Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Chapter 49: Greed (2)
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“That Siegfried bastard. What part of him made you think he was a kid?”
Kiriel felt an urge to smack Jamie on the head for his sly grin.
At the same time, she recalled one clause from the soul contract.
-If the item cannot be obtained, all contract terms are automatically voided upon the return of the blank check.
She shouldn't have included such a condition.
No, the deal had only gone through because of that condition.
In the first place, Kiriel hadn't even considered the blank check being returned. Her wealth was so vast it was hard to count, making it impossible for her to fail to buy the item with money.
Yet not only had she not spent a dime, they'd gotten it for free.
Both Siegfried and Jamie.
“What the hell happened that you two just walk away with the blank checks?”
“It's complicated to explain. Let's just say there was big trouble at the auction house.”
“Tch. That Gehenna prick. Treating an auction like this...”
Kiriel frowned at the consecutive losses.
“But is that okay? Gehenna never does business at a loss. He'll do anything to track down the thieves.”
Kiriel knew Gehenna Bernstein well.
The man who ruled the northern continent's underworld was ruthlessly vicious.
Jamie laughed in response.
“It wasn't stolen, so no need to worry about being tracked.”
“What does that mean?”
“You don't seem that curious anyway. Let's get back to our deal. Time's short.”
Jamie steered the conversation straight to the point, refusing to beat around the bush any longer.
Kiriel clicked her tongue. If anyone ever called Jamie a normal kid again, she'd give them a piece of her mind herself. She vowed it.
“...The contract said you get to take the blank check, right?”
“Don't even think about ripping me off.”
“Tch.”
She'd thrown it out just in case, but got nothing for it.
“What do you want?”
“You should make the offer, Kiriel.”
The tables had turned.
Kiriel had never been outmaneuvered in a deal her whole life. She'd concede points herself if needed, but being psychologically cornered? Unthinkable.
Yet this kid before her acted like he'd done deals like this a hundred times.
“Fine, then. You wanted that item auctioned off at the house, right?”
“Yes.”
“Unexpected.”
She'd thought since they'd gotten it for free, they hadn't even made it to the auction. Apparently not.
Her curiosity grew. What exactly had happened for Siegfried and Jamie to snag the auction items for nothing?
“How high did the bidding go? The price has to match...”
“Eight hundred million.”
“...What?”
“Eight hundred million gold.”
Kiriel was speechless.
She thought she'd misheard.
800 million gold. Do you know how much that is?
She'd done countless businesses and deals. Anything over 100 million was big, and over 500 million was rare enough to count on one hand.
Yet 800 million.
“Don't toy with an adult.”
“I swear on my soul. No lie.”
A faint mana pulsed from the soul contract she held.
Proving Jamie's words true.
Her mind reeled. What item could possibly fetch 800 million gold?
Even the shadow sheep's heart wasn't worth that.
No, the Ione fragment Siegfried took would fetch maybe 500 million at best.
“What can you offer? By the way, money's fine. I don't need it.”
Money was good, but she didn't need 800 million of it.
Kiriel's wrinkles deepened.
She pressed her furrowed brow with her fingers.
If he'd asked for 800 million gold, she could pay it. A massive sum, but manageable.
'If it means meeting my son.'
Decision made, Kiriel spoke.
“I'll give you a staff. One of a kind in the world, worth 800 million gold.”
“...Not your staff, right?”
“Hmph. This is just a wooden staff.”
Kiriel snapped her fingers, and an ornate case appeared in midair.
A powerful force emanated from the diamond-shaped red gem embedded in the center.
A magic stone. A very high-grade one.
The central red magic stone sealed the entire case with immense power.
“This?”
“Yes.”
Kiriel placed her wrinkled hand on the case.
Mana gathered at her five fingertips, making the red gem flash. The seal began to unravel.
With a click, the lock released.
The case slowly opened, and Jamie couldn't help but gasp at the contents.
Kiriel smiled and lifted the staff.
“Its name is Beyond Avalon. Made by refining a mana core from the mana vortex at the heart of the Forbidden Zone 'Lake Tarink'—one of the Six Great Forbiddens.”
Lake Tarink!
A relatively recent Forbidden Zone, discovered by the explorer Tarink.
At the center of this massive lake swirled a vortex raging 365 days a year.
Immense mana was measured from it, but the cause remained unknown—only that vast mana had condensed.
The problem was the vortex's properties. The particles it emitted acted as a horrific poison on the human body: short-term skin necrosis, long-term organ mutation, a hopeless incurable disease.
No antidote yet, and even Sword Masters failed to explore it.
Thus, designated one of the Six Great Forbiddens by the continent's powers.
“A mana core from a place like that?”
Impossible by Jamie's common sense.
A land called Forbidden because it can't be explored, and someone got a mana core from it?
It would have been huge news for ages.
“The world holds many secrets, little one.”
“That means...”
“Not that Lake Tarink has been conquered. The thing inside is too vast for current humanity to handle.”
Kiriel wielded influence worldwide and knew much accordingly.
Jamie frowned, and she shook her head.
“Don't pry too much. Just take this as your reward.”
Kiriel shook Beyond Avalon.
A staff meaning 'Beyond the Ideal Utopia.' No idea why the name, but one thing was clear.
'Insanely powerful mana contained within.'
It seemed to hold special powers too, but hard to tell just by looking.
One certainty: priceless, unobtainable with money.
Exactly what Jamie wanted.
“That's plenty.”
Kiriel chuckled.
“Can't hand it over yet. I've shown you the item. Your turn.”
“Huh?”
“You already got the item, right? Without my check, you couldn't even try. No clue how you got it free, but without me, no chance at all. Right?”
Jamie flinched this time.
She was right.
“But the blank check came back too. So now you concede. Guide me to the shadow world. Fail, and I won't forgive you just because you're a kid.”
That was the deal.
'No big deal.'
Kiriel wasn't one to break promises, and helping her enter the shadow world wasn't hard.
As she said, the auction entry was thanks to the check, so conceding was fair.
“Fine.”
“Follow me. It's ready.”
Space shifted.
Warp.
Ars Magna laid worldwide with warp devices—true enough.
'Vast space.'
Incredibly so.
Mana leaking everywhere indicated expansion magic.
At the center, a massive magic circle, with required magic items in place.
Kiriel flew to the circle's center and set down the shadow sheep's heart.
“Prep's done. Your turn now. Can I trust you?”
“Isn't that why we made the soul contract?”
“Sharp tongue. Begin.”
Kiriel stepped back, Jamie taking her place.
The magic circle was flawless.
Worth the long preparation.
No flaws, so Jamie deployed mana without worry.
Mana absorbed into the circle, shaking the items in position.
Mana from the magic circle surged into the shadow sheep's heart.
The heart expanded.
Dead veins revived, pulsing.
Darkness flowed through severed vessels instead of blood.
The circle's lines devoured by darkness. Black water rising to ankles.
Whoosh!!
The heart burst.
Black water seeped into the circle, all lines vanishing without trace.
Shadows engulfed it.
From the ruptured heart, a strand of darkness—a shadow—rose.
The black line stretched to the ceiling, then split left and right.
'...The gate to the shadow world.'
Kiriel, watching from behind, saw the massive passage before Jamie.
Within the split black line's huge corridor, murky colors swirled in chaos.
'Terrifying power.'
Just opening it, the glimpsed shadow world held an abyss absent from the human realm.
They said passing through led to the afterlife. She'd thought worst case no loss, but now she was convinced.
'That world might truly connect to the afterlife!'
Fierce desire blazed in Kiriel's eyes.
Her young son's face, clear in death throes, begging not to die. But she could do nothing.
Until now.
'Finally!'
Her son waited.
Kiriel walked toward the gate as if drawn.
“No.”
Jamie halted her.
He turned slightly, eyes cold.
“No permission yet. You have to wait.”
“Then hurry!!”
Time was precious.
Kiriel yearned to meet her son.
“Wait here. I'll go inside.”
“...What?”
“Permission comes from the king himself.”
Normally, providing the price ended it.
Now, wait quietly for the Lord of Darkness's approval—but Jamie wouldn't sit idle.
Getting it personally was faster. Though riskier.
“Quickly, be quick.”
Jamie noted the slight change in Kiriel's eyes.
He shrugged and entered the gate.
A voice echoed.
[This aura. This power. Who are you?]
Seductive yet mighty.
Hearing it after so long, Jamie smiled unwittingly.
“Appearance changed, but disappointing not to recognize an old friend.”
[...Friend?]
Darker shadows bubbled in the darkness.
First formed a lavish throne, then atop it, a lithe nude woman crossed her legs.
She with long wine-red straight hair and purple skin opened silver eyes.
“Could you be...”
“Queen of Darkness, Venus. Pleased to see you like this.”
“Ha. Hahaha!”
The Queen of Darkness laughed delightedly.
Then, voice thrilled, she spoke.
“Diablo Volpir, have you returned once more!”
The shadow world.
A realm untouched by the 12 Gods.
And the world where Diablo Volpir created 'black mana.'