The reason it had taken Evan three long days to complete the request and return was simple.
Immediately after encountering that damned hamster, the Inverted Pentagram on the back of his hand began glowing red, and he was drawn into an inner world.
The moment his mind connected directly to the giant hamster’s, Evan suffered violent tremors of the soul unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Until his mind could process that enormous amount of information, Evan lost control of his body.
‘That was a kind of dizziness I’d never felt before.’
When Evan regained consciousness, a child was pouring water into his mouth.
The child Evan had saved had immediately saved him in return.
Fortunately, Evan woke up, discovered that he could control the hamster, and also……
“Why do you keep clinging to me? Are you a parasite?”
He discovered that he could not get rid of it.
“What? A parasite? A paraaasite?”
The hamster bastard twisted its face into a fierce scowl.
It was astonishing that such a pathetic arrangement of facial features could produce expressions at all.
“You bound me to yourself without permission, and now you say that? Are you really a black mage? Did the meaning of ‘black mage’ change while I was asleep? To ‘shit-for-brains’?”
When Evan considered it, the hamster seemed to have a point.
Ever since the Inverted Pentagram manifested on the back of his hand, Evan had been able to alter the hamster’s size at will.
“Hmm.”
He still needed to investigate what else he could do.
In any case, it seemed certain that Evan held control over it.
That aside…… Evan picked up a length of electrical wire from the ground.
Then he swung it.
“This bastard’s got no manners.”
SMACK, SMACK.
“Graaaaaargh!”
Characteristics of the Parasite Hamster:
It is an incredible crybaby.
For now, this hamster bastard was neither more nor less than a burdensome piece of baggage attached to Evan.
“Uuurgh…… One day, I will surely…….”
Evan approached the trembling hamster bastard sprawled on the ground, crouched down, and looked at it.
“Hey.”
“Ugh, what?”
“Are you the ‘supernatural entity’ that was inside the church?”
The sight of the hamster lying on the ground caused a certain amount of cognitive dissonance, but Evan could only conclude that this creature was the entity’s true identity.
“A supernatural entity? Heh…… Is that what you inferior humans call me?”
“Act tough one more time, and I’ll put a leash on you and take you for walks. I’ll make sure to potty-train you too.”
“Eek!”
When Evan abruptly raised his hand, the hamster curled itself into a ball and trembled.
The sight made him feel guilty, as though he were abusing an innocent animal.
However, when he thought about it, this was the very hamster that had bared its teeth and claws and charged at him inside the church.
“Explain properly.”
“Ahem. Very well, you black mage bastard. I am a survivor of the race that inhabited this land before you humans ever prospered.”
Before humanity meant it existed beyond antiquity, far earlier than even the Stone Age.
‘I’ve never heard a story like this.’
This was an age in which cars flew through the sky and artificial-intelligence robots fried hamburger patties.
It had been a game where records of such a distant past did not even exist.
“Then why do you look like a hamster?”
“Because of you bastards!!”
The creature shrieked.
“Calm down and explain it properly. I’m asking nicely.”
Evan pulled the wire taut as he spoke. Respecting Evan’s solemn request, the hamster calmed down again.
“The last black mage who bound me forced me into this form.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps he had that sort of fetish.”
“What happened to that black mage?”
“He died, obviously. Do you humans live that long?”
“When was this?”
The hamster rubbed its chin with a tiny hand.
“I don’t remember. What matters is this: the black mages disappeared long ago. I believed that once I awakened from my long slumber, I would finally be able to live in complete freedom. But!”
The hamster pointed its tiny hand at Evan.
“Why is a worthless black mage like you still alive?! To think our one true nemesis still remains in this world……! Hatred and rage boil within me…….”
The hamster’s hand began trembling, and its body suddenly swelled.
“Oh.”
“I’ll kill you……! Black mage!”
Still crouching, Evan stared at the hamster as it grew larger. Then he raised a finger and lightly traced it downward.
“Sit.”
With a heavy THUD, the hamster crashed into the ground.
It shrank back to the size of a fist.
“Ghk!”
Characteristics of the Parasite Hamster:
Its size can be enlarged or reduced at will.
“This is fun.”
“I’ll kill you, you damned black mage bastard……!”
Ignoring the hamster’s trembling mutters, Evan organized his thoughts.
How could he make use of this creature?
For one thing, he could already see a potential use.
‘Yender’s Amulet is an artifact.’
In this world, artifacts were objects left behind by a civilization of the past, links connecting the fantasy world of ancient times with the present age of science-fiction cyberpunk.
If this creature came from that distant era, could it not help him find artifacts?
“Hmm…… It still feels like something’s missing.”
“What’s missing, you bastard?”
Evan knew that this creature was responsible for massacring dozens of people inside the church.
If power of that magnitude had fallen into his hands……
It would be the same as finally obtaining the ‘cheat skill’ he had wanted so badly.
As it happened, an opportunity to test it had appeared.
A threatening voice came from behind him.
“Is this the bastard you were talking about?”
Still crouching, Evan smiled.
“This is the guy? The one who got paid for taking care of that church job?”
“I told you……. I definitely saw him come in here.”
“What’s he doing crouched there? Hey, mister. Can’t you hear us? Are you ignoring us? Is this bastard high?”
“So he’s the one who got paid for claiming he’d removed the church’s curse?”
“He obviously scammed them. Probably bullshitted his way through it. You know how many bastards like that are in this business? Fucking snake-oil peddlers.”
Snickering continued behind him.
“Yeah, just stay right there. Then we’ll quietly rip the wallet out of your wrist and leave.”
There were four of them.
Ignoring their voices, Evan asked,
“Hey, Hammy.”
Murmurs came from behind him.
“Is he talking to himself?”
“He really must be high.”
The hamster distorted its face grotesquely and looked straight up at Evan.
“……What is that idiotic name?”
Evan decided to test it.
He would find out whether this creature could truly become his ‘cheat skill.’
“Kill all of them.”
However, the creature bared its teeth in an obnoxious smile.
“Why should I? If you die, I’ll be free. I refuse.”
“No. You can’t refuse.”
“What kind of bullshit……?”
Evan formed a hand seal that aided concentration.
With his other hand, he swept a finger through the air as though drawing a line. Its tip pointed at the nearest vagrant.
‘The vast data within its soul.’
‘Find a single circuit inside it.’
The Inverted Pentagram glowed red on the back of his empty right hand.
“?!”
The hamster grew larger.
Its claws lengthened.
Under Evan’s control, it lunged at the vagrant.
Blood soon sprayed in every direction.
“Ghurgh!”
“Wh-what the hell?!”
The hamster screamed at the top of its lungs.
“What the hell are you doing, you bastard?!”
“What do you think? I’m milking this sweet-ass cheat skill—urgh!”
Evan was suddenly struck by intense dizziness.
He staggered and grabbed the wall, but he could not endure it and dropped to one knee.
“This is…….”
He sensed it instinctively.
Causality.
Equivalent exchange.
The fundamental law of black magic—that an appropriate sacrifice had to be offered whenever power was wielded.
The hamster, now small again, stared at Evan.
Its face was equally filled with shock.
“You…… controlled me?”
The tone of its voice had changed.
However, Evan had no time to concern himself with that.
Still kneeling with his head lowered, Evan breathed deeply.
Meanwhile, the vagrants who had recoiled and attempted to flee began approaching again.
People whose brains had been ruined by drugs possessed no proper judgment.
They had merely seen Evan stagger and concluded that they had a chance again.
“I-I don’t know what the hell that was, but…… die!”
Just before the knuckle-clad fist struck Evan’s head, Evan abruptly reached out and seized the attacker’s wrist.
“Huh? Uh…… what? Aaargh! Aaaaaaargh!”
The man screamed.
Black spots spread from his wrist like the plague.
『Soul-Eroding Seal』
“Save me, please save me. Save…… ghrrrk…….”
The man whose wrist Evan held thrashed before collapsing as though his body had crumpled in on itself.
Evan slowly rose and turned around for the first time.
Some dizziness remained, but it was no longer severe.
He recognized one of the two men who remained.
It was Fat Sam, who had been loudly talking at Stella and spraying spittle as he spoke.
“A familiar face. How interesting.”
“Th-there…… seems to be a misunderstanding. I wasn’t trying to…….”
They slowly backed away, staring at Evan with deathly pale faces.
After dealing with street punks like these several times, Evan had discovered a certain rule.
‘Kill two, and the rest lose the will to fight.’
They might dismiss one death as luck, but with the second, they felt the fear of inevitability.
The bonds and cooperation between untrained people with little loyalty to one another amounted to no more than that.
Evan felt neither sympathy nor hostility toward them.
“U-ugh…… Spare me!”
However, he had never once allowed any of them to leave alive.
Every one of their souls was a precious resource to a black mage.
The fresh soul Evan had just taken circled above his palm in the form of a bead.
Read the soul.
Possess it.
Offer it as the sacrifice for a ritual.
‘Sacrificial Rite.’
The residual thoughts remaining within the soul screamed.
‘Form Transformation. Attribute Imbuement. Spirit Flame.’
When Evan spread both hands, the soul stretched into a long cord and gained flexibility.
Blue flames began flickering across its entire surface.
『Soulcraft·Refinement, Spirit-Flame Whip』
Evan swung the whip burning with dark blue flames.
The vagrant running at the rear was struck across the back and collapsed.
“Aaargh! Aaaaaagh!”
The struck area charred like burning embers.
The vagrant fell and rolled across the ground. His thin clothes melted against his skin.
“It’s hot! It’s burning! Save me! Please!”
Sam, the last one remaining, tripped over a stone and fell.
His legs seemed to have lost all strength. Unable even to consider standing, he crawled across the ground and stared at Evan.
When he saw the fallen man’s soul being pulled into Evan’s grasp, his eyes rolled back as though he might faint on the spot.
Sam was last.
“Please spare me, please…… I’m sorry. Please.”
Evan approached Sam, crouched down, and looked at him.
“I-I was threatened. They said they’d kill me if I didn’t guide them here. I didn’t want to do this either…….”
Unable to meet Evan’s black eyes, Sam merely continued begging for his life.
Evan knew this man.
He had seen Sam passing various pieces of information to Stella at the pub.
‘He seemed close to Stella.’
After remaining silent for a moment, Evan finally spoke.
“Is your information network really that good?”
“Y-yes? Yes! Yes, sir! There’s nothing in Asle I don’t know! Is there something you want to know? Someone you’re searching for? Just tell me anything! I’ll take care of all of it!”
Evan took the chip from inside his clothes and held it before Sam’s eyes.
It was the data chip that had been hidden inside the Golden Cross.
“I need a hacking expert who can interpret this data and break its encryption. Do you know a skilled, tight-lipped netrunner?”
“Yes! Yes, of course! And that isn’t all! You’ll often need people in Asle from now on. Leave everything to me, and I’ll make absolutely certain you never regret it!”
Evan nodded.
He had decided that anyone immediately useful was better exploited than turned into a soul.
If Sam displeased him, Evan could take his soul then.
For now, it merely meant he possessed one more unopened boxed lunch.
In truth, Evan had already taken note of Sam while overhearing his conversation with Stella at the Rosegold Pub.
He needed at least one person who could perform this kind of role.
He simply had not expected their business relationship to begin this way.
“Go.”
“R-really? I can leave?”
Evan nodded.
There was no need for a contract or insurance.
“You know what’ll happen if you try anything foolish.”
Fear was the best insurance for controlling human beings.
That was Evan’s conclusion.
“Yes, sir! Yes, sir! Of course I know! I’ll go find someone immediately! I’ll send word through the Rosegold Pub, so please don’t worry!”
When Evan nodded, Sam glanced at the two fallen men before sprinting away from the scene at full speed.
Evan looked down at the two souls he had collected with a satisfied expression.
Then he turned back to the hamster.
“I have a lot to ask—”
However, the hamster bastard’s expression was entirely different from what Evan had expected.
“You…… What are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“How did you control me so easily without even using the Sacrificial Rite?!”
“Easily? That wasn’t easy at all. I nearly died.”
“……And that ability just now…… was it a sacrificial ritual?”
Was it talking about the Sacrificial Rite?
Since Evan had consumed a soul, that was correct.
He nodded.
“You performed a ritual without a sacrifice? That’s impossible. A result without a process. You…… What are you?”
The hamster’s gaze toward Evan had changed.