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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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I had no idea what the status window’s proposed solution was, but I didn’t care.
If it meant escaping this confinement and leaving even a small scratch on that bastard’s face, I’d take it.
I agreed, and the status window flickered rapidly.
≪ User’s consent obtained. ≫
≪ Initiating absorption of ?@!#. ≫
Absorption?
What was it absorbing?
Even if it absorbed whatever was crawling inside me, that bastard could just inject more.
It seemed pointless. Then, another wave of agony washed over me, different from the previous torment.
This pain was concentrated solely in my heart.
≪ User’s heart is unable to withstand the process. ≫
≪ Reviewing user’s available magic… ≫
My heart couldn’t withstand it? What the hell was happening? My breath hitched, a sharp pain lancing through my chest, as if my heart were being sliced into thin fillets. The things crawling under my skin writhed in response.
≪ Suitable magic found among user’s abilities. ≫
≪ Activating Imbuement Magic. Target: User’s heart. ≫
≪ Imbuement Magic: Durability Enhancement activated. ≫
My heart, which had felt moments away from stopping, steadied, and the pain gradually subsided.
Gasping for breath, I looked at the status window again. The final message sent a chill down my spine.
≪ User’s heart successfully enhanced. ≫
≪ Resuming absorption of ?@!#. ≫
≪ “Sun” is expending karmic energy to accelerate the absorption rate. ≫
≪ Status window proposes ??? to “Sun”. ≫
≪ “Sun” accepts the status window’s proposal. ≫
≪ “Sun” expends a significant amount of karmic energy to rapidly adapt the user to the result. ≫
≪ Temporarily, user… ≫
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‘Are the impurities still present?’
Greed wondered, observing Jenison’s still-twitching body.
This body was destined to become the vessel for his Goddess. It had to be pure, free of any taint.
He’d intended to cleanse it, to erase the lingering attachments of its previous lives, the emotions that would hinder the Goddess’s descent. He would create a perfect vessel.
But something was wrong.
The creatures he’d injected, the “Spencers,” should have consumed everything by now – memories, emotions, even the soul itself. They were extensions of “Gluttony,” voracious and efficient.
Why was Jenison still resisting? Why were the Spencers still writhing beneath his skin?
And the tendril connected to Jenison… it felt… weaker, as if it were dissolving.
Something was definitely wrong.
He hadn’t wanted to harm the vessel, preferring to simply erase its mind and lead it away willingly. But now, he had to change his plans.
Knocking him unconscious was the safest option. Depriving the brain of oxygen would do the trick. Even an infant could suffocate someone whose limbs were bound.
He extended a tendril towards Jenison’s face, anticipating the Goddess’s imminent arrival.
Then, an attack from behind. A powerful surge of familiar holy energy.
“Huff… huff… What are you doing…?!”
The Pope, who he’d thought incapacitated, was somehow standing, though his knees trembled.
The attack was potent, but Greed wasn’t worried. He knew the price of overextending holy power. The Pope’s body must be ravaged. This was likely his last desperate act.
A powerless Pope was an attractive offering. Greed remained calm.
“Awake already? You should rest a bit longer.”
“…Let the boy go!”
“Still causing trouble, I see.”
He flicked a couple of tendrils towards the Pope, who struggled to defend himself, clearly weakened.
“Why are you pushing yourself like this? You could have survived if you’d just stayed down.”
“…You’ll never understand, you monster wearing a human face.”
“…My actions are for the good of humanity. It’s a pity you can’t see my true intentions. You truly are a pitiable man…”
The Pope’s face twisted in anger at Greed’s condescending tone, but he didn’t falter, continuing his relentless assault. Greed, momentarily distracted, turned his attention back to Jenison.
He was bound, after all. Breaking free would require immense magical power, stronger than Greed’s own. Or… the ability to wield the same type of energy.
The “Goddess’s Blessing.”
But that was impossible. A mage’s body couldn’t handle both mana and holy power simultaneously; their mana circuits would overload. That’s why priests couldn’t use magic.
And Greed had done his research. Jenison was traveling with the Saintess. He was a mage, albeit not a particularly skilled one. His body contained mana.
That knowledge reassured Greed.
Then, the sound of tearing fabric, followed by a sharp snap.
A blade hurtled towards his throat.
How had he broken free?
It didn’t matter. It was just a dagger.
He sent a tendril towards the Pope to keep him occupied and reached out to catch the incoming blade.
But it wasn’t a blade.
It was a needle, impossibly small, slipping through his fingers. Attached to it was a tiny piece of paper.
The needle pierced his carotid artery. A fatal wound for any normal human.
But he wasn’t normal.
He plucked the needle from his neck contemptuously and pushed it deeper, burying it completely within his flesh. Only the small piece of paper remained, fluttering against his skin.
“I don’t know how you broke free, but your attack failed again, didn’t it?”
“…You’re the first idiot I’ve met who falls for the same trick twice.”
“…?”
As Jenison finished speaking, a brilliant flash erupted from the paper attached to Greed’s neck.
Heat and light exploded outwards.
Scroll: Annihilation Explosion
The scroll, partially embedded in his neck, had detonated at Jenison’s command.
Light poured from Greed’s body. The heat was intense enough to incinerate anyone nearby.
Yet, Greed remained standing.
The same situation as before.
The blackened skeleton, wreathed in fading flames, clicked its teeth, mocking Jenison’s futile efforts. A raspy voice echoed from its empty skull.
“I wanted to say… you’re the first idiot I’ve met who falls for the same trick twice. Haha—ha…”
His laughter died abruptly.
Jenison smiled.
“Why’d you stop laughing?”
“You… how did you do that…?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Your heart! Why is my energy swirling around it?!”
He was right. A faint black aura, identical to Greed’s own energy, pulsed around Jenison’s heart, stable and controlled.
This was impossible. His mana circuits should have overloaded, killing him instantly. It defied the laws of magic, unless… a miracle?
But it was undeniably there. Something impossible was happening.
Sensing danger, Greed unleashed a barrage of tendrils, dozens of them, hurtling towards Jenison.
Each tendril ended in a sharp point, moving with blinding speed.
But they stopped inches from Jenison’s body, frozen in mid-air.
“…Is this how it works?”
“W-What…”
The tendrils weren’t just stopped. They were moving, mirroring the movements of Jenison’s fingers.
Black tendrils, controlled by the black-haired man. The sight was unsettlingly natural.
“Th-This is impossible! How… how can you wield Her power?!”
“Don’t call it Her power. It makes me want to vomit.”
“Y-You blasphemous—!”
“Shut up and die.”
The dozens of tendrils shot forward again, but this time, they targeted Greed.
He tried to regain control, but they were no longer his to command.
Caught off guard, his skeletal form unable to dodge effectively, the tendrils struck.
Cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, ribs, sternum, femur—dozens of tendrils slammed into his bones.
The sound of shattering bone echoed through the cathedral.
“Kr…ghk…”
“…Her power, huh? Even its form is repulsive.”
Greed glared at Jenison’s blasphemous words, then managed a weak smile.
“Heh… even if you do this… you can’t kill me.”
“…?”
“I was caught off guard before… but this body… I can just rebuild it—”
“Do as you please.”
Jenison threw something at Greed’s arm. A small vial filled with a liquid that looked remarkably like a potion.
But as the liquid splashed onto Greed’s bones, he knew it wasn’t a potion.
It dissolved his bones on contact, leaving nothing behind.
“Kgh… hhh…”
“Sulfuric acid. Highly concentrated.”
“Uggggh…”
“Your ability… it’s not regeneration or creation, is it?”
“…”
“You just… take. You desire what was originally yours and take it back.”
“…”
“You take everything from others, refusing to give up anything yourself. Hold onto that feeling. See where it gets you.”
“…Krrruuugh…”
“Because today, no matter what, I’m taking what’s yours.”
In that moment, what Greed saw must have been a glimpse of endless, inescapable hell.
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