Lord of The Mysterious Realms Chapter 1015

"Just so, I'm very 'wealthy,' you see. So you must wager something extraordinary, something truly... unusual."

The monster outside the door muttered incessantly, its soft whispers a constant drone. The sludge seeping from its body and the pink, fleshy carpet outside crept relentlessly into the room. It narrowed its eyes, sizing Jenkins up. The gaze of a Cursed Item was always easy to sense, so Jenkins knew exactly what it was staring at: the pocket holding the bottle with the umbilical cord. That was its objective.

"I see now," Jenkins thought. "This Mysterious Realm is just as I suspected—completely unorthodox. It seems to have formed because this monster conspired with the alarm clock to get its hands on the umbilical cord. The two men who died earlier were the original targets; the professor and I were just unlucky enough to get caught in the crossfire."

The appearance of this creature offered preliminary confirmation of the suspicions Jenkins had upon entering this realm. The entire domain had most likely been formed because of that incomplete umbilical cord. The idea was startling—Jenkins had never heard of a Mysterious Realm being manipulated into existence by a Cursed Item—but it seemed to be the truth.

"Perhaps this thing I'm gambling with is in league with the alarm clock behind me..."

Following that line of thought, A-05-1-4490 had been near Nolan in the material world, so it wouldn't be surprising if it had sensed the umbilical cord's presence. If it truly possessed the ability to contact the alarm clock within the Mysterious Realm, then this domain's timely appearance was entirely plausible.

Jenkins offered this assessment, his hand still tucked inside his robe.

"I do have something rather extraordinary on my person. In fact, I only just acquired it a few hours ago. I don't know precisely what it is, but I have a feeling... you've come for it, haven't you?"

The creature outside the door chuckled, its voice resuming its cloyingly sweet tone.

"I don't wish to make things difficult for you. Since you've already discovered my purpose, I can be frank. It doesn't matter what you wager; I am destined to win. The sheer number of items in my possession is beyond your wildest imagination. Now, obediently place the umbilical cord on the scale, and I can guarantee that you will return to the material world unharmed after I'm gone. Otherwise..."

The threat hung heavy in the air. At the same moment, the sludge seeping from its waist surged with renewed vigor, attempting to breach the basement.

Jenkins, of course, didn't believe for a second it would let him go. But after a moment of consideration, he fought through the throbbing in his head and the churning in his stomach to ask a question.

"Life is more precious than any object, of course. That being the case, if you answer a single question for me, I will gladly give this to you."

"And what is it you wish to know?"

"Whose umbilical cord is this? And what is it used for?"

"Mortal, knowing too much will do you no good."

It spoke slowly, the words sounding less like a refusal and more like a warning.

"But I really must know."

"It is a relic from an unparalleled being... a being whose existence is nearly impossible... a remnant of a hidden power. As for its purpose... I think that is something you do not need to know."

The description was vague, but considering the events of the last six months in Nolan, only one thing fit.

"The God's Child's umbilical cord..."

Jenkins kept the thought to himself. He had the answer he wanted and saw no reason to prolong his entanglement with the creature before him.

Instead of reaching for the bottle with the umbilical cord, he slid his hand into the collar of his robe. He withdrew a ring of exceptionally simple design and placed it on the scale.

The scale tipped instantly toward Jenkins, crashing down as if he had placed a hundred-thousand-ton iron sphere on it.

The monster outside narrowed its eyes at Jenkins. It seemed to have remarkable composure; at least, it didn't immediately start screaming curses or making threats.

"Mortal, greed is your original sin."

"Greed is the original sin of all intelligent life, yourself included."

Jenkins immediately shot back.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

That was definitely a threat. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the novel•fire.net

"Do you know what you're doing? Humans can enter a Mysterious Realm, but I've never heard of a creature like you being permitted inside one. Speaking of which..."

Jenkins paused deliberately.

"Aren't you afraid the masters of this realm will discover what you're doing?"

For a fleeting moment, Jenkins saw a look of pure terror on the creature's face. His suspicion was confirmed. It had used unorthodox means to enter this Mysterious Realm, all for that umbilical cord.

"If I win, I can still take your life!"

Gone was the cloying, sweet voice from before. Now, it sounded like a grotesque synthesis of a dozen different male tones.

It plunged its hand into the void beside it and pulled out a blackened human head, still caked with dirt. The head was badly decomposed, with only a thin, bloody film clinging to the bone.

Peering through the eye sockets, Jenkins could see a rune shimmering with black light floating in the center of the skull. He sensed that the skull was merely a container; the rune within was what truly mattered.

"I seem to recall this scale can only weigh items of the same type, and what I put on it was no human head."

"The scale's judgment is far broader than you imagine."

As the monster outside spoke, it placed the skull on its side of the scale. But the expected shift didn't happen. The scale remained perfectly still.

"Looks like I've won."

He reached to retrieve his ring, but the monster moved with lightning speed, producing a bone club and adding it to the scale.

"You never said we could add more to the wager!"

It seemed the monster hadn't given a complete explanation of how the scale worked. But it didn't matter. Even with the bone club added, the scale remained motionless.

Jenkins blinked at the creature, trying to clear his somewhat hazy thoughts.

"Are you going to add anything else?"

"You're cheating again!"

Of course, the creature outside wasn't about to give up so easily. It went into a frenzy, pulling all sorts of items shimmering with a black aura from the space around it. But no matter what it placed on its tray, the pan simply expanded to accommodate it. This saved Jenkins, who had been prepared to add the White Bone Holy Sword to his own side, the trouble of raising the stakes again.

The scale remained stubbornly tilted toward Jenkins. Even though the monster's side was now piled high like a small mountain, the balance didn't shift in the slightest.

"So, I believe that counts as my win, doesn't it?"

The bronze-skinned monster stopped adding items to the scale. It looked directly at Jenkins. Its mouth, which until now had been nothing more than a decorative line across its face, split open. A jet of black liquid shot out like a sword, flying across the threshold straight for Jenkins's face.