Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 813: Medicine

In the beginning, perhaps in ancient times or even before that, the earliest powers that Western humanity mastered seemed to originate from external substances.

Blood, objects infused with unique auras from nature, special languages, and so on. These served as mediums to connect with the extraordinary powers present in nature, leading to gradual discovery and application.

Lucifer bit her finger and used her blood to inscribe ancient Hebrew characters on Uncle Am. This writing belonged to a mystical category within the ancient Hebrew linguistic system.

Undoubtedly, this was a system beyond her inherent power—even an ordinary person, if equipped with sufficient medium and knowledge of its manipulation, could apply it.

However, such a rudimentary application of ancient supernatural powers wouldn’t yield particularly impressive results.

For Lucifer’s current state, though, this provided an opportunity to avoid a complete defeat and an utter lack of chances to turn the situation around—though she hadn’t considered making a comeback.

“Ugh… It seems my blood still contains primordial power.”

Lucifer observed the blood-red incantations inscribed on Uncle Am’s body beginning to emit a glow under her manipulation and frowned.

From this, she could infer some of the current mysteries surrounding her lost power—perhaps she had merely severed the communication with her source of strength, like a blocked road.

Of course, she didn’t believe that this blocked path would be easy to clear.Thus, since the power contained in her blood still existed, she had more varieties of operations she could perform... After a moment of contemplation, Lucifer formed a new idea.

“SU-DUO-TA… A-WAR… GA-QI-XI… KU-O… WENG…”

Her lips moved, uttering one strange syllable after another... This was an ancient summoning magic using her blood as a medium, a method to summon entities from Hell to serve her.

Lucifer didn’t dare to summon too powerful a servant; otherwise, given her current state, she could easily meet her end.

The blood-red incantations on Uncle Am’s chest began to grow vibrant, the peculiar characters twisted and then penetrated his body. His entire form rapidly dried up, with all organic material converting into the source of this magical power.

Once his entire body had dissolved, only a mass of red substance remained on the ground. It coalesced into a single entity, ultimately transforming into a red orb of light—like a glowing red egg!

Crack!

The shell suddenly split, and a small creature emerged from the light egg, finally resting on Lucifer’s shoulder.

It was blood-red, its body resembling flames, lacking a fixed form, without hands or feet. Yet it was a type of servant that could continuously grow by consuming blood, known as: Blood Sprite.

The Blood Sprite was perhaps the most suitable servant for Lucifer—she could nourish it with her own blood, eventually raising it to a high level, thus creating a personal avatar of the Blood Sprite—though this would likely require an exceedingly long time.

Currently, this Blood Sprite probably couldn't even absorb a milligram of her blood.

After the Blood Sprite was summoned, the surrounding black-and-white marmosets instinctively sensed danger and bared their teeth at Lucifer.

Lucifer snorted coldly, her gaze sweeping over the marmosets. The Blood Sprite, sensing its master’s will, shot out and began to consume the blood of the black-and-white marmosets.

In an instant, the blood of dozens of marmosets was devoured. When the Blood Sprite returned to Lucifer’s side, it had already grown a bit—newly born, the Blood Sprite's growth rate was quite good.

At that moment.

“Uncle Am? Are you there? Uncle Am... Lucy... Uncle Am...”

It was the voice of Chalty. She must have heard some noise and was searching in this direction. Lucifer patted the Blood Sprite beside her, suddenly struck with a new idea.

To nurture the Blood Sprite, it was best to start feeding it high-quality blood from the beginning—like that of a virgin.

Without a doubt, Chalty was an ideal blood source sacrifice.

As for the old nun at the monastery, her quality seemed decent as well. Although she was elderly, she had maintained her purity, and more importantly, Madame Delan possessed a seed of holy power.

After careful consideration, an odd smile appeared on Lucifer’s face.

She had lost her power and was trapped in the body of a child... but she was still the proud master, the queen ruling Hell, and she had no intention of submitting.

“Stop shouting, I’m here. Come over,” Lucifer suddenly called out loudly in Chalty’s direction.

Not long after, Vhalty came running over. Seeing Lucifer unharmed, Chalty was overjoyed, carefully examining Lucifer’s body as if afraid she had been hurt.

“I’m fine, and actually quite well at the moment,” Lucifer said, brushing away Shalty’s hand.

The Blood Sprite was now attached to her, forming a blood-red flame mark on the skin of her back.

“By the way, did you see Uncle Am? Lucy?” Chalty asked at that moment.

“No...” Lucifer instinctively wanted to say no, but just as she uttered the word, her head began to throb painfully, cold sweat breaking out.

“I saw him,” Lucifer said, looking at Chalty with utmost sincerity. “I killed him. I used his soul and body as materials to create a servant.”

“Oh~” Chalty nodded and grabbed Lucifer's hand. “Uncle Am should be fine. Maybe we should head back to the camp. If we go any further, I might get lost too.”

“I told you, I killed him.”

“Oh...” Chalty nodded again. “Are you hungry?”

“...Let’s go back to the camp.”

...

“By the way, Lucy...”

“My name is Lucifer.”

“By the way, Lucifer, where do you live?”

“In Hell.”

“What a poor child... being treated like this really feels like Hell,” Chalty said, looking at the collar and chains around Lucifer, as well as her frail appearance when she first appeared.

“…”

“Once the people outside clear the way, I’ll take you to the police station right away! They can help you! Child abuse is a serious crime!” Chalty said indignantly.

Lucifer looked at the stars and said, “The police can’t help me.”

“Could it be that... the ones tormenting you are very powerful?” Chalty frowned.

“Above and below, including the God you believe in, if possible, they wouldn’t choose to go against it.”

Chalty nodded. “Hmm... I think I’m starting to understand what you mean. Although the description is a bit strange, it sounds like they must be very influential.”

She remembered the ill-fitting red dress that Lucifer had been wearing when she found her—though she didn’t know why she was dressed like that, it seemed like a very high-quality item.

In Uncle Am’s words, this was a child with a vivid imagination—perhaps after suffering many cruel treatments in her daily life, the only refuge for her soul was to escape into a world of fantasy?

With that thought, Chalty’s pity for Lucifer deepened, and a vague idea formed in her heart.

“Lucifer, do you have any relatives who can help you?”

Lucifer looked up at the sky and coldly said, “Relatives? They probably wish I were dead.”

She stood silently, gazing at the stars with a complex expression. Suddenly, Chalty hugged her tightly from behind and softly said, “Don’t be afraid; you won’t be without a place to go. I and Madame Delan will take care of you. Why don’t you stay at the monastery for now?”

“Okay.” Lucifer nodded. “I don’t want to stay here anymore. Can you take me back to the monastery right now?”

“Hmm... let’s wait for Uncle Am to come back before telling him,” Chalty suggested.

Lucifer said, “Can’t you just leave a note? After all, don’t you think he’ll be fine?”

“But... well, okay.” Chalty nodded. “Then let’s head back to the monastery first.”

She felt as if this little one was easily leading her around.

...

...

Meanwhile, a man dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt made his way through the less crowded or complicated alleyways until he soon arrived at a narrow alley filled with various graffiti.

The “Batman Alley” was a well-known tourist attraction in the area. Of course, this mysterious man wasn’t here as a tourist.

After several twists and turns, he quickly arrived at the back of a tavern.

The man rapidly knocked on the back door in a rhythmic manner, and after a few moments, someone opened the door to let him in.

After the man entered, he took off his hood and looked around the room—there were quite a few guys in here... all members of the 'LK Brotherhood.'

"Where's the boss?" he asked.

"The boss is upstairs talking to someone."

"Who?"

His companion shook his head. "I don't know; it's a woman, pretty hot-looking, but she seems like a white-collar worker. I really want to hook up with her!"

The man nodded and said casually, "Then I’ll go up later. Today’s shipment is all gone; I’ll take a rest for now."

His companion made an OK gesture and then turned on the stereo, blasting upbeat music. Many of the guys in the room began using spoons to scoop up some white powder, heating it with lighters and inhaling it.

In just a few minutes, the atmosphere became chaotic and stimulating, resembling a den of debauchery.

...

Meanwhile, upstairs, things were much quieter... but it also seemed far more dangerous—for two men bound with plastic ties, death might be waiting for them.

In fact, before being tied up on the ground, they had already been beaten to the point that their original appearance was almost unrecognizable. Now lying on the floor, their internal organs were likely already ruptured from the beating, leaving them in a state of confusion.

This was an office-like setting, where a man in his thirties sat in a large chair, playing with the tip of a small knife.

This man was the newly appointed leader of the 'LK Brotherhood,' named Vita, and across from him sat a blonde woman in a black suit.

Vita stabbed the small knife directly into the table and stared at the blonde woman. "Miss Cosini, it seems that continuing to ask questions won't yield any results. There's no point in wasting time; let's talk about something else."

The woman referred to as Cosini nodded, and Vita waved his hand happily, signaling his men to quickly take the two severely beaten men out of the room.

Once only Vita and Cosini remained, he stood up and went to a nearby liquor cabinet to grab two glasses and a bottle of cane liquor.

"These two were trusted aides of Bucky while he was still in power, and they are still quite loyal," Cosini said, ignoring Vita's actions. "Once Bucky returns and wants to regain power, he will definitely seek out these two. You should keep a close watch on them. Mr. Saint Francis doesn't want his plans affected in any way."

"Mr. Saint Francis..." Vita said as he sipped his drink. "Mr. Saint Francis? I really don't understand why Doflamingo had to change his name like that."

"That's none of your business. Just make sure to carry out the tasks assigned by Mr. Saint Francis," Cosini replied coldly.

However, Vita directly sat on the table, exuding a rogue air. He lifted Cosini's chin and smiled. "Assigned? Did you use the wrong term? Doflamingo and I are at most business partners; he’s not my superior—right now, I'm the one calling the shots in the LK Brotherhood."

Cosini scoffed disdainfully. "Is that so? As long as Bucky is not confirmed dead, can you really secure your position as boss? The most you can influence are the younger members of the LK Brotherhood. Those old-timers won’t just listen to you, especially without Mr. Saint Francia’s support..."

Vita shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, and said, "Bucky is just an outdated boss. During his years in prison, he has indulged himself, long lost the ambition he once had. Even without Doflamingo, this brotherhood will eventually belong to me."

The phone rang with a strange laugh, followed by the voice of Saint Franxis: “I knew you could do it. After this, let’s find some small gangs in Rio to help us distribute the goods... Alright, hurry back to my side. I need to visit the city hall tonight to discuss sponsoring the renovation of the municipal theater. You're my secretary, so you naturally need to be present, beautiful Miss Cosini.”

“Understood.” Cosini nodded but asked in confusion, “Actually, I don’t understand. If you want to support public works, there are many better options. Why choose to renovate a theater?”

Another burst of strange laughter came from Saint Fran, who suddenly said, “What if I told you there might be a nuclear bomb hidden in the theater? Would you believe it?”

Of course... not.

Cosini quickly vanished into the graffiti alley. After she left, Boss Luo slowly emerged from a nearby alley and walked towards Vita's bar.

He went inside.

The booming music continued, and no one noticed that an unexpected guest had arrived. Boss Luo made his way up the stairs and finally reached the door of Vita’s office.

He opened and closed the door.

Vita, who was drinking alone, looked towards the door in confusion, frowning. He had noticed the door opening and closing, sensing something was off. Suddenly, a blurry figure appeared in his line of sight, gradually becoming clearer.

Vita instinctively rubbed his eyes—someone had quietly appeared before him, and he didn’t know how this person had approached.

“Who the hell are you?” Vita tensed up.

Luo Qiu simply snapped his fingers, and Vita slumped over onto the table, falling directly asleep.

On the table was the box left behind by Cosini. Luo Qiu picked it up and opened it, looking inside at the contents—a collection of tiny white crystals that resembled coarse salt.

He used his fingers to scoop some out, and after a moment of thought, suddenly put the small white crystals into his mouth.

He then closed his eyes.

It felt as if his brain had been stimulated; a myriad of thoughts surged forth in an instant, but just as quickly, all the fantasies and impulses vanished without a trace.

Luo Qiu opened his eyes. The world remained silent, like a black-and-white silent film... but a glimmer of brilliance flashed in his gaze.

“It actually worked...”