Chapter 50: Outcome

Lira was already out of the book when Aries and Siorre returned to the chamber. She was being cradled by her father.

"Did she pass?" Siorre asked while helping Aries settle on one corner of the room.

"Yes," the old man answered with a proud smile. "She is just tired and needs to rest."

"We all need some rest," Siorre wearily slumped near Aries. "I didn't fight or summon spirits but I feel so tired. Seeing those villagers…" she leaned her head on the wall, looked up, and closed her eyes. "I don't know… It is kind of depressing…"

"It is…" Aries whispered in agreement. His energy was not recovering. He would have collapsed on the ground if not for the wall where his back was leaning. His vision was still a bit hazy but, at least, his hearing had somehow returned to normal.

A few minutes later, a blinding light had appeared in the room and vanished in an instant, leaving Quaria and Shaman Mina at the chamber.

The elder shaman looked tired but not as much as Aries was. She and Quaria had settled on the room near Aries and Siorre.

"You did great, kid," Shaman Mina lightly tapped Aries on the shoulder. "Those people had somehow been relieved of their pain. I'll just wait for Gin-Ren and we will return the House of Maiden."

"Thank you for helping this House, Shaman Mina," Aries tried to bow on the ground but the elder shaman had stopped him.

"You don't have to do that," she said. "It is enough that you put your acquired abilities to good use."

"Thank you," Aries weakly smiled and leaned back on the wall. His head throbbed and his vision swirled with that tiny movement.

Another few minutes of silence had passed before Prince Sunrei and Gin-Ren returned to that chamber. The young Head Shaman was still a bit energetic. It must be because of her age.

She had rushed towards Aries, slumped on the ground in front of him, and took him in a tight embrace.

"My love for you is only growing!" Gin-Ren exclaimed as she tightened her arms around him.

Aries was too exhausted to struggle against her grip, and the intense throbbing in his head had only worsened his weariness.

A few seconds later, Aries heard a thumping sound and Gin-Ren cried, "Ouch! Shaman Mina! Why did you hit my head? And where are you hiding that fan? It is always appearing in your hand just to slap my head!"

"Lower your voice," the elder shaman snapped at her. "People here need to rest, including Aries. Leave him be."

"Fine!" Gin-Ren carefully assisted Aries as he leaned back on the wall then she told him, "Sorry. I'm just happy. I've done summoning a couple of times since I've become a Head Shaman but I never did it like this. Thank you for the opportunity."

Aries managed to flash a little smile but could no longer tilt his painful head for a shake or a nod. His mouth had also shut tight.

"We need to go," Shaman Mina got up on her feet with a little help from Prince Sunrei. "We cannot leave the House of Maiden for a long time."

"I know," Gin-Ren sadly agreed. "I'll see you later."

Quaria had given Gin-Ren a few transport bracelets and bottles of holy water. She and Tauren had somehow replenished their stocks and divided everything among themselves. They were growing in number and the two had told themselves that they should reproduce their creations at a faster pace while maintaining the effectiveness of each item.

Gin-Ren waved goodbye before grabbing Shaman Mina with her left hand then she broke a transport bracelet with her right. A blinding light had enveloped them and they vanished along with it.

Another hour of silence had passed before Princess Pieffer returned to the chamber. Tauren was carrying the princess in his arms and he carefully placed her right next to Aries. Despite her weariness, she was still awake.

"I told Tauren that I can walk on my own," Princess Pieffer was looking at Aries with worry.

"We all need to rest," he told the princess and everyone in the room because everything around him was continuously spinning.

"Let's return to our manor," the old man had offered. "All of you can rest there."

"Tauren and I should head back to our Houses," Quaria stood right next to the Bull House Leader.

"Thanks for the help," Aries whispered and he could no longer hold on to his consciousness. Darkness had finally swallowed everything.

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Aries finally found a way to escape the ropes that were binding him to the ancient tree at the House of Bull. Dark clouds had covered the starlit sky, making his surroundings darker than it already was. He quietly moved up on his feet and walked around the beautiful yard. He had to save the people in that tower from the possessed princess. She said it herself. She had been created by the devil. It must be the corrupted soul speaking and not the true owner of the body.

He had no way of saving the poor soul of the princess. The only way to free her was to kill the corrupted soul along with the vessel.

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Earlier, the corrupted soul was trying to trick him and he tried to ride along with it. When she was done with her attempt to persuade him that she was not a bad person, he told the wicked spirit that he needed some time to contemplate on things that she had told him even though he did not understand a word the corrupted soul had uttered. If he did try to listen, the corrupted soul would find a way to penetrate his mind. He only pretended to listen but his mind was elsewhere. He was trying to break away from the ropes that were tightly wrapped around his body.

Oblivious of his plans, the corrupted soul agreed and gave him an hour to think.

At the moment that he had been left alone, he quickly struggled against the ropes. It took him half an hour before he could finally break out of it. He only had thirty minutes left to find a good place to hide and wait for a perfect time to destroy the corrupted soul.

But there was no need to hide and wait. Princess Pieffer was at the other side of the yard. She was sitting underneath the shades of another ancient tree that was smaller than the one in the front yard. Her eyes were closed as if she was meditating.

Aries was standing a few feet away from the princess but the dark aura around her body was already obvious to him. The corrupted soul inhabiting her body appeared to be one of a kind and powerful. That was the first time Aries had seen such a confusing dark essence.

"Have you finally made up your mind?" Princess Pieffer opened her eyes and stared at Aries.

If he would only gaze at her sapphire-blue eyes, Aries could say that she was not possessed. But the dark aura around the body of the princess was telling him otherwise.

"Yes," he coldly answered and released a dagger with a crimson blade. "You need to die."

He dashed towards the princess and stabbed her in the chest.

But darkness had swallowed him before he could successfully pierce the heart of Princess Pieffer.

He ran and tried to find a way out but there was none. There was only endless darkness and deafening silence. He slumped wearily on the cold ground and suddenly, glass containers appeared in front of him. Three of those were nearest to her. On the right was the axe. On the left was the whip. On the center was the silver dagger.

Aries realized that he was no longer dreaming about the past. He was back at the deepest part of his mind. He got up on his feet and stood in front of the silver dagger.

"I know it was you," he whispered to it. "The voice that told me to keep on killing. It must be hard for you to believe that I want to live a good life so that we can be together in our next lifetime. You will see it in time. I will save this kingdom and ask the gods to let us be reborn together. I will make it happen. Just please, wait for it, Pieffer."

A bolt of electricity had shot out of the silver blade, passed through the glass container, and hit Aries. He had been electrocuted strong enough to wake him up.

"Aries! You are finally awake!"

Princess Pieffer bolted up from the chair next to the bed where Aries was lying. He also noticed that there were guards stationed inside the room. At first, he was alarmed at the thought that they did not totally clean the manor from the corrupted souls but as he stared longer at the guards, he realized that those were Brailles, Ross, and Dan. They were the closest comrades of Lira.

"You've been sleeping for five days straight. I nearly thought about summoning your spirit," Princess Pieffer put a hand over his forehead. "Your fever had finally gone down," she sighed with relief. "Wait here. I will get you something to eat."

"Let me do it, Princess!" Brailles had instantly offered. "You should stay here and tell Sir Aries of all the things that happened to the House of Scale this past five days."

"Thank you, Brailles."

The newly hired guard had given them a salute before leaving the room.

Aries sat up but his arms were too weak that he only collapsed back on the bed.

"Let me," Princess Pieffer kindly helped him up.

"Thanks," Aries was embarrassed at his weakness. "You said that I've been sleeping for five days. But why do I still feel so weak?"

"It is because you used the shadow trick a lot of times and brought people along with you," Princess Pieffer explained. "I asked Master Kiel and he told me that if you overuse such trick, it could cost you your life because you are not only using your physical energy but also your inner strength."

"This is one of the rooms on the second floor of the manor, right?"

"This is the room of Lira's mother," Princess Pieffer informed him with a sad smile.

"What happened to her and to the rest of the prisoners I had taken to the House of Pitcher? What about Lira's father? Had they already been punished?" Aries realized that he had missed a lot while he was sleeping. "What about the barriers? Had they been reinstated? And why do I feel that this place is still heavily guarded? Are there still threats to this manor?"

Aries felt Ross and Dan stiffened with unease.

"What wrong?"

The princess let out a deep breath before telling him, "This is the only room that has a tight security. You had been branded a criminal for killing two guards at the quadrangle. Lira is waiting for you to wake up before she gives you her verdict."

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