NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Darkness
"Weapons stained with the blood of the gods—it's said that they once slaughtered every deity, weapons capable of severing all things in the world."
"A scroll of the 8th-tier Sealing Temple, able to immobilize all actions of monsters; from the legendary founder of sealing magic, an Si Si."
"The egg of the Setting Sun Golden Eagle, said to be a monster only found on the third level of hell. It's on sale now for just 200 silver coins."
At the market, various merchants were shouting out about wares that Aili found unbelievable.
Most of them were mysterious, odd things: legendary divine weapons, seventh- and 8th-tier magic scrolls, and eggs of magical creatures.
Things that couldn't even be acquired by royalty were on open sale here.
Aili thought this world was just too strange. A weapon that has killed all gods?
If you had something that powerful, why wouldn't you wield it yourself?
An 8th-tier Sealing Temple scroll?
I don't remember any spell by that name, and the founder of magic was Anders, not An Si Si.
The third level of hell?
You're speaking as if you've actually been there.
How did you make it out alive?
If you're so powerful, what are you doing here selling things?
Walking the Ghoul's Street, Aili witnessed the bottomless tricks these people would resort to.
Of course, this was only the surface of the Ghoul's Street—a bunch of unscrupulous merchants swindling rich fools.
Aili didn't linger for long and headed deeper in. This was the true dark side of Shayuola, unlike the outer Ghoul's Street—here was the real demonic realm.
Perpetual thick fog blanketed the area, enough to block out the blazing sun.
Because of those creatures, even magical navigation tools wouldn't work.
Ordinary people who entered could never leave, eventually becoming just another corpse strewn about.
But Aili's path forward seemed utterly casual, as if she were strolling in her own back garden.
As she walked, she inevitably attracted plenty of vermin—in this case, the "hungry ghosts" saw a maid in this place as walking food.
As she was about to round a corner, someone finally lost control.
The aroma of flesh filled their minds, desire drove them wild—they could think of nothing but devouring this piece of meat.
Eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her, eat her!
Meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat, meat!
Three people in total appeared in front of Aili, drool running unchecked from their mouths.
Aili looked at them—creatures barely human anymore.
"How pitiful. You've truly shamed humanity."
As her words fell, Aili appeared before them, palm raised to strike—but her hand stopped mid-air.
She walked past them instead, as the people behind had already collapsed.
She didn't even want to touch them; they weren't worthy of it, she thought to herself.
"Hey, what was... that?" one merchant-looking man stammered with a tremor in his voice.
"Sound burst—she shattered the air with just one hand, created a sonic boom, ruptured their brains through their ears, and even controlled the effect within a minuscule range," another man, whose face was covered with scars, replied.
"A monster... this street, another monster has appeared..."
Aili stopped in front of a shop. The door was tightly shut. She didn't walk away. Instead, she violently kicked the door open.
"Hey, hey, that's really impolite. The shop's already closed—you shouldn't do that, customer," came the greeting from an old man who was leaning back in his chair, menace tinged in his words.
"Open your eyes and see who it is,"
Aili replied. The elegance she once displayed was gone—her face only showed disgust, as if looking at a worm in the sewer.
"My, my... I never thought you'd return to this street. So, what business brings you here?"
Respect gradually crept into the old man's words.
"Give me several packets of poison—strong enough to kill instantly."
The old man turned and gave Aili a once-over.
"Is there really anyone in this area who you'd need to poison?"
Suddenly, his left arm was severed and fell to the ground—strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed.
"You should know what I hate most—you poisonous old rat."
Aili held a flashing silver blade in her hand. Combined with the fog and deathly air of the Ghoul's Street, she looked like a murderer in the misty night.
"Hahaha, even after all these years, you haven't changed a bit."
The shopkeeper picked up his severed left arm and flung it into the street.
Instantly, a crowd of people crawled to devour it, leaving not a single scrap moments later.
"Here's what you wanted. Next time, please knock like a normal person."
"It's up to me to decide how I deal with vermin."
Aili didn't turn around as she left. If possible, she wouldn't spend another minute here.
Watching Aili's disappearing figure, the shopkeeper's face became grave, and even his body changed—he transformed from an old man with a foot in the grave into a bartender-like man.
No one knew when his severed hand had grown back.
Looking at his shattered door, he muttered, "She's gotten even stronger. Seems I can't stay here any longer—it's time to move on."
After he stepped out, he saw that the beggars who had been gnawing his arm seconds ago were now corpses crawling with insects, their bodies disappearing before his eyes.
"It's gotten to this—why live on? Humans truly are beyond comprehension."
Glancing once more at his shop, he shook his head and left.
Not long after he departed, a loud "boom!" rang out. An explosion had razed his old street, and his shop vanished in flames.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn, Aili is overbearing...
Also, I think Xiya has hidden agenda...
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】