Chapter 397: Karmic Fire (Part 7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 397: Karmic Fire (Part 7)
"Can't waste any more time."
After Fei'er left, Muen gazed up at the cold, clear moon embedded within the blood-red clouds.
He wasn't sure if it was just an illusion, but the moon seemed slightly larger than before. Now, it looked like a pale eye, looking down upon the world with cold indifference.
"Did I forget something?"
Muen rubbed his chin, glancing in the direction where Fei'er had disappeared.
But there was no time left for such thoughts. Muen stood up, nimbly climbing and leaping along the rock face until he found the cave entrance again.
He raised a hand and conjured an Illumination Spell, peering into the darkness.
The cave was deep, its end invisible, but it was only about waist-high. To enter, one would have to hunch over in a most uncomfortable crouch.
Fortunately, since Liya had been inside for quite a while and things remained quiet, the tunnel seemed safe for the time being.
"Talk about that classic flavor—a real authentic tunnel."
Muen muttered a quip to himself and, without further hesitation, crawled inside.
He followed the clearly man-made tunnel deep into the earth. Soon, the bright light emanating from his hand reached a dead end.
The path forward was blocked, but as damp soil came into view, Muen looked down and saw a vertical shaft opening up before him.
"A change in direction?"
Muen expertly focused the light in his hand and shone it down the vertical shaft.
The light met no obstructions and reached the bottom, but the floor of the shaft looked no larger than a bean to Muen’s eyes.
He casually tossed a stone down. Judging by the sound, it was nearly a hundred meters deep.
"What the hell? They dug this deep?"
Muen thought for a moment. This was essentially digging straight through the entire hill—and doing it vertically, no less.
If they wanted to reach somewhere below, wouldn't it have been easier to dig horizontally from the base of the hill?
He really couldn't fathom what the person who dug this was thinking.
"But no matter how bizarre their logic was, I still have to jump down headfirst. I'm not like Liya; I don't know the Levitation Spell."
Muen sighed.
A hundred-meter drop was indeed an impassable chasm for an ordinary person, but anyone who could make it this far was hardly ordinary. Moving through the heavens or the earth should be a breeze, right?
So, Muen jumped.
However, during those few seconds of freefall, as an involuntary groan escaped his throat, he suddenly remembered what he had forgotten.
He had forgotten to ask Fei'er for one last Holy Light spell before she left.
He had just finished a frantic battle with the Love God's Avatar. Even with the Crimson Flame, it was impossible to fully heal injuries that had practically turned him into a sieve.
Furthermore, the rejection reaction inside his body hadn't been completely eliminated; he still needed the Crimson Flame to maintain the balance.
But the adrenaline rush from the brawl and the urgency in his heart had made him almost forget that he was severely wounded.
Until now.
"Crap."
Muen’s face turned deathly pale. He reached out, trying to brace himself against the earthen walls to slow his descent.
But his mind suddenly grew hazy. Accompanied by a violent sensation of weightlessness, his consciousness felt as though it were being gripped by a giant hand and plunged into a pitch-black sea.
"I guess... I pushed it too far?"
*
"Save me..."
Who?
"Please, save us..."
Who are you? Why should I save you? And how?
"Please... save us poor souls..."
Dammit, speak plainly. Don't you know everyone hates a mystery-monger...
Muen snapped awake.
Those strange cries for help made his temples throb with pain, but the sight that met his eyes wasn't a wailing hell, but merely an ordinary rock wall.
Was that the voice Liya heard? Why can I hear it now too?
Muen shook his head, forcing his scattered focus to coalesce.
Drip. Drip.
Water droplets fell to the ground—the only sound in the area. In this deep, dark cavern, it sounded exceptionally eerie.
"You... are... awake?"
Suddenly, a second voice spoke. It was stiff and blurred, like someone who hadn't spoken in a long time and was struggling to remember how to pronounce the words.
Muen’s pupils constricted. Dragging his weakened body, he rolled up and onto his feet, his hands already gripping the hilt of his blade.
For someone to get so close to him without being detected, even if he had just woken up...
"You?"
Muen’s expression froze. His hostility dissipated by half the moment he saw the newcomer.
It was a little girl—a very strange little girl.
She wore a tattered white dress and her skin was so pale it was almost transparent, making her look like a ghost. However, she was covered in filth, and her small face was so blackened with soot that her features were indistinguishable.
But what made her truly strange wasn't her appearance; it was the oversized miner's hat on her head and the rusted pickaxe in her hand.
It was so ridiculous she looked like a gag character from a cartoon who had suddenly jumped into reality, creating a profound sense of incongruity.
And even more incongruous... why would a little girl suddenly appear here?
A little girl appearing in a place like this was like finding out that every monster on the road to the Demon King was actually a delicate, beautiful girl.
If this wasn't a dream, it was most likely a trap.
"Are you... going to kill me?"
The little girl looked at the blade in Muen’s hand and spoke suddenly.
"I... cough, cough."
Muen silently sheathed his sword.
After observing her closely, he confirmed that the girl possessed not a shred of fighting spirit or mana. He couldn't sense any other presence from her either. The only reason he hadn't noticed her earlier was simply because her presence was so incredibly faint.
But he didn't lower his guard completely. He asked, "Who are you?"
"I am..."
The girl thought for a moment. "Rabbit."
"Rabbit?"
Muen figured it was more of a nickname, but he didn't press her. He continued with his questions:
"What are you doing here?"
"Digging... holes."
The girl lifted the pickaxe in her hand.
"Digging holes?"
Muen frowned, his eyes sweeping over the surroundings as realization dawned on him. "You dug this tunnel?"
The girl didn't speak; she just nodded silently.
Muen stared at her intently. "Are you a local? Did the other residents dig these tunnels together? Where is everyone else? What happened here?"
Muen fired off a string of questions, but the girl only stared at him with her pitch-black eyes.
After a long silence, she shook her head and said, "Not... together."
"What?"
"Not together."
The girl named Rabbit seemed to be getting used to speaking; her words were becoming clearer. "I... dug this place."
"You?"
Muen was stunned. He whipped his head around to scan the area.
After jumping down that hundred-meter shaft, he found that the space here was different from the entrance. it was extremely wide—so wide that even someone of Muen’s height could stand perfectly upright.
It was only then that he noticed the area was riddled with other tunnel entrances, dense and interconnected like a complex ant colony.
Muen’s voice cracked slightly. "You dug all of this? Alone? By yourself?"
Rabbit nodded silently. "Yes."
"..."
No wonder she's called Rabbit. This digging ability...
Muen looked at her thin little arms and legs and immediately decided she was no ordinary person.
"Right, since you dug these tunnels..."
Muen took a deep breath and asked, "Have you seen a girl recently? About this tall, very cute, wearing a green dress? Her most notable feature is her... extremely impressive figure."
"I saw her," Rabbit replied. "I saw her, but she didn't notice me. She went straight into the depths."
"Really?"
Muen grew excited. When he had first seen the maze of tunnels, he had felt almost hopeless, but now he could find a guide.
"Can you take me to her? I... hiss, it hurts."
In his excitement, he accidentally aggravated his wounds, and Muen’s face instantly contorted in pain.
"I guess I can't rush this."
Though Muen wanted nothing more than to grow wings and fly to Liya’s side, he didn't want his Saintess to call for her knight in a moment of crisis, only for her beloved knight to descend on auspicious seven-colored clouds... and then immediately cough up blood and perform a face-plant.
"I'll rest for a bit first."
Muen had great confidence in his recovery speed. Even without the boost from Holy Light, as long as he took a moment to adjust, it shouldn't take long to regain his mobility.
Then he could ask Miss Rabbit for help...
Thinking this, Muen pulled out a piece of fruit and crunched into it. While replenishing his strength, he continued to ask:
"Did you save me, Miss Rabbit?"
"No. You fell into a mud pit. It was very soft."
"I see. How long was I out?"
"Two hundred drips."
"Drips?"
Muen paused, then realized she was referring to the sound of the water dripping from the rocks.
Based on the interval between drips, it had probably been less than ten minutes.
Good...
"Miss Rabbit, you..."
Muen’s voice trailed off as he blinked.
He noticed that Rabbit was standing quite far away, seemingly maintaining her guard against him.
At this rate, she might not agree to be his guide.
And he had so many more questions...
"By the way, do you want some?"
Noticing that Rabbit’s eyes were fixed intently on the fruit in his hand, Muen thought for a moment and asked.
"What... is that?"
Rabbit blinked, looking very curious.
"It's fruit... Don't tell me you don't even know what fruit is?" Muen asked in surprise.
This was a kingdom blessed by a deity where food was never supposed to be an issue. How could Rabbit not know what fruit was?
Muen thought about it carefully and then it clicked...
She might actually not know. After all, the trees in this Golden Kingdom grew meat, not fruit.
"Here, want some?" Muen pulled out another piece of fruit.
Rabbit stared warily at Muen, but she was clearly salivating over the fruit. She swallowed hard, looking hesitant.
"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Earlier was just a misunderstanding."
Muen spoke in the gentlest tone he could muster. "I want to ask you for a favor later, so consider this an advance payment."
After staring for a long while, as if finally confirming that Muen truly meant no harm, Rabbit approached cautiously. While remaining alert, she snatched the fruit from Muen’s hand.
She took a tiny nibble first, and then Muen saw her pitch-black eyes visibly light up. Immediately after, she began to wolf it down as if she hadn't eaten in years.
"Don't rush, eat slowly. I have more."
Muen pulled out more fruit, all of which Rabbit devoured in a few bites, not even spitting out the seeds.
"Quite the glutton, aren't you?"
Muen smiled. He reached into his storage and found that the fruit was all gone, so he pulled out a piece of pre-cooked roasted meat and offered it. "The fruit seems to be gone. Do you want this?"
"Don't... don't bring that thing near me!"
Slap!
Muen looked in bewilderment at the roasted meat that had been knocked out of his hand. Rabbit’s expression was one of pure disgust, like a startled animal.
"You don't like it?"
Muen’s hands were quick, and he caught the meat before it hit the ground. Food was scarce now; he couldn't waste it.
"If you don't like it, just say so. No need for that."
Muen put on a stern face and began to lecture her. "You're all believers of Emiel, the Goddess of Life, right? Isn't there a commandment in Goddess Emiel’s teachings about not wasting food?"
Rabbit looked confused.
"Ah, I almost forgot. For people like you who have an almost infinite supply of food, how could you possibly know what 'waste' means?"
Muen chuckled. He lowered his head and quickly finished the meat, focusing on recovering his strength as fast as possible.
But the confusion on Rabbit’s face didn't fade. She watched Muen finish the meat bit by bit, then suddenly spoke:
"We... we are indeed all believers of the Goddess of Life, but..."
"Hmm?"
"But..."
Rabbit looked up, her eyes meeting Muen’s equally confused gaze. She said, word by word:
"Who is this... Emiel you speak of?"