Perfect Avatar-Chapter 194: Dangerous Game

The maids let out scream of anguish as they collided with the prison wall, except for Nosfera. With a stumble, the woman glanced over her shoulder to find the fusion Dora right behind her.

"... What?"

She placed a hand on her chest, her face twisting in anger.

"... How are you still... What do I have to do to bring you down for real?!"

Her injury healed immediately, as evidenced by her recovery in stature. Dora’s eyes scanned this moment, then narrowed his eyes. Gloria’s eyes turned orange again, the ground shaking beneath her.

"Boy... If you had the chance to escape, you should have stayed buried!"

Her eyes turned black again, the atmosphere orange, the tension was at its peak and the monsters were ready to be unleashed and then...

"Ah..." A voice brought the Queen back to her senses.

"Solaria?!"

She shifted her gaze towards the platform and recoiled. Solaria had emerged from her prison bubble, resting beside Gamma and Beta. The Queen’s eyes widened in , while her lips tightened.

"... How dare you..."

Gamma placed a hand on Solaria’s head, a smile on his lips.

"Let’s talk about burial, hag."

"... Now I understand how stupid I was not to skin you that day."

Beta flinched, but Gamma smiled wider. Behind the Queen, the fusion Dora tensed his shoulders.

"Forget it, Gluttony, I don’t like making threats, so consider this a simple means of temporal peace."

"I have a better idea: I kill these two in an instant before I even finish my-"

She turned and pointed two fingers at Gamma, but her heart skipped a beat. On the platform, everyone had transformed into Solaria.

Dora sighed and shook his head.

"That’s the difference between a human and a pure Sin. You can only act like a monster. Now I guess we have a deal?"

The Queen groaned and turned to him. Dora just nodded in answer.

"Look, I’d really like to be done with you now and I’m sure you’re dying to do the same, but I think we’re at an impasse."

"... Are you kidding me? You’re the one who needs hostages. I’m far from having shown everything."

"Perhaps, but I am the one with the least experience, Ms. Elder. But I need some information, which I can only get from you, Elder. If you can answer honestly to one question, I will release a hostage."

They looked into each other’s eyes, then after a moment of hesitation, the Queen nodded.

"Great, then let’s start... Beta." Dora clapped his hands.

Beta walked towards the edge of the platform, his body beginning to glow green.

The fusion Dora brought his hands together in the form of a prayer and a black aura emerged from his body, while a pentagram formed on the ground.

(I’m going to use it now, open the door.)

Beyond the land, the limit of the kingdom, far in the ocean, on the Queen’s Marina, the eyes of the young woman dressed in black shone.

"Balance of Justice"

The pentagram grew larger, encompassing the entire area below Dora, Gloria, and the platform. The inscriptions etched on it ascended gradually and encircled every individual, with an X-shaped symbol materializing on their chests.

Dora clapped his hands.

"This is a spell, binding a person to some sort of authority. To put it simply, this spell acts like a judge, I ask a question and if your answer is wrong, a marked person will receive a penalty, likely to die. but if it is correct, this person will be free."

"... And why is there one on you too?"

"It’s... it’s... a little ’fair play’ action. Oh, why bother? It’s the attack that keeps charging." His smile widened.

Gloria frowned. She glanced at the platform behind which Gamma, the only unaffected one, was still next to Solaria.

"Now, first question... how would you rate us compared to the other Sins?"

The mark on Arstesis began to shine. Gloria watched this reaction and bit her lip.

"I guess I’ll play a little for now... But mark my words: you missed your chance to die quickly."

"Oh, don’t worry... Time is another ally of the Avatar of Greed. Now respond."

Keeping her gaze fixed on Artesis, the Queen shook her head.

"I only know five Avatars and the abilities of four. In rank, I’d put myself second, and that stupid girl last. I don’t know anything about the elf, and I guess that other brat is first, out of modesty."

"... It would be a dream, but whatever, where do you place me?"

Her eyes injected with growing rage, she turned towards him.

"Third, on four."

The mark on Artesis disappeared. The maid, suddenly freed from her bubble, looked around her, lost in her thoughts.

On the ground, Dora tilted his head and groaned.

"Ridiculous, I take that as maybe. Next question: how to create a pseudo-Avatar?"

"...? I expected you to know that since you’re a Sin. I guess I overestimated you. Everyone has all seven sins within them, all seven, but in some cases, if they possess the traits of a single sin, they become compatible. This means that someone as cunning as you can be compatible if they are greedy enough or whatever your criteria are. If you share your soul with them, you obtain a pseudo-Avatar of Greed."

The mark on Vixen disappeared, the servant joining Artesis next to Nosfera’s bubble. Dora scratched his chin as he looked at Solaria.

"... Is it possible that they will show the power of these sins before they are awakened?"

"Are you serious? How else do you expect to understand what sin they are connected to? Yes, they are supposed to demonstrate some skills, that’s all I know."

The mark on Nosfera disappeared, freeing the last maid. The three stood up together and after exchanging some gaze, they turned to Gamma.

"... Go ahead, the mark will activate if the balance is not respected. Kill your princess."

They clenched their fists and gritted their teeth. On the ground, the Queen noticed this quick interaction.

(As expected... if I don’t follow his game, he’ll kill her. He can only use 4 more people, so I guess he’ll put her at the end. If I use voracity, I might be able to erase this spell... but what should I target? Him? Solaria? The mark on the ground?)

"Next question: Are there pseudo-avatars anywhere in the world and how strong are they compared to us?"

The Queen’s gaze turned back to him.

"... Why are you so focused on the pseudo-Avatars?... Yes, there are some, I don’t know where... Or rather, I’m just guessing, I have an idea who might be a real one. As for their power, they can sink their fangs into us, but a Sin Avatar will never lose to a fake... except Candace."

The mark on Candace and Solaria disappeared. Gloria flinched, her eyes opening wide. Under Gamma’s threat, her daughter was in great shape, freed from a spell that gave Dora an advantage. The boy crossed his arms, nodding left and right.

"I see, I see... so there might be a lot of pseudo-avatars... so my target might only be the real Sins... but let’s not put all our eggs in one basket... Now, we’re getting into the finals of your exam, Fossil, what is most important to you? Your people, your power, your rules, or something else?"

The earth began to shake again, the mark on Gloria glowing as she understood the true intention behind that question. Her eyes starting to glow, she whispered.

"... My family."