70 Sharing the Breed's Core

Hugging Ender, I closed my eyes for space warping. He grabbed me by my hips and mumbled words in a language I don't understand as I hugged his neck, then he took a step to start the process of leading space warping. It was the same spell that used in the teleporters, except that he was transferring Qi to his voice, not to the runes.

It was dangerous, he could leave behind my arm or leg with one misspelling. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't dare to do such a thing. However, I could risk a few of my organs to get my soul back.

Although the loss of my soul has not been a problem until now, I have searched for the potential uses of a soul. You could turn people into minds without a say on their acts, imprisoned in their own bodies, sell them as perfect slaves. You could turn their souls into fuel for black magic, condemn them to eternal suffering.

Although the fox says I'm being paranoid, I haven't come across any stories with happy endings in my research. ''You don't need to close your eyes, you know. In fact, you can walk yourself. As long as you hold my hand, you won't lose me,'' Ender said.

Without opening my eyes, ''No, thanks. I'm fine like this,'' I said. I was feeling like I was in a vacuumed glass bottle. My body knew it was in a place where it shouldn't be, it wanted to get out of here. Or maybe I was too sensitive. Either way, I didn't dare to open my eyes.

''The journey will take a minute,'' Ender said. Even though there were only a few inches between us, his voice sounded like there was a great distance. Traveling miles in a minute was not an easy task. He'd probably be exhausted after that.

Knowing that distraction would cause us to get lost between dimensions, I turned to my own mind instead of talking to Ender or searching in his mind. ''Are you sure I can get my soul back like that?''

The fox nodded, ''I'm not exactly sure, but there's no reason why you can't. If Malice says that the other soul is worth less than yours, you can make up the difference with a favor or anything of value. If the candidate is a man, I'm pretty sure she will accept the exchange though.''

''Why?''

''They're rather rarer among the souls that succubi possess. Babies born are equally likely to be male or female, but those who are accepted to the breed later are souls whose has been sexually abused, who are often female.''

''They are rarer so they are more valuable. Yeah, makes sense,'' I said. ''Why is the condition of being sexually abused?''

The fox sighed dramatically, ''Sometimes you make me doubt about your mental capability, darling. If you don't realize that yet, demons and humans are enemies. Even if we randomly give someone the core, it is unlikely for them to turn against their former kind. An abused person is hungry for both power and revenge, which makes them preferable candidates.''

I nodded in deep thoughts, ''...and you make the offer to the injured, possibly dying people. The only choice to survive is to accept the offer. So how do I share the core?'' I tried to remember our first and only encounter with the nine tailed fox. ''With the kiss?''

The fox nodded, ''But there is a difference between you and Malice. She added her own memories to the core and passed it on to the next generation. To do this, you have to be at least noble. The core you will share will be the same as the one you received.''

I imitated the fox's dramatic sigh. ''Oh no! Are you going to be cloned? I can't live in a world that has two of you.''

The fox's image in my mind rolled its eyes. ''It is my fault to be kind to answer your questions. Don't call me unless you're about to die,'' it said and after spinning once around itself, formed a furry ball and closed its eyes.

''Come on don't be touchy. How does the core sharing process work?''

''Figure it out yourself.''

Sighing, I left the fox alone. Before long, ''Something is blocking my way. We have to walk from here,'' Ender said. Noticing that the feeling of discomfort had disappeared, I opened my eyes. We were at the beginning of a street full of villas.

Pointing to a pillar with runes engraved on it, ''Each of these houses is protected against unapproved magical passages. We are literally at the boundary that separates the rich and the poor.''

Nodding, ''Are you okay? You look pale,'' I said.

He gave me a weak smile, ''If I had time to prepare, I could keep the magic going for hours. I'm fine, just a little tired. What was the quest again?''

I have expanded the scope of my skill that allows me to feel the desires around me. I was looking for revenge desire, anger, and despair. ''We need to help someone who is dying right now.''

''So how exactly are you going to help someone who is dying?'' Ender asked.

''I'm a healer. Since the system gave me the quest, there must be something I can do.'' I found the desire for revenge and a tainted lust in one of the houses near us. ''Damn you... damn you all...'' It wasn't an ordinary, everyday rage I felt. It was the last wish of someone who knew they could not want anything else in her life.

I turned to the house that I felt the desire that made me tremble. ''I think I know what to do next. Can you wait for me here?''

Frowning, ''Are you sure?'' he said.

I nodded and headed for the Ross villa. Following the desire for revenge, I entered the backyard of the house ignoring the front door. Entering the backyard wasn't hard, the host must have been relying on magical guards instead of locks and walls.

Fortunately, someone who entered here before me destroyed the magical guards. The runes that were supposed to protect the house were covered with a foul smelling liquid. The protection spell was not active because of the damaged runes.

The backyard was full of rare rose vines and cold resistant plants. The roses had died weeks ago with the cold weather, only thorns remained. There was a half-moon shaped balcony attached the quarter facing the backyard of the villa. The balcony door was open, and the delicious smell of revenge was arousing me through the open door.

''Malice's levitation would be handy right now,'' I murmured and looked for a way to climb to the balcony. The vines stretched out onto the balcony, but they were full of thorns the size of my fingernail. I bit my lips, ''Climbing the vines would shatter my hands.''

Unable to find any other way to get to the second floor, I approached the vines. ''When this is done, I will buy a nice pair of gloves for myself,'' I promised myself. I pulled the vines hard to make sure they were firm. They seemed strong enough to bear my weight.

There was no place to put my feet, I had to pull myself and rely on my arms. I grabbed the thorned vine and pulled myself up, it wasn't that painful. But when I wanted to let go of the vine, the hooked end of the thorn ripped my skin, and that hurt.

''If you focus on gaining exp and evolve, you won't have such problems. Demons, unlike humans, can fly.''

It seemed that the fox was awake. I knew I would groan if I opened my mouth to answer it, so I clenched my teeth and kept climbing. When I finally reach the balcony, I gave a break to heal my fingers and palm that turned into a bloody rag. The bleeding has stopped and I had new scars.

''Don't worry, we still have plenty of bee pollen potion for scars,'' the fox said. I grimaced remembering about the potion that should be applied with boiling water.

I approached the open balcony door and gave a quick glance inside. It was someone's bedroom and there was someone in the bed. Knowing I only have a few minutes left, I walked in without giving myself any time to hesitate.

There was a young looking woman in bed. The first thing that caught my eyes was the arm dangling from the bed. Her hand was covered in red from the blood running from her wrist, and there was a small pool of red on the floor. Her skin was as pale as the white sheets she lay on.

Her hair and nightgown were also scarlet, matching the white red and white scene. Someone had pulled the nightgown up to her stomach and left her like this, showing her most private parts to the world.

The part of her nightgown that was supposed to cover her breasts was torn. Her bitten and bruised breasts were in contrast to her smooth and pale skin. White and red liquids were flowing between her inappropriately split legs.