The Price of the First Horn of Apocalypse

After leaving Shimokitazawa, Shin began his journey home.

On the way, as he passed by the apartment building where Gabriel lived, Shin unexpectedly noticed a familiar figure standing by the roadside.

It wasn't Gabriel but her friend, Vignette. Judging by her appearance, she had probably been standing there for quite some time.

"Vignette, what are you doing here?"

Seeing someone he knew, Shin naturally greeted her casually.

Although Shin had only met Vignette once before, and they had exchanged contact information only because Vignette didn't trust him much and wanted to monitor him, he hadn't received any messages from her since.

It was unclear whether she had dropped her guard or simply didn't dare to text a guy.

"Shin!"

Hearing his voice, Vignette trembled slightly before hurrying over to stand in front of him.

"I'm here to find you!"

"Me? What's the matter?"

Shin blinked in surprise and looked at Vignette's earnest expression.

"Did you buy a horn-shaped ornament from Gabriel recently?"

Vignette gestured nervously with her hands to mimic the shape of a horn and asked him, "Do you still have it? Can we buy it back?"

So that's what this was about. Shin quickly understood—Vignette was here for the First Horn of Apocalypse Gabriel had sold him.

Vignette and Gabriel were close friends. Although Vignette often complained about Gabriel, she even had a key to Gabriel's apartment and would drop by occasionally to help clean up.

Otherwise, given Gabriel's laziness, her apartment would likely be far worse than the "messy" state Shin had seen—it would probably look like a landfill.

Apparently, Vignette had just been at Gabriel's place to clean up and discovered the First Horn of Apocalypse was missing. After asking around, she learned Gabriel had sold it to Shin for the price of an upgraded game item. So, Vignette had been waiting by the roadside for Shin to pass by.

After all, this wasn't just any ordinary horn; it was the First Horn of Apocalypse, proof of Gabriel's status as a top-tier angel and capable of bringing about the apocalypse.

Although Shin wasn't an angel and couldn't use the horn even if he blew it, Vignette couldn't allow such a dangerous item to fall into the hands of an ordinary human.

Well, Shin wasn't exactly an ordinary human either, but still, that wasn't acceptable!

"Vignette, it's not that I'm unwilling to sell it back to you, but do you know how much that set of upgraded game equipment cost?"

Seeing Vignette's anxious expression, Shin shrugged helplessly and said, "It might look like just a collection of digital data, but it cost real money—quite a lot, in fact."

"H-How much?"

Vignette froze. She knew nothing about online games and couldn't comprehend how much money some game companies could charge for their digital items.

Shin leaned closer to her ear and whispered a number.

Initially, Vignette's face turned bright red as Shin moved close, clearly unused to such proximity with a guy.

However, the moment she heard the figure he mentioned, the redness drained from her face, leaving her pale.

"W-What? That expensive!? Gabriel, that idiot...!!!"

As expected, upon hearing the astronomical amount, Vignette was stunned. She could never have imagined that an in-game item could cost so much money.

"And that's the low end," Shin added calmly. "Some item upgrades are luck-dependent. If your luck is bad, the cost could multiply several times over."

Though his tone was even, Vignette found his words chilling—like whispers from a demon.

Well, technically, Vignette was a demon from hell herself.

Shin couldn't return the First Horn of Apocalypse, but everything he said was true. The set of upgraded equipment he had crafted for Gabriel had cost a fortune—enough to shock even most adults, let alone high schoolers like Gabriel and Vignette.

The allowances they received from Heaven and Hell weren't exactly extravagant.

"Do you still want to buy it back?"

"I... I'll discuss it with the others."

Vignette's determination wavered. She had initially thought that Shin had bought the horn as a mere ornament and that it wouldn't have cost much.

Reality had proven her wrong—she had underestimated the greed of game companies.

Still, Vignette wasn't the type to argue irrationally, claiming, "It's just data; it can't cost that much. You're lying to me."

Instead, her first thought upon learning the price was how to raise enough money to buy back the horn.

But this wasn't something she could accomplish alone. She would need to discuss it with the other residents of Heaven and Hell.

Gabriel, of course, wouldn't escape her wrath. This whole mess was her fault, and she didn't even seem to care about the First Horn of Apocalypse.

At their school, there were also Raphael, an angel from Heaven, and Satania, a demon from Hell. Vignette decided to enlist their help as well.

"Good luck. If you really can't gather the money, you can come back to me."

Shin patted Vignette on the head and said.

If she truly couldn't raise the funds, Shin was willing to help her.

He could awaken her Stand power and have her assist the Shinomiya family in return. The Shinomiya family wouldn't hesitate to spend money on that.

Still, even if Vignette managed to gather enough money, she wouldn't be able to buy back the First Horn of Apocalypse. Thinking about this, Shin couldn't help but feel a little mischievous.

Perhaps he could find a way to make "Blackbird" spit out the items it had consumed. After all, some abilities hadn't been used in a long time after being absorbed.

If he could recover them, he might even repurpose them.

"I understand..."

Vignette sighed, her spirits low. She bowed politely to Shin before turning and walking into the apartment building.

Clearly, she wasn't going home yet. She was heading back to Gabriel's place.

It seemed Gabriel was in for a serious lecture. Whether she could still play her games afterward was another question entirely.

Still, Vignette was kind-hearted. She probably wouldn't punish Gabriel physically—at most, she'd scold her.

To be continued…

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