Avalon borrowed the body of 15-year-old magical girl Lily, but the spirit of the target, who earnestly sought world domination, hadn’t changed one bit.
“Arise, my loyal servant Riske.”
“Master…”
“Did you endure only by looking at my body?”
“No…! The girl just…”
“Accept it. This is merely a more cost-effective and economical body to conquer the world in gold. How can you be disheartened when the soul you admired and respected is still connected?”
As Avalon’s hand caressed Riske’s head, Riske grasped that hand and placed it against her cheek, overwhelmed with emotion and tears streaming down.
Riske had accepted her master’s new form.
“Wow, double the women! You two should have a pretty love life!”
“I owe you a debt of gratitude. To impart a resurrection technique superior to that of [First Wahyhiemhai]. Is this what they mean by a child better than its parents? While both the father and daughter have been of help, your assistance was even greater.”
“I’ll take my thanks in points!”
“I’ll pay with a portion of the saved power.”
[Golden Magical Girl Avalon has provided 5 billion points.]
Wow, as expected from the target!
Indeed, she paid a hefty sum in one go!
Thanks to this, I can now easily acquire top-tier number artifacts.
One of the reasons why capable fourth-year students stick around the academy for a few more years as assistants after graduation is now in my hands: the massive amount of money needed to acquire rental and purchase rights to number artifacts.
“To achieve my great undertaking, I’m still lacking in body, but I now have a method to substitute for it.”
As Avalon’s eyes reflected the unyielding will unique to magical girls and the mental fortitude of a golden merchant who had endured for thousands of years, there was a target before that will and mental fortitude—the greatest threat to the world and the center where the world’s wealth could be seized.
“Gift Academy. The forbidden knowledge dedicated to the future of that place has been offered to me by the Dark Princess; you guide my path.”
“Gah! I didn’t really think of that!”
“Your words carry no hint of falsehood. However, as one who possesses dark mana like the lord of darkness, you might indeed have the ability to twist truth and falsehood from your very heart to deceive the world.”
Avalon, who had no intention of listening or believing, surveyed the resurrected facility and said.
“Evil Dragon Omoshiroi. If I am to discuss reaching the pinnacle in a world ruled by that formidable being who heralded the end of my era, there’s no way I can bypass the Gift Academy. I shall align with your grand plan.”
“What grand plan?”
“The subjugation of the Evil Dragon. A secondary desire felt in passing is to bring despair to the Director of the Foundation. And the third desire, which feels like an afterthought, is to be loved by everyone? You’re quite the greedy child.”
“Ah, don’t read my mind!”
“Hahaha! Indeed, a girl’s body is quite amusing. If it were that of a man, desires that could not be so frightening now appear so adorable and evoke a wish to cheer; it’s worth falling for that cunning temptation.”
The face crafted from gold and knowledge smiled, and in the brilliance of its glinting golden light around the eyes, it held endless passion toward all challenges.
“By the way, have you really considered and acted upon the desires connected to the
“Huh?”
“I sense a desire for the same yet different existence within you. Ah… there exists a
“…!”
Avalon, a figure of mere appearance in the original work that never reached resurrection, was astoundingly powerful—the reality of Avalon who always languished in the shadows to fill the endlessly high goal of the golden merchant.
The ability to read the desires of others.
This skill pierces through all lies and tricks.
Even I was astonished by her skill of reading the desires of Darknodi, the clone connected to me.
“If that evil candidate includes the master of the magical territory, then my resurrection and withdrawal would be a disruption by releasing a food for Darknodi, blocking her path, right?”
“Ah!”
That’s right.
I intended to collect a soul from a Blood Band executive during my trip to the magical territory, but unintentionally, I also encountered the evil candidate who could become Darknodi’s meal.
Now that Avalon had been resurrected, Darknodi had missed an event dungeon’s magical boss she would have acquired.
“I feared that you might, even late, realize this fact and lay hands on my loyal servant Riske for the purpose of ‘recouping losses’. Would you be interested in making a deal then?”
“What kind of deal?”
“I’m aware that the starting point of your desires lies in
“Ah, the Blood Band’s new executives! Do you know where they are?”
As Avalon gestured, Riske brought forward a carriage from the golden treasury.
On the carriage was an instrument.
“As you can see, it has vanished into the remains of an instrument, having become a sacrifice for my resurrection.”
“Ah, my ensemble!”
Gwakjo mumbled from behind.
“Should I feel fear from the conversation of girls who devour human souls and bodies, or should I feel fear from a Dark Princess yearning for what she didn’t eat?”
Fortunately, Avalon was a generous magical boss.
“The original soul you wished for has already been digested and has become one with me, but I propose a deal to assuage your desire to separate the soul from my body.”
As Riske removed the cloth covering the carriage, a pile of instruments and magical tools were revealed.
“The remaining treasures in my treasury have been transformed into
“Wow!”
“Will you abandon your intentions to harm us and accept coexistence with me and Riske?”
“Of course!”
Having exceeded the target by over 10,000%, it was clear the number of enhancement materials compatible with existing instruments exceeded 1,000 at a glance.
With that, I immediately began to sing the enhancement chant, raising the success rate as the massive golden mana densely packed in this space further supported the enhancement.
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 3.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 4.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 5.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 6.]
[The grade of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has increased from
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 7.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 8.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 9.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 10.]
[The enhancement level of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has risen to Level 11.]
[The grade of the ego item [Violin of the Soul] has increased from
The Violin of the Soul.
The performance of the ego item that encapsulates the soul of the Blood Band executive had risen tremendously.
———
[Item: Violin of the Soul (Special Relic +11, New Number)]
Grade – Unique Level 3
Description – Originally intended as a torture device to extract desired information by inflicting pain upon captured souls, it blossomed further as a soul instrument and debuff generator, becoming a unique weapon of Oknodie.
Effect 1 – Stores souls in the instrument.
Effect 2 – Incorporates the screams of stored souls into the performance.
Effect 3 – The instrument creates a unique area that automatically plays the desired music of the owner.
Effect 4 – The instrument follows the owner around on its own.
Effect 5 – As long as the owner’s mana isn’t broken, the instrument ignores hits.
Effect 6 – As the output of the instrument amplifies, the moment the owner’s mana falls short of the accumulated negative emotions in the instrument, it shall initiate an attack to bring about the owner’s ruin.
Effect 7 – The types of souls being confined increase.
Effect 8 – This magical tool is classified as a number artifact and falls within the new number measurement period. When the measurement concludes, the magical tool’s effectiveness will improve with number correction.
Emotion Value – 33 million, 3.35 billion points.
———
Number Artifacts.
Items classified with the title of numbers for the world’s most valuable 999 artifacts, categorized as single number, double number, and triple number.
The Violin of the Soul has proudly entered that league of numbers.
‘It seems there’s even more potential for growth here since the rank isn’t specifically determined!’
Depending on the soul contained inside, the performance could vary widely; thus, the moment it’s packed full of souls, the ranking of the number artifacts might undergo a tremendous upheaval.
“As a bonus, with you, Dark Princess, there’s no need to prepare any measures against ‘that man’ of the Foundation. I shall gift you these souls.”
Avalon opened her mouth wide and puffed out a cloud of mist, causing the murky souls separated from her mind and body to rise roundly into the air.
[Collective Souls of Foundation Executives]
“Though they may not possess distinct characteristics of a single soul, there should be no shortage in utilizing them as disposable materials for tuning the instrument.”
“Eh? That’s unnecessary! They can’t play instruments!”
“A soul is useful in itself, isn’t it?”
“Handling such vile power means I’ll grow into an Evil Child! A kind and gentle child wouldn’t handle souls that can’t play instruments!”
Hearing this, everyone expressed disbelief, but the beings who had intended to guide my fate seemed deeply moved by my words, causing my [Kind Child] experience points to surge.
It was as if the [Evil Child] experience points skyrocketed by 100, responding urgently to the situation.
