Chapter 221: Mobius Mountains (4)

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• Adventurer GrimV

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Vivian was still in her 5-meter-tall Demon form as she sat on the ground.

In front of her were the remaining captives: a child, two women and a man. They were all on the ground as well and their faces still painted with despair and terror.

As for Carlito, Vivian's first and only minion, he was still busy gathering the coins that she ordered him to do.

I read the papers at my office regarding the rogue settlements located in the Mobius Mountains…

But there was no mention of Ramirez…

Is Ramirez that weak and insignificant in the Holy Crusade didn't bother to mention his existence…?

Or do the local authorities have that strong of a pull to keep him a secret…?

Her identity as an Inquisitor flashed inside her head.

Who was the previous Inquisitor in my previous post…?

Why didn't he or she mention it…?

Or perhaps he or she wasn't aware…?

As far as I know, there are no Inquisitors stationed in cities, towns and villages…

Rogue settlements...

A breeding ground for demons, demon-kins, the Cult of Infinity and heretics…

What should I do if his death becomes a problem for me…?

As an Inquisitor, what should I do…?

She shook her head mentally.

I still have no idea how powerful the Aristocratic Nobles are…

The fact that I almost died from just a rogue settler like Ramirez should be proof of their strength…

But then again, one could also argue that maybe Ramirez was an anomaly that the local authorities had no choice but to make a compromise with him…

A dark expression appeared on her face.

Had Ramirez been a Bard and he used [Whistle] on me, I would've been dead already…

The Class Magic Spell [Whistle] temporarily locks a target's access to their Physical and Magical Arts for a short period of time and the higher the Magic Force of the caster compared to the target, the higher the chance of success.

Her head started to ache.

Whatever…

She let out a sigh.

Has my head gotten a little big…?

Ever since I joined the Temple of Priests, how many have been able to overpower me or stand to-toe-to with me when it came to fighting…?

She tried to recall her memories.

There's Joshua…

There's Marie…

There's Isaac…

And there's Gars…

But then again, it was only Marie that I directly fought with…

Aside from her, I have been able to bulldoze my way through every obstacle…

She was about to touch her face but stopped after remembering that she was in her demonic form.

I guess I also have to thank my pretty face…

If I was still a man, or worse, an ugly or old woman, I doubt if anyone would tolerate the things I've done…

A good example would be my time at the Training Course…

My face was covered…

But I guess thanks to the letter and medal that Sister Annabelle gave me, I was able to keep the Inquisitors, especially Blanch, from hounding me…

She let out another sigh.

But regardless…

If someone like Ramirez could exist in a rogue settlement, then I can only imagine how powerful the Aristocratic Noble families are, especially their heads…

I'm such a fool for not realizing it sooner that the Nobles I've met at Luxen City and Training Camp were nothing but the bottom of the barrels in the Noble society…

She recalled the letter that Joshua sent her.

I think the Luxen Chapter Temple was offering me the title of a Lady…?

Whatever…

She raised her head and stared at the night sky.

The more reason I should train like crazy…

Nothing more, nothing less…

But most importantly...

What the hell was that…?!

All that fighting to the point I almost died…

In the end, I learned no new skills or spells, or even level up…!

The risk-reward ratio isn't worth it…!

Like seriously, all those hours I spent in training and no real rewards…

She glanced at one of her hands and formed a fist.

This victory feels so hollow…

Is this what those lowlife gangsters from my previous world feel like…?

What a pathetic way to waste your life…

No wonder they only end up dead or in jail…

And some people actually look up or want to emulate them…

What a sad life…

And they say that all life is equal…

All of a sudden, Vivian noticed at the corner of one of her eyes a blue-colored nervous system approaching her but she didn't bother to move.

Thud.

The blue-colored nervous system's eyes became wide as the [Power Fist] didn't even manage to scratch Vivian's skin, let alone move her.

Wooo-chud!

In the blink of an eye, Vivian caught the nervous system with one of her hands and brought it in front of her face.

"What do we have here?"

"Mar-WHERE mar-IS mar-GRANDFATHER mar-AND mar-THE mar-REST?! Mar-WHAT mar-HAVE mar-YOU mar-DONE, mar-DEMON?!"

Hearing the voice, Vivian learned that it was a young man.

"Heh~ There's still one that hasn't lost their fighting spirit yet?"

The young man ignored Vivian and turned to the rest of the captives.

"Mar-WHAT mar-HAPPENED mar-HERE?! Mar-WHERE mar-IS mar-EVERYONE?!"

The two women hugged the child and started sobbing silently. Meanwhile, the man raised his head and looked at him.

"Romero, mar-everyone mar-is mar-dead, mar-including mar-your mar-grandfather… Mar-It's mar-just mar-us mar-now…"

Romero's eyes became wide and his face turned pale.

"Mar-Dead…? Mar-Everyone…?"

"Are you sad that you were late for the party?" Vivian said with an amused tone.

"AAAHHH!!!" Romero screamed at the top of his lungs as he tried to break away from Vivian's hand.

Seeing him desperately struggle to no avail, Vivian couldn't help but let out a chuckle and the tentacles on her mouth wiggled.

So helpless…

Reminds me of a kitten or puppy…

So tempting to torture it even further…

Romero jerked his head and turned to Vivian. If looks could kill, then she would've died already with the way he was glaring at her which was filled with intense hatred.

"Mar-I mar-WILL mar-KILL mar-YOU!!! Mar-YOU mar-ARE mar-DEAD!!! Mar-I mar-SWEAR mar-TO mar-THE mar-ELEMENTAL mar-GODS mar-I mar-WILL mar-KILL mar-YOU mar-NO mar-MATTER mar-WHAT!!!" he said and began thrashing wildly.

[Poison Strike].

Psssh!

A green mist exploded around Romero. However, it didn't come from Vivian.

"Oh? You also have Poison Affinity?"

And because the mist exploded around Romero, he was affected by the weakening effect, causing his body to limp a bit. But his eyes were still locked on Vivian and still filled with intense hate. 

Vivian, on the other hand, continued to stare at him with amusement. And although the green mist managed to touch her skin so she was also supposed to be affected by the weakening effect, her Magic Force was too high that it did not affect her.

"That's not how you use [Poison Strike], little human."

[Cleanse].

A green light enveloped Romero's body and the weakening effect vanished.

"This is how you use it."

[Poison Strike].

Psssh!

Romero's body completely went limp and his head hung loosely on his shoulders as if he was a ragged doll.

Vivian was about to bring him near her mouth when she suddenly noticed two red-colored nervous systems came rushing at her.

It was a Bukaroo and a Moon Tail.

Whaa-riiip!

They burst into a mist of blood with a single whip of her tail.

"Annoying redies."

"Chico... Chula..." Romero said weakly. "Julietta... Mar-I'm mar-sorry..."

Vivian resumed bringing Romero closer to her mouth and her tentacles parted away, revealing a chinless jaw that a circular and nightmarish mouth with 4 rows of teeth. Her long snake-like tongue slithered out of her mouth and wrapped around his body before pulling him down her mouth.

Crunch.

Crunch.

When her tentacles concealed her mouth, the sound of flesh tearing and bones being crushed could be heard. The two women and child closed their eyes and turned away as they cried in horror. Meanwhile, the man stared in silence but was shaking uncontrollably that one could hear his teeth chattering against each other.

Gulp.

When Vivian was finally done eating Romero, she turned to the captives.

"Silence!" 

The two women immediately stopped sobbing and one of them comforted the child to stop. As for the man, he cast his gaze down and only the Elemental Gods knew what he was thinking.

Carlito finally returned and he was still in his 5-meter-tall demon form.

"Master, these are the coins I could find…!"

There were bags of coins and a medium-sized treasure chest, and they were laid out in front of her on top of a blanket.

"Did you count the coins?"

"I… I --…"

Vivian raised one hand, indicating for him to stop.

"I'll do it myself."

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak!

She transformed into a 3-meter-tall Demon with one of her demonic eyes reverting to its human form and then picked up a coin.

This coin…

The coin in front of her was a copper coin but with a different design.

So this is what the Marbleam currency looks like…

During her time at Basic Training and the Training Course, she also learned about the different currencies of the kingdoms.

Back in my time at Luxen City, I was too poor to notice them…

Well, to be fair…

The Adventurer Guild uses Luxen currency while the Temple of Priests uses Holy currency…

On top of that, all or at least most of the monetary rewards I received from doing Holy Missions were deposited into my Class Crystal…

What were the exchange rates again…?

She tried to recall them.

1 Luxen copper coin is anywhere between 0.65-0.70% Twin copper coin…

1 Holy copper coin was around 0.90% Twin copper coin…

But for the Marbleam currency, there's no official exchange between the Twin and Marbleam kingdoms because they have a complicated relationship…

She turned to Carlito.

"What is the exchange rate between the Marbleam and Twin currencies?"

He thought about it for a moment before finally answering.

"Last I checked, which was last month, Master, 1 Marbleam copper coin was around half a Twin copper coin in the black market, Master…" he said and bowed.

"So 0.50%?"

His eyes blinked a few times.

"Yes, Master…!"

What a failure of a minion…

But then again…

What else can I expect from a rogue settler…?

"And the Holy currency?"

"1 Marbleam copper is around three quarters a Holy copper, Master…"

"So around 0.75% or 3/4?"

"Yes, Master…"

Vivian began counting the coins.

***

Some time later….

Hmm…

There are 102 pieces of copper, 82 pieces of silver, 32 pieces of gold and 5 pieces of Platinum coins…

She turned to Carlito.

"Is this village poor or you didn't search properly?"

Thud!

He got down on his knees and slammed his head on the ground.

"Master, I swear to the Elemental Gods and my life that these are the only coins that the settlement has…! This settlement doesn't that much coins because we have to pay a huge monthly tax to the nearby towns and villages due to Ramirez's refusal to tie himself deeply with the local Lords…!"

Vivian returned her gaze to the coins.

Well…

At least transporting these coins would be easier…

She wrapped the coins with a single blanket and picked it up.

"Move aside."

"Yes, Master…!" Carlito said before quickly getting up and stepping to the side as Vivian made her way to the captives.

Seeing Vivian walking towards them, the despair and terror that was already in their hearts skyrocketed. The child began crying uncontrollably and the adults started begging profusely to let them live or serve her.

"WAAAAH! Mar-MAMA! Mar-PAPA!"

"Mar-PLEASE, mar-GREAT mar-DEMON, mar-PLEASE mar-SPARE mar-US!"

"Mar-WE mar-BEG mar-YOU, mar-PLEASE mar-LET mar-US mar-SERVE mar-

YOU! Mar-WE mar-PROMISE mar-TO mar-BE mar-FOREVER mar-LOYAL!"

"PLEASE LET ME SERVE YOU, MASTER GREATER DEMON! I CAN SPEAK ZONIAN AS WELL!"

Carlito looked at them with worry and pity and he prayed that Vivian would spare them.

[Greater Origin Transformation].

Blaaak!

She transformed back into a 5-meter-tall Demon.

[Power Claw].

Whoo-riiip!

They all turned into a mist of blood and guts.

Vivian turned to Carlito. Although he was in his demon form, she could tell that he was shocked by what she did and he was shaking.

"Tell me, are you angry, disappointed or sad that I killed them?"

He swallowed.

"N-Neither, Master…"

"They were your friends or perhaps relatives, right?"

"O-One of the women was my relative… But serving you is more important, Master..."

"Come here."

"Y-Yes, Master…" he said and stepped closer.

She sent out a mental command.

Blaaak!

Carlito reverted to his human form and was completely naked. A moment of confusion flashed across his face but he quickly returned his focus to Vivian.

"I-I-I p-promise to be l-loyal and serve you forever, Master…"

"I know."

Vivian slowly reached out to him with one of her hands, her giant fingers wrapping around his body.

Carlito tried to speak, but no voice came out of his mouth, only the sound of his teeth chattering.

"Why are you trembling? Is serving me such an unpleasant experience?"

"N-No, Master…! I would never feel such a thing…! I'm actually very happy to service a powerful demon such as yourself…!"

"Really now."

She sent out another mental command. This time around, it was to prevent him from using any skill and spell.

Carlito's eyes became wide.

"Unfortunately, you're too pathetic."

Crack!

Before he could speak, Vivian pushed her giant thumb on his face and broke his neck.

Ding!

'Unlocked [Minion Killer] Lore!'

She ignored the notification. 

Riiip! 

Riiip! 

Riiip! 

Riiip!

She ripped out Carlito's right arm, right leg, left leg and half of his left arm, and then ate them.

Ding!

'Unlocked [Cannibal] Lore!'

She continued ignoring the notification and placed the remaining torso down.

[Resurrection] requires at least 50% of the body in order to work…

But checking Chaos and Lesser Chaos Affinities doesn't…

This idiot would be a great diversion…

And if those corrupt authorities are smart enough, they would blame this person as the main culprit for the destruction of this rogue settlement and label the case as closed…

As far as Vivian knows, each Duke/Duchess, Marquis/Marquise and Count/Countess have their own Viscount/Viscountess and Baron/Baroness. However, all of them are only allowed to have 1 estate, 1 town and 1 village each in order to keep the balance of power in check. Anyone who violates this law will be severely punished.

That was the rule, at least on paper.

If they leave this case alone, great for me…

If they try to pursue this case, I can use my authority as an Inquisitor to question them how did they know such a place exists, how is a place like this allowed to exist, and why do they care about this place…

I doubt if a kingdom would dare start a conflict with the Temple of Priests over a rogue settlement…

Vivian swept her gaze around the ruins of the rogue settlement.

However…

The biggest issue here is Ramirez…

Damn that useless old man…!

If only he didn't exist, my plan would've been perfect…!

Vooom!

She rushed back to where she left her clothes.

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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

By the way, I’ve posted this chapter at WebNovel, Royal Road and Patreon. However, the main is P-a-t-r-e-o-n (Immortal_Shades) because I want to post pictures and videos there without any restrictions.

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Chapter end