Jenny's head dropped to the ground. Her eyes opened wide.

Siderius squatted down and closed her eyelids.

"Depart in peace."

He then untied her body and found a place to lay her corpse and head down. The hunter sprinkled salt on her body and used the Dead Rite on her.

This way, no one would be able to extract information from Jenny.

"By earth below and sky above,

I shall grant peace and rest thereof.

No shadow's pull, no chain of night,

Can steal this soul from holy light."

Siderius finished the incantation. He grabbed his sword and flipped the fire switch over.

The Blazing Soul burned fiercely in the night.

Siderius gently tapped the sword onto Jenny's corpse. The flame engulfed her body in flame.

"Why do you do this burial rites for her, my lord?" Teddy couldn't help but ask.

"Why not?"

"Because she's your enemy."

"Now that is where you are wrong. She is an obstacle on my path. My true enemies are someone else.

One thing you should always remember is to never let emotions blind your judgement."

Teddy sighed deeply.

"My lord. I have killed many. Those who deserved it. And those who were innocent. I am not a good man. Why did you spare me?"

"It's not that complex, Teddy. I spare you simply because you survived. I said I'll let you live if you survive, didn't I?

And I always fulfilled my part of the deal.

Now here's a job for you, Teddy. You must have friends in this branch of the Shadow Blade, yeah? Find them. The one you can trust. And recruit them. Anthony won't have enough manpower to take back the business in Shadow Blade for a while."

Teddy's eyes fluttered. "My lord! Are you…"

Siderius nodded. "We will take over Blacklungs. Becoming what Shadow was."

Siderius took out a piece of pyrite. He grabbed Teddy's hand and drew a symbol on the back of his hand.

Sulfur leaked out from the structure of the pyrite and infused itself onto Teddy's skin. It penetrated into his soul, creating a hidden seal.

On the surface, Teddy only saw a new X symbol on his skin. He didn't feel the hidden seal inside his soul.

"This is…"

"The mark of the guild of Xander. You are a part of it now, Teddy. You will temporarily be my eyes and ears in Blacklungs and help me recruit loyal, capable members.

No need to rush. I need loyalty and capability. Not quantity. So take your time."

"And my family, my lord?"

Teddy clenched his hand tight. He already sold their freedom for a chance to live. He desperately wanted to know what Siderius was planning to do to them.

"As a member of Xander. Your family is protected by us." Siderius walked away with a smile. "We are different from that assassin guild, Teddy.

We have a dream to change this world for the better. Not only for the nobles. But for everyone, equally.

That is Xander."

Siderius disappeared in the woods, leaving Teddy frozen in place.

His voice echoed from afar. "You'd better leave before those witches notice the smoke from Jenny's body."

"Oh, right! Thank you, my lord!l

Siderius returned to the tavern to pick up Red. On his way out, a group of sailors and dock workers surrounded him. There must be at least twenty people.

Siderius' eyes flashed silver as he determined the karma of each of these people.

"Good. Bad. Not so bad. Average…"

Siderius darted his eyes around.

A tall bulky sailor stepped up. "Heard you kill two of our boys?"

The sailor didn't say much and attacked. The skin around Siderius' eyes bulged up with black veins as he saw the trajectory of the sailor's fist.

Siderius turned his body sideways while pulling out the hunter knife.

The other people only saw Siderius do a spin and the tall man was already on his knee, hands grabbing his bloody neck. He gargled blood before falling down to his death.

Everyone else stepped back on instinct.

Siderius glanced at every man one last time before leaving. The Harbor Boys. An inconsequential gang of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Siderius didn't want to waste his valuable time to deal with these minor inconveniences.

When he walked past a young man with dark hair, Siderius placed a hand on that boy's shoulder. He was the only one that still had a positive karma.

"You're better than them. If you value your future, find a new path for your life." Siderius whispered then left.

The witch hunter once again went on the road. The busy streets and the noise of people felt strange and unwelcoming to Siderius.

Only the howling of winds and the coldness of the lonely night gave him comfort.

Siderius sat on top of a hill where the grass waved gently in the wind. In front of him was the beautiful night of the full moon.

He took out his pipe and prepared some tobacco. The night made him nostalgic of the past.

Upon these cold winds on the hill, he couldn't imagine what better to do than smoking his pipe. The warm sensation of it enveloped him.

He looked down on his right and left palms as they slowly opened, revealing the Light and Dark Aether he had gathered all this time.

"I have walked the Truth-Seeking Path every day. Closer and closer I reach Silver III. Now with the new Light and Dark I gathered, it is probably enough to cross this faded line.

Silver III. Here I come."

Siderius placed his hand close together. The pieces of Dark Aether fused with the silver strands of Light Aether. They formed a big Aether Sphere that was bigger than any previous spheres Siderius had made.

Under the green hill of the windy night, Siderius' silver soul swallowed the new Aether Sphere.

His gold dust of True Aether continued to nourish the silver soul, making it more and more powerful.

The Aether Sphere spun at high speed, drawing even more gold dust into the soul.

Siderius had gained quite a hefty amount of True Aether these past six months. He didn't just walk the path with his previous knowledge. He constantly acquired more knowledge by learning this world.

His True Aether became even greater than what he once had.

Siderius' physical body lit up a shiny silver color in the night.

Erin's carriage slowly passed by the road. A shiny silver star lit up not far from her.

"What is that?"

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