Brain bloom

"Listen to your weak appearance. But you should also be grateful, that's why I spared your life."

Fernanda crossed her arms and stroked her face, a beautiful smile that conveyed despair rising on her face.

“Little guy, even after you’re trembling in the corner, watching the weaklings I summoned being crushed by my own eyes, I will still spare your life. I will only allow you to die when you realize that the plan has completely failed, and you’ve built your own coffin and begged for mercy on your knees a hundred times.”

"Hmph, the great being I summon next will deal with you. Even if you kill me and escape to the surface of the world, you will be hunted down to death. You are strong... but not that strong yet."

"You're quite confident. You should pick out a nice urn for yourself as a keepsake as soon as possible."

“The soul is dead and there are no ashes…” Mori muttered softly.

Fernanda stared at Mori with one eye large and the other small, her gaze subtle and unpredictable.

Sen coughed a few times.

She felt a bit nostalgic for those confrontations, because in the game era, fighting this Evil Dragon involved eliminating a total of one thousand awakened corrupted creatures, a process that was extremely arduous.

During this time, Fernanda will constantly provoke and insult players with such remarks, forcing them to shift their focus to her. She also has a "furious and enraged" effect, which lowers the player's intelligence...

It seems his verbal skills haven't gotten rusty yet.

"Finanda, I need to talk to you about something. Although I'm curious about what might be summoned, I'd better escape first, otherwise it will affect your battle."

"No, what he has in his hand is a special summoning ticket that only four of the entire soul race of the journey possess. It will probably summon those who were there during that transaction, after all, this is the price of an equal exchange."

"So, does this have anything to do with my running away?"

"So, I'm afraid it will summon something even higher than a demigod. It's too cramped here, making it inconvenient for me to fight. If you want to ensure a sure win, you'll have to stay and help me, Coffin Deliveryman Sen."

Mori felt a chill run down his spine, having initially thought the commotion would be minimal: "Aren't you supposed to be able to crush it easily?"

"Ha, that's just a show of force used to defeat the enemy."

After being speechless for a long time, Mori felt defeated.

"If I help you, you have to pay me."

"...When did you become so greedy? That's right, you targeted me back then because you wanted my treasure!"

"That's right! I've got my eye on your treasure. When are you going to give me that special cloak you've been keeping? Also, I'm not kidding, give me a whole bunch of gold coins as payment."

"Looking for wealth from dragons? You're dreaming. I do have a lot of dragon flames, enough to cleanse your entire body and soul."

Mori remained silent, intending to explain the reasons from the beginning, but before she could utter the numbers she had dropped, she felt a powerful force emanating from Teng's hands.

Oops……

With a smile, he held the summoning ticket high in his hand. It was ancient, seemingly fragile enough to shatter at the slightest touch, yet the power emanating from it was ancient and profound, signifying that his time to watch the show was over.

"No joke, I want cash, give me a thousand gold coins," Mori said hurriedly.

"Wealth is all in the nest."

"...Give me all the gold coins you have, hurry up! You can surely come up with a few gold coins, right?!"

Teng was very pleased with himself, stroking the Evil Mist and then bursting into laughter: "Fear! A great being is about to descend, and you cannot stop it. Even if you appeal to the Seasons, it will be in vain."

"I don't carry money with me when I go out..."

"Damn it, we need to get back to the surface immediately and get Melia..."

The summoning ticket was torn apart, shattering into a total of one thousand pieces, as fine as snowflakes. They gleamed with a dim, dark light, completely overwhelming the skull lamp that Mori was holding. Instantly, Mori felt suffocated, as the air was filled with an oppressive, dark power.

She quickly counted her belongings; she had only a few dozen gold coins left.

Helpless, they could only hope that Fernanda could win, even if it was a difficult process. If only Fufu were here, he could quickly deliver the message and then call Melia for help…

The summoned creature, accompanied by an incredibly sharp and eerie wind, descended upon this place.

"I never expected that this thing wouldn't have weathered away. No wonder I always felt like something was calling to me."

The creature appeared alarmed, its eyes wide and its whole body puffed out. Its feathers became much fluffier, making it look plumper. But it wasn't afraid; it was expressing intimidation.

"In response to the 'World Trade' contract of the Chaotic Age, I, Ron Stolt, the Ancient Demon King, answer your call! Native inhabitants of the world, race forsaken by the true gods! Be grateful for my greatness in keeping the contract."

"King of the Ancient Demons, please stop them, so that... I may awaken the primordial evil."

"Primordial evil? Wait, the coffin bearers?" The ancient demon king was also taken aback, his body tilting and almost falling backward.

"Hey..." Mori waved his hand, his face full of worry.

"Ron Stolt!"

"...Why is this evil dragon here too?!"

Volume 1, Chapter 249: This is what a transaction should be like.

Mori felt deep down that he had a special connection with the ancient Demon King. At first, Mori was a little reserved, after all, the Demon King was likely a terrifying and difficult person to deal with.

But repeated encounters and casual conversations proved that this guy wasn't an annoying devil.

But Moritoki never expected that they would meet again just a few days later... and in such an adversarial way. Based on his understanding of this owl, Moritoki felt that this battle was unlikely to break out.

The once majestic ancient demon king, summoned here, could only stare blankly as it looked Senshi and Fernanda up and down. It, too, had completely unexpected this turn of events.

Although it came fluffy like an owl ball to threaten its opponents, it has now unknowingly transformed its body into a long and narrow shape, a posture it adopts when hiding and avoiding enemies.

"Why haven't you made a move yet?" Teng asked anxiously.

"These two enemies are indeed far too powerful."

"That's why I called you out!"

"—Ron Stolt, what do you intend to do?" Fernanda seemed to be an old acquaintance of the Ancient Demon King, her tone indicating their equal status and familiarity. "Want to fight us?"

"Fighting? That's so boring. Besides, I don't want to hurt the coffin bearers, because they are my daughter's good friends. I also don't want to hurt you, because my daughter's best friend is your little niece."

"You're so thoughtful, you devil."

But the summoner wouldn't allow this atmosphere to spread: "Ancient Demon King, I summoned you to fight! To stop these invaders! Do you... intend to break the deal?"

"If you want to be enemies with both of us, you'll probably have a hard time getting away unscathed." Mori patted his chest, having also learned the art of bluffing.

"After all, the Four Seasons are the true gods..."

"But things aren't that complicated. You've been summoned here, so you should abide by the agreement. Although we have a relationship, there's no need to be so polite."

Mori casually suggested—

"I'm proposing a deal with you. Let's settle this in a way that's not about fighting. If you win, both Fernanda and I will obediently step aside, allowing the little guy to achieve his goal, which is to buy time for Evil Mist... to absorb its nourishment, right?"

“Yes!” Teng shouted, though he was a little confused.

"If I lose, I'll have done my best to help. Indeed, that's why I was summoned, and it doesn't break the deal. I accept it, but how shall we decide the outcome?"

"Aren't they supposed to be fighting? Why aren't they fighting yet?!" Teng felt even more confused.

"The way to win..." Mori took out a gold coin. Nothing could be simpler or more effective than this: "Guess heads or tails."

The ancient demon king immediately looked pleased.

"Good! This deal is done! Since I would inevitably suffer serious injuries if we fought, this deal avoids that, thus eliminating the possibility of injury for both sides and achieving an equal exchange. As a result, this is a rare deal with no cost."

"All that fancy talk is just bragging that you could fight us to a draw..."

"Ahem, anyway, that's how the deal is."

Sen's suggestion kept the feathers on the ancient demon king fluffy as before, thus also avoiding a troublesome battle.

If a real fight breaks out, it won't just be a matter of injuries; this city, this sea area... and even the entire human world will suffer irreversible damage. And, well, that won't make you happy.

“You choose first, Ancient Demon King,” Mori said, holding up the gold coin.

“I’ll bet on the SB side… oh no, you’re the coffin carrier, these two sacred letters should belong to you, so I’ll bet on the ROOT side.”

"Fine, fine, then I'll be an idiot." She was already unfazed and used to it.

But just as she was about to toss a coin, a burst of angry shouting interrupted them.

Only after a moment did he realize they were in cahoots, and he was furious, clutching his head.

"Damn it, you wretched devil! I knew you were no good the moment you tricked and forcibly bought our world back then!"

But all he could do was grit his teeth and glare at the ancient demon king.

Seeing her opponent's predicament, Fernanda casually sneered, "Heh, who told you to bring in a devil to deal with the Four Seasons? Isn't it written clearly in your tradition? They used to be a group."

In order to defend his reputation, the ancient demon king immediately spoke righteously.

“I honored the deal, but you are a clumsy amateur. Your use of the summoning ticket was crude, leaving too many loopholes in the deal. To the cunning Four Seasons Master… it’s child’s play! Of course, you can be easily manipulated.”

Teng immediately realized who had defeated him, and looked utterly dejected: "Damn... the Four Seasons Master."

"Furthermore, I don't want to see the primordial evil awakened now. I need to save time for my daughter; I don't have time to deal with what you want to awaken. Alright, coffin bearers, flip a coin."

Mori put away his sympathy for Transcription and for being a Four Seasons Person, and silently tossed a coin high in the air.

Three distinct pairs of eyes, along with Fernanda's perception, were all focused on that clear, golden yellow.

It spun gracefully, flipping several times, before slowly falling to the ground. When the pleasant thud subsided, all four had seen the outcome.

The side facing upwards is the opposite chosen by the ancient Demon King.

"Did we lose?" Fernanda asked somewhat anxiously.

“No, we won.” Mori said seriously, “I just said to guess heads or tails, not ‘the person who picks the top side wins,’ so this game is actually ‘the person who picks the bottom side wins.’”

"That's so despicable! What's the point of playing such petty tricks?!" Ignoring her fear, Teng cursed at Sen Shi, "I'll fight to the death! I will never accept such a stunt!"

Mori's words seemed to have not only angered Teng, but also made the ancient demon king blush.

"Um, the coffin carrier... that's a bit... far-fetched. Could you give it another way?"

"...Very well then, Ancient Demon King and Traveling Soul, you have won. Fernanda and I will withdraw and wait for the little Evil Mist he sent out to absorb its nourishment. Now, send it out."

Teng was very proud of his victory: "I have sent out my Calamity Mist, but the seal has suppressed it once again... I can't send it out. But sending it out a few times is enough. You can just wait and see."

He stroked the cloud of ominous mist in his arms.

The ancient Demon King's rules of trade told it that both transactions were perfectly completed and it could return. However, the ancient Demon King sensed some dishonesty coming from Sen Shi.

"Why... are you so calm?" Tengye asked.

"I just think you're pretty clueless... I feel a little guilty for bullying you. By the way, since you didn't send out the Evil Mist you have, it's not within the scope of the trade."

After saying that, Mori approached Teng with a smile and handed him the Holy Skull Lamp in a friendly manner.