“Another laughing ghoul again? Is it a new one... or did the one from earlier revive?”

Ariel’s whole body tensed instinctively. But faced with a scene this bizarre—her hairs already standing on end—she still couldn’t help curling her lips into a disdainful, cold smile.

So what?

One, so what?

Two, so what?

Even if it revived—so what?

These “ghouls” were only a little stronger in speed and strength. With a sneak attack, they might pose some threat to her, but now they were walking out this blatantly?

Too stupid. Were they really just attacking on instinct?

If that was the case, no matter how many came, she didn’t need to back down. She might even find this kind of battle—squeezing out every last drop of her body’s potential—absolutely exhilarating...

“Smack!”

A crisp sound echoed through the fog-choked cold space, even briefly drowning out the shrill crying.

Ariel’s head tilted slightly. Her cheek had turned red.

Not the blush of shyness—the red of sharp pain and fresh blood.

The injury on her left palm hadn’t had time to heal. With that slap, bright streaks of blood—like the paint of some ancient tribe—smeared across nearly half her pretty face.

“Was I influenced again?”

Ariel clenched her jaw, forcibly pressing down that strange grin at the corner of her mouth—like it had infected her from the “ghoul.”

The stabbing pain in her palm, the sting on her tongue... neither had been enough to stop that emotion from eroding her.

As long as she loosened up even a little, some feeling that did not belong to her would quietly cover her heart and push her into irrational actions.

“This is... kind of terrifying...”

Ariel stared at her blood-red palm, her pupils trembling.

Compared to the “ghouls’” “outstanding” looks, this eerie ability was obviously far more frightening. It wasn’t magic, and it wasn’t some technique—yet it could influence a person’s heart in utter silence...

That kind of trait felt more like—

“Pollution?”

Ariel jolted.

An Evil God? Or something else connected to an Evil God?

Damn it—Shenyi might be a demonfolk Grand Duke, but how could he allow something tied to an Evil God to squat right under his ass? Was he not going to deal with it?

No.

She could not stay here any longer.

Leaving aside whether this bizarre emotional pollution would cause her some invisible damage, if she stayed here and tangled with these “ghouls,” she would absolutely be worn down and killed.

She hadn’t even figured out whether that “revival” characteristic was real. These “ghouls” clearly turned into black embers automatically after death!

“We’re running,” Ariel murmured.

Or rather—right from the beginning, the most rational method had been to run.

It was just that when she faced the first “ghoul,” she’d been bewitched by that strange grin without noticing, and that was how she’d been delayed until now.

“Roar!”

The furious “ghoul” bellowed again, and an extreme rage surged up inside Ariel as well.

“Shut—up!”

But this time Ariel controlled herself well. She stomped hard, and her whole body snapped taut like a drawn slingshot. Using the foot planted on the ground as her pivot, she hurled the Heavenly-Fire Greatsword in her hands with all her strength.

Humm—

Heavenly Fire ripped through space like a meteor.

But the furious “ghoul” was extremely agile. The moment Ariel moved, it shifted into an evasive posture.

So the Heavenly-Fire Greatsword flew past, almost scraping that wrinkled skin, streaking behind it.

Yet at the exact moment Heavenly Fire brushed past the furious “ghoul,” Ariel snapped her fingers.

“Burst.”

In an instant, the runes on the Heavenly-Fire Greatsword flared blindingly bright!

Boom!

The explosion detonated. A terrifying wave of heat and light tore open the cold fog and darkness. Ariel didn’t stop for even a moment—she shot straight through the ripped-open gap and fled at full speed!

“Hee.”

At some point, the grinning “ghoul” had already blocked Ariel’s escape route.

Ariel’s eyes flickered. She lifted a hand and beckoned. “Come.”

So the Heavenly-Fire Greatsword—which had just caused an explosion—automatically flew out of the thick smoke and dust and dropped back into her palm.

“Get the hell out of my way!”

Ariel gripped the sword with both hands and swung with all her strength at the “ghoul” in her path.

The “ghoul’s” strange grin seemed to deepen. Just like the first time it had blocked her attack, it interlaced its sharp claws and used brute force to guard.

Sword and claws collided again.

Under a “normal script,” Ariel would once more burn through a huge amount of power in a head-on clash like this.

But this time...

The “ghoul” visibly froze.

Because it didn’t feel much power at all inside that blade.

“Oh, forgot to tell you.”

Ariel stared into the “ghoul’s” eyes. The corner of her mouth twisted as she flashed her signature, unrestrained smile.

“Running away? I’m pretty good at that too.”

Her hands loosened from the sword hilt again—without pouring in any power at all. Ariel’s body spun lithely in midair, and with the graceful elegance of a gymnastics move, she vaulted straight over the “ghoul.”

“Heavenly Fire!”

The Heavenly-Fire Greatsword trembled and automatically tore free of the “ghoul’s” claws, returning to Ariel’s hand.

That was the benefit of a living spirit.

Who said a sword could only be swung by a person?

Look—it could move on its own!

“Wuu...”

“Roar!”

But before she could relax, the very next instant—after Ariel had just slipped away—sad crying and furious roaring rang out again from within the fog, and several shadows surfaced once more.

“Again? Are you kidding me?!”

Ariel sucked in a breath, then rubbed her cheek against Miss Muse’s cheek at her shoulder again.

“Miss Muse, please lend me a little more strength.”

That warm, soft touch made the exhausted Ariel rally again. Even those inexplicable emotions were driven back a good deal.

Her expression hardened. She plunged into the freezing fog and, following the direction Miss Muse had pointed out before, sprinted for her life!

Don’t mind it. Don’t think. Don’t look back.

Ariel—use the experience and speed you forged through countless hunts by those old bastards.

Just run.

“Wuu wuu...”

More shadows emerged from the mist, chasing after Ariel’s back.

There were even more than Ariel had imagined. It wasn’t three or five—it was dense, packed, surging together like a tide.

The sheer number made Ariel’s scalp go numb even with just a glance, and she ran even faster.

And those half-laughing, half-crying sounds wove together into a soul-burying tune—cold, eerie, vicious—like it could seep into the spirit itself, leaving Ariel’s fleeing body gradually colder and colder.

But suddenly...

Those “ghouls,” moving at extreme speed as they pursued Ariel, seemed to sense something—and all stopped at once.

Faintly, some sound only they could hear drifted from far away.

A sound that was both majestic and terrifying.

So they stared in the direction Ariel fled and stood there, blankly.

Among these ghouls, some grinned in excited glee, some cried in sorrow, some roared in rage...

But none were afraid.

And now, in their bloodshot eyes, there was nothing but fear.

...

...

“Hah... hah... damn it... what the hell were those things?”

No one knew how long she ran. Completely exhausted, Ariel finally couldn’t hold on anymore and stopped for a moment.

She braced her hands on her knees, panting hard, but her heart still shook with lingering dread from what she’d seen at the end.

Too many.

Those freaks that looked like ghouls weren’t just the first three or five—there had been at least hundreds, thousands!

No wonder from the start those “ghouls” hadn’t shown any sign of a ferocious all-out assault. They’d been stalling her—waiting for the main force.

Damn it, monsters being this united? Couldn’t they at least fight over food like normal?

If she’d been dragged down again by those emotions and delayed... she probably really wouldn’t have escaped.

“So I finally escaped the fog’s range, right?”

Those things seemed like they could only act inside the fog. Which meant once she broke free of it, she should be safe for now?

After catching her breath, Ariel raised her head and finally had the presence of mind to look around carefully.

“This is... a sea of flowers?”

Once she saw the surroundings clearly, Ariel blanked for a moment.

Because what appeared before her eyes looked nothing like something that should exist underground.

It was a sea of flowers.

A sea of flowers growing inside a dark underground space.

She had no idea how far it stretched. From beneath her feet to the farthest edge of her sight, it was all flowers—many different kinds—clustered together, swaying, forming a sea.

Except...

“Are all these flowers... already withered?”

Ariel crouched and touched the drooping petals, already completely bowed after withering.

That was why she hadn’t recognized it as a sea of flowers at first. Every flower here had withered; these brown, dead branches made anyone’s first glance mistake them for weeds.

But why were they all withered?

They had already grown—no matter what, they shouldn’t have withered this neatly.

And this state—withered, yet not rotting—was also extremely...

“Don’t let how they look fool you. This place used to be very beautiful.”

“Who’s there?!”

Ariel’s pupils shrank sharply. In an instant she drew the Heavenly-Fire Greatsword and entered a guarded stance.

Something else had come—and she hadn’t sensed it approaching at all...

“Calling someone a ‘freak’ is pretty rude, you know.”

A small hand gently plucked a withered flower and lifted it before a young face with faint baby fat, sniffing elegantly.

Through the gray-brown blossom, Ariel saw a head of pure white long hair, saw crimson eyes as clear as amber, saw something that didn’t match this eerie place at all...

Pink strawberry pajamas?

What the hell?

And this thing in front of her looked completely like...

A little girl?

“Calling me a ‘little girl’ is rude too.”

The white-haired, red-eyed... girl, who looked about ten at most, peered through the gaps in the flower’s stem and leaves, puffing her cheeks in a huff.

“And I’m not small, but not big either. I’m eternally seventeen, okay?”

It was an undeniably adorable scene. But Ariel had no intention of relaxing—if anything, she became more cautious.

Anyone with half a brain could tell that a white-haired “loli” popping up in a place like this could not possibly be a simple white-haired loli.

“You... who exactly are you?”

Ariel considered for a moment, then asked carefully.

This was absolutely not some ordinary little girl. That expression earlier had definitely been an act.

Because Ariel—who had spent a long time around Liya—knew perfectly well: truly soft and adorable people didn’t make such exaggerated cheek-puffs.

And what she’d done just now...

Mind-reading?

“If you already know I can read minds, could you stop thinking one rude thought after another?”

The white-haired girl put away her cutesy act, sighing in an old-fashioned, world-weary way.

“From the standpoint of courting death, you and the one on your back are pretty similar.”

“You... know me?” Ariel caught the familiarity in her tone at once. “And you know Miss Muse too?”

“Know you? Don’t know you? Who knows.” The white-haired girl’s red eyes reflected Ariel and the sleeping “girl” on her back as she showed an amused expression. “But I’ve never heard the name ‘Miss Muse.’”

“Being able to see such an interesting scene... my little nostalgia trip wasn’t for nothing.” She smiled faintly. “Though honestly, that one really does get dragged into the very center of the vortex every single time.”

“You...” Ariel still didn’t loosen her grip on the sword hilt. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“No need to be so tense. As you can see, I’m only an illusion with no power at all. I can’t do anything to you—whether that’s hurting you or healing you, I can’t do either.”

She lifted a hand. The petals in her fingers passed straight through her palm and drifted lightly to the ground.

“I’m not even a real projection. At most, I can pick flowers that belong to the past... things like that.”

“Illusion... flowers...”

Ariel frowned, strange thoughts circling in her mind. She studied that flawless baby-faced little face closely.

“Do I know you?”

She felt like she’d seen her somewhere before, but she couldn’t say where—like some invisible hand was deliberately covering traces in her memory.

“Who knows? Maybe you almost knew me.”

The white-haired girl smiled. “Fate is a strange thing. Some people brush past each other. Some people are destined.”

“...What does that even mean?”

Ariel was completely lost.

She’d been sure this tiny white-haired girl was an extraordinary existence, but now she was starting to doubt again.

Why did she talk so mysteriously?

Could she be one of those disguised magical beasts from stories—luring travelers in, then biting their heads off the moment they let their guard down?

“Sigh. You should be glad I don’t have any power right now. Otherwise your head would already be flying through the sky.”

The white-haired girl spread her hands helplessly. Kids these days had no respect for elders.

And someone like her, who was both old and young at the same time, ought to get even more respect, even more care, shouldn’t she?

Oh well. Let that “Miss Muse” pay for the stupidity later. She couldn’t run anyway.

“You—”

“I know what you want to ask. But I can’t say it. It involves too many things, and if I open my mouth I’ll touch a certain taboo.”

She pointed in a direction.

“You’re going that way, right?”

“This...” Ariel turned her head too, confirming it was indeed the direction Miss Muse had indicated earlier. “How did you know—”

“Then hurry up.” The white-haired girl cut her off. “Shenyi dug this place out again. The Corruptors wandering around there are only going to get more and more. I suggest you reach it as early as possible.”

“Corruptors?”

“Mm. Basically the things you just saw.” She spoke lightly. “But once you enter the core area, there are lots more kinds of Corruptors.”

“What—ugh...”

A wave of nausea hit Ariel. Those things were already bad enough, and judging by this girl’s tone... they came in packs later? With different “styles”?

Damn it, what if she didn’t want to go anymore? Could she turn around and go back?

“Turning around won’t really work either. Looks like a few little ones are chasing after you.”

“What?” Little ones? Who—Zagu and the rest?

“Oh, oh. Relax. At critical moments, the one on your back is still somewhat reliable.” The white-haired girl smiled brightly. “But you’re going to a place like that—how can it be anything but hard? Do your best. I have a feeling something very interesting is going to happen next.”

Her smile was dazzling, and yet for some reason it made the back of Ariel’s neck go cold.

“Bye-bye.” She waved lightly.

“...”

Ariel hesitated. She wanted to pry out more information, but this girl clearly looked like she had no intention of saying more.

In the end, Ariel could only follow her “guidance,” dragging her exhausted body onward in that direction.

Mela silently watched Ariel leave.

A gale swept through. Large swaths of flowers bent low, and a wide area near Mela was ripped up by the roots, leaving bare ground.

A fiery-red figure appeared beside Mela.

Red long hair. A red long dress. Red eyeshadow. That red was so vivid it was like a mad painter had dragged the thickest crimson across a dark gray canvas in a single violent stroke.

Overbearing. Dignified.

“Hey, hey. Couldn’t you make your entrance a little gentler?” Mela planted her hands on her hips, unhappy. “You stepped on my flowers!”

“I hate flowers.”

“I know you hate flowers, but can you at least have basic manners?”

“I hate you too.”

“You don’t need to emphasize that. I’ve known for a long time.”

“Hmph.”

The figure snorted. Those blazing golden slit-pupils shifted, gaze landing on the girl sprinting in the distance—and the “girl” sleeping on her back.

“You’re not stopping them?”

“Stopping them?”

“A thousand years have passed. What changes exist in there now... even we can’t fully predict, can we?”

“That’s true.” Mela sounded calm, as if there wasn’t a ripple of emotion. “But if I stop them, Shenyi will notice me, won’t he?”

“Oh?” The golden slit-pupils narrowed slightly. “To avoid Shenyi, you’d rather your disciple step into that kind of place? You don’t care about that disciple?”

“On the contrary. It’s precisely because I care the most about my cute disciple that I’ll do nothing and say nothing.”

Mela’s tone remained steady.

“You know it, don’t you? They’re already tangled up in the cause-and-effect tied to that place. The less they know, the safer it is. If the two of us ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ interfere... the two of them will die without a doubt.”

“I see...” The figure’s gaze shifted. “That makes sense. After all, as one of the factors that caused all of that, we’re still hated to this day, aren’t we?”

Her golden slit-pupils turned again.

“By the way, that human girl’s ‘scent’ is strange too.”

“You noticed?” Mela folded her arms, tapping a finger lightly against her sleeve. “That girl is the current Child of Fate.”

“Fate? Something like that really exists?”

“Of course.” Mela said lazily. “So-called fate is basically this world—already terminally ill—unconsciously generating a special cleanup mechanism to save itself. Mm. It’s like the human immune system. That’s why that girl is favored and supported by the whole world. Calling her the Child of Fate is not an exaggeration.”

“So that’s how it is.” The figure’s eyes gleamed. “No wonder I smelled at least five kinds of Divine Favor on her. But she’s only using one right now. The others... sealed?”

“A smart choice.” Mela sighed. “Divine Favor is too easy for her to reach, and too strong. If she indulges too early, it will hinder her growth. Seal it for now—when she herself becomes strong enough, those Divine Favors will become the sharpest weapons.”

Mela clicked her tongue. “She has a good teacher.”

“Is that so? Then why didn’t you choose her? You’re better than the soul sleeping in her ring, aren’t you?”

“What are you getting at?”

“That stupid plan of yours—if you chose the Child of Fate, it would obviously be more reliable.”

“Mmm. About that...” Mela tilted her head. “I originally wanted to choose her.”

“Originally?”

“Yes. But later, I figured something out.”

“What?”

“Very simple.” Mela smiled. “If this pitiful world could save itself just by relying on its own immune mechanism... then why would old fossils like us have spent all this effort supporting it up to now? I could’ve retired long ago—grown my flowers, eaten my lollipops, right?”

“...”

The figure fell silent.

“...True.”

“Of course, there are other important reasons too.” As if she’d thought of something, Mela’s lips suddenly curved into a smile.

“Looks like you really think highly of that disciple of yours, even if his tastes are a little strange?”

“Oh my, oh my.” Mela’s smile didn’t waver. “A disciple’s tastes aren’t really something I, as the teacher, can interfere with. But I’d advise you not to lay hands on him so early. I know you’ve been starving for ages, but he’s still just a delicate little flower right now. He won’t survive being ravaged by a tyrannosaur like you.”

“Hmph. He doesn’t have the qualifications yet.”

The figure snorted, ending that boring topic.

Then she lifted her head, gazing at the empty darkness overhead.

“So?”

“A farce, that’s all.”

“A farce? Even though that little thing from back then has made this much of a commotion now?”

“Heh.” Mela lifted her face to the sky too, sneering. “So what if the commotion is huge?”

“No matter how many waves he makes, it’s still just an illusory dream. Anything that can never come true will forever be nothing but a farce.”