Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 1903 Resentment

They found a hiding spot after a couple of hours of travel.

There were a few caves in the vicinity of where Adam had found them, but he didn't want to risk camping anywhere there. The scent of blood was pungent in that area, and there were several monsters prowling in the vicinity.

Thus, despite their exhaustion, Genevieve and Michael dragged their bodies for a few more kilometers before finally camping.

Once again, Adam took his time to diligently carve runes on the ground for protection and concealment. He hung the talisman by the entrance, and then finally relaxed.

Genevieve and Michael sat further inside, completely spent from the ordeal.

Michael finally lay down on the ground with a smile full of relief. "Finally, I can take a nap."

"Not yet," Adam said. "Those injuries look problematic. You're probably poisoned."

Michael's eyes widened, and he sat back up. "Poisoned? What do you mean! I don't feel anything!"

"Just wait a second," Adam said as he crouched before the puzzled Genevieve.

He then casually grabbed her wrist and sent a pulse of mana through her internal systems, looking for anything dangerous. Almost a minute later, he turned to her and offered a reassuring smile.

"Nothing dangerous. Only severe mana exhaustion," he said. "You'll be fine after a round of good sleep. But if you want something for your headache, I can concoct a potion for you. I have enough ingredients with me."

Genevieve watched Adam in a daze.

Snap! Snap!

Adam snapped his fingers before her eyes. He let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, you really need to sleep."

"No, I…" Genevieve snapped out of her stupor, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I'm fine."

Her expression turned serious, and she added, "Tell me what happened."

Adam sighed. "Alright."

He walked to Michael as he continued, "I'll explain while I fix his wounds."

"Remove your armor and tunic," he added, gesturing to Michael.

The Paladin did as told.

Adam observed the wounds on his arms, shoulders, and neck for a few moments, then retrieved a small kit from his belt. It was a kit where he stored all things related to herbalism and first-aid.

"After you both left," he began as he started cleaning Michael's wounds. "I dealt with those two ghouls first. Lay down, will you?"

He said those last words to Michael, and the latter did as told. Adam then grabbed sterilized needles from the kit and pierced the Paladin's flesh with them.

In the blink of an eye, Michael was stunned to see over a dozen long needles around his wounds. They didn't hurt. And he didn't know what they were for. But he trusted Adam's judgment.

"After that," Adam continued. "I found three more ghouls lying in ambush. It was surprising, really. I didn't sense them initially. So maybe they had some sort of concealing artifact? Hmm, not sure."

As he began grinding some herbs and minerals in the mortar with the pestle, he murmured, "Even those two at the beginning. I couldn't sense their undead aura until after they'd transformed. How very strange…"

"What happened to those ghouls?!" Michael blurted out, his eyes slowly widening as a chilling possibility emerged in his mind.

Adam turned to him and lightly frowned. "Don't move. Unless you want the needles to accidentally hit your nerves and turn you into a cripple."

Michael felt a chill crawl down his spine. He glanced at the needles piercing his flesh with newfound horror. Then he obediently lay back down.

"Where are those ghouls now?" Genevieve asked, her voice tinged with slight apprehension. "They wouldn't follow your tracks here, would they?"

"That's impossible." Adam shook his head.

Before Genevieve could press for more answers, Adam answered. His following words caused her to feel astonished.

"I killed them."

"…What?" Genevieve's eyes slowly widened. Michael's reaction was also the same.

"Yeah." Adam shrugged nonchalantly as he took out the needles and began applying the pungent green paste onto Michael's wounds.

"Killed five of them," he continued. "There was another one. Maybe two. But they were smart enough to flee. Don't think those things will be following us."

"Myu!" Valerian clapped joyfully. "You should have seen Brother! He tore their hands and destroyed their heads. He went bam! And then he went boom!"

"Valerian," Adam said in an admonishing tone.

"Fine…" the little fellow pouted.

"You… killed five of them?" Genevieve couldn't believe what she heard.

She and Michael had struggled against one of them. With great difficulty, they'd managed to kill one ghoul. Then they had to flee from the rest.

But Adam had killed five of those foul creatures. And it was the surviving ghouls that had to flee from him.

Michael was speechless. He knew Adam was strong. He didn't know Adam was that strong.

Genevieve snapped out of her daze. Finally, she asked in a shaky breath, "And… what about them? Koby and Kara. Did they…"

She didn't even bother asking about Darren.

Adam sighed, his lips curling into a faint smile.

"I'm sorry, Genevieve. I could not save them."

A heavy silence descended in the cave.

Michael stared at the ceiling silently. Meanwhile, Genevieve lowered her head, her lower lip quivering from time to time. Her fists clenched and unclenched several times as her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"I buried them," Adam said softly. "At least they won't turn into food for the wretched monsters in this place."

Genevieve steadied her emotions. Then she said, "What about their spirit?"

Adam remained silent. He knew what she was hinting at.

"You mentioned that because this spirit plane is completely sealed away from the material world, the spirits of the deceased won't find an opportunity to pass on to the afterlife," Genevieve said, her voice choked with emotions. "It's like those mother and child evil spirits that we encountered."

Genevieve inhaled deeply, then added, "Will… will Koby and Kara suffer the same fate?"

Adam didn't reply. His hands had stopped working on Michael's wounds.

"Answer me, Adam!" Genevieve pleaded. "What will happen to their spirits?"

Adam let out a long, heavy sigh. He turned and looked Genevieve in the eye. He intently stared at her for a few long moments, then replied:

"If they died with lingering wishes or unfulfilled desires… if they died with resentment, then yes… they will most likely wander this place as evil spirits."