The Sex Beast System (The World Of Systems)

Chapter 205: Task Two (Part-2)

My heart thumps in my chest, and my ears ring as I watch the painting burn. There is a sick beauty in it that’s keeping me frozen in place with awe and horror.

[Do something!]

Pink breaks me out of the trance, and the situation sets in, making me jump and look around in panic.  

Is there a fire extinguisher nearby!? I need to put this out!

[No, but you can use water magic!]

But that might ruin the painting!

[Oh, yeah, and we don’t want that. Because the painting definitely isn’t ALREADY GETTING RUINED!]

…

Fuck it.

“Water splash!”

With quick succession, I summon multiple water splashes and throw them towards the painting. But to my surprise, all of them bounce off of an invisible barrier—before they can even get close to the fire.

That’s weird…

Instinctively, I reach out towards the painting, but my hand also gets stopped. I can no longer touch the painting.

What!? Where the fuck did this barrier come from!? It wasn’t here a few seconds ago!

“Water blade!”

Quite desperate now, I use a stronger water spell. This one is an offensive one used for duels and stuff, but I am hoping that the barrier will absorb some of the impact before it hits the painting.

But it is in vain. The barrier is quite strong.

Damn it! Nothing’s working!

The painting is half burnt to ash already. The naked couple previously copulating are now huddled up together at the very center, trying to protect themselves from the burning edges that are grimly coming close.

To top it all off, I can also see the next group of elves coming this way.

This is bad! What should I do!!??

[We are out of options! Just run and don’t look back!]

But that will make it seem like I am the culprit! Shouldn’t I wait and explain that I did nothing wrong!?

[Buddy, you touched the painting, and it started burning! Waiting any more would just create eye-witnesses!]

…

Pink doesn’t have to say it twice. I turn back and start running down the stairs at once. I don’t even dare to look back in case someone’s chasing me (though I doubt I can outrun an elf).

“So many stairs! Damn it!” I curse, my back drenched and my heart feeling like it would pop any second. Most of it is because of the panic, but the ungodly number of stairs are adding to it.

After what seems like an eternity, I finally reach the bottom, and without pause, I dash out of the museum. Thankfully, the guard at the front hasn’t been alerted yet, so he doesn’t stop me.

I keep going like this— sweating, panting, and pumping pure adrenaline in my veins— until I reach the tree-palace and shut the door of my room.

“What happened? Did you find it!?” Nina jumps from the bed and rushes to me. This has been her ritual every time I exit and re-enter the room.

I just shake my head, not in the condition or the mood to say anything, and that is enough to make her slump back down on the bed, all depressed.  

I also crumple down on the floor, clutching my head. I don’t even want to think about what’s going to happen next.

…

…

…

*Knock* *knock*

The sudden knock on the door makes me jump. It’s the next morning, and obviously, I couldn’t sleep the whole night. The anxiety was just too much.

It’s almost a relief that the cops are here to arrest me.

[No, they are not. I don’t think anyone would allow a primordial magic user to be jailed.]

Yeah, but primordial magic itself is a top secret. They will still arrest me for now! And while I probably won’t be jailed, there’s no way they will let me off without paying for the damages.

Do you even know how much a magical painting costs!?

[No…]

I can sell myself over a hundred times, and it won’t be enough to pay for it!

[I mean, yeah, a hundred times zero is still zero.]

…

[Sorry, my bad.]

Dreading my fate, I walk up to the door and open it with all the courage I can muster.

But instead of my hands getting cuffed, someone jumps into my arms, and I feel their lips fiercely pressed against mine.

Evelyn?

Yeah, it’s Evelyn, the owner of the brothel, The Nux, my lover, and also my employer back home (even though I haven’t worked for her yet).

Like most of my women, I haven’t seen much of her for the last few days. Everyone’s been busy shopping and exploring the capital at their own pace.

Just having her sexy body pressed against mine lessens a smidgen of the worry in my mind.

“It feels like I haven’t seen you for so long,” she says longingly, separating and looking into my eyes. “Sorry, I got too busy with the girls. We were bonding well together.”

“That’s good to hear. And it’s okay because I’ve been busy, too.” I give her a weak smile. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, this city is amazing,” she says with excitement, but the next moment her smile falters, and she looks sad.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much,” she says, quickly recovering her expression. “I was actually planning to ask you out on a half-date, half-work kind of a thing today. But that’s not possible anymore, so I am feeling a bit down. That’s why I came to see you.”

“And why is that not possible?” I ask with a frown.

With everything going on right now, I doubt I could’ve gone out with Evelyn regardless, but I don’t want her to feel sad.

“Well, you know that we use a lot of artwork at The Nux, right? And some of it is Magical, too,” she says.

I remember it well. Magical paintings are expensive, and thus, quite uncommon in our country.

“Yeah, and so?”

“So, I was planning to go to the Morcyne Art Museum with you,” she tells me. “It’s arguably the most popular museum among art enthusiasts, and I’ve always wanted to go there. With your suggestion, I was planning to select a few of the art pieces there— to be replicated and displayed at my brothel.”

…

“A-And why can’t we do that now?” I ask, trying to keep my tone neutral.

I already know the answer to that.

“Because the whole place just got shut down until further notice!” She answers exasperatedly. “I just watched it on the local news.”

Shit.

“There was an accident at the museum last night. One of the major exhibits, a priceless painting called the ‘Twisted Love’, painted personally by the owner of the museum, Edraele Morcyne, was destroyed. And that is why I am so sad. I especially wanted to see that one. It’s such a great loss.”

… fuck me.

“A-A-And did the news say how this painting got destroyed?” I ask, feeling as if I am about to faint.

I don’t really want to hear the answer.

“Yeah. One of the staff members at the museum claimed responsibility. Apparently, they made a critical error while re-applying protective spells on the painting, creating a chain effect that resulted in sparks being formed below the safety layers. The whole painting burned down because of it.”

…?