Chapter 84
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Grudge
Enoch and his companions descended underground through the hole Tsuki yo had made in the floor.
The underground passage was surprisingly bright. They could hear a commotion from afar, likely due to the vibrations from drilling through the floor, but Zeke Fryne let out a hollow chuckle at the unexpectedly cozy atmosphere.
"You've got it real nice down here."
"If you're gonna live somewhere, might as well live well."
Enoch replied as he pressed forward.
This inexplicable sense of familiarity. He didn't recall ever entering an underground passage before, so why?
Maybe it wasn't the passage itself he was familiar with.
Enoch clicked his tongue at the tickling sensation in the corner of his mind.
"Something bothering you?"
"Nah. Let's go."
How far had they traveled through the smoothly carved tunnel? Barely a few minutes passed before urgent footsteps echoed from multiple directions.
"Zeke, you're not thinking of handling this yourself now, are you?"
"After dragging you all the way here, what would be the point?"
Enoch nodded roughly and picked up his pace. He wanted to shake off this frustrating half-remembered feeling as soon as possible.
"Over there!"
"What crazy bastards!"
Men charging in a mob, weapons drawn. Enoch flicked his outstretched hand.
Crackle—!
A purple bolt of lightning flashed faintly in the air, and the tunnel fell silent in an instant.
With all his comrades collapsed around him, the lone survivor blinked dumbly at Enoch.
"Uh, uh...."
"What are you guys?"
"Pardon...?"
The man froze for a moment before puffing out his chest with sudden bravado, for reasons unknown.
"What, you wandered in without even knowing where this is? You must be out of your minds."
Tsuki yo and Eri pitied the man's pitiful intellect. Not knowing where they were didn't change the situation one bit.
"Listen up! This is a branch of Haken Wert! Not a place for nobodies like you to stir up trouble!"
"Oh. Haken Wert? That rings a bell."
No wonder it felt familiar. His instincts must have picked up on the similarity to the ones he'd encountered before.
With his curiosity satisfied, Enoch smashed the man's head into the ground with a refreshed expression.
Boom—!
The man's legs, now growing upside-down from the earth, twitched feebly. Enoch tapped them a few times before falling into thought.
'Leone pretty much trashed their main base, right?'
It seemed some remnants who weren't there at the time had survived. Maybe their leader, the Slaughter Ghost, was here.
Tsuki yo clapped her hands upon hearing Enoch.
"Oh! I've heard of the Slaughter Ghost. Supposed to be pretty damn strong."
"So they say."
That explained why the king couldn't touch their main base smack in the capital.
"Wait. Does that mean the Slaughter Ghost is stronger than the king?"
The marquis from earlier had been surprisingly tough. So marquis under duke, duke under king, king under Slaughter Ghost....
"Oh."
It was getting exciting. Maybe he could reach demigod realm before Leone woke up?
"Let's hurry."
Enoch quickened his steps with eager strides.
*
Slaughter Ghost? No such thing.
"What is this?"
There were maybe a few hundred grunts, but not a single proper fighter among them.
This was barely enough to loosen up anymore.
The strongest presence in the area came from the room right in front of him. Even that was just master-level at best.
"Sigh."
Enoch sighed and opened the door.
"...Looks like you're no ordinary fool. To think you'd crawl all the way here."
The bald, one-eyed man muttered gravely as he rose from his chair. The rippling aura around him hinted at his strength, but by now, everyone except Enoch was just a spectator.
"Oh, this one's got some spectacle value."
"Uh..., Lady Tsuki yo. Isn't this a bit dangerous? He feels like a high-tier master."
"So what?"
"Even so, Enoch hasn't been a master for long. What if he gets hurt?"
"Huh?"
As Tsuki yo tilted her head, the fight began.
The man snatched the axe leaning against the desk and charged, swinging it wide.
Whoosh—!
The sheer force tore the air in the room, whipping up a fierce gust. Enoch brushed back his wildly flapping hair and frowned.
"Time to cut it short."
"You bastard!"
The man enveloped himself in battle spirit and lunged. Zeke Fryne, watching anxiously, caught some odd words.
"My dad became a grandmaster ages ago—or wait, thinking about it, it hasn't been that long, has it?"
"...Became what?"
Boom—!
The massive crash drew eyes back to Enoch.
There stood another human tree, planted neatly—just like the ones they'd seen several times on the way here.
"...Whoa, grandmaster."
Clap, clap. Zeke Fryne's applause carried a hint of emptiness.
*
After wrecking the Haken Wert branch, Enoch activated his divine eyes to sniff out the culprit behind the ghost incidents.
The order was a bit off, but he didn't mind.
"S-Sorry! But it's a ghost anyway—shouldn't helping the living count for something...?"
A low-level Haken Wert thug with nothing to show for it. Zeke Fryne gestured to the knights he'd summoned in advance, eyeing the man with mixed feelings.
"Take him away."
"Yes, sir!"
One case closed. But there were more incidents besides this.
No other cases involved murder like this one, but thefts and assaults—lighter crimes—were plentiful.
He had no idea why they were tied to ghosts, but Zeke Fryne couldn't ignore them.
Still, he had an even greater wish.
"Sigh... I wonder if I could ever see spirits too. Even just talk to one."
"Who knows...."
Even Enoch couldn't converse with spirits. Seeing them required divine eyes.
Tsuki yo, who'd lived nearly eight hundred years, couldn't see Idalian with her naked eyes.
For Zeke Fryne to fulfill his wish, he'd need other conditions.
Either Idalian's spirit gathered enough power to manifest, or Zeke Fryne awakened some insight.
'No. Maybe....'
It was too early to conclude. Promising possibilities rashly didn't seem wise.
As Enoch quietly held his tongue, Tsuki yo furrowed her brow with a sudden question.
"By the way, about these ghosts.... Normally, when the body dies and only the soul remains, it should head to the afterlife, not linger in the mortal realm."
"And?"
Intrigued, Enoch perked up as the excited Tsuki yo cleared her throat and pulled a treat from her pocket.
Enoch unwrapped it while Tsuki yo continued.
"Yet if a soul stays in the mortal realm, it means it has the power to resist that pull."
Usually, that was grudge or lingering attachment—intense emotions. A soul's deep passions in the spirit hierarchy become念, manifesting as power.
"So does that mean my mom...?"
"Not certain, but... there's a good chance something's wrong. A soul defying the natural order to stay here rarely leads to anything good."
Tsuki yo nodded gravely, stretching her neck to lick the treat in Enoch's hand.
"We should talk to her again."
Zeke Fryne nodded at Enoch's words.
*
Enoch waited for nightfall.
Souls probably didn't care about day or night, but since ghosts were said to appear at night, it felt right.
"Is it really okay if I'm here?"
"Probably? Might be better with her son around."
Zeke Fryne killed time in Enoch's room, waiting for night.
Tsuki yo clung to the bed claiming ghosts scared her, leaving the main group at three: Enoch, Zeke Fryne, and Eri.
Though Tsuki yo was in the room too, too scared to be alone.
Waiting idly in the room was boring, so to pass time, Enoch asked Zeke Fryne about Idalian.
"My mom? She passed when I was little. Around six, I think? My memories aren't that clear. I was so frail back then, sleeping most of the day."
Zeke Fryne gazed quietly into the past before continuing.
"But I remember the events clearly. My dad was always known as a devoted husband, so when Mom was gone overnight like that, it was no small matter."
"Overnight?"
"Yeah.... She was always frail, but her doctor said it wasn't life-threatening."
The marquess's household turned upside down. The berserk marquis rounded up and interrogated every retainer, servant, doctor, and priest who'd been near Idalian.
"Not torture, but when a warrior of his caliber bears down with genuine killing intent, lying's tough."
"Mm.... Yeah."
Tsuki yo nodded with a troubled look, as if recalling something.
Enoch, not quite relating, urged the rest with a glance.
"Nothing much after that. No signs of foul play, no suspects, and it all fizzled out."
But now, things might change.
"If my mom's grudge is keeping her from the afterlife...."
Zeke Fryne's blue eyes darkened deeply.
"Forgiveness won't be easy."
Fuzzy childhood memories lingered. Himself bedridden, and the one woman who cared for him so warmly.
The memories had faded to the point he couldn't call them vivid anymore, but that warmth still burned clearly in his heart.
"Still, once this is resolved, Dad and I—we can finally move on."