World Keeper

Chapter 1178: Red Dread

In the middle of the elven port city of Cau Bungha, there was an inconspicuous toy shop called ‘Elf on a Shelf’. This store had been around for quite some time, and dealt in handcrafted dolls for children. Although the store itself was not all that popular, it had never shown any signs of financial trouble. Though, this could easily be attributed to the fact that the storeowner was a god, allowing them to pay with their own divinity.

This god, William Dyson, was a kitsune God of Collections. This wasn’t that uncommon of a domain, as many people believed that they would be able to gain extra divinity if they gathered a meaningful collection that people acknowledged. For most, these collections took forms like magic cards, artifacts, or monster pets. Whenever anyone asked William what he collected, he said that it was his dolls.

One day, the bell above the door rang to signal a customer, and William lifted his head with his trademark smile. “Greetings! Welcome to Elf on a Shelf! Feel free to look around at your leisure!”

The customer, a redheaded lycan, gave a big, toothy grin. “That’s fine. I already know what I’m looking for.”

William looked at the customer, a flicker of recognition in his eyes, though he quickly concealed it. “Of course, of course! What would you like, then?” Naturally, William recognized the Red Shadow, having observed him in secret in the past. However, he had never revealed his true appearance to the man, and had ensured that nobody alive among the ninjas knew what he looked like in the present day.

However, the Red Shadow’s eyes were locked onto him, his grin stretching out as if to split his face in two. Crimson smoke began to drift away from his body, and William felt as if his ki was being seized. “You are going to be the greatest gift to the Lady in Red.”

William clicked his tongue, realizing that there was no point in playing dumb. “Now now, no need for violence.” He said, snapping his finger. A white light flashed through the room, and he began to casually gather his things after feeling that his ki was no longer being targeted.

“Looks like I’ll need to set up somewhere else. Perhaps Hanbei would welcome me. Surely the psycho wouldn’t dare touch the territory of Elisae.” He muttered to himself, heading out the back door.

“Why not?” The voice of the Red Shadow spoke again, causing William to freeze. He was certain that the Red Shadow wouldn’t be able to respond for at least a few more moments, so long as he didn’t make any hostile actions. “Did you think you’d be getting away that easily?”

“I had certainly hoped.” The Collector, William said with a long sigh. “Look, buddy, I have no desire to fight with you, and I’m certain you don’t really want me to get serious. Let’s just end things here, and let bygones be bygones.”

In truth, William would indeed like to add the Red Shadow to his collection, but he knew that it was incredibly unlikely to happen. In order for someone to be added to his collection, they needed to be in a state where they couldn’t resist him. If their energy flowed too chaotically, it would break the ability before it fully settled. Meanwhile, the Red Shadow’s energy was in a constant state of activity.

Perhaps that’s why he overcame White’s light, because he is constantly in danger… from himself. William thought it over, while his opponent simply cackled.

“Quite the opposite. I want your blood, Collector. And, if I have to raze this entire city to the ground, I’ll get it.” As he said that, his ki began to spread out, the remaining dolls on the shelves seeming to dissolve. The counters, the ceiling, and even the windows all began to liquify, dripping into viscous puddles.

Seeing this, William’s eyes narrowed. He kept his mouth closed, and suddenly everything in the shop was back to normal, though the Red Shadow was nowhere to be seen. “Let’s see how you like swimming in a star.” He muttered, quickly turning to leave the building. He knew that teleporting the Red Shadow into the heart of a star wouldn’t hold him off for long, so he wanted to be long gone by the time he arrived.

Just as he had left his store, and was preparing to use his powers to disappear, there was an explosion from the store behind him. A pillar of flame rose up into the sky, incinerating everything in the vicinity. Screams echoed out around the town, several citizens caught up in the intense wave of heat. Those with mortal bodies were instantly scorched, leaving black outlines in their wake.

Once the pillar faded, the Red Shadow stood there, flames licking off of his skin. “You’re not getting away that easily.” He said, though William could hear the sirens approaching. The police would be here in moments, so he had to get away to avoid being caught up in this mess.

“I disagree.” He said, waving his hand. Immediately, his body faded from view, appearing on a deserted island. Once there, he let out a long breath of relief. “That madman surely can’t follow the Lost Wanderer.”

However, a moment later, a blood red portal opened in front of him, and William knew that he had spoken too soon. “I already locked onto your ki.” The Red Shadow said in a menacing tone. “No matter where you run to, I will follow. What more do you have to show me, great collector?” He asked with a sadistic grin.

In truth, William had grown rusty when it came to direct combat. He had retired from the life of a career ninja long ago, and now focused on growing and maintaining his collection. That said, he was far from weak. In exchange for the condition that his targets must not resist being added to his collection, he had gained the ability to use the powers of anyone in his collection for himself. His personal favorite was the light of the White Shadow, which had served him well when it came to erasing his tracks. However, it would seem that the Red Shadow had come prepared to counter that power.

In that case, let’s see how many powers he can counter. William thought to himself, before lifting his hand. “Open the Gallery.” Golden light descended from above, thousands of tiny figures arranged on dozens of swirling shelves. There were members of every race, and even many monsters were counted among his collection.

Each of these figures was special in one way or another, and many of them were famous. Because of this, William was able to leech off of their fame to increase his own divinity

The figure of a robed human began to glow, and the ocean around the island rose up, transforming into a many-headed serpent with golden eyes. The Red Shadow let out a laugh, lunging for the serpent as his ki formed massive, clawed hands behind him. These hands reached out to grab the serpent, ripping its heads off while nimbly dodging the creature’s strikes.

While William had grown rusty in his retirement, the Red Shadow was in constant battles. He lived to fight, and thus his innate combat prowess was far above that of the Collector. “Is this all you’ve got?! At this rate, you won’t even be a worthy sacrifice! Maybe I’ll offer up your toys instead!”

William grit his teeth, his fists clenched at his sides. Another figure lit up, this one an elven woman. Suddenly, a large, third-tier magic circle appeared to cover the entirety of the island. “Disappear within the emptiness.” He commanded, and a black light shot down. This was the signature spell of an elven archmage known as the Key to the Abyss. Once used, this spell trapped a target within a spatial field where all energies were neutralized, left to drift in endless nothingness.

Despite the unlikelihood that the Red Shadow would be able to escape this prison, William activated another figure. This one was a black-boned skeleton wearing a crown made of finger bones. The island began to crack beneath William’s feet, hordes of skeletal figures rising out of the ground, green flames burning around them.

Sure enough, a red portal opened a few moments later, and the Red Shadow stepped out, looking completely unphased. Before William could ask how he had escaped the abyss, his answer came in the form of dozens of similar portals opening. From each portal, another Red Shadow emerged.

I need to identify his real body, or this will never end. He thought to himself, sending forth his undead horde while trying to recall if there was anyone in his collection with the skills to help him here. Meanwhile, his undead horde was being quite literally dismantled, reduced to nothing but piles of broken bones.

Unfortunately, the Collector didn’t have access to a god that had the Ki domain or anything similar. If he did, it would be a simple matter to defeat the Red Shadow.

Without a word, the Collector channeled the power of the King in Silence. This was undoubtedly one of the strongest pieces in his collection. It was also how he had saved his shop and sent the Red Shadow into a star earlier. His eyes flashed, and the front line of enemies suddenly turned to stone, only to be broken without a care by those behind them.

Furrowing his brow, the next wave dissolved into water, but still more portals emerged. How many avatars did he create!? The Collector thought to himself in desperation. 

As that thought crossed his mind, he felt his body jerk, a sickening crunch coming from his chest. Looking down, he saw a hand piercing clean through his body, wrapped in red energy. Divinity leaked from the wound like blood, the Collector’s eyes were wide.

“Oh, great Lady in Red. I have found the promised sacrifice.” The man standing behind William spoke in a reverent tone, his ki flooding through William’s body and tearing it apart from the inside. “Accept this humble offering, this collector of the unique.”

As the Red Shadow finished his prayer, the skies above shifted, turning blood red. Seeing this, the Red Shadow’s eyes lit up with glee. “She has accepted my prayer!” He called out, laughing like a madman. “The great goddess has acknowledged my faith!”

William’s eyes shook as he looked at the phenomenon in the sky, before a pillar of red light crashed down onto the island. From within the pillar, a small figure in a red dress emerged, her crimson hair flowing behind her. Similarly red eyes locked onto the fighting duo, annoyance evident in her gaze.

“I have done my best to ignore you all this time.” She said coldly, as one by one, the avatars scattered through the islands began to pop like balloons. “Your wickedness knows no bounds, and your sanity was lost long ago. I have not acknowledged your faith. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with you for years. For a while, I thought that ignoring you was the best answer. Maybe you’d get the hint. But no, here we are.”

William tried to speak, but his words wouldn’t come. He was still channeling the King in Silence, so he was unable to speak. Scarlet glared at him, snapping her fingers. William vanished, appearing next to Scarlet, the hole in his chest rapidly closing.

Afterwards, she turned to look at the Red Shadow again, who was frozen in place, his body unable to move. “You disgust me. Any punishment I could ever think to give, I knew you would only see as a blessing or a trial. The one time I looked into your mind, I felt sickened by the thoughts I saw. But now? I don’t care! I don’t care if you like the fact that you’re going to die. But I will not be absorbing your ki. I wouldn’t want your energy even if I was on the verge of death. I will feed you to the most horrific beasts in creation, and let them have your ki. Maybe then you’ll realize just how pathetic you are.”

Scarlet stretched her hand forward, clenching her fist. Space seemed to ripple around the Red Shadow’s body, Vaguely, black tendrils covered in triangular teeth could be seen emerging from the ripples in space, before the man’s body completely disappeared. After dealing with him, Scarlet turned to look at William, her eyes narrowed. “As for you. Don’t think we’re not aware of you. If you don’t want to join him, there are some people that you will be releasing from your collection. Otherwise, they’ll all get released when you die, anyways.”