"In other words, soon, you two need to leave." Maric said simply, without an ounce of politeness, refusing to soften the blow.
However, he was also right. They couldn't stay in Bravehearts Bar forever. They needed their own base of operations, money, resources, and a goal.
A goal was most important here. Without it, they were aimless and lost.
"And take that woman as well." Maric added bleakly, his tone as unchanged as the freezing cold in the Mirminsk mountains.
"I understand... Regardless, we need to take care of this first." Amelia sighed, nodding in understanding and pointed at their spoils of war with her middle finger, which was a bit strange, neither Maric nor Sam knew if it was on purpose or just a habit.
"Hmm... Right." Maric remained motionless, resembling a corpse as he spoke, then began a not-so-long discussion.
With his [Desire Sense], Sam was able to acutely grasp what Maric wanted and give it to him without hesitation or bargaining. He owed him that much, and Devils didn't like to be in debt, they enjoyed being on the other side, adding more to their victims' debts.
That meant Maric got the Beyonder Characteristics of the Zombie that had belonged to Raymond, the Werewolf's Characteristics, as well as those of the other prisoners they'd killed.
Amelia got every firearm and bullet, as well as the gold pounds the members of the Indulgence had on hand.
As for Sam, he'd consumed the Unwinged Angel's Beyonder Characteristics, while his horse ate the Provoker's. He also had the Beyonder Characteristics of Folk of Rage that had belonged to the Warden, and Selina's, which had fused with the bottle, turning it into a mystical artifact. Other than that, he also had his own hunted materials, the hearts of the Skinless Blood Cat and the Rat King.
Back then, he hadn't acted purely on impulse. He had been aware no one would buy the Unwinged Angel's Beyonder Characteristics, so he'd used it as the main ingredient for his potion while leaving the hearts of the two beasts intact, since they could be sold more easily.
Frowning, Sam glanced at the seemingly harmless bottle, wondering what he should name the mystical artifact. Eventually, he just nodded to himself and called it Price of Pleasure.
Overall, both Sam and Amelia had gained a lot from this long and painful journey, and had also lost someone very important to them.
With all the resources and money, they were good to go.
But they still needed direction. That's why they were thinking about what to do now.
"Hmm... Any suggestions?" Sam asked, grabbing raw meat and tearing the flesh from the bone, blood leaking down his chin. He wiped it and continued eating. When he was done with the meat, he grabbed the bone, shattered it with his teeth, and consumed it as well.
"Hmm..." Amelia was sipping black coffee, tapping her cheek in thought as she leaned back. "I need to continue my research, so I need a place to stay. It needs to be isolated so no one would bother me, most importantly, official Beyonders."
Sam nodded. He was in a similar situation, considering he wanted to practice his Curse Magic. Who knows? Maybe one day he'd compile a tome of his own and other devils would use his research, and eventually his curses. "Mhm... But we need to sell the useless materials first."
Amelia nodded, understanding their need for money. "I know a place where we can exchange them, so don't worry."
Sam hummed, rubbing his eyes and feeling exhausted, yawning with his left eye closed, scratching his belly after finishing his meal.
"Seriously, you could cook it and eat it later." She shook her head, her lips curling into an amused smile.
"Meh, it's a chore." Sam wiped a tear from his eye, crossing his legs on the table.
"What about the Demoness? Are you still having trouble because of her charm?" She inquired, genuinely intrigued by how he was dealing with her. Sam was still growing, so hormones might cause problems for him.
"I've found a way to counter it." Sam raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and closing his eyes with a proud nod.
"So what's that?" She leaned forward curiously.
"I've been masturbating numerous times a day, so every time I'm near her, I'm so exhausted from it I don't even care about her charm."
"What in the actual fuck..." Amelia blinked in bewilderment, her expression showing signs of real bafflement. "Wait a second... That's actually genius."
"Right, right."
"So who are you imagining?" She grinned, wondering who he was jerking off to.
Sam covered his face bleakly, grimacing in displeasure. "As much as it's annoying, it's her."
"Bahahaha!" Amelia burst into laughter, pointing her middle finger at him as if it were her index and slapped her lap. "What the hell? Seriously? Bahahaha."
However, one look from Maric shut her up, scratching the back of her head awkwardly and looking away in embarrassment.
Sam groaned, exhaling with bitterness. "What should we do about her? My ideas are either killing her or enslaving her. By the looks of it, humans aren't selling people... Hmm, they did it before?"
"We did, actually, but it was prohibited by law later by a King with the approval of the churches as well as the conservative party. Even those old-fashioned geezers figured out that slavery was destabilizing the foundation of the kingdom. As for the churches... Well, people hate slavery, in other words, they won't believe in gods that support and permit it, right? So they started making up nonsense about gods despising it from the very beginning, that they're benevolent and wise beings, like some kind of paragons of righteousness, in order to keep people faithful to them." Amelia explained her observation of history with a thoughtful look, her brow furrowing.
"I'm not aware of the details since I was never given information about it because of my lack of rank in the church. But I know that every time people walked away from faith, gods always did everything to bring them back... History tells us that directly, and only those who are blind cannot see the truth right in front of their eyes." She pursed her lips, her eyes dimming as she intertwined her fingers, leaning forward and lost in thought.
"For some reason... Gods desperately want mortals to worship them... As if they cannot exist without faith... That's the answer I'm able to give from my observation, however, I'm not sure about why... Why would gods who stand above reality want mortals to worship them? Why is it so necessary? The faith of insignificant mortals who are like bacteria compared to them..." She sighed, shaking her head.
"Oh, my bad, I went on a completely different subject." She blinked, smiling wryly, and exhaled softly.
As for Sam... What in actual fuck... She figured it out just by reading history books? Seriously? That's it? secrets of gods deduced by one weak girl, incidentally at that?
Sam was genuinely baffled by her words, since she was aware of the importance of anchors. Paimon had taught him that, as had his brother. His status as Prince was enough to gain information about it, not through permission but through connections.
However, if his brother or Paimon hadn't told him, he would have never thought about such a thing.
Haaaaa... That's the pathway of logic and knowledge for you, I guess.
Sam yawned, wiping his hands on his coat and sat up, cracking his neck with half-lidded, laid-back eyes, stretching his arms as his bones made a satisfying crack.
He looked down at his hands, noticing something new... So this is the effect of masturbation? Meh, this is disgusting, it completely drains a person. I feel so lethargic, like my life is meaningless. It's curious now that I think about it. What causes such a reaction... I feel stressed.
"Because you've been doing it nonstop for a week..."
Sam heard a lighthearted, amused voice emerging from the back of his mind and sighed.
I'm going insane... First there was a voice encouraging me to kill Raymond, one that talked about my past life which I barely remember.
And now there's another bastard who does nothing but wallow in sloth and lust.
"Don't be ungrateful, I'm giving you an answer, am I not? If you want to fuck that Demoness, just do it. You're a devil, who cares? Satisfy your desires." The voice was full of glee, laughing at Sam.
"Be quiet, Malice." Another voice appeared, this one more insidious, sinister and chilling, as if crawling out from the depth of an abyss. "What matters is power, Sinner. Chase it as you've always done and you'll reach your goal, destroy every distraction."
Why are they calling me Sinner... Sam sighed, listening to two strangers arguing in his head.
"That's boring, Hollow. Life is nothing if you don't enjoy it." Malice spat in displeasure.
"Pathetic weakling who cannot even control his impulses." The chilling voice of Hollow was saturated with disdain and scorn.
So who are you two, seriously? You've been talking in my head for a week already... Sam asked curiously. He had tested it already, they weren't capable of influencing his mind, nor of taking over his body, for some reason.
"We're you."
"You made us."
Both of them gave the same answer as before, telling him that what's the point of taking over his body if they already own it... Which was confusing as hell.
"Love already hurt us back in Berlin, Sinner. No matter what, someday, every relationship will end. That's why you should stop bothering with it. Trust me on this, we're all you need, and that is you." Hollow suddenly voiced his opinion, his tone melancholic and bitter.
As for Malice, he remained surprisingly silent.
Sam looked down, not knowing what to say. Berlin... What a familiar word... Is that a place? I remember explosions and toxic fog but... Haaa, what was I in my previous life...