Chapter 176: Grayscale (Part 1)
…Am I dead?
Just as that thought popped into my mind, the next second, a scarlet blaze flared up, and the massive, beastly body that was buried deep in the pit suddenly vanished, reappearing like it had teleported dozens of meters away in the night, hovering in mid-air. The infernal flames pushed apart the swirling dead smoke, spreading along the protruding spine to wrap around the still-expanding body, igniting into a blazing fire.
The muted light of the sky was instantly painted crimson. In the swirling heart of the fierce flames, the bl**d-red fur grew rapidly, and the terrifying deer head was reborn. The wounds that had previously marred its body healed in the blink of an eye, even the crushed arms were restoring, and the red fire dispersed the fog-like black smoke entirely. The man called the Jester transformed back into a horrifying monster, a scorching wave of heat crashing toward me.
…Not dead, huh?
I stood there, gazing up at the scene, my mouth puffed out, blinking in disbelief, “You’re such a hassle.”
“I told you, I’m really good at escaping.”
The raspy, strange words floated out, teasingly casual, yet the tone had a hint of tremor. Despite his efforts to mask it, I immediately picked up on it.
“Is that so?”
I couldn’t help the corners of my mouth from creeping up into a smirk.
It seems the chaotic power of the Abyss has infiltrated his body. The Jester must be feeling pretty rough right now. Although his injuries healed at an astonishing speed and didn’t appear noticeable, the dead smoke isn’t something you can easily fend off. He should be in quite a bit of pain; the infernal power is quickly draining away. Right now, he’s just holding on…
Heh, this is getting interesting.
With that thought, I stopped worrying about chasing after him. I tossed the bl**d pearl I was holding in the air, caught it, and jumped out of the deep pit, surrounded by pitch-black dead smoke. I started to walk toward the monster, slowly taking steps, leaving behind black footprints that rose with wisps of smoke, and abyss mud spreading lazily around.
As I walked, I called out to the monster in a negotiating tone, “Hey, Jester, you still awake? Tell me what this thing is, and I’ll give it back to you, okay?”
“Sure.”
The monster’s reply was nonchalant.
He seemed a bit distracted, his massive deer head looking around, as if searching for something or confirming which way to run next. I couldn’t help but chuckle, my bl**d-red eyes turning into crescent moons. “Don’t bother thinking too hard; you’re my food. Once I had you in my sights, there was no escape for you~”
Feeling excited, I spat out a mouthful of bl**d, rubbed my nose, and fiddled with the pearl in my hand. The sweet iron smell wafted up, and my fingers itched to dig in.
“Come on, tell me! What’s this thing good for? I’m really hungry right now, but I can hold off on eating you for a bit~”
I called out again, eager to devour the bl**d pearl, but I couldn’t find a way to bite it; it was too big! My mouth is small; it just wouldn’t fit…
This must be a divine relic, right? It’s nothing like an ordinary creature that can fill my belly with that soul-like white mist. The chaotic power seems to have little effect on it… it’s hard to corrupt…
Previously, with Nero’s relic, that ring, I just swallowed it down. But how the heck do I eat this one?
I tried to bite into it but quickly realized I couldn’t—hard as a stony turd and round as a ball, it was tough to get a grip on. My small face scrunched up in annoyance.
The monster hovering in front of me went silent for a moment, suddenly lifted its massive head, and said, “Those folks have run far. Just listen to their cries; they’re scared of you.”
The monster sounded downright gleeful.
Behind me, the panicked shouts were getting farther away; I could definitely hear those voices—”Demon,” “Abyss,” “Terrifying Monster.” They were practically shouting those words! The townsfolk that managed to survive were all running scared, and honestly, they weren’t just afraid of the Jester, but…
So what if they ran? They wouldn’t taste good anyway.
And all that chattering, nagging on my nerves—why didn’t the Jester just finish them off? Just k*ll them all!
That thought flickered through my mind. I quickly dismissed those voices from my head, not wanting to even glance back. Their lives didn’t concern me. No matter how it went, it didn’t matter. d*mn Jester, don’t try to change the topic and waste my eating time…
Gurgle—
d*mn, my stomach growled again.
How the heck do I eat this d*mn bl**d pearl?
I wiped my mouth, brow furrowed in annoyance, and urged, “Do you still want this crappy pearl or not?”
“Ahahahaha—”
The monster burst into raucous laughter, its tone exuberant. “Miss Silvya, you really don’t care about them anymore, do you? What now? They all saw you looking like this.”
“So what?”
I stopped around ten meters away from the monster, pointing at the pearl and raising my head, my impatience nearing its peak. “What is this thing, anyway?”
“I told you. Will you give me the Tear of the Goddess back?”
“Yeah, sure. What do I want that for?” I lied to the monster.
Truth is, I was just a bit curious.
Before I figured out how to eat it, I wanted to know what kind of magical power it held that made the Gate of Truth and the Church fight over it, sacrificing so many lives in the process… and those kids in Cataloma… They… uh…
I thought of those withered faces, those skinny, tiny bodies, their heads brutally chopped off to bleed, just to make this pearl…
“Mmm…”
Thinking of this, a sudden sharp pain hit my head, and I couldn’t help but rub my temples.
…What am I…
doing?
Olivia and the others are still outside the town fighting that woman. If I wait any longer, they’ll all d*e too… I need to k*ll the Jester fast and get back… but what am I going back for… I must… eat… I can’t eat this pearl… it’s made of the children’s bl**d… I have to destroy it… I must…
Whoosh—
A golden glow shot in from behind, dazzling holy lance cutting through the air, rushing toward the monster floating above.
A divine miracle…
The moment that wind whooshed by, the sharp holy lance shot toward the Jester, but he merely sidestepped, his giant body swaying swiftly like a slippery fish in water, effortlessly dodging the strike, letting the light graze past his fur and sh**t into the night sky. The next moment, the Jester and I both turned our heads in unison, staring at the source of the golden light.
What came into view was the charred ruins of a church that had long since collapsed.
Among the crumbling walls, scarlet flames still flickered, now scanty, while the blackened wooden beams continued to fall apart. Most of the walls had melted down into red sludge, flowing down the once-stony path. An elderly man, supported by a faint light barrier, stumbled out of the ruins. His left hand hung limply, right hand clutching his chest, with burn marks all over his face and body, looking utterly weak—barely hanging on by a thread.
“You old coot, you’re still alive,” the monster said with a hint of surprise. “After being hit by that infernal fire, you’re still breathing. You’re an old bone, I wouldn’t have guessed you had it in you.”
The old man staggered closer, his white beard and hair nearly burned away, half his face maimed and blackened beyond recognition. I couldn’t tell who he was, but after firing that shot, he ignored the monster entirely, instead locking his bl**d-red gaze onto me. “You… are… cough cough…”
As he spoke, bl**d continued to spill from his mouth, seemingly unable to believe his eyes. “Silly… Silvya…”
Huh?
Does this old guy know me?
The headache seemed to ease a bit. I looked at the old man, shuffling and barely able to stand, raising an eyebrow. “Who are you?”
“Sil…vya… You… You actually… Why do you have… the power of the Abyss…”
