“You fainted after the demonic spirit entered your body,” Lex said with slight worry. “I didn’t think you would wake up…” She was still talking when Sergio grabbed her shoulder with a rageful expression.


    “What do you think you are doing?!” The alchemist roared in her face, making the Gunmaster flinch. The skin on her shoulder turned blue under Sergio’s powerful grip. “You gave him such knowing it would harm him?!”


    Even Niki was taken aback by Sergio’s wrath. The alchemist was gentler than a priest usually, and he would always seek out harmless means.


    “I… I didn’t think there was a demonic spirit in the weapons…” Lex stuttered under Sergio’s cold eyes. He gritted his teeth together as his grip tightened.


    “Calm down, Sergio.” Niki appeared beside him and patted his shoulder. “I’m not hurt in any way.”


    “Still,” Sergio spat. “She gave you that item knowing that it would harm you. What if you never woke up again?” Niki’s heart warmed by seeing how much Sergio cared about him.


    “Don’t worry. I don’t n on dying. How about you let go of her? She’s about to bleed out.”


    Sergio flinched when he heard that and released his grip on the Gunmaster. Retreating away from the two with a pained expression, the Gunmaster rubbed her shoulder as she red at them.


    “You lost to me, and I told you it could be dangerous,” Lex said with a frown. “If he dares to touch me again, I’ll retaliate.”


    “Bring it on.” Sergio spat as he gripped his sleeve, taking out three ck vials. Niki’s eyes widened as he hurried to hold him back.


    “Are you nning on burying us here?” Niki whispered, knowing full well what these vials were. They were thetest product of Sergio’s madness. “Everyone should just shut up and calm down. I said I was fine.”


    The two red at each other and turned away angrily. Niki sighed and released Sergio before turning to look around. They were still in their pavilion, and there was no darkness.


    [You have devoured a Demonic Spirit.]


    [10 Mana Stats have been absorbed.]


    [You stole fate. As a result, you obtained 20 Fate Points.]


    Niki found this notification, and he was overjoyed. He finally obtained fate points, and the increase in mana was a bonus. However, a red notification came right after to dampen his mood.


    [The demonic energy strengthened the Curse of The Banished. You need to devour a Living Soul within the next 8 Hours, 23m.]


    Niki knew that he should have a day or so left, but he hoped it would be enough to find the ‘possessed dwarf’ and devour him. Even though there were more than 8 hours left, Niki could feel the ‘hunger’ already.


    “Bossman, are you alright?” Sergio walked up to him when he saw Niki’s frown. “Is it the demonic spirit?”


    “No, I think I ate something bad.” Niki shook his head. This time, he indeed ate something bad for him, even if it strengthened his mana.


    ‘Does this mean that the stronger my darkness is, the stronger the curse would be?’


    This curse will be troublesome, as Niki would have to devour more souls every time he gets stronger. It would be hard to prevent himself from getting addicted to the feeling of soul-devouring.


    “Does that mean… you can use the weapon now?” Lex asked excitedly, missing Sergio’s darkening expression entirely.


    “Are you crazy? That weapon is cursed!” Sergio red at her before turning to Niki. “Bossman, I think we need to leave.”


    “I’ll use it,” Niki replied to the Gunmaster. “Sergio, I told you that I’m fine. Furthermore, I lost.”


    “You lost because of your gun. If it didn’t break, you would have won.” Sergio said with a scowl.


    “Even so, a loss is a loss,” Niki said as he walked toward the case. However, Yuxi grabbed his arm to stop him.


    ‘He is right.’ She gestured. ‘I know that power is tempting, but you might end up dead.’


    “You talk as if you are worried about me.” Niki frowned as he nced at her hand, which was grabbing his wrist. “Let go.”


    “Bossman, she’s just worried, just like me.” Sergio appeased.


    “I know, man, I know.” Niki flicked his arm and broke free from Yuxi’s grip. “But I’m not a fool.” He said as he walked up to the case and picked up the weapon.


    “This…” Lex muttered in shock when there was no reaction.


    “The spirit said that I need to prove myself worthy, and I did,” Niki said as he looked at the ck scimitar and the chain attached to it. He picked up the other half of the weapon while the chains slid out of the case.


    “How can you fight with that?” Sergio asked with surprise. “It looks so annoying to use.”


    “That’s because you don’t know anything about it.” Lex scowled and turned toward Niki. “We need to go on a little test.”


    ***


    The sun was setting when the four left the underground forte under the disapproving gazes of Master Dwarf. Niki found it weird that the dwarf treated Lex so protectively.


    “He’s kind of like my adoptive father,” Lex answered without much thought. “I was raised by the dwarves ever since I was six years old.”


    “Didn’t you say that the weapon was a family heirloom?” Niki asked.


    “It was until they were exterminated,” Lex said, and Sergio and Yuxi looked at each other, not knowing what to say.


    “What was the reason for their extermination?” Niki asked as he sat down in Lex’s mobile vehicle. It was an ugly piece of metal with gigantic tires that could transverse the forest easily.


    “This case,” Lex said as she patted the wooden case. “They either craved it or feared it, but they had no qualms about killing us to obtain it.”


    “Your family protected something so dangerous, a demonic spirit. Why?”


    “I was too young to know, so I thought that the reason was toplete the art. However. learning that the weapon had a demonic spirit, I suspect my family was sealing it.”


    Hearing her words, Niki didn’t ask anymore. The background of Gunmaster Lex was vague in his past life as well, but no one cared. There were many families out there that didn’t survive the onught of time.


    The vehicle roared to life as Lex pressed some buttons. After letting out a cloud of smoke, the tires began rolling, and they were moving through the underground road.


    The red light of the sky greeted them at the end, and the vehicle jumped into the forest and began traversing it. They looked for a monster until they found a group of wandering goblins.


    “Time to test out your new weapons.” Lex turned off the vehicle and turned toward Niki. “Using the weapon is a different matter than simply touching it. Are you sure?”


    “I am.” Niki never came across a Dark Weapon before, making this an unexpected find. These kinds of weapons were called Cursed Items, and most of them were sealed, so not even Lilith dared to touch them.


    He removed the lid, and the dark energy still surrounded the weapons. Picking them up, Niki could feel his darkness resonate with the item.


    Niki jumped from the vehicle, and the chains fell to the ground. Looking at them silently, Niki infused the weapon with his darkness. Suddenly, the chains started getting shorter under everyone’s astonished eyes.


    “The length can be adjusted?” Lex asked with great interest as she jumped after Niki. She held her eyepatch and was about to remove it when Niki scowled at her.


    “Don’t remove it.” Niki red at her. Lex paused her actions and nodded toward him. He didn’t care if she misunderstood his reasons as discrimination. He simply didn’t want to be seen by the Celestial Eye.


    ‘What kind of thing would appear when she looks at me?’ Niki wondered as he threw the scimitar away while grabbing hold of the chains.


    The chain slid across his arm as the weapon flew toward a tree in front of him. With a flick of his hand, the scimitar shed the tree in half, and it fell with a loud sound.


    “Gi?” The goblins turned his way as Niki used his darkness to shorten the chains, bringing the weapon back into his hand.


    “Sharp,” Niki was amazed that simple touch was able to sh the tree in half neatly. The goblins ran his way with their axes and shields. “Let’s see how well it does againstrge mobs.”


    Niki held the chain and began spinning the scimitar around him. It spun fast enough to appear as arge disk beside him. The scimitars flew across the air as Niki swung at the goblins, starting the bloodshed.


    The moment that the weapon came in contact with the defenseless goblin, it tore it apart before shing the one beside it. The goblins screamed as blood gushed out everywhere.


    The fastest goblin and the one farthest away managed to roll forward, and the scimitar missed it. The goblin ran toward Niki, who was still holding the other scimitar.


    Niki took a step back while his left hand held the chain. He threw the other scimitar at the goblin, piercing its head cleanly.