Chapter 2646 – 2646. Dark Moon

I sat in the emptied workshop, preparing for the move, and stared at the glass bottle on the desk.

A glass bottle filled with red liquid. Alchemic blood. It was something Yuria had given me.

‘Alphatiere coveted this thing.’

Considering they sent a low-level corporate agent to get it, it might not be that important.

‘If they really wanted it, they wouldn’t have sent some mediocre guys, but the real deal.’

From Alphatiere’s perspective, alchemic blood would be nice to have, but not essential.

‘Blood that allows you to use alchemy even if you don’t know it.’

Of course, the alchemy you can do is limited. It’s mostly just changing the blood itself into metal or causing transformations in metal. Since it uses mana, ordinary people without mana can’t use it.

‘Even if its value has increased due to Adarium’s influence, it’s not powerful enough for a giant corporation like Alphatiere to covet. Alchemy is objectively weak in combat. Using alchemic blood for self-defense is inefficient. If they need alchemy, they can just hire an alchemist. …What Alphatiere was after was probably the method of embedding alchemic formulas in the blood.’

I figured out that method. It wasn’t particularly difficult. Analyzing it with magic gave me the answer right away.

‘They just engraved cellular-level formulas into the blood of an alchemist above level 5.’

I don’t know how they engraved it. Alphatiere is probably after that technology, or perhaps the blood itself.

Looking at the alchemic blood, I considered two options.

One was to request an analysis of the alchemic blood from a specialized research institution. However, there’s a good chance Alphatiere would get involved. That would make them fully aware of my existence.

‘Even though LK Corp is growing rapidly, it will take a lot of time to become a match for giant corporations like Alphatiere.’

The second option was to use blood magic.

Naturally, this was easier for me. The problem was that its accuracy was lower than what a research institution could achieve. Specialized research institutions have accumulated data, but I had none. Just putting the blood into a machine and pressing a button would give all sorts of blood information.

‘On the other hand, blood magic isn’t that convenient. The information I can get is limited. Moreover, this blood has already been processed once. Blood magic might not perform at its best. The worst-case scenario is that the alchemic blood itself could be damaged by the effects of blood magic. Even if blood magic succeeds, the results might not be as good as expected.’

After much deliberation, I chose blood magic.

It was a matter of risk. It was better for me to fail alone than for Alphatiere to know that I was hostile to them.

Floating.

The glass bottle floated in the air. The lid of the bottle fell off due to telekinesis, and the alchemic blood spilled out. A magic circle was drawn in the air, and the alchemic blood was fixed at its center, not falling.

[Blood Scan]

The level 5 blood magic was successfully activated. The blood’s information appeared in my mind.

‘A man in his 30s. Brown hair. Blue eyes. A congenital asthma patient. …That’s all I can find out.’

I stored the alchemic blood for now.

I might be able to track it with Blood Chaser magic, but I didn’t have time for that right now.

The task I needed to focus on now was moving to the mansion.

‘I can’t be 100% sure that the original owner of this blood is related to Alphatiere. They might even be dead already. Whatever the case, it’s not urgent enough to do right now.’

The task I needed to focus on now was moving.

• • •

The day before the move.

I headed to the mansion in District D with Yuria.

The mansion was more than three times larger than the one in District G where I was staying. It was a literal mansion. In terms of size, it was one of the largest in District D.

Moreover, although it was in District D, it was close to the border of District A, so its location was excellent. Not only was security guaranteed, but there was even a small ley line under the mansion. If I set up a workshop, it would be a great help for magic research and training.

The mansion building itself was completely demolished and rebuilt five years ago, so it was quite nice.

‘Even if I’m doing well now, I wouldn’t normally be able to get a mansion like this. I still lack the money and connections compared to the great nobles of Neo London.’

In other words, there had to be a flaw in this mansion.

For reference, this mansion was cursed by a demon. Not some superstition, but for real. A demon on par with a transcendent had cursed the mansion.

The previous owner of this mansion was a royal who, as a demon worshiper, succeeded in summoning a demon through human sacrifice, but was cursed by the demon for trying to cheat on the contract. The demon worshiper died, and the mansion was seized by the council and put up for auction.

And I was the one who bid on and received this mansion. The demon’s curse remained in the mansion, so I got it at an incredibly low price.

Today, I came with Yuria to resolve the demon’s curse.

“You don’t have to come with me. You should go back to the mansion and rest, since you finally got a day off.”

“It’s already too late, Master. I won’t be a hindrance to you now. And since I’ll be managing this mansion from now on, I feel a sense of responsibility.”

Honestly, it was reassuring to have Yuria with me, so I didn’t force her to go back. Two level 7s. We would be able to resolve the mansion’s curse more reliably.

We walked towards the entrance of the mansion. Unlike other places, the mansion was gray. The entire mansion grounds had turned gray due to the curse.

Before entering the main gate, I looked at the ground. There were several footprints. It seemed someone had gone inside through the gate.

“There weren’t any footprints like this when we came the day before yesterday.”

“An intruder, then. District D has good security, so there are no homeless people. They clearly broke in with intent.”

“It’s surprising that they entered through the main gate so openly. Does that mean they have no intention of hiding? At this point, I’m curious about the intruder’s intentions.”

I took out the key from my inventory and inserted it into the gate. Click! The key turned without me turning it, as if a strange force was acting on it. And the door opened on its own.

“It doesn’t seem to be the kind of curse that repels people.”

“The council’s report said that it wasn’t a dangerous or malicious curse that required the immediate destruction of the mansion itself.”

“What kind of curse is it specifically?”

“A prank curse.”

“Hmm. When you put it that way, it sounds like a really minor curse.”

“Three knights and seven triple-class servants, and eleven double-class or lower servants died. Don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes, Master.”

[Electric Detection]

I started by using detection magic. But the detection magic didn’t extend out, as if it was blocked by something.

‘…There’s no problem with the flow of mana. Is it interfering with the phenomenon itself, not the mana?’

We walked through the garden, being cautious of our surroundings.

-Choo choo! The train is leaving!

A voice mixed with laughter was heard, and the air distorted, and a train appeared. The train was heading straight for me and Yuria at full speed.

Before I could even use a split second, Yuria grabbed my hand and pulled me to the side. The train quickly passed where we had been and disappeared into the distorted space.

“Was that an overzealous intervention?”

“No. Thanks to you, I saved my strength.”

I realized that Yuria’s reaction speed was much faster than mine. It wasn’t that I was slow, but that Yuria was excessively fast.

Anyway, we continued towards the mansion. The curse continued. The ground suddenly turned into lava, or thousands of man-eating rats fell from the sky.

“So this is the level of pranks in Neo London. I’m surprised.”

“…That report itself was a prank. Maybe the curse drove the report writer insane.”

Even a level 7 could die if they let their guard down.

And we passed through the garden and reached the front of the mansion. A man was hanging from a tree in front of the mansion. The man’s face skin had been forcibly peeled off and painted with white powder. The clothes he was wearing were the light bulletproof armor that mercenaries usually wore. His right arm looked like it had been eaten by a monster.

“Judging by the size and shape of his shoes, this is the intruder.”

“…The thing in the torn backpack is a bomb. That bomb could blow up this mansion. …Did he come to the mansion with the intention of blowing it up? He might be a victim of the curse or a family member.”

That’s when it happened.

The body of the hanging corpse twitched and swelled.

[Barrier]

As soon as I sensed something, I used a barrier that enveloped me and Yuria.

The corpse swelled up to its limit and then shot up into the sky. And then it exploded. Bang! A brilliant firework was painted in the sky.

“Kekekekekaka! Isn’t it pretty?! Isn’t it pretty?! You humans like fireworks! Say it’s pretty!!”

The door of the mansion, which had been open, was now visible. In front of it, a doll with a long nose was laughing loudly.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the doll.

That wasn’t a demon. But it was also a demon. A medium of curse containing the thoughts of a demon.

“I didn’t expect you to show up on your own. You saved me some time.”

I raised my right hand. A pure white light emanated from my hand.

“Ew. You handle that disgusting thing so well.”

“Divine mana. It’s an effective power against you demons. Before I kill you, let me ask you. What’s your name?”

“It’s Baal!”

“Baal, the first in the hierarchy? You’re spouting nonsense that even a passing dog wouldn’t believe. Just die.”

[Divine Buster]

The pure white light exploded.

It didn’t have much physical power. Divine Buster was a divine magic that only damaged the enemy. It was very lethal to undead or demon-type enemies.

But the doll was fine, with only its surface scorched.

“Kekekekekaka! Weak, weak! I won’t die with just this much.”

“……”

I silently prepared another magic. If divine magic didn’t work, I would just crush it with physical force. The mansion building would be partially damaged, but… it couldn’t be helped. It was urgent to get rid of the trash in front of me first.

Crackling….

A blue lightning flashed and disappeared.

The space distorted. The curse that had been surrounding the mansion began to reorganize itself around me and Yuria.

It was a colosseum. We were facing each other on the arena.

The doll sitting in the spectator seats laughed savagely and said.

“I hate couples! It’s annoying to watch! Well, you get it, right? Kill each other quickly!!”