Gabriel's eyes widened.
He knew exactly who the Revenant Overlord was.
That individual was the Feathered Dragon Continent's Mo Zhuzhe, which was the hated title that each supreme demon in every continent wielded.
It meant that they were the uncontested evilest, even in the eyes of the common people.
And, the Revenant Overlord was the leader of the Blood Sacrifice Sect.
He and his vermin cultists were fools who went against the Immortal's Pathos with their cursed powers gained from unknown occult sources.
"Doesn't that mean that they were the ones who trapped this poor boy in the ice? But… why?"
"…Just who is this boy?"
Gabriel stared at Astor, who stirred in his unconscious state. He was also naked, but he didn't seem to be affected by the cold at all.
"Maybe he has a rare spiritual vessel, like the Heavenly Yin Constitution. But anyway, I guess it's my job now to bring this boy to safety. Hmph!"
He picked up the boy in a tremendous display of human strength, and began his march back towards Kumizan village.
<…>
Minutes later, Gabriel was seen trudging through thick snow, fitted in black shoes and striding fleet-footedly with the boy on his back.
The frigid gales of frost blowing through the air grew stronger by as he strided, strong enough to sweep a crowd of people off of their feet.
As if a snowstorm was about to appear.
However, he was undettered by the biting chill of the air and marched onwards through the bitter cold.
"Somehow I think I'm incredibly lucky right now… if not I probably would have ran into a group of bandits by now."
"Usually, when I try and do something nice for others, some kind of unfortunate event strikes me down as I'm doing it."
"I once tried to enter a brothel... however, I was cast out almost immediately, and they banned me from ever going back to that place, all because of a single joke I made!"
"Damn it! Even now, it's still embarrassing!"
Despite the embarrassment he suffered from the memory, he still found it strange. Sometimes he was lucky, sometimes he wasn't.
Considering how untalented he was at martial arts, it was a miracle that he managed to become a guardian of a Legacy Clan.
Now, by complete chance, he found himself as the helper of the young boy he carried on his back.
There was a significant chance that this boy was more talented than him at martial arts, or else there wouldn't be any reason for the strange circumstances he found himself in.
Martial arts was law in this world, after all.
The strong devour the weak, and those without discipline couldn't hope to survive without constant and consistent training.
Gabriel glanced at the boy, who dreamed oddly, with one eye open. What he saw past this young boy's deep purple eyes was strange too.
It was enigmatic, to put it lightly. Somehow, it seemed like he was bound to something. A particular fate, Gabriel guessed.
"It is strange, now that I think about it… there must be some foreign being protecting this boy from the shadows, since the Blood Sacrifice Sect that I know would drive stakes through children for no reason."
"Could it be that a martial master, or a martial grandmaster, or perhaps even an Immortal is looking after this boy?" Gabriel wondered.
"…Hm… or maybe that would be impossible."
Gabriel looked at the boy once again, and inspected his facial features. As he looked at Astor, he didn't exactly notice anything off, until he saw three small dots on the back of his hand. As soon as he noticed it, he felt an evil stench urking both his mind and soul.
"…No way… is that Mara's Mark?!"
Gabriel stopped right in his tracks.
From the thick fog and mist that the cold gales of wind carried, a clear voice rang out.
"Oh dear… I suppose you've learnt too much."
Then, the following scent of blood filled the chilling air with unease and apprehension.
"Hi there!"
A strange man approached Gabriel with a devilish gleam hidden within his crimson eyes, his gaze directed at the boy he carried.
"…That boy... his mere existence is a threat to our plans. You, however, are irrelevant. I'll let you live if you run away right now with all of your might!"
Gabriel's heartbeat quickened. But, he stood his ground.
"Yeah… yeah right! You don't even look like a trustworthy person! Who knows you won't just kill me when I try to run! And, even if I do, who'll be here to protect this poor boy?"
The devilish and handsome man grinned with his fangs exposed, walking closer so Gabriel could see his aristocratic attire with blood-red garments, almost as if he were a jiangshi.
"I will."
"..."
Gabriel narrowed his eyes.
It was very clear.
He knew it with certainty that the man in front of him was a member of the Blood Sacrifice Cult.
But, the only member who fit his description was executed after being found out to have orchestrated the
The Blood-drinking Debtor.
So, this was very, very strange.
"From the emotions veiled by your eyes, it seems you may or may not already know me."
"So, let me reveal a part of my mysterious identity. I am simply a member of the Blood Sacrifice Sect who deems it unnecessary to reveal my name."
"However, you may call me, Blood Debtor. I have come here to collect something…"
Blood Debtor flashed a grin, as he caught sight of Gabriel's expression. He was terrified, perhaps to the point where he couldn't even breath.
He even debated dropped the boy and making a run for it. But, he stayed still.
"Ah… you're one of the brave ones, I see? Then, I'll have fun ripping each bone out of your body. A slow death is what I prefer, after all."
"Why…? Why are you here? Why do you want this boy so badly?"
"Why?" Blood Debtor repeated the question after him.
"Haha! Simply because that boy has an irrational fate. He is bound by the heavens! I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one to finally pierce through the veil…"
"But, you should know that instead of asking questions, you should be begging on your knees for the ultimate "death" that our Sanctified Lord and his twelve Exalted Priests have prepared for us all!"
"This is our purpose, and we accepted it as sought sanctuary in the hands of the Sanctified Lord! The Creators of the heavens above would enjoy the show we have put on for them on this small, small world!"
"He brought to us the safety we sought, and gave us another gift, the glory of being by his side! Hissalvation to all who fail to acknowledge him will only be destruction, in the cruelest crimson flames!"
"So now, I shall not leave anything to interfere in his plans. That boy must die here, along with you."
The gales of wind whistled as Gabriel finally stepped back. Things were looking extremely dire now.
Blood Debtor's powers were unknown, but considering he was most likely a jiangshi with autonomy, his soul would not be in this body and rather, he would be puppeteering many corpse avatars like this through the use of intangible strings.
Blood Debtor stepped forward, while Wanderer stepped back.
"Oh? You do realise that I possess the ability to slay an army of swordsmen? I am similar in strength to a True-Foundation tier with a Tri-Core spiritual vessel."
"And, since a spiritual vessel can hold nine cores at once before it goes through True-Core Unification, with a significant difference between a single core, you are still no match for me, not in fighting ability, nor in the aspect of running."
Gabriel stared at Blood Debtor for a while, breathing heavily.
There was Core Foundation tier, and then the next tier was True Foundation. You needed nine spiritual cores in your spiritual to head to the next tier, and you could only get spiritual cores by doing spiritual training.
He knew this very well, and since there was a whole difference in tier between them, some would say he was better off just killing himself than facing that guy.
"Heh, continue on with your pathetic face. Your terror makes it all the more enjoyable."
Gabriel's eyes widened. He realised then that he was going to die no matter what. And so, in that case, he decided to take his chances.
He breathed in and took on an unyielding stance, accepting that he could die, and on his face appeared an absurdly determined expression, especially for the kind of situation he was in.
"You, your cult and your so-called Revenant Overlord are all bastards! If I get out of this situation alive, I swear…. I swear that I alongside this young boy, will kill you all!"
Blood Debtor chuckled.
"You've accepted the possibility of death, huh? No… in your case, it's more like an inevitability!"
Blood Debtor began the hunt, as he lunged towards Gabriel and Astor.
But, Gabriel gritted his teeth and summoned his pure resolve from the delves of his heart.
"I don't care. I will stop you, for the sake of this young boy's fate!"