"Welcome, dear customer! We-"
The merchant's face and lips froze at the sight of her.
She was mostly hidden under her cape, but...
"D... D-D.... Dra..."
"Dra...? Do you know me?" The woman asked as she took her cape off, revealing her long red hair.
"N-N-No... But uhmm." The stuttering Merchant rubbed his hands together as a drop of sweat went down his forehead. "It's always an honor to serve a Dragon in my humble establishment."
Impassive and piercing, Draconia's golden pupils stared as she nodded.
"Right." The Seventh General Of Pride put her cape back on.
"Keeping a low profile?"
Draconia's eyes narrowed, and the Merchant felt as if a claw was centimeters away from his heart.
"That's not something one should say to those who want to keep a low profile. What kind of Merchant are you?"
"I... I'm still... Still new to the business. I apologize if I-"
"New to the business? What business?"
The merchant lowered his gaze for a bit.
He seemed both clueless and helpless.
"The business of... Selling things."
Nia chuckled internally. She didn't let it show though.
The descendant of Dragons was very good at hiding behind an unreadable expression. Something for which Raven has praised her many times.
And after every one of those many times she was praised for it, Nia has denied hiding anything.
"What do you have?"
"Whatever you desire, dear customer." The merchant rubbed his hands together, obviously trying to redeem himself. "We have everything you might-"
"A Dragon's Tongue, a Kraken's Core, and a Devil's Shadow."
"Well it... Well... We don't-"
"I'm joking. This is Lust. I wouldn't expect those things to be found here."
"I... I see." The merchant was convinced that the customer was not the joking type. He internally cursed his reading skills.
"Show me your strongest Poisons and Venoms. Or I guess... Drugs you would call them here. Not the kind you eat or drink though. Anything that Alchemists use such as Monster Eyes or other body parts."
"Yes, I will be right back."
After a bit of looking around, the Merchant presented multiple Items and Substances to the General Of Pride.
"This one, in particular, is an extremely strong hallucinogenic. It's very popular these days. Its-"
"What it is made of?"
"Oh too many components to count. It is, however, made using the strongest aphrodisiacs and a pinkish mist that can only be found in-"
"No aphrodisiacs."
"None? But how-"
"I said none. I'm not buying these for... That kind of use."
"Oh well, you should. There's no greater pleasure that being able to-"
Feeling the temperature in the room suddenly dropping, the merchant shut his mouth.
About fifteen minutes later, Nia was outside the shop.
It was dark outside still.
She looked to the right.
In alleys or in the open, it didn't change anything for them.
She looked to the left.
It was the same.
'Ugh... Such animals in here.'
Nia walked away.
She did her best to ignore the nakedness and moaning that ruled over the Capital of Lust, but it was strange.
The less she wanted to hear the moans and the more she focused on her hearing to make sure that she couldn't hear those moans. Which in turn, made it pretty difficult to ignore them.
"Disgusting, gross, and, without Pride." Nia whispered after climbing on a tall building.
Lust was one of the more advanced parts of the Monster Realm.
She raised her gaze towards the dark sky.
'I'll make it there tomorrow. Will Raven and Mark be there, or will it take another 2 weeks?'
Nia lay her back against the cold building's rooftop and closed her eyes.
'Soon, we'll meet.'
***
A breach was made in the sphere of roots.
Squirming out of that breach, a white-scaled Monster.
Thump-
Its body fell to the ground.
'The fact that he can heal and heal makes it so that no matter how much pain I got through, it won't be enough. This has to be it, otherwise...'
The Monster's hands twitched.
'Tsk.' Yarnha clicked her tongue internally. 'If he can target a large area with Corruption, I won't be able to protect the Forest. Plus...' She lowered her gaze towards her right hand. It was trembling. 'I'm almost at my limit.'
The white-scaled Monster was breathing.
Its body twitched from time to time, but it didn't move or stand up.
'He's a poison. Meddling was a mistake from the beginning.' Yarnha let out a sigh. 'The degree of Corruption is too high. The fact that its arm reattached that way earlier... It's like his body is made of Corruption. It's one with his body. I can't have that become part of the Forest. I can't.'
The Spirit stared at the unmoving Monster for a bit.
'This Greed... I didn't know I had it in me.'
From the breach that the Monster had made in the sphere of roots, a pinkish mist flowed out.
'Wort case scenario, I'll just have to separate what I want the Forest to ingest and what to leave. That-'
The Monster clenched its fist.
"You know I used something very valuable on you just now."
Cough-
"It'll get even harder to breathe. But if you're still awake now, then it won't hurt you much. That should be able to work on Commanders. Maybe even a couple of Generals."
Pant-
"I'm guessing poisons and toxins in general don't work well on you, huh? Does it have something to do with what you said? Devourers? Anything that enters your body is Devoured, right? Mmm... It's just a guess, so who knows? Can you hear me, Monster?"
It had taken a couple of tries.
A bit of falling and stumbling.
But he had managed.
Mark was standing.
He couldn't feel his arms.
In truth, couldn't feel much at all.
With his arms hanging in front of him, lifeless, Mark stood.
"Can you hear me?"
The Monster opened its mouth, and a moist fog was emitted.
Mark opened his eyes.
"Can you?"
He raised his head, then lowered it.
"Good. You got lucky this time, Monster."
Mark tilted his head to the side, puzzled by the Spirit's words.
Yarnha sighed and raised her gaze upwards.
"I'm feeling generous so... I'll let you go."
The Monster's eyes narrowed.
"You want a show of trust, huh?"
Mark didn't react.
"I can do that." Yarnha said as she extended a hand towards him.
The next second, the ground settled.
The trembling and shaking stopped.
Mark immediately stumbled.
He had grown used to the shaking, and it ceasing at once made his body lose its balance for a moment.
The trees a dozen meters behind Mark started shaking.
He turned around as fast as he could.
"There. That's the way they went. Or... The way I sent them. That Elf and Feline. You might be able to find them if you hurry."
Filled with doubt and distrust, Mark stared at the Spirit.
"Come on." Yarnha gestured with the fingers on her right hand extending and curling. "Get out of here. While neither of us has sustained any long-lasting damage."
It seemed true enough.
The Spirit's nosebleed had ceased.
Not one attack had landed on its body.
None of the usual indications of Corruption entering the enemy's body and damaging it could be seen.
On the other hand, Mark felt exhausted and slightly confused. Most of his Mana Points had been consumed, and he had trouble thinking straight.
Maybe it was right to leave.
Maybe that is what he should do.
A favor.
That's what it felt like.
The Spirit was doing him a favor.
Mark couldn't fully trust Yarnha's words. But at the same time, he found it hard to distrust them.
Accepting a favor from the enemy? That wasn't something he was used to. Mark wasn't used to favors being offered by his enemies in the first place, much less to accepting them.
Yarnha scratched her head.
"Go away, and find those you came here with."
A sneak attack?
A diversion?
It was possible.
The Spirit had already done both after all. Including using Elisa and Krista as an excuse to disrupt Mark's rhythm and distract him.
Still, there was something.
Something about the Spirit and the way it talked.
Its voice maybe? Or its tone?
Mark wasn't sure what it was.
Additionally, he couldn't tell if that feeling was simply an effect of the Green Mist he had already breathed in multiple times or not.
Yarnha brought her palms together in front of her chest.
"Please, leave."
Some kind of mind control effect?
It could have been.
Mark tried to convince himself that that was the case, as he took a step back.
But the next second, the pinkish mist, coupled with the green one, showed their effects.
The Monster had only dropped its guard for a second.
It was more than enough for those substances to take hold of its mind and brain.
