Chapter-07

"What a useless old man," I muttered, frustration boiling within me.

"Esteemed one, please don't say that," the old man pleaded, his expression filled with sorrow.

'I can't believe this guy.'

"Old man, then use the other cores you possess. You said living beings have up to seven cores," I suggested, hoping for a solution.

"Esteemed one, I can't. You see, I don't have any other core. Those bandits took all of them," the old man explained, his voice tinged with regret.

"Wait, you're not planning to give me that useless core of yours, right?" I asked, a sense of dread creeping into my voice.

"N-No, esteemed one. I would never. This monster core is a little different," the old man assured me, his demeanor shifting as he noticed a strange aura around me.

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"Different?" I questioned, my curiosity piqued.

As Saikō and the old man continued running, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a bandit's voice.

"You better stop running, gramps, or you'll regret it," the bandit warned, his tone menacing.

Ignoring the threat, the old man kept running alongside Saikō.

"So, what's the plan? I don't think we'll last long like this," I remarked, urgency lacing my words.

The bandit then activated his core, causing the old man's right arm, the one carrying Saikō, to melt away.

"Aughhh!" the old man cried out in pain, his agony palpable.

"I didn't want to do this, but one of my nighty night core's abilities is the shadow movement," the old man explained hurriedly. With a swift motion, he pulled a blue bead from the center of his forehead and forced it down Saikō's throat.

"Blaargh!" I gagged, feeling the foreign object in my throat.

'What the—what are you doing, old man?' I thought, panic rising within me as I felt my consciousness slipping away.

As Saikō's heart raced faster and faster, he began to lose consciousness, his vision blurring.

"I hope you keep your end of the deal, esteemed one," the old man said solemnly. Then, Saikō's body began to transform into a black mist, his last sight being the old man's face melting away under the bandit's attack.

"Nooooo!" I screamed, the anguish engulfing me as darkness consumed everything.