Chương 72: 71. Mutually Devoured

An invisible force gripped my throat from the inside. I could feel the sickly-sweet smell of burned bones. Every fiber of my body wanted me to cough it out, yet I couldn't. Struggling to remain on my feet, I used the Two of Chalice to heal, then cast a wind spell circle to put fresh air into my lungs. It was highly questionable that my efforts had any practical effect, but at least things didn't seem to worsen.

"Did you forget about that?" The monster charged at me. It was a lot faster than before, though not to the point that I couldn't react. Instinctively, I leaped to the side, countering the strike with my saber. Restrict! I thought through tears. My body tried to cough out whatever was inside of me through my nose. It was painful, barely providing a modicum of relief. Without even looking, I let out a flurry of slashes, each releasing an aether thread in the direction of the demigod.

They bounced off his skill, merely destroying a few spell circles in the process. Yet, for every one that I shattered, three more appeared. Hyena was wasting no effort to kill me, rules be damned. A massive circle covered the floor. Knowing what that could bring, I cast a circle of my own. Considerably smaller, if created a small stone column beneath my feet, lifting me into the air. Barely had I done that than the entire chamber floor was transformed into a pit of quicksand. Part of me sighed in relief.

The rest kept on trying to cough out the sweetish smoke within me. To think that the boss had planned this all along. When I had inhaled the nasty substance in the desert, I suspected that it might be a sort of poison, but I had never imagined that it could be used in such fashion. The Dark Magician variant was a nasty piece of work, and when combined with the knowledge of a deity, an almost invincible fiend was formed.

The only reason Hyena hadn't gone all out was because he knew that Harlequin still maintained control over the trial. The rules of the Grand Arcana prevented anyone from engaging on a whim, but if a severe enough imbalance was created, the red-and-yellow jester would have the full power and authority to do so. SPONSORSHIP OFFER A deity is offering you invulnerability in exchange of a pact. SPONSORSHIP OFFER A deity is offering you divine protection in exchange of a pact. You scavengers! I yelled in my thoughts.

Given what was going on, they could easily have intervened or directed the rule-masters to do so, but instead were taking advantage of the situation to force a pact. Well, I had no intention of accepting! My eyes stung—probably an effect of the smoke within my lungs. It was only through the Observer card that I could make out my surroundings. I rubbed my eyes with my free hand only to see hundreds of hands reaching out from the quicksand below.

"Hang on!" Sparta's voice filled the hall. I would recognize it anywhere. In the past, she would often convey directions to the group so the trial could be completed. Cynically, some would say she did that only to further her own development. Having the blessings of Mercury granted her the power to swoop in at the very last moment and claim the top spot in the trial. Given the alternative, most didn't care. This time was different.

Even if I loved a version of her, I knew I wasn't going to let her take my win just like that! The thread dagger flew through the chamber like a firefly, circling the monster with its thread. I could tell that she was sacrificing her health to use part of her deity's powers. It was a smart move, to be honest. Harlequin had been clear that any wounds acquired during the trial would be healed, so it wasn't like she risked anything at all. Serp, how much blood do you need to reach him? I asked.

Two could play at that game. From your blood? The saber hesitated. At least half, maybe more. Then take some flesh as well! I thrust the blade through the palm of my hand. New pain mixed with old, causing it all to disappear. That was the thing about pain. After a certain point, it tended to lose its effect. I could feel it in its full intensity—Harlequin's rules prevented me from blocking it—but I just didn't care. One way or the other, it was going to fade away.

The blade shot forward like toothpaste squirting out of a tube. Part, unseen by most, was spreading further within me, gobbling up all the "free" flesh and muscle it could come into contact with. I strongly hoped that Serp had a basic knowledge of human anatomy so he could avoid the vital organs. All that mattered was reaching Hyena. Already, Sparta's weapon had done a good job destroying most of the spell circles.

Mercury must have temporarily given her magic sight as well, since the actions of her dagger were precise, not missing once. The monster tried to cut the thread, slamming against it with full force, but both it and Sparta held firm. Looking at her, she didn't have much choice either. Already she was up to her waist in quicksand, the yellow hands grabbing her arms and shoulders. It was ironic that the very spell Hyena had cast prevented her from losing her balance.

Whatever the strength of the boss' strike was, the sand that held her in its grasp was greater. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Hang on there, brother, Serp said. He had reached the monster and was now twisting around, copying the dagger's behavior. Both weapons split up, shattering spell circles as they went around the massive body. It was their race, just as it was between me and Sparta.

The first weapon that got to strike would take the kill, claiming the prize. Three circles remained. Taking a chance, the thread-dagger changed direction, striking the monster in the forehead. In my mind, time froze. If the gamble paid off, all my efforts would have been in vain and Sparta would have snatched victory yet again. Then, the blade bounced off. Never before had I felt such bliss as in the moment I had now.

Remaining conscious through luck and sheer strength of will, I stood on the column of stone above the pool of sand. Half of my blood and body were consumed by my own living weapon, while I was affected by five curses and whatever poison the monster had put into me. Yet, the only thing I could think of was that I had made it. Serp smashed through the spell circle on his path. Just two remained. I felt a sharp pain in my hip and stomach. The saber split into three.

Two parts curved, extending into the spell circles, shattering them like spears through glass. Then the remaining blade went for the kill. The very tip of the serpent blade went into the monster's arm. The entry spot was so clean that I could hardly make it out. Like the needle of a syringe, it refused to harm the outer skin. Underneath, it was an entirely different matter.

Vibrations passed through my entire body as the weapon devoured the boss, just as it had devoured parts of me, only this time it was far less indiscriminate. Hundreds of blades spontaneously emerged from Hyena. Each of them was part of Serp, providing a hint of how much more was inside. I did it, brother! Serp shouted in glee. I killed a demigod! Yeah… I didn't have the strength to argue. You killed him. The giant monster burst, exploding in a cloud of black dust.

I tried to hold on a bit longer, determined to see the victory message. Snatch! I ordered.

"I'm not fainting!" I said.

"Not this time! I'll…" I stopped, realizing that I shouldn't be capable of speech. Calmly, I looked around. I found myself sitting at a table in a small, white room. I hadn't even noticed when the chamber had vanished. That was the annoying thing with dreams and psychic attacks—it took a lot of experience to realize that anything had changed. I looked at my body. It was whole, without any apparent wounds and, most importantly, completely pain free. That was a huge plus.

"I didn't think these visits would become a regular thing," the black silhouette sitting across from me said. I was certain that she hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Did I mess up again?" I asked.

"You're still alive, if that's your question," the silhouette replied.

"Did I get my cards?"

"In a manner of speaking. Your living weapon did, and since it's a card that your own, you have as well." There was a pause.

"Well, except for one card." A black card appeared on the table in front of me. However, this wasn't a curse. The blackness was different, inkier and a lot more glistening. The name read "Dark Magician" but the picture was completely different. Looking at the skills, there didn't seem to be any.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Someone has broken the rules," the silhouette said.

"Harlequin might explain more, or he might sweep the whole thing under the rug. Rule-masters don't like it when deities break the rules. For that matter, neither do we." That was rich. All the deities I knew did nothing but break the rules of the Grand Arcana in their own way. Watching them was like looking at a consensus of cheating. Everyone knew what they were doing and approved of it, though only as long as it didn't provide too great an advantage to anyone else. The major deities were the worst of all.

Their strength allowed them to blatantly disregard instructions and even destroy rule-masters based on their whims.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about," the silhouette continued.

"Things are going to get a lot more troublesome moving forward. You killed a demigod, one liked to a major deity at that."

"It was part of the trial," I held my ground.

"And if I didn't, Sparta would have done so."

"Sparta?" the silhouette tilted its head as it asked. Shit! I wasn't supposed to be using that name.

"The participant with me," I quickly corrected myself.

"The Spartan one."

"She already has a pact, which means the matter it's ours to resolve. You remain unclaimed, which means I can't officially protect you." There it was, the usual spiel. She was subtly warning me that if I didn't accept her offer, I would be on my own. In a way, it was almost sweet that she had said "officially." There was no denying that she had been helping me out so far behind the scenes, though not to the point that I trusted her.

"Do we know each other?" I asked. There was no need for her to beat about the bush. Any deity, even a minor one, usually stated their business directly.

"You're taking a lot of risks telling me all this, and it's not the first time." Soft laughter came from the silhouette.

"Yes," she said.

"I've known you since before you joined the Grand Arcana. I can see your potential, and I want to see you grow. It's true that you can help us, but it's also true that I find it wasteful if your path ends here. There's so much more you can achieve." We were entering forbidden territory. Deities didn't have a right to tell participants about the future. Even this level of vagueness could be interpreted as rule-breaking.

"You have followed the rules to the letter, but you're smart enough to know that it won't save you," she added.

"Once the next trial starts, Anubis and the deities behind the curtain will be out to punish you, if only because you took out one of their own." Figures, I thought. I had run into similar issues back when I was doing errands for the deities in my previous run. It was always a balancing act: do too many favors for one group of deities and the others would try to punish me out of spite.

Sometimes accepting a request was no different from choosing a side: one way or the other someone wouldn't be happy about it and let their grievances be known. Maybe that's why they had insisted that I had to drag myself to the prize altar during my final trial. Who goes around comes around, especially for the unaligned.

"One last thing." The silhouette leaned forward.

"You obtained a specific item during the trial. The black ankh." I did? Using the Sleeper card, I peered at my status window. No such item was listed, although there was something described as? *^#$^. When I tried to find out more information about it, all I got was more gibberish.

"Don't take it out," the silhouette warned me, as if reading my mind.

"Not yet."

"Why?"

"It's not something you're supposed to have. For the moment, just pretend it isn't there and don't tell anyone about it. I'll let you know when it's safe to discuss it." Right now, I really wished that I had Marcus' intuition. There were so many red flags in her statement that I felt like I was in the center of a parade. Having a deity tell me to keep a secret from the rule-masters was effectively the same as breaking a rule. The deity wouldn't be punished, of course; in contrast, I would.

"You're asking me to keep a secret from Harlequin after everything you just said?" I crossed my arms.

"It's something that might be useful for you later on. That is, if you still want to learn the reason behind your betrayal." Damn you! She had me, and she knew it.

"That won't change whether you agree to make a pact or not," the silhouette assured me.

"Just a piece of friendly advice."

"In that case, I prefer to remain unbound."

"It's your choice." The disappointment in her voice was apparent.

"We'll talk again. Maybe sooner than you think." I woke up.