The Ghost King's KeeperCh8 - Calling upon the Deity

Thank you very much!!! Lulith and Ko-fi Supporter, I am soooooooo very happy to receive your donations, like… it is encouraging, BIG TIME. So here’s a chapter as promised, hope you like how it unfolds, this is where the plot starts to take grip, I think, hehe~

[WARNING : This chapter contains disturbing scenes (Violence/hurt) , so please read with caution.] a2djAm

Ruzen was well aware of where he stood with the town’s men, because he could tell his lies were half baked and nobody would believe him even if he tried. If he had money on him, he might have been exempted from inquiries since money was considered a good secure backing, yet he was truly broke and had no weapon to defend himself with. To be more precise, in the eyes of others, he was no more than a street urchin.

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One or two people could be fooled, but a bunch of experienced folks weren’t as easy to deceive. Even if the woman and her husband ran a lodging, they wouldn’t allow a nobody such as himself any hospitality until they received some kind of deposit, they were doing business, kindness and generosity must not be an ingrained heredity.

Though as foolish as his plan seemed, he did not have many options to go with. The major issue was his lack of knowledge and self-awareness. His memories did not provide with much beneficial inputs and he was not even strong enough to beat a kid, the shortage of food had also driven his body to a near starvation point, from where he couldn’t get back if not for a steady supply of nutrients. 7cky2g

His empty stomach hurt like hell and he always felt shaky, his mouth dry and crusty, a foul smell leaking from him with the condition he was in. His internal system was at best only running on fumes and the worry for the future had him stressed. He wasn’t even sure when was the last time Al’Bae had bathed, and when had he ever combed his hair.

Such poor living condition made him nauseous, until the only thing he could focus at was how to get to Manjo. If nothing else it gave him strength to keep walking forward without looking back. If only he could cross this desert, because he knew there were forests and wildlife on this plane, since Al’Bae’s birthplace had been one such lush village.

He barely knew how Al’Bae had survived until now, but whatever the case was, he was hoping to get out of here so that in the very least he could support himself better in some forest… the wild berries and lake would surely help his condition. It was at least much better than this sweltering desert with dried oasis and poison crabs.

Just… there was this one thing he always wondered about after transmigrating… it was related to Al’Bae, he thought, what could be the reason for Al’Bae to come to this desert area where there was such visible lack of necessities… what had happened for him to suddenly venture to this part of the region where he most probably wouldn’t be able to survive?

There was a huge fault in his memories of Al’Bae, and he wasn’t sure what had happened, but for now he would focus on getting out of this place.

“If you cannot provide me with anything, I will leave, I wouldn’t want to burden you,” Ruzen told the older male, one who was eyeing him suspiciously.

“I understand,” the older male replied after some consideration, as a few more men, all of them taller and buffer than Ruzen, came forward to assist the older male, “You can stay if you want, but we won’t give you anything, for we don’t want any labor and nor do we want a stranger among us. If I tell the truth,” the male said, “your appearance alone is alarming.”

Ruzen didn’t even flinch at the blatant truth, he knew what they meant, “I know, I have been through a rough phase which just wouldn’t leave me alone, even after many trials I am unable to see any direction… but it doesn’t mean I would be the same even in future.” Ns4gYz

Ruzen did not want to set himself as a beggar, so he had to keep some positive cheer in his replies. Yet he didn’t believe that any of his positive cheer would be able to turn the tide for him.

The older male hummed, “I see… well, there ‘is’ one thing you can help us with, if you can do that, we would share some of our… left overs, but if you resist, we will be left with no choice but to go to extreme lengths just to capture you. You do know that people such as yourself could be sold, yes?”

Ruzen frowned, even a kid would understand the underlining threat in that request. He did not like his situation, however, he did not seem to have any other choices to choose from.

The older male did not continue until Ruzen gave a stiff nod. SAP0aF

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“We will need your blood for a ritual we are performing, if you could share some with us, we will be in your debt.”

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The minute he had entered the town, he had felt it was too peaceful, but his hunger pangs didn’t let him focus on the main issue, he had been in a hurry to feed himself and rest after the mishap with Ah’Hen. He blamed himself for not being even more cautious, but it wasn’t his fault he had never taken an interest in thriller novels and suspense murder mystery.

“What ritual? Why mine?” He tried not to sound threatened, but the direction of the talk made even him unsettled. 4dXHxR

So maybe he wasn’t as brave as he had believed.

The older male smiled, his eyes unblinking, almost hooded, “We use cursed one’s blood to summon the Deities, would you like to meet one?”

Chrysanthemum Garden.

No he didn’t, Ruzen knew of the dispute between Cursed ones and the Gods, it seemed like that bit of memory was suddenly assaulting his brain. Since previously he wasn’t even aware he had such a memory. Was it like some game where memories unlocked themselves after he reached a certain checkpoint?

For now his mind showed him the hate between the Cursed ones and the Gods, it told him how bad it was between the two sides, so bad that Gods hunted Cursed ones, hated upon them, and imprisoned them if nothing else. He wanted to know the reason for such hate, but an unstable memory gave him nothing else to focus upon. AwZVWq

It was somewhat startling how even the older male could tell he was a cursed one.

“I am not who you are looking for.” He at least tried to lie. Despite his acting grades being barely passable.

“So… you really are one of those meek ones, lucky us,” the man responded, his fingers forming fists, which only Ruzen could see, “you reek of both Jabia and Alsal, only cursed ones have that scent.”

“What is Jabia and Alsal?” Ruzn was equally curious about the terms as was his instinct to escape alive. His mind might be a bit slow seeing how ‘human’ he was, but Al’Bae’s body was quick on its feet, he was confident there was a slim chance of escape there. BtVdIA

The older male laughed, his eyes squeezing shut with true laughter, the booming noise loud enough to make Ruzen feel threatened.

“It is better if you don’t know young man, your blood is what we need and what you need to know about. That blood will summon the Deities, your existence and fate brought you to us, so it is your duty to help us!”

A flicker of shadows curled around Ruzen as his body froze, his eyes widening when the older man stood closer and took out a small curved knife from his pocket, a few other younger males followed his example and came closer, almost jogging over to reach him.

Ruzen was shocked to see the crazed look in their eyes as they watched him with thirst, even that woman and her child were looking his way with sudden hooded eyes. LDSdfc

However, what was even more surprising was how strong the black mass of shadow was as it nailed Ruzen to the ground, freezing him in his position, not even letting him breathe properly.

“What did you do?” he asked while his lips could still move, he was well aware of how dangerous it was getting, and here he had thought he would be able to escape…

His heart was yet to tumble out of his chest, but he was well aware of his anxiety leaking in, like tar leaking over the ocean, oily and dark, heavy, stuffing him and suffocating him.

The older male in front of him did quick work with the knife, as a stinging pain crashed through Ruzen, his skin tearing just below his neck, by a small margin missing his crucial point. 8yJucE

The other males that had came to crowd him over also did quick work and cut over his arms, legs and stomach. His head couldn’t move, but Ruzen could feel his shirt getting soggy with his own blood, the warmth oozing out of him as the drips of liquid slid down towards the ground.

“It is fresh, quickly collect it!” a woman’s voice was heard as several other women folks who were previously doing regular chores left what they were doing and brought with them what looked like huge bowls made of ivory.

Ruzen would have screamed but now he couldn’t even use his vocal chords, the unbearable numbness spread over his skin soon followed by a sensation of pin and needles, like they were prickling him all over. It was such an intense sensation, anyone would want to curl up or groan in agony.

Where he had thought he would get shelter and food, or even lodging, he was instead being assaulted by a mob of crazy people… it made him wonder how deep the hatred was for a cursed one. If he was a normal man, would they have done such deeds on him? nxvwiX

Spots of blackness emerged in his eyes as he tried to keep them open. His whole body was frozen but the sharp pain at different locations, the sting, it was all crystal clear, and since he had nothing else he could focus upon, all of his senses were majorly attuned to the gushing blood and long slashes adorning his body.

He now couldn’t speak, couldn’t feel even his tongue, he was utterly helpless, paralyzed.

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It was actually frightening, even his nightmares weren’t this detailed or crushing, in them he would be able to move, it was nothing like this, this was just extreme pain.

Dazed, he watched as a very old wrinkly woman walked towards him, her eyes were greying and her skin was spotted with splotches of black marks, she had a walking stick in her hand and her feet were rather wobbly. gVw3xc

Through his pain, Ruzen wasn’t able to work his mind, but her approach made him nauseous.

It wasn’t long since he entered the town, but he was already on the verge of death again. Even the warmth of the Ghost stone on his back did nothing to bring him ease, he couldn’t even think properly with all the suffering latched on him.

“Not enough, collect more, also, his hair and skin.”

A shudder of sudden horror set Ruzen with fear, as his hair was harvested by a knife like crops, and sharp tools sliced out pieces of his skin from his thighs and arms. YDnC7F

The terrible ache that came after that made his stomach roll as his chest heaved, his heart setting off into a sharp beating which made his insides crawl, the restrictions making his pain intolerable.

The shadows still held him, the desert wind still stung as the crowd watched on his torture, even children took interest, pointing and looking at him with smiles on their faces.

But all his ears could hear was the old woman’s rough voice commanding, “That much will do, now store him with the rest.”

‘…the rest?’ Ruzen thought, as the shadows finally left him, his body finding the freedom again. It was a perfect opportunity to escape, but his body was in no condition to move, even his mind seemed foggy. AzdMRc

He was vomiting through dry heaves as his stomach was empty, and the warmth leaking him was either his blood or piss, or maybe both. He did not know what happened, but he was vaguely aware that he was being carried, or say, dragged over to somewhere else, the bright sun no longer sheltered his torture.

Under the excruciating pain Ruzen finally closed his eyes and thankfully felt his mind slip.

~~

When he woke up again, there was nothing but darkness in front of him and the air was cold enough to melt. qbtkwX

He blinked his eyes, but couldn’t see still. It set off slight panic in him, but the pain grounded him, his entire body stung and he wasn’t sure what, but something smelled very foul… only later he realised that foul smell came from him.

It was so strong, he almost vomited, it was repulsive.

“Yo, ya back?” a sunny voice chirped from next to him, and he flinched at the sharpness.

“…you?” Ruzen croaked out, his throat was so sore, it was a miracle he was even talking. 7lSE0y

A small hum escaped the other, and Ruzen heard him say, “Za’Jin, lost my way, ended up in this cheap lodging, they don’t even ask before they take the payment forcefully, how are you not angry?”

“…Wha- Wh *cough* what?”

Story translated by Chrysanthemum Garden.

The stranger snickered, “Aren’t you a cursed one as well? This is the first time I have seen such a docile one, makes me pissed off, haha~”

Ruzen tried asking something again, but he couldn’t, even coughing pained him, his entire body buzzed and burned. 3mJwLC

He reluctantly listened as the cheerful voice went on, “You even let your ghost down if that ghost stone of yours is real, how shameful!”

There was no bite behind those words though, that much was certain and Ruzen felt rather helpless as the other party kept going on, “I planned to suck them dry, but guess what, you ruined my plan, came at the wrong time, set them off, even gave them your blood, are you foolish?” A slight hint of anger seeped in, as the light tone turned heavier, “Now that they have your blood they will call upon those sky high morons… Ugh, they are a pain to deal with!”

“Deity?” Ruzen wheezed, he needed rest, he really did. And food, of course, and yes… medicine. But who was to give him that? Certainly not the man next to him, he was too busy venting.

“Yes! Your blood will attract those morons here, and these rotten towns people don’t know what they are inviting, they are trouble, major trouble, now I am involved in it, because of you!” a2XKOw

The loud scolding made Ruzen angry, it wasn’t his fault that the Deities were really going to come after them, if only he had some kind of a manual…

“So,” the man continued with a sneer, “what kind are you? You stink, don’t tell me you are Corpse Ghoul’s Keeper, they all stink big time.”

“…Keeper?”