Chapter 203: A Sick Sense of Humor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: A Sick Sense of Humor
What was... crying?
Anna reached out with a trembling hand, touching the dry corners of her eyes.
"Senior, what’s wrong?"
Muen looked at Anna nervously, sensing that something was off.
"Nothing... I’m fine..."
Anna murmured under her breath, her jewel-like eyes darting around as if searching for something in a panic.
Finally, her gaze landed on Muen’s face. She stared blankly for a long time as something began to surface from the depths of her heart. Then, her gaze slowly drifted downward, settling on Muen’s chest.
At that moment, the sun sank completely below the horizon.
An all-consuming darkness flooded the world, and with it, the light in the depths of Anna’s eyes faded entirely.
In its place was a different emotion... or rather, a desire.
Hunger.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Anna swallowed hard, her throat working convulsively. She stared at Muen’s chest. Everything in her vision turned to shades of grey, save for the heart within that chest, which pulsed with vibrant life.
So hungry.
So hungry.
So hungry.
I want to eat it.
I want to eat my junior’s heart so badly.
Her stomach, which hadn't felt a hint of hunger moments ago, was suddenly ravenous. Countless eerie whispers echoed in her ears, and a cold will descended once more, wrestling with her for control of her body.
Anna began to pant heavily. She instinctively gripped the gemstone hanging at her breast. The warmth radiating from the stone finally brought a sliver of clarity back to her consciousness.
This is...
Anna lowered her eyes in horror. Upon her fair arms, pitch-black scales were surfacing again. This time, they emerged even more violently, spreading across her entire arm like a fast-acting poison.
"Why..."
Muen saw it too. His expression froze, and his body felt as though it had been plunged into an ice cellar.
"Did it... not work?"
They had gone on a date.
They had kissed.
They had even used the tear filled with love.
The "Tear of True Love" couldn't be wrong. Was the method flawed... or was it his feelings?
"Wait, Senior, we can still try other things..."
Muen instinctively reached out, trying to grab her.
She deftly dodged him.
"Enough, Muen."
She expertly hid her arm back into her sleeve, her head bowed so low that her expression was hidden.
"You’ve done enough. There’s no need to waste any more effort on these futilities."
"It’s not a waste of effort! At least we’ve ruled out one wrong option, haven't we?"
Muen’s voice began to tremble.
"For example, we could still... we could still..."
The words tumbled around his mouth, but he couldn't force a single one out.
Because after the words "could still," there was... nothing.
That had been the most likely solution. If even that had failed, what else could he do?
The most likely solution...
The most likely solution...
No, that definitely wasn't it. There was something... something he had overlooked!
Yet, under the Evil God’s suggestion, he couldn't find the correct path no matter how hard he looked.
Muen suddenly looked up, his face contorted as he glared at the sky.
Beneath the newly darkened sky, all was pure—there was neither starlight nor moonlight.
And yet, Muen felt as if he could see an eerie blue moon staring down from behind that dark curtain, mocking the insignificance of an ant’s struggle.
First, let them see a glimmer of hope, and then, just as they are ecstatic with that hope, snatch it away entirely, leaving nothing but... endless despair.
This was exactly what Teacher Mela had described—the Evil God’s... sick sense of humor!
...
"As I thought... this date was something that should never have happened, wasn't it?"
In the coldness that was gradually sapping her body heat, Anna hugged her arms tight, her slender frame shivering as she murmured in pain.
"As I thought... so-called 'true love' is something that simply doesn't exist, isn't it?"
"No, that’s not right, Senior! My feelings are—"
"Enough! Truly, enough! You don't need to say another word!"
Anna suddenly snapped her head up. The ribbon tying her hair had been lost at some point, and her long tresses danced wildly in the night wind.
Her cold, serpentine pupils stared at Muen. It was as if she had become a different person in an instant; all Muen could see in her eyes was indifference.
"Go."
"I’m not leaving. I’m going to save you."
"I don't need you to save me, and I don't deserve to be saved by you!" Anna declared. "Go live your own life, Muen Campbell. You were never meant to be entangled with someone like me. You have a happy, bright future ahead of you."
"How can there be happiness in a future without you? I must—"
"I was the one who killed Teke Rhode."
"What?"
Muen’s eyes widened in shock at Anna’s sudden, nonsensical claim.
"I said, that Count’s son—I really did kill him. On the first night of the Open Day, I killed him and ate his heart."
"That’s impossible!"
"How is it impossible? I am a Snake Person!"
Anna looked at Muen’s chest again, this time making no effort to hide the hunger in her eyes.
"Eating the hearts of the opposite sex is the nature of a Snake Person. If not for this gemstone, I would have ripped your heart out by now."
"..." Amidst that palpable chill and killing intent, Muen found himself speechless.
"Do you understand now? I am a man-eating monster, a murderer. Even if you really cured my snake transformation disease, so what? Could you really cover up the crimes of a woman who murdered a Count’s son? Even as a Duke’s son, you can't do everything!"
Anna retreated step by step. Behind her, the vast expanse of water looked like an abyss, ready to swallow everything.
"Besides, I only got close to you to use you, understand? Now that you have no more use to me—get lost."
With that, Anna gave Muen one last cold glance and, without hesitation, leaned back toward the cliff behind her.
A breeze blew past, her skirt fluttering in the air like a wilting petal.
"No—!"
Muen roared, his eyes bloodshot as he lunged forward.
The Alchemy Core activated. Time Dilation—sixty-fold!
Small bursts of blood erupted from his skin due to the overexertion, but Muen didn't even notice. He only desperately tried to make himself faster, and faster still.
But Anna seemed to have anticipated this. Before Muen could even take a step, a violent surge of air had already transformed into a howling hurricane, forming a barrier in front of him.
No matter how many times he accelerated time, he couldn't instantly break through the wall of wind.
And so, fingertips brushed against fingertips, separated by a hair’s breadth, only to miss.
Muen could only watch as that familiar yet cold face drifted further and further away.
...
In the deepening night, two consecutive splashes echoed, startling the boatmen spending the night on the river.
The sounds were only a second or two apart.
But when Muen opened his eyes underwater, frantically trying to find that silhouette... there was nothing to be seen in the pitch-black depths.
...
Muen didn't know how long he searched in the water. By the time he was completely exhausted and dragged onto a boat by a fisherman, the horizon was already beginning to pale with the first light of dawn.
He knew his actions were in vain. In these complex waters where three rivers converged, trying to find and catch a girl whose swimming skills were good enough to catch fish since childhood was nothing more than a pipe dream.
The Three Rivers Confluence. Skilled at swimming.
"Senior... did you foresee this outcome long ago?"
Sitting on the fishing boat and staring at the vast waters, Muen couldn't help but murmur under his breath.
Perhaps because he had been submerged for too long, his mind felt like a muddled mess.
After absentmindedly pulling out a handful of gold to thank the fisherman—scaring the poor man, who had never seen so much money in his life, half to death—Muen stumbled back onto the secluded streets.
He wandered aimlessly, like a walking corpse.
Finally, he tripped over something and fell face-first into a pile of fallen leaves.
"Finished so soon?"
He heard a familiar, aged voice.
Shaking his head, Muen struggled to look up from the ground. He realized that he had somehow returned to that small shop. The old man was lying on the rocking chair outside the door, his cloudy eyes half-open as he watched him.
"I..."
Before Muen could say anything, the old man’s gaze suddenly turned cold.
"I see..."
The old man extended a finger that looked like a piece of withered wood and lightly tapped the armrest of the rocking chair.
In an instant!
It was as if a bolt of thunder had exploded in Muen’s ear!
A colossal force slammed into his chest, sending him flying. He smashed through several walls across the alley before finally coming to a halt.
"Cough—cough—"
Muen pushed himself up from the pile of rubble, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.
"Are you awake now?"
Through his dizziness, the old man’s indifferent voice drifted over.
Muen gave a bitter smile. "I’m awake."
"So? You failed?"
"I failed."
"And you just came back alone like a kicked dog?"
"Senior... she ran away."
"Typical of her. So—"
The old man’s eyes turned cold again, staring straight into Muen’s.
"You’re just giving up?"
"Give up? Of course not."
Muen looked down at his hands, which had turned pale from the river water. Recalling everything that had happened, his heart throbbed with pain. He laughed miserably.
"I won't give up. I just... I don't know how to save someone who won't let me save her."
"Idiot!"
The old man suddenly slapped the rocking chair, his voice booming with rage.
"Are you really the playboy Muen Campbell the intelligence reports spoke of?"
"What?"
Muen froze, only to hear the old man continue.
"You actually believe the duplicitous things a woman says?"
"Duplicitous?" Muen’s eyes lit up. "Are you saying she was lying?"
"I don't know."
Muen’s expression stiffened.
"However, I do know that for a foolish girl like her who has closed off her heart and only knows how to push people away, disguising her true thoughts has long since become an instinct."
"Just like a snake, she’s an expert at camouflage," Muen murmured softly.
"Take this."
The old man suddenly tossed a slip of paper to Muen.
"Lota Orphanatorium... this is..." Muen caught it and saw an address written on it.
"Go there and take a look."
The old man shifted into a more comfortable position and closed his eyes to resume his nap.
"Perhaps you’ll find the truth you’re looking for."