Chapter 209: Bring Her With You

Thud!

A dull thud echoed from behind.

Bruce had collapsed on his knees as his teeth chattered unceasingly.

Ron Samuel quickly took a vial of essential oil from his pocket and he crushed the vial in his hands before chanting...

"The hearts of men are with the Goddess, their body is her temple, and thus—we are under her protection." A burst of divine light enveloped the oil in his hand as Ron Samuel splattered it onto the others.

When the oil landed on Bruce's body, it sunk deep into his skin, and the fear that gripped his heart mysteriously vanished.

"Thank you, Captain..." Bruce said apologetically as he calmed his nerves and prepared his fighting stance.

"What's with this Specter, Calvin?" Ron Samuel asked, "Could it be that you have gone mad?"

The expressions of Ashlynn, James, and Bruce blanched. It has to be known that those that had frequent dealings with the supernatural had the tendency to go mad and cross over to the other shore. After all, if one had the resolve to believe in a god, they must endure the whispers and murmurs of evil gods that wanted to bring them over to their side.

Ron Samuel was asking if Calvin was now on the side of monsters, similar to the owner of the monster that had tainted the Village of Tulog.

Calvin shook his head, "You're misunderstanding me, Captain."

"I'm not on their side."

"Stephanie might be a Specter, but she sure is not evil."

"Not evil?" Bruce raised an eyebrow, "Are you joking, Calvin? A Specter is a monster! It's a beast! That's why they are in the Bestiary! It's because they are beasts! Wild beasts!"

"Sigh..." Calvin let out a sigh, "Can we set aside our differences first? A Specter is not a pure-bred monster similar to the Ancients and Elementals. They were once human too."

"That's right, they were once humans." Bruce mocked, "But they've abandoned their humanity the moment they were taken over by their resentment."

"Really? I didn't expect you to have such a narrow mind, Bruce." Calvin retorted.

"Calvin!" James Branzuela cried out, "Explain to us, what is going on... Right now! Or else, we will have to dispose of you along with that monster that you're rearing!"

Calvin let out a sigh, "Madame Liz, can you come out now? I'm afraid if you continue to stay in hiding, my comrades will probably take my head off my shoulders for being a traitor..." There wasn't a look of anxiousness on Calvin's face at all. It was because he was confident that the others would understand everything the moment they saw Madame Liz.

"Hahaha..." Someone laughed from one of the three shacks behind them.

Then, another transparent figure came out from one of the shacks. The transparency of the figure made it obvious as to what was her identity, but the moment she came out of the shack, the pupils of everyone aside from Calvin constricted.

"A Specter?"

"Wait, that's strange..."

"Why can't I feel any resentment from her?"

Bruce muttered.

Ron Samuel furrowed his eyebrows.

His mind furiously scanned through the countless entries written in the Bestiary until he finally reached the answer he was looking for.

"A White Lady!"

"That's right...?" Calvin nodded his head, but there was confusion on his face.

A White Lady was still a Specter, but they were unique due to the fact that they weren't made out of resentment.

Instead, they were created from the strong emotions of their previously living self.

White Ladies were one of a kind Specters because they weren't made out of resentment. In short, they weren't as unstable as other Specters made from hatred.

"Calvin... Are they your friends?"

"Yes, Madame Liz. We came here to return your daughter to you." Calvin gave a good-natured smile.

"Captain...?" Ashlynn asked in doubt.

She had already prepared a spell to use if things went awry.

Ron Samuel shook his head in response.

Ashlynn let out a sigh in relief as she dispersed the spell that she had prepared.

Bruce and James Branzuela also let out sighs of relief.

To be honest, it wouldn't be a problem for them to fight, but if a fight could be avoided... Why bother fighting?

These Cavaliers liked fighting, but they weren't barbarians. They knew decency and when they saw how the White Lady didn't seem to be out here to harm them. Their expressions softened as they followed Calvin and the White Lady into a wooden shack. The insides of the wooden shack and its design were within the expectations of the Cavaliers.

Since there were no seats aside from the stone bed that Calvin had occupied, the Cavaliers remained standing.

"Madame, I'm here to return your daughter to you. She has been a great help to me and honestly—if not for her, I would've died countless times back in that damned village." Calvin handed over the Bloodstone to Madame Liz.

But she didn't take it from Calvin's hand. She just stared at Calvin with this mysterious smirk on her lips.

The Cavaliers stared at each other in astonishment.

A Specter had helped Calvin survive in that village?

This was unprecedented!

This was the first time that the Cavaliers heard of such a thing!

So that was the case.

We actually misunderstood everything.

It wasn't that Calvin had gone over to the other shore.

The reason why he was able to summon that Specter was that she was helping him survive in the village!

After looking at each other, the Cavaliers weren't so hostile to Stephanie anymore.

They were staring at her with renewed and apologetic light in their eyes.

Madame Liz seemed to have detected the changes in their expressions as she laughed once more, "It's okay... My daughter will not hold such a petty grudge." Then, she swept her gaze across her daughter before her eyes landed on Calvin, "To think that you would actually be successful. That young man sure was powerful, but you were able to defeat him and let my daughter consume half of his soul."

WHAT?!

The eyes of the Cavaliers almost bulged out of their sockets.

What the fuck was going on?

That young man? Defeated him? Let my daughter consume half of his soul?

Ron Samuel and the others glanced deeply at Calvin. At this moment, Calvin seemed to have become a foreign person in their eyes.

"Yes, but I've ultimately failed. I wasn't able to let Stephanie solve her grievances and I also wasn't able to find her lower body. Now, the village is no more. The punitive force of the church is going to cleanse that village of everything and with their arrival. I would probably never be able to find your daughter's lower body anymore." Calvin let out a sigh.

Yes, this was one of his regrets.

if he returned Stephanie to his mother without solving her grievances and finding her lower body, then she would probably be never able to return to the cycle of life. In short, Stephanie would forever be bound to this location.

Wait...

Calvin's pupils constricted.

Aswangs are unique due to the fact that they were able to travel anywhere so long as their lower body was within a certain distance from them. If the young man had consumed Stephanie's lower body, then she would've disappeared the moment the young man escaped.

But since that didn't happen, then it obviously wasn't the case.

So, what was going on?

Just where was Stephanie's lower body?

Furthermore...

How did Madame Liz suddenly become a White Lady when she was an Aswang?

Calvin's eyes widened.

So that's how it is...

Madame Liz boisterously laughed.

"Finally, from the look on your face. It seems to me that you've discovered the truth?"

"Hahaha..." Calvin facepalmed as laughter came out of his throat, "You've really played me well, Madame Liz. To think that your intentions all along wasn't to actually let your daughter reincarnate but to let her come with me!"

What?!

Ron Samuel and the others were dumbfounded once more.

But before they could even ask what was going on, Madame Liz stared at Calvin and nodded, "Took you long enough to notice, young man..."

"Why else would I give you that Bloodstone?"

B-B-Bloodstone?!

The brains of Ron Samuel and the others didn't seem to be functioning anymore as they suffered several surprises.

"I guess the reason why you are a White Lady right now is the fact that you weren't even an Aswang in the first place? In short, if my theory is right. The lower body that you have right now must be the lower body of your daughter."

"Sigh, I really don't understand, Madame. Why go to such lengths? Why didn't you let your daughter reincarnate if her lower body was with you all along?"

"Furthermore, just how much of what you've said to me previously are lies?" Calvin stared at Madame Liz seriously.

Madame Liz let out a sigh and replied, "Our backstory was the truth and nothing but the truth."

"As to why I didn't let her reincarnate is that I know that she'll suffer in the afterlife carrying so much resentment with her. She must kill that young man first before I could let her reincarnate. Only when that happens that I can be assured that she'll be in good hands when she goes back to the cycle of life."

"Oh, are you talking about the concept of Karma?" Calvin looked at Madame Liz in surprise.

"You know about the concept of Karma?"

Madame Liz was likewise surprised by Calvin's words.

Calvin simply nodded his head, "Her lower is with you, but you want Stephanie to kill that young man first before she can reincarnate. But since that young man had escaped and he'll probably never return to this place after I uprooted his plans to its very foundation. What should we do now?"

Calvin glanced at Stephanie and noticed that she still had her eyes closed.

Madame Liz gave a playful smirk and asked, "Young man, are you in a relationship with someone? Are you married?"

"Yes!" Calvin replied almost immediately.

Madame Liz's expression sunk.

Stephanie seemed to have heard Calvin's words and a frown spread on her eyebrows.

"All right, you should just go and take her with you. It's about time for me to leave this world and return to the cycle of life. I've been here for far too long already, waiting for the right person to help her enact her vengeance." Madame Liz deeply sighed, "Young man, I might be gone but if you dare to bully my daughter, I would definitely haunt you in the afterlife!"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Seeing that Madame Liz's body was starting to glow and become transparent, Calvin hurriedly waved his hand and interrupted her, "Madame, aren't you being too selfish? What you want for your daughter doesn't mean that she wants it too! Just because you want her to stay with me, doesn't mean that she wants that to happen!"

"Oh?" Madame Liz cheekily stared at Calvin, "Stephanie, my dear. Do you want to stay with him?"

When Madame Liz's words fell into Stephanie's ears—her eyes snapped open—startling the Cavaliers who had been observing everything from the sidelines since they had entered the shack.

Stephanie was quick to nod her head in approval.

"Hey, hey, hey..." Calvin couldn't do anything other than facepalm, "Give me a break..."

Madame Liz chuckled, "There you have it, young man. Since my daughter wants to stay with you, then go ahead and bring her with you."

"I'll be going now~"

"Adieu!"

"Wait!" Calvin exclaimed to stop her, but it was too late.

Madame Liz had already dissolved her own spiritual body as the fragments of her soul floated towards the skies.

A dull thud rang out and the reason why Calvin didn't want to take the Aswang—Stephanie with him was finally revealed to the Cavaliers.

It was because when Stephanie wore her lower body... her transparent body gradually became real.

In just a few moments, she transformed from a Specter into a genuine human being.

"..."

Calvin stared at the detached and indifferent Stephanie as he turned to look towards Cavaliers as if asking for their help.

"How..."

"How am I supposed to explain this to Charlotte and Cecilia?"