Chapter 102: Aldric

Ethan nodded and followed the man.

They walked through the station for a while before arriving at a large room. There were several people inside, and Ethan immediately recognized one of them.

It was one of the six Seventh Order experts who had chased the masked man.

The man also noticed Ethan and looked at him.

"So you’re finally back."

"Yes."

The station personnel who had brought Ethan here stepped forward.

"Sir, I’ve brought the student from the Order Academy."

The Seventh Order expert nodded before looking at Ethan again.

"First, I want to apologize for what happened. You were caught up in a matter that had nothing to do with you, and you were endangered because of that."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"That bastard from the Underworld made an attempt on a member of the Imperial Royal Family. We never expected him to use a student as a hostage during his escape."

Ethan already knew about the Underworld. It was one of the four Overlord factions in Elyria, and it was also one of the most notorious organizations.

Unlike the other factions, the Underworld was made up of people with terrible reputations. Its members included criminals, assassins and others who had committed all kinds of atrocities. Most of them had extremely high negative reputation.

It was an organization that gathered some of the worst people in Elyria, and its influence could be found in many parts of Elyria.

"It’s understandable when Abyssal creatures cause destruction," the man continued with a sigh. "They’re monsters from the Abyss, after all. But the Underworld is made up of people from Elyria, and they cause almost as much trouble as those creatures."

He shook his head.

"Sometimes, I really wonder what goes through their minds."

Ethan didn’t have much to say about that.

"There’s not much we can do about it," he replied.

The man nodded before asking another question.

"By the way, what happened after the man from the underworld took you away? How did you manage to return?"

Ethan briefly explained what had happened after they left the station.

He told the man about the Sealing Curse, how he had used his abilities to destroy the skyship, and how the masked man had eventually been forced to retreat. He also mentioned the final curse the man had placed on him before leaving.

He didn’t go into every detail, but he explained enough for the man to understand what had happened.

Ethan also told him that he had met Princess Valeria after waiting for some time. She had given him a small skyship to return to the station while she went after the masked man.

The Seventh Order expert listened without interrupting.

"So Princess Valeria has already gone after him."

The Seventh Order expert nodded. "With her personally handling the matter, I hope she can catch that bastard. We can’t allow someone who attempted to assassinate a member of the Imperial Royal Family to escape."

His eyes then fell on the marking above Ethan’s head.

"About that curse..."

He looked at it for a while before letting out a sigh.

"It’s a little troublesome. We don’t have anyone here who specializes in curse removal, especially when it comes to something of this level."

He looked back at Ethan.

"Let me see if I can find someone who can help you."

A few minutes later, the door opened, and one of the station personnel entered with another man.

The Seventh Order expert immediately stood up when he saw the newcomer.

"Mr. Aldric, thank you for coming."

Mr. Aldric simply nodded.

"I heard you needed my help. What happened?"

"There’s a young man here who was cursed by the assassin from the Underworld. We need someone who can remove it."

The Seventh Order expert briefly explained what had happened and pointed towards Ethan.

Mr. Aldric turned towards him and looked at the marking above his head.

He moved a little closer and examined it.

"Well, this is quite something..."

He continued looking at the mark for a few more seconds before speaking again.

"It’s not an ordinary curse. Whoever placed this must have been quite skilled."

The Seventh Order expert nodded.

"That’s why we asked you to come. We don’t have anyone here who can deal with something like this."

He then turned towards Ethan.

"Ethan, this is Mr. Aldric. He’s from the Church and specializes in removing curses. If anyone here can help you, it’s him."

Ethan nodded.

Mr. Aldric moved a little closer and examined the marking above Ethan’s head more seriously.

"A Life-Draining Curse..."

He raised his hand and examined the mark closely

"This curse has already spread throughout your entire body. It’s connected to your life force and will continue draining your HP until there’s nothing left."

He shook his head.

"What a vicious method. Whoever placed this curse really wanted to make sure you wouldn’t survive."

The Seventh Order expert frowned.

"Can you remove it?"

Mr. Aldric didn’t answer immediately. He continued examining the marking for a while before finally speaking.

"I can remove it, but it might take some time. The person who placed this curse is stronger than me, so breaking it won’t be easy."

"How long will it take?"

"At best, half an hour."

The Seventh Order expert laughed.

"Half an hour? That’s nothing. As long as you can remove the curse, even a few hours wouldn’t be a problem."

He then turned towards Ethan.

"Don’t worry. Mr. Aldric is very good at removing curses. You’ll be fine."

Ethan nodded and looked at Mr. Aldric.

"Alright. Let’s get started." Mr. Aldric said and raised his hands, and a soft white light appeared around them. He moved closer to Ethan and placed one hand near the marking above his head. The white light soon covered the red symbols, causing them to glow brighter.

Aldric’s expression became serious as he focused on the curse. The white light around his hand grew stronger, and the red marking began to change. He continued using his power, slowly trying to break the curse.