Chapter 309 Defying the norm
The chef paused, "I guess not," she answered as she continued doing her job.
Emma, no, Pride then starts eating her sushi, Imitating what she saw from the yakuza. She delicately picked up the piece with her chopsticks, appreciating the artistry of its presentation. Taking a moment, she observed the colors and textures, savoring the anticipation.
With a subtle nod of approval, Pride dipped the sushi in soy sauce, not too much to overpower the delicate flavors. She then brought it to her mouth, taking a moment to experience the combination of tastes. The freshness of the fish, the subtle crunch of the rice, and the burst of flavor from the wasabi all danced on her palate.
Closing her eyes momentarily, Pride savored the exquisite harmony of flavors. It was not just a meal; it was a sensory journey, an exploration of culinary craftsmanship. As she continued to indulge in the taste and Japanese dining experience, a newfound appreciation for sushi blossomed within her.
"Oh! This thing is very delicious!." Pride nodded in satisfaction then continued. "As expected of you! Your culinary skill is on par with that old woman now!" Pride repeatedly nodded in satisfaction, dishing praise toward the chef.
The chef, finishing cleaning her plate, returned to the counter from the back kitchen. She looked at Pride with a hint of curiosity, noticing Pride's sushi-eating demeanor resembling the habits of Japanese nobility and Yakuza big shots.
"Stop relying on your sin's blessing for every little thing in your life. There's a price to pay, you know?" the chef warned Pride, letting out a sigh.
"Thanks, but I don't need to hear this suggestion from the person who uses her sin's blessing to open a sushi shop, Gluttony," Pride retorted, addressing the chef by her name.
"You might not believe it, but I didn't actively use it. You should know that our sin's blessings come in two types: the one without consequences that improves the aspect of our sin, and the one with consequences that grants us supernatural power. The first type of my sin blessing just happened to empower what I was interested in even before I became one of the Seven Deadly Sin witches—the ability to make food or indulge in gluttony. That's why I didn't even need to use it." Gluttony tried to explain.
"Blah, blah, blah. Are you my mother? You should know that I'm the strongest witch when it comes to resisting our sin's corrosion," Pride retorted while racing through the sushi, too prideful to heed any warning from her fellow witch.
Initially angered, Gluttony calmed down and sighed. "Fine, I won't offer advice to you anymore." Gluttony then returned to her tasks, checking her stock in the kitchen.
Observing Gluttony's reaction, Pride felt a twinge of regret for not trying harder to control her words. Although her sin's aspect made her more prideful than normal people, she knew that with enough effort, she could resist that prideful urge.
"And what about you, Gluttony? Why are you here?" Pride asked, attempting to shift the conversation away from their previous topic and ease Gluttony's bitterness towards her.
"Haven't you heard from Ms. Envy? I'm still on my vacation. So, if you came here because that power-hungry psycho Cyrus or your father, the ambitious man sitting in Washington, told you to recruit me, you can get your ass out of my shop. I don't associate myself with slavers," Gluttony mercilessly retorted.
"Am I not working for slavers?" Pride asked.
"Who told you to come here and become my customer? This is basic manners I'd show you as the owner of a sushi bar," said Gluttony before continuing.
"So, if you're done with this plate, you can also get your ass out of here," Gluttony said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Gluttony's behavior stems from the fact that among the seven witches, Pride is the only one aligned with the Path of Knowledge faction. The other witches work for Envy, who trains them like Greed and Sloth, or choose to remain neutral, distancing themselves from the Hightower politics like Wrath or Lust. This makes Pride a black sheep among the seven witches.
"You're so heartless. By the way, make me one more set of sushi and pack it. Someone wants to eat out," Pride said as she placed the money to pay for her sushi and the takeout.
"Tell that someone of yours that my shop is eat-in only!" Gluttony firmly refused with even more annoyance while checking her stock.
"Wait… someone?" Gluttony paused, then leaned out of the kitchen door in the back.
"You said someone? As in… your boyfriend?" Gluttony probed.
"No! He's not my boyfriend! Who would marry a non-mage plebeian! Even though he is a very strong mercenary! I wouldn't marry him!" Pride quickly defended herself, her face blushing slightly red.
"Oh… hooooo? He? and that blush!" Gluttony put down everything she was doing and quickly came out of the back kitchen.
Pride realized that she just let the cat out of the bag. She quickly shut up and didn't say anything more, walking to the door, wanting to escape without saying anything more.
"Hey Pride, did you forget something?" Gluttony asked, pointing with her thumb at Seraphina, or Pride look-alike, lying on the long seat behind her.
Pride quickly turned back and picked Seraphina up. But when she was about to escape once again, she heard a familiar sound from the door.
Click…
The door is locked, and Gluttony is blocking the exit with a mischievous smile. Moreover, it seems that this entire building is Gluttony's Sanctum Sanctorum, heavily suppressing her magic power and significantly increasing Gluttony's magical power.
"Awwww… c'mon, don't act like you had something stuck up your ass and hide such an amusing… ahem… no, I mean such a good thing from aunt Gluttony," Gluttony said with a mischievous smile as her Sanctum Sanctorum activated its defense capabilities to the limit and enhanced her power.
"You… You're not my aunt! And don't come any closer or I'll fight!" Pride was startled and put on her guard, quickly conjuring several ice spears to defend herself.
"You're very good at fighting, Pride. I'll give you that, but this place is my Sanctum Sanctorum, not just an average shop. Just be obedient like a good girl and spit it out—where did you meet that someone of yours?" Gluttony came closer as her mischievous smile grew wider.
— Meanwhile —
Within the darkened room, Daniel had meticulously closed all the windows, employing his magic to seal any potential mana fluctuations in the space. Now, through the vision within his mindscape, he gazed upon the dark entity bound by numerous reddish-black chains.
"Hmmmm… this is interesting," Daniel remarked while observing the vengeful spirit attempting to break free from the chains, only to scream in agony with each futile attempt.
Furthermore, its power was being drained by the chains, especially evident at this moment as its energy rapidly diminished. The spirit seemed to grow weaker and weaker as the draining continued. However, its rage suddenly intensified, and its power surged once more, prompting it to resist the chains that sought to confine it.
"It's so powerful! This vengeful spirit is like always on steroids!" Daniel exclaimed, witnessing the spirit's depleted power rejuvenate as its rage intensified.
Additionally, he observed that the chain seemed to redirect its power somewhere. He traced the trail of the vengeful spirit's power and noticed that it led toward the lower floor. While he didn't know the purpose of this power, he was confident it wasn't intended to fuel the generator for the Thai city, and that was sufficient for him.
Preparing his mana vial, he opened it and then employed the 'Purifying Flame' card toward the vengeful spirit. A golden-
white flame surged from Daniel's hand, engulfing the spirit and incinerating both it and the chains that bound it.
The vengeful spirit screamed in agony as its dark power was consumed by the purifying flame. The spirit's dark power acted as fuel, intensifying the flame along with the echoes of the vengeful spirit's agonized screams.
Gradually, as all of its dark power was burnt away, her true form was revealed. She took the shape of a beautiful woman in a formal kimono, exuding the grace of a flower and possessing a demeanor as enchanting as sakura.
Her aura conveyed to Daniel that she should be the daughter of some noble clan from the past, rigorously taught the demeanor of nobility or possibly trained to be a wife throughout her life, with becoming the wife of a daimyo was the goal set by her family.
"Thank you, my lord, for cleansing me of all those dark powers and releasing me from my confinement," the spirit woman, now purified and radiant, bowed in the Japanese tradition toward Daniel.
"May I follow and serve you to repay this debt of gratitude?" The former vengeful spirit asked.
"Hmm… What can you do for me?" Daniel inquired, scrutinizing the former vengeful spirit sitting properly on the floor.
The spirit tilted her head, attempting to demonstrate her abilities by directing a wave of her hand toward an empty cup. Miraculously, the cup filled with blood, rapidly reaching the brim.
Daniel also regarded the cup with a puzzled expression. [Is she going to let me drink that thing?] he thought.
"Eeehhhh? Strange…. Why am I still able to use these kinds of power? I'm sure I didn't have any shred of dark power or raging thoughts that corrode me," the former vengeful spirit uttered in confusion.
However, Daniel understood the reason. Typically, a spirit cleansed of all dark power shouldn't be able to use it again. Yet, since he used his card to cleanse her, and the card's description reads, 'Destroy target creature. If the target creature has the 'Undead' and/or 'Spirit' subtype, create a token that copies that creature on the battlefield and place it under your control.'
This means that all the powers, abilities, and anything associated with that card or… in this case entities, will be copied along, defying the norms that should prevail in this world.
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