Chapter 105: The Lingering Shadow

Bluemoon Estate

Dawn was still a few hours away, yet Ethan had already called for both Luna and Sir Peter. Before setting off for Northwatch, he wanted to resolve the severe internal injury that had plagued the Mercenary Leader’s strength for years.

In the study, Ethan turned the elixir Luna had handed him over in his palm, while in the private training chamber nearby, Sir Peter sat with his eyes closed, steadying himself for what was to come. The elixir had been recovered from Thorn’s spatial ring, along with a handful of other resources seized in the aftermath of the war. After Luna learned why Peter had truly joined the fighting, she’d told Ethan about the elixir among the spoils. Ethan, before he left, had decided he would help Peter absorb it properly.

He held the vial up to the light, studying the golden liquid within, dense with medicinal properties, threaded through with something closer to raw life essence than ordinary alchemy. It’s medicinal properties had reached the threshold of the Legendary grade.

Carefully, he guided a thread of Intent into the vial, testing for anything hidden beneath the surface.

"It seems they didn’t tamper with it," he murmured.

"You think they might have?" Luna asked calmly.

"We don’t know... Better to be cautious." As he spoke, Luna’s thoughts drifted back to that night—the unknown conspirator Ethan had mentioned.

"So this will help Sir Peter, then."

"It probably will. Though I’m thinking of doing more than that while we’re at it. I have exactly the thing." Ethan reached into his coat and drew out a Century-Old Ginseng root, followed by a second herb—pale, faintly glowing, radiating cold even from a distance, the ones he acquired from the Dungeon.

"That’s—" Luna’s eyes went wide as she took in both herbs, though her gaze lingered longest on the second one, practically overflowing with frost essence.

"It seems you already recognize it."

"Is that... is that really Frost-Vein Herb?" Luna asked, disbelief plain in her voice. Frost-Vein was notoriously rare. Even on the black market, it could sell for five to ten thousand gold, assuming one could find a seller at all. The herb grew only in a handful of regions and required centuries to mature before it could be harvested. "Where did you get this?"

"I’ll tell you later. Once we’re finished healing Sir Peter."

"...Fine. You won’t tell me either way." Luna sighed, a small pout forming as she turned and made her way toward the training chamber ahead of him.

I was really being serious, Ethan thought, watching her go. Why doesn’t she believe me? He let the thought pass without dwelling on it further—he needed his full focus for what came next.

They found Peter just as he opened his eyes, already rising to his feet as they entered. Ethan explained what he intended to do, showing Peter both herbs alongside the elixir. Peter’s expression shifted to open surprise.

"My Lord, that elixir alone is already excessive. This is something you should keep for yourself. I don’t need it."

"Don’t worry about that," Ethan said easily. "I have more than necessary."

Both Peter and Luna looked at him, clearly startled by how casually he’d said it.

After more insistence from both of them, strengthening Peter now would only serve their plans going forward, Peter finally relented and accepted. Ethan handed over the herbs and the elixir. Peter settled into a cross-legged position and removed his tunic, while Ethan sat behind him.

Luna quietly moved to the side of the chamber and closed the doors herself, ensuring no one would disturb them. The room gradually fell silent as Ethan adjusted Peter’s posture and waited for his breathing to stabilize. Although neither of them spoke, the atmosphere slowly grew heavier as they prepared to deal with an injury that had resisted Peter’s recovery for years.

"Now. Take them."

Following Ethan’s instruction, Peter took the elixir and the ginseng first.

Ethan pressed both palms against Peter’s back, beginning to guide his own aura carefully into Peter’s circulation pathways. The moment the elixir and ginseng passed Peter’s throat, warmth bloomed briefly—before the essence ignited into something closer to boiling. A sharp spike of pain tore through him, like his very bones were being crushed from the inside. Deep within his internal wound, an unfamiliar energy stirred violently, sensing the intrusion and lashing out against it.

Peter clenched his jaw, sweat beading across his forehead, a low groan escaping through gritted teeth.

So this is what he meant, Ethan thought, drawing a slow breath. It’s fighting the elixir directly. He guided his aura carefully along Peter’s meridians toward the source of the disturbance—but the instant his aura made contact, the energy fought back violently, and Peter’s pain spiked in response.

Blood began pooling at the corner of Peter’s mouth, the elixir’s essence and the strange energy clashing directly against each other.

What is this, Ethan thought grimly. I’ve never encountered anything like it. Sweat gathered at his fingertips and along his neck as he worked with painstaking care, unwilling to risk damaging the fragile pathways.

Minutes stretched on... The dissolving elixir and ginseng tore through years of accumulated toxins and old battle injuries, Peter’s body healing and strengthening rapidly in their wake—yet no matter how much of the elixir’s energy Ethan directed toward the source, the strange presence in Peter’s chest refused to yield.

The more Ethan observed it, the more certain he became that this was not merely some lingering remnant from an old wound. The energy possessed an instinctive resistance, reacting to the medicinal essence as though it understood that Peter’s recovery would eventually destroy it.

"Argh—!" Veins bulged along Peter’s forehead as another wave of pain tore through him.

Nearly an hour passed. Neither Ethan nor Peter had made any real progress.

The problem was no longer simply healing the injury. The elixir and ginseng were powerful enough to heal the injury, but the foreign energy buried within him continued resisting every attempt Ethan made to neutralize it. No matter how carefully he approached it, the moment his aura came close, the energy reacted violently and caused Peter’s condition to worsen.

Luna’s tension mounted with every passing minute, watching both men’s condition steadily worsen.

Why is this taking so long, she thought, gripping her hands together. Legendary-grade elixirs cost an astronomical sum—only the highest tier of alchemists within the Mage Towers can produce them, and there are barely a handful of those left in the entire Empire, apart from whatever remains hidden in the old ruins.

"This won’t work if we keep forcing it this way," Ethan said. Peter, caught between the elixir’s warmth and the wound’s agony, felt his focus beginning to slip—until Ethan’s voice cut through it. He clenched his jaw hard enough to draw blood from his own tongue, and his focus snapped back into place.

Ethan drew in a slow breath and pushed forward again, this time weaving a thread of Intent directly into his aura as he traced his way back through the tangled pathways. Seconds passed into minutes. Sweat soaked through his robes entirely, but he refused to rush the process, working patiently toward the resisting energy once more.

The moment his Intent-laced aura brushed against the foreign energy, Ethan immediately felt a change. The violent presence that had resisted him for nearly an hour suddenly recoiled. It contracted deeper into Peter’s body, reacting to Ethan’s Intent in a way it had never reacted to his aura alone.

It’s working...

Ethan’s expression hardened as he carefully increased the amount of Intent woven into his aura. He did not rush toward the energy this time. Instead, he slowly surrounded it, allowing his aura to close in from every direction while maintaining enough control to prevent the pathways from being harmed.

The foreign energy struggled violently for several minutes, twisting and lashing out against the approaching strands of aura. Each time it tried to escape, Ethan redirected his Intent and forced it back toward the center.

Slowly, the resistance weakened.

Then, just as Ethan’s aura completely enclosed it, the foreign energy suddenly collapsed inward.

What happened next caused Ethan’s eyes to widen.

Instead of dissipating inside Peter’s body, the strange energy slipped through Ethan’s aura and rushed directly into his own meridians.

What the—!

The foreign energy slipped past his control and entered his body. Before he could react, it traveled rapidly through his meridians. Ethan immediately prepared to force it out, expecting the violent energy to damage his body the moment it entered his circulation.

But nothing happened.

Instead, the energy continued downward, passing through his meridians until it reached his lower abdomen. There, beside his Warrior Core, the previously violent presence slowed.

Ethan watched in disbelief as the energy gradually condensed upon itself.

The unstable force compressed layer by layer, shrinking as traces of the foreign energy gathered together. What had once been a chaotic and violent presence slowly became denser, eventually forming a small, dormant sphere beside Ethan’s Warrior Core.

A strange warmth spread through Ethan’s lower abdomen.

Luna’s expression immediately changed when she noticed Ethan’s sudden reaction. "Ethan?"

"I’m fine," he answered quickly, before she could move closer. His attention immediately returned to Peter. "Stay back for now."

The energy that had resisted every attempt to neutralize it inside Peter now remained completely still.

I don’t have time to analyze this right now... stay focused, Ethan thought, pushing the mystery aside.

The moment the foreign energy disappeared, the obstruction that had plagued Peter for years finally vanished.

Relief swept through his body as the medicinal essence that had been restrained until now surged freely through his damaged pathways. The healing process accelerated almost immediately, restoring injuries that had remained buried beneath the surface for years while strengthening his body with the remaining energy of the elixir and ginseng.

Ethan immediately sensed the remaining medicinal energy beginning to settle unevenly within Peter’s body. The warmth from the ginseng and elixir had pushed his circulation to its limit, and allowing that imbalance to remain could weaken the recovery he had just achieved.

"Take the Frost-Vein Herb now!" Ethan ordered.

Peter immediately consumed the icy plant. The moment it passed his lips, a cool wave spread rapidly through Peter’s body, dissolving within seconds. The pain that had wracked him only moments before faded entirely, warmth and cold weaving together and settling into something like perfect balance.

The process continued for two more hours, Ethan guiding him carefully through absorbing every last trace of the elixir’s power.

Finally, Sir Peter opened his eyes.

For several seconds, Peter remained completely still, silently sensing his own body. The familiar obstruction that had lingered within him for years was gone. Even the dull pain that had accompanied him since the battle where he sustained the injury had completely disappeared.

Where his gaze had once carried the weight of old pain beneath its calm, it now radiated something closer to true serenity—a fitting complement to his stoic nature.

Years of accumulated damage had not merely weakened Peter. The internal injury had continuously suppressed his aura and prevented his cultivation from advancing. With the obstruction finally removed, the strength he had spent years accumulating surged back into his body. His strength, once stagnant at Intermediate Knight Lord, now stood at the very peak of the realm, brushing right up against the threshold beyond it.

A faint smile touched Peter’s lips. Beside him, both Ethan and Luna let out long, exhausted breaths.

"Congratulations, Sir," Luna said.

Peter gave her a small, grateful nod.

"Thank you for this, My Lord," he said to Ethan, who was breathing heavily now, his own reserves nearly spent.

The Demon Realm — Grand Palace of Greed

In a grand, shadowed hall within the domain of the Seven Deadly Sins, a demon stood silently near a high stone balcony. He possessed two obsidian horns, strikingly sharp features, and deathly pale skin.

He was one of the higher demons who stood directly beneath the Seven Deadly Sins themselves, a figure whose name was well known throughout the Demon Realm. Even within the Grand Palace, where powerful demons gathered in numbers, few were willing to approach him without reason.

His thoughts drifted back to a summon from several days prior. A cruel, malicious gleam flickered in his glowing eyes at the mere mention of a single name: Ravencrest.

His thoughts then shifted to the leader of the Abyssal Pact, the mortal contractor his Lord had personally chosen years ago. During the last Great War, that man had nearly been annihilated by Severus Ravencrest. To save his contractor, his Lord had been forced to sacrifice a massive fragment of his own soul.

The demon’s clawed fist tightened, cracking the balcony stone. A faint trace of demonic energy leaked from his body.

The atmosphere across the grand hall changed almost instantly.

Several demons standing beneath the balcony stiffened as they felt the pressure descend upon them. They did not need to look toward him to understand whose presence had been released. A few instinctively lowered their heads, while others quietly retreated from the area, unwilling to remain near him while his mood darkened.

He paid none of them any attention.

"Severus... it seems you will be losing one of your sons very soon," he whispered, a crazed, quiet laughter echoing through the hall.

He thought of the orb he had handed over to the black-robed human in the mortal realm.

"I only hope that idiot knows how to use it properly," he muttered. "Though it hardly matters anymore. Once the orb begins its work, completing its purpose is only a matter of time."

Looking out across the barren, crimson horizons of the Demon Realm, a terrifying smile slowly spread across his face.

"The Lord will be pleased to know."