Chapter 746: Ghoul
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 746: Ghoul
"Could it be... for me?"
Ariel pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart begin to throb uncontrollably once more.
They had already given their enemies the slip.
They could have collapsed and rested at any moment.
There was... absolutely no need to push this hard.
And yet, Miss Muse had persevered until now. Despite her mental energy being completely bone-dry, she had dragged her exhausted body forward, refusing to give in.
What incredible willpower! What tenacious obsession!
She had even gone out of her way to prepare a meal for her!
If there wasn't some sort of emotional foundation between them, would she really have pushed herself this far?
Even if her affection level wasn't at a full hundred percent, it had to be at least seventy or eighty!
"It seems my efforts haven't been in vain."
Though her injuries still throbbed with a dull ache, Ariel felt her soul had never been lighter. This burning, poignant emotion caused even someone as iron-willed yet soft-hearted as her to feel tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
Once, she had suffered several crushing, humiliating defeats, sighing in despair toward the heavens.
Once, she had watched helplessly as the frog in the pot slipped through her fingers, leaving her in agony.
Once, she could only watch from beneath the bed or outside the door as pink silken curtains swayed, using her tears to wash away her endless regret...
The past... it was all a past too painful to look back upon.
But this time, it was different!
Her intuition told her that she wouldn't fail this time. Her long-coveted Crystal Palace was finally about to welcome its first mistress after being empty for so long!
And her intuition was rarely wrong!
"Don't worry, Miss Muse. If only for the sake of my dream, and to ensure your feelings aren't wasted, I will definitely get you out of here in one piece!"
Ariel reaffirmed her resolve.
It was a determination so firm that even diamonds could not compare!
"Right, I have to check Miss Muse's injuries first!"
Ariel suddenly clapped her hands as the realization hit her.
She had been so excited that she’d nearly forgotten such a vital task.
A cursory check of the pulse and heartbeat like she’d done earlier simply wouldn't suffice.
While she had confirmed immediately that Miss Muse wasn't in any life-threatening danger, what if there were hidden internal injuries she’d missed?
It would be terrible if any permanent side effects were left behind!
Besides...
Last time, out of politeness, she hadn't performed a thorough examination. But this time, Miss Muse had taken the initiative to treat her so meticulously; how could Ariel just ignore her simply because she was "temporarily out of danger"?
Miss Muse already saw mine. What’s the problem if I take a little peek at hers?
Isn't that what they call "reciprocity"?
No, "reciprocity" was a poor choice of words. It should be... mutual aid? Consensual assistance? Supporting one another? Marital devot—
Pah, pah, pah. She was getting ahead of herself. They hadn't reached that stage yet.
"Ahem. Anyway, please forgive me, Miss Muse. I don't have any wicked intentions. Just like you earlier, I'm being forced into this... Yes, forced."
Ariel flexed her fingers rapidly, her gaze sweeping back and forth over Miss Muse's tall, perfect figure, wondering where would be best to start the check-up.
Miss Muse didn't appear to have any external wounds. It was the same as before—her skin was impossibly fair. However, it was impossible for her to have emerged from a battle with those enemies unscathed; otherwise, she wouldn't be this weak.
The blood-stained, form-fitting magic armor she wore was proof enough. She must have gone through an incredibly intense battle herself!
This meant she likely possessed some sort of rapid recovery ability—one with a regeneration speed no weaker than Ariel's own, perhaps even superior.
Furthermore, because Miss Muse had exhausted her mental energy rather than her fighting spirit or mana, she wouldn't suffer from the same issue Ariel did, where external wounds refused to heal.
"So, if the external wounds seem fine, that means the only things left to check... are internal injuries?"
Ariel rubbed her chin, her brow furrowing.
A flash of disappointment crossed her mind... No, it was joy! She should be happy about this!
It was just that if there were no external wounds to check, there seemed to be no excuse to get handsy. But if it were internal injuries...
"Come to think of it, I should be able to manage one use of the Eye of Truth now."
The thought struck Ariel, and her hand instinctively moved to cover one of her eyes.
Back at the High Tower, because she had used the Eye of Truth to look directly at the Grand Duke of Bewitchment—a genuine Crown Bearer—the eye had been in a state of severe damage from the backlash.
Forget using it; she was lucky it hadn't affected her normal vision.
This was why she hadn't been able to use the Eye of Truth when she first found Miss Muse.
But after a brief period of recovery, if she gathered enough mana now... she might just be able to trigger it once.
"Though it's unwise to waste this much mana under these circumstances, if it's for Miss Muse's sake..."
Yes.
If it was for Miss Muse, such a price was trivial!
With that thought, Ariel slowly closed her eyes and began to pool her meager remaining mana...
"Who's there?!"
A sudden, sharp shout shattered the rare moment of peace and quiet. Abandoning her attempt to gather mana, Ariel snapped her eyes open and spun around, shielding Miss Muse behind her. Her hand was already gripped tight around the hilt of the Heavenly Fire Greatsword.
A faint mist had begun to swirl around the campsite, which was currently held open only by the flickering light of the campfire.
Without her noticing, the mist had grown thick, compressing visibility to the tiny radius reached by the firelight.
Bitingly cold gusts of wind continued to howl. The campfire, already waning, flickered violently as if it might be snuffed out at any moment.
Ariel stood ready, her eyes locked onto the mist.
Something had just darted through the fog.
Demon reinforcements?
No, that didn't seem right.
Whether it was the aura or that ghost-like presence, it was worlds apart from the Skinners she had encountered before.
And this direction...
"As expected, Miss Muse was right. The road ahead isn't going to be easy."
Ariel let out a long sigh.
She had hoped to spend a little more quiet time with Miss Muse, but it seemed there would be no rest until they had completely escaped this place.
Ariel turned quickly. Following her previous method, she expertly bound Miss Muse to her back and then fed her a few more pills to replenish her blood and qi.
Though she didn't have any of those rare items for mental recovery, in a situation like this, more medicine couldn't hurt.
Once finished, Ariel drew the Heavenly Fire Greatsword, holding it ready as she kept a vigilant watch on her surroundings.
No matter what was hiding in the mist, she had to—
Pshhh...
The icy wind suddenly intensified. The campfire, which was already on its last legs, gave one final, violent shudder before finally reaching its end.
The light died completely.
Everything plunged into darkness.
And in that darkness, Ariel heard a sound like a child's prank... an eerie, high-pitched laugh.
"Hee."
It was here!
A death warning no less intense than Muen's rang out in Ariel's mind. She pivoted her body slightly, relying on instinct and intuition to slash her greatsword toward her flank!
Clang.
She made contact with something for a split second, but the thing hiding in the dark was clearly faster than she had imagined.
The freezing wind surged again, and the premonition of death did not cease.
The attack was ongoing.
"Damn it."
Ariel threw herself backward, her body arching into a perfect bridge. She managed to protect Miss Muse from hitting the ground, using her extreme flexibility to narrowly dodge the incoming strike.
Something sharp swept past, inches from the tip of her nose.
Ariel slashed out around her again, but this time she didn't even feel a collision. She hit nothing but air.
The opponent was agile and clearly very well-adapted to the dark.
Tangling with it in this environment was obviously not a wise choice.
No wonder it had targeted the light source first.
"But did you really think wood is the only thing that can burn?"
Fueled by the irritation of almost letting Miss Muse get hurt, Ariel's entire body suddenly erupted in brilliance!
Flames roared to life.
The blazing light drove back the darkness, and the searing heat devoured the mist.
In an instant, the hiding place of the creature that had ambushed her was completely dismantled.
And so, she finally saw the true form of her opponent.
A form that made her pupils shrink.
"This is..."
It was a person.
From its silhouette, it looked very much like a human.
The "person" wore no clothes or ornaments; he was completely naked. His wrinkled skin looked like that of an old man about to enter the grave, yet the muscles beneath that skin were as powerful as pythons.
His arms were exceptionally long, allowing him to move on all fours like a monkey. The ends of his arms weren't hands, but sharp claws.
Based on those features alone, perhaps the creature shouldn't be called "human-like," but...
His face was, without a doubt, the face of a human.
His eyes were wide and lidless, bloodshot orbs staring straight at Ariel.
His mouth was pulled back in a high, wide grin that nearly reached his ears, revealing a grotesque sneer and two rows of unnervingly straight teeth.
From the gaps between those teeth, pitch-black, foul-smelling drool leaked constantly...
But it was, undeniably, a human face.
"A ghoul?"
Ariel racked her brain and finally found a word to describe this "human-like" monster.
But Ariel knew this thing was definitely not a ghoul.
Those things—artificial constructs made from corpses by wicked mages—were, without special magical empowerment, at best equivalent to wild dogs scavenging in a graveyard. They were only good for scaring children who refused to sleep at night.
They weren't even in the same league as this thing that could trade blows with her.
"What exactly are you?" Ariel asked again, her heart heavy.
"..."
The "ghoul" tilted its head. It didn't answer—it couldn't answer. It only gave that eerie, mocking grin.
"Hee."