[V11C4] A Decade Lost

“Hey, what’s most precious to you?”

It took Elianne a few seconds to grasp the meaning of those words. Valuable time that could have been used to flee.

She stood there frozen, captivated by the black box in the man’s hands.

The box had an old-fashioned design and was adorned with many jewels. The lid, edged with delicate goldwork, lifted slightly——just barely enough for a pinky finger to pass through.

“GIVE PRECIOUS! I WANT, I WANT!”

A high-pitched voice, sounding neither male nor female, echoed from inside the box.

Behind its cute pleading tone lay the innocence and cruelty of a child. One who would tear the wings off butterflies with laughter.

Then, a black substance began spilling out from under the lid. Right before the strange ooze hit the ground, it suddenly defied gravity and flew straight at Elianne, wrapping around her slender neck.

“Ahh!!”

Elianne screamed as the shadows slid down her neck and crawled all over her fair skin. She attempted to tear them off with her nails, but they simply stuck to her hands instead.

“PRETTY SKIN, GIVE, GIVE!”

Was that voice coming from inside the box, or from the shadows entwining her?

Either way, the shadows covering her quickly fell to the ground.

Elianne savored a brief moment of relief, thinking that she had been spared. However, she could not help but widen her eyes once she saw what the shadows had done to her.

Her meticulously manicured hand, fitting for a noble lady——was now reddened, bruised, and festering.

“Ah! Ahhhh!!”

The shadows came again, this time at her face.

“No, stop!” Elianne cried, trying to tear the shadows off.

Although she felt no pain from stripping the shadows off, she could not feel the smooth surface of her face anymore. It was horribly coarse to the touch, and this was not just limited to her face.

Elianne glanced down to see her arms and legs also colored a blotchy red, as if someone had torn the skin off her entire body.

There was no pain or itchiness, yet her skin was rotting away.

“Stop this, please!”

“PRETTY HAIR, GIVE, GIVE!”

The black shadows materialized for a third time, this time as a pair of jet-black scissors.

Elianne shook in fear at the sensation of something being pressed against the back of her neck.

——Snap.

The sound of the scissors’ blades. Suddenly overcome by dizziness, Elianne’s vision faded to black.

＊　＊　＊

A bundle of fluffy, wheat-colored hair fell to the ground, and was enveloped by the black shadows extending from Gluttonous Zoe. The shadows quickly retracted back into the box, taking the hair along with it.

The hair of the collapsed lady had been quite long, so it did not seem like it could fit in such a small box.

Theodore did not know what happened to the things taken inside the box. Perhaps, given the artifact’s nature as ‘Gluttonous’, it was devouring them.

“NOT ENOUGH! NOT ENOUGH!”

The Box of Gluttony continued to shout in a child-like manner.

This ancient artifact did not want anything in particular. It only desired the things cherished by others.

And in the process, Gluttonous Zoe feasted on the hopes and dreams embedded in those precious things.

“MORE! MORE! GIVE MORE!”

Gluttonous Zoe demanded offerings to satiate its insatiable and eternal hunger. This was the compensation required to use the ancient artifact.

Looking down at the black box, Theodore let out a pitiful complaint.

“But you literally just ate!”

“SERVANT, HERE.”

“Oh, Carla’s back? Where is she?”

Theodore glanced around nervously, before spotting Carla turning the corner of the alley.

She was still in her white nightgown and had black splotches all over her body.

These splotches moved slowly, like clouds drifting in the sky, crawling over Carla’s skin. Not only that, they seemed to be creeping above her nightgown as well.

Despite seeing Carla in this pitiful state, Theodore felt nothing in particular. His primary thought was that Carla’s flight magic would be useful for their escape.

(We should get going now. I’ve already decided on the next destination.)

Theodore had successfully implanted shadows on a few bystanders during the incident in the palace. This allowed him to periodically absorb mana from the victims, which was supplied to Gluttonous Zoe.

“But it’s still not nearly enough. I need to hurry to the next…”

Suddenly, Theodore was interrupted by a powerful gust of wind. He felt the moisture in the air brushing against his cheeks.

A thick layer of clouds completely covered the sky. Theodore absentmindedly thought that it was probably going to rain soon——when he was abruptly slammed with storm winds arriving before the storm.

The intense winds pressed down on him from above, causing Theodore to lose his balance and tumble to the ground.

Simultaneously, Carla was surrounded by an invisible wall and entwined in golden chains.

A sealing barrier, and not just your average one. This was a first-class seal, capable of shutting out all magic from the outside.

“W-What’s going on!?”

Theodore held Gluttonous Zoe firmly to his chest as he tried to regain his balance, when he saw a few strands of his bangs cut off and sent flying.

In front of him, there was a crack in the cobblestones that had not been there before. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a slash mark, as it had been made with terrifying sharpness.

“It seems I missed my attempt to sever his legs.”

Theodore heard a female voice making a very threatening remark from above his head. After blinking a few times in disbelief, he looked up.

Two people were floating in the air: a blonde woman in a maid outfit and a robed man with neatly braided hair.

The maid seemed to be the one who made the threatening remark, but the man had an equally intimidating glare.

(Those guys are definitely enemies! I’m sure of it because those are the eyes of people who want to hurt me!)

Now that his servant Carla had been sealed in a barrier, Theodore understood that he needed to retreat as soon as possible. That’s what all of his instincts were telling him.

Theodore raised the Box of Gluttony over his head.

Black shadows darted out from the gap under the lid, sent straight at the two in the air. However, the shadows never managed to reach their targets.

“Kaboom!”

Out of nowhere, a flaming mass came flying in the opposite direction, collided with the black shadows, and exploded.

The shadows manipulated by Gluttonous Zoe dissipated in an instant.

“Hyeh…! No way!?”

Someone had managed to neutralize an attack from an ancient artifact. What’s more, they did so with a single spell, which required ridiculous mana density.

Apparently, there was a third enemy apart from the maid and the braided man, positioned atop a roof a slight distance away.

Buffeted by the hot winds in the aftermath of the explosion, Gluttonous Zoe slipped out of Theodore’s hands.

“N-No, wait…! Zoe…!”

Theodore tried to rush over to Gluttonous Zoe, but before he could reach the artifact, there was a metallic sound as he was blocked by an invisible wall.

He had been trapped inside a dome-shaped barrier.

“Do it,” the braided mage said in a low tone.

The maid——probably a spirit——waved her right hand.

This invoked a miniaturized storm within the confines of the barrier, tossing Theodore about and bashing him against the walls and cobblestones.

The storm eventually subsided, but Theodore did not receive any respite. He was lying on his back as the mage slammed a boot squarely on his shoulder.

“Ow…Argh…!”

Theodore squirmed in pain and attempted to get back up, but the braided man twisted the heel of his boot. Meanwhile, he also quickly finished a chant and waved his staff.

This invoked a powerful sealing barrier around Gluttonous Zoe.

After ensuring that Gluttonous Zoe was completely sealed, the mage finally spoke to Theodore.

“It’s been a while, Theodore Maxwell… To think you really were the culprit who stole Gluttonous Zoe.”

“Uh, um…w-who might you be?” Theodore asked, nervously.

The braided man only smiled in response. If judged solely on that smile, he might seem pretty friendly.

However, the weight of the heel pressed against Theodore’s shoulder told an entirely different story. His bones were already starting to creak. The man was unmerciful beyond measure.

(It hurts, it hurts!!)

Despite being on the verge of panic, Theodore attempted to calm his fear and assess the situation.

There were at least three foes: the scary man with the braids, the spirit manipulating the wind, and the mage on a distant roof who had caused the explosion.

On the other hand, Carla and Gluttonous Zoe had been sealed, and Theodore was pinned against the ground, unable to move. He had been driven into a corner.

Gluttonous Zoe was currently swinging around its shadows in a brute-force attempt to break the sealing barrier confining it.

The artifact’s shadows possessed more than enough power to break the average barrier, and yet, the braided man’s barrier did not even budge.

These mages possessed the ability to neutralize Gluttonous Zoe’s shadows with offensive magic, and even seal the artifact in a barrier. Neither of these feats should have been possible. In other words, Theodore’s foes were monsters beyond his comprehension.

“SEVEN SAGES! SEVEN SAGES! HATE! HATE!”

Only after hearing the clamoring from Gluttonous Zoe did Theodore finally understand.

The mage in front of him was dressed in an impressive robe and held an equally impressive staff. These were the signs that indicated his identity as one of the most powerful mages in the country.

＊　＊　＊

Louis pinned Theodore with a foot on his shoulder as he observed the fallen man.

His disheveled reddish-brown hair, his unremarkable face, and his cowardly demeanor——everything about him was the Theodore Maxwell that Louis remembered.

(…So why do I feel so uneasy?)

Louis had sensed this discomfort since the Box of Gluttony incident eight years ago, and it only became more pronounced now that he was face-to-face with Theodore.

Surely, the reason for his unease would become clear during the interrogation. For now, the top priority was to restrain him.

Louis lifted his foot from Theodore’s shoulder and stomped it down on the man’s stomach.

However, before his boot could crush Theodore’s abdomen, a black shadow burst forth from Theodore’s coat to entangle Louis’s foot.

“…!?”

Now visible was the contract mark of the ancient artifact, right above Theodore’s heart. The shadows entangling Louis’s foot had appeared from that mark.

Louis was not the only one gasping in surprise. Theodore seemed to be sharing the sentiment.

“Oh right! I transferred some of the shadows earlier! So, uh, I can do this now? Tell me these things sooner!!”

The shadows began crawling up Louis’s leg.

Simultaneously, a portion of the shadows transformed into a thin spear to strike at the barrier sealing Gluttonous Zoe.

Since this was an impromptu barrier, Louis had only made it resistant to internal attacks. In other words, it was much more fragile on the outside.

With the two-pronged attack from both inside and out, the barrier containing Gluttonous Zoe began to crack.

Louis shouted, “Ryn! Protect Carla and the civilians!”

Ryn invoked her winds to envelope the sealed Carla as well as the fallen civilian——a young lady in a dress, and two men who seemed to be her guards.

The Artillery Mage, watching from a nearby roof, had noticed the anomaly but probably had yet to finish his next incantation.

——Crack.

Along with a sound like breaking glass, the barrier shattered.

Once the artifact was free, the shadows extending from Theodore pulled it towards him, as if acting as an extension of his arms.

Theodore stood back up, cradling Gluttonous Zoe in his arms as he let out a shout.

“Waaah! I used up all the gathered mana to break the barrier! I worked so hard to collect it, and now it’s all gone!”

“HUNGRY! HUNGRY! OFFERING! OFFERING!”

“Did you have to bring that up now!? …Oh, but maybe this is good timing.”

Theodore pointed Gluttonous Zoe at Louis, who was still unable to move due to the shadows entwining his leg.

“Hey, braids. What’s most precious to you?”

The memories of his wife and daughter flashed through Louis’s mind for a brief moment.

The small hands of a girl tying a ribbon into Louis’s hair as he took a nap on the sofa. The gentle smile of his wife as she covered their sleeping daughter with a blanket.

“GIVE, GIVE! GIVE PRECIOUS!”

Black shadows extended from Gluttonous Zoe, taking the form of a large scythe.

Louis exerted all of his strength in an attempt to tear off the shadows, but they did not even budge. He had also started the incantation for an offensive spell, but a whoosh came from the back of his head before he could finish.

His head suddenly felt lighter, and he heard the sound of something light falling to the ground behind him.

“…Huh?”

Louis turned around. Lying on the ground was the hair he had been growing out for so many years.

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