Chapter 2660: +2 Bloodkins
Chapter 2660: +2 Bloodkins
Date: Unspecified
Time: Unspecified
Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Teleportation Hub
"Petra, stop scaring her and let go of her. That’s not Bloodette, but her current best friend, Cortney," I said as I strode toward them.
Petra was openly manhandling Cortney in public. The fact that Cortney had dressed with minimal restraint, only made the scene more heated and steamy. Against Petra’s overwhelming strength, Cortney was utterly powerless, unable to muster even the faintest resistance. The paparazzi could not have asked for a better spectacle.
"Let go of me, bitch," Cortney screamed, her voice ringing out as it proved to be the only defiance she could muster against Petra’s monstrous strength.
"But that still doesn’t explain why I sense Bloodette’s soul signature from her," Petra asked me, finally releasing the shaken Cortney.
Cortney hurriedly adjusted her clothes, and for the first time in her short life, she regretted not dressing more modestly. Her embarrassment quickly hardened into anger, and she glared fiercely at Petra.
"That’s because Bloodette helped her forge her mutated ego gem," I explained before formally introducing them. "Cortney, this is Petra Petros, the Stone Supreme. She claims she was Bloodette’s old best friend. Could you take her to Bloodette’s dungeon seal? I’ll join you after I finish greeting everyone."
Cortney’s eyes widened in shock. This was a huge deal as Bloodette had no recollection of her life before being sealed within the dungeon. Seeing someone emerge from her friend’s forgotten past filled her with sudden joy, and she immediately forgave Petra’s earlier actions. She extended her hand toward Petra and introduced herself, "Hi, I’m Cortney. Wyatt’s friend, and Bloodette’s best friend."
Petra ignored the offered hand, snorting instead as she muttered, "We’ll see about that."
Cortney took the dismissal in stride and turned to me with a reassuring smile. "Leave this to me, Wyatt."
As Cortney escorted Petra toward the dungeon seal, I moved quickly to Corey’s side and gave her clear instructions. "Go with them and keep a close watch on Petra. If she shows any signs of acting out, don’t hesitate to use Lil’ Beam, and report to me immediately."
"Alright," Corey said, then tilted her head with an exaggerated drawl, her expression resembling a loan shark pressing a long-overdue debtor. "But when are you finally going to help me acquire a new trait?"
"I’ll find a way to make it up to you. Now go, keep up with them," I urged Corey, implicitly promising that I would find a way to make it up to her for the long delay in her trait acquisition. Hearing my promise, she reluctantly hurried after Cortney and Petra, and as they departed, I discreetly signaled demigod Redfall to dispatch Yin Widow to support Corey from the shadows.
While I had been preoccupied running across the card world, demigod Redfall had been far from idle. He had located Yin Widow’s hideout and resurrected her using the contingency methods she herself had prepared, but with one single change. He used my primordial calamity daughter gem as the new vessel for her soul to arrive and sustain in the physical plane.
Yin Widow was more than pleased to see her son had found an even more powerful vessel for her resurrection. She willingly accepted the primordial calamity daughter gem as her new soul vessel. As a result, she was resurrected directly as my Bloodkin. However, she was far from her peak. Her soul remained tainted by the Breath of Erosion, and her grimoire was still in Anna’s possession. Even so, as a Bloodkin, she was vastly stronger than most of the demigods present.
Having fulfilled his promise to his mother, the last remnants of resistance within Redfall dissolved, and he too accepted his new status, successfully becoming a Bloodkin. This sequence of events confirmed my hypothesis: the will of my calamity daughter gems played a decisive role in whether they would be accepted by my cursed bloodline and successfully transform into my Bloodkin.
With the immediate trouble handled, I turned to the people waiting to meet me. Most were familiar faces, though several strangers were mixed among them. Asong Young, in particular, had arrived with numerous members of her political party and family. It seemed the live stream of my clash with the Emissary of Light had drawn far more attention than expected.
Just as I neared the assembled guests, a reporter called out from within the crowd, "Master Wyatt, who won the duel?"
The question made me pause. I turned toward the cluster of reporters, who were being held back by the Fine Gold Guards. The noise quickly subsided as my gaze swept over them, and I answered plainly, "I won. Wasn’t that obvious?"
The crowd immediately erupted into cheers, celebrating my victory as if it were their own. While I still had their attention, the reporters pressed forward with another question.
"Master Wyatt, Master Wyatt," one of them called, "but the Emissary of Light claimed that he was the victor. How do you respond to that?"
"If the fight were about who ran home first to lick their wounds, then yes, he won, because he was already back at his nest," I said with open scorn. "But this was never about us. It was about protecting the southern citizens from outside threats like him. I’m pleased to announce that I managed to save the city’s demigod guards, undoing his brainwashing. Soon, I’ll begin treating the remaining citizens who were also ensnared by that false herald. I request their family members not to worry and to wait for the good news."
Just as I was about to leave, one sharp-eyed journalist seized the brief opening and fired off a rapid barrage of questions.
"Master Wyatt, what is your relationship with wanted and notorious criminals such as Demigod Redfall, Yin Widow, and others? Are you certain that someone hailed as the Southern Hope should be associating with figures like them? Are you attempting to build a personal army? What was the true purpose of today’s display? Was it meant as a challenge to the Southern Royal Family? And speaking of the Royal Family, what exactly is the nature of your relationship with the Southern Heir?"