Corrupt Creations

Seth's mood was a bit off after witnessing what have happened, because it reminded him of his own deceased adoptive mother. Until the present time, he didn't know who really killed her, because at that time, he was unconscious. But he wasn't naïve enough to not even deduce the culprits. 

He blamed that fatty man he innocently called "penguin" at that day, and at the same time, blamed the Cerberus Clan Head even more. He swore to extinguish them if he ever discovered their members location, but they just vanished in a puff of smoke. 

As for the fatty... Seth had already visited that village again before going to the Blazing Phoenix Sect and found out that there were many survivors reconstructing it. They told Seth the fate that the City Lord and his family suffered at that day. The fat man body was found mangled, together with the soldiers that escorted him. 

The City Lord though... Although people called him City Lord, it was just a title for the leader of that village, the person responsible for protecting it, in exchange for the taxes people paid. However, he fled from the village, letting his own people suffer the cruel fate of death. 

He was found by the Blazing Phoenix Sect elders that were sent to control the situation some days later. After being judged, he was executed before the survivors of that demonic raid. 

While Seth was going back, he managed to sooth his emotions and return to his calm demeanor. 

Seth returned to the Allakiir mansion and waited for Elyra's return. When he was going back to the party, she told him that things were practically over and set the point of their meeting back in the mansion. 

He was waiting for her to come back, when a realization dawned upon him. 

'I couldn't even enjoy the party. Damn... She made me do all the work, while she was enjoying it all along.' 

Seth was lamenting over the fact that he wasn't able to enjoy a single thing on this last night, when suddenly he heard the sound of steps of someone coming his way. 

"Hehehe, I finally found you!" 

Seth looked towards the person that was approaching and saw that it was an elf that seemed to be thirty years old. He instantly recognized him. He was Haldir, the male elf that tried to expel him from the building before. 

"Hm? What do you want from me?" 

"Ahaha... What do I want from you? You made me a laughing stock before Miss Elyra and the others at that time. What do I want from you?! I want to make you pay for that." Haldir said through gritted teeth, he has never experienced such humiliation before. 

After the first glance towards him, Seth disdained from looking again. 

"Tch... Immature." 

"You! You're calling me immature? Hahaha, let me see you calling me immature after I deal with you." Haldir advanced against Seth. Inside his head, his strength was a thousand times stronger than his enemy strength. 

"Tch, this has been a very unpleasant night for me and I have absolutely no patience to deal with these kinds of people. I'll end this trash very quickly... I hope you don't mind, right?" 

"..." 

"Who are you talking with? Have you gone mad? There is no one other than us here." 

Just as Haldir was questioning Seth's sanity, he heard a female voice from behind. 

"Just don't kill him." 

Seth didn't even think twice before moving. He appeared before the stunned Haldir, kicking his stomach while using a tenth of his physical strength without any Mana involved. 

Haldir felt like a huge hammer hit him straight in his belly and he didn't even have enough time to spit the blood that rushed to his mouth, before being shot to the distant wall behind him. His protective layer of Qi was torn to shreds instantly and he crashed heavily in that wall, destroying it thoroughly. 

The impact was so huge, that many people immediately heard the sound and started to mobilize to that place. However, when the first person got in that area, there was not a single soul there, other than a badly hurt and pitiful elf. He laid on the floor unconscious with many fractures in his body. His appearance currently, was a bloody mess that made people feel disgusted while looking. 

. 

. 

. 

"What happened for your mood to be so sour?" Elyra asked, since she felt Seth wasn't very well. 

"Sigh... It's nothing. Just that the scene I saw today, made me remember some unpleasant memories." 

"What was it?" 

"I secretly followed that woman you told me to follow, until she entered her own house. However, when she was about to open the door, she was brutally killed and I had no chance to do anything." 

"She was killed? Who? Who did it?" 

"Her son, Elydir Luberus. His father ordered him to kill her." 

"No! Impossible!" Elyra went totally pale. She didn't believe Madame Luberus words, and even thought she wasn't right in her mind tonight. But now, because of her narrow mindedness, she lost a very important witness. 

"Why would it be impossible? You saw it with your own eyes... How he gave a damn about her at the party. Since the beginning, I felt he wasn't a good character, however, I didn't think he would reveal himself in just a single day. What are you going to do?" 

"No... I have to make sure it is the truth first." 

"Elyra, I don't want to be rude, but how are you going to prove it is true, even if you can actually confirm that she's dead? There is nothing binding her death to Elyon and Elydir, other than my words. If I'm not wrong, you will need to report it to your superior, right? And you're going to probably need to prove your point. However, the only proof you have right now are my words. Then, let me ask you one more thing... Are my words even worthy of serving as a proof here in the Elven Territory?" 

"!!!" Elyra got speechless when she realized that Seth words would amount to nothing. Mainly because he had zero value on the eyes of the Elves as a trustworthy witness. Most Elves would never trust a human. 

"I will talk with Commander Chief Allannia and ask her for permission to investigate Elyon Luberus and his son..." 

"Before you go, let me finish my report. There is one more thing I discovered today. Elyon is related with the humans you asked me to search for. I saw him exchanging some products with them." 

"What is he trying to do? Not only his wife, but the humans too? I need to investigate him thoroughly. Actually, did you see the things they traded with each other?" 

"Hm… I'm not certain about it yet, but Elyon traded a green substance that seemed to be a poison, with many bottles of blood." Seth didn't say what the blood was really, because he didn't want to give any reason for Elyra to suspect him. If he told her, it was Corrupted blood, she would ask him how he knew about it. 

"Blood? Sigh… This is getting complicated. As for that substance…" Elyra took out a bottle that contained a green liquid from her spatial ring. 

"That's it. It has the same aura of the thing he traded with them." 

"So, he is using the Synthetic Evergreen Poison to trade... That's Illegal." 

"Synthetic Evergreen Poison? I've heard this "Evergreen" word many times already, actually, what is it?" 

"Hm? You heard about it? Well... It's the essence behind the energy bestowed by the World Tree Replica. It's called Evergreen, but this poison right here, is practically a single drop of it dilute a hundred thousand times over. The only person capable of handling the original Evergreen, is the Elf Queen." 

"Is it only poison?" 

"Yes. It is a poison." 

"That makes no sense." Seth thought about the words the elf he encountered inside the forest had said. 

….... 

"Now you just need to answer some of my questions and we will be done." 

Seth continued: "First... What is this green energy that is covering the herb?" 

The elf took a bit of time before he decided to answer. 

"That energy is called Evergreen." 

….... 

"No sense? Why?" 

"Well, I saw and elf using this Evergreen essence to enhance an herb. It was like he could make it grow really fast, strengthening it even more than normal too." 

"What? That is impossible. The only Evergreen energy that we elves know of, is the poison essence from the Elf Queen." 

"I see..." Seth didn't know if he believed her words or what he has seen with his own eyes now. He felt the same energy signature of that elf skills. The energy signature that this poison contained. However, the Evergreen energy she released, was ten thousand times stronger than the diluted energy inside this synthetic poison he was currently seeing. 

"Can I have that bottle?" 

"Sure. It is something we from the Secret Security Unity have easy access to. However, do not lend it to anyone." 

"Alright." Seth took the bottle of Evergreen poison and stored it inside his ring. 

"You can go rest for tonight, if I need you again, I will contact you."