Chapter 65 : Chapter 65
Volume 1
Chapter 65 : The Love God’s Whisper (5)
“What is that—”
Before Muen could finish asking, he heard the monster cry out in delight.
“Ahhh—Mast0er, I found you!”
“Oh? Mr. Muen is here too.”
“Perfect. The two of you can come... accept my love together.”
A shrill gale arose.
Shadow fell over them.
A malformed limb as thick as a tree that would take several people to encircle came crashing down from above.
It was not only aimed at Ann.
It swallowed Muen within its range as well.
“Be careful!”
Ann cried out anxiously.
The metal sphere behind her instantly broke apart and reassembled, forging itself into crossed triangular pillars above both her and Muen’s heads.
The metal supports blocked the descending limb, but they were clearly close to their limit.
They twisted with a sharp creaking noise, as though they might snap at any moment.
Ann gritted her teeth, veins bulging at her temples, her knees bending slightly.
It was obvious that taking this blow head-on was no easy matter for her.
“Young Master, run.”
“Run?”
Muen still seemed unable to process what was happening.
He stared blankly up at the disgusting monster.
And when the creature had called him “Mr. Muen” just now, he had also noticed that among the hundreds of clustered faces, there was one familiar pretty face at the very center of the monster’s abdomen.
“Eluca... that’s Eluca, isn’t it?”
What in the world had happened?
It had only been a few hours since he last saw her.
How had Eluca ended up like this already?
Even an ultimate evolution could not happen this fast.
And besides, was she washing her rice with nuclear wastewater every day or something?
Unless she had been treating radiation like a household lamp on a daily basis, how could she possibly have mutated into something this grotesque?
“There’s no time to explain. Young Master, please go.”
Ann took a deep breath and said,
“I’ll hold her off for now.”
“If I go, then what about you?”
“There’s no need to worry.”
Ann smiled. “I am one of God’s Chosen.”
The cold gleam of metal shifted ceaselessly around her, then formed itself into a metal wall that blocked the spikes attacking from the monster.
“See? When I can use my power without restraint, I’m actually very strong. This monster is no match for me at all.”
“Is that so?”
Muen looked toward the metal wall.
The attack had indeed been blocked, but the wall had also caved in with a massive dent, as though it could be broken through at any moment.
That alone showed how terrifying the monster’s attacks were.
“Yes. I would never lie to you, Young Master.”
With a subtle movement of her mind, Ann restored the metal wall to its former shape.
Hiding the exhaustion in her eyes, she smiled and said,
“Young Master should go first. Once I deal with it, I’ll catch up to you. And then I’ll bring you back again.”
“This time, I’m not just trying to scare you.”
“I see. Then it looks like I really should leave first. I certainly don’t want to be imprisoned by you again.”
Muen nodded, turned around, and took a step forward.
Ann looked at his back, her expression briefly going distant, and then she let out a self-mocking laugh.
This was good.
As long as Young Master could get away, then that was enough—
“You think I’d actually do that?”
“Hm?”
Under Ann’s astonished gaze, Muen suddenly turned around and strode straight back toward her.
“You can’t even lie properly. That’s rather negligent of you, for a personal maid, Ann.”
“Eh? Eh?!”
While Ann stood there in a rare panic, Muen suddenly bent down without warning and swept her up in his arms around the waist.
“Y-Young Master, you...”
A faint blush rose to Ann’s cheeks as she twisted instinctively, trying to struggle free.
Then came a smack as Muen swatted her on the rear.
“Don’t move.”
In an instant, it was as though crimson dye had spread across her face. Her entire lovely face turned bright red.
“If we’re escaping, then we escape together.”
“But... why?”
If they were going to run, then they should run. Why carry her in a princess carry?
“Why? Because, of course—”
Muen let out a light laugh.
Then the light dimmed again.
A vast black shadow covered them as an even thicker malformed limb came smashing down.
But when the flying stones and smoke settled, Muen was already gone.
Shadowstep!
When he appeared again, he was already ten meters away.
A perfect dodge!
“When it comes to running away, I’m a professional.”
Muen said something utterly shameless with a perfectly dashing expression.
His face was full of focus.
His body shifted and darted without pause, weaving around the monster’s attacks.
At that moment, the monster’s enormous size had become a burden instead.
Though it could split off many limbs to pursue them, it could only watch helplessly as Muen gradually widened the distance between them.
Ann’s eyes widened slightly.
In her eyes, Young Master was still the same Young Master.
And yet somehow, he also seemed different from the one in her memories. Something about him had changed.
But that change made the heart she had thought was already filled with “love,” a heart no longer capable of stirring again...
flutter once more.
...
“No—”
“Master! Mr. Muen!”
“Please! Don’t run!”
“Accept my—love!”
The monster roared hoarsely, and even more malformed limbs came pouring down like a rainstorm.
Muen took a deep breath.
“Ann, listen carefully.”
“Hm?”
Ann snapped out of her daze.
Then she saw Muen’s face turn grave as he shouted—
“Hold your breath!”
“Huh?”
Ann froze for an instant, only to see Muen suddenly leap high into the air.
Before them, the little river flowed quietly, its surface reflecting the sunlight like fish scales.
Splash.
Carrying Ann, Muen plunged into the water.
The enormous mass of malformed limbs followed immediately after.
But deprived of sight, those limbs thrashed around wildly, only churning the river until it became even murkier.
In the water, Muen dodged the attacks with the nimbleness of a fish.
He looked even more at ease there than he had on land.
Swimming LV6!
That was the weight of having soaked in water for an entire day and night!
Muen was inwardly laughing in triumph when he suddenly felt his neck being wrapped by a pair of arms as soft and slick as water snakes.
Before he could even appreciate that wonderful sensation, those arms...
suddenly tightened.
Hm? Ann?
Being strangled so hard that his vision began to darken, Muen hurriedly lowered his head.
He found Ann’s eyes wide open, full of terror, both hands clutching desperately at anything she could reach.
She looked like someone drowning.
Ah. Right.
Ann did not seem to know how to swim.
Honestly... she was usually so capable, so why did she always drop the chain at critical moments like this?
Thinking that, Muen gave a helpless bitter smile.
Then he lowered his head and kissed Ann on the lips.
He shared his breath with her.
...
Several hundred meters downstream, behind a large rock on a gravel bank, Muen and Ann finally came ashore.
Ann knelt on the ground, coughing up the river water she had accidentally sucked into her airway, while Muen leaned back against the rock, sitting on the ground and gasping for breath.
Trying to flee through the river while carrying someone—or rather, carrying someone who could not swim—really had taken too much out of him.
But fortunately, they still managed to escape.
Several hundred meters away, that monster was still repeatedly stabbing into the muddy river with its mutated limbs, looking like a dim-witted child trying to spear fish with sticks.
Good thing it was not very smart.
Otherwise, this would have been a far greater problem.
Muen slowly let out a breath and looked at Ann. Aside from the faint flush still lingering on her cheeks, she seemed to be all right.
“So then,” he asked, “what exactly happened, Ann?”