Blood Eye and Void Club

Xignos was a powerful Transcendent creature from the Southern Great Wilderness Swamp of the Lorenzo Kingdom. It began as a giant snake of limited intelligence, usually growing more than twenty meters long by adulthood. At that stage, it was not yet a Transcendent creature. Only after devouring a human virgin would it transform, growing another head. Over time, that head would take the form of a human woman's upper body and inherit the victim's intelligence. Its Transcendent abilities would awaken, making it a true Transcendent creature.

What Green had captured this time was the result of a Six-Headed Xignos dying without its soul dissipating. For some reason, the soul had split into six independent spirits.

"Her individual combat strength isn't as good as Maxim's, yet she costs more than twice as much. Is that because the six of them could merge and become a Corpse Witch?" Green murmured. He was somewhat disappointed by the Six Sisters of Xignos' combat strength, but he still had hope. If he gathered all six and found a corpse, he could obtain a powerful Six-Headed Xignos Corpse Witch. That would be a bargain with no chance of losing out.

After all, a Six-Headed Xignos was second only to the legendary Great Dragon in strength. Its enormous, formidable body, combined with the human heads on its six branches, each wielding a different school of magic, placed it firmly at the Archmage level. Even if becoming a Corpse Witch after death diminished its strength, it would still be Advanced Formal.

Unfortunately, Green was getting ahead of himself. He had captured only one of the Six Witches of Xignos, and gathering the rest would be far from easy.

A while later, the Graveyard's Psychic Energy finished assimilating her, and Green summoned her.

Now transformed into a Graveyard Evil Spirit, the Xignos Banshee appeared as a translucent spirit. She wore an elegant long dress, her hair falling to her waist, and was strikingly beautiful. Unlike Maxim, she retained the ability to think and some of her memories. When she saw Green, she looked a little afraid, but still gave him a curtsy. Her spirit vibrated, producing a voice like a little girl's. "Hello, my master. Holly is at your service."

"Oh? Your name is Holly? Then tell me about your other sisters." Green was surprised. This was the first time an Undead creature from the Graveyard had been able to speak with him. On that point alone, the Xignos Banshee was a cut above Maxim.

"Yes, Master." Holly showed no resistance and began to explain. "Their names are Rota, Hill, Nancy, Lily, and Talaga. Rota is our Eldest Sister. She was the first to be devoured by the Snake Mother and used to be a swordswoman. Because she appeared first, she's very strong. Hill is a coward. Nancy and Lily are twins. Talaga is the youngest, but she's the strongest. She killed everyone. We didn't want to kill anyone at first, but Mr. Caspar said it was Lord Akalusi's order. Everyone in this castle was to be steeped in eerie terror for ten days, dying slowly, one by one... We had to obey Lord Akalusi's orders."

"Mr. Caspar? Lord Akalusi? Who are they?" Green had never heard either name before.

Holly hurried to explain who they were. Only then did Green learn that the organization targeting Wilson Castle was called Blood Eye.

Unlike a second-rate cult such as the Tower of Yin Spirits, Blood Eye was a true Transcendent organization hidden in the darkness. Its leader, Blood Knight Akalusi, and its second-in-command, Bloody Undead Martinez, were both Formal-Rank Transcendents. The man named Snett Caspar was Blood Eye's chief steward, responsible for its day-to-day operations and development.

Blood Eye did not have many members, but it kept quite a few nonhuman Transcendents and Eerie beings like the Six Witches under its control. Bound to Akalusi, they appeared and vanished like ghosts and were extremely difficult to deal with. Blood Eye did not hold the Northwest Province uncontested, however. Its formidable rival was the Void Club, another organization with Formal-Rank Transcendents. It was stronger and larger, and had kept Blood Eye in check for decades.

It was the first time Green had heard of Blood Eye and the Void Club, or of Blood Knight Akalusi and Bloody Undead Martinez.

And Blood Knight Akalusi, the leader of Blood Eye, had set his sights on the Wilson Family. Fortunately, the man had a twisted taste for prolonging the terror and had told the Six Witches not to kill everyone at once. Otherwise, no one in Wilson Castle would still be alive.

Armed with this information, Green went to see Viscount Paul again.

Steward Laurence had already returned. Viscount Paul and Vincent looked grimmer than before, especially the viscount, whose brows were drawn into three deep furrows. When Green entered, he could not help rising to his feet. His solid-wood chair scraped against the floor with a harsh screech.

The noise seemed to jolt Viscount Paul awake. He steadied himself, took a deep breath, and asked as calmly as he could, "Green, how does it look?"

Green did not conceal what he knew. He gave a broad account of the Six Witches and Blood Eye, though he hid the fact that Holly now served him.

"Blood Eye!" Viscount Paul's face grew even more strained. He plainly knew the organization existed and understood what its involvement meant. Yet he clung to one last thread of hope. Looking at Green, he asked, "Are you sure? I mean..."

Viscount Paul had almost asked for the source of the information, but stopped halfway through. Green's position had changed. He was very nearly the Wilson Family's only lifeline, and the viscount was no longer in a position to press him on anything he chose not to reveal.

Realizing this, Viscount Paul sighed inwardly. He had lived long enough to see that strength decided everything. He adjusted quickly, felt no embarrassment, and let the question drop.

Just then, urgent knocking sounded outside the study. A flustered manservant burst in, panting hard, his face filled with fear. He opened his mouth, but was too breathless to speak.

Viscount Paul's face darkened. "What happened? Take your time."

The manservant dragged in several quick breaths. "My lord, Old Nante and Xihado from the stables have gone missing. They've very likely... very likely been killed!"

"What? More people..." Vincent cried out despite himself. They had known that, with the Eerie threat still at large, more people would die. Even so, another pair of victims so soon was hard to accept.

Green narrowed his eyes. He had thought that capturing Holly would make the other Xignos Enchantresses lie low for a while. Apparently, he had been wrong. Were they challenging him? Still, this was just as well. If they had lost their nerve and hidden away, he would have struggled to drag them out one by one. Since they still dared to show themselves, he had a chance to catch them all in one net.