Chapter 213: The Weeping Serpent (Part 3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 213: The Weeping Serpent (Part 3)
"How is it, Muen? Are you moved?"
The Banshee giggled, her face flushing with a hint of the shy crimson that belonged to Shali.
"I’m doing exactly as you wished—sharing some truly heartfelt words with you."
"Such sincerity... it moves me to my very core."
Watching the Banshee casually rip open her own abdomen, Muen’s eyes flickered. He suppressed the surge of nausea rising within him, maintaining a smile of feigned indifference.
"However, I can't help but feel that you aren't quite loyal enough to the Moon, Miss Banshee."
"Oh? Not loyal enough?"
"Why not offer up your brain as well? Why keep that thing around just to disgust people?"
"Hehe, hearing you say that makes me so happy, Muen. It seems my failed plan wasn't entirely useless after all."
The Banshee blew him a kiss.
"Unfortunately, I can't. I still have a great use for this brain."
"Indeed, it is very useful. First, you sent your 'father' to his death, then your subordinates, and finally, you’ve come forward yourself to let me slash you a few times just to vent."
Muen smiled thinly. "Such generosity is one of the few things capable of warming me on this long, cold night."
"You—"
Though she had no heart, the Banshee felt as if Muen had truly pierced it in that moment. The memories of her previous humiliations flooded back. Her charming face suddenly contorted, and her seductive aura vanished, replaced in an instant by a bone-chilling killing intent.
But a sudden shift in emotion always brings a momentary lapse in reaction.
Muen had been waiting for exactly this opening.
In a flash.
A thunderous boom shook the air.
It sounded as if a bolt of lightning had suddenly struck the earth.
The falling rain was shattered by the shockwave into countless tiny droplets, expanding into a dense mist that obscured all vision.
In that same heartbeat, Muen’s already coiled body snapped tight. He lunged forward like a pouncing leopard.
Shadow Step.
Augmented by Ten-fold Time Dilation.
By the time Muen’s body tore through the obscuring mist, the Banshee hadn't even had time to react. Under the effects of time dilation, her expression appeared dull and sluggish.
Muen gave her no quarter.
Target: the brain.
A frigid arc of blade-light slashed out, condensing into a lethal, silver streak. It was a finishing blow.
The Banshee seemed utterly unable to dodge.
And yet.
Just as Muen saw his blade touch that nauseatingly beautiful face, a massive alarm blared in his mind!
The Death Premonition—honed through countless demises within the Black Book Space—triggered once again at the critical moment. Without a hint of hesitation, he aborted his momentum, jerking his head to the side.
Sure enough, the moment he tilted his head, another crescent scimitar pierced straight through the back of the Banshee’s head, thrusting directly toward Muen’s face!
A cold sweat broke out across Muen's skin.
If he hadn't dodged in time, his head would have been skewered along with hers like a candied hawthorn on a stick!
He narrowed his eyes, peering behind the Banshee, only to find...
Another Banshee?
"Oh my, is it that surprising?"
Seeing Muen dodge in time, the second Banshee showed a flicker of regret before casually flicking her blade.
The Banshee she had just run through suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, turning into a limp, hollow skin.
"Molting?" Muen’s pupils contracted. He didn't hesitate to leap backward, putting distance between them.
When did she do it?
Or rather...
Was the first one a fake from the very beginning?
"Isn't it natural for a snake to shed its skin?"
The Banshee let out a soft laugh, her supple, boneless body suddenly dropping low.
It was only then that Muen noticed her lower half, previously hidden in the shadows. It was a thick, long serpent's tail!
Muen finally remembered that she was a Snake Person. Right now, that tail was coiled and tensed. She was...
Preparing to strike!
The Banshee blurred into a lethal afterimage, lunging like a viper that had been coiled for an ambush. Even under Ten-fold Time Dilation, her speed was staggering.
No time to dodge—he had to block!
Muen crossed his short blades, meeting the twin crescent scimitars in a violent collision!
Clang—!
The screech of metal on metal was deafening.
Muen was forced back several steps, each footprint shattering the bluestone pavement beneath him. A sweet metallic taste rose in his throat, his chest heaved, and the flow of his Fighting Spirit became turbulent.
Glancing at his trembling hands, Muen’s heart sank.
What incredible strength!
He had briefly clashed with the Banshee before, but she hadn't felt nearly this oppressive then.
Was it because she had revealed her true form, allowing her to exert her full power?
"My, Muen, you truly continue to surprise me."
The Banshee’s face was now partially covered in scales, radiating a grim chill. Seeing that Muen could actually steady himself after her strike, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes, quickly replaced by mockery.
"To be able to head-on block an attack from my serpent form... your physical strength must be at least at the Third-Tier. And that sudden burst of speed just now—was it magic? A martial technique? Or perhaps a special artifact? I didn't even see you chant."
"It was nothing special."
Though suppressed, Muen refused to lose ground in terms of momentum. He forced a smile and said:
"I just can't pull off a 'second stage transformation' like you, turning myself into something neither human nor ghost. If I could, I might have just blown your head off already."
"You seem to really hate this form of mine?"
"Of course. Anyone who looks at you like this would feel disgusted," Muen said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
The current Banshee still possessed a seductive face, but her body was entirely encased in dull, metallic green scales. Even though she was unclothed, she was utterly devoid of any erotic appeal. She was worlds apart from the alluring snake-women of the movies and animations from his previous life. There was no beauty here; someone with a weaker constitution might have been scarred for life just by looking at her.
"Hehe, good. It's good that you hate it."
Instead of being angered by Muen’s insults, the Banshee laughed delightedly. The frustration of being mocked earlier seemed to vanish instantly.
"I suddenly don't want to kill you so quickly. I really want to see the look on your face when you carry that thought with you to see your precious Senior Sister."
"What do you mean by that?"
Muen’s gaze sharpened instantly.
"A pity. At such a critical juncture, I naturally cannot allow you to interfere with the Moon's plan."
The Banshee flicked her forked tongue, licking the edge of her curved blade.
"Therefore, I can only finish you off right here."
"So confident?" Muen sneered. "Careful you don't chip a tooth."
"Hehe, this isn't confidence. This is strength."
The Banshee slithered her tail, circling Muen as if taking a leisurely stroll.
"Do you think I was just wasting breath talking to you, Muen Campbell?"
"What are you getting at?"
"Hehe. Through that exchange just now, I’ve confirmed that the artifacts you rely on are exhausted. Otherwise, your safest bet would have been to shove an Alchemy Bomb into my stomach.
"And through this brief clash, I’ve roughly gauged the limits of your strength. Even that special ability of yours to suddenly accelerate—that must be your trump card, right? It’s no longer a secret to me.
"So, you... a Duke’s son who knows nothing of magic, whose body is no weaker than a Third-Tier Martial Artist but whose actual realm is only at the Second-Tier, and who has relied on petty tricks to get this far..."
In that instant, the aura the Banshee had been suppressing exploded, skyrocketing until it reached a terrifying level that made Muen’s eyelids twitch.
She reared up, using her long serpentine body to look down on Muen. Her gaze was mocking, as if she were looking at an ant.
"How will you deal with a 'monster' like me... who, under the blessing of the Moon, possesses Peak Third-Tier strength and has even touched the threshold of the Fourth-Tier?"