Did I sleep with Iris without even knowing she was a Hero?
Whether it was an intentional seduction or a momentary impulse is unknown, but what is certain is that my Skill vanished afterward.
‘It was just as I suspected.’
An indescribable, complex emotion welled up within me.
Rage toward Iris for stealing my Skill, a desperate desire to see the power of the Relic become complete, and even a bitterness that I couldn’t trace back to any source.
Finding where Iris lived was an easy task now. I had already memorized her scent.
But what would happen after I told Abellus where she lived? What would happen then?
Abellus crossed his arms and spoke nonchalantly.
“Yes. But she is a powerless Hero. She cannot complete the power of the Relic on her own. Completing the Relic’s power is something only a non-human can achieve.”
“Is it impossible for a human?”
At Lucael’s question, Abellus rolled his eyes for a moment. That was likely the case.
He might not know if they were given a lot of time, but it seemed impossible for the current Iris to defeat ‘That One’ and various Villains to obtain the final Relic.
If she possessed immense power, she wouldn’t have fled so craftily when reclaiming the Potion Truck, nor would she have put so much effort into acting just to steal a necklace.
With that level of strength, she could not defeat ‘That One’ and the Villains of Enraka.
‘The Skill that steals Superpowers is a concern, but it doesn’t seem like she can take them easily. If she could steal them just by meeting someone, she would have become strong long ago…. Wait. Then how did she steal my Skill? Could it be….’
Surely she didn’t steal the Skill through sex.
At the sudden thought, the corner of his mouth twitched. Even so, the idea of stealing a Skill through sex was enough to make anyone laugh.
Abellus, who was about to dismiss it as an absurd idea, fell into deep thought.
Aside from that incident, nothing else had happened between him and Iris.
If she really stole Skills through sex?
That would mean she had done that same thing with the other guy who lost his Skill.
Infuriatingly, at that moment, his head grew hot not because Iris had stolen a Skill, but because she might have slept with another man.
Abellus smoothed the furrow in his brow with his finger and stared at Lucael with narrowed eyes.
There was no way a Priest and a lay congregant would sleep together, but he suspected that Lucael’s behavior— failing to attend worship after a certain point— was related to Iris.
Thinking that way made his mood plummet so much that he couldn’t even remember what question Lucael had just asked.
“By any chance… no. There’s no way.”
He almost asked Lucael if his Skill had disappeared but held back. If he asked such a question, he would have to explain his own situation.
The fact that his Skill had vanished meant he had become weak, and he didn’t want Lucael to find out.
Since Lucael would likely try to hide it for the same reason anyway, he wouldn’t get the truth even if he asked.
‘I might be overthinking this. Stealing a Skill through sex? That’s going too far.’
In fact, Abellus had hit upon the correct answer with his characteristically sharp intuition, but he denied his own reasoning.
Even in Gyodam City, where nonsensical things happened all the time, obtaining a Skill through sex seemed like a crazy idea.
He tilted his head while rubbing his aching temples. Then, remembering Lucael’s question late, he answered.
“A human might be able to do it. But the current Iris cannot. We must complete the Relic on our side before she becomes any stronger.”
“I see. Then it will be that person who completes the Relic’s power. What will happen to Sister Iris after that?”
Abellus hesitated, running his tongue along the inside of his lip as he pondered. There was no need to tell Lucael the truth, so his answer came quickly.
“…She will lose her power and become a normal human. Living a normal life might be better for that woman. By the way, did you say you didn’t know where she lived?”
Becoming a normal human. That seemed like a fair enough revenge against Iris for stealing his Superpower. Soon, Lucael’s neat lips slowly parted.
“No. I think I can find out.”
* * *
A few days later, Iris was on a mission with Rainbow Girl. Today’s mission, as always, was ‘defeating Monsters in the Dungeon.’
It was too easy now. She had already plundered the Superpowers of several Villains.
‘I couldn’t take Johannes’s, though…. Speaking of which, I feel so sorry for Johannes. I’ve been avoiding meeting him even though he keeps contacting me.’
The thought of Johannes’s likely depressed face made one side of her chest ache.
She couldn’t clarify her relationship with Johannes until she had fully collected the Relics.
She knew she was being very cowardly.
She wasn’t accepting his heart, but she wasn’t rejecting him either, dragging the relationship along in a state of stagnation.
The reason she acted this way was because she was certain that Johannes would continue to like her no matter what.
She felt so cowardly for trusting him and acting selfishly.
‘It can’t be helped. I have to get stronger as soon as possible and collect the Relics.’
The Relic within Enraka and the Relic held by Abellus. Both were difficult to take with the power she currently possessed.
Recalling the chill she felt at the Temple a few days ago made goosebumps break out on her arms.
Thinking about it now, the Black Shadow she had seen through <Wondrous Perception> didn’t seem like an ordinary being.
Perhaps the chill she felt was because of him.
‘Could the Evil Spirit Teresa-sunbae mentioned be that person? Seeing as he was with Abellus, it’s possible. He certainly didn’t seem human.’
It could be that she felt the chill because she had gotten closer to the person who cast the Curse.
But why was an Evil Spirit deep inside Enraka?
And along with the King’s Crown, the Relic, no less.
No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t figure it out for now.
She hadn’t fought the Black Shadow, but she instinctively felt it was a very powerful existence.
Since he was able to notice her using the <Wondrous Perception> Skill, he wouldn’t be easy to deal with.
No, she might not be able to deal with him at all.
The chilling sensation she felt that day might have been a survival instinct.
It seemed the Relic guarded by the Black Shadow would be harder to steal than the Relic held by Abellus.
‘Either way, they’re both out of reach for now. If I recklessly try to steal a Relic, I might not make it back alive….’
When would she be able to take them?
If it were Johannes who held the King’s Crown, things would have been easier.
She continued the Monster subjugation while enduring a throbbing headache.
Rainbow Girl marveled at how noticeably stronger Iris had become.
Iris praised Rainbow Girl, saying she had also grown much stronger, and poured out merciless attacks on the Monsters.
“Kiek!”
“Whew…”
After defeating the last Monster, her throat felt stinging, and she frowned.
She sighed, trying to widen the gap between her neck and the necklace by sliding her finger in.
Was it due to psychological factors?
Or was the effect of the Curse gradually manifesting even if she suppressed it with a Purification Ceremony?
“Angel Girl, it’s quite hot today, isn’t it? Drink this.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Just then, Rainbow Girl, having wiped the sweat from her forehead, took a tumbler out of her Bag and handed it to Iris.
Opening the lid, she saw it was cold ice water.
Just as she was about to tilt the tumbler slightly above her mouth to drink, her hand slipped, and she dropped it.
It was because a chilling sensation had brushed past the back of her neck.
Iris’s mouth hung open as she watched the tumbler roll on the ground, spilling ice and water.
‘What is this? Something feels strange….’
“I’m sorry. I spilled all the water.”
“Oh, no. There’s a Convenience Store as soon as we go out. We can just buy some and drink there.”
“I’ll buy it then….”
Iris replied slowly, rubbing her sweat-beaded neck.
For some reason, she felt extremely strange. A feeling as if something bad had happened.
Seized by an unknown premonition, she summoned <Pocket In> from her Bracelet and took out her Tracker and Handphone.
Rainbow Girl breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the pocket didn’t emerge from between Iris’s legs.
Iris’s face hardened terrifyingly. It was because Teresa’s location, checked via the Tracker, was set at the Enraka Temple.
‘What? Why is Teresa-sunbae at the Enraka Temple? Sunbae isn’t an Enraka Congregant….’
Her heart sank as she closely examined the hologram floating in the air.
The red dot representing Teresa-sunbae’s location was flashing not in the Congregation Hall, but behind it— specifically, on top of the building Abellus had entered.
The place where the Black Shadow, who was clearly not human, resided.
‘Could it be….’
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