The Smiling Death-Chapter 347: Closing Distance

"I am up, kid."

A voice came from above where Amon was sitting.

He looked up. There, on a branch of the tree, Vetaal hung upside down as usual. His long, dirty black hair hung loose, and his white eyes stared down at Amon.

With curiosity in his tone, Amon asked, "So do you understand about them? About the monsters? Why are they in deep slumber? Also, what that tower actually is? Why did it appear and remain for longer this time?"

He was very curious about all of this. He also wanted to know what the way to get outside might be.

Vetaal studied Amon for a while. Then he chuckled. "Haha~ eager to know, don’t you? Well, I think it’s not the right time to talk. I want to speak with you in detail. So let’s discuss this once we get back to the village. When we are alone. That girl might come at any time."

Amon thought for a while, then nodded. He agreed with his reasoning. Scarlett’s senses were sharp. She might hear them even from a few meters away. So it was better to be safe.

With amusement in his voice, Vetaal added, "By the way... you sure were enjoying your time with her. No wonder you called her here... so you can have a nice time with her while also searching for clues."

"Cough! Cough!" Amon coughed, then said defensively, "I don’t know what you are saying."

"Sure, sure... I don’t know what you were doing either... anyways, I will get invisible. See you when we reach home."

"Yeah."

Vetaal vanished from sight.

Soon, Scarlett returned from the forest, holding two dead rabbits in her hands.

With a calm expression, she said, "This will be tonight’s dinner."

Amon’s eyes widened dramatically. With exaggerated sadness, he said, "Why kill such cute rabbits?"

Scarlett stared at him coldly. A vein bulged on her forehead. Then she smiled at him—not a kind one. Without any emotion in her voice, she replied, "Then don’t eat. I will eat alone."

Amon immediately changed his attitude completely. "Ah, well... food is food," he said casually, as if he had never complained in the first place. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Scarlett sighed at his sudden change. He could really change fast.

Darkness slowly began to fall. The sky dimmed, and the forest grew quiet.

They lit up a fire.

Scarlett skillfully skinned the rabbits and cut the meat into pieces. She placed the pieces onto sticks and began roasting them over the flames.

Amon sat beside her, waiting patiently. The firelight flickered across their faces, casting dancing shadows around them.

When the meat was finally done, Scarlett handed one roasted rabbit to Amon. "Take this," she said, while taking one for herself.

They both began eating while talking about the tower.

With a frown on her face, Scarlett asked, "That tower... what can it be? What was that? I can’t understand it at all."

While chewing thoughtfully, Amon said, "Maybe it has something to do with getting outside of this place?"

Scarlett paused for a while. Her expression turned more serious.

Looking into the fire, she said quietly, "Maybe... there might be some connection."

She took a bite and chewed it. Then, with a thoughtful look, she added, "This is something new. We need to tell this to Roland and the other elders."

Amon was slightly surprised. Scarlett was someone who was really reserved. She never got close to anyone or talked to others.

But now she was telling him about sharing this information with others.

’This might be a good idea. This way... I can have more people to help me,’ Amon thought.

With a firm nod, he said, "Yeah, you are right. We should talk with them. Tomorrow morning, we should speak with them. If we work together, we can find the way outside. By the way...we are still out...don’t you think they some villagers might get worried. Not seeing us for so long?"

" They won’t...at least for me. Since I always remained away from others. Also sometimes I don’t even go to canteen for afternoon lunch and dinner. Just hunt some animals and eat them. But maybe...they might get worried about you." Scarlett said nonlachant. As if it was not a big deal.

Amon then nodded. "Yeah..then might get worried about me than...well we should informed them once we go back."

"Yes."

Both of them talked for a while longer.

Soon, silence filled the forest.

The fire flickered, illuminating the darkness.

After a moment, Amon looked at her and asked, "Shall we go?"

Scarlett nodded lightly. "Yeah. We can reach in an hour. Let’s go."

They got up and extinguished the fire. She supported Amon again. He needed to get healed at the healing center.

Well, that could only be done the next day.

The sky above always remained clouded. So naturally, it was dark. There was no moon or star in the sky.

Despite that, Amon and Scarlett were not having any problem.

Amon’s eyes cut cleanly through the night, shadows bending naturally to his vision. Scarlett, too, moved with quiet certainty, her gaze steady despite the dimness.

Perhaps because she was stronger... or perhaps because she had long grown used to this world without light.

With a faint murmur, Amon glanced at the black sky. "There’s no moon. It’s been almost three months since I last saw it."

Scarlett kept her eyes lifted upward, her expression softening slightly. "For me... it’s been three years," she replied softly.

A cold wind slipped through the forest, stirring branches and whispering through the leaves. The world around them felt vast and empty.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Stomp.

Their footsteps echoed gently against the earth.

And yet... even in that quiet darkness, Amon could feel the warmth of her beside him. The steady presence of her body close to his.

She was supporting him as they walked.

These past few weeks had been unexpectedly enjoyable. More than he had anticipated.

Maybe she was the reason.

Training together every day. Teasing her. Flirting just to see that faint irritation in her eyes... and the barely noticeable pink at the tips of her ears.

Somehow, without either of them realizing it, the distance between them had slowly disappeared.

He felt close to her. Closer than he had ever intended. As if... little by little... she was becoming someone very important to him. Very slowly.

There was nothing but darkness in this place. A world without moonlight.

Yet Amon could see her clearly.

Her smooth, fair skin. Her amethyst eyes reflecting faint traces of shadow. Her crimson hair shifting gently with the wind.

He didn’t know why... but to him, she was brighter than any moon that could have hung in the sky.

Maybe there was no moon above them. But perhaps... his moon was walking right beside him.

For the entire walk, Amon remained silent, saying nothing, simply watching her profile in the dark.

Scarlett seemed to notice, her brows knitting slightly for a brief second. But she didn’t ask anything. The silence between them lingered.

And somehow... that silence didn’t feel distant.

It felt like it was drawing them closer than ever before.