Chapter 2722: Casualty Counter

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

[ Name: Casualty Culling

Type: Soul Trait (Innate)

Effect: In case of card apprentice’s unnatural death, everyone responsible, directly or indirectly, would be culled by the casualty. The effect would be proportional to the part they played in my death, and inversely proportional to their distance from me at the time of it.

Additional effect:

i) Casualty Counter: A metaphysical ledger records all who harbor ill intent toward the card apprentice or act against them. In response, card apprentice can manifest retribution in proportion to the offense, whether through systemic misfortune, erosion of vitality, collapse of fortune, or direct lethal consequence.

Note:

i) If the card apprentice is the initiator and uses the casualty counter, they would also face appropriate retribution.]

I reviewed the details of Catherine’s updated soul trait and was surprised to discover that, with the addition of Dual Existence, she no longer needed to wait for someone to act against her. Mere ill intent was enough to trigger punishment. With that upgrade alone, I certainly would not want to be counted among her enemies.

As absurdly powerful as this soul trait was, it came with a very inconvenient limiter. Because of that restriction, it was best suited for pacifists. Considering Catherine was a former saintess of the church of demigod Micheal Angelo Godson and now aspired to become mine, it suited her perfectly.

"Hey, Wyatt, are you sure we can trust her?" Corey asked, staring at Catherine, who was looking at me with eyes filled with unreasonable devotion.

I knew that all the Bloodkins had their own personalities and individuality. None of them bothered me. Catherine, however, did. She struck me as the type who needed to devote herself to something, whether it was a higher power or some greater cause.

She was the oldest person I knew, if we did not count those from the Dark Realm, yet she was still afraid of living without a purpose, without meaning. All I was saying was that she was far too old to be having an existential crisis.

"Yes, we. If you must know, I trust her more than I trust you right now," I answered honestly. Corey dismissed it as me pulling her leg and snorted. "So what now? You’ve got yourself an experienced saintess. Next step, opening a church? Considering you’re planning world domination, I wouldn’t even be surprised."

"Yes, boss. Just say the word, and I will handle the rest," Catherine assured me confidently.

"Even if I were planning to do so, I wouldn’t leave it to you," I replied, rejecting her offer. After all, she was the one who had been assassinated by her own church. Besides, I already had my cult guy, Demigod Redfall.

Speaking of cults, opening one in the Dark Realms with Demigod Redfall as the pope and Catherine as the saintess would probably be a massive success. Redfall could certainly use the help, and Catherine fit the role a little too well. There was Yin-widow too, but she was too sloppy. I was considering demoting or even erasing her.

Catherine pouted as she listened to me, but she did not complain. She had already offered her expertise. If it was ever needed, she was certain her lord would call upon her. Until then, all she had to do was wait patiently for the right moment.

Seeing her smile, looking oddly satisfied despite being rejected outright, Corey could not help but ask, "What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," Catherine replied, before returning to gazing at her lord.

"Wyatt, now that you’re free, it’s time you help me acquire a soul trait," Corey said suddenly, bringing it up just when I thought she had forgotten about it.

"I’m not free, but sure. Let’s get it over with," I agreed, thinking it was long overdue. Even Pax had already broken through to the Card King realm. It was about time Corey advanced as well and speed-ran her way toward the Demigod realm, just like him. She would have to if she planned on overseeing my operations in the Dark Realm, only those involving the Seven Princes of Hell.

As for matters involving the Froslings and the Chaos Dwarfs, neither she nor Corey Park were suited for them. I would have to oversee those personally until I managed to create a few Calamity Daughter Gems among their ranks.

Speaking of the Seven Princes of Hell dark faction, Cuth Diya was taking longer than expected to report back. Hive AI confirmed he was still active and continuing his investigation into the information his father had provided me.

"Hey, that’s my soul trait you’re talking about," Corey protested. "It’s not your dirty laundry for you to treat it like some chore. If you’re going to have that attitude, I’d rather wait."

"That’s good, because I’m beat and would like to rest," I teased Corey. However, her response caught me off guard. "Uhm, you can get some rest, but you’re helping me acquire a soul trait first thing after you’ve had a proper sleep."

I had no idea whether she genuinely wanted me to rest or was simply worried that I might mess up while helping her acquire a soul trait. Either way, her unexpected response left me in an awkward position. I didn’t know whether to admit I had been teasing her or just go get some rest to spare myself the embarrassment.

"I was kidding. Don’t worry, I’ll help you acquire your Soul Trait today," I assured Corey. Then I turned to Catherine and instructed her, "Go find Demigod Redfall. He’ll assign you work until further notice."

"Boss, I was thinking I could be like your personal secretary," Catherine suggested, before I could reject her she began to list the reason why I should keep her as my secretary, "Boss, if I’m your secretary, I can help you keep connect to each part of your organizations, deal with troublesome people like Corey on your behave—"

"Hey," Corey cut in, seizing the moment as I dismissed Catherine. "We already have Hive Spirit for that. Go report to Redfall."

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