Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2849: Peyote’s Dismay

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Three Mischief Encampment

”What was that?”

I stepped out of hiding after Konjur’s master left, having reached a compromise with Peyote. Even though the last part of their exchange had taken place within the divine dominion, my soul pupils let me read it all.

My plan was simple: get Konjur’s master and Peyote to clash, then use the opening to infect the master’s divinity with the Breath of Erosion.

I wasn’t worried about Peyote. He could manifest a Sandalphon, and against a faith user, the realm it appeared in hardly mattered—the denser the faith, the stronger the Sandalphon. That alone would be enough to keep Konjur’s master occupied, giving me the time I needed to find/create an opening and finish him with the Breath of Erosion.

To set it in motion, I had already erased every trace of Konjur’s encounter with me from the surrounding soul energy and pathways using the Breath of Erosion. Anyone who came to investigate his death would only find his encounter with Peyote; everything else he did on the Card World would appear as a blank.

However, I underestimated two things:

First, Konjur’s importance to his master. He arrived far sooner than I had calculated. For someone cold-blooded and calculating, he cared far more deeply for his disciple than I had expected.

Second, Peyote’s will. He didn’t just want to survive—he wanted to thrive. For someone bearing the title of deceitful devil, he was surprisingly driven about his ambitions.

If not for these two variables, I would have already turned Peyote into my calamity daughter gem by the time anyone from Faith Order came to investigate Konjur’s death. That would have given me a far better chance of handling the aftermath.

Even now, the situation was far from bad. Thanks to Peyote, the Card World would no longer have to face the wrath of a ruler-class being. That left me with two choices: hear him out, or turn him into a calamity daughter gem. The latter was simple. The former, however, carried the promise of something unexpected.

I already had more than enough bloodkin and calamity daughter gems. I could always make more. But the chance to gain a willing semi–ruler-class subordinate—now that was rare.

”That was me proving you can trust me,” Peyote said, meeting my gaze with a rare show of sincerity. He even tossed the unconscious emissary of light toward me. Karl flickered into motion, catching him mid-air before stepping aside.

”What use do I have for that?” I played dumb, wanting to hear him say it—his ambition, out loud—so I could shoot it down.

”Don’t play dumb, kid. I did you a solid just now. Your turn.”

”You did me a solid? All you did was buy yourself time, at the cost of your tribe’s graves. If you had played along with my plan, we’d be discussing how to split Konjur’s master’s corpse—”

”Maestro Matteo.”

”What?”

”Konjur’s master’s name is Maestro Matteo. One of the five archangels leading the Faith Order.”

”Whatever. As far as I’m concerned, you’re the last person he confirmed seeing with Konjur. If you disappear, he’ll be too busy hunting you to bother with the Card World. So come—let’s finish this.”

At my words, Peyote’s eyes widened in shock. The horror in them was unmistakable as he watched the little pink figure slip free from my hair and drift into view. In that instant, regret flooded him. He cursed himself for playing it wrong—for talking too much.

”No, no, hear me out. This doesn’t have to end like this between us... We can work together... We can kill Maestro together... You need me... damn it, just listen for a second!”

Peyote pleaded, scrambling for a chance to turn things around. I only paused once he finally broke, reduced to begging just to be heard.

I knew Peyote’s desperation wasn’t born of fear of me, but of his ambition—to join one of the top three ruler-class factions in the Myriad Realms. He didn’t want things between us to spiral past the point of no return. Because once they did, instead of gaining entry into one of the top three ruler class factions in the myriad realms, he would end up making an enemy of them.

Not that he lacked enemies already—but adding a goliath to that list was a risk he didn’t even dare to imagine.

”The mass grave of my tribe is protected by a ruler-class battle array. Beneath it lies one of the hidden strongholds of my former faction—the Ten Commandants. If you work with me, we’ll have a far better chance of killing Maestro there.”

”No, you idiot. Your trap doesn’t matter anymore. Maestro rushed here without any backup, driven by emotion. Do you really think he’ll make that mistake again?

”Why do you think he left so quickly, without even fixing a proper time to meet? He was in a hurry to get out of here. His divination is stronger than his disciple’s—he must have sensed danger and retreated to return better prepared.

”If we go to your tribe’s mass grave and wait, we’ll be walking straight into his trap. He’s already shown how much he cares about his disciple. Do you really think he’ll take the risk of trusting you? You’re called the deceitful devil for a reason.

”If I’m not wrong, he’ll bring one or two more ruler-class beings as reinforcement. That’s far more trouble than it’s worth. Why go through all that... when erasing you solves everything for me?”

I laid it out plainly for Peyote. He had seriously underestimated someone like Maestro Matteo—one of the five leaders of a ruler-class cult, part of an organization bold enough to stand against the Devil Merchant Code itself, defying the traditional doctrines followed by most of the dark races in the dark realm.

Someone like him didn’t survive this long, while keeping a bit of his attachments and emotions intact, without being exceptionally sharp and perceptive.