The Innkeeper

Chapter 1849: Making waves

"Your name is Damian, right?" asked an arachnid beast with clear disgust in its voice as it looked down at the human. "Damian Williams from the Origin realm? Sekhmets slave?"

The middle-aged man, whose aura was now fluctuating in the late stages of the Heaven Immortal realm, looked at the spider without an ounce of discontent or displeasure. If it was so easy for Damian to lose control of his emotions, or if he was so easily bothered by external things, he would not have reached his station today.

By his calculations, he was now nearing, if he was not already equal to, the strength of his ancestor William Sephore. It had hardly taken him a couple of centuries to reach this stage, and with Sekhmet’s and the HOA’s backing, he would soon be ready to claim the ancient heritage of the Sephore family. Who then could deny his genius?

He may not have been born with the ridiculous talent of his son, Leon, nor his grandkids from Leon, but he would be the one to walk the farthest. If his plans hadn’t been interfered with, he may already have reached the Celestial realm. But there was no point in regretting or brooding. It did not serve him to waste time on such pointless endeavors.

"I am not her slave, but yes, I am Damian," he answered, not expressing any anger at the mistake. Anyone who could directly take her name must be very high up in the HOA, and Damian was not yet qualified to cross them.

"Excellent. The HOA has recently received a commission, and Sekhmet has given the approval for your help in completing it. It seems your grandson, Lex Williams, has been making a lot of waves, and not a lot of people are happy about that. We will need your help gathering information on him."

Damian’s eyes narrowed, various thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant.

"Lex is backed by the Midnight Inn, and more importantly the Innkeeper, who has demonstrated the ability to one-shot Demi-Dao Lords. Is this really wise?" he asked.

"You do not need to concern yourself with that," responded the spider. "We will only provide information, and not actually take any action. Do well, and maybe we might even accommodate your request for the bloodline revival potion."

Damian needed to hear no more. The bloodline revival potion was necessary to replace his bloodline from his ancestor William, and tap into the Sephore bloodline. Causing his beloved grandson a few headaches along the way was just a side bonus for him.

*****

The devil who went by the name Rocketfellow Rothschild woke up in an unfamiliar room, his memory groggy of what he had been doing, and where he was supposed to be. Regardless, he was certain that no matter what he was meant to be doing, it did not include being drugged and chained to a chair, watched over by some unknown figure.

"You’re making a grave mistake," Rocket said, his voice slurred as he had not regained control. "My father... is a Dao Lord..."

In fact, that is not what Rocket wanted to say. He wanted to utter his fathers name directly, so that his father would discover the situation. But for reasons he could not fathom, Rocket had somehow forgotten his fathers own name. It was one of the many things he seemed to have conveniently forgotten.

"War is on the horizon, devil. Your father will have more important things to deal with than to rescue a child who fell out of favor. Not to mention... it is unlikely he will ever find out what is happening before it’s too late. You see... no one kidnaps a Dao Lords descendant by accident, or without sufficient capability," the figure answered, and stepped a little closer.

In fact, as if to prove his point, the figure removed whatever technique or tool that was keeping his identity hidden, revealing his true form. A hydra made entirely of stone, as if a moving statue, was revealed... and his power which was at the absolute peak of the Celestial realm.

"But do not worry. We are not savages. Our hospitality is unmatched, though it does favor those who know how to conduct themselves properly. As long as you cooperate with us, you will find that your time is spent quite pleasantly, and who knows, you might even stand to gain something."

Rocket’s mind was slow, his thoughts moving with great lethargy, but even so he understood that he needed to get a clearer grasp on his situation. Looking at the unfamiliar hydra, he decided it was better to cooperate as much as possible - at least until certain lines were crossed.

"How... can I help you?" he asked weakly.

The hydra smiled with all its heads as he looked at Rocket, pleased with his response.

"I have it on good authority that... you planned not just one, but multiple attempts at kidnapping and possibly even harming the workers of the Midnight Inn," the hydra said slowly. "Ideally, I’d like to learn about that. About how you planned, how you avoided punishment, what weaknesses did you find, and who did you find the easiest to target. Ah, but I understand you privileged kids. It’s not so easy to pry sensitive information from you lot.

"So, let’s take it slow for now. Let’s get to know one another a little better. Let’s understand one another, so that hopefully, we can reach a mutually beneficial arrangement. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?"

Rocket did not respond, instead looking at the stone hydra with an increasing sense of dread. The situation was much worse than he imagined.

"Yeah, that’s pretty much how I imagined you’d react," the hydra said with a smirk. "But don’t you worry, you’ll come around, you’ll soon see. My name is Bouldadin, your future new best friend."

Rocket said nothing, and instead tried to rely on the many contingencies that had been planted on and in his body. Yet, to his despair, not a single one of them worked.