Chapter 70: Whispers of the Love God (Part 10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 70: Whispers of the Love God (Part 10)
This was one of the monster’s largest limbs, only a single step away from its main body.
In other words, far from getting away from Eluka, Muen was actually getting closer.
But... why?
To be safe, shouldn't the man have thrown him as far away as possible?
Before Muen could finish the thought, the light in his vision suddenly dimmed.
The man stood before him once again, gazing at him with a calm, steady look. That terrifying pressure bore down instantly, crushing him like a mountain.
Muen’s breath hitched. Ignoring everything else, he flipped upright, his Fighting Spirit surging.
He had to create distance.
Shadow Step!
Boom!
Muen had barely entered the starting stance for Shadow Step when the man suddenly stomped his foot.
In an instant, the entire limb of the monster shuddered violently, as if struck by a magnitude-eight earthquake.
Shadow Step was, after all, a specialized footwork technique; it couldn't function without solid ground. Muen’s center of gravity shifted, and his attempt at Shadow Step was interrupted before it could even begin.
This time, the man hadn't even used a martial technique.
Muen felt like a clumsy child before him. Any move that seemed impressive was, to this man, nothing more than a toddler wildly waving a stick.
Full of openings. Utterly crude.
To even respond seriously would have been an insult to the man’s skill.
"Dammit!"
Muen lost count of how many times he had cursed today. Being toyed with so casually ignited a spark of desperation in his heart.
Recklessly, he swung his dual daggers, slashing at the man once more.
But if the man still possessed human emotions, he surely would have sighed.
He would have sighed at Muen’s choice.
Because in battle, being swayed by emotion—
Is a fatal mistake!
The man reached out again, meeting the two streaks of blade-light.
The blades moved like flowing silk, tracing two lunar arcs that seemed to form an impenetrable barrier.
Yet, the man’s hand slipped through a gap in the arcs with eerie precision, landing a light tap on Muen’s chest.
Terrifying internal force erupted from his palm, and Muen was sent flying once again.
"Cough... hack..."
Muen’s stomach churned, and he spat out a mouthful of bile.
Before he could even start swearing again, the man took a single step and appeared before him.
Another palm strike.
Muen was forced into the air again.
The man seemed to have grown addicted to this single move, constantly catching up to Muen before he even had a chance to stand.
Palm.
Fly.
Vomit bile.
Palm.
Fly.
Vomit bile.
The cycle repeated.
"Young Master!"
Seeing her master being toyed with like a tattered sandbag, An grew even more frantic, her control over the metal becoming increasingly desperate and violent.
"Haha! Shifu, why are you so agitated? Is Mr. Muen the one you love? That won't do, Shifu. You can only accept my love!"
Eluka laughed with pure delight. Even as countless limbs were ground to dust by the swirling steel, her joy remained unshaken.
"I originally planned to have Mr. Muen accept my love as well, but looking at it now, wouldn't it be better to just let Ade beat him to death? Hey, Shifu, why don't you just surrender? If you do, I might consider letting you go."
"In your dreams!"
An gritted her teeth in rebuttal, taking a deep breath to force herself to calm down.
The Perfect Maid's Cultivation always allowed her to maintain better control over her emotions. In a crisis like this, a calm mind was essential for spotting inconsistencies.
As her mind raced, searching for a way to help her master escape, An quickly noticed something strange.
—Why was it that after being pummeled by that man for so long, the Young Master seemed perfectly fine, other than throwing up last night's dinner?
...
"Cough... I see. I get it now."
Muen leaned against the monster’s massive torso, having emptied the last of his stomach's contents. He looked at the man before him with a helpless, wry smile.
"Even if you want to trick Eluka, could you find another way? This feeling of almost puking up my own stomach really isn't pleasant."
The man remained silent.
He simply watched Muen.
Nothing could be seen in those hollow eyes.
He was like a puppet.
And yet...
Who was to say a puppet had no heart?
"Save her."
The man spoke for the first time in Muen’s presence.
His voice was raspy, sounding like someone who had just crawled back from the depths of hell.
"Alright."
Muen didn't look surprised. He nodded solemnly.
"I will give her peace."
He didn't dwell on the difference between "peace" and "salvation." Or perhaps, the man already knew that for the current Eluka, "peace" was salvation.
The man reached out again, grabbing Muen by the shoulder.
This time, Muen did not resist.
He let those iron-clamp hands squeeze him until it hurt, then allowed himself to be hoisted up like a chick and hurled away.
Muen wasn't that far from Eluka now.
But the man still used every ounce of his strength.
Consequently, Muen flew incredibly fast!
"Huh?"
Eluka finally realized what was happening.
Her joy vanished in an instant.
She had been betrayed.
Betrayed by the one she loved most!
"Why? WHY?!"
Eluka let out a piercing shriek.
"Ade, you’re betraying me? Why?! You’ve already entered my embrace; you’ve shared in my love! Why doesn't the Lord Love God’s power work on you? WHY?!"
In her extreme fury at the betrayal, the monster’s entire body began to convulse violently.
Hundreds of faces wailed in agony simultaneously. Countless repetitions of the word "Love" shrieked like ghosts in the dead of night, nearly bursting Muen's eardrums.
The deformed flesh began to writhe with unprecedented vigor. Countless grotesque limbs didn't even wait for the skin to split; they tore through the surface brutally, spraying blood everywhere.
Drenched in foul-smelling gore, those limbs ignored An—who was seizing the opportunity to attack with everything she had—and surged toward the traitor and Muen.
The man did not fight back. He allowed the deformed limbs to seize him, coil around him, wrap him tight, and slowly consume him.
He was about to merge with Eluka once again. This time, there would be no special treatment; he would become just another one of those hundreds of faces.
His eyes were still hollow, but deep within them, something flickered.
Just as it had moments ago.
Why betray you?
Is that even a question?
Because I love you, Eluka.
I’m sorry for deceiving you.
I’m sorry I couldn't stop you.
But at the very end, at least let this useless man be of some help.
As he was being completely swallowed, the man raised his one remaining hand.
He curled his fingers slightly, like the claws of a wild beast.
In an instant, a roar like thunder erupted!
An invisible ripple centered on his palm and expanded rapidly.
But the target wasn't his own surroundings—it was the deformed limbs chasing after Muen.
...
This is...
My final act of love.
...
Eluka’s screaming stopped abruptly.
A figure had bypassed the layers of obstacles and finally stood before her.
"Yo, Eluka."
Muen stood atop the writhing flesh, looking down at that still-lovely face.
As if greeting an old friend, he spoke softly.
"Good afternoon. Have you eaten yet?"
"That roast whole lamb you treated me to last time... it was really delicious."