Chương 27: Gluttonous Larceny

You know what they say, the bold will inherit the world! And I don't know why, but I'm feeling impressively bold lately… The more my maw tears into flesh, and the more negative emotions I absorb, the more I feel at ease. It's like I am finally doing what I was meant to do. Do you understand what I mean, Nara? I think my life as a human was but a prelude, a stage of chrysalis, until I got the occasion to bloom into my ideal self. I wasn't changed from a human to a Curse and Spirit hybrid.

I was made into what I was supposed to be from the start. I am the real Mara Nebulo now… I am made of steel, I am a living Curse, I am a living Vengeful Spirit, I am a girl, and I am the boogeyman. Yes… That's it… How would you rate this little speech, Nara? Do you think I could repeat it when I find my brother? I think you will have to shorten it if you want to do something like that. Most importantly, however, the situation is a bit too dangerous for you to be making speeches, is it not?

It helps me focus, don't question it. And besides, I have been proving and poking for several days now, and the so-called expert in curses hasn't noticed my presence at all. I am a curse of the highest possible quality, and he hasn't noticed me at all! Either I am just too good, or he is a charlatan.

But a quack wouldn't have been able to maintain his hold over this territory for so long, so the only explanation was that I was just such a magnificent curse that even an expert of my kind was none the wiser to my presence. I observed him from afar, lurking in the woods during both the day and night. Unfortunately for him, I always knew where he was, although faint.

He held contempt and frustration toward me, as well as a subtle amount of apprehension and worry, certainly concerned that I might be capable of putting an end to his life. This allowed me to track his every move, always placing myself in the perfect position to remain undetected, and after several days of stalking, it became rather clear that Argantis had no more minions to send out. There was only one other person around besides him, but that person didn't move around much…

And judging by the disappearance of negative emotions when Argantis was with that person, I assumed that it was a woman. Every once in a while, Argantis would step outside of what looked like a mundane hill, but was very clearly where he lived. Using the thread of negative emotions, I knew that it went quite deep underground and was seemingly made up of many rooms and hallways. Considering that the geezer seemed to fancy himself as a mage, he probably ran experiments down there.

What interested me was the strong pull I felt down there. I could sense what felt like countless curses and spirits that were just asking to be devoured. I didn't want to get blasted by Argantis, as although I was confident in my resistance to being cursed, the old man wasn't just a curse slinger. The odds were high that he would just chant an incantation and obliterate me with a cow-sized fireball or something of the sort.

And although I was also confident in my steel body, I wasn't willing to test its durability against the spells of a guy who could single-handedly occupy land within a kingdom. So, I spent weeks just prowling around. I don't know whether Argantis actually knows if something is up, or if he is just plagued by anxiety, but his negative feelings kept on getting stronger bit by bit despite me doing nothing else since massacring his minions.

Eventually, after a month of just staying in the woods and watching like some sort of axe-maniac, Argantis finally decided to take an extended leave from this place, going out while wearing a disguise… I wouldn't have recognised him at all if not for the thread of negative emotions. He looked shorter, far less thin, younger, and, more importantly, he had the appearance of a woman. Clearly, he didn't want to be recognised as he went to get whatever it was that a mage like him might need.

I waited until he was so far away that the thread could no longer tell me his exact position, and then leapt into action. The location of the entrance was all but clear to me. I peeled open the hatch concealed under a false layer of grass and descended into Argantis's man-cave. The place was brightly lit up by mana crystals–Not just the basic blue ones, but crystals that actually contained mana of the light element, or at least, that's what I thought they were, since they shone yellow-white instead of bright blue.

Crystals of particular elements, especially as rare as light, are too expensive to be used in such a manner. They are probably just regular ones that had their colour modified Well, that's lame. But that's not what is important here. I needed to find my way to the good stuff, but now that I was down here, I could sense even more things that I would happily fill my imaginary gullet with! The rich bastard owned steel! Lots of steel! I think I can sense flesh as well…

Just how much does he have stashed away down here?! Alright… Let's calm down. I need to take care of the person in here first… Whether or not they could be a threat to me was uncertain, but thankfully, I knew where they were… Though I don't know the way to them. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. This place is a labyrinth… You have magic, old man!

Couldn't you just use it to dig yourself a spacious place instead of making a hundred different tunnels?! It's fine… I just need to remember the movements he would make after coming down here… He would often make a beeline for the room where the other person present down here would stay most of the time, so as long as I could properly conceptualise his movements with what I would 'see' from up on the surface, I should be able to make it there without much problem…

The only obstacles in the way were doors made of heavy steel, which were just bread crumbs along the way for me to chew on. These taste a little spicier than usual. These doors are enchanted. They are filled with mana Are they? I never thought mana would taste like that… After several doors and far too many turns, I arrived before a room that was clearly different from the rest, the door leading to it was larger, more imposing and generally looked tougher than the previous doors.

If my assumption was correct, and on the other side was a woman, then it should mean that Argantis was quite fond of her to keep her around for so long. It meant that he might have given her a way to contact him if trouble arose. Of course, that was just a theory, but I didn't want to take any chances. I straightened my back and, with just my index finger, slightly tapped against the steel door.

Immediately, I began playing what little I had heard of the old man's voice, which were faint grumbles heard from far away. Thankfully, I could control the volume at which the sounds I played came out, and from behind a heavy steel door, I hoped that it would sound convincing enough. It was hard to make out what was happening behind the door, but I soon heard what sounded like light steps approaching the door. The lock came undone, and the door soon swung open.

"Heheheh~ Since when are you so polite, My Lord-" I bit her head off as soon as I had the occasion to. Mmh, judging by the taste, she had no magical capabilities and didn't seem that strong at all. Now that that's out of the way… I stuffed the headless body into my maw, devoured the door, and only then did I actually step inside the room to take a look around. It was a rather lavish bedroom with a bed that I would better imagine seeing in royal chambers…

In fact, the entire room itself, unlike the hallways, did not seem underground at all. Everything was decorated, not a hint of rock in sight. In one of the nightstands, I got my hands on a pocket watch made out of copper. The material itself could satisfy my palate, but what had led me here was the curse attached to the item.

Without hesitation, trusting in my instincts, I ate the watch whole, crushing its delicate mechanism in between my teeth alongside its casing, shattering the glass as it felt like I was floating on a cloud, as the curse seeped into me and was consumed. Aah… What my Curse side and Spirit side liked did not feel the same at all. The ghosts I had consumed had been tasty in a different way, sweet and sugary like candy… Curses, however, were more flavourful, like I was drinking a great wine…

Not to mention, these things give me a little bit of experience as well when I eat them. Nara, do you think I could get myself another upgrade by consuming everything down here? Hard to tell, not all items that augment your nature as either a Steel-Bound Curse or Vengeful Spirit are equal in what they grant Well then… It will be a surprise in that case.

I was very careful every time I would enter a new room, but it seems like Argantis was not worried about undesired guests, as I was able to quite literally eat every ounce of metal, steel and the like without encountering any security measures or traps. This was rather odd for a mage. I was certain that there would be hidden magic circles or enchantments, but absolutely nothing happened. I was left to roam freely whilst pillaging everything I desired. Including the rooms where he kept the very good stuff…

And I'm not even putting the room filled with coins and valuables amongst that good stuff, although getting some gold to eat was pleasant, the real treats were the areas where he experimented with curses and ghostly beings. It would seem that there truly was something about the lack of negative energy in the air, as there was a container filled with the stuff just lying about, seemingly used to try to turn regular spirits into more aggressive beings.

Vengeful Spirits were a part of that, but there were plenty of other types that I had either only heard about once or twice before, or that I knew nothing about. Like, what is a 'Poltergeist', 'Ogbanje', or 'Onryo'? I don't have a clue, but I devoured them all nonetheless. Unlike the curses, these were fully-fledged beings, so they tried to put up a fight, but they were all restrained in some sort of vials, and once stuck in my maw, it seemed that even incorporeal beings couldn't escape.

If I were actually eating all of these, my stomach would have bloated and ruptured by now, but within just a few days, I had ransacked the entire underground of Argantis, leaving only the containers full of negative energy and negative emotions behind. Mmh… The container isn't that big, so I could just take it with me in case my future evolution would let me absorb it directly… Why not, after all?

I can't sense Argantis coming back, so if I start running right now, will he really have a chance to catch up to me, even if he theoretically could sense the negative energy? I probably won't take it into account if negative, but do tell me your opinion, Nara. Argantis takes great measures to disguise himself when out of his territory, so he certainly won't take the risk of chasing you.

That much seems logical, but considering his supposed talent in incantationism, curse slinging, and the fabrication of hex totems, he is probably capable of casting long-distance curses Isn't that a good thing? I like curses. It is unclear whether or not curses directed at you will be absorbed in the same way as others Heh… Don't you worry, I have a good feeling about this. Also, you have just finished consuming everything in full. You have a new upgrade to pick The world truly does belong to the bold!