When Did I Become An Artifact Dealer?!
Chapter 77 - 78: You Want The Key? Here Is It

Chapter 77: Chapter 78: You Want The Key? Here Is It

Then, without warning, Cail laughed.

The laugh didn’t sound evil or scary.

It was something worse.

A laugh that sounded like it came from someone having the time of his life... But at this moment? This could be the worst possible moment.

"Wait—what are you—" Sellene’s voice cracked, but the scream never came.

"Ugh," Cail muttered to himself. "This thing’s corrupted. Guess there’s only one way to get rid of the rotten spot from an apple..."

With impeccable precision, as if he had rehearsed this action a hundred times in his head... Or maybe he was experienced? But who knows... Cail slashed the blade down. Straight onto his own arm.

It wasn’t a shallow cut. It was a crack followed by a dull, meaty thud as the blade cleaved through tendon, muscle, and bone. It was pure amputation.

Cail’s arm fell to the ground like raw meat.

Blood sprayed out into the air.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" someone screamed. Cail had no idea who it was because his ears were ringing in pain. He had tried different injuries before, but he had never tried losing a body part.

It hurt.

FUCKER, IT HURTS!

At this point, Cail couldn’t even control his breathing. He was in too much pain.

His breathing was labored as his body swayed slightly from the blood loss. If one could see his eyes, they would notice that they were unfocused.

Then something terrifying happened.

The black-red void energy, similar to the core, surged out. It resembled black smoke. It wrapped around the bleeding stump... Then something grew. Yes, not just healing it, but reshaping it. The first thing that came out was the bones, followed by raw flesh and taut muscle wrapping around the bone. Then lastly, skin crawled over it like candle wax melting in reverse.

The new arm formed in seconds.

Cail looked at his new hand. He clenched and unclenched it, like a newborn playing with his hands. He noticed that this new hand seemed to be more flexible and stronger than the last.

After settling with his display, he couldn’t ignore the hot stares being thrown at him. He looked at the crowd that were staring at him and laughed, "Pfft~ Hahahahaha. You all keep looking at me like I’m a monster."

"Don’t look at me like that. This is just the beginning," Cail said, his voice filled with mirth. "If you think this was horrifying, wait until you see what’s next."

Cail bent down and picked up his cut-off arm. It was still glowing with the mark of the key.

"You want the key?" Cail called out, his voice filled with mischief. His eyes were looking at the Chairman. "Here it is," he said as he waved his arm around. Blood was still spurting.

Then Cail leaned forward ever so slightly and whispered, "Fetch." Like he was calling some dog to gnaw on the bone.

Seban muttered, "This guy is crazy."

The Chairman was initially silent. But seeing Cail acting like that, he opened his mouth, "You think this is clever?" he finally said, his voice low and dangerous. "You’ve defiled something ancient. You mock it with your theatrics."

Cail tilted his head and looked at the key. "You mean this? Defiled?" Then he laughed like crazy, "Hahahahahahhaha! You’re fucking funny. You treat this as if it were sacred? Your ’ancient key’ is just a glorified parasite."

The Chairman’s expression didn’t change, but his aura did.

"Do you think you’ve won?" the Chairman asked quietly.

Why is this guy talking like he knows what he is saying? Cail frowned. "Either your understanding of people is shallow or you’re just dumb... But can’t you see that I’m just getting started?"

"You devoured a soul-bound core," the Chairman said flatly. "That thing was connected to a God. What do you think happens now?"

Hearing that, Cail became even more excited. Of course he knew. The moment that core was in his hands, he knew that something was connected with it underground.

"Why are you saying that like it’s a bad thing~? Well, probably to others, but I’m counting on it."

The Chairman’s gaze sharpened. "You reckless little—"

"Oh, please. Stop talking like you’re in a lecture." Cail waved his amputated arm. "I’m not your student, nor am I under your management."

He stared at the Chairman’s eyes sternly. "You better act like you’re facing an enemy, not a child throwing a tantrum. Here’s a word of advice."

Cail opened his arms. "Everyone is already here? I can see that a lot of you chose to remain hidden, but that doesn’t matter." He licked his lips. "Since you joined my party, I won’t leave you all unentertained."

"Time to witness a miracle... or a disaster." With that, he threw the limb into the hole.

They had no time to react when a blinding white light erupted from the hole.

It was white... too white. It wasn’t a color but something they could sense from the light. It was as if every color vanished, turning everything into a white canvas.

The ground screamed, but what they were hearing wasn’t sound. It was something unknown... something that shouldn’t be heard in human cognition.

A hand emerged from the hole. It was enormous, with multiple faces growing on it. Something from inside the hole was coming out.

The creature pulled itself up from the pit, and the moment people saw what it looked like, they all collectively vomited. Not because it was ugly, which it really was, but because they seemed to be looking at something that humans aren’t supposed to see.

"Close your eyes!" Seban said as he screamed at the weaker void users. For those who are advanced, while this is straining, it is not something they couldn’t fight off.

To be honest, this is too sudden for these children. The void energy is already weakening in their world, then all of a sudden, they were faced with a God that didn’t even appear during the previous era. One thing’s for sure: either this trip is hell, or it’s something worth it.

Of course, Seban was the only one thinking that way. As for the others, this was clearly not a good thing.

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