The Smiling Death-Chapter 328: Small Talk With Vetaal

The evening sky at the moment was darker than usual. It was not just cloudy but heavy.

Thick layers of grey clouds rolled over one another, swallowing what little light remained. The air felt dense, charged, as if something unseen pressed down from above.

Thunder rumbled across the skies. They were low at first. But then.

CRACK!

A jagged streak of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the village for a brief second before plunging it back into gloom.

Rain was coming. This would be Amon’s first time seeing rain on this island. He had never seen it from the time he entered this island.

Inside his wooden house, Amon sat quietly in the living room.

The house was built from dark material. Black wood polished smooth but aged by time. The walls carried a faint scent of resin and smoke. Shadows pooled in the corners.

He sat on a simple wooden chair, leaning slightly back. His eyes were not on the storm. They were on the figure above him.

Hanging upside down from one of the thick wooden beams supporting the roof was Vetaal.

He looked like a corpse suspended in the air.

Long, dirty black hair hung downward loosely, swaying slightly whenever thunder shook the house. His skin was pale. Almost grayish. His limbs thin. His body unnaturally still.

But his eyes were open. He was awake. His eyes were watching outside the window.

Another rumble of thunder rolled through the sky.

Amon broke the silence. "Did you gain at least a little of your powers back?"

His voice was calm, but there was tension beneath it. He wanted to know if this guy had found any way outside.

Vetaal slowly turned his head toward him. The movement was slow. He was moving deliberately. He shook his head once. "Not yet."

His voice was dry. As usual, hollow. Almost echoing despite the small room.

’How much time will he take to get his strength back... guess all I can do is wait.’ Amon exhaled quietly.

Outside, the wind picked up, brushing against the wooden walls with a low howl.

"I see..." That was all Amon could say.

Silence lingered again. The cold wind moved inside the house through the window, hitting Amon’s skin. His hair waved in the wind. Coldness touched his flesh.

Then Amon spoke once more. "Did you find anything about this place?"

His gaze sharpened slightly. "Anything about how to leave?"

For the first time, Vetaal’s expression shifted faintly. Not quite emotion. He started to think about something.

He remained hanging upside down, long hair dangling as lightning flashed again outside the window.

"I do have... a little new thing I found," he said with a thoughtful expression.

Amon straightened in his chair. ’There is something that he learned?’

Vetaal slowly lifted one arm, the motion strangely fluid for someone hanging inverted. He extended a skinny finger and pointed toward a direction beyond the wall.

Toward the west. Or perhaps slightly northwest.

"Can you go in that direction," Vetaal said slowly, "after an hour?"

His eyes narrowed faintly.

"Continue walking. Do not stop early. Walk further than you think necessary," Vetaal continued talking, giving him instructions.

Thunder cracked loudly, shaking the window frames.

"And see if there is anything." He said further.

Amon stared at the direction Vetaal pointed. His face grew serious. "No details?" he asked.

Vetaal’s lips curved faintly. "If I had details... I wouldn’t have asked you to do this."

Amon stood up. ’There might be a clue,’ he thought deeply.

The chair scraped lightly against the wooden floor.

"I’ll go." He didn’t hesitate. If there was a chance of getting a clue, then he needed to see it.

Even if it meant walking into a storm. Even if it meant danger.

There was no way he had any wish to stay here forever. The faster, the better.

If there was even a small possibility of discovering the boundary of this place or something beyond it. He would take it.

Another streak of lightning lit the room in white.

For a brief second, Vetaal’s upside-down figure looked less like a human corpse. Well, he was not a human even when he was alive. That much Amon was sure of. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Amon walked toward the window.

The wind had grown stronger. The trees outside bent and swayed violently. Leaves scattered through the air.

The first drops of rain began to fall, slow and heavy, striking the earth one by one as if the sky itself was hesitating.

At first there were only a few. One drop, then another, but within moments the restraint broke, and rain poured down in relentless sheets that swallowed the world in a curtain of grey.

The sound of it striking rooftops and ground filled the village.

Amon could smell the wet soil from the first rain. Having lived in a village where his parents used to farm, this smell was familiar to him.

Amon placed a hand on the wooden frame of the window and stared outside.

The world looked blurred through the rain.

Its colors fading into cold shades of grey that made everything feel distant and uncertain.

Behind him, Vetaal spoke once more, his voice steady yet edged with quiet warning.

"Be cautious."

Amon did not turn. "I always am."

’Damn, why is he making this more horrifying with his dangerous tone?’ Amon thought while looking outside, enjoying the odd beauty of the first rain.

Another rumble of thunder shook the sky.

---

After nearly an hour.

Amon got ready in his dark clothes. He put the hoodie on his head. This would help him against the rain.

He checked his weapons. They were all in the storage ring.

’Everything is right. Soon it will be night. But I can see everything clearly. So no problem.’

Though there were no monsters in this area. there were actually many monsters here, but all asleep. So no monsters roaming around. But he couldn’t be sure about that. Anything could happen. So it was better to be safe.

"Okay, I am ready," Amon muttered under his breath, his eyes full of resolve.

He slid open the door and stepped out.