Chapter 140: Agreements

"...Wow... Eleventar, so you’re really staying?" Yomo speaks pleasantly, surprised by Eleventar’s answer. He is the apostle of the fifth floor, belonging to the [Soul Hunter] race.

Eleventar has the appearance of a sphere of purple light. He is a being without a physical body, and in this form he communicates through the minds of those nearby. He normally possesses other people’s bodies in order to have a physical form.

The standard physical body he uses most often is that of a man with long black hair and deep purple eyes, a strong build, and fists covered in black markings caused by a curse. That is the body he is currently using.

His name is a combination of three other names, derived from [Worm], [Element], and [Vitar]. In the game, [Vitar] is also treated as the formula of life, derived from theories surrounding the philosopher’s stone.

Among the apostles Yomo allowed to remain in the palace, Eleventar was one of them. He was the only apostle who did not go watch Nio’s fight, preferring to stay on the fifth floor.

The fifth floor is an immense cemetery, filled with tombstones and a constant dark, faintly purple fog. When looking up at the sky, one can see the cosmos and a beautiful sea of stars, while the ground is slightly sticky and dark, with the color of damp earth.

Eleventar had been wondering whether he should remain in the palace after Nio’s death. He does not necessarily feel angry at Yomo. In fact, he had already expected Yomo to become a traitor if he ever got the chance.

"...I’ve decided to stay. The fifth floor is valuable to me, and you’re a leader who will cause many deaths, which also has some degree of value to me as long as I can obtain more bodies." Eleventar does not agree with Yomo, nor with Yomo’s methods, but he likes results, and as long as there are results, he will not complain.

"That’s perfect, Eleventar. I knew allowing you to stay would be a good decision... Has Citrinitas decided whether she’s staying or not?" Yomo also allowed Citrinitas, the apostle of the seventh floor, to remain in the palace.

Citrinitas Albus belongs to the Artificial Life race (Based on the Goddess of the Void). She has the appearance of a beautiful girl with long black hair and equally black eyes, without a single trace of light in either of them. She has large breasts and a literally gigantic physique.

Standing 30 meters tall, although she can shrink down to a two-meter form, she was created in the image of a goddess, so her physique is very similar to that of the being she was inspired by.

Despite that, her body is completely hollow inside. She has no organs whatsoever. Her body is nothing more than an empty shell controlled by magical strings. The true Citrinitas is more akin to a spiritual magical parasite that feeds on the magic in the environment and uses that magic to move her physical body.

She is an apostle who was watching the fight, but she did not care much about what Yomo did. Her interest was focused on other things. Yomo knows Citrinitas would have no problem with him, so he also allowed her to stay in the palace without much questioning.

"I don’t know. She doesn’t usually leave the seventh floor, but as far as I know, she still hasn’t decided." The seventh floor is an immense laboratory filled with research areas, but it is also the floor with the largest number of traps in the entire palace.

There are a total of 53,000 different traps covering every inch of the place. They only fail to activate for people who have permission to enter. Any other intruder would have a hard time moving even a single meter forward without triggering some random trap.

Since it is a laboratory, it is a place Citrinitas does not want to leave, so Yomo also uses this factor in the hopes of being able to get Citrinitas’s help if necessary.

"Hmmm, so she hasn’t decided yet... That’s a problem. I can’t keep someone who won’t follow the rules of my home. If you see her, tell her she has a time limit to give me an answer."

"And if the answer is no, tell her she can leave without even speaking to me. I’ll accept that as her refusal. I don’t plan on going after her or fighting her if she refuses to stay. I don’t need her anyway when I already have this entire palace for myself."

"..." Eleventar finds Yomo’s attitude extremely arrogant. Regardless of Yomo’s strength, all the apostles are powerful, and in a one-on-one fight between the apostles, Yomo has absolutely no guarantee of victory against anyone other than Azalea, and possibly Melissa, who focuses more on agility and fast attacks, although even she is not a complete guarantee depending on what tricks Melissa uses.

"I know what you’re thinking, Eleventar, and I’m not being arrogant. I have all of Nio’s treasure. You have no idea what kind of powerful things she has hidden in that vault, and luckily that idiot opened it. I won’t even need to force my way into the vault."

"The vault?" Eleventar becomes curious about that.

"Yes, of course. I also plan to share some of the items from the vault with my allies, if you know what I mean."

"...That sounds more interesting than merely being given permission to stay in this place... By the way, Yomo, I have a question. Where is Moros? Did you kick him out? That could end up becoming a defensive problem."

"Each floor was adjusted for its respective owner. Right now, almost all the floors are without defenses because you expelled everyone, so only three floors are being defended, and the minimum should have been four... Moros was good at defending his floor and detecting enemies..."

"I know, Eleventar, but I kicked that little worm out. He wouldn’t accept obeying me. He’s Nio’s little dog. Even though he was undeniably useful, let’s stop talking about that. Want to have some wine with me?"

"...Why the strange sudden closeness?"

"Hahaha, strange? I’m just trying to establish proper bonds with a companion. After all, it’s only a matter of time before Nio returns from hell. In that case, don’t you think it’s better to ally with me and gain the benefits of killing Nio permanently, rather than trying to serve Nio when she returns, perhaps with her mind driven insane from escaping hell?"

"Eleventar, I hope you don’t forget about the spirits, and how they behave when they leave hell." Yomo brings up the spirits, making Eleventar think about them. They are already terrible creatures, but when they die and leave hell, most of them return even worse than before.

"...You’re right... I have nothing against Nio, but I’d rather follow a leader like you than some lunatic with a broken mind... However, Yomo, you’re not exactly the sanest person either... The maids told me what you do with Nio’s body."

"...And does that matter?"

"...I suppose not... But when power goes to your head, if you become a problem, I’ll abandon you. So think carefully about how you’re going to act from now on. I hope I don’t see anything else that makes me question your already questionable sanity." Eleventar starts walking away while Yomo laughs.

"Says the guy who also plays with corpses. For a necromancer, you’re pretty damn narrow-minded, but okay then, Eleventar. I don’t plan on going insane, but I’ve always wanted Nio for myself. Silencing that little bitch’s arrogance is something that satisfies me quite a lot right now."

"So, about my sanity? It’s perfectly fine."

"Great, Yomo. We can drink wine tomorrow. Today, I have matters to take care of on my floor." Eleventar gives Yomo a disinterested wave, and Yomo responds with a confident smile, genuinely believing he will be able to kill Nio when she leaves hell.