Chapter 71: It

"Open Record"

The moment he said that, the interface expanded.

Lines of crimson-white text unfolded downward through the darkness until an entire block of information floated before him.

[Record 001]

[Name: Morri]

[Grade: 9]

[Spiritual Essence: Tundra Blood Wolf]

[Evolution Stage: Beast – Initial]

[Totem Ability: Blood Manipulation]

[Totem Arts: Blood Forging | Red Moon | Bloodstain]

[Spirit Attributes: Dead Soul | Living Mane]

Rhos stared at it for several seconds, unsure of what to make of this.

He blinked and reread everything from the beginning. His amber eyes moved slowly down the information.

There were so many terms used here that going through all of them was going to take a while. But what mostly stood out to him was the part about her spiritual essence.

"Tundra Blood Wolf.... Blood.... Wolf"

The room suddenly felt colder. He stared toward Koa’s bedroom, thinking about the little girl sleeping beside her.

Morri was small enough that Koa could comfortably carry her around. She had long white hair with red tips, a pair of horns growing from her head, strange markings and even stranger eyes.

Now that he thought about it, the little girl had an eerie resemblance to that Wrath. She looked human for the most part, whereas the monster that massacred Ranger Division 14 was an enormous wolf-like abomination.

But there was no denying the resemblance.

"No way..."

Rhos’s expression hardened as a tinge of horror began rising from somewhere deep within his chest.

As he stared at the bedroom, the apartment disappeared around him.

He was back beneath those tall trees.

Blood poured from the eyes, noses, and mouths of Rangers around him as the Wrath’s roar turned their own bodies against them. Crimson horns melted into spears before raining through people.

He remembered Taru disappearing into its maw. He remembered the ground being torn apart by waves of blood and the nasty slash he suffered.

He remembered its huge teeth closing around him after Nimra threw him away. His own blood filling his mouth. The horn that punched through his body.

Rhos remembered it so vividly it was almost like he was reliving everything again.

His hand pressed against the places where those teeth had once sunk into him while the other drifted where the Wrath’s horn had pierced him.

The injuries were gone now, but the memory and pain of them still lingered in his mind. Nobody could easily forget such a nightmare.

"Is this real?"

His question was directed at the primordial creature that hovered beside him.

"I’m asking you if this is actually real. How did–?!"

When his voice came out harsher than intended, he forced himself to lower it before he woke Koa.

Another reason was because there was something horrifying about saying the question aloud.

"Is Morri really that monster?"

Neth was silent. Its six translucent wings continued keeping its tiny body suspended in the darkness. The hollow vertical eye stared at Rhos without offering him anything he could interpret.

Seconds passed with neither of them saying anything. Eventually, Neth responded.

[All will be explained in due time, Human]

Rhos stared at it in disbelief. Was that it?

"All will be explained in due time? That’s your answer?"

[Yes]

"No, that’s not an answer. I’m not asking for a lecture here, just a simple yes or no. Is the little girl sleeping ten meters away from me the same Wrath that slaughtered everyone and nearly killed me?"

It was a fairly simple question that required a fairly simple answer. But the tiny creature was silent again.

Rhos almost stood as sudden anger caused his spiritual energy to flicker around his fingers briefly. However, before he could act on anything foolish, he forced himself to remain seated.

Shouting wasn’t going to help him here. Threatening Neth would accomplish even less.

Besides, Koa and Morri were sleeping. He had to keep his emotions in check.

Looking back, Ripley’s reaction made much more sense.

She had called the little girl a Wrath.

At the time, he assumed she was just being crazy like usual. Even among mutants, Morri’s appearance was abnormal. Calling her a Wrath wasn’t an unreasonable mistake.

One of Ripley’s Totem Arts allowed her to perceive living bodies in ways ordinary people could not. What exactly did she see when she looked at Morri?

"Shit"

Rhos rubbed his forehead. He was starting to get overwhelmed now with the amount of questions flooding his brain.

He struggled to understand how something that large, monstrous and utterly mindless could have become a little girl.

Was Morri the same consciousness? Was she something created from the Wrath? Did she remember killing his Division? Did she remember almost killing him?

The last question made Rhos uncomfortable for reasons he couldn’t properly explain.

He glanced at Neth.

The creature had made it abundantly clear that it wasn’t going to answer anything concerning the subject.

Rhos clicked his tongue.

"Fine. Keep your secrets"

He returned his attention to the Record.

There was no point interrogating someone who could simply refuse to answer. If Neth wanted him to figure things out himself, then Rhos would do exactly that.

[Grade: 9]

That was a new one.

He had never seen that classification before.

As far as Rhos knew, spiritual development was generally measured through two major systems. There were Classes, which represented the overall level at which someone’s spiritual potential and capabilities placed them, and there were Evolution Stages describing the development of the Patron Spirit itself.

’Grades’ belonged to neither. At least not in any system Rhos knew.

’That means the Spirit Archive is using an entirely different system. Or this number represents something other than strength’

Well, a question for later. Moving on.

[Evolution Stage: Beast – Initial]

This one was easier to interpret.

"Beast-type"

Morri’s spiritual essence was the Tundra Blood Wolf, so that made perfect sense. Whatever she actually was now, her spiritual foundation belonged to the Beast-type category.

Initial stage also meant she hadn’t undergone an evolution yet.

There wasn’t much to think about here.

Rhos reached the section that piqued his interest.

[Totem Ability: Blood Manipulation]