Joseph had just began to answer Azrael's questions when suddenly, black smoke began to ooze from his eyes, mouth, ears, and nostrils.
He coughed out mouthfuls of black blood, and his aura plummeted sharply.
Panic filled Joseph's expression and he looked at Azrael, his eyes trembling in horror.
Azrael, however, remained calm. He had already expected the curse to trigger the moment Joseph began to answer his questions, so the sight did not surprise him in the slightest.
'The power of a curse is really strange…' He thought inwardly as the Purification Ring on his finger began to glow faintly.
---) Purification Ring (Class Level Artifact): A ring forged from Morning Silver and a Purification Crystal.
Level Requirement: Level 11 and above.
Effect — After being equipped, the user can activate the Light Purification skill once per day.
---) Light Purification: Removes all abnormal statuses such as curses, debuffs, poisoning, and others from the user. The effectiveness of the skill depends on the severity and level of the abnormality. If the abnormality is too high-level, Light Purification will not be effective.
A milky-white glow enveloped Joseph's body, and the black smoke pouring out of him began to recede.
Joseph blinked in shock as a soothing warmth washed through his body, numbing his agony.
A long sigh of relief escaped his lips and he looked at Azrael greatfully.
"Don't stop. Continue speaking," Azrael ordered coldly, bringing Joseph back to his senses.
Joseph quickly nodded and continued answering the questions Azrael had asked earlier.
Azrael listened intently, his expression neutral, though a faint frown tugged at the corners of his mind.
The Purification Ring was indeed powerful enough to suppress the curse and allow Joseph to speak, but he could feel that it had not removed the curse entirely.
The ring's effect was weakening with every passing second, while the curse's power was surging back, tightening its grip on Joseph and it would not be long before the man succumbed to death.
Azrael's mind worked rapidly and after receiving Joseph's explanation of why the Transcendent Organization was kidnapping people, he pressed on.
"Where is their hideout? Even if you don't know the exact location, you must have some clue, right?"
By now, the glow of Light Purification had already faded and the black smoke erupted again, this time completely engulfing Joseph as his body began to wither like a corpse drying under the sun.
"I… I only know it's somewhere inside Rolivia Forest…" Joseph croaked weakly before coughing out another mouthful of blackened blood. His voice was hoarse, barely clinging to life.
"Again…" He raised a trembling hand, desperation filling his hollow eyes. "U-Use that skill again…"
Azrael stared at him silently, his expression utterly blank.
Seeing Azrael unmoved, Joseph realized something and his decaying features twisted with fury. His face, already shriveled like that of a dried zombie contorted in rage.
"You!… You lied! You told me you wouldn't let me die!"
"Do you have any idea where their hideout is located in Rolivia Forest?" Azrael asked calmly, ignoring the outburst.
"You bastard…" Joseph sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "Do you really think I would tell you even if I knew?"
"Fair enough," Azrael replied evenly and activated his traits, confirming that Joseph did not know the exact location.
Without another word, Azrael turned to leave.
"Wait!… Don't leave me !" Joseph cried out desperately. "If you save me, I swear I'll tell you everything I know. I'll even become your slave for the rest of my life! Please, save me!"
Azrael did not so much as glance back. He ignored the man's desperate wails and stepped out of the shop, his thoughts already deep in calculation, organizing the information he had obtained.
Moments later, Joseph's aura vanished completely as the curse had consumed him, ending his life.
Azrael raised his smart band, sending a message to Glen to handle Joseph's corpse, before walking away from the scene.
'Performing experiments… and a need for large quantities of human blood…' Azrael muttered inwardly, his frown deepening.
According to Joseph's confession, the Transcendent Organization had been abducting people both to conduct some kind of experiments and to harvest human blood.
Honestly, Azrael detested the word "experiment." Having once been treated as nothing more than a lab rat back on Earth, the mere mention of someone carrying out something similar to what he had endured ignited a murderous urge within him, a desire to slaughter every single one of them.
It wasn't sympathy for the victims the Transcendent Organization had kidnapped that fueled his rage. Rather, it was his hatred for people who conducted such experiments, for they dragged him back to the darkest days of his past.
'Experimenting on humans… could it be related to the Enders?' Azrael thought to himself, recalling the task he had received a few days ago.
(Task: Find the Traces of the Enders)
(Reward: 30,000 Task Points, a random low-level wind-type Essentia Art)
(A/N: I had mistakenly written the reward as a random class-level artifact in Chapter 158. It should actually be a random wind type low-level Essentia Art. The correction has been made. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for your understanding!)
'They also need a large amount of human blood that aligns with the strange nature of the Enders.'
Lost in thoughts, Azrael returned to the hotel where he was staying. Using his smart band, he began gathering information on Rolivia Forest that Joseph told him about.
Rolivia Forest was a vast woodland located in the western region of Planet Fras.
It was a rainforest, somewhat reminiscent of the Amazon Forest on Earth.
However, it was far more dangerous than the Amazon, for within its depths lurked countless monsters, with the strongest among them reaching the Epic Level.
'It won't be easy to search for their hideout in such a vast place…' Azrael muttered inwardly, his thoughts drifting toward the Epic Level warrior of the Transcendent Organization that Joseph had spoken of.
"He said that man is in Lorato City…"
Azrael debated whether to contact Elyara or to head there himself. But just as the thought crossed his mind, his smart band vibrated.
He glanced at the sender and was surprised to find it was Elyara.
'Did she find that Epic-level man?' He wondered as he opened the message.
However, when he saw the message, a deep frown appeared on his face.
Elyara was asking him to come to her location quickly.
But what confused him, though, was that she wasn't calling him to Lorato City, but instead to New Port City—the place where Luo Bingqing had gone