Rise of the Eromancer-Chapter 350: Heads, Heads, Heads, Heads

"Y…yes… Right… right there… Hn… you're… you're hitting something."

"..."

It was late into the night, and Clio's murmurs as she continued to journey deeper into her dreams whispered into the large and lavish chamber. Her breaths, still completely heavy and stuttered from what Rhys just did to her.

When the King left him and Clio in the chambers, it was actually not even night yet—and suffice it to say—Clio was the one who initiated the first contact. After all, how could she not, when it had been a very long day with all sorts of twists and tease?

She was already feeling it when Rhys was training her and injecting her with his abilities, the heat… the pleasurable heat that just throbbed and throbbed between her legs. They both took a bath at the same time since her mother's chambers had their own pool, she was hesitant at first, but she ended up just lunging toward Rhys like some sort of hungry beast.

But of course, her aggressiveness did not last long as Rhys immediately took control of the situation. And now, after a quarter of a day dead into the night, Clio was completely knocked unconscious; her legs, still trembling from what had transpired.

As for Rhys, well, the temptation to sleep had long passed him as he just sat there on the bed; his eyes, reflecting the dancing flames on the stone table.

Rhys gets it now—what the gods are doing. They told him that all of this was a game of chess for them, and it truly was just that, a game. And Achilles, his role was to play this game and do different scenarios that the gods wanted him to do.

The burning arrow that Rhys was staring at now, Achilles was probably supposed to get this from Calydon, but seeing as he chose to assassinate Clio, he was going to do it in a very different way.

But now none of those mattered at all, as Achilles's role had become his.

He could probably refuse to play this game, but that would just mean he would be stuck here. He could find another way, but he knew absolutely nothing about what all of this was just yet—but of course, he wasn't planning on actually playing how they wanted. He would play their game, but he would play it his way sooner or later.

"Hm…" Rhys then let out a small but very deep sigh as he stood up from the bed, careful not to wake Clio up as he took the burning arrow and made his way into the castle's courtyard… of course, after getting dressed.

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

There were still a lot of guards walking around the castle, but all of them just stood still and straight as soon as they saw Rhys walking across the large and ancient walls of the castle. None of them even wondered about the flaming arrow he was holding—why would they, when all of them were also holding a torch? And a torch is just what the arrow looked like to the rest of them.

And soon, he reached the courtyard.

The King told him to shoot the arrow into the sky—but now a problem arises.

He didn't have a bow.

"Just throw it, huh?" he muttered to himself, rolling his shoulders as he looked up at the moon-covered sky.

"Alright…" With a deep breath, Rhys pulled his arm back and hurled the arrow high into the sky with all his strength. The arrow shot up, a skirt of wind forming around it as it soared through the air faster than it could have ever done if shot by a bow.

It disappeared into the distance, and for a moment, there was nothing but silence.

"!!!" Then, without warning, a bright light exploded from where the arrow had disappeared. The sky lit up, and a streak of light shot across the heavens, pointing in a single direction—a beacon.

"Hm…" Rhys watched the light for a moment, his eyes narrowed.

"...So."

The soft voice made him turn, and there was Clio, standing barefoot in the grass behind him. Her hair was slightly disheveled from sleep, and she rubbed her eyes before looking up at the sky, following the light's path.

"That is where we're going next?"

Rhys nodded, his gaze still focused on the glowing trail in the sky. "Looks like it."

Clio walked over to him, standing close, her arm brushing against his. "What… do you think it is?"

Rhys glanced down at her, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I guess we'll find out soon enough… if the others aren't already on their way there."

"You're… right," Clio let out a small sigh as she turned around as quickly as she arrived, "This light would have been seen not just by us, but by everyone else looking up into the night sky—we need to travel now if we want to be the first to be there. I'll ask the servants to prepare us things for our journey."

"There's no need," Rhys shook his head, "You should rest first and then we'll go."

"I… won't be able to sleep anymore, Rhys," Clio shook her head, "I'll just ask—"

"Then say your farewells to your father," Rhys started walking away, "You don't need to ask them for supplies, we'll hunt along the way. It…

…would be best for us to travel extremely light."

***

"It… seems far."

Rhys and Clio dashed across the clearing, the world around them blurring as they moved faster than any horse could ever dream. The wind roared in their ears, but neither slowed down. At this point, the only ones who might reach the end of the light before them were those already close—if there was anyone there at all.

The streak of light in the sky still pointed south, cutting through the darkness like a beacon. It had been an hour since they started running, and yet the light still had no signs of ending.

"How… much farther do you think?" Clio panted as she looked at the light, her breath heavy as she tried to keep pace with Rhys.

"I don't know," Rhys said, his voice steady and calm.

"We're… going to reach the sea at this point, Rhys," Clio breathed out, pushing herself to keep running. But alas, her legs were starting to give out. She had kept up with Rhys for a while, using the strength he had passed on to her, but it wasn't enough at all.

"Rhys…" she called out softly, stumbling slightly as they crossed another stretch of open field. She may have a bit of Rhys's strength, but his stamina was a completely different monster altogether, "I… I can't—"

And before she could finish her words, Rhys scooped her up without a word, cradling her in his arms as he continued running without breaking stride.

"Rest…" Rhys said quietly.

"I…" She opened her mouth to protest, but the words didn't come. She was too exhausted. Slowly, the rhythm of Rhys's steps lulled her into sleep, her head resting against his shoulder.

And with Rhys not trying to slow down for Clio, their pace actually multiplied as he ran as fast as he could, his speed increasing with every step.

"H…huh?" And moments later, Clio woke up. There was something different, however, she felt… extremely light, as though she was floating.

"Rhys…?" she whispered groggily, rubbing her eyes. But when she started looking around, her breath caught in her throat.

How could it not, when they were actually no longer on land?

Rhys was running across the surface of a vast open water, his feet barely touching the water as he sped forward. The dark waters rippled beneath them, but he moved so smoothly that there wasn't even a splash.

"We're… we're on water?" Clio gasped, her arms tightening around Rhys's neck.

Rhys glanced down at her, his face as calm as ever. "Yeah. I decided to just run over it."

"That…" Before Clio could say anything more, they reached the shore. Rhys stepped back onto solid ground, but his pace never slowed. He kept running and running, following the trail of light above them.

And finally, after what seemed like an hour, they reached the end of the light.

Rhys slowed to a stop, setting Clio down gently as they both gazed ahead. The light in the sky was pointing to a large crater seemingly surrounded by a sparse perimeter of columns.

But Clio's eyes were not on the crater at all, it was on the dead bodies that were sprawled everywhere. Some had weapons still gripped in their hands, their faces frozen in terror. Others had fallen in unnatural positions, their bodies twisted as though something had torn them apart.

"Rhys…" she whispered, stepping forward cautiously. "Who… who are they?"

"Stay close."

Clio nodded, her heart pounding in her chest as she stayed at his side. The air was thick with an eerie silence, and the further they walked, the more bodies they saw.

"Who… did this?" Clio asked quietly, her voice trembling.

Before Rhys could respond, the ground beneath them rumbled. A shadow stretched across the clearing, massive and dark. Clio's eyes widened as she looked up, but the shadow didn't stop—it multiplied.

One shadow became two. Then three. Then four.

"Hm…"

The ground shook again, and the shadows loomed larger, their shapes beginning to twist and move in the moonlight. Clio's breath caught in her throat as a sense of dread washed over her.

"Rhys…" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "What… is that?"

The shadows moved again, and in the faint light of the moon, Clio caught a glimpse of something horrifying—a massive head, followed by another, and then another, rising slowly from the earth.

Four heads, writhing and twisting in the darkness.

A Hydra.