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Chapter 155 Taming the Madman (15)
Chapter 155 Taming the Madman (15)
Vivi’s voice echoed through the gloomy wetlands. The mournful tune of a woman resonated in such a desolate place, invoking the feeling of wandering through a nightmare.
Having finished her song, Vivi looked around the now silent swamp and remarked.
“The atmosphere... seems to have changed a bit.”
“I agree.”
“Thinking of finding the god of this land ourselves... Our thoughts are not like that of others.”
“It’s just a matter of whether we meet sooner or later.”
A shadow passed briefly over her face.
Our drift was drawing closer to an end.
An end that was surely not going to be smooth, as both Damian and Vivi understood.
It could very well conclude with someone’s death.
“To suffer alongside the cursed noblewoman... you too endure hardship.”
“I’ve said it before, it was my choice. I do not intend to blame you, my Lady.”
“...”
Vivi might not have understood, but Damian knew all the complications involved when he decided to accompany her. He had no intention of blaming her for anything.
Vivi proceeded forward silently, then started muttering sorrowful lyrics once more.
Perhaps thirty minutes had passed when her voice began to shrink.
“A widow prayed to the goddess-”
[Widow...prayed...goddess.]
She suddenly stopped singing and turned to look at Damian.
“Did you hear that...?”
He had heard it too.
Somewhere, someone was mimicking Vivi’s song. It was a low, somber voice... different from an ordinary human’s.
When Vivi ceased singing, the echoing voice also stopped abruptly. There was nothing around them; just an ominous air lingered. The source of the sound was unclear.
Vivi closed her eyes tightly and then opened them, brushing away the goosebumps on her arms.
“It’s true that souls can’t escape this place. This land is dreadful.”
Then, laughter from a child echoed from behind them. Vivi jumped, startled.
There couldn’t possibly be a child in this forsaken place. It was clear there was something non-human present.
“Whatever it is, it’s certainly watching us.”
Spirits in the Sodderton Cycles played such tricks. It seemed here ghosts took their place.
“Should we continue to sing?”
Damian nodded. Vivi took a deep breath and began to sing again.
After a couple of verses, the thing once more began to imitate the song. It was still faint, low, and melancholic.
Vivi squeezed her eyes shut and finished her song.
Damian drew his wooden sword, heightening his vigilance around them.
The sky darkened though it was nearing noon. The ominous environment, atmosphere, ghostly voices, and sinister omens all combined, shrinking Vivi into herself.
Then, she stopped singing again and said.Visitt for the latest updates
“It whispers to me. Did you hear it this time?”
“No, I didn’t hear anything.”
“It stopped singing and told me to leave you. It’s chilling.”
“Leave me?”
“Yes. It said to leave you and come with it.”
“...Come closer to me.”
“That’s a good idea. I was just about to suggest the same.”
Vivi, who had been leading the way, closed the gap and clenched Damian’s sleeve tightly.
“I never anticipated encountering the souls of the dead so vividly. Aren’t you afraid?”
“I’ve grown accustomed to it.”
“...”
Suddenly, Vivi flinched again.
“I hear it once more.”
She turned to the right and pointed. Before them lay a foggy swamp, dark and desolate.
“There. The sound is coming from over there.”
Damian released Vivi’s grip on his sleeve and interlocked their fingers. Her hand trembled faintly.
“Are you ready?”
“...With you, I can go anywhere. Let’s proceed.”
Holding a wooden sword in one hand and Vivi in the other, they moved toward the area she indicated.
With every step, their feet sank deep into the muck, nearly to their calves.
As they pressed on, Damian too began to hear a sound.
Vivi, overly tense, began to breathe frantically, on the verge of panic.
The spirit’s light wasn’t enough. In the encroaching darkness, it was impossible to see what might strike next.
Damian murmured something, and the spirit flew from his hand, setting fire to the dead trees around them.
Soon, acrid smoke rose, and the nearby flames began to spread. Thanks to the slowly burning trees, the surroundings became visible.
“Are you alright?”
“It’s coming... I’ve never experienced such a powerful force before.”
Damian turned his eyes in the direction of Vivi’s gaze. Flames reflected off the black lake, and a massive something stirred in the rolling waves.
Suddenly, something clamped onto Vivi’s ankle.
“Ah!”
A skeletal hand burst from the ground and grasped her.
Damian immediately struck it with his wooden sword.
“What... what is this?”
The sound of bone hitting bone surrounded them.
Damian began to survey the area quickly.
The remains near the lakeshore started to rise, slowly lifting their bodies.
[Give me back my body.]
[My child starved to death.]
[I need to return to my wife.]
The skeletons, each muttering, began to encircle Damian and Vivi.
A few of them reached out lazily to grasp Vivi, but Damian swung his sword, shattering them.
He then looked back to the lake. Something huge was cutting through the water, rapidly approaching. They were in dire straits.
Before taking on that beast, dealing with the skeletons was the immediate priority.
Damian took the lead, beginning to cut down the walking dead. Their sluggish movements made them easy targets.
The problem was that, no matter how many he cut down, they kept rising from the ground.
“...Damn it.”
That’s when it happened.
Behind the path they had come, a blue light flickered. The skeletons aiming for Vivi turned to look, startled.
Soon after, a blue stag burst forth from there.
“...!”
[KOOOOH]
As the stag approached, the living skeletons shielded their faces and fled.
The stag butted into the escaping skeletons, clearing a path, and stopped in front of Damian.
Vivi’s eyes widened at the sight of the stag.
“This, this is...”
“He’s a friend who’s helping us. I’ll explain more later.”
The stag bowed down to Vivi.
“...!”
“We have no time. You need to get on.”
Damian quickly helped Vivi onto the stag’s back, then cut the intertwined rope.
She cried out.
“What are you planning to do!”
“You know the decoy strategy, my Lady. You’ve played your part as bait well, so you may go now.”
“No! You must come too. I will not allow it!”
Damian shook his head and pulled her left hand towards him, pressing his lips to her knuckles.
Her eyes widened as he slowly withdrew and looked up at her.
As the forest fire spread, its heat surged towards the sky. The scene was truly hellish, and the blood-red reflection wavered in Damian’s eyes.
His gaze was the same as when she had first encountered him in Eternia.
This man had the eyes of a madman.
“I didn’t come here to die.”
“...”
Her lips quivered.
As Damian released her hand, the stag started its run, leaving him behind.
Vivi couldn’t take her eyes off the receding figure of Damian.
Soon, a gigantic form emerged from across the lake.
A maw big enough to swallow a horse in one bite. Eyes glowing red. A long body.
It was the very image of a basilisk from the myths.
Damian faced the massive beast and began to advance slowly.
Shortly after, a brilliant white light burst forth from his body. Vivi had to shield her eyes from the dazzling brightness.