Listen While Reading: Weight of the World

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“Hi, we’re hunters. I am acquainted with the chairman. We came to see him.” I showed up in front of the hospital, and the blonde receptionist almost jumped off her chair after seeing us appear out of nowhere.

“H-Hunters! Ah, yes… Well, the chairman is not taking any visits right now. I’m very sorry. He’s been in a coma for two days now. And…” She sighed. “I think he might be in his last straws. He protected the city and sacrificed his strength for us. Shouldn’t you let him have a peaceful sleep for now?”

“Girl, what if I tell you I can actually heal him?” I puffed my chest. "Also, don’t you recognize this name? I’m a bit popular, I think.”

“Huh? Anna…? Anna Gutierrez… AH!” She gasped. “You’re THE Anna?! The sister of Hunter Jack! Oh yes, of course I recognize you now, dear! You’re all over the news. Yet you look so like... just a normal cute girl in plain sight, haha! My bad. After the whole demon castle incident, the surviving hunters have become quite celebrities. You’ve accomplished incredible feats after incredible feats! Of course I could let you in. Except that I have no such authority in the hospital. I’ll need to first call the doctor in charge of the chairman. Can you wait a bit?”

“Alright, I can wait.” I nodded, sitting down with my friends.

They looked at me with surprise.

“What?”

“You’re really charismatic.” Baihe noted.

"Wow, so our bestie’s like a celebrity?” Annabelle wondered.

“I could have been too if I joined the big fight…” Kevin was a bit grumpy.

“Hahah! It’s nothing. I am barely known, as you see. I am just “Jack’s sister” all the time…” I sighed. “But that doesn’t really matter. As long as I can use that title to get people’s attention so I can get my way on things, it’s fine.” I shrugged.

“Anna, is that you? It’s nice to see you. It has been some weeks since our last meeting. You sure look… taller!”

Suddenly, a close acquittal of my brother appeared on the scene; it was the Hunter Guild Executive, Leo Edwards. He’s also the one who helped my brother set up his whole guild and one of the guild’s few members as well. He’s awake, but a support-focused one.

“Uncle Leo! Nice to see you again too! Were you here with the chairman?” I asked him.

“Yes, the doctor stayed with the chairman; they were close friends, actually.” He sighed. “After I heard your name, I immediately knew it was you. You are all over the news with the rest. You’re becoming a big figure now. It’s honestly incredible when I think about it. Just half a year ago, you were still in a coma.”

“A lot of things happen in just half a year. Wait, has it really been that long? It felt like just a couple of months to me…” I said.

“Maybe you’ve been too busy doing a myriad things, but quite a lot of time passes, Anna.” He nodded. "Okay, maybe not exactly half a year, but almost? We are getting close to the end of the year right now.”

“Hmm… I guess time does pass even after everything I’ve done.” I sighed.

Suddenly, I felt the slightly dreadful feeling of the passage of time sliding from my hands. I’ve worked so hard to get stronger, to help others, and to change the plot. Yet time moves on anyway, and I still feel like I have another million things I want to do before the day even ends. It sometimes makes me wonder if it's even realistic what I’m trying to achieve, even based on the madness of this world.

“Well, are these your friends? Nice to meet you guys.” Leo greeted them. “I’m Anna’s brother's friend and the executive for his guild.”

“I know you.” Kevin said. “You sometimes flirted with my sister.”

“E-Eh?!” Leo felt slightly taken aback. “I-I would never…! Are you sure you’re not confusing me with someone else?!”

“I know the guys that do that.” Kevin squinted his eyes.

“Geez, calm down, Kevin; you look like you’re going to take a bite off him.” I laughed.

“Nice to meet you, uncle.” Baihe smiled gently.

“Yeah! Hi! Name’s Annabelle! Do we know each other?” Annabelle wondered.

"Yes, I’ve seen you before, Annabelle. With Scarlet. The chairman vouched for the two of you.” Leo sighed, cleaning the sweat from his forehead. “Anyways, Anna… What you said to the receptionist before. Is it true? Do you know... of a way to heal him?”

“I kind of have a few ideas and possibilities. But I first need to see exactly what he has,” I said. “Can you bring me there, Leo?”

“Alright, you’re Jack’s sister, so I do trust you a bit.” He nodded. “How’s Jack doing, by the way? He was so overprotective of you; I am shocked he didn’t come along.”

“Well, I’ve finally made him trust me a bit after I’ve grown strong enough.” I said. “He’s living his own life. He doesn’t have to completely dedicate himself to protecting me or being with me. He’s hanging out with Henrietta, I believe.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Wait, Jack and Henrietta are…? He has never told me before!” Leo gasped. “This could get out of hand if the news learns—a whole celebrity drama!”

“Just leave them be.” I shrugged. “My brother is finally finding love. He deserves a break from all of this madness. I want him to be happy.”

“Heh, you’re a good sister, I guess.” Leo smiled faintly. “Anyways, enough of that. Uncle Jonathan—I mean, the chairman has a terrible wound on the left side of his ribs. He took it a couple of years ago when he was still in his prime. It was against a powerful Demonic Human, the leader of a cult. He managed to wipe the cult out before they were to sacrifice like a hundred people they trapped inside a mall. And that guy who inflicted the wound on him is gone too; the chairman made sure he wouldn’t wake up ever again. The thing is, that wound... Could only heal superficially. There’s something in there—a lingering demonic curse of sorts. It weakens him over time, sapping his strength. He had to retire and become the chairman of this city because of that wound.”

The chairman was a rather obscure character in the novel, despite the background I am learning about him. He faded into irrelevance very quickly after a few arcs. Just like the whole Stronghold City was once, the Second Awakening began, and Jack started traveling the world for the Tomb’s Treasures.

I am not even sure what happened to him after that. The author never addressed him EVER again, and to make things worse, I think he might have just died of this curse. But if it’s really a Demonic Curse, then I am sure I can do something about it.

“A Demonic Curse… Maybe I can work around that.”

“R-Really? Just what are your abilities? I did hear you were proficient at wielding swords, had scarlet armor, and could use light magic.” Leo said. “What else do you have in our arsenal?”

“You’ll be surprised! Heh.” I simply kept it a secret—a surprise, if you will.

Leo decided to leave my friends behind; they didn’t really mind. The door to the hospital room opened as he led the way in. Inside, I found the chairman sitting over his white bed, looking pale and very exhausted. He had his very soul drained out of him. He was barely alive.

The doctor was there too, looking into the widow while talking alone. He was probably talking to his old friend. I don’t even know this character, so he’s yet another person never shown in the story I read.

“Remember when your girl and my boy would hang out together in the backyard? And they would play with those water balloons, throwing them at one another. I still recall that one day your daughter accidentally flung one right at your face! Hahaha!” He laughed. “You looked so mad—huh? Oh, you’re here. Ahem. Sorry, I was just talking with a friend who maybe isn’t even listening to me anymore.”

“No, it’s fine, Doctor Hernández.” Leo said. “I’ve come with the girl.”

“So you’re Anna.” He directed his eyes at me.

The doctor looked to be around the same age as the chairman, with a smaller and shorter gray beard, a bald head, and sharp green eyes. The Aura of Mana he exuded gave him off as an Awakener. Probably C Rank at least. He was probably a healer; most healers go to hospitals; it is safer, and the pay is really good compared to delving into Dungeons.

“Yes, I am well known as Jack’s sister... I am a healer and wielder of holy light magic.” I explained. “I’ve heard the details... I don’t know the chairman well enough to tell you the truth. But… I know he’s a hardworking man. He has been very nice to me the few times I’ve met him and talked to him. He was perhaps one of the first people in the whole association to recognize that I was strong.”

“I see… I’m sorry if he was a bit grumpy looking at times or a bit intimidating. He has no fault in having been born with such a face, haha.” His friend laughed. “He’s a good man and a good friend…”

“Did you know each other before the awakening?” I slowly walked closer to the chairman.

“Yes, we have always been good friends.” He nodded. “We come from the same university. While I studied medicine, he specialized in being a lawyer. He was someone dedicated to his job; however, he was quite terrible at lying, so that made him a not-so-good lawyer most of the time. He had always been on the side of what he thought was justice, or what he believed was right. I can’t say he was the best lawyer, but he had also saved many people who got into trouble undeservingly or were incriminated by others.”

“So that’s how it is.” I nodded. “Have you tried all your abilities on him?”

“Everything; I’ve called mostly every healer I know too.” He said. “Maybe if I had more connections, perhaps I could call the Saintess, but her services are too expensive... Even for someone like the chairman, each city is still its own city-state. The hunter associations work together, but... At the end of the day, even for the chairman, they won’t spend resources to only try to save him.”

“That sounds awful, especially after everything he has done!” I protested.

“I know, but… Well, that’s how life is.” The doctor said. “Do you think you can do anything, Anna?”

“I will try.” I said.

I gently moved my hand above the chairman’s body without touching him. I closed my eyes, focusing on my Mana Senses and expanding them into his own body. I felt a flow of endless golden essence. It was so strong, yet it was all escaping, disappearing somewhere—a terrible, festering curse that was eating him alive.

A large, black, and purple-colored spider was resting right inside of him. It wasn’t physical, but the manifestation of the curse itself. And it wasn’t a weak one, but one conjured through an Archdemon’s Powers. And this sensation… I could tell which one was right away.

The curse was greedily eating everything, redirecting the energy somewhere else entirely. Out of this plane. It wasn’t just a curse to weaken him; it was a parasite to transfer the chairman’s powers to an Archdemon!

[The Demonic Throne {The Greed That Consumes Everything} warns you not to give another step. He is still enjoying his meal. And he wouldn’t really like for a pesky little fly to ruin it.]

Mammon, the malefic Archdemon of Greed.

So the cult that the chairman fought was a Mammon Cult! That one’s not even in this city anymore. They moved out a while ago, supposedly.

“I killed Uroboros; do you actually believe I give a fuck about your empty threats?” I whispered to the Archdemon. “Go fuck yourself.”

[The Demonic Throne {The Greed That Consumes Everything} says he won’t forgive this offense!]

[He is scheming to end you!]

[He will make sure to make your life miserable!]

[While groaning in anger and frustration, he-]

Yeah, yeah, keep crying.

Ignoring the flood of angry messages, I quickly used my Demonic Powers and started to quickly encompass them inside the chairman.

He looked in pain, groaning.

“Uugh… Aaagh!”

“Anna?! What are you doing?!”

Leo panicked, but the doctor remained in silence, quickly stopping him.

“Let her do it.”

I continued the process, and the curse suddenly started moving.

And it decided to fight back.

“SHAAAH!”

A gigantic black spider materialized itself above the chairman, spreading its dark webs everywhere, the doctor and Leo panicked, stepping back in shock.

“W-Was that inside the chairman this whole time?!”

“Is that even a curse anymore?”

“Stay back; I’ll handle this.”

My hands were charged with Sunshine and Celestial Light.

It’s time to end Mammon’s little game.

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