Chương 30: Delivery

"I have heard that people have suddenly begun disappearing in your city, Jorice. Any idea what that could be about?" From what resembled a complex mechanism with a pale crystal adorning its middle, a tired, almost lethargic voice came out, questioning a blond youth who was sitting back in an armchair that leaked opulence.

"Leton, we haven't spoken in more than a month, and that's how you start the conversation?" The blond chuckled before leaning forward.

"How did you even hear of this so quickly? It has barely been a few days""Let's just say… I have been on the lookout for that sort of occurrences. Over here in Tolten, we had a slight accident, as you know""Are you implying that your monster problem could have made its way to Lintown? The distance separating our two towns is pretty big, you know? Even a bird would take at least half a month to make it from Tolten to here… So on foot?

I doubt you would have chased away that monster if it were so fast""I am just being cautious, and anyway, it's always a good thing to solve disappearances, isn't it? Especially in your case, you don't have that many city guards to begin with, and every time another one goes missing, the profession becomes less attractive…"

"Right, right, you hit the nail on the head! What do you want to know?"

"Do you have any clue or lead?"

"None whatsoever, the best I've got is the shaky testimony of some drunkard who was wandering around at night and puking all over my streets… He said that he saw a guard get knocked down, and… Ah, yes, that he saw two bright dots""Dots? As in, where the attacker's eyes would have been?"

"Yes""Did he say what colour they were?"

"You know, with how quickly you're speaking for once, I feel like you already have a guess… But he said something a bit weird about the colour. He claimed that they were definitely purple, but that something wasn't right about it, like he was staring at a shade of purple he knew with all of his heart did not actually exist" The blond rubbed his chin.

"The drunkard probably imagined things since he had drunk enough booze to kill ten men, but my investigators latched onto it because he also happens to be a dyer when not crawling in bars" The man on the other side of the communication device stayed silent for a few moments.

"Any further precision about the colour?"

"You need to explain what's so important about the colour of some glowing dots. But yes, he said that it was a dark and deep purple""I see. Then, Janice, you indeed have the same monster that we had over here""Goddamnit…"

"Do be careful, it… It's cruel and insidious. I suspect that it killed a whole lot more people than officially reported, and probably also has a knack for tormenting its victims… In fact, special advice from me, check underground""Excuse me?"

"You heard, check underground, it might have made itself a lair beneath the city""How… How can you sound so sure about that?"

"I said 'might'""Don't change the subject, you had your 'I am stating a fact' voice just now, how do you know that it will dig underground?"

"Don't worry about it. Whatever you do, don't underestimate it. Get someone powerful on the case, not just a young upstart. Hire a professional. Get someone who can at least beat a feral orc at arm wrestling, and can cut through a knight in full armour in a single swing""Is it that bad?"

"It's probably worse. I would recommend that you get all the help you can get""Damnit… This comes at a bad time, you know? This is just when the cursed warlord starts making odd movements! I need to have some of my guards monitoring him to report to the crown!" The blond scratched his neck.

He had only recently been handed over the control of the city by his father, and he was already dealing with some extraordinary problems, namely a burrowing monstrosity, and the curse slinger that hadn't done anything in fifteen years was becoming agitated. It was simply awful coincidences and timing. Thankfully, the man on the other side of the device was willing to help.

"We don't really have any champion or hero in the region, but I have someone that I can send your way if needed. She's a bit hard to deal with, though""I frankly don't care how rude or needy she is. If she can rid me of a monster that abducts my guards, I'll put up with it and call her Miss… What's her name?"

"Gallilah, but you actually pronounce the G as a K""... Really?"

"She came from a monsterfolk tribe. Just prepare lots of dried and salted beef, and she'll be a delight to work with! She's very sweet despite appearances" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The blond narrowed his eyes as he listened to Leton's description.

"Are you sending me your girlfriend or something? You know, it isn't seen as poorly as it used to be, for a human to get with a monsterfolk or anything these days…"

"Do you want help or not?"

"Mmh" Jorice thought that this all but confirmed it, but he refrained from saying anything else about the topic.

"Alright, thanks for the help. I'll prepare lots of dried beef- Wait a second" Jorice stood up from his seat as he distinctly sensed something wrong. He approached and opened the window, sticking his head out, only to see the sky darkening and as some sort of flames that were both dark red and black began to form in the sky above. The blond's expression turned ugly, but knowing that there was nothing he could do about it, he merely went back to his seat.

"Leton, I think the curse slinger is trying to curse the entire city. I'll keep you updated if I don't die, alright?"

"You dog, the king gave you an amulet that protects against curses, you'll be fine no matter what" The blond stopped channelling mana into the communication device, sighing heavily as he wondered why this all had to happen just a few months after he took over the role of city lord…

Do you feel what I feel, Nara? That thing is fat. It would appear that Argantis has been spending the last few months preparing to cast a great curse upon you He noticed that I took all of his cursed items, and he thinks that a curse will impress me? Curse slingers aren't exactly known to be fully immune to curses… In fact, they are reputed to meet their ends because they eventually, accidentally curse themselves with something they couldn't control Is that so?

According to your senses, the curse Argantis is attempting to cast is several times more nourishing than the previous curses you consumed, and additionally, it appears to be extremely large and condensed Do you think I can eat that one as easily as the rest? I do not know, but considering the time and effort Argantis must have taken to create this curse, and then locating your location.

He has either found a way to precisely target you specifically, or has decided to curse the entire city to get you My analysis tells me that he was, at least, somewhat miffed about thievery Well, I've known that he has been very mad, thanks to the stream of negative emotions I have been getting in the past few months, but I honestly hadn't expected him to actually dedicate that much time toward getting revenge…

The curse was getting closer with every passing second, and since I was underground, I had no chance whatsoever of getting out of the way. I guess I'll have to do my best to eat it–Speaking of which, I had the last participant of my little game currently stuck in between my jaw, he had lasted a bit longer than the rest, and so, as a reward, I had decided to give him a slow and agonising death.

So for the last few minutes during which I had been discussing with Nara, he had been fully alive and desperately trying to make me let go by repeatedly smashing his fist into my steel body. A valiant effort, for sure. Ultimately, a futile one, however. I had him caught by the chest and stomach, a little crush, and I could be breaking his ribs, and squashing every organ within. Right now, I was only holding him firmly enough to prevent him from getting away, but no real damage had been done.

Well, the damage was all self-inflicted from trying to fist-fight me. With all the grace that I could muster, I did a little twirl.

"~Sooorryyyy, something else caaaameeeee uuuuuup~" He was allowed to appreciate my gorgeous singing for a few seconds before I shut my maw as hard as I could, biting him in half, sending blood and guts flying all over the place. Originally, I had dragged him to one of the larger rooms of the maze, where one could stand up in full and slowly maim him little by little, but, sucks to sucks, this honour would have to be left to someone else.

Once the clean-up was done, I simply lay down on my back and spread my arms, awaiting the curse to fall. I had a good feeling about this, and so far, when it comes to that sort of stuff, my instincts have never been wrong. Nara, however, was a bit more worried. According to her, there was nothing proving that a powerful curse that was directly aimed at me would have an effect, and simply bypass my ability to eat such things. But no proof of something didn't mean that it wasn't possible.

You know something that I hate, Nara? I know that you despise children, nobles, commoners, beastfolks- Something besides those. I hate it when I am trying to explain something to someone, and I say something that, to me, is an obvious fact, but to them, is apparently something that requires tangible proof. That's just so annoying… Or when I show something to someone, and then say something in relation to that thing, and they just go: 'Just because there is correlation, it doesn't mean that there is causation'.

This genuinely makes me want to rip someone's bones out. What do you mean it doesn't prove anything? Is this unnamed person you mention supposed to be your brother? How astute of you to guess that! Well, yes, I used to put up with his know-it-allism, but now? I realise that he really was spouting nonsense. He may have been a genius, but damn was he actually stupid… Oh, it's here- The curse fell upon the city, and its power seeped into me.

Although the sensation of coolness and the erasure of pain that followed the consumption of curses and spirits was the most remarkable effect of eating them, there was also the blinding pain that always surged for a split moment. And right now, since the curse was atrociously large, that short instant turned into what felt exceedingly long hours, and for the first time since then… I was re-experiencing the crushing of my flesh and bones in full. Once, twice, thrice… Seven times, ten times…

Fifteen times, thirty times… Fifty… Fifty-one… Mara? AH! What the hell just happened? You absorbed the entire curse Did I? How long did it take? The sensation of pure coolness spreading through my body is making me feel quite upbeat–I feel like I could put on a sundress and start frolicking through a field of flowers just about now, just spin and giggle like a complete idiot. Wow… This is bad, eating curses is actually like drinking alcohol… I need to calm down on that… It lasted for about five minutes.

It seems I underestimated your absorption qualities. Even such a large and dangerous curse was rendered harmless by simply coming into contact with you It's good to know that I'm curse and spirit-proof. I think I missed a few things that might have happened, though. What are the results of this haul? You have three upgrades to pick from, and you can begin your first evolution. I tapped my lower jaw. Pardon my elvish– But holy shit!