The Gluttonous Imp
Every trace of emotion drained from Cupiditas's face.
As if someone had jammed a syringe into her and sucked it all out, her expression went blank in an instant.
Yujin knew full well that this was her true face. The startled looks, the smiles—those were nothing but masks.
She can't feel emotions at all.
The only time Cupiditas ever registered any change in feeling was when she lay alone on her bed and watched those damned streams of light.
Disgusting piece of trash.
Murderous intent surged through him again. Unfortunately, he couldn't kill Cupiditas right now. More precisely, he wasn't capable of it. As he'd said only moments earlier, he still lacked the strength to put her down.
Yujin fixed her with a burning stare.
"…You really do know a great deal. Administrators, NPCs, the Great Council—and even the true nature of this light."
Her face was like a doll carved from flawless porcelain. Beautiful, yes, but without so much as a speck of feeling. That only made her more unsettling.
"I'm curious, of course, but asking wouldn't get me an answer, would it?"
"You're stating the obvious."
"Then wouldn't I be coming out behind on this deal?"
Cupiditas lifted a hand and slowly brushed her own cheek as she asked.
"Behind? Did you even listen to my offer? I clearly said I would pay a price."
"Ah—you meant you'd spare my life?"
"That's right. My Subspace, or your life. I don't need to explain which one matters more, do I? I'm the one taking the loss here."
"Hmm."
A smile rose on Cupiditas's face. She was putting the mask back on.
"Under those terms, you really would be the one shortchanged. But it's also a deal that can never form in the first place."
Yujin could not kill Cupiditas. So the condition he had set was nonsense from the start.
"Well, yeah. Fair enough."
Yujin nodded. At a mere Level 9, he couldn't so much as cut her shadow.
"But here's the thing."
His eyes narrowed.
"Even if I can't kill you, I think I could blow this damned space to pieces."
She froze mid-stroke, hand still against her cheek.
Yujin knew exactly what this place meant to Cupiditas.
"That would be a problem for you, wouldn't it?"
"That's a rather dull threat. Your bluffing is getting excessive."
"Bluffing?"
Yujin barked a short laugh.
"Do you really think so?"
His hand moved to his waist—not toward the Fire Dragon Saber [E], but toward the hilt of Black Wing [C].
A respectable sword that seals the power of a fallen angel. Its true strength still sleeps.
It was a sealed blade. For now it was only a C-grade item—but if its true power were unleashed?
It could at least put out A-grade force.
That wasn't a guess. In the first timeline, the Sword Empress had wielded this black blade, and it had been every bit that formidable.
And I've got this.
Allows the user to wield every weapon with mastery.
It was a monstrous trait—so much so that the stingy Akasha System itself had attached the word mastery. This wasn't merely about swinging a sword a little better or getting used to an unfamiliar weapon. If that were all it did, it never would have been rated S-grade.
His hand closed around the hilt.
At the same time, the sleeping blade woke.
The power of a nameless fallen angel.
A roar of black wings unfurling—and a storm erupted.
An exceptional sword imbued with the power of a fallen angel. Its true strength still sleeps.
…What?
Thanks to King of All Arms [S], the item's grade had vaulted straight up. And yet its true power was still sealed?
The seal didn't fully break?
Apparently even mastery wasn't enough to draw out this sword's real strength.
Wow.
Perhaps the blade he had prepared as a gift for the Sword Empress was even more extraordinary than he'd thought.
Anyway, that's a problem for later. For now, this is enough.
Feeling the vast power wrapping around his body, Yujin locked eyes with Cupiditas.
"Well? Still think I can't do it?"
Even holding an item of this caliber, killing her remained a distant dream. His level and mana were simply too pitiful. But if he factored in the synergy between God-Infused Body [S] and As Within, So Without [E], he was certain he could at least reduce this damned space to rubble.
Under that conviction-filled gaze, Cupiditas clicked her tongue.
"Tsk. So it wasn't bluffing after all. I never expected you could already loosen that sword's seal."
Discomfort settled over her features. Manufactured, of course—but the situation truly was a little awkward for her.
"That said."
Cupiditas continued.
"Wouldn't it all be over if I simply killed you first?"
Deals, terms—none of it mattered. If Yujin died, everything ended.
A crushing killing intent slammed into him.
Ugh. Yeah, that actually is scary.
She wasn't one of the Five Lords who ruled Terra for nothing. You needed to be at least Level 100 to even think about matching her. Even accounting for Yujin's traits, Level 20 would be the bare minimum.
Even so, he didn't back down.
"Then go ahead and try."
In the end he drew Black Wing [A] halfway from its sheath.
The fallen angel's power, dormant for so long, began to stretch and announce its presence. Enormous force settled into the blade, a destructive might that felt ready to detonate at any second. If he drew it fully, a storm of the sword would surely break loose.
Faced with Yujin genuinely prepared to fight, Cupiditas's expression grew a shade more serious.
"Are you fearless—or are you certain I won't kill you?"
"Let's say both."
"…I see."
After a brief staring contest, she raised both hands and took a step back.
"Very well. I'll count this round as your win."
Cupiditas put on a bitter smile, as if she had no intention of fighting.
"That's a relief."
Yujin exhaled a quiet sigh of relief as well. If she had truly come at him intent on killing, things would have gotten messy.
She really can't move freely, after all.
It had been a gamble he'd made because he judged his odds decently high.
NPCs can't casually kill players.
Especially for a named entity of Cupiditas's rank, the Tower's bindings gripped that much tighter. Of course, if Yujin had struck first, she would have killed him without hesitation. But Cupiditas had avoided the fight itself—and the reason was that this was the 13th Floor: the Abyss.
The one place where she could feel anything close to joy, the only sanctuary where she could rest. If a battle broke out here and even a portion of the space were destroyed, she would never endure it.
She went completely berserk in the first timeline, too.
Back when he'd learned the truth of the light and visited the Alchemists Guild to kill her, he'd tried to settle things with words—only for this place to be wrecked. She had literally gone mad. A rampage of pure frenzy. Even now, remembering it sent a chill down his spine. Of course, his sword had taken her head in the end.
Anyway, the gamble paid off again.
He'd walked in with a rough plan, and things had gone far better than expected.
"You wanted my Subspace, was it?"
"Yeah."
"Very well. I'll give it to you."
Cupiditas snapped her fingers. From empty air, a single book took shape.
A skill book.
"Unfortunately, my Subspace is bound, so even if I wanted to hand it over, I couldn't. Take this instead."
The skill book arced through the air and stopped in front of Yujin.
"…Gluttonous Imp [A]?"
Not a Subspace. Instead, an actual A-grade skill—and a name he had never heard in his life.
"What is this?"
"Exactly what it says. A book containing a skill that lets you obtain a pet called the Gluttonous Imp."
"I said I needed a Subspace."
Yujin frowned as he asked. Cupiditas only smiled.
"Learn it first. I promise you won't be disappointed."
He was a little suspicious. But that glowing A kept flickering in front of his eyes. By grade alone it matched the partially unsealed Black Wing [A].
Ah, to hell with it.
In the end the grade's temptation won. Yujin snatched up the skill book and flipped through its pages.
A strangely dark light burst free, and a skill named Gluttonous Imp [A] registered itself.
You have acquired the skill Gluttonous Imp [A].
Seeing the alert, Yujin activated the skill without hesitation. A tiny thread of mana drained away, and the space before his eyes rippled.
And then—
Something popped out.
Small, black, and oddly cute.
"A bear?"
A black bear a little larger than his palm. Soft and plush in a way kids would love, with a round, adorable face.
This is Gluttonous Imp [A]?
Name, appearance, grade—none of it matched.
"What is this thing?"
Without thinking, Yujin reached out, picked the little bear up, and asked.
"Kyaaang—!"
Whether it was ticklish or just hated the grip, the creature twisted and struggled with everything it had to escape his hand. Of course it was far too weak to manage it.
"It's a child I poured my heart into creating myself. It isn't a Subspace, but it can produce a similar effect."
"Meaning how, exactly?"
"If you have an item you want to store, try taking it out."
An item to store…
Yujin thought for a moment, then drew the Fire Dragon Saber [E] hanging at his waist. The little bear's eyes sparkled.
"Why don't you give that to the child?"
Something about it felt wrong. But if he wanted to understand the skill's effect, he had no choice but to follow her instructions. Swallowing dryly, Yujin held the large, reddish blade out in front of the little bear.
Then—
"Kyaaaaang—!"
The creature's mouth split wide open and clamped around the tip of the Fire Dragon Saber [E].
"W-wait…?"
The blade slid rapidly down the little bear's throat.
What is this? Some kind of magic trick?
He was sure he'd seen something like it on TV once. The little bear's tiny front paws worked busily, stuffing the weapon into its mouth. In only a few seconds, the Fire Dragon Saber [E] had vanished completely into its belly.
The scene was so wrong it almost induced cognitive dissonance.
"It can eat anything—regardless of size, type, or quantity. Purely in terms of storage capacity, it will outclass my Subspace."
Cupiditas explained with a proud look. Yujin stared at the little bear for a moment, then asked, as a thought struck him.
"Then how do I take things back out?"
"That's easy. The same way you use a Subspace."
"What?"
Something hideous had just flashed through his mind.
"Obviously, you put your hand into the child's mouth and pull it out."
"…Isn't this thing completely insane?"