Chapter 177: The Body Transfer Ritual And Popi’s Arrival!

Jereth was trembling hard where he stood.

Sweat was dripping down his forehead to the floor. His knees were buckled beneath him. He wanted to run. He wanted to escape and survive on his own, but he knew that if he tried, he would end up just like the dead beastman lying behind him. Dead on the end of Zyreth’s tail.

"The king is unable to speak," Jereth said, his voice shaking with fear. "I’m sure he’ll comply with whatever you want. Please, let us live. We won’t cause any trouble."

He rubbed his palms together desperately, trying to appear non-threatening and cooperative.

Skarr furrowed his brows as he glared down at Zyreth, who was silent because of the dark magic control. The snake king could not even frown if he wanted to. He could not move a muscle. His entire body was paralyzed under Skarr’s domination.

"I guess so," Skarr muttered. His eyes shifted and locked directly onto Jereth with predatory intensity.

Jereth flinched hard and took a step back, his fear palpable.

"Release those two," Skarr commanded, pointing at Cael and Aldric who were still bound.

"Y-yes!" Jereth said quickly, nodding frantically. He pulled out a weapon and started cutting the ropes that bound the leopard and bear.

As he worked to free them, a wild thought appeared in his head. A desperate thought born of survival instinct.

He could definitely use one of them as a captive to help him run away. He could grab one of them and hold them hostage. Maybe Skarr would let him go if he had leverage.

His grip on the weapon tightened as he thought about that possibility for just a moment.

But then he remembered what he had just witnessed. How Skarr had controlled that beastman with a single snap of a finger. How easily the guard had been killed. How powerless everyone was against this dark magic.

Of course, he did not want to be next. He did not want to end up dead.

He shook the awful thought off his head and continued cutting the ropes loose.

Aldric touched his wrist as he stood up, relieved to be free. Cael also did the same thing and rubbed his sore shoulders where the ropes had been cutting into his skin.

Then Cael rushed forward to Neve.

"Neve," he said, his arms wrapping around the small red panda immediately. His leopard instincts wanted to claim and protect. "Oh Neve. I’m so happy you’re safe. I was so worried about you."

But then Skarr cleared his throat loudly.

"Hmm," he said, making it clear that the gesture was not welcome.

Cael pulled back and studied Neve’s face more carefully.

There was no lingering emotion there. No happiness at seeing him. No relief at being rescued. The expression was cold and calculating. This was not Neve.

"You... you’re not Neve, are you?" Cael asked, his voice filled with realization. "Who are you? What have you done with Neve?"

Maren’s ears perked up like he wanted to listen carefully. He wanted to find out who this person was. He wanted to understand what was happening.

"Me?" Skarr said, his voice carrying pride. "My name is Skarr. The only surviving red panda. The last of my kind."

With that simple introduction, everyone understood immediately.

Well, everyone except Jereth and the other guards who wanted desperately to run away but were unable to move a muscle. They were rooted to the spot by fear.

"So, you weren’t dead when Neve possessed your body," Maren said, his analytical mind working through the information. "You were trapped inside him this entire time."

"That’s right!" Skarr said, snapping his finger for emphasis.

Maren furrowed his brows and touched his own chest. He wondered something privately.

Was the original Maren also alive when Maren had possessed his body? Was Maren’s original consciousness also trapped somewhere inside his mind?

Well, he hoped not. If Skarr was this ruthless and merciless, he could not imagine how the original Maren would be. After all, Maren had been an outcast. An outsider. Someone rejected by society. That kind of person was often more dangerous and unpredictable.

"If you’re here, then where is Neve?" Aldric asked, his voice filled with concern. He was fidgeting nervously, trying to understand the situation. "Is he okay? Can he come back?"

Skarr tapped his head with his finger, pointing to his temple.

"I can hear him up here," Skarr said. "His consciousness is still present. Still aware. Still trapped inside watching everything that happens. But don’t worry, I’ll give your lovely Neve back to you after I’m done transferring bodies."

He paused, his expression becoming disgusted.

"There’s no way I’ll want to take this body back when it’s been tainted by pregnancy. I need a new body. A strong body. Zyreth’s body will be perfect."

Neve heard that from inside Skarr’s head and frowned.

"What the hell do you mean by tainted?" Neve thought internally, insulted by the description of his pregnant body.

"What do you mean by tainted?" Maren asked out loud, his curiosity evident.

Skarr dropped his hand to his stomach, showing off the slight swell of pregnancy with obvious disdain.

"Why would I want to be a pregnant male?" he asked rhetorically. "Why would I want to carry cubs that are not mine? No, I need a proper body. A body without pregnancy. A body with real power."

He walked closer to Zyreth where he knelt down, his small hand touching the snake king’s face.

"I’ll start the ritual and take this body as mine," he said. "The transfer will be complete soon."

Then he walked toward Jereth and the other guards who were already begging, rubbing their palms together desperately to be left alive. They were pleading silently, hoping that Skarr would show them mercy.

But Skarr ignored them completely. He grabbed the weapon that Jereth had been using to cut the ropes. A sharp blade. A tool that could draw blood.

He walked back to Zyreth, kneeling down beside the paralyzed snake king.

Everyone was confused about what was going to happen. What was he planning to do? How would a ritual work? They just watched silently as Skarr closed his eyes and raised the weapon.

Then Skarr used the blade to tear open his own palm.

Blood spilled out, dark and crimson, dripping onto the ground.

Cael frowned, furrowing his eyes as he watched Neve bleed. He was still seeing Skarr as Neve since to him, it was Neve’s body. To Cael, it looked like Neve was hurting himself deliberately.

’That much bleeding isn’t going to affect anything, right?’ Cael thought, concerned about whether Neve was putting himself in danger.

Skarr began the enchantment, whispering words in that ancient language. Words of power. Words of magic.

He moved closer to Zyreth again. The ritual was beginning. The transfer was starting.

He wanted to kill Zyreth to complete the process, but any killing from the outside could cause complications. Something like a stab wound or torn skin could interfere with the ritual. The body transfer had to be clean. It had to be perfect.

Then suddenly, Popi’s voice echoed from behind.

"What’s happening here? What did I miss?" she called out as she rushed to the scene, her eyes wide with confusion and concern.

Cael and Aldric were immediately relieved to see her.

That means both Popi and Neve were saved. They were no longer in danger. They had been worried when they first saw Neve alone without Popi by his side. They thought that Zyreth must have handed her over to his people as a slave or a tool. They thought she might be suffering somewhere else in the territory.

Popi gasped in shock seeing Cael and Aldric both free and unharmed.

"Oh! You’re finally here to take us home," she said, covering her face with her hands as her eyes began to well up with tears. "We can finally go home."

But then she looked around and her eyes continued to scan the area until she saw Neve in front of Zyreth. No, not Neve. Something was wrong.

"Neve?" she muttered his name, her eyes darting between Zyreth and the small red panda. Her instincts were telling her something was off. Something was not right. "What’s happening here? Why is Zyreth on the ground? Why is Neve standing over him like that?"

"I’ve been waiting for you," Skarr said, his voice carrying a command. His eyes locked onto Popi with intensity. "Maybe your telekinesis ability will be useful for this. I need you to kill him without causing much damage to the body."

Popi frowned, her confusion deepening.

"Who... are you?" she asked. She knew there was no way Neve would ask such a dark and brutal question. If this wasn’t Neve, then who was this intruder? Who was this person telling her to commit murder? "If you’re not Neve, then who are you?"

She took a step back, her protective instincts kicking in.

Cael and Aldric also stepped forward. Their Neve would never ask someone to kill. Their Neve would not be this cold and calculating.

Something dark had obviously taken over Neve’s body.

Popi’s eyes scanned the scene again. Zyreth lying paralyzed on the ground. Jereth and the guards trembling in fear. Maren watching everything with calculated interest. And Neve standing in the middle of it all with eyes that were not Neve’s eyes.

’Ha! This is insane.’