separate knight teams to look for me just because he would consider it a good deed, but I couldn't understand what he would gain from doing so. What was his goal?

I struggled for a bit trying to think of something, but the more I tried to connect the dots, the more I realized how strange he had been.  I could only bite my lip in frustration before shaking my head. I'd talk to the others about it, but I first needed to accomplish my original reason for coming here.

"Even if that is so." I started. "I have to go back, now more than before. Steria and Arya aren't the only two I'm involved with outside of this forest. My adopted mother, the one who became a Dhampir, is staying in that place right now, along with my maid, who, while not corrupted, is still precious to me. I know they're currently fine, but that could change."

I paused and took a deep breath. "Unless she dislikes the idea, I'm taking Ashara with me and heading back. It seems there is much I need to confront the Duke about."