Chapter 80: Torment you to death

        The room is filled with a somber atmosphere, each person waiting on bated breath for Ariellia to perform the spell. Once she says the words, the spell begins, and a magic circle appears under her feet. It encompasses the entire room, casting an array of colorful lights with Arie shining like a bright star at the center. Her curly lilac hair fluttering in the wind as she concentrates on locating the matron’s soul. Before when she initially cast it, her magic comprehension was low. She couldn’t understand the full scale of the spell, pulling Eren’s soul by sheer luck rather than skill. Now after Eren’s painstaking efforts to level her up, she can finally command the spell with full authority and target the desired soul. But the cost of such grand scale magic isn’t light, she can feel her mana rapidly draining away like a shallow spring.

            While everyone is in awe at her spellwork, Anya is gripping her stomach in pain. The undigested soul in her gut is fighting with all its might to get out. For now, everyone is still spellbound by the fancy light show from the spell, but it won’t be long before someone notices her oddity. Anya knows this doesn’t bode well. She needs to exit this room now. Slapping her hand onto her mouth to clamp down on the wisp of Oya’s soul that’s almost leaking out, she bolts out of the room.

“Anya!”

Rei and Riell notice her distress and call after her. They are worried about her, but they don’t want to break Ariellia’s concentration at such a critical moment. Everyone is anxiously waiting for Lady Oya’s soul to return. They gasp as a faint, small blue sliver of a flame no bigger than a firefly floats onto her forehead. Clad is brought to tears as a hint of light appears in Oya’s dull lifeless eyes. Everyone is hopeful and excited by the miracle, they wait for more pieces of her soul to return but nothing else happens. Only that one spec of her soul returns, the rest never appears even when the spell dies down after Ariellia’s mana runs out.

“What’s wrong? Why is it only this much, where is the rest of it?” Clad tries to appear calm but there’s no hiding the distress in his voice.

“I tried but felt some resistance…I’m sorry I couldn’t get all of it back.” Ariellia is almost on the verge of crying herself. It feels like the moment when she lost her father all over again but this time the last-minute solution didn’t work. She feels guilty for being unable to give them the same lifesaving miracle she received.

“It’s okay, I know you tried your best.” In a rare show of affection, Rei’s eyes soften as he tries to comfort her.

“No, I can do better. Let me try the spell again!”

“Cease this foolishness child, can’t you see that your mana is already at rock bottom. Any more and you could be trapped in a coma yourself. I only let you perform the spell because of the dire situation, otherwise I would never let you risk yourself by dabbling in such dangerous magic again.” Jasper doesn’t sound pleased by her reckless disregard for her own wellbeing.

“No, those little brats are counting on me to bring their guardian back.” True to her nature, Ariellia stubbornly refuses to listen to reason. She digs deep into Jasper’s storage ring and pulls out a mana replenishment potion. Rei tries to stop her, but she’s too sly and evades his hand before downing the whole thing.

[MP: 400/400]

‘Wow, it replenished everything in one go! As expected of Uncle Jasper, he only collects the good stuff.’

Eren and Ariellia share a moment of mutual appreciation for Jasper’s draconic hoarding habit. Whether it’s because of the sudden boost in mana or something else, Arie’s mind becomes a bit disoriented. She leans too far to the side, nearly toppling over if Rei weren’t there to keep her steady by the waist. She shakes off the sudden dizziness and tries the spell again.

[Soul calling!]

Elsewhere, Anya is crouched over in the grass, hiding behind the shrubbery at the back of the orphanage. She keeps making gagging noises like she’s about to throw up, her hand is pressed to her troubled belly. Just when she thought the worst was over Ariellia recasts the spell and sends her stomach spiraling again. If she doesn’t find a way to kill that rude little wench the brainless heiress will be the death of her.

“Ah!”

In the end she couldn’t fight the urge to vomit anymore, a larger fragment of Oya’s soul rushes out of her mouth and races back into the building. With great effort she manages to seal the rest behind her gritted teeth.

“Big sis, are you okay?”

In her throes of agony one of the small kids from the orphanage managed to approach her unannounced. It’s the little boy that wanted the warrior braid from before, the cute little dumpling looks startled by her haggard appearance. It’s clear from his wavering eyes and shaky legs that he’s finally starting to realize something is not right about big sister Anya.

“In your next life kid remember not to wonder around without an adult nearby.”

!

He doesn’t even get the chance to scream before she swallows his soul, replenishing the bit that Ariellia managed to steal from her. Once the deed is done, she even has the gall to let out an unflattering burp while softly caressing her stomach.

“Barely enough to staunch my hunger but I suppose it’ll do for now.”

Snap

Her ears twitch at the sound of snapping twigs, someone else is here, someone else saw! In panic her entirely dark soulless eyes scan the perimeter to find the rat, but nothing looks out of place. She stays crouched over the now dead child for a minute, stretching her ears to sound out where the other person might be hiding. She hears a faint heartbeat behind the shed and begins to slowly make her way over when another uninvited guest decides to butt in.

“I’ve found it! I’ve found it Master! I know where the late duchess is buried.” It’s number two, excitedly returning with good news. He saw the horrifying sight of her devouring the poor kid’s soul from above and swooped in quickly to report the good news in hopes that he might avoid the same fate.

Anya looks back at the little bird proudly puffing its chest with annoyance. She blinks and the excess darkness retreats from her cornea, her iris returning to their natural shade of evergreen. It’s such a creepy visual even number two falters, unable to say what he means to.

“And so?”

“So?” He knows it’s futile, but he flutters his wings and tries to keep a clear distance from this scary wolf girl.

“I’m not in the best of moods at the moment birdbrain, don’t try my patience. Where is the late duchess buried?” She hisses out the last part like a viper ready to strike.

Scared for his new life, number two divulges all that he discovered while snooping around the castle. “The duke laid the late duchess to rest in an ice coffin below the North wing of the castle. It’s said that she practiced some pretty nasty type of fate magic, so her soul was obliterated in death…”

It’s obvious why he added that last part, but his worries are wholly unnecessary.

“Don’t look at me like that, do you think I’m some dumpster that consumes everything I see. Even Gluttons have our limits, it’s not her soul that I’m after. Quick, lead the way. The sooner I’m out of this hellhole the better.” She takes one wary last look at the shed before following number two to the duke’s castle.

It’s not until she’s gone for a good two to three minutes that a distraught fox boy reappears from behind the old shed. He’s dazed and confused by what he just witnessed, he doesn’t even know how to console the little girl crying bitterly in his arms, her sobs muffled by his hand for her own sake.

“…Anya, what happened to you?”