Chapter 157: Undertones

Cabrera was on cloud nine.

'925,000 platinum'

The original amount was 950,000, but 25,000 was used to abolish his loan.

The beast corpses sold for a high price, but compared to the first, it was too small and could be considered pocket change.

Regardless, Cabrera could barely control himself.

His state changed from anxiety to fear to greed to overexcitement and many more.

He had a bevy of emotions flowing through him.

Still, he persevered and arrived at his abode.

The boys had already settled in and were asking questions, trying to regain the rest of their memories.

They were able to understand a few things in the process.

Cabrera ignored them all, with his eyes darting about.

"Where's Nathan?"

Only then did anyone take cognizance of his presence.

Quickly, he was directed to Nathan, who sat in a small room he fashioned into his office.

Stacks of paper laid on his desk, with a few dozen books shelved behind him.

Cabrera sat without a word.

"So...how did it go?" Nathan asked, his eyes on Cabrera.

Cabrera made hand signs and muttered, but it came out as gibberish. His volatile emotions were giving him a hard time expressing himself.

"Is your mouth all clogged up now? Which @ss you chewed to cause that?"

Cabrera frowned and his excitement went down.

He had only told, and subsequently showed, Nathan the new potion he 'accidentally' discovered.

With a narrowed gaze, Cabrera made out an audible mutter.

"Mithril"

Nathan tilted his head.

"What about it?"

Cabrera gave up on words and said...

"Make sure you don't scream"

Before Nathan could understand-

*Splatter!*

-shining gold coins fell to the ground in the hundreds.

Within a minute, the ground was flooded with gold.

Only then Cabrera stopped.

He looked to see Nathan wearing the same expression he did.

"H-how I-I-Is-"

His voice scrambled as he knelt onto the gold. His body shook as he caressed the gold coins to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Then he threw them up into the air with his laughter booming afterwards.

"Hahaha-"

Cabrera cut him off.

"Lower your voice! Are you trying to get us killed?"

Nathan promptly shut up, but kept his gaze onto the pile of gold.

He picked one and raised it.

"Ho, aren't you excited? Just think of what we could do with this? What we could achieve! We'll be-"

But his monologue was cut short as he grabbed his chest.

His heart had stopped.

"Mm-mmm!" his face raised in alarm as veins popped out all over his body.

His head was drained of color, with his eyes turning red as he couldn't breathe.

His heart would explode at the rate of things.

As a last resort, he screamed, puking blood along with it.

"Have mercy! Please!"

Then, his veins melded back into his skin and his head regained color as he wheezed out heavy breaths.

Cabrera wasn't spared either, but his pain was less with only his veins bulging.

Both men laid on the gold, which was now stained with blood.

Their eyes were glazed with fear, and their minds had come clear of greed.

At least now, they don't have to worry about how to spend the money, because, as they were just reminded...

The money wasn't for them to keep!

Within the royal vault, Ezra's gaze had turned cold.

'As expected'

He touched his chest and felt his heart.

'People can't be trusted'

Nathan had begun fantasizing about spending money whose origin he knew nothing about.

'There's a limit to how greedy one can be'

This was why he insisted on using a soul contract for all transactions.

Without it, he could see Nathan and Cabrera running off with the money.

His money.

He would've killed Nathan, but as a friend of Cabrera, killing him would sour their relationship.

He was still useful in that way, and as a first time thing, a near death experience would do well as a warning.

The more he thought over it, the more furious he became.

His thoughts were to have Nathan's memory wiped, but he stopped.

'Calm down'

He calmed himself, realizing he was making a mountain of a shallow pit.

After all, Nathan never explicitly mentioned absconding with the money.

Why were these Ezra's first thoughts?

And then, had Nathan really done anything to warrant such anger?

No, wait, Nathan didn't know of either Ezra or Fredrick, so he must've thought Cabrera owned it.

Besides-

He looked around.

-there's already so much money here.

Gold coins were all over the place, why then was he so angry?

Ezra face palmed-

'Even at this age, I'm still a fool'

-and sighed in dejection. His last betrayal had left a scar in his soul, a deep one.

He wondered if it would ever heal, before shaking his head.

'Whatever. I haven't confirmed his skills'

Cabrera had given his word, but Ezra suddenly thought that wasn't enough.

Like that, he added another objective to his list.

He departed the vault, found Fredrick, and explained the situation to him.

-An hour later-

Nathan and Cabrera sat in silence, the event still vivid in their minds.

The pile of gold had been sucked back into the space ring.

"Who is he?" Nathan said.

"Who?"

"The man on the other side of this contract"

Cabrera lowered his head.

"I can't remember"

"What?"

"Look, I'm as confused as you are"

Both men sat in silence, when a servant came in and gave a note.

Cabrera read it and frowned.

"What is it?"

He handed it to Nathan.

It read...

'All will become clear in due time, but as it is, get ready to greet visitors at night'

The sender was definitely the man on the other side of the contract, or at least someone related to him.

But it was the last few words that caught attention.

'Visitors at Night'

It was a reference to thieves and assassins.

As Nathan tried to deduce what he could, Cabrera spoke.

"Turn it over"

He did so, and found five words in the back...

'Raven Skull and Gold Moles'

'This...!'

The meaning was clear.

-Elsewhere-

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, my lord"

Garbed in armor, with his helmet in his armpit, Tom Everdust listened to Giffards report.

"Demon worshippers you say"

It wasn't impossible, but Tom felt something was amiss.

"Isn't it too early for them to show their faces?"

"Are you sure the man hasn't gone insane?" he reaffirmed.

"Highly unlikely, Sire"

"Hmm, inform father. This matter is beyond me"

In the first place, his father was the one who forced him to look for Rowan's killer.

He couldn't care less about that dumb brother of his.

But the presence of a Demon worshiper changed things.

If they could act so bold, then no one could predict what would happen next.

-Elsewhere-

"AH! PLEASE STOP!"

Within a torture chamber, multiple men knelt, their clothes ragged and their bodies chained at multiple sides while they were flogged with a whip.

Their screams resounding ever so loud.

"I TOLD YOU ALL I KNOW! PLEASE, LET ME GO!"

Within them, some were receiving special attention.

One of them was Franc, leader of the guild based in Whittown, Nightshade.

While celebrating his new found wealth, he had been captured along with his men.

They were asked the same questions, repeatedly.

"What is your involvement with the attack on Windless Peaks?!"

The pain did not allow them to lie, so they gave truthful accounts on how they all followed Nightshade, while Franc told of how his men died.

But those asking didn't care.

Their answers weren't believed, and so they continue to be tortured.

The source of their joy had turned into the source of unending pain.

Oh, how these men wished they never set foot in the missionary.

The one who instigated their torture was smiling inwardly.

'Now all that wealth will be mine!'

Winston.

And he didn't let up.

"They're lying! They must be! Slash them harder! Make them tell the truth!"

Like so, the torturers' beatings became only harder as time went by, with many dying in its midst.