Returning to the Mysterious Era

It was the same aura, the same scent. Cassius was certain the man named Yun had an antique with lingering attachment. During their fierce battle earlier, he had been too focused to notice the bitterness in the air. But now, in the quiet aftermath, the bitterness became more apparent.

Cassius glanced discreetly at Yun, his eyes lingering mainly on the pockets of his jacket before finally settling on his neck. There, glowing faintly was the deep green jade pendant strung on red thread.

Noticing Cassius's gaze, Yun casually lifted the pendant. It was an oval piece of jade, about a quarter of the size of a palm, and emanated a warm, faint green glow. It was smooth except for a swirling cloud pattern at its center.

"I think I should explain myself," Yun began in a calm, serious tone. "When I was hiding in the shadows earlier, I wasn't planning to ambush you or anything like that. It's just that, about half a minute ago, my Jade of Misfortune reacted. I got curious, so I followed you."

"Jade of Misfortune?" Cassius asked, wary.

"Yes. As I mentioned before, I'm an explorer. I found this jade in the ruins of the legendary Aluc Kingdom in the northern part of the Hongli Federation, in Ryan County," Yun explained, his eyes fixed on Cassius. "It's a mystical gemstone that can sense misfortune around the bearer."

Cassius's expression remained unchanged, but that was to be expected. After their clash, Yun knew that Cassius wasn't an ordinary person; he clearly possessed some remarkable abilities.

"The misfortune you mentioned… it's this, right?" Cassius took a step to the side, his sharp aura gradually dissipating as the two quickly walked out of the alley.

A Red Eye-level Shadow Demon lay, trembling, on the ground. The moment it tried to get up, a foot stomped heavily down on its back, forcing it back with an overwhelming force.

"Oh? A new species of malevolent spirit I've never seen before," Yun remarked from the side, slightly surprised. Clearly, the self-proclaimed explorer had encountered something similar before.

"If it's a malevolent spirit, that makes sense. The Jade of Misfortune is highly sensitive to their aura," he muttered to himself.

"Malevolent spirits? Is that what you call them?" Cassius turned his head and said, "I know them as dark creatures."

"If I'm not mistaken, dark creatures and malevolent spirits are likely the same thing," Yun said thoughtfully, sharing what he knew as a gesture of goodwill toward Cassius. "About a decade ago, I accidentally got involved with a group of people passionate about exploring ancient ruins and finding ancient treasures around the world. You could call them adventurers among adventurers.

"Treasure hunters roam through desolate wildernesses, dangerous jungles, mysterious seas, and arid deserts. They often encounter inexplicable phenomena or even bizarre creatures that have never been documented. The most dangerous of these are what we call malevolent spirits. Any creature that actively attacks and wields supernatural powers beyond human capabilities is categorized as a malevolent spirit," Yun recalled. "For example, five years ago, I encountered a group of hideous black evil spirits in the southern forests of the Amidon Principality. They would hunt for human or animal heads and use them to build their nests, and their brains would be food for these black evil spirits and their young…"

"Black Pixies!" Cassius recognized what Yun was talking about. He remembered that one of the things he had to do in his first additional task at Black Rain Manor during his time-travel was to capture Black Pixies. These had to be the same creatures Yun was describing.

"May I take a closer look?" Yun asked curiously, gesturing at the Shadow Demon n.

"Of course," Cassius replied, distracted by his own thoughts. He quickly warned, "But be careful—actually, never mind."

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The sound of bones breaking echoed as the Shadow Demon's red eyes widened. Its limbs had been instantly dislocated and its once powerful and sharp claws hung limply, as if all strength had left its body.

Cassius didn't care. Although the Shadow Demon's regenerative abilities weren't as strong as those of the Blood Race, they were still formidable. Injuries like dislocated limbs were nothing more than a minor inconvenience to them.

In fact, dark creatures had a unique mechanism, similar to adrenaline in humans. When injured, their sensitivity was significantly reduced, so they hardly felt any pain.

"Ahhh!" The Shadow Demon, left with only its torso intact, let out an ear-piercing scream. It convulsed like a fish out of water, its body drenched in sweat and its features twisting in agony as it choked for breath.

Yun hesitated for a moment before saying, "Uh… Mr. Cassius, don't you think that was a little too harsh? This spirit seems like it's about to pass out."

"Do not ever show mercy to these dark creatures, Mr. Yun. They're cunning! I know them well. They have a bloodthirsty mechanism that blocks out pain. Whether I dislocate all four limbs or cut off five, it still wouldn't feel any pain," Cassius said confidently. "It's just pretending to gain sympathy." He was certain of this. After years as a Hellsing at Black Rain Manor, he had learned all the traits and habits of dark creatures.

"But… but its eyes are rolling back," Yun pointed out, with a touch of concern.

"What?" Cassius frowned and jerked his right hand up. The Red Eye-level Shadow Demon dangled lifelessly like a dead dog with its eyes rolled back and saliva dripping from its mouth.

"Gurgle… gurgle…"

The corpse-like demon foamed at the mouth and gave one final twitch before passing out—its final struggle.

"…" Cassius was silent for a moment. "That can't be right. Has the quality of dark creatures these days gone down? Stop pretending! Get up!"

Smack!

Cassius slapped the Shadow Demon hard across the face. A red handprint bloomed across the brown-haired creature's face but it remained unconscious, its head wobbling slightly before going still.

"It really seems to have fainted… cough, cough." Cassius coughed twice, slightly embarrassed. "But no matter. Mr. Yun, why don't we go to your place to study this? This area is secluded, but it's still a residential zone, and with all that noise earlier, someone is bound to come by." Cassius glanced at the half-collapsed wall.

"Hmm… that might not be convenient. There are elders and children sleeping at my place. Why don't we go to yours?" Yun suggested.

Cassius suddenly recalled visiting an old man's antique shop where he had met the owner and a little girl. They had mentioned an "Uncle Yun," whose frequent business travels often pulled him away from home.

Could this be the same Uncle Yun? It seemed likely.

Yun had said he wasn't from the Hongli Federation, and the family running the antique shop happened to be from the Blue Star Empire in Blue Star Continent.

The Old Man's Antique Shop held all kinds of strange and varied antiques—bust sculptures, broken iron swords, ceramic pots, old books, and music boxes. Most of them likely came from the very man in front of him, Yun, who must have brought them back from all of the strange and mysterious ruins he had visited all over the world.

Including that Crown Star Coin. With this realization, Cassius's interest in Yun grew, or rather, in the ruins Yun had explored and the antiques he had obtained. Perhaps there were antiques with lingering attachment among them…

Cassius showed no outward change in expression but nodded in agreement. Yun was clearly just as interested in the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon Cassius had captured, which was a good sign.

The tension that had filled the air during their fight dissipated. Now, the two of them walked side by side through the alley toward Cassius's home, chatting casually along the way.

Cassius walked on the left, with the Shadow Demon thrown over his left shoulder so his conversation with Yun wasn't interrupted. They talked about many things. Cassius revealed part of his own story, and how he was the last heir of a Covert Martial Arts sect and had previously encountered dark creatures.

Yun, in turn, shared the origins of his martial arts skills. As a treasure hunter wandering across the globe, he had experienced many fantastical events and found himself entangled in all sorts of strange trouble, some of which were solved while others were still ongoing. He had no master and no formal sect; his own Secret Techniques came partly from mysterious ruins and partly from eccentric recluses he had encountered.

For example, in the United States of Yana on the Northern Reef Continent, Yun had met a strange sorcerer in a village near the Ten Thousand Mountains in the east who had asked him to retrieve something from the mountains in exchange for a bizarre totem. That totem granted Yun superhuman strength.

Additionally, at the west of the Blue Star Empire, there existed the Gobi Desert which, for thousands of years, had been inaccessible. Yun had ventured to a remote area in the Gobi Desert once where he found two old foes living in two strange buildings halfway up a cliff. They competed endlessly with each other, each practicing different martial arts, but neither could defeat the other.

Yun was dragged into their contests as a training prop. One of the old men taught him the Sharp Wind Force, while the other taught him the Rock Grinding Technique. Yun managed to master Sharp Wind Force first, which led to the second old man to lose. The man immediately jumped off the cliff in defeat, while the winner laughed in victory, passing away from his own elation moments later.

While he had many more fascinating experiences, Yun only shared these few with Cassius. He could sense that Cassius was genuinely interested in forging a connection with him, and Yun appreciated the sincerity. Yun was, likewise, intrigued by Cassius's mysterious background.

By the time they reached Cassius's single-family house, Cassius's conviction that Yun was no ordinary man grew stronger. His adventures were perhaps even more thrilling than Cassius's own, despite the fact that Yun had no special abilities. Surviving so many near-death experiences made Yun something of a miracle.

The dangers Yun had faced were no less than Cassius's own. As they walked down the dim alley, the white wall of the residence loomed to their left. Cassius glanced at Yun before casually tossing the Shadow Demon over the wall. A thud echoed from the other side of the wall as the demon hit the ground.

"Sorry, I forgot my keys."

"…" Yun stared, speechless. How oddly reminiscent of a thief's method of entry.

Thud. Thud.

The two of them landed inside the spacious courtyard with a dull sound. Yun's expression suddenly changed. He lifted the green jade pendant around his neck, it was flashing much more frequently.

"More traces of misfortune?"

Cassius's eyes gleamed, and he clapped his hands. "Come out, everyone."

Immediately, two figures emerged from a nearby window. Magician Bass and the catwoman Haisha, both dressed in normal clothes, walked toward them.

"Yun, is the aura of misfortune you're sensing coming from them?" Cassius asked, glancing at the black-haired man beside him.

The jade pendant in Yun's palm blinked even faster than before. Yun nodded with some confusion. "It must be these two…malevolent spirits?"

"Hahaha… Yes, and no," Cassius laughed as if confirming a long-held suspicion. "They aren't exactly malevolent spirits. They're neo-humans who have stolen the power of those spirits. That means dark creatures and Hellsings share the same origin!" Cassius's smile widened. He was certain his long-standing theory was correct.

Cassius had already begun to suspect it back at Black Rain Manor, especially after encountering the Dark Sect, where dark creatures' organs were grafted onto people. The other practices, like the special mercury of the Mercury Sect and the beast blood used in the Werebeast Sect, didn't seem like they came from dark creatures, at least, at first glance.

Another thought occurred to Cassius. The raw materials for both the special mercury and the beast blood likely came from dark creatures as well. The Hellsings, he realized, were mere imitators of dark creatures—lab rats held captive by Black Rain Manor.

After Black Rain Manor fell into obscurity, for some inexplicable reason, those lab rats didn't perish along with previous generations. Instead, they survived and multiplied. Thus, the so-called neo-humans, who carried the aura and traits of dark creatures, were born, which is why the Jade of Misfortune reacted to their presence.

Ten minutes later, in the brightly lit basement of the single-family home, the five of them gathered together. In the center of the room lay the Red Eye-level Shadow Demon with its dislocated limbs and ashen face. A group of people surrounded it, intently studying it.

"Aaagh!" The Shadow Demon, which had been lying still so far, suddenly began to struggle violently.

Cassius and the others turned their heads, looking toward Haisha who was fumbling around in the demon's crotch. She noticed their stares and lifted her hand awkwardly, her seductive face tinged with embarrassment.

"I just wanted to see if this dark creature has the same anatomy as a regular human. Don't get the wrong idea! I was just curious…"

"Cough, cough." Cassius cleared his throat twice, redirecting the conversation. "Mr. Yun, I've told you everything you need to know, and you've examined everything. So, could you… ahem…"

"Take it," Yun said, tossing the Jade of Misfortune to Cassius. "Just give it back to me later." Yun squatted down again and returned to his solemn examination of the mutated claws of the Shadow Demon.

Smack.

Cassius caught the warm jade in his hand. Instantly, the warmth turned into a chilling cold, and strands of cold air began seeping into his palm.