Chapter 65: Whispers of the Love God (Part 5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 65: Whispers of the Love God (Part 5)
"What is tha—"
Before Muen could even finish his question, he heard the monster’s jubilant cry.
"Ah—Master, I found you!"
"Eh? And Mr. Muen is here too."
"Perfect. Both of you... come and accept my love."
The wind howled.
Shadows loomed overhead.
Deformed limbs, as thick as ancient trees that would take several men to encircle, came crashing down from the sky.
They didn't just target An; they blanketed Muen as well.
"Watch out!"
An let out a sharp, anxious cry.
The metal spheres behind her instantly decomposed and restructured, forging a set of interlocking triangular pillars above her and Muen’s heads.
The metal pillars withstood the impact of the massive limbs, but they were clearly overstrained, twisting and emitting sharp, piercing screeches as if they might snap at any moment.
An gritted her teeth, the veins on her forehead pulsing. Her knees buckled slightly; taking this hit head-on was clearly taking its toll.
"Young Master, run!"
"Run?"
Muen seemed like he hadn't quite processed the situation yet. He looked up blankly at the disgusting creature.
Moreover, when the monster had called him "Mr. Muen" just now, he had noticed it—among the hundreds of human faces clustered together, there was a familiar, pretty face situated at the very center of the monster's abdomen.
"—Eluka. That’s Eluka, isn't it?"
What was going on?
They had only been apart for a few hours. How had Eluka turned into this?
Even "super-evolution" shouldn't be this fast!
Besides, did she use nuclear wastewater to wash her rice every day? Unless she was using radiation as a reading lamp every night, it should have been impossible to reach this level of mutation.
"There’s no time to explain. Young Master, please leave!"
An took a deep breath and said, "I’ll hold her back for now."
"I leave? Then what about you?"
"Don't worry." An gave a small smile. "I am a Divine Blessed, after all."
The cold, glinting metal around her constantly shifted its shape, eventually forming a solid wall to block the monster’s incoming spikes.
"See? When I can use my abilities to their full extent, I’m actually quite strong. This monster is no match for me."
"Is that so?"
Muen looked at the metal wall.
While the attack had indeed been blocked, the wall had suffered a massive dent, looking as though it could be breached at any second.
The sheer power of the monster's attack was terrifying.
"Yes. I would never lie to the Young Master."
With a flick of An's will, the metal wall restored itself. Hiding the exhaustion in her eyes, she smiled.
"Go on ahead, Young Master. I’ll catch up once I’ve dealt with this. When that time comes, I’ll have to kidnap you back again. And I’m not just trying to scare you this time."
"I see. Then it looks like I really do have to leave first. I have no desire to be imprisoned by you again."
Muen nodded, turned around, and started to walk away.
An watched his retreating back, her expression dazed for a moment before she let out a self-deprecating laugh.
This is fine.
As long as the Young Master can escape, it’s fine—
"Did you really think I’d do that?"
"Eh?"
To An’s utter shock, Muen suddenly spun around and strode back toward her.
"You can't even tell a convincing lie. You’re failing in your duties as a personal maid, An."
"E-Eeeek?"
In a rare moment of sheer panic for An, Muen suddenly reached out without warning and scooped her up in a princess carry.
"Young... Young Master, you..."
A faint blush crept onto An’s cheeks as she squirmed, trying to struggle.
Slap!
Muen delivered a firm palm to her backside.
"Don't move."
Instantly, as if red paint had been spilled, An’s entire face turned a deep crimson.
"If we’re escaping, we’re escaping together."
"But... why?"
If they were running, they could just run. Why the princess carry?
"Why? Because—"
Muen let out a light chuckle.
The world went dark again.
A massive shadow loomed as an even thicker, deformed limb slammed down.
However, amidst the dust and flying debris, Muen was already gone.
Shadow Step!
When he reappeared, Muen was already ten meters away.
A perfect dodge!
"When it comes to running away, I’m a professional," Muen said, sounding incredibly cool while saying something utterly shameful.
His expression was intensely focused.
His figure shifted and darted, weaving through the monster’s attacks. The creature’s massive size had become a liability; although it could sprout many limbs to pursue them, it could only watch helplessly as Muen gradually widened the gap.
An’s eyes widened slightly.
In her sight, the Young Master was still the same Young Master.
And yet, she felt he was different from the one in her memories. Something had changed.
And this change caused An’s heart—which she thought was so consumed by "love" that it could no longer be moved—to flutter once again.
...
"No—!"
"Master! Mr. Muen!"
"Please! Don't run away!"
"Accept my... love!"
The monster let out a raspy roar, and even more deformed limbs rained down like a torrential storm.
Muen took a deep breath.
"An, pay attention."
"Hmm?"
An snapped out of her daze.
She saw Muen’s expression turn solemn as he shouted—
"Hold your breath!"
"Eh?"
Before An could react, she saw Muen leap high into the air.
Before them, a small river flowed slowly, its surface reflecting the sunlight like shimmering fish scales.
Splash!
Muen dove into the water with An in his arms.
The swarm of deformed limbs followed immediately after.
However, having lost their line of sight, the limbs lashed out blindly, only succeeding in churning the river water into a muddy mess.
Muen moved through the water as gracefully as a fish, dodging the attacks with even more ease than he had on land.
Swimming Skill LV6!
Do you have any idea what it means to have soaked in water for a day and a night?!
While he was laughing triumphantly in his head, Muen suddenly felt his neck being wrapped by a pair of arms that were as soft and slick as water snakes.
Before he could even enjoy the wonderful sensation, those hands...
Suddenly tightened.
Wait, An?
Muen, nearly blacking out from the chokehold, looked down in a panic.
He found An’s eyes wide with terror, her hands desperately clawing at anything near her.
She was drowning.
Ah, I forgot.
An didn't seem to know how to swim.
Honestly, you’re usually so capable. Why do you always drop the ball at the most critical moment?
Muen gave a helpless internal sigh.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against An’s.
He began to share his air.
...
Behind a large boulder on a riverbank several hundred meters away, Muen pulled An onto the shore.
An collapsed on the ground, coughing up the river water she had accidentally inhaled. Muen leaned against the rock, sitting on the ground and panting heavily.
Escaping through a river while carrying someone—especially someone who couldn't swim—was far more exhausting than he had anticipated.
But fortunately, they had made it.
Several hundred meters away, the monster was still frantically stabbing its deformed limbs into the murky river water. It looked like a brat trying to spear fish with a stick—not exactly the brightest creature.
It was a good thing it was stupid, or they would have been in real trouble.
Muen let out a soft sigh and looked at An. Aside from her flushed cheeks, she seemed mostly unharmed.
"So then, An. What exactly happened?"