novelraw Chapter 101: Greedy Imp
Chapter 101: Greedy Imp
Part of the reason Nile stalked and watched over Jayden and Kora from the shadows was because of something she rarely acknowledged. A strange feeling known as guilt.
It was a feeling she didn’t like. It sat heavy in her chest whenever she thought too hard about the cave. About the decision she made that day without thinking twice. She was the one who had led them there and insisted they looked for beasts in there. And because of that, they had been attacked by a Skavvern.
Watching over Jayden and Kora felt like an obligation, and that alone annoyed her. Nile didn’t know herself for caring about people.
She had spent most of her life looking out for herself and only herself. The fact that she now lingered near two people she barely spoke to felt strange and wrong.
"Aliens, demons... demon slayers?" she muttered to herself as she walked down the hallway of the girls’ dorm building. "What’s next? Dragons? Goblins? Freaking space rangers?!"
Her voice was dry, almost bored. But there was something else under it. A tired disbelief at how strange the last few weeks had become.
From the way she walked, it was obvious that she was heading somewhere. Whenever Nile had somewhere to be, it was almost always one of three places. A training hall. Her homeroom class. Or the library.
Today, it was the library.
She pushed open the dorm doors and stepped outside. The path toward the library was ahead of her, and it was lined with neatly trimmed trees and stone walkways that Oval Academy definitely took pride in constructing. Students passed by in small groups, talking, laughing, arguing, living normal lives as if the news about Skavverns in nearby planets hadn’t gotten to their ears.
As Nile walked, someone else started walking toward her.
A male student stepped into her path. He was taller than average and wore the confident smile of someone who thought they had charm to spare. Nile didn’t recognize him from her class. Second year? Maybe third? She guessed without caring enough to look twice, but he stopped in front of her.
Looking at him once, Nile spoke.
"Move your legs or lose them. Your choice..."
The smile on his face faltered. He clearly hadn’t expected that reaction. One wouldn’t expect someone who carried a beautiful face such as Nile to sound so mean.
The male student opened his mouth to speak anyway, probably thinking he could still salvage whatever idea he had in his head.
"H-hey, I just wanted to—uh—ask your name—"
Not letting him shoot his shot, Nile shoved him aside. She barely put any strength into it. She didn’t need to. The boy stumbled backward, nearly losing his balance as she passed him.
"Idiot..."
Moments later, she walked through the doors of the school library.
Oval Academy had two library buildings. Most students preferred the digital library since it was modern and filled with rows of computers and glowing screens. That was where Axel had once researched halflings and accessed information he was never supposed to see. The digital library was faster.
The second library was different.
The archive library held physical books. Old ones. Shelves packed with hard copies, files, scrolls, and texts that could not be accessed with a few keystrokes. What couldn’t be found digitally often existed somewhere in the archive, waiting for someone stubborn enough to search for it. But most students were too lazy for that, so they preferred the digital library.
The archive library was divided into four sections, just like the digital one. Each section was reserved for a specific year. The higher the year, the more information a student was allowed to access. First years were given the least. Second years had more freedom. Third and fourth years had access to things the school did not openly talk about.
Nile stood in the wide hallway at the entrance. Four large doors stood before her, each marked with a number from one to four.
She sighed. Then she walked toward the door marked "2." She wasn’t a second year, but she didn’t care.
Inside the second year archive library, Nile navigated the aisles until she reached the section marked with the letter M.
Her fingers traced along the spines until she stopped and pulled out a book titled Mythological Creatures on Earth.
---
Nile sat down at one of the empty reading tables near the back of the archive library. The place was quiet, which was good. She placed the book down in front of her and stared at the cover for a moment.
She exhaled through her nose and opened it.
She skimmed past early entries, things she didn’t care about. Spirits. Fair folk. Lesser entities, even goblins. Her fingers slowed when she reached the section labeled Demons.
That was what she was here for. She leaned forward and began to read.
The first few pages talked about origins and old beliefs. Stories passed down from different cultures. Hell, other realms, temptation... seven deadly sins.
"All this crap..."
Nile skipped most of that. She wasn’t interested in stories. She wanted answers.
Her eyes caught on a bold line.
Ways of Killing a Demon.
"Interesting..." she muttered.
Nile expected this entry to give stark details on how to potentially kill a demon, but what she found annoyed her.
"Exorcism, ritual chants, holy prayers?! Sacred seals, possession-based removal? What is this?"
Nile frowned.
All of it assumed the demon was inside another person, acting as a parasite. Something wearing a human like a coat. But Axel wasn’t like that. His body wasn’t borrowed. It was his, and she knew it.
She flipped the page, hoping for something more solid, but she found nothing—just vague statements and warnings about how dangerous demons were and how often attempts failed.
Nile continued reading, and a few pages later, another heading caught her attention.
Demonic Contracts and Soul Claims.
She slowed down again to read it. This part was longer and more detailed.
It explained that when a demon forms a contract with a human, the agreement always ends the same way. At a fixed time. A deadline. When that time is reached, the demon must claim the soul that was promised.
It also said that the demon who offered the contract must be the one to collect the soul personally.
Another paragraph followed, and it explained something.
Failure to Claim a Soul.
The book went on about the consequences.
Punishments varied depending on the demon’s rank, but none of them were good. Loss of demonic abilities. Forced banishment. Being stripped of power entirely. In extreme cases... the demon’s own soul could be taken instead as a replacement. A soul for a soul.
Nile sat back slowly.
"So if a demon failed, it didn’t just walk away. There was a price. A heavy one."
She turned the page again and found another heading.
Methods of Containment and Trapping.
This section felt older than the rest. The writing was rougher. Less confident. Like people had been guessing their way while writing it.
Holy water. Consecrated ground. Sacred symbols, crucifixes. Relics. Most of it felt unreliable.
Trapping a demon within a prepared space using layered restraints. Symbols carved into the ground. Objects blessed repeatedly over time. A focus item placed at the center.
"Okay! That’s enough demonology for one day!" Nile exhaled loudly as she closed the book shut.
Nile felt that maybe she didn’t find what she came here for, but one thing was certain in her mind now.
"If Ares doesn’t come back with a loophole..." she whispered as she stood up, sliding the book back into place.
"When the day comes... I might have to trap Axel myself. There’s no way he’s touching anybody’s soul."
***
< [Greed Task Progress: 91,000 / 100,000 CNTs] >
***
The alley was a mess.
Three bodies lay scattered across the ground, rolling slightly as they groaned and clutched different parts of their bodies.
Kinsey stood near the wall, frozen.
Her eyes moved slowly from one student to the next. "Next time... don’t try to rob someone..." she whispered.
A shadow on the ground stretched itself forward, and Axel rose out of it. His hair was a little messy, but that was the only sign anything had happened at all.
He walked up to Kinsey. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
Kinsey flinched slightly, then shook her head too fast. "No! I—I’m fine. I’m really fine."
Axel frowned a little. "You sure?"
Her cheeks flushed red instantly. "Yes," she said quickly. "I said I’m fine."
He studied her for another second, then nodded and stepped back. His attention shifted to the three students still on the ground.
He was about to leave, but then he stopped.
< [Greed Task Progress: 91,000 / 100,000 CNTs] >
"Just nine thousand..." Axel muttered under his breath.
His gaze dropped back to the bodies on the ground.
An idea started forming. Axel realized that he probably didn’t need to fight again or bet in any sort of casino games. All he needed was to rob someone who deserved it.
He wasn’t even sure if the three students were fully conscious, but he spoke anyway.
"You tried to rob me and you failed. So it’s only fair if I rob you instead."
He grabbed the closest guy by the collar and pulled him upright with one hand. The student winced, barely able to resist.
"Transfer everything you have," Axel said flatly.
The guy hesitated, and Axel glared at his soul.
The transfer happened immediately. Axel dropped him and moved to the second, then the third.
When he was done, Axel checked the total he had collected from them.
Fifty-two thousand CNTs.
That was five times more than he needed.
A slow smile spread across his face as a familiar sound echoed in his head.
< [Ding!] >
< [Congratulations! You have successfully completed your Greed Task!] >
< [New Title Acquired: The Greedy Imp!] >
< [Rewards: 100 EXP] >
< [Corruption Increased by 20%] >