The priest once told Alex that every single gold coin minted by the Church of Wealth had received the blessings of the Goddess of Wealth during special rituals, containing an amount of mana a hundred times purer than silver.
She dearly loved these metals that sparkled with golden light, and She was willing to unreservedly bestow blessings upon these lovely little things.
The entity behind him clearly would not give up the delicious prey about to fall into its mouth just for a tiny coin. The sound of heavy, thumping footsteps resonated from behind, shaking the very ground.
In a world invisible to ordinary people, within the vision of "it," the frail human teenager before its eyes harbored an unknown power, a dark yet alluring aura.
This was not originally a power it could offend, but right now, this extraordinary power seemed to have entered a special state; the seal was loose, and the price to obtain it was nearly zero!
What a massive temptation this was: "it" did not hesitate to drive away every evil creature in the forest, slaughtering other vengeful spirits just to monopolize this power.
The sound of metal tearing through the wind rang out again; Alex threw the next silver coin. A blunt object struck the round, greasy head of "it." The moment it made contact with the skin full of oil and pustules, that silver light vanished without a trace, leaving only a negligible scorch mark.
A negligible bit of magical power, weak to the point of being laughable compared to its massive malice.
Covered in pus, "it" was a monster pieced together from various fragmented corpses; arms and twisted heads were sewn together with black thread. It was not just an ordinary monster; it had once torn apart several evil spirits by chance, absorbing their power to possess some extraordinary abilities.
This made it a powerful extraordinary creature in this small forest, and even in the graveyard; it was the king of the trash found here.
But what did that amount to?
A layer of illusory white mist appeared from the void, cold and silent. In an instant, that tall, ferocious-looking monster vanished without a trace. Its screams were swallowed immediately, as if it had never existed.
The speed of the white mist was extremely fast, surging like a tsunami; it had already appeared right in front of Alex, blocking his retreat.
The sudden appearance of the white figure hurt Alex's eyes, as if countless tiny needles were piercing his eyeballs. Physiological tears streamed out uncontrollably, and his vision became blurred.
Do not look; looking will lead to death; looking is death. That was the ultimate rule of survival when encountering high-level entities.
Reason screamed madly. Underneath his scarf, his covered skin became scorching hot as if burned by fire; the cursed mark was reacting violently. Alex squeezed his eyes shut, tears forced out and flowing down his cheeks, mixing with the dust and dirt.
Alex fished the single gold coin out from the depths of his money bag. His fingers clenched it so tightly they turned white.
This was his final reliance; if he hadn't reached a dead end, he absolutely would not have thrown this gold coin. It was worth an entire year of food for him.
But at this moment, even though he held his greatest support in his hand, Alex did not feel a shred of reassurance.
This gold coin could not bring him a ray of hope at all. That white mist brought a pressure more terrifying than anything he had ever encountered.
The white mist surged forward, surrounding Alex. Not knowing if it was an illusion or not, Alex sensed an emotion of curiosity and puzzlement from within that void mist, like a child curiously looking at an ant before crushing it.
He felt pain, not only from the fear of imminent death but also from the indescribable burning sensation on his neck beneath the scarf, spreading down to his chest.
He couldn't die like this. He still didn't know who his parents were, nor did he know why he was cursed.
Alex wagered everything he had; the golden color escaped his hand and flew out, drawing a desperate arc through the air.
But the gold coin, entrusted with all his hope, did not produce the effect he imagined. The metal containing the sparse blessing of the Goddess of Wealth could not even last a second; it lost all its light upon touching the mist, falling to the ground and turning into a useless, ordinary lump of metal, black as coal.
Alex thought he could take the opportunity to escape, but he was too terrified. His legs went soft like noodles; he staggered a few steps, and before he could even run, he was tripped by a hard object. The sharp object cut his leg. Alex felt hot blood flowing out, and the scent of blood only stimulated the madness of the mist further.
This time, he clearly realized that he was about to die.
Fate had never stood by his side for a single moment. No, the only things It left for him were accidents and countless misfortunes, like a prolonged, malicious prank.
But he was not resigned; he wanted to live very much. Even if it meant living precariously, hiding like a sewer rat, he still wanted to live...
The white mist approached, evaluating the fragile existence on the ground. The curiosity and confusion had vanished; right now, there remained only endless madness, wanting to devour this fresh, delicious soul.
"Adrian... Adrian..."
Delirious words screamed madly, and a strange name echoed in his head. Under endless despair and fear, wanting to survive had become an expensive luxury, just like the exquisite, fragrant pastries and cakes displayed in the center of the bakery's glass cabinet.
Alex had once used longing eyes to watch the ladies and young misses enjoy those exquisite cakes, but in the end, he still swallowed his saliva and saved up a small silver coin.
That was a hope for survival; the desire for food was far inferior to the instinct to live.
I beg You. Anyone, God or Devil.
Tears streamed down Alex's cheeks. He was a complete atheist; at this moment, he didn't even know which god to pray to. Alex spoke incoherently, hoping to receive the attention of a deity in these final seconds.
I want to live. Regardless of who it is, please listen to my prayer, let me live. I will pay any price.
I beg You.
"Help me, save me."