Punishment of Dekan
183
Dekan’s fingertips continuously brushed over the names on the list.
One by one, they had dodged their fate, until finally, Dekan found today’s chosen individual.
“Well, it’s decided. You it is.”
Dekan carefully inspected the name of this fortunate soul.
“Aeshton Julius Gaius.”
Staring at the name, Dekan sifted through the scattered documents on the desk to find the investigative records corresponding to this name.
He quickly located relevant information about Aeshton.
The person Dekan had selected was none other than the king of the Rick Kingdom, one of the Northern Kingdoms.
Aeshton was a powerful old king, boasting a rank of six.
“Oh my, I’ve hit a big one right away.”
Dekan clapped his hands, seemingly quite pleased with the first usage target for “Dekan’s Gospel.”
The intelligence report detailed not only Aeshton’s appearance but also the basic situation of the Rick Kingdom.
The Rick Kingdom was a mid-sized nation, not the leader of the Northern Kingdoms alliance. However, in its opposition to Dekan, the Rick Kingdom was a key player. It appeared to target Dekan without hesitation within the Kingdom Union, while the old king was known for publicly critiquing Dekan without restraint.
“Everyone has their own grievances, picking you isn’t my fault.”
Dekan chuckled and picked up his pen. On the gospel book, he began writing Aeshton’s full name and specifying his race and gender.
Then he imagined the figure of Aeshton in his mind.
In the instant all the conditions were met, a strange black vapor rose from the pages of the gospel book. The mist settled on Dekan’s face, making him appear otherworldly, like a visitor from the depths of hell.
Dekan felt a massive depletion of his magical energy. It seemed the operation of the gospel book had completed its process. The mysterious, dark magical fluctuations that had been emanating dissipated, and the black fog ceased to rise from the book’s surface.
“It seems the curse was successful.”
Dekan closed the book in his hand, feeling a surge of fatigue.
The process of using the “Dekan’s Gospel” not only consumed a great deal of mana but placed a heavy burden on the user. The sensation was something Dekan had never experienced before, almost indescribable.
But Dekan was certain that if he used the gospel book too soon again, it would be far from pleasant.
Before long, Dekan realized another issue: he had no feedback to the effects of his curse after cursing the enemy.
Given their great distance, he would need to investigate the enemy’s condition later. However, since this card was in the experimental phase, Dekan was eager to know its effects. To quickly test it, he thought about cursing someone nearby.
The problem was, who to experiment on?
The only person close by for Dekan to experiment on without moral qualms was Isabel, who had previously given him the “Blood Oath of Truth” in Tristin City.
“No, she won’t do.”
At the thought of Isabel’s deranged and masochistic tendencies, Dekan recoiled from the idea of rewarding her.
Most importantly—despite the binding nature of the Blood Oath of Truth, Dekan didn’t trust her enough to allow her any inkling of the existence of the “Dekan’s Gospel.”
With his chin in his hand, Dekan sat in the workshop pondering how to solve the ‘testing difficulty’ problem.
“Let’s try increasing the intensity?”
Master whispered into Dekan’s mind, as this gear was also her creation, so she was interested in its power level.
“Using it again would bring adverse effects.”
“By going all out with this card now, not only will you test the extent of the side effects and backlash, but you’ll also gain valuable data. Plus, if you hit the king with the strongest curse possible, you’ll likely get feedback sooner.”
“That’s true.”
Dekan nodded, acknowledging the wisdom in Master’s words.
Just as he was about to amplify the curse as Master suggested, his stomach suddenly growled loudly.
In an instant, Dekan had a sudden realization.
“Hold up, Master, are you trying to get me to pass out so you can take control of my body and go have lunch?”
“Tsk.”
“Alright, alright, as a reward for keeping me company all night, you can have all three meals today. Just remember to get me healed by Chloix after taking control.”
“Good.”
Master showed no concern for Dekan’s well-being and answered decisively. This old demon’s only human-like trait was her lack of consideration for her relatives while eating. Yet, upon further reflection, that wasn’t very human-like at all.
“Then, let’s try it at full force.”
After the cooldown period was over, Dekan triggered the “Dekan’s Gospel” again. This time, the target was still Aeshton for the curse.
However, this time, as soon as the curse began, Dekan immediately felt obvious discomfort. This wasn’t physical damage, but rather a torment and depletion of his body, mind, and soul, difficult to restore completely through healing.
Dekan was extremely certain that if he continued the curse a third time in a short period, it would cause severe damage. Truly, it was a case of draining his life force.
To test the book’s limits of use, the only way was to increase the amount of mana during this curse, further enhancing it.
As he poured in his mana, Dekan realized the backlash he endured was even more severe.
He stopped after finding a critical point. Prior to using the gospel book, he had been so focused that he hadn’t noticed he had started bleeding from his nose. Clearly, this was a dangerous line that shouldn’t be crossed.
For the backlash from the gospel book to return to normal on his part, two to three days of rest would probably be necessary. During this time, the “Dekan’s Gospel” couldn’t be used, otherwise, it would create a vicious cycle of worsening backlash before fully recovering.
Through these two curses, Dekan had roughly understood how to safely and efficiently use the book in a leisurely manner.
After recovery, he should only use it once a day.
During every single usage, he could add a little mana to increase the curse’s intensity, but try to avoid using it a second time within a day.
This would allow him to easily and pleasantly unleash a curse as if without cost, once daily.
“Leave Aeshton alone for now. Let’s see if any news about him in the Rick Kingdom surfaces in a day or two.”
Dekan put away the gospel book and wiped the blood from his face with a handkerchief.
Although he didn’t expect these curses to do much to the old king, Dekan looked forward to giving Aeshton a bit of a surprise. After all, Dekan himself had bled from the curse.
Let’s hope for a perfect ending, Dekan thought optimistically.
