Chapter 199: The Vessel and the Tracker

Fortunately, there was a tracker.

The shackles only served to keep her in this spot; her hands were free, so she had no trouble rummaging through her pocket.

Iris pulled out the tracker and turned on the map, causing a hologram to rise into the air.

Her hands trembled with anxiety, but she let out a sigh of relief when she saw two dots appear on the map.

She had been worried that something might have happened to Teresa, but the two dots were proof she was still alive.

‘Thank goodness… Let’s see, this is my location… and Senior Teresa is on the floor above.’

If she pressed the call button, she could talk to her.

With sparkling eyes, she reached for the call button on the tracker but then hesitated.

She was worried that if anyone was guarding the door, they would hear her voice and realize she was awake.

If that happened, they might take the tracker away. They might even report it to Abellus.

The fact that they kept her alive even after taking the Relics meant she still had some use to them.

‘How are they planning to use me? He called me a Vessel, so they’ll put the power of the Relics inside me… and then devour me? Ugh, one thing is for sure: if I just stay here, something bad will happen.’

There had to be a way to survive. First, she pricked up her ears and focused on her hearing.

She concentrated for a long time, but not a single sound reached her.

Was there no one there? She needed to check properly before she could feel safe enough to make the call.

At that moment, she heard the iron door open, followed by a man’s deep voice.

“Geez, it’s way too far. They could’ve just built a prison somewhere closer.”

Iris’s eyes widened, and she quickly lay back on the Bed to pretend she was sleeping.

The sound of footsteps grew closer until she felt the man stop just beyond the iron bars.

“Hey, you sleeping? You awake? Hey!”

Iris steadfastly continued her act of sleeping. After talking to her and rattling the bars for a while, the man scratched his chin and muttered.

“Hmm, she hasn’t woken up yet. It might be better for her to stay asleep… Since she’s going to be the Sacrifice for the Ritual soon, anyway.”

‘What? A sacrifice?’

She almost snapped her eyes open at the word “sacrifice.”

Calming her racing heart, she continued to feign unconsciousness. The man clicked his tongue and eventually walked away.

The iron door creaked open and then slammed shut. Thinking Iris was still unconscious, the man had left the prison.

After the outside became quiet again, Iris stayed lying down for a long time before she cautiously sat up.

‘It seems like no one is outside. If someone were on guard, that man wouldn’t have been talking to himself. But a sacrifice? They captured me alive just to use me as a Sacrifice for a Ritual?’

Iris’s face turned pale. Only then did she understand the meaning behind “Vessel” and “it’s good that she’s sturdy.”

It seemed they intended to pour the power of the Relics into her body, the Vessel, and then take it from her through a Ritual.

She had to escape somehow before that happened. Biting her lip in anxiety, she slumped her shoulders.

She felt her neck; the fake Necklace was gone. That meant there was no risk of falling under a Curse.

However, in another sense, it meant she had become so weak that they didn’t even need to use a Curse.

Since they had already taken all the Relics, they must have locked her in this prison, thinking she couldn’t escape.

The place looked quite flimsy; a normal person might not be able to do it, but a Hero should be able to escape in no time.

‘The problem is that I don’t have a single Relic right now. Phew, the Temple has ended up like this. I wonder what Johannes is doing right now.’

She wished she had trusted Johannes instead of doubting him. If it were anyone else, she might not know, but Johannes would surely come running to save her if he knew she was in danger.

His feelings seemed genuine. She hadn’t been able to read his mind with Mind Reading, but she could tell how sincere he was just by looking at his eyes.

Thinking back, the fact that he consistently gave her a Morning Call every day even when she didn’t answer wasn’t because he was diligent, but because he liked her.

And the way he suddenly showed up wearing a suit he never usually wore was because he wanted to look good for her.

At the time, she had just thought they ran into each other by chance.

‘Even though I kept avoiding him, Johannes constantly contacted me. Anyone else would have lost interest quickly… By now, he must have tried to call and realized my phone is turned off…’

Iris rummaged through her pocket. Fortunately, her phone was still there.

Perhaps those guys were only interested in the Relics and didn’t care about her other possessions.

She tapped on the phone and sighed. As expected, the power was off because it hadn’t been charged for a long time.

Johannes might misunderstand if he found her phone was off. He might think she turned it off because she wanted to avoid his calls.

Then, no matter how long he had liked her, he might give up this time. He would think he had been rejected.

The thought of him giving up his feelings for her made a corner of her heart ache.

‘If I can’t escape this place and become a Sacrifice for the Ritual, I’ll never see Johannes again. I wish I at least had the chance to make an excuse…’

How would he know she was trapped in the Temple, which had changed so strangely?

She should have at least sent him a Message saying she was stopping by the Temple. Regretting it was useless now. There was no way to contact him anymore.

Rubbing her reddened eyes, she put the phone back in her pocket. Then, she bit her lip hard to muster some strength and pulled out the tracker.

They said even if you’re dragged into a tiger’s den, you’ll survive as long as you keep your wits about you.

The situation felt hopeless right now, but since the Watcher seemed to have left, she planned to contact Teresa, who was likely locked up on the floor above.

However, there was one fact she had overlooked.

‘Wait. I’m alone here now, but Senior Teresa might be under surveillance. What if I call her and my being awake is discovered because of her?’

But Iris rolled her eyes and eventually pressed the call button on the tracker. The man who had come to check on her had said, “the upcoming Ritual.”

That meant nothing would happen immediately just because they knew she was awake. They would want to keep her alive until the Ritual was over.

‘Even if I stay still like this, time will just keep passing by. Let’s just face it head-on.’

Iris’s expression soon brightened as she listened to the ringing with bated breath. This was because Teresa’s voice came through the tracker.

Judging by her very thin and weak voice, she didn’t seem to be in good condition, but Iris felt a surge of relief just from confirming she was alive.

— Iris…

“Senior!”

Iris called out to Teresa, her voice thick with emotion. A cracked and weak voice came from the other side of the tracker.

— You were alive.

“Yes. I think those bastards kept me alive to use me as a Sacrifice.”

— A Sacrifice… Ugh, cough, cough…

“Senior!”

Teresa couldn’t finish her sentence and coughed violently. Fearful that something might happen to her senior, Iris called her name with a trembling voice.

After a moment, Teresa cleared her throat and slowly continued.

— I’m okay. I’ll recover soon. They couldn’t — ugh — take my power away.

“Senior, I’ll come to save you, so please hold on until then.”

— I’m okay, so find the Relics first. If you don’t get your power back, you’ll be caught as soon as you save me.

“That’s…!”

— You must do that.

Iris bit her lip, unable to say anything. Just as Teresa said, she had to find the Relics first. But could she really reclaim the Relics stolen by them?

The power of the Evil Spirit far exceeded that of a Superpowered Individual.

For a human like her — and one who had lost her powers at that — to challenge him might be like hitting a rock with an egg.

On top of that, the Evil Spirit alone was daunting enough, but she also had to deal with Abellus and the Chimera he had created.

A weak thought began to cross her mind: perhaps the best option would be to save Teresa and then secretly sneak out of here. If they ran far, far away, wouldn’t they eventually give up the pursuit?

However, she couldn’t reveal her inner thoughts to Teresa. Teresa saw her as the Hero who would save Gyodam City.

Just then, Teresa coughed repeatedly and continued.

— The battery on this tracker lasts a very long time. However, you might get caught by the Watchers, so it’s best to avoid calling as much as possible.

“Then…”

— Yes. We should hang up now. Make the next call after you’ve found the Relics. You can do it, Iris. Believe in yourself.

“Yes, Senior…”

After confirming the call had ended, Iris put the tracker in her pocket. A dark cloud hung over Iris’s face as she looked around for an exit.

Seeing the cracked walls and the cobwebs in the corners made her realize her helpless situation.

Senior Teresa told her to find the Relics at all costs, but the Relics were the source of her power.

Without them, she couldn’t use her abilities. Finding the Relics without her powers seemed like an impossible task.

As she sighed, a voice from her dream suddenly flashed through her mind. What had that been?