Chapter 69: Whispers of the Love God (Part 9)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: Whispers of the Love God (Part 9)
"You’ve got to be kidding me."
Muen watched the man who had, for the first time, stood upright before him, and his lip couldn't help but twitch.
Before coming here, he had run through countless scenarios, mentally preparing himself for the worst. That was why he hadn't hesitated for a second, charging toward Eluka at top speed with the intent of ending things quickly.
He had been so close to succeeding.
But the way things were unfolding had completely blindsided him.
He hadn't expected this man—who had supposedly been consumed by Eluka—to be able to split himself away from that mass of deformed flesh and stand in his way.
The man didn't seem to have become just another one of those hundreds of faces.
More importantly, the man himself seemed incredibly strong.
Indeed, from that single exchange just now, Muen could tell. Unlike his own "quick-fix" repertoire of flashy but shallow moves, the man before him was a powerful martial artist, forged through genuine slaughter and tempered a thousand times over.
And that was exactly the kind of person Muen feared most right now.
"Hey, big brother, could you step aside for a second? I’ve got some private business to discuss with your wife."
Muen rubbed his hands together, offering the man a tentative, smiling attempt at communication.
"Don't worry, it’s all very wholesome stuff—world peace, life goals, that sort of thing. It won't affect your marital harmony at all. So, how about letting me have a moment alone with her?"
"..." The man remained silent. Muen couldn't even tell if those lifeless eyes were actually looking at him, but the man stood his ground, showing no intention of moving.
"Hehe, did you think I wouldn't notice your little tricks, Mr. Muen?"
Eluka, currently locked in a fierce struggle with An, suddenly shot a mocking glance over and sneered.
"I don't know what you're planning, but my intuition tells me I can't just let you run wild. So, why don't you have some fun with my husband?
"By the way, my husband is a genuine B-rank adventurer. And he’s at the very top of that rank, too."
"B-rank."
Muen’s heart sank.
According to the classifications, a B-rank adventurer was at least a Third-Tier martial artist, if not stronger.
Because anyone who could climb the adventurer ranks step by step was no pushover!
But here he was, a fresh Second-Tier, expected to fight a veteran Third-Tier. Wasn't this kind of "leapfrog" challenge a special service reserved only for protagonists?
Where was the protagonist? Protagonist, help!
"As if... anyone's coming to save me," Muen muttered with a self-deprecating smirk.
Based on the timeline, the protagonist, Ariel, was likely still undergoing her grueling yet blissful training under the guidance of the Senior Sister's remnant soul inside her ring, all so she could eventually stun everyone at Saint Maria Academy.
He couldn't rely on anyone. He only had himself.
From the moment he made this choice, there was no turning back.
And besides...
"I don't believe for a second that you're still in peak condition!"
Muen let out a low shout and suddenly lunged, pouncing at the man like a hunting leopard.
Strike first!
The two short blades in his hands slashed toward the man's vitals from a treacherous angle.
Muen knew the gap in their strength, so he went all-out with a surprise attack from the start!
"Just die already!"
The blade-light flickered like shadows; his roar echoed like thunder.
At that moment, the man finally reacted.
His gaze shifted slightly, seemingly locking onto Muen. Facing the two blades aimed at his vitals, his expression remained unchanged.
He simply lowered his stance slightly.
Then, Muen felt his vision flicker.
It was like a video suddenly dropping frames—two completely different images stitched together with jarring incoherence.
One moment, the man was standing still.
The next, he was right in front of Muen.
He was close.
So close that the two slashes Muen had extended his arms to deliver missed entirely. Instead, Muen’s wrists slammed heavily against the man's shoulders.
Wrists don't do much damage.
The man used the momentum to shove upward.
A wave of numbing pain shot through Muen’s hands; he nearly lost his grip on his blades.
"What—"
Muen’s eyes widened in horror as he stared at the man inches away.
The man gazed back at him silently. Within those pupils, which were as dull as stagnant water, something flickered.
—In an instant.
Muen didn't have time to do anything.
He had just swung his blades; his old momentum was spent, and his new strength hadn't yet gathered.
The numbness in his wrists meant he couldn't pull his hands back to defend in time.
His center was wide open.
The man reached out and placed a hand gently against Muen’s abdomen.
His fingers suddenly tightened.
A clenched fist!
BOOM!
The fist hadn't even been thrown, yet a deafening roar exploded in Muen’s ears.
Muen instinctively looked down.
He watched as his abdomen visibly caved in.
It collapsed into a perfectly regular semi-circle.
Then, the agony hit.
But before he could even process the pain, the world began to spin.
The man grabbed his shoulder with his other hand, twisted his torso, and threw him with immense force. Muen was sent flying like a tattered sandbag.
"Young Master!"
An, who had been keeping an eye on him, felt her eyes redden instantly. She stopped caring about restraining Eluka; every piece of metal vibrated and surged toward Muen in a desperate rush.
"Hehe, Master, did you think I’d let you have your way?"
Eluka let out a cold laugh.
She stopped paying attention to Muen’s side. In her eyes, Muen didn't have a single chance of winning.
She only needed to focus on dealing with her Master.
The roles of attacker and defender swapped.
An manipulated the metal, sending it flooding toward Muen like a madwoman, desperate to save him.
Eluka focused all her attention on blocking her, her deformed limbs writhing as hundreds of faces wailed in unison, repeatedly clashing against that jungle of steel.
...
"Cough, cough."
Muen forced himself upright, feeling as though his insides had been put through a blender. His internal organs felt "refreshed" in the worst way possible, as if they’d just received a violent full-body massage.
He coughed a few times, trying to clear his throat, but only managed to spit up a mess of foul-smelling stomach acid.
"Damn it, he’s that strong?"
Muen muttered in disbelief.
He had thought that after being a "dog" for several days, the man’s strength wouldn't be at its peak. He thought he might have a slim chance.
Now it seemed...
He had been delusional.
Even if the man wasn't at his best, he wasn't someone a half-baked fighter like Muen could mess with.
"I need another plan."
"I still can't take him head-on. I have to use the mobility of Shadow Step."
"Even if he can interrupt Shadow Step, that move must have a limited range."
"If I circle around and use the metal channels An built, I might be able to bypass him."
"But that means I can't end this quickly. He threw me so far away."
The distance between him and Eluka had widened again, shattering Muen’s hopes for a swift resolution. This meant that getting close to her again would be exponentially harder.
"Dammit, I said I’d be different, but in the end, I’m just too weak!"
Muen slammed a frustrated fist into the ground.
With his current strength, forget about bringing "salvation" to Eluka—if the ground hadn't been soft enough, that fall from being thrown so far would have seriously injured him.
Unlike now...
Wait.
The ground... was soft?
That wasn't right.
If the man was going to throw him, he should have been thrown onto the hard earth or toward those metal bridges far away from Eluka.
But neither the ground nor the metal could be described as "soft."
Could it be...
Muen stared blankly at the "ground" beneath him.
It was slippery, secreting a disgusting mucus.
Beneath the translucent skin, he could see black veins and writhing flesh.
Of course it was soft.
He was right next to the monster's main body, perched atop one of its largest limbs.