Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 3093: Cursed Souls

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Lil’ Red Storm Realm, Freedom Megalopolis

After ordering Ceed to move the residents to safety, Dalia teleported directly to the hospital, having determined that the abnormal cold originated from this very place after briefly tracing the spreading frost through the city’s formations.

The Half-Bloods were being treated there under Sansa’s supervision. By the time she arrived, a thin layer of frost had already begun creeping across the hospital floor. It spread silently from the Half-Bloods’ treatment area, slipping through cracks and along the walls before continuing outward into Freedom City.

“Your Highness.” Sansa immediately greeted Dalia.

Dalia noticed unlike the other residents, however, she appeared completely indifferent to the strange changes occurring around them. There was no urgency in her expression, nor did she seem particularly concerned about the Half-Bloods’ condition.

“Did my brother know there was something wrong with the Half-Bloods?” she asked, glancing toward the treatment area. “Is that why he left you here to monitor them?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Sansa answered with a nod. “Master has also given their kind a name. He calls them Frost Elves.”

She didn’t elaborate further. Dalia’s gaze shifted toward the Semi-Ruler-class Half-Bloods. They stood or sat in unnatural silence, their expressions dazed as though their consciousness had drifted somewhere far beyond the hospital. Frost covered their bodies, slowly thickening before spreading outward in waves of cold.

“They’re transmitting their coordinates into the Myriad Realms,” Dalia said, narrowing her eyes, following the unfamiliar fluctuations of energy around them. “Whoever they’re signaling should be here soon.”

“They’re transmitting their coordinates to the Snow Elves of the Dark Realm through the Demon Merchant Code,” Sansa explained. Dalia’s expression changed slightly, she had heard the ill reputation of Dark Races among the Celestials. She knew they were responsible for the end of many Celestials across the Myriad Realms.

“But don’t worry, Your Highness. Master anticipated the possibility.” Sansa continued her report without leaving out the important details. “Master has already purchased Demon Merchant Code’s exploration rights to a portion of the Myriad Realms where the Lil’ Red Storm Realm is located. The territory itself is only a tiny part of the Myriad realms, but it is enough to establish a legal presence there.”

Her gaze briefly shifted toward the frost-covered Half-Bloods… Frost Elves.

“Without access to the Demon Merchant Code, the Snow Elves would still have to travel through the Myriad Realms to reach this location. Considering the distance involved, that journey would take them a considerable amount of time.” Sansa made sure Dalia was following. “So even though the Frost Elves are transmitting their coordinates, the Snow Elves won’t be arriving anytime soon.”

Sansa looked at the Frost Elves again. The frost continued to spread. Thanks to her Innate Calamity, she had long seen the measures the Snow Elven Crown Prince had taken to ensure his life’s work was neither stolen nor lost.

He had spent several millennia of his life perfecting the Half-Blood experiment. To him, they weren’t merely experimental subjects. He believed they were the key to elevating the Snow Elves into a true Ruler-class race.

How could someone who had spent millennia nurturing the hope of his entire race fail to take precautions? The answer was simple. He hadn’t.

While the Frost Elves were still infants, the Snow Elven Crown Prince had implanted a curse into their souls, one created using his own clones as the foundation. The curse didn’t simply sit within them like an external spell waiting to be activated.

It grew with them. From infancy onward, the curse developed alongside their souls, gradually intertwining with their existence as they matured. By now, the integration had reached a terrifying level. The curse and their souls had become almost indistinguishable.

That was precisely why even a Celestial like Dalia hadn’t noticed anything unusual when she first encountered the Frost Elves. The curse wasn’t hiding inside them. For all practical purposes, it had become a part of them.

Removing it was no longer as simple as purifying or dispelling a curse. Trying to forcibly purge it would be equivalent to tearing away a part of their souls. In other words, it was nearly impossible to remove the curse without killing the Frost Elves themselves.

Sansa’s gaze lingered on the frost-covered Frost Elves. Her Master who had seen through the curse in and out and simply decided to beat him at his own game.

“Though the Snow Elves, or any other Demon Merchant, can’t come here immediately, the Snow Elven Crown Prince who cursed the Frost Elves will be able to use the curse to summon himself directly to their side,” Sansa remarked, her gaze shifting toward Dalia.

Then, with a faint glint in her eyes, she added, “Master hopes you will capture him and feed him a Calamity Daughter Gem.”

Dalia’s expression remained calm, but she immediately understood what her little brother had planned.

The curse implanted within the Frost Elves wasn’t merely a tracking device or a means of transmitting their coordinates. It was also a connection. A connection strong enough for its caster to force his way across the Myriad Realms and manifest beside those carrying his curse. Normally, such a method would be an advantage. In this case, however, it had become the perfect bait.

Her younger brother had encountered a similar method before. The Deviant Devil Mamas Mulias had tainted the scales of the Elder Anesthesia Dragon with a curse, allowing him to use that connection to descend directly upon it.

Using that knowledge, her younger brother had turned the Snow Elven Crown Prince’s own precaution against him. The Frost Elves were the bait. Their curse was the hook. And the moment the Snow Elven Crown Prince used that connection to force his way into the Lil’ Red Storm Realm, he would be walking straight into a trap.

Her younger brother had already purchased the rights to the Lil’ Red Storm Realm and the exploration rights to the surrounding region through the Demon Merchant Code. By doing so, he had effectively secured control over access to this particular section of the Myriad Realms.

That meant no Demon Merchant, including the Snow Elves, could simply use the Demon Merchant Code to teleport into this area. More importantly, once the Snow Elven Crown Prince arrived, he would be isolated. No reinforcements, no emergency retreat through the Demon Merchant Code, no army of Snow Elves suddenly appearing at his back. He could use the curse to rush toward the Frost Elves. But he would have to come alone. And waiting for him on the other side would be a Celestial and whatever else her younger brother had prepared for the moment the Snow Elven Crown Prince took the bait.