Chapter 34

[Obtained usable anomalous item, the “Materialist Soul (Bright Red)” badge with hidden properties activated]

[Materialist Soul (Anomalous · Bright Red · Unable to Upgrade): ……]

[Wearing Effect: ……]

[Advanced Route: ……]

[Hidden Properties: Badge slot +2, Current number of slots: 5, Total anomalous items required to unlock next slot: 4]

[Your Taint Value has increased]

[Current Taint Value is: 0.9]

…

After carefully reading the description of the “Witch’s Broom,” especially the taint value of 0.5, Leon couldn’t help but shift his gaze toward the Black Goat on the desk, his expression unusually complicated.

You’re really weak, aren’t you…?

Every day you boast about being an incredible great demon, looking down on everyone and everything, yet your taint value can’t even beat a broom? Do you know that if you hadn’t “upgraded” yesterday, your taint value would only be one-fifth of this broom’s? One broom could equal five demons like you… That’s just… too embarrassing…

“What are you staring at!”

After making direct contact with Leon’s eyes, the Black Goat, whose face still bore the imprint of a shoe, raised its neck and angrily questioned Leon: “Are you dissing me? You jerk! We’ve been through life-and-death situations together! When you were almost killed by that old man, I was the one who took the hit for you! Now that you’ve got a new anomalous item, you’re dissing me?”

“No, no.”

Though this guy is always trying to tempt him into falling and incites him to do bad things, saving his life was real. As someone who is mild-mannered and values old relationships, Leon had no choice but to silently turn his head and lied unconvincingly: “You misunderstood me, I’m not dissing your weakness… really, I’m not.”

“…”

Then why don’t you look at me and say it?! If Leon directly criticized the Black Goat for being weak, it might not have felt as aggrieved. The Black Goat has never shied away from verbal sparring matches.

But Leon’s sympathetic expression, filled with pity because he didn’t want to hurt the goat’s feelings, was like saying “I’m sorry” and then adding “Okay?” It pierced right through the Black Goat’s pride as a Great Demon.

“Stop looking down on us demons!”

With a plop, it flipped off the table, landing on the carpet where it rolled around in anger:

“I am a true Great Demon! A renowned Great Demon throughout the Abyss!”

“Yeah, yeah, I believe you. Your abilities are actually pretty strong.”

“Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!”

Enraged to the point of brain pain, the Black Goat screamed: “You little… when I first descended, I was ambushed! My heart, my eyes, my stomach… all got ripped out, and my horns were messed up by that red-haired woman! Don’t judge me now; if you can find all my lost parts, I’ll be the strongest… top ten… at least top thirty anomalous items in the Clearing Bureau!”

“…”

So, you’re part of a Demon-themed set?

Although Leon didn’t believe the Black Goat’s claim of being in the “top thirty,” hearing that there might be other related anomalous items beyond the “Demon Horns,” instinctively made Leon perk up.

The Silver Badge [Friend of Demons] effect increases affinity with “Corruption”-marked anomalous items, reducing usage costs and significantly enhancing their abilities.

This means that items like [Demon Heart], [Demon Stomach], [Demon Horns], [Demon Eyes], etc., have extremely high compatibility with him, allowing him to quickly boost his strength once they’re obtained!

…

Bending down to pick up the sheep head and place it back on the table, Leon temporarily pushed aside the “new favorite” and asked the “old friend” with interest:

“How many anomalous parts have been removed from you? And where should I start looking for them?”

“If you’re interested… including these horns, there should be seven distinct pieces of me!”

Seeing Leon’s apparent concern for reassembling him, the Black Goat immediately perked up, boasting loudly: “At my peak, my rank was just half a step below those god-tier entities. A Great Demon like me, our body itself is the embodiment of ultimate sin!”

“My horns are weapons for battle, symbolizing rage and war; my heart is bloated ambition, representing arrogance and lust for power; my eyes are twisted willpower, standing for jealousy and betrayal; also, my stomach represents greed and conquest; my tongue stands for gluttony and desolation; my tail represents sloth and secrecy…

Kid! Believe me! If you gather all of me, your strength will definitely rank among the top tier in the Clearing Bureau—maybe even surpass that red-haired woman!”

“…”

Let’s not rush to assemble anything… your numbers don’t add up!

Horns, heart, eyes, stomach, tongue, tail… Counting the items mentioned by the Black Goat, Leon furrowed his brow in suspicion and asked:

“Isn’t that only six? What’s the seventh?”

“The last one isn’t urgent…”

The Black Goat hesitated before muttering: “That anomalous piece was completely damaged initially. It’s probably still slowly repairing itself. We can wait until it recovers before searching for it…”

“Not urgent or not, but you need to tell me what the last one is, right?”

“…”

“Why are you stammering?”

“…”

“Speak up! Why hide the last one?”

Under Leon’s relentless questioning, though extremely reluctant, the Black Goat finally revealed the identity of the final anomalous item.

“The last one… is my whip… representing lust and union…”

“…”

Geez… Can’t you see I didn’t want to say it? Why must you keep asking such awkward questions? Glaring at Leon, who always brings up uncomfortable topics, the Black Goat grumbled with a sour face:

“As for how to obtain these… After being ambushed, those guys took advantage of my weakened state, restraining me somehow, and started removing my parts piece by piece.

Fearing they’d kill me outright, when they were about to take THAT thing, I gritted my teeth and blew it up myself, scattering the other six anomalous items everywhere. So, I’m not sure where the others ended up.

I remember after landing, I found the nearest available host and ran for dear life, dodging and hiding for who knows how long.

Later, realizing no one seemed to be chasing me anymore, I tried causing some trouble to regain my strength but was promptly beaten up by that red-haired woman, leaving me in this current state… What’s wrong with you?”

Noticing Leon’s changing expressions—first disdain, then shock, then disbelief, and finally admiration—the Black Goat became uneasy, stopping its reminiscing and eyeing Leon cautiously: “Kid? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Why am I looking at you like that…? That’s because I admire you. Honestly, with that bold operation of yours, any man would have to respect you.

(End of Chapter)