"You're challenging the great Alfie to a rivalry contest?" Alfie smirked. "Count me in. Even with my Renshi sealed, I'll still be stronger than you."
"That's enough," Lucy snapped. "Don't get ahead of yourselves. If you two want to challenge each other, fine. But from now on, I don't want to hear another word. And I mean it."
She raised one hand, her expression turning stern.
"If either of you makes another sound, I'll seal your mouths with a sealing spell. Don't reply. Just nod if you understand."
Alfie and Rebekah immediately nodded in silence.
With that, the rest of their journey continued without another word.
---
As the sun began to set, back in the Kingdom of Guhan, Exca, the Special Darkside Knight, was preparing to perform a forbidden spell.
Inside the dim chamber of his castle, he knelt at the centre of a glowing Renshi circle. Before him stood a small container holding a single drop of blood, preserved since the day Sasaki the Ripper had been imprisoned.
It was all Exca needed.
The Mind Control Spell allowed him to establish a connection to Sasaki's consciousness without making direct contact. But even with this method, the task ahead would be far from simple.
Sasaki was no ordinary prisoner. Without the powerful sealing spell keeping him confined within the Darkest Dungeon, even Exca and his fellow Special Darkside Knights might have struggled to subdue him.
He had devoured more than three hundred Darkside Spirits, including Alphas, Betas, and even a Special Darkside Spirit. After consuming so many, Sasaki had become something beyond human, a predator that hunted the very creatures most people feared.
Fifteen years had passed since his imprisonment. By now, most of the world had forgotten he even existed.
Exca poured the preserved blood into the Renshi circle.
The moment it touched the surface, the circle's black glow began shifting to red.
He stepped into its centre and closed his eyes, merging his spiritual energy with the circle.
Within moments, his consciousness was pulled into Sasaki's mind.
The sight that greeted him made him stop.
A ruined city stretched endlessly beneath a blood-red sky. Rivers of blood flowed through its streets, winding between decaying buildings that stood like the remains of a forgotten civilization.
Yet the ruined city was only the beginning.
Countless zombified spirits wandered through the streets. Their bodies were twisted, their movements sluggish, and their distorted faces carried an unmistakable expression of hatred.
They were the remnants of the Darkside Spirits Sasaki had devoured.
Exca instinctively ducked behind two towering buildings.
"This is madness," he muttered. "I can't afford to get trapped in this place. I need to find Sasaki's consciousness."
He peered through the narrow gap between the buildings. The spirits continued wandering, their bloodcurdling snarls echoing throughout the ruined city.
Something about their presence unsettled him.
These weren't merely empty remnants of the creatures Sasaki had consumed. Their hatred was still alive, lingering throughout the entire place like an oppressive force.
Sasaki's consciousness had become a vessel for countless tormented spirits.
Exca continued moving, keeping his distance from the wandering creatures. Then, in the distance, he noticed something that didn't seem to belong.
A dojo stood untouched by the surrounding decay.
Unlike the buildings around it, it showed no signs of ruin. More importantly, an overwhelming pressure radiated from within, so immense that none of the spirits dared approach.
"He must be in there," Exca whispered.
He cautiously approached the dojo.
Inside, Sasaki sat cross-legged with his eyes closed. His consciousness remained perfectly still, seemingly focused on something beyond Exca's perception.
The room was completely barren. There was nothing inside except Sasaki himself.
Exca took a single step forward.
**BOOM.**
A tremendous surge of Renshical pressure erupted from the dojo.
Exca barely had time to react before the force struck him. His body was hurled backwards, crashing through one building after another. Each structure collapsed around him as though it were made of paper.
He finally came to a halt, struggling to lift himself from the rubble.
"That pressure..." he gasped, his eyes widening. "Unbelievable. His consciousness is stronger than my entire soul form."
For a moment, he could only stare towards the dojo.
He had expected Sasaki to be powerful, but this was something else entirely. Even without moving, the man had unleashed enough pressure to throw him through several buildings.
Exca clenched his teeth and forced himself to stand.
"If I can't get inside, I'll complete the mind-control spell from the doorway. As long as I remain close enough to see him, I can anchor the spell. It doesn't have to be perfect."
But the disturbance had already attracted attention.
The zombified spirits stopped wandering.
One by one, their twisted heads turned towards Exca. Their distorted faces contorted as they unleashed bloodcurdling howls.
"I don't have time for this," he hissed.
He hurried back towards the dojo's entrance. The door had closed following the initial blast, but that didn't matter anymore. He didn't need to enter the room. He only needed to remain close enough to Sasaki's consciousness.
"I'll create a duplicate mind-control circle here, inside his consciousness," he muttered. "I'll leave behind a fragment of my soul. That should be enough. Once the seal is lifted, my will shall become his."
A glowing circle formed beneath his feet. Its red sigils began swirling with twisted power as Exca concentrated his Renshi, forcing the spell into place.
The pressure surrounding him continued to intensify, but he refused to stop.
"This will drain me, but it's worth it."
With the circle complete, Exca embedded a fragment of his will deep within Sasaki's consciousness.
Then, he opened his eyes.
Back in the real world, he was still kneeling inside the original Renshi circle in his castle. His breathing was heavy, and his skin had turned pale from the strain of the spell.
For several moments, he remained motionless.
Then, a smile slowly spread across his face.
"It's done."
*Sasaki will be under my control.*
Exca lowered his head slightly and let out a quiet sigh.
"And that woman..."
His expression darkened.