“……It’s here.”
And finally.
A presence I’d never felt before. But I knew instantly it was a card made by Celine.
It was made for that purpose. Of course.
“I’m going, Master.”
The first card was Sloth.
It was a terrifying card with the ability to bring the movements of any ‘sentient being’ around it to a near halt. Eventually, it would even stop their heartbeats and breathing.
But it didn’t work on Misty. Misty blocked the card’s power.
She approached without any danger, recovered it, and controlled it.
“Were you watching, Master? I’m fulfilling my role. I will continue to fulfill it. I have value, don’t I…?”
After that, she returned to Celine’s house, and wandered around searching for cards.
One day, I suddenly wondered what had happened to my family home and looked into it. My parents were executed for the responsibility of Misty killing the minister. My baby brother was sent to an orphanage, and his whereabouts after that were unknown.
My parents, who had tormented me, were dead, and my family home was gone. Even though I was the one who looked into it, I didn’t feel anything in particular.
About ten years after finding the first one, I finally sensed a reaction from the second card.
“…I’ve found it. ‘Lust’ is inside your body. I will retrieve it.”
Misty was deep in the forest.
Even deeper than the place where she had met that strange trio a few days ago.
What awaited her there was a grotesque thing that could only be described as a mass of flesh.
It was about five meters in diameter.
A mottled pattern of purple and red, like rotting raw meat.
It pulsed and expanded like a heart, spewing yellow gas from countless holes. And many tentacles, resembling sea anemones, grew and wriggled regardless of the wind.
It was hideous.
It was an appearance that I would rather not look at if I could help it.
But averting your eyes in the face of an enemy is suicide. Celine had taught her that.
The mass of flesh was extending its tentacles, taking the forest’s monsters into its body.
Perhaps, this mass of flesh was originally a common monster in this forest.
It had taken in various monsters, swelled up, and become this form.
It wasn’t just a fusion.
It was giving birth to the offspring of the monsters it had taken in.
“Normally, the birth of a new life should be a moving scene, but…”
The surface of the mass of flesh swelled up like a bubble, forming a lump. The lump separated and rolled onto the ground.
A strange creature broke through the lump from the inside and cried out.
Each one looked completely different.
They had unnatural appearances, as if someone had torn up pictures from an animal encyclopedia and pasted them together randomly.
Such things were being born one after another.
Furthermore, probably because of that yellow gas.
Monsters were mating everywhere. Regardless of whether they were different species. And the moment after mating, their bellies would swell, and a child that was a mix of the two species that had mated would pop out.
These were the source of the synthetic creatures (Chimeras) that had been sighted in this forest recently.
As time passed, this mass of flesh would grow, the range of Lust’s effect would expand, and the generation of synthetic creatures (Chimeras) would accelerate.
Even if each one was weak, a large army could easily crush a city. And they would swallow humans and use them as material for synthetic creatures (Chimeras)… Just thinking about it was horrifying.
“But, I made it in time before it was too late. I will annihilate them all here.”
Misty’s fighting spirit surged. And–.
“Transform.”
As she spoke the word, her whole body was enveloped in light.
Her clothes changed into something flamboyant.
It wasn’t just her appearance that changed. The flow of her magical power was completely different.
The previous form was her normal form to maintain her lifespan. This form was her combat form for annihilating enemies and recovering cards.
As for why her combat form was so frilly and cute, that was entirely the creator’s hobby.
“Come forth from purgatory, Sin–Overflow, Sloth.”
No matter how many enemies there were, it wouldn’t be a problem if she stopped them.
She hit the immobilized synthetic creatures (Chimeras) with her staff. At the moment of impact, she released magical power and made them explode.
“Let’s start by having the source of all this die.”
She approached the mass of flesh.
She thrust her staff into it and released magical power inside.
The huge mass shattered into pieces with a single blow.
Blood and fragments rained down on the forest, but none of it hit Misty. She had controlled her magical power to do that.
And in the place where the mass of flesh had been, a card had fallen.
Without a doubt, it was the Lust card.
“Retrieval complete. I was able to do the second one by myself too. I’m properly meeting Master’s expectations… Right, Master?”
When Misty picked up the card, it disappeared into her palm.
Storing the Seven Deadly Sins Origin cards. That was also one of the functions that Misty had.
Five more to go.
As long as she continued to retrieve them, Misty could remain Celine’s doll.
Then, what would happen after she collected all seven?
Would she become worthless again?
“No. Continuing to seal them is also an important role. Once I collect all seven, I’ll return to that house…”
And then dig a hole next to Master’s grave, and sleep together under the ground.
Suddenly, such a thought came to mind. It felt like a pretty good idea.
But first, defeating the synthetic creatures (Chimeras) here was the priority.
She would dwell on her thoughts after that.
There were many of them.
But they were no match for Misty.
It was a monotonous task.
That’s why she couldn’t help but think about other things.
Like how she wanted to see Master.
Or how it was crazy to try to get recognition from someone she could no longer see.
Or whether this was really proving her worth.
No, no. She had to try not to think about it.
If she thought too deeply, she wouldn’t be able to move.