They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 11 Black Market Merchant
"What do you want to do?"

Lia remained motionless, her eyes fixed on the sharp tip of the quill pen.

"I, hey, I want to do an experiment."

The bookstore owner laughed loudly, his expression behind the mask growing increasingly ferocious. He used the quill pen to stab at Ria's carotid artery, eager to witness the spectacular burst of blood.

However, the scene of blood splattering that he had expected did not happen.

In the face of danger, countless black tentacles suddenly sprouted from Ria's neck. These tentacles tightly wrapped around the quill pen that had attacked, then twisted into the shape of a large mouth that bit and devoured the quill pen completely.

After doing all this, the jet-black tentacles grew larger and larger until they stuck to Ria's neck and formed a giant black tumor, before they were satisfied and began to sprout more and more tiny fleshy particles.

Next, each piece of flesh burst forth with a thin gray tube, which continued to extend, shatter into powder, and from within it emerged newly grown black feathers.

In a short while, the feather completely detached from Ria's flesh and opened two round, golden eyes on his shoulder.

"Look, this is the 'monster' you swallowed yesterday."

The boss leaned forward and tapped its head with the tip of the mask. A distinct bone-crushing sound could be heard, and the feather ball fell to the ground with a "thud," flapping its wings and stretching out its claws to scratch its face.

Ria looked down at it, and the strange creature looked up to meet his gaze.

To be fair, this unidentified object reminded Lia of a four-legged owl, or perhaps a fat feline that resembles an owl.

He had absolutely no idea what it was.

But that creature was clearly not as harmless as it appeared. Its head was rotated 360 degrees and it was hanging upside down, smiling at Ria. Its mouth was stretched to the back of its head, and when it opened its mouth, its throat was filled with a slippery, jellyfish-like, crystal-clear membrane.

This might indicate that it has a good appetite, but Ria doesn't appreciate it at all. Right now, he just wants to find a metal trash can, throw the other thing in, and then fill it with a whole barrel of explosives to blow it to bits.

"It looks different from yesterday."

"Because what it is showing now is only a small part; its main body is still here."

As he spoke, the bookstore owner looked Ria up and down... her whole being.

"Let me be honest with you, young man, you have the right to know the truth."

"You're an unlucky guy. A normal person infected by a mythical creature would undoubtedly die, but you survived. Not only are you alive, but you haven't gone mad at all. On the contrary, this creature is willing to alleviate your pain and improve your symptoms… It's practically a miracle!"

"You knew me before?"

"No, no, I don't know you. I've just been studying your information for a while now. The reason I came to Winstown is for you."

He walked around Ria, marveling at the sight as he went.

"You don't need to be afraid. As you heard before, I am a keeper of secrets, and keepers of secrets take in patients who have been corrupted by pollution."

Speaking of this——

We need to mention supernatural powers. These so-called supernatural powers are something that ordinary people can't access at all. Even if they do, it's just by dealing with mysterious objects.

They use mysterious artifacts to make themselves omnipotent and call themselves extraordinary beings, but in reality, they are nothing at all.

Only you!

Only you patients are the ones who truly possess special powers.

You are the truly great beings. It's hateful that those ordinary mortals spend their days trying to get rid of the sick, spreading fallacies, and disregarding humanity.

The bookstore owner became more and more excited as he spoke, and Lia noticed the unspoken meaning in his words.

"You mean...you're not a patient?"

"Of course not, I'm not as unlucky as you."

"..." Lia looked at him with disdain. The boss realized he had said the wrong thing and quickly changed the subject.

"Those pests outside, in order to convict you, deliberately described your illness as extremely dangerous and highly contagious—pure nonsense."

Those diseases are difficult to spread among humans; all the slander stems from jealousy.

The boss's breathing became a little heavier, but he quickly calmed down.

"Your situation is very special. Not only do you have a terminal illness, but you are also parasitized by mythical creatures. It is obviously abnormal that there are no problems in your brain lobe areas."

After all, the patients I've seen tend to have rather extreme personalities. To live a conscious life, they can only find a reason to persevere.

"reason?"

"That's right, any reason can be a source of emotional support for people, such as family and friends, pets, love, faith, or even hometown, food, or profession."

Every keeper of secrets should have their own mental support, and rely on these supports to find a way to survive.

In this world, living an ordinary, unremarkable life is the greatest luxury.

As he spoke, the boss pulled a stack of cards from his pocket and asked Ria to draw one.

"what is this?"

"Take a quiz to see which role you're best suited to play as the [Guardian of Secrets]."

Do you think I'm a three-year-old?

Despite saying that, Ria knew very well that all the other party was saying to her meant they had no intention of letting her go, so she carefully picked through the cards and drew the one that looked best to her.

The backs of the cards were decorated with a top hat symbol made of gears, while the fronts, when Ria turned them over, depicted a well-dressed businessman in a suit and ruby ​​bow tie.

The tall, thin man wore a smiling mask and a silk hat. He was talking to someone while holding a bird-beak cane in both hands. His vest collar and pockets were stuffed with gold, and his leather shoes were polished to a spotless shine, reflecting the gold.

He is a businessman.

This was the first thing that came to mind for Lia.

At first glance, he saw a golden, English-like word slowly emerge on the pattern, which translated to—

[Black-hearted merchant]

Black market merchants

A businessman? That seems quite fitting for his former profession.

After Ria drew the cards, the bookstore owner glanced at them and earnestly told him, "This is most suitable for your identity, and it will become your spiritual support in the future."

Remember, do not abandon this identity, do not change your identity, and never reveal your identity to other keepers who have drawn cards.

I am not a polluter and do not need to be extracted. You can show me, but please do not let anyone else see it.

Trust no one. You must live; that's the only way to live.

After saying this, he took a step back to avoid the bite of the mythical creature on the ground. Seeing that the sneak attack had failed and that Ria was no longer in danger, the creature pounced on Ria again, its claws digging deep into his flesh.

hiss--

Ria pinched it in pain, and watching its mouth open wider and wider, she suddenly thought that hiding the identity card in the mythical creature's mouth was a good idea.

So a card was forced into the third trachea from the left of this mythical creature, which hissed in dissatisfaction, and Ria maliciously pressed against its upper and lower jaws, trying to forcefully break its head in half.

(End of this chapter)