Gargoyle Supremacy-Chapter 50: I’m Now a Crypto Investor, Probably

Carn raised an eyebrow. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, he slid the purified ring onto his middle finger and folded the rest of his fingers, leaving only the middle one upright.

"Here’s the deal. Give me a thousand holy marks for the trouble, or go f-ck yourself."

The cherubic spirit’s expression twisted into something grotesque. Its rosy cheeks darkened, and its bright eyes turned crimson, filled with rage. Rows of jagged fangs replaced its serene smile, transforming it into a monstrous visage.

"Give it here, demon, or we will destroy your soul! You’ll never be reincarnated again!"

Carn remained unfazed, smirking as he crossed his arms. "Try it. I’d love to see how Mother Tree deals with you lazy-ass bastards."

The spirit snarled. Enraged, it raised its trumpet and blew another blast. This one was meant to be a soul-shattering noise!

The sound reverberated through the room, potent enough to put anybody nearby comatose like what it did to Janette. But Carn stood firm, unaffected. His dual affinity for Aether and divine power rendered the attack useless.

Realizing its display of force was futile, the spirit grudgingly negotiated as it still wanted to create another divine being.

"100 gold marks. That’s all you get."

Carn chuckled, shaking his head. "I risked my life purifying this thing. Do you think 100 gold marks is fair? It took me more than that just to cleanse it. 1,000 marks, or I’ll pass the ring to Mother Tree’s emissary."

"You’re too greedy, demon scum!"

"If you don’t like it, maybe you should try doing your job for once! Oh, wait. You would probably waste more than a thousand marks if you tried. After all, you sloth never bother practicing with your own power."

The spirit was offended. It screeched once more, "YOU ABOMINABLE SCUM! YOU WANNA DIE?!"

Carn stepped forward, smirking. "Bring it on, you little shit. You think you’re invincible? Try me. See how far that trumpet gets you."

The two locked eyes in a tense standoff, the air between them crackling with unspoken animosity. The infant spirit’s tiny shoulders eventually slumped, and it let out an exaggerated sigh of defeat. "Fine. 500 gold marks."

Carn’s expression didn’t waver. "1,000."

"600."

"1,000, nonnegotiable." His voice was firm, unyielding, and filled with quiet confidence.

The spirit groaned in frustration. Spending 1,000 gold marks was a bitter pill to swallow. But deep down, it knew Carn was right.

Had it attempted to purify the cursed artifact itself, it would have burned through far more than 1,000 marks. Without a physical body or proper medium, the divine spirits suffered from severe energy leakage whenever their power interacted directly with hostile entities. That inefficiency was why they preferred delegating such dangerous tasks to their mortal incarnations or proxies.

"Fine. 1,000 marks." The spirit finally conceded.

A golden light radiated from the tiny being as it reluctantly transferred its divine energy. Threads of glowing gold poured into Carn’s right arm, weaving intricate patterns across his skin like a celestial tattoo.

Carn stood still, patiently waiting for the transfer to complete. He could feel the surge of holy power coursing through him, bolstering his reserves. Only when the last strand of divine energy settled into his body did he remove the purified ring from his finger. Without a word, he flicked it toward the spirit.

Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.

The infant caught the ring in its small hands. Finally, its smug smile briefly returned to its face. But when it glanced back at Carn, its expression twisted into a venomous glare.

"I’ll remember this humiliation, demon!" it hissed, seething as usual.

Carn rolled his eyes, waving his hand and chasing it away. "Yeah, yeah. Go home and suck your mama’s tits, you little shit."

"You…"

It raised its tiny trumpet as though preparing to summon a weapon. But with the purified artifact now in its possession, it reluctantly refrained from escalating the situation. The artifact’s safety was more important than settling its grudge.

With one final hateful glare, it vanished in a flash of radiant light, taking the ring with it.

The oppressive tension lifted, and Carn exhaled deeply. The night’s events hadn’t gone exactly as planned.

Jasmine remained missing, and the trail to his original mission had gone cold. Fortunately, the outcome wasn’t a total loss as the potential undead outbreak in the area had been thwarted. More importantly, he now had roughly 1,100 gold marks of divine energy at his disposal.

But it was far from enough. He needed more Aether and divine power.

As the clock struck 4:30 AM, Carn knew time was slipping away. He turned to leave, planning to head home and dig deeper into the tangled mess later.

However, as he took a step forward, his shoe nudged something small that tumbled from the marble kitchen counter with a faint clink.

Carn crouched down to pick up the object, holding it up to the dim light. It was a flash drive, though it didn’t seem ordinary. As he inspected it, he noticed two buttons and a distinct logo on the device, giving away its true nature.

"A hardware wallet?"

Carn’s lips curled into a smirk. He recognized it as a cryptocurrency hardware wallet, a tool popular among crypto investors for securely storing digital assets. Such devices were highly secure, requiring both physical possession and complex keys to access their contents.

Curious, Carn returned to the marble counter and examined the hidden compartment that he had uncovered earlier. His hands worked methodically, breaking apart the remaining structure.

His patience was rewarded when he found a folded piece of paper tucked inside, containing a set of handwritten keys and passwords.

"Free bitcoins? Don’t mind if I do." He chuckled, pocketing both the wallet and the paper. While Carn wasn’t well-versed in cryptocurrency, he figured his mother could help him access whatever riches might be inside.

Satisfied, Carn teleported home, leaving the shattered remnants of the counter behind.

.

Morning

By the time dawn broke, Carn and Wong resumed their daily routines as though the prior night’s events hadn’t happened. Carn shredded the corny goodbye letter that he had hastily written last night, cringing at the overly sentimental words.

Meanwhile, Arthur, his assistants, and Jasmine arrive at Jasmine’s house, continuing their investigation into her connections with a mysterious elite group and the enigmatic entity known as the "Lich King."

Their primary goals were to retrieve the ledger, secure the cryptocurrency hardware wallet, and contain the dangerous artifact that the Lich King had entrusted to her.

Stepping into the house, Arthur immediately noticed the destruction. The kitchen counter was in shambles, and the hidden container beneath it was exposed. His sharp eyes scanned the area, noting the signs of intrusion and the lack of key evidence.

Grinding his teeth, Arthur turned to Jasmine, who stood behind him. Her complexion had turned ghostly pale, realizing that she had lost everything.

"T-The artifact… My wallet…" she stammered.

Arthur’s brow furrowed, his tone sharp. "Did you tell anyone about the artifact? Anyone at all?"

"N-No one! Not even my daughter knows about it!" Jasmine’s voice cracked.