Having crossed the steps outside the Divine Tower, Bai Shi arrived at the summit of the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
Like the other divine towers, the top was spacious and wide.
But unlike the towers that housed the corpses of the Two Fingers and bestowed the power of Great Runes, there was no such corpse here.
There was only Ranni’s discarded old body.
Bai Shi walked forward, coming to stand beside Ranni’s corpse.
Jokes and puns cost nothing in the ga, so players often called this body “Burnt Small Ranni,” a play on the na of the “Small Ranni” doll.
In reality, however, the corpse before Bai Shi was anything but small.
Even curled up as it was, the charred body was a couple of sizes larger than Bai Shi.
Perhaps she should be called “Burnt Large Ranni?”
After all, his mother-in-law, Rennala, was quite tall. Combined with Radagon’s side of the family, there was no way Ranni’s demigod body could have been small.
Bai Shi walked over to the side of Ranni’s burnt corpse.
Before Ranni’s body lay a golden pendant, impossible to miss.
The pendant had been left right in front of her corpse, in a place she could always see.
Perhaps in the final monts before abandoning her body, she had been gazing at this very talisman.
Bai Shi knelt and picked up the talisman from before the charred remains.
The golden talisman was engraved with the image of a young maiden looking up at the night sky, chasing the moon and stars.
It was one of the legendary talismans, the Stargazer Heirloom.
And it depicted the story of the “Full Moon Queen” Rennala before she beca queen.
The stargazing maiden walked under the night sky, embarking on a journey of endlessly chasing the stars.
Then she t the full moon and beca a queen.
The talisman engraved with this legend was imbued with power, increasing the wearer’s intelligence by five points, making it quite practical.
Looking at the talisman in his hand, Bai Shi stroked his chin, lost in thought.
According to the Black Knight, “Full Moon Queen” Rennala had a younger sister, Rellana, the Twin Moon Knight.
There were quite a few moons in the Lands Between, each one unique and independent of the others.
The Black Moon, the Full Moon, the Dark Moon.
If the title “Twin Moon” did indeed describe her power...
Then perhaps it referred to the moons of the two sisters?
So, did Rellana, like her sister, also find her own moon?
Looking at it this way, there really were a lot of moons in the Lands Between.
Bai Shi put away the Stargazer Heirloom and turned his gaze back to the charred corpse Ranni had left on the tower’s summit.
His eyes scanned Ranni’s body, observing it carefully.
Soon, Bai Shi found the winding Cursemark of Death on her back.
It was a half-centipede wound ring, exuding an aura of death.
Looking at the Cursemark of Death, Bai Shi began to recall what he knew about it.
When a demigod died for the first ti, a cursemark was inscribed upon them.
Ordinarily, it would be a complete centipede ring forming a full circle.
However, there were two initial demigod deaths, so the cursemark was split into two half-centipede rings.
Ranni was the first to die in body, while the Prince of Death was the first to die in soul.
He had one half of the cursemark now, but the whereabouts of the other half were a complete mystery.
Bai Shi had no intention of handing the Cursemark of Death over to Fia.
The creation of Those Who Live in Death was an accident; those creatures possessed no true consciousness.
Bai Shi understood Fia’s efforts to secure rights for them, but he could not allow the Age of the Duskborn to co to pass.
If Those Who Live in Death ran rampant, they might be happy, but what would happen to the other inhabitants of the Lands Between?
Therefore, an object of such special aning and power as the Cursemark of Death absolutely could not fall into the hands of Fia’s faction.
If possible, it would be best to get his hands on both halves of the cursemark.
That way, the followers of the Prince of Death who longed for the Age of the Duskborn would be powerless to stir up trouble.
After all, even with just one half, there was no telling what those people could accomplish with its power.
Fia could create a nding Rune from two pieces of the cursemark. Even with just one, she could certainly put it to use.
But for now, based on his knowledge from the ga, he could only obtain the half from Ranni.
The ga never sent the player to find the other half of the cursemark.
In the ga, the missing half was found by D.
He entrusted the player with the task of hunting Those Who Live in Death and collecting Deathroot, which freed him from that duty.
During that ti, he followed the trail of the centipede brand until he eventually found the missing half of the Cursemark of Death.
Unfortunately, because D found it, he beca a target for Fia.
After Fia cursed D to death, she took the cursemark. That was how she ca to possess it in the ga.
As of now, D had not yet found that half and was still searching.
Bai Shi had been keeping an eye on his progress. This ti, he wouldn’t let D die so inexplicably in the Roundtable Hold.
However...
Rogier’s relationship with D had improved significantly, and they were searching for the cursemark together.
He just didn’t know if Fia would learn of the cursemark’s location through Rogier.
And even... could Rogier beco the one to backstab D instead of the player?
Rogier was truly devoted to Fia, constantly exploring the nature of ‘Death.’
But he was rely one of Fia’s many champions.
Bai Shi looked up at the sky and shook his head.
Rogier, oh Rogier, I hope you don’t make a decision you’ll regret.
Compared to D’s situation, Bai Shi faced a more pressing problem.
How exactly was he supposed to get the Cursemark of Death off Ranni’s back?
This thing was a brand left on Ranni by ‘Death’ itself; it was a conceptual object.
Strictly speaking, it was a part of Ranni’s body, inseparable from her.
And Bai Shi had never been good with conceptual things. He had no good way of separating it now.
Could it be... he had to take a part of Ranni’s body with him?
That was a little too bizarre.
And even if he managed to transfer it, how would he store it?
Bai Shi grit his teeth, not daring to try and put it on his own body.
Although he was already covered in all sorts of marks.
There was Ranni’s moonlight mark, Senessax’s mark, Miquella’s faded mark, and the mark from the Spirit World.
But the Cursemark of Death was completely different from all of them.
Even if it was harmless, it was ultimately an item intimately connected with ‘Death.’
After so thought, Bai Shi decided not to act rashly for the ti being.
There was no rush. He could just ask Ranni how to transfer it once he found her later.
Besides, the Cursemark of Death was very safe here.
No one knew the cursemark and Ranni’s abandoned body were here.
And even if they did, Professor Mirian in the Carian Study Hall and the Godskin Noble guarding the bridge to the Divine Tower were no pushovers.
Even if he brought over the elite ‘Death Knight’ from the Prince of Death’s army that Bai Shi had fought before, it was unlikely he could break through the defenses here.
Having made his decision, Bai Shi turned and teleported away from the Divine Tower of Liurnia using a Site of Grace.
——
After Bai Shi teleported away, the Godskin Noble on the bridge before the Divine Tower slowly began to awaken.
“Hiss—”
The mont he awoke, the pain racking his body jolted his nerves, causing him to suck in a sharp breath of cold air.
One mont, a peaceful slumber; the next, painful reality. The contrast was just too great. Under the soporific effects of St. Trina’s Lily, one would sink into a deep, muddy sleep and forget everything, simply imrsed in the state.
Right now, the Godskin Noble felt pain all over his body, and he couldn’t rember a thing.
It was as if he had been roughly handled in his sleep.
Oh, that’s right. He had indeed been beaten to a pulp before he fell asleep.
Rembering that terrifying individual, the Godskin Noble finally realized he had been put to sleep in the middle of a battle.
He imdiately shot up from the ground, gripping his Godskin Peeler and looking around warily.
Seeing that Bai Shi was nowhere in sight, the Godskin Noble slowly sat back down.
Whatever. He had followed Ranni’s orders to the letter. It wasn’t his fault he couldn't stop the man.
The fellow had even presented proof related to Ranni. Though it was different from what her command specified, it should be fine.
After ordering that no one be allowed to go to the Divine Tower, Ranni probably never imagined there would co a day when she herself would ask soone to go there.
What could a re hireling like him do about it?
——
Using the Site of Grace, Bai Shi teleported away from the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
This ti, he appeared behind Caria Manor.
Next, he would head to Renna’s Rise and use the waygate there to travel to the Ainsel River Main.
Ranni had ntioned that tower to him before.
If things went as expected, she should have left a waygate to the underground there, just like in the ga.
Then it was ti to go pick up the Small Ranni doll!
Suddenly, Bai Shi looked at the three sisters’ towers and was reminded of soone.
I wonder if Seluvis is dead yet?
If not, he should get the recipe for the Amber Draught from him first.
Although Bai Shi didn’t have any Amber Starlight yet, nor did he plan on using the potion on anyone.
But Bai Shi was a firm believer in the principle of “it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
Seluvis was likely the only person in the Lands Between who knew how to make it. If he died, the item would be lost forever.
Besides, it might co in handy soday, so it was good to be prepared.
And speaking of which... Miquella is an Empyrean, isn’t he?
He would just consider it making use of Seluvis before he died, squeezing out every last drop of his value.
Bai Shi changed his course and flew toward Seluvis’s Rise.
When Bai Shi landed in front of the tower, he didn’t see Seluvis’s body on the first floor.
This was where he usually stayed, and it was also where he was eventually executed.
However, that didn’t necessarily an he wasn’t dead. He could have died sowhere up in the tower.
Bai Shi entered Seluvis’s tower and searched his way to the top.
After exploring the tower from top to bottom, he still hadn’t found Seluvis’s body.
Only then was Bai Shi certain that Seluvis was not yet dead.
But he was also nowhere to be found, not in his tower.
From the top of the tower, Bai Shi looked out toward a patch of ruins in the distance.
If he wasn’t in his tower, then there was likely only one other place he would be.
Identifying the spot, Bai Shi made his way to the seemingly unremarkable ruins.
After searching the area for a mont, Bai Shi quickly confird that this was where Seluvis kept his puppets.
Bai Shi stomped on the ground amidst the ruins, shattering the illusion that hid the entrance to the basent.
As the hidden magic was dispelled, a set of stairs leading underground appeared before him.
Without hesitation, Bai Shi started down.
As Bai Shi walked into the cellar, he saw Seluvis scramble up from beside a puppet in a fluster.
Evidently, Seluvis had noticed the mont Bai Shi shattered the illusion outside the cellar.
Bai Shi looked at the disheveled Seluvis, then at the living jar puppet beside him.
Bai Shi opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say.
“...Your tastes... no, your preferences...”
“Hmm... Rest assured, I’ll do my best not to discriminate against your orientation.”
Seluvis stared at Bai Shi, cold sweat beading beneath his mask.
He had just finished maintaining his puppets and was preparing to savor their beauty.
He had just picked out the puppet he was going to ‘savor’ for the day when the cellar’s concealnt was broken.
Seluvis had been furious, ready to teach whoever interrupted him a lesson.
But when he saw who it was, he completely abandoned that idea.
Seluvis swallowed hard, his voice, normally so proud and disdainful, now laced with fear.
“Who... Who are you?!”
“Why did you trespass into my cellar?”
Mustering all his strength, Seluvis managed to force out those two sentences.
‘That was close. I almost forgot he hasn’t seen
in this form!’
Bai Shi stroked his chin and shot back a question at Seluvis:
“I was about to ask who you are.”
“What? There’s no sign outside saying this is your cellar.”
“You didn’t put up a sign, so why can’t I co in?”
Seluvis was speechless.
He was right under Ranni’s nose. How could he dare to openly store his puppets here?
If anyone else had said such a thing to him, Seluvis would have surely hit them with a Glintstone Cot to teach them the might of a Preceptor.
But the man before him was Bai Shi.
Though their only encounter had been that brief one in Caria Manor, it was enough for him to recognize the gap in their power.
Besides, if a fight broke out now, his precious puppets would certainly be caught in the crossfire.
So, Seluvis could only grit his teeth and say to Bai Shi:
“My apologies for not putting up a sign—”
“So now, could I please ask you to leave?”
Bai Shi’s gaze swept across the cellar.
Seeing Bai Shi so shalessly casting his eyes upon his beloved collection, Seluvis was furious but dared not voice it.
For maintenance purposes, he had undressed many of the puppets and hadn’t put their clothes back on yet.
If the other party shared his interests and could appreciate the beauty of the puppets, Seluvis wouldn’t actually mind sharing them.
Possessing high-class puppets that others didn’t and basking in their admiration was a form of enjoynt for him.
In fact, it was even more gratifying to his insecure heart than savoring the puppets’ beauty itself.
But... to philistines who couldn’t understand this beauty, the reaction was always the sa:
How disgusting.
Seluvis lowered his head slightly and clenched his fists.
However, Bai Shi’s next words made him snap his head back up abruptly.
“You seem to be an expert puppet maker.”
“Do you have a way to turn powerful people into puppets?”
“For instance... a demigod?”
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