Deep in the Living
Chapter 318 - 306: Bizarre Shape

Chapter 318: Chapter 306: Bizarre Shape

The black paint smeared on the skeleton’s body is not just a simple indication that they serve as models for selling second-hand props; it is also a protective coating that isolates the effects of the props from affecting the skeleton.

The black skeleton before him reached into its armpit and actually pulled out a folded piece of thin paper from between the gaps in its bones.

「Eaten One’s Handle」

[Previous User]: Bellax, Cursed by Flesh*

*A rare frontline combatant of the Evil Play forces, who has completed the Demon Ascension. During the last inter-world invasion, Bellax led an assassination squad and was accidentally exposed in an incursion. Even after being exposed, he still managed to kill more than a hundred Otherworld beings before he finally fell in battle.

When beings from Otherworld attempted to reclaim his weapon, they died due to the curse, and ultimately the prop was discarded in the wilderness and recovered by the Commerce.

[Weapon Origin]: Bellax acquired this Curse Weapon from Hell’s Commerce in the early stages of Demon Ascension, having spent a considerable amount of contributions to have it custom-made.

[Curse]: This hilt is restricted to Bellax’s use alone, and although the Commerce has diminished "holder awareness" through rituals, it could not be completely erased. Once others handle the hilt, they will immediately suffer an internal curse, where the essence of their flesh and blood will flow unnoticed into the hilt, ultimately leading to death.

[Discount]: Due to the curse-carrying and holder awareness issues, the selling price is 30% of the manufacturing cost.

[Restrictive Purchase]: Due to the inherent danger and lethality of the hilt, purchasers must bring the hilt to the Commerce’s identification area. The purchase is only allowed if the identifier confirms that the buyer can control the hilt and ignore the curse.

*This introduction will not provide information on how to use the hilt; please explore it on your own.

...

"Hmm? A weapon used by a Demon-riser of the Evil Play, and one that was custom-made at a high price when coming to the Commerce... A weapon inclined towards slaughter, let’s give it a try."

Who would have known that when Luo Di reached out, this skeleton, anxious to finish work, suddenly retracted its hand, making a shocked expression with its skull:

"Kid, I was joking, you really want to try?

This is a Demon-riser’s weapon, and you haven’t even achieved Demon Ascension.

Plus, you look rather strange; I rather not have some odd creature like you served up at the Commerce’s dinner tonight. Just looking at you, I’m about to vomit... Ugh~ I forgot I don’t even have a stomach or esophagus, how can I vomit? It’s really heartbreaking.

In any case, I strongly advise against trying; if you die, it will add extra work for us."

Luo Di retorted: "It seems there are no rank requirements for buyers?"

"Indeed, there are none."

"Then let me have a try. If I die, my apologies."

The skeleton had no right to refuse clients, and seeing the oddly-looking young man’s persistence, it slowly stretched out its arm again.

The skeleton also kindly reminded: "Try touching it with your finger first. If there is no great effect, we will proceed to the next step."

Luo Di’s originally normal eye contact suddenly changed, staring at the skeleton’s skull before him, "No... this thing can’t be touched with just one finger, it must be grasped in a normal manner, otherwise it would seem very disrespectful to what’s inside."

The black skeleton seemed intimidated by Luo Di’s sudden change in aura and speech, and took the initiative to open its skeletal palm, presenting the cursed hilt.

Agatha stood behind the whole time without interrupting and believed in Luo Di’s choice; even if there was a real danger, she would separate Luo Di from the hilt immediately.

Whew~ Take a deep breath.

Even after reading the introduction about the hilt, feeling the curse hidden beneath the tattered cloth, and hearing the warnings from the Commerce personnel, Luo Di still felt somewhat nervous.

But his actions were not overly hesitant; intuition told him that the hilt before him was the best prop choice of this Commerce visit, and once missed, it would be hard to encounter again.

Clap!

Without using the Punishment Room Left Arm,

He extended his human right arm,

And grabbed it firmly.

The texture was not much different from the ordinary hilt wrapped with canvas, and beneath the cloth was something very hard.

The next second, Luo Di felt something was wrong; it felt like his hand was sucked onto the hilt, as if something beneath the cloth was sucking at his flesh.

Thud! His tongue in his mouth also jolted suddenly, signaling danger and urging him to let go.

However, Luo Di’s determined consciousness did not halt his action; he continued to grip tightly.

Hmm?

He had only just grasped the hilt of the blade,

yet Luo Di discovered that his right arm, which he used every day for push-up exercises and had slain many formidable enemies with, had now become a skin-and-bone, withered state.

The nutrition within seemed to have been completely drained away, even the bone density was rapidly dissipating.

This curse would soon affect his entire body, and in no time at all, he would become a dried-up corpse.

The curse had been activated,

the hilt was devouring its holder, and it had a voracious appetite, capable of consuming an entire person.

"So fond of eating flesh, are you? Try eating this."

The pituitary activated.

A mass of tentacles suddenly surged from Luo Di’s right arm, inflating the emaciated skin, transforming it into something that scarcely resembled a human limb.

As the arm filled out, the hilt indeed began to suck indiscriminately; evidently, the hilt itself lacked "intelligence," and would imbibe any matter for the curse.

Once the hilt ingested these gray tentacles, the pale yellow fabric on its surface became dyed, and the blood Curse Seal imprinted on it turned gray and lost its effect altogether.

As for the object wrapped under the fabric, it seemed to plunge into a state of chaos, no longer devouring any foreign matter, as its nature appeared to be undergoing some form of change.

Luo Di also sensed this transformation and realized that perhaps he could use this change to make the hilt his own; he certainly wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

"You like eating, don’t you? Eat more."

While the hilt was in chaos and no longer consuming, Luo Di continued to manipulate the tentacles, drilling into and forcibly feeding them.

Chaos intensified.

After such prolonged use of the pituitary, as well as his experience in True Hell, Luo Di had roughly figured out the essence of the pituitary or the Corner.

Fear was the foundation,

while Disguise, adaptation, and integration were the facade.

Luo Di’s Moon Pituitary, capable of integrating with the Hell System, why couldn’t the hilt be integrated? It was precisely because of this that Luo Di chose to grasp such a dangerous cursed item.

An endless supply of tentacles was forcibly fed, and it had to be said that the hilt’s appetite was indeed enormous.

Just when Luo Di felt his pituitary was about to be drained,

crack crack~ A transformation occurred!

This hilt, which had lost its master and hadn’t fed in a long time, was finally fully sated, something at the tip seemed to be wriggling, growing.

Hell’s Commerce finished product sales area would never showcase defective items.

The weapon was meant to be this way,

its blade structure did not exist under normal conditions; when needed, it required its own flesh and blood for nourishment. The hilt would construct a corresponding blade structure based on the ingested material.

Whoosh!

Splattered juices,

a swirling gray mist,

a most bizarre structure, one that even the commerce had never seen, grew out from the end of the hilt,

Onlookers had gathered early, and upon witnessing this structure, many showed signs of discomfort, with some instinctively stepping back.

Even Luo Di struggled to maintain composure upon seeing such a construct.

"Is this... undigested?"

A chaotic clutter of gray tentacles haphazardly fused together, Luo Di’s right arm muscle tissue, and five fingers mixed among them, barely taking the shape of a blade.

Gray slime dripped continuously between the tentacles,

The five fingers writhed under the pull of nerves, even capable of snapping or scratching at the blade.

Emitting a crackling sound that caused physiological discomfort to the audience.