The rain had stopped by morning.
Nero stood at the mouth of the cave, watching the last drops fall from the purple leaves overhead. The forest was quiet save for the occasional rustle of the underbrush.
He had made his decision.
Today, he would gather the remaining twenty Seals of Sin.
He checked his equipment one final time. The Silver Blade hung at his waist, its edge still sharp despite a week of constant use. The satchel containing his rations, the map, and the Divine Elixirs rested against his hip.
This was just another hunt.
Nero took a slow breath and stepped out into the forest.
The black earth squelched beneath his boots. The air smelled of wet bark and rotting vegetation. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear the low bellow of something large moving through the trees.
He ignored it and began walking.
***
The first Hollow Wretch appeared an hour into his hunt.
It was crouched beside a fallen log, gnawing on something that might have once been a smaller Abomination. Its elongated limbs were folded awkwardly beneath it, and its sunken face turned toward him as he approached.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then it hissed and lunged.
Nero sidestepped the attack and brought the Silver Blade down in a clean arc. The creature's head separated from its body and hit the ground with a wet thud.
***
{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain a Hollow Wretch}.
Seals of Sin: (81/1000).
***
'That's another one down...'
Nero wiped the blade clean and continued walking.
Since the flesh of the Wretches was absolutely rancid beyond redemption, he had chosen not to take any at all, as such things were bound to cause intestinal problems in the long run.
He shivered...
The second Wretch found him a few minutes later.
Nero met its charge head-on, ducking beneath its claws and driving the Silver Blade up through its ribcage. Blood and viscera drenched his arms as the creature thrashed for a moment before going still.
***
{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain a Hollow Wretch}.
Seals of Sin: (82/1000).
***
Nero pulled the blade free and let the corpse fall.
He paused for a moment, staring down at the body.
"Oracle," he said aloud, his voice cutting through the silence of the forest. "Why do different creatures give different numbers of Seals?"
The response came immediately, the monotonous voice echoing directly into his mind.
{The number of Seals a creature possesses is determined solely by the strength of its corruption, and not its nature}.
Nero's brows furrowed.
The Oracle explained;
{The strength of corruption is the only factor. The greater the corruption, the more Seals of Sin the creature will possess. However, greater corruption also results in greater power. The body transforms and becomes more grotesque whilst the soul is saturated with malignant Ein Sof and madness}.
Nero absorbed this information slowly.
So at the core, it wasn't truly about age or size or even what type of Abomination it was.
It was about how deeply corrupted they were.
After all, the longer something had lived, the greater it would be for it to become entrenched in darkness and evil. However, the first was simply a consequence, not the end all be all.
That made sense.
The Soul Amalgam had accumulated victims for presumably a long time, but its consciousness had been diluted and weak.
The Pig Demon on the other hand didn't seem as old. However, it had been just as strong, if not stronger because it had fully embraced its corruption.
As for creatures like the Hollow Wretches and the Corrupted Scavengers...
They were newly born and died quite easily , meaning there was barely any time for the corruption to become absolute.
"Is there a way to tell how corrupted something is before I fight it?" Nero asked.
{Yes}.
A moment later, glowing golden runes appeared in the air before him.
Nero raised his brows slightly. He had seen the Oracle manifest runes before, but it still felt strange to see them hovering in front of him like this.
The runes shifted and reformed into a list:
***
Fragment Seals— ¹/¹⁰
Grade F— 1
Grade E— 2
Grade D— 3
Grade C— 4
Grade B— 5
Grade A— 6
Grade S— 7
***
Nero stared at the list for a moment.
"So the Wretches are Grade F," he muttered.
{Correct. Most creatures the Heretic has encountered thus far have been Grade F. The Heretic should keep in mind, that physical might does not equate corruption. The damnation of corruption is perhaps, far more lethal than fists, blades and claws}.
If he had to guess, then the creature with the stinger that had strange shadows swirling about it had also been a Grade E Abomination.
However, it should have been on the powerful end of it.
He felt a twang of fear.
'Grade E...'
A chill ran down his spine.
At that stage,but was much like the Wretched Maiden of Damnation. Only, instead of being able to obliterate his soul, it could easily tear him apart limb from limb. He had survived the ordeal with the Wretched Maiden, only because of his true name. In a physical battle, no name would be enough to save him, unfortunately.
If he had fought that thing, there was no doubt about it...
He pushed the thought aside.
The runes faded, and Nero was left staring at empty air once more.
He glanced down at the Wretch's corpse.
Grade F.
On the weaker end of the grade too. Despite that, the strength of the Seal compared to that of the Pig Demon was the same.
He turned and continued deeper into the forest.
***
The hours passed in a blur of blood and steel.
Nero moved through the forest methodically, tracking and killing every Abomination he came across.
A pack of Corrupted Scavengers feeding on a rotting carcass. Three Hollow Wretches lurking near a dried creek bed. A Bloated Devourer—a grotesque, swollen humanoid thing that moved on all fours and vomited acid—hidden beneath a fallen tree. Although he had come close to having his face melted off by the blasted thing, he had survived with just a few burns.
Each one fell to the Silver Blade.
Each one was another Seal added to his count.
***
{Rejoice, Heretic. You have slain a Bloated Devourer}.
Seals of Sin: (99/1000).
***
Nero stood over the Devourer's corpse, breathing heavily.
Ninety-nine Seals.
One more, and he would have met the conditions he set for himself before journeying into Malady's garden.
Just one more, and he would reach his goal.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced up at the sky. The grey clouds had darkened, and the air felt heavier now. Rain was coming again.
Apprehension clouded his heart. Would that be enough for him to survive through a category Red location?
There was only one way to find out.
He needed to find one more Abomination before the storm hit and night came.
Nero sheathed the Silver Blade and began walking.
The forest around him had changed. The trees were denser here, their trunks thicker and more twisted. The purple leaves overhead blocked out most of the light, casting everything in deep violet and crimson shadows.
He had ventured a bit deeper than he intended.
But he was close now.
Just one more.
Suddenly, he froze.
A sharp, shrill cry cut through the humid air, right into his hears.
'What the hell was that?!'