Nick came face to face with Gluttony for the first time, and it did not look like he had expected.
He had expected a fat man who kept eating food without end, but instead, he saw a beautiful and thin girl.
She looked like a normal human, except for the fact that her skin was bright red.
"What do you want?" the thin girl asked.
Nick had already transformed into a fitter version of his disguise and put on a smirk.
"Working together," he answered.
"I don't work with others," Gluttony answered with what seemed to be annoyance.
"Well, too bad," Nick said. "You don't really have a choice in that regard."
"You are a Peak Demon," Gluttony answered. "I am a Peak Fallen. You can't force me to follow your commands."
Nick released his dense Specter Zephyx and put his hand on the CEO's head.
The CEO of Grand Gourmand was an Early Hero, but in front of Nick, he felt helpless.
He didn't dare to move as Nick's hand patted him on the head.
"Look at this cute guy," Nick said, ruffling the CEO's hair. "I bet he gave you a lot of Zephyx in the past."
"Would be a shame if something happened to him and if someone told Aegis about your two little servants."
With servants, Nick was referring to the Specialist standing in the room and the Spicer, the Specter that created Gourmet Spice and Gourmet Fat.
"You would be making a terrifying enemy," Gluttony said in a threatening voice.
"Oh, come on," Nick said with a chuckle. "Don't try this shit on me. I'm a Specter, you know. This threat bullshit only works on humans."
"Resentment and revenge is not something most Specters feel. I can destroy five of your cities, and if I simply ask for an apology, you will give it to me." ṙά₦ꝋᛒʧ
"You're not prideful like Pride or filled with anger like Wrath."
"You're Gluttony. You just want more."
"Speaking of, what differentiates you from Greed? Seems like both of you just want a lot of everything."
As expected, Gluttony didn't show any kind of resentment or anger.
"Greed is the amassing of resources," Gluttony answered. "Gluttony is the consumption of resources. We both take, but we differentiate in how we deal with the resources."
"Good to know," Nick said. "That was kind of a rhetorical question, but thank you for the answer anyway. Anyway, are you interested in working with me? I have a good offer."
"Just speak. I have places to be," Gluttony answered.
"I propose a cooperation," Nick said. "I am very good at staying hidden amongst humans. I can just disguise myself as any kind of human, and I can pass all of the tests. Well, except for the Zephyx Synchronizer test."
The Zephyx Synchronizer test was the most invasive but also accurate test to see if somebody was human or not.
The tester simply cut open the neck of the person being tested to look at their Zephyx Synchronizer.
If there was a Zephyx Synchronizer, the person being tested was a human.
If there was a Specter Core, they were a Specter.
Not even Nick could turn his Specter Core into a Zephyx Synchronizer.
Doing that would be like turning one's heart into a liver.
The person would very quickly die since they didn't have a heart anymore.
"And I am offering this ability to you," Nick added. "I have the unique talent of being able to contact Aegis without dying."
"You're being besieged by Wrath pretty heavily, right? I bet you wish for a way to relieve the pressure."
"There are bound to be some powerful cities in the area that you can't touch. I am offering to take care of these cities by calling Aegis. Taking a city from Aegis is easier than taking a city from another Corruptor, I presume."
"So, what do you say?" Nick asked.
Gluttony looked at Nick for a while.
"What do you get out of this?" it asked.
Nick's smirk widened. "I get to reshape the cities into whatever I want. I am taking from Wrath and keeping it. You will not gain anything, but your opponent will be weakened."
"Wrath will lose its foothold in the Grand Continent, which means it will stop putting pressure on you. I am offering safety. In exchange, I want the resources of your enemy."
"What do you think?" Nick asked.
Gluttony thought about Nick's offer for a bit.
"How do you grow more powerful?" it asked.
"Is that relevant?" Nick asked.
"Yes," Gluttony answered. "If your way of growing more powerful fits into the concept of Wrath, there won't be any differences."
"Alright," Nick said. "I'll tell you."
"It's ambition. I instill unending ambition in people. They aim for goals that are way out of their league and dedicate their lives to them. 100 people want to be the best, but only one person can be the best."
"That one person will be happy, but the 99 other people will be miserable since they can't achieve their dreams."
"Ambition is an addiction, and it can destroy you."
Gluttony looked at Nick for a bit. "That sounds like it fits Wrath."
"It also fits Gluttony," Nick answered. "Consuming Elixirs. Working with all of the Specters. Amassing weapons."
"That sounds more like Greed," Gluttony interjected.
Nick shrugged. "So what? Greed is not your enemy, right? As far as I know, Greed doesn't try to take control of different cities."
"It doesn't," Gluttony confirmed.
This admission seemed unimportant, but it actually gave Nick a valuable bit of information.
In fact, nobody really knew what Greed did.
Greed was somewhere in the world, but there had been no reports of any city being under its influence.
But Greed was a Specter, which meant it wanted to cause suffering and become more powerful.
This meant it needed to target some aspect of humanity.
And if it didn't target the cities…
There was only one other thing it could target.
Aegis itself.
'Greed is interacting with Aegis directly,' Nick thought.
'Greed is a double agent, most likely.'
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