Chapter 258 - No Antidote
Adrian immediately stored the figurine in his inventory so that the two cousins would finally stop laughing. He now needed to focus on the next important quest he had and it was curing the tree of life. The bad news is that he has no news whether Elder Danaya managed to reverse the poison.
"Seeing that there is no news means that she has yet to find a way to cure the tree. In a time specific mission like this, no news is not good news." Adrian thought as he said his farewells to the father and daughter duo and Kabarakan.
The three of them seem to be in important missions and was only able to stop by for the reward because Adrian insisted it. Adrian told Levin Cloud to stay back because he needed to question him about some stuff. Adrian. Levin Cloud and Creepysoo moved to Creepysoo\'s room in the castle to talk privately.
"So what do you want to ask about?" Levin Cloud asked as he knows that it would be important since they went to a private room.
"Why were you at Abelpoint?" Adrian asked which shocked Levin Cloud.
"It seems you saw me there but why did you not contact me?" Levin Cloud asked as he would definitely greet his best friend.
"You were with the Church of Life remember? The Pope of that church is there so I cannot move close to you. Also when you entered the magic tower, I was unable to send you any message. It seems some king of interference magic since it is hinted that our message function is somehow magic." Adrian replied.
"Officially, we were there to give support to the holy barrier since the other elders of the Church of Life sent us there. Unofficially, we are currently being suspected by the higher ups of the Church of Life. They might have conducted a search on my master\'s premises when we were gone." Levin Cloud answered.
"You are being suspected?" Adrian asked in shock because he knows Elder Willow is very high up in the Church of Life.
"Even I was shocked about it. It seems they think that I am a traitor because I am snooping about old records of the Church of Life." Levin Cloud replied.
"They suspect you as a traitor? It seems that half demon old man is actually telling the truth that some imposters." Adrian muttered and it made him want to accept the offer of that old man Emrys.
"What do you mean by the word imposters?" Levin Cloud asked and Creepysoo even chimed in with eyes sparkling. Adrian has to admit that this little boy in front of him has odd tastes.
"Have you heard of the Faceless Ones?" Adrian asked the two.
"Nope." Levin Cloud answered.
"Of course. Who does not know them?" Creepysoo answered.
Adrian and Levin Cloud then looked at Creepysoo up and down as they were now sure why this kid went the undead route without his sister\'s supervision. He did not want to pry even further because it is a whole can of worms.
"The Faceless Ones are basically bootleg copies of the one they call the god of a million faces. At least that is what it said in a book that I just read but I forgot the real name of the god. It was interesting but why do all the endings in that book make them crazy or die insane." Creepysoo replied.
"Interesting. I was about to say that they are disgusting faceless humanoids that can take the identity of anyone just by having a sample of their DNA but yours seem way cooler." Adrian replied.
"Why do I feel like you already had an encounter with them?" Levin Cloud asked.
"Really?!" Creepysoo stated with glowing eyes and enthusiasm.
"Yeah. It gives me the creeps just remembering how they emerge from a pool of flesh and then take the form of those sacrificed to their god. But you said something about copies?" Adrian stated.
"Yeah. In a book I read, it says that his minions the Faceless Ones are like poor copies of itself sent to the world in order to gather information and gain the trust of the inhabitants." Creepysoo replied and Adrian could be seen very engaged in the conversation as he is so close to the former\'s face.
"Keep going. I am listening." Adrian stated as he needed more information.
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"So in summary, the faceless ones in the book that you have read are invading the natural inhabitants by trying to assimilate with them in order to one day take over all of humanity. It is harder to fight an enemy you cannot see. The worst thing is that you have no idea how to defeat them but I think I have one." Adrian stated as he thought how he managed to kill the flesh pit back when he encountered the faceless ones.
"You defeated them?" Levin Cloud asked.
"I did and they even dropped this weird mask." Adrian stated as he showed the Faceless Mask.
"Ey…Big Brother really likes unusual things." Creepysoo stated as he read the mask\'s description.
"I see that you are a man of culture as well." Levin Cloud stated which made Adrian hide the mask.
"Anyways, back to the topic at hand. It seems that some of these faceless ones managed to hide themselves and assimilate in the Church of Life. Why else would you suddenly become a suspicious person?!" Adrian stated.
"So you are saying that those things are parading themselves inside the Church of Life?" Levin Cloud asked.
"I am pretty sure and from Elder Willow\'s tone then it might be another elder." Adrian replied.
"An elder will be a death sentence to masquerade. The other elders would become suspicious since the elders live longer as they are High Elves." Levin Cloud answered.
"You see as long as those faceless goons have the template a.k.a. DNA then they are able to copy everything. Although the ones I encountered are flawless, it does not mean that there would be no faceless one that could perfectly copy an individual. They must be like us that could increase their persona." Adrian stated which gave him another headache.
"There is also something happening to Neo Alfheim. There has been a surge of monsters attacking it for the past couple of days. All elves that are born in Neo Alfheim had been told to help with the monster problem." Levin Cloud stated.
"It must be due to the fact that the tree of life is dying. It is both a purifying element and a warding totem. If the tree of life dies then Neo Alfheim will be destroyed." Adrian stated which greatly shocked Levin Cloud as he is hearing it for the first time.
"Yah! You brat! You should have told me about the destruction of Neo Alfheim!" Levin Cloud shouted as he grabbed Adrian by the collar and started shaking him aggressively.
"The most ironic thing that I heard today is actually the tree of life can die." Creepysoo stated as Levin Cloud is now strangling Adrian.
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Adrian is now in Alfheim due to the fact that his best friend nagged him the whole time he was loitering about. Ascalor was more than happy to send Adrian to Alfheim because he had to send a few things to Danaya.
"It is impossible." Elder Danaya stated as the leaf she dropped in the poison melted away.
"What is impossible?" Adrian asked while rubbing his hands together.
"I should make it easier to understand then. This poison cannot be purified or cleansed in any way that I have. You told me that senile time obsessed fool also did not find a way right? It means that it is hopeless then." Elder Danaya stated while she laid down on her flower bed.
"So you are saying that I should give up?" Adrian asked.
"Yeah. It is impossible even for me. The poison acts like a living organism that is still connected to its originator. Unless we kill the originator, the poison will not die. It\'s just one tree of life. I can give you a seed but it would take years to grow though." Elder Danaya stated while looking at Adrian\'s worried expression.
"I am pretty sure that you know that you demons are not just protector of life but you guys are also the incarnation of destruction. There is a reason why you guys are different compared to the other five races." Elder Danaya stated which caught Adrian\'s attention.
"Why do you mean different? Can you please explain?" Adrian asked as he was curious on the origins on why the five races are different.
"You could say that you demons are built differently. Even I do not remember your Asmodian ancestor or how the first demon came to be? Even my gladiolus rarely speak about your anscestors and why you demons are the only one that can process energy." Elder Danaya stated.
"Can you tell me the story on how the other four races came to be then?" Adrian asked.
Elder Danaya then gesture for Adrian to lie on her lap.
"Come here then." Elder Danaya stated as she gestured for Adrian to lie on her lap.
"Why are you doing this motion?" Adrian stated as he copied Elder Danaya\'s gesture.
"I am basically like your aunt so come here or else I will not tell the story." Elder Danaya stated and Adrian could only accept defeat. He lied on Elder Danaya\'s lap as she stroked Adrian\'s hair which greatly embarrassed him. Adrian is now cursing his curiosity.