Chapter 267: Golden Statue
Sisi snapped out of her daze, and she was surprised because Marik was nowhere to be seen.
"W-wait, where is he?" Sisi panicked, thinking that Marik had infiltrated another place and created havoc.
However, Jojo tightened his hug around her neck and said, "It’s okay, Sisi. Uncle Marik has left."
"Left?"
"Mm," Jojo nodded innocently. "He said that he wants to be with his family. So I... sent him to his family instead. He will live with them, not with us."
Sisi had no idea what Jojo was talking about, but she noticed a flicker of gold dust at the corner of his eyes, which gave her the idea that the Dawn Star had already dealt with Marik.
"Will he be alright?" Sisi asked.
"Ummm, he will be alright. He’s now in Jing Forest, with his own Sisi and Jojo!"
The more Jojo tried to explain to her, the more confused she became.
However, she knew that Jojo wouldn’t lie. So Marik had truly gone to live with his own family in Jing Forest.
"Alright, it is time to deal with the last one," Sisi turned towards Garou and Ruela. The panther had killed all the assassins that Marik brought, and with all the assassins cleaned up, the only one left was none other than Leah, who was backed into the corner.
"S-s-stay away!" Leah yelled while holding her dagger with two shaky hands, aiming it at either Ruela or Garou. She was never a fighter to begin with, so now that she was cornered, she quickly yelled, "Marik, help me!"
"... "
"Marik!!!"
"He’s gone," Sisi replied as she walked towards Leah. Now, Leah was surrounded by a few beastmen guards, Sisi, Ruela, and Garou in his panther form.
"Wha—I don’t believe you! He’s the most ambitious of us all! He won’t just leave without getting what he wants!" Leah denied.
"He already got what he wants, though," Jojo murmured. "Do you want to get what you want too? Jojo can help..."
Jojo’s voice sounded ominous for those with a sane mind, especially those who knew about his identity as the Dawn Star.
However, Leah was not sane, and when she saw the gleaming golden eyes, she realized that the boy had changed.
Maybe he was truly cursed, just like his father, who had a pair of crimson eyes.
Leah wasn’t convinced at first, but Jojo opened his small palm and a small chunk of gold appeared in it.
"You can take it if you want... Jojo doesn’t need this," he murmured.
Leah almost dropped the knife in her hand. But she quickly shook her head to snap herself out of this illusion.
"If... if that gold nugget is real, then throw it to me!" Leah yelled.
Jojo tossed it to the ground, and Leah picked it up. She gasped when she realized that it was indeed a gold nugget.
She looked at her surroundings and realized that she had no way out anyway, especially without Marik by her side.
"If you want my help, Jojo can set you free..." Jojo murmured. "You can have all the gold that you want too!"
"R-really?" Leah asked, but truly, she already had no way out. So as long as she could keep her life and get some gold, she could’ve just escaped and lived somewhere far away before planning her way to sneak into the Beast Kingdom once more later.
"Mm!" Jojo opened his palm again, and a few chunks of gold nuggets appeared again. "Just hold my hand, and I will make you rich!"
Ruela and Garou gasped when they realized that Jojo’s voice was distorted, as if there were two people speaking at the same time.
On top of that, his golden eyes began to shine ominously. The boy had a kind smile, but that sent shivers down Ruela and Garou’s spines.
However, Sisi was unaffected, knowing that Jojo would never let Leah off, especially after he knew that she was trying to harm them many times in the past.
Leah looked at Garou and Ruela, who didn’t move at all as they kept staring at Jojo.
Meanwhile, Sisi smiled at her and nodded. "Go on, touch his hand, Leah. Take the gold nuggets and you may leave."
Leah didn’t hesitate anymore, not that she had any choice anyway. She approached Jojo and Sisi, her heart racing when she saw the gold nuggets begin to overflow from Jojo’s hand to the ground.
One gold nugget should be able to buy her a house in human civilization, and to have so many nuggets meant that she’d be ultra rich!
Who knew she might even become a noblewoman and marry Crown Prince Ludwig to fulfill her fantasy of becoming a Queen of a nation.
Thus, without thinking twice, she touched Jojo’s palm, and the tip of her finger began to turn into solid gold.
Her eyes widened in fear as her body slowly transformed into solid gold.
"N-no! No! What is this! Help!" Leah tried to pull away from Jojo. But the part of her body that had turned solid gold became unmovable, and soon enough, she would be nothing but a gold statue!
Jojo smiled at Leah and said with his distorted voice, "Since you want to feel special and become rich, then I will turn you into something that is never seen before. You will be observed, appreciated, and rich."
Jojo paused until Leah’s body had turned into solid gold from the neck down, then finished his sentence:
"And you will be conscious for eternity, trapped inside your own gold body."
"NO! I-I’m sorry! I will never do this again! I’ll leave—w-wait, kill me! Just kill me instead! I don’t want to live like this forever—mmf!"
Unfortunately, Leah’s plea was ineffective, and soon enough her mouth turned into solid gold.
The last thing that she showed was an expression full of fear and regret, as Leah was now nothing but a gold statue.
Jojo’s golden eyes slowly dimmed and he leaned on Sisi’s chest. "Ummm... I’m so tired, Sisi. Can I take a nap while waiting for Daddy?"
"Yes, you can. I’ll wake you up once your Daddy comes home."
"Mm..."
Thus, Jojo closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly.