Book Eater

Chapter 256: Receptacle of Solitude (1)

The road to hell.

The same phrase popped into the minds of the beasts and the human when they entered.

The scent of blood was thick, and there were torn pieces of flesh at their feet. There was no ventilation, so the air was practically a foggy miasma. It was enough to make one gag. As soon as Theo took one sniff, he hastily cleansed the surrounding atmosphere with his wind divinity.

Wind.

The foggy miasma was pushed away, and the two spirits took deep breaths. They were even more adversely affected as they were used to the clean air of the Baekun Mountains.

The Tiger King’s claws swiped at the air as she looked up at the black sky. “Dammit, what is this place? My nose feels like it will fall off if I stay here for half a day.”

The White Bear lifted up the black soil experimentally. “This isn’t natural, but this poisonous land has its own efficacy. But there is nothing here but malice that spreads death.”

Tiger King huffed. “So, let’s tear it apart! Why else did we come into this rotten place?”

White Bear shook his head. “Don’t be too hasty. If the cause of the pollution is within this barrier, we need to remove the cause before destroying it.”

It made sense. If this ward was destroyed, the pollutant might escape and spread poison throughout the Baekun Mountains.

Theo nodded, and persuaded the Tiger King, “In any case, we have to enter the center to destroy this place. Until then, focus on searching.”

Tiger King growled, “... Tch, do what you want! Males always get along well with each other.”

Theo hid a smile as her striped tail lashed unhappily. “Thank you.”

The Tiger King seemed no different from a cat. Theo couldn’t help laughing. He might’ve stroked her head if she wasn’t so big.

Isn’t a tiger a type of feline?

The three people advanced cautiously. Theo took the lead to purify the air, followed by the spirits. Usually, it wasn’t wise for magicians to be in the lead, but it wasn’t a problem for Theo who was proficient in close combat.

After walking for ten minutes, Theo realized that the space was distorted.

Space expansion? Or was it a partial difference field? Either way, this is a trick that appears in ancient literature.

There were a few people in Seimei’s time who could pull off such a trick. Theo made sure to spread out his magic power to explore several kilometers at the same time.

Creating an independent space and then placing a large number of creatures inside... This is a technique I read about somewhere. It’s to... create an army.

[Is it okay for this one to say something?]

“Ack!” Theo was surprised by the sudden voice and stopped, causing the two spirits following him to look around reflexively.

He lifted his palms to calm the others down and turned his consciousness to focus inside himself. The voice wasn’t from Gluttony. No, the owner of this mocking and neutral voice was―

How did you come out, Seimei?

It was Abe no Seimei, the great shaman who pioneered the Art of Onmyōdō. Unlike Lee Yoonsung, Theo only had a thin connection to Seimei, so how had he gained this level of access from inside Gluttony?

[Don’t treat a person like a cockroach. This Seimei is rather soft-hearted.]

How are you saying such things?

Seimei heard the no nonsense tone in Theo’s voice.

[You are still the same. I understand. This is a pretty good place to settle. It is completely separate from the world, so I can act autonomously. However, that doesn’t mean I can act against you, so don’t worry.]

... I understand.

[By the way, the space is well made. There aren’t many even among my disciples who learned to make this type of ward. It isn’t as good as mine, but it’s still quite well done.]

Seimei dismissed Theo’s concerns and borrowed his eyes to look around, praising the capabilities of the shaman who made this place. The creator of this space had exceptional skills. However, Seimei praised himself more.

[This is the Receptacle of Solitude.]

Solitude?

It was a word that was in Theo’s memories. He had read a few lines about it in a book on shamanism from the Baek Family. Theo hurriedly recalled the contents and asked.

Isn’t it a jar that insects are placed in to create poison?

[You know it? It doesn’t need to be insects. It’s widely applicable, so it doesn’t matter if it is a poisonous creature like a toad or snake. Furthermore, this space is even more awful.]

More awful?

[It isn’t just poison. Those in this ward slaughter each other to gain power. This idea is a little novel, but it might birth a blood-crazed slaughterer?]

It was a chilling explanation. A blood-crazed slaughterer was worse than a demon who avoided killing. Additionally, he said that this space didn’t just contain poison. So, the torn flesh he saw when he first came in were remnants of living creatures... Theo was about to ask Seimei about that, when the answer appeared.

Awooooooo―!

A murderous scream rang out, as mysterious shapes started to appear around them. The dark sky and earth meant that Theo could see nothing but hazy shapes when he looked around.

“... These bastards, what are they?”

However, the eyes of the beasts were different. The Tiger King felt nauseous at the sight of their terrible appearance and unsheathed her claws.

White Bear didn’t respond as much as the Tiger King, but he still shuddered. “Terrible things!”

They looked like half beasts and half humans, but their eyes were burning with madness. Tails protruded from their heads, or claws tore out of their cheeks. Even chimeras didn’t look this terrible.

Kyaaaak!

There was a creature that moved on four legs like a leopard. Unlike its ugly appearance, it was as fast as an aura user, and its exposed teeth were sharper than steel blades. However, it picked the wrong opponent this time.

Kwang!

A sledgehammer-like fist slammed into the creature’s head, sending brains splattering over the ground. The monster slumped over and fell heavily, dead

The Tiger King looked at the blood and brains covering her fist and roared in anger, “Kuheook! This trash dares dirty my skin!!!”

Did they even understand her words? She roared as she plunged straight into the crowd of monsters. Three or four monsters were thrown back with just one punch, and their bodies were torn apart when the Tiger King used her claws.

It was a storm of slaughter. Blood decorated the battlefield wherever the Tiger King was, while the bizarre monsters could only scream.

... Amazing. I don’t even need to take action.

Theo swiftly examined some of the dead bodies while admiring the Tiger King’s fighting skills. The monsters might’ve been smashed like scarecrows, but they weren’t easy opponents. Their skin seemed harder than steel, and they had a remarkable recovery ability.

The monsters in this place had the power to wipe out a few knight divisions.

- User.?

The silent Gluttony suddenly spoke.

- Be vigilant. These creatures are Lust’s failures.

Failures? Lust doesn’t always give birth to good children?

- Becoming stronger doesn’t necessarily make it a success. As they keep developing, sometimes parts don’t optimize perfectly. Maybe this place is a collection of such failures.

One wise person once said, ‘Be careful not to be swallowed up by the abyss.’

The context was a little different, but the advice was the same. Progress that had no costs was just a fantasy. Lust couldn’t create the strong without a few failures. She extracted only the beneficial genes from the parents and gave it to the child. It wasn’t uncommon for these benefits to wreck the organism's balance and create instability.

[Hoh, it’s a rational choice, in many ways.]

Seimei.

[If there are failures, then recycling is a good idea. If these failures are combined into a single mass... Even that failure would be considerably strong. But, at least a thousand monsters need to merge together.]

As Seimei explained, his knowledge flowed into Theo’s mind. A sacrifice of a species higher than beasts or insects made the Receptacle of Solitude into a poisonous land. This was considered taboo by the ancient shamans. Even if these creatures were failures, they were still Lust’s children. They devoured each other, and an incomparable creature would be born.

Then I have to find it and stop it before that happens.

The conclusion Theo came to was obvious. A difficult monster should be destroyed before it was completed. It was a reasonable answer as a human and magician.

The Tiger King had almost finished cleaning up all the failures present. It was best to destroy the incomplete creature and then this space. He didn’t think it was impossible for three master-level existences to defeat the Solitude, no matter how strong it was.

[Uh, that reminds me... I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this in advance.]

... What is it?

Seimei’s words sounded ominous for some reason.

[This Solitude is different from the others, right? The strong one is confined with the weak ones...]

Summarize it briefly.

[I mean, that tiger girl is killing all the weak ones. From the standpoint of that strong creature, aren’t you stealing its food?]

Ah.?

This was a world controlled by Solitude. The weak were eaten by the strong until only one was left. If so, it would be natural for the mastermind to instill a sense of hunger in everything and the ability to recognize each other’s positions.

Now, a considerable number of offerings had died at the Tiger King’s hands. There was no way that a strong creature suffering from hunger wouldn’t recognize this situation!

―――――――――――!

As Theo realized this, a wail tore through the air. It was the scream of a predator that had lost its prey. It was the incarnation of hunger and hatred that had been thrown into the Receptacle of Silence without anything and had devoured its brethren.

“What the hell is this?” The confused Tiger King asked Theo hastily.

“... Hrmm, today is an unlucky day.” The White Bear, who had been standing on his feet like a human, slowly dropped onto all fours. “It is coming!”

They could all feel the presence a few hundred meters from them. Tiger King and White Bear started to transform. Their instincts had warned them that confronting this enemy with all their strength was the only route to survival, so their forms changed to resemble their beastly self more than their human self.

At that moment, it arrived in front of them.

“... Tails?”

The creature was smaller than Theo had expected. Its body seemed to be just slightly smaller than Theo’s, but Theo couldn’t see clearly past the black aura that burned around its body. He could clearly make out its tails though.

It had eight tails slowly moving through the air. The monster of Solitude, the creature that contained a terrifying power, stared at Theo and the two spirits with red eyes.

“Ugh?”

At that moment, Theo felt a mysterious power try to tie him up, and he quickly took action. He was able to see the power trying to tie up his body.

Magic eyes. No, Snake Eyes?

It was said that a person couldn’t move if a snake was staring at them. This was a variation of the traditional spell used by shamans, Snake Eyes. An ordinary person would freeze in place. If they were affected badly, they would even have difficulty breathing.

The creature had tried to freeze him, but it wouldn’t work on a senior magician like Theo. The two spirits succeeded in shaking off the spell as well.

Still, it was a child of one of the Seven Sins, Lust. The eight-tailed beast just stared at them. Perhaps this was the first time its trick was unsuccessful. However, the stalemate only lasted a short time as the creature opened its mouth.

――――――――――!

The fight against Solitude began without negotiations.