Although Diran had no idea what was going on, the statue spooked him.
It was a statue of a woman wearing a long white hooded robe. Her face had a serene expression and her mouth was titled in a soft smile. Both of her hands were place on her chest, it was a bit uncannily long. But aside from that, she looked utterly holy and pure.
He twisted the knob, but it was locked. He looked at Cail on the other side of the door.
"You son of a bitch! Let me out! Let me out!"
He slammed the door again and again, but Cail still didn't open it.
"What do you think you're doing?! You better hide once I get out of here." He looked at Cail with undisguised murderous intent, "You'd be the next after that paralyze twig."
Oh ho, you're not escaping... Cail thought. He put the key back to his pockets. Don't ask why he had that... Well, it was just in case.
Now that no one was around, Cail took off his sunglasses and put on the golden-rimmed ones. He twisted the gear on the side and looked at the statue behind Diran.
When using the normal eye, the statue appeared pure white. But with his glasses on, the statue was black. It no longer had the peaceful expression it had with normal vision. Instead, it wore a wide, open-mouthed smile. Its teeth were sharp, and it looked at Diran as if he were a delicacy. It looked devious.
Cail saw chains wrapped around its feet. The chains were flickering as if they would dissipate at any moment.
"I should try the new function now," he thought.
At the beginning, the gears on the left side could only be turned once, but now that he was officially a Dealer, he had access to the glasses' second function according to the book.
Appraise.
(Not a merchandise)
Name: Binding Sinner
Details: It's a modified artifact. The chains were originally a bind-class artifact used to restrain void creatures called Sinners.
Function: It can fulfill the user's desires.
Restrictions: It can only fulfill desires within the limits of its power.
Warning: After 10 uses, the sealing effect of the chains will weaken, and the Sinner will grow stronger.
Artifact Class Level: C -
Weaknesses:
1. Kill the void Sinner.
2. Use another bind-class artifact to seal the Sinner.
3. Restrain the Sinner.
Artifact compatibility: None. It's out of control.
"It worked, alright… While the information is useful, it wasn't that useful," he muttered. He counted the times the chain flickered.
The book he read yesterday only contained a little information about his artifact (the glasses) and some basic details about artifact categories.
His glasses, while useful for his job as a Dealer, were very limited in battle. For instance, they had distance restrictions, and he needed to see the artifact fully in order to appraise it.
"But still, the experiment went well..."
He had tried using his glasses on artifacts he owned, but he wanted to see them in a real-world application.
He hated risk, but at the same time, he loved it. He hated the kind of risk that wasn't within his plan, but he enjoyed the kind he took of his own free will. In short, he hated unpredictability and restraint.
Diran was still screaming profanities and smashing the door. Honestly, Cail was starting to get impatient. If the artifact wont take this guy out, I will.
20... 23... 25... 30...
The chain on the statue suddenly stopped flickering after 30 seconds.
The statue moved.
Diran who was cursing and smashing the chairs paused, he looked back.
He saw the statue was moving closer to him.
It was a slow, gradual drag.
Looking at the slowly peeling white paint, his heart started to be overwhelmed with fear. "Cail... If this is a prank, it's not a good one!" he panicked. He backed away and pressed his back against the door. His legs were starting to turn to jelly from fear.
The statue was moving slowly. From Cail's perspective, he could see the chains struggling to restrain it.
Then the statue started melting. What Cail saw through his glasses was now what Diran was seeing too. A black statue of a tall woman with a horrifying grin on its face.
"CAIL, LET ME OUT! WHAT DO YOU WANT?! LET ME OUT!" Diran lost it. He cried. His face were now filled with snot and tears.
He slammed the door again and again. He looked at Cail on the other side, and his heart dropped.
Cail still looked the same as before, but his eyes were filled with blood. He smiled when he saw Diran staring at him.
If this had been a normal situation, Cail's eyes would have been cause for concern. But this time, in Diran's perspective, Cail was in cahoots with the demon.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
Cail didn't mind Diran's screams. He looked at the Sinner behind him and noticed something.
"The black threads look very similar to the ones from the mouth he encountered before."
They weren't straight threads but grainy, like nylon wire. They were much thicker than the one the mouth had. There were also quite a few of them.
He had seen countless threads in his surroundings. Some were black, white, yellow, there were many colors... but he could still tell the difference because each had a distinct texture.
"Is this thing parasitic?" he muttered.
As if to confirm Cail's guess, the thread surrounding the statue slowly crawled toward Diran.
Diran began to move sluggishly. The moment he became paralyzed, the statue came close.
Cail saw the statue open its mouth wide and sink its sharp teeth into Diran's head.
Diran's reddish glow started to dim. Cail knew that the glow represents life. Everything that is alive had that glow.
Looking at Diran's blank eyes, Cail had no idea if the guy was still alive.
It was good, Cail wouldn't have to get his hands dirty killing him.
Just as he was about to continue observing, he suddenly saw a dark purple aura gushing out from the stairs.
It was spreading in the entire building fast. The domineering oppression was intense that Cail felt tight in his chest.
His eyes widened. It looked like fog. He could sense a thick aura of void coming from it. It was cold but filled with vitality.
"Void users," he said, certain. He could distinguish void coming from a human and void coming from artifacts.
...
Outside the building, Sirae bit her lip. The moment she heard Diran screaming from the second floor, she ran and tried to call for a teacher.
Before she could get too far, Sir Thade suddenly appeared out of nowhere, together with Auren.
"Student Sirae, what's going on?"
Mr. Thade asked.
"Sir, I think Cail and Diran encountered something in Classroom 1-4," Sirae said, worried.
Mr. Thade didn't ask any more questions.
"You stay here. I'll go check on them."
Base on Sirae's perspective, it seemed that they were already in a rush to get here before she even told them that something happened.
With Auren in tow, Mr. Thade ran toward the building Sirae had pointed at.
Just as they were getting farther away, Sirae suddenly raised her camera and—
Click.
She looked at the picture that her camera took. She giggled.
"How beautiful."