Book Eater

Chapter 289: INVIDIA (1)

Invidia, Envy of the Seven Sins!

Theo stared blankly for a moment, but quickly recovered. The emperor of Andras was a grimoire of the Seven Sins like Gluttony? It was shocking, but it also made the current situation more dangerous. Theo’s intuition, which often helped him escape from the jaws of death, was telling him that this was a priority.

A grimoire that had been able to grow its power for over five hundred years; one of the Seven Sins that was inherently superior to any other grimoire; and the emperor of the only empire in the continent. Theo couldn’t even imagine how much strength it had accumulated with all these advantages. Death’s Worship had managed to turn a 4th Circle magician into an Elder Lich in only three months. What could it have done with five hundred years?

Gluttony, tell me what you know about him.

- Understood.

It was the best way to grasp some idea of Envy, who wasn’t attacking, and to figure out how to deal with him.

- As I mentioned, Invidia is a parasitic grimoire that needs a host. He maximizes the potential of the host and accelerates its growth rate. That’s where our paths diverge.

Then?

- The Seven Sins each have a unique ability. In the case of Pride, it is feeding evolution, eating its prey. Envy’s inherent ability is called envious plundering, according to its nature.

Once Theo heard those words, envious plundering, he looked at the emperor who was still sitting down. The emperor’s aura was relaxed, and he didn’t show any hostility.

Invidia, who wore the emperor’s skin, opened his mouth, “You won’t answer? Hrmm, good. You are a good listener, but it’s irritating when you talk. If you choose to remain silent, keep that filthy mouth shut until the end.”

Invidia opened his arms in an exaggerated manner. He was like the conductor of a band, an orator on a podium. He seemed to be full of weaknesses, but no one even considered attacking him. Despite the hatred that had been ingrained in their bodies since childhood and the magic they had trained for decades, all the magicians were overwhelmed by their instincts.

Death.

They would die if they tried to strike one of the old man’s weaknesses. Cold sweat dripped down their bodies. Everyone gathered here subconsciously recognized the difference in power between them.

“Now, have you had enough time to look around? My brother, I told you not to speak, but I also want to hear your comments. How is it?” Envy ridiculed Gluttony’s silence. “How is the breeding ground that this body has created?!”

Theo replied carefully, “... Breeding ground?”

“Yes, the whole of the North is a breeding ground for me,” Invidia responded happily.

The others gulped at this unfamiliar atmosphere. They didn’t know what was going on, but they could tell that a sinister secret was going to be revealed. Everyone implicitly agreed there was no need to break the excitement of the monster and focused on the conversation.

Invidia mused, “The idea was pretty good, but carrying it out was more difficult than I thought. The talent to build a nation without any foundations is rare. A king of his caliber is rare. Those heavenly qualities... If he had been born in the flesh of a god, he could’ve become transcendent.”

Theo probed, “If you are talking about the king of Andras... Sword King Kesein?”

Invidia cocked its head. “Was that his name? Well, it doesn’t matter. I built Andras with his body, creating a system that revered aura. I was going to try it in the East, but someone got there first.”

“Ah,” Theo muttered, “Lust...”

Invidia nodded. “Mhmm. Well, you can probably guess what happened next, brother? Aura users can improve themselves to a certain level, but they can only improve through battle. In other words, I needed to provide them with struggle.”

Theo kept his face carefully neutral. “... Meltor.”

Invidia grinned. “That’s right. A sword empire going against a magic kingdom. Aura and magic, the countries with two opposing powers became my breeding ground. Humans are so foolish. Once a fire is lit, they don’t care where the fuse came from. They kept killing each other, and my purpose was achieved. Huhu, what lovely creatures.”

It had only been a guess. The fact that the king who had established a great empire in the middle of nowhere was a grimoire meant that Paragranum, who had helped establish Meltor, was suspicious. The pieces were starting to fit together.

Grimoires didn’t care about human ethics. They would commit good and evil in order to achieve their purpose of existence. The two grimoires cooperating for their own purposes had written the deep-rooted history of this Northern Continent. The appearance of titanium, the establishment of the magic towers which then became the foundation of the magic kingdom, and the recurrence of the armistice agreement, had all been their work.

More than ten million people had died in the intervening five hundred years, but the two grimoires felt no guilt at all. They didn’t regret it if it meant getting closer to their goals.

Gluttony took this moment to whisper in Theo’s mind.

- His inherent ability is to steal the power of others. Invidia symbolizes the sin of Envy, always searching for a power that he doesn’t have.

... Raising sword masters and eating them.

- That is accurate.

Then why not magicians or elementalists?

- Simple. The only thing he can steal is a ‘unique ability’. Magic and elementals belong to the same source. He can steal Sorcery, but it isn’t worth it unless he can use magic. It is more efficient to collect many Aura Abilities.

Theo’s eyebrows twitched. It really was a simple explanation. But if Invidia could steal Aura Abilities, it meant that every Aura Ability of every swordmaster in the history of the empire was in one body. He could be a big threat, having combined dozens of abilities. Not all abilities were as powerful as Zest’s Space Cut, but Theo couldn’t guarantee that there weren’t more powerful abilities than that.

.

The odds... Damn, I don’t know. I can’t get a sense of how strong he is.

Theo didn’t sense an overwhelming strength like he had with Fafnir or Desertio. However, that didn’t mean Invidia felt weaker than them. The previous two dragons were so overwhelming that it was like looking up at the distant night sky, and Invidia had the same abyss-like presence.

Regardless of the magnitude of his power, it was ominous.

If possible, don’t fight.

Theo suppressed his emotions and made a decision.

“Hmm, it isn’t pleasant to have bugs listening to my words. I need to remove these bugs before talking to you.”

Invidia raised his sword without a single bit of killing intent.

What?

He couldn’t react. Theo’s super sensitivity screamed out one beat late, but there was a person who reacted faster than that.

―――――――Kiiing!

Invidia’s eyes flicked to the side for the first time as a sharp ringing sound echoed.

“Hoh, you blocked it. Ah, the owner of this Aura Ability lost to you, Blue Tower Master.”

“I didn’t think I would see this ability again.” A few drops of blood fell from Blundell’s lips. “You’ve shortened my lifespan even more, Emperor.”

“Indeed, that makes sense. Your Flow is a Sorcery that interferes with this ability. I was wondering how someone at the 8th Circle could use Time Stop, but it was at the expense of your life.”

“A foul is a foul, isn’t it? Cough!” As the blue robe became stained with blood, Blundell’s large body stumbled.

This was the moment that an unsightly scene occurred.

Chaaeng!

Everything around that burly body froze as white smoke filled the air. The flow of air, conduction of heat, and reflection of light all stopped due to something interfering with it. It was Time Stop, the ultimate spell that originally could only be used by 9th Circle magicians. Blundell’s body bore a huge burden every time he used it.

“White Tower Master, now! Move as far as possible!”

“I understand!” The White Tower Master saw the emperor’s capabilities and immediately started drawing a magic circle under his feet.

This was already the second Mass Teleport of the day. It placed a considerable burden on him, but it was a hundred times better than dying. Even with Blundell’s Time Stop, Orta only finished casting the spell just before the emperor broke free.

Flash!

The twenty odd magicians appeared on the slope of a mountain. They were only ten kilometers away from their previous location. If possible, Orta had wanted to teleport them a hundred kilometers away, but this was the limit for instantly created magic circles.

Orta breathed roughly through the pain and said, “Sigh... Give me a few minutes to breathe.”

However, at that moment...

“―Get down!” Theo shouted as he felt a chill.

Zest’s Style Space Cut. Hidden Technique, Kill the Gap.

Fermut Style, Refraction Sword. Cutting from Both Ends!

Blood sprayed into the air.

Chwaaaaak!

Some of the magicians reacted quickly enough to avoid it thanks to Theo’s warning, but six people were bisected by the tremendous slash. The ones who couldn’t escape had used defense magic, but shields had no meaning before bent space itself.

This technique... Is it Zest Speitem’s?

Theo was intimately familiar with this space bending. But according to his memories, Zest had only been able to move a few meters with it. It wasn’t a technique that could be used to narrow a distance of ten kilometers, even if all his power was exhausted.

Gluttony, don’t tell me this is Invidia’s ability?

- He wouldn’t be a Seven Sins if he simply took the ability. He can use the ability to its maximum potential and combine several abilities. Even if it is the same ability, the power changes after entering his hands.

Crazy!

Regardless of whether he was aware of Theo’s astonishment or not, Invidia admired the fact that several humans had survived his strike.

“Hoh, interesting. I thought I would be able to finish it all at once. It seems like I can enjoy this outing. I will give you one chance. Feel free to attack.”

“This bastardddd!”

“I will surely kill you!”

The magicians were in a frenzy after losing their colleagues.

“Wait! Be more careful...”

However, it was too late as the magicians launched a frenzy of attacks. Theo hastily gathered his magic power to help as much as possible, releasing two Memorize slots.

Memorize. Two Slots Open. Double Infernal Blade.

One was just created by Theo, while the other two had been stored in advance. The three fire swords incinerated space as they flew through the air at the seemingly defenseless Invidia.

The other magicians also fired their own attack spells. Diamond Dust, Hell Fire, Acid Dragon, Thunder Calling... There was enough firepower to obliterate a high-level monster...

— — — — — —-!!

The earth shook. They were closer than Veronica had been when she’d bombarded the Andras swordmasters, but their spells were also highly concentrated. The magical bombardment melted the ground like magma, and the wind turned into a vacuum. This would wound a dragon, let alone a swordmaster. One of the magicians wondered if this barrage, comparable to the destructive power of an adult dragon, was enough.

“―Now, is it my turn?”

The magician cursed their own stupidity.

“I only took out Adamantine Might and Immutability, but you couldn’t even cause a scratch. I’ll have to get rid of the low-level bugs.”

Invidia looked like King Kesein who had been revered as a Sword King as a golden aura shone from his body. Even though a feared creature of the abyss was now residing in his body, the Sword King’s power was no different than it had once been. In fact, it had become even more powerful over the years.

Invidia walked over the boiling magma and sentenced them in a dry voice, “Die.”

A number of translucent swords appeared around his body.

Heart Sword State. Despise the Weak.

It was the ability of a swordmaster from the distant past who had the ability to mentally influence reality. A heart sword that couldn’t be blocked by physical defense needed to be blocked purely with the mind. If they didn’t resist, the ability wouldn’t just affect the mind but kill their actual body. A master would be able to bear some of the impact, but...

“T-This! Shit!” Theo yelled half a beat late as he realized the situation.

He responded too late because it was his first time encountering a mental Aura Ability. Apart from Theo and the six masters, all of the other magicians would die. Yes, even William and Sylvia who accompanied him.

T-Too late...

The heart sword was already shooting at William and Sylvia. In this situation, it was impossible to protect them. Theo closed his eyes as he hoped beyond hope that William and Sylvia’s mentality was strong enough. He didn’t think he could stand the horrors he would soon see.

Chwaaaak!

Blood soaked the ground in a large pool. Theo opened his eyes, and his eyes widened as he saw who was standing at its center.