Chapter 349: Downpour (05)

--This Chapter is written in Mia’s POV--

I lifted my chin and stared at the sky.

Directly above me, and even at the horizon, everything was a crimson red hue.

The massive red moon seemed so close; it felt like it could fall on us at any moment. The ground and everything around us were swallowed by the darkness it cast.

As if crying blood tears, a torrent of blood poured down from the crimson moon.

For a brief moment, just as the torrent crashed against the ground, a shadowy silhouette appeared inside the blood waterfall.

A second later, a woman with pale white skin and striking red hair stepped out.

Even though I never cared to look into her, I recognized her identity. From posters to TV commercials, she was inescapable in Miwen’s world.

She only spared her surroundings a single glance before slowly opening her mouth.

Catherine: "You have more than eight badges. Choose the ones you wish to leave behind."

As in most depictions I had seen, she wore a sleeveless white dress with a diamond-shaped cutout under her chest and a similar, smaller cutout above.

She appeared behind Erik and softly landed a hand on his shoulder. Her voice was as emotionless as his, yet somehow even more chilling.

Alkztaer: "Oh? A vampire made Goddess? How rare, and... Unsightly."

Even though the bloody moon blocked the sky, Alkztaer’s rain didn’t stop.

Contained between the ground and the moon, the rain raged. It had turned into a cold, violent downpour.

The sizzling raindrops were loud, but not distracting enough for me to lose sight of Alkztaer and his clones, despite their absurd speed.

From the cave’s entrance, a thick, condensed pillar of purple water burst toward Catherine and Erik, who stood near the forest.

As the stream met the pair, it separated into two.

The gravitational force behind each smaller water pillar formed crevices deep enough to bury even the taller trees down to the canopy.

While the stream crashed against Catherine and Erik, one of Alkztaer’s clones formed behind them, launching another massive purple pillar.

The center, where the two pillars met, was so pressured that the ground ceded. The nearby rocks were forcibly pulled from the ground toward it, as if trying to fill the hole.

Then, another clone attacked from the side.

Blue water vortices raged forward from his hand. The center of the spirals was a shade of blue so dark, it might as well have been pitch black.

As the vortices blew past Catherine, their spirals seemed to tear and swallow the cave’s outward walls.

It was like watching a monster eat. Nothing remained in their wake.

The splashing water from the pillars had completely hidden Catherine and Erik, yet the demon wasn’t satisfied.

A third clone leaped away from the wolf hunting him and hovered over the spot where the purple water pillars crashed.

With a finger-gun-shaped hand, it shot black water bullets downward.

I knew from my fight against Turner that the black water supposedly acted as a tracking technique, but...

Even without knowing what Alkztaer’s version did, I could tell that those things hid something bad.

Catherine: "Accept my mercy with grace and don’t test your luck, demon."

The waves of blood swallowed everything in the area, bathing the water and every witness in crimson.

Alkztaer’s clones, drenched in blood, grew pale before spilling out their hearts.

Once the water onslaught stopped, it revealed a sphere of blood that protected Catherine, Erik, and the angel he carried on his shoulder.

The sphere blossomed like a flower, and the blood latched to the edges of the hole, forming a small platform for them to stand on.

Catherine: "I was warned not to interfere directly with the contestants of the Divine Event, but you’re no Champion. If you seek to harm them, I’ll be sure to punish you accordingly."

As the moon kept on bleeding, the water soaking the ground turned red and thick.

The smell of iron was so overwhelming, I had to fight the urge to throw up.

Erik: "...So you’re not a sham after all."

Catherine briefly closed her eyes and held her breath, doing her best to pretend she hadn’t heard him.

Alkztaer: "Does that mean my lady is not under your protection!?"

His shout echoed through the woods, and the demon’s narrowed eyes landed on me.

I caught a glimpse of his hands trembling with restrained rage, yet the aura he leaked was already terrifying enough to send chills down my spine.

At his best, I wrongly placed Turner’s attacks in the same category as Elizabeth’s. But after seeing Alkztaer’s magic and feeling the pressure of his stare, I became sure that this demon was above the current Demon Queen’s power.

Catherine: "Don’t put words in my mouth. No one is under my protection. I’ve never promised that."

She sounded more annoyed by the thought of making a promise than being attacked.

Catherine: "However... I’d consider killing her the same as interfering with one of my Champions, and I’d take the life of any outsider who dared such."

With a dismissive wave of her hand, she bathed Erik with the blood torrent of the moon, and the man disappeared inside the crimson waterfall.

While Maya’s wolf hunted Alkztaer’s clones, the entire clearing fell into a deeply unsettling silence.

My stomach was turning, but the sticky green rain still bound my feet, and I would never forgive myself for letting Miwen’s sister be at the mercy of these monsters, even if she rode a monster herself.

No matter how much my trembling body resisted, I would push through. I would never let him down.

Alkztaer: "...Great."

One of Alkztaer’s clones broke the silence, but strangely, he covered his lips with one palm as if smiling.

Alkztaer: "No, not quite. Fabulous, I’d say!"

As soon as the wolf destroyed that clone, another one reacted, clapping his hands and shouting enthusiastically.

Alkztaer: "But while you protect her, who protects her master?"

His laughter sounded like a dagger stabbing my heart.

Mia: "Miwen!"

I didn’t have the snow to protect me from the green rain.

No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t raise my feet a centimeter off the ground.

Mia: "No..."

I didn’t care.

Even as the skin on my soles tore from my feet, I didn’t care.

Using all of my magic, all my strength, I took one step forward.

Even if the excruciating pain was frying my brain and I couldn’t even concentrate on his scent, I ran towards him.

In the direction I knew he’d be.

The direction he had to be-

Alkztaer: "It’s the second time your love has impressed me, my Lady."

After a dozen steps, I reached the tree line.

Past the first couple of trees, the demon appeared before me, head bowed.

Without thinking, I raised my bleeding foot off the ground and drove my heel into his crotch.

Like a pool of water, the resistance was immensely soft, and my kick reached his stomach.

As my leg reached his stomach’s height, the demon burst into black water, splashing in all directions.

I was powerless to stop the drops that soaked my skin, but I didn’t care to move out of the way.

Making the most of the leg I had raised, I leaned forward to take a long step.

There was one direction I cared about, only one I could think of while pushing deeper into my Beastification.

I had to run.

Forward.

Catherine: "Enough. I am not-"

A red stain flashed before my eyes.

Another obstacle in my way.

I leaped forward, ripping off her arm with my fangs and trotting on my way.

Her mangled limb fell to the ground, but she didn’t even bother to blink, much less react with a painful expression.

Catherine: "...He is safe. I swear upon my name."

She pointed her finger toward the ruins I came from, and a thin needle of blood shot forward.

My ears picked up a small ’ouch’ a second later.

Following the familiar sound of his voice, I sniffed the air and tracked his scent.

A thick smell of blood surrounded Miwen. Too much blood, even if everyone in the area had died.

Around Miwen’s location, I sensed a bunch of small bodies that gave off the same iron-heavy blood scent as Catherine, though they also smelled of old cloth.

Mia: "Ah... Yes..."

Knowing he was alright brought more tears to my eyes than the pain of having layers of skin and flesh peeled away. I lost so much control that, for a moment, I stopped thinking and just felt his presence.

After I finally calmed down a little, I slowly lost my Beastification and regained a clear mind.

Everything had happened so fast that, despite my enhanced senses, I barely even registered what I was doing.

My body was just much faster than my mind, and only when I stopped running did the true extent of the pain hit me.

Mia: "Gah...! Ugh!"

I almost fell to the ground, but I feared that if I did, the rain wouldn’t let me get up again.

Alkztaer and Catherine weren’t opponents I could fight yet. Opposing them was a mistake.

Especially Catherine.

I couldn’t tell why she let me sever her arm, but I knew she had let me.

The blue wolf Maya rode on still had the strongest scent of all of them. She should be fine.

It’d be better if I-

Alkztaer: "Forgive me. I simply can’t stop myself, you see?"

The demon appeared behind me. He whispered into my ear, leaning his face over my shoulder.

His voice felt deeply disturbing.

Alkztaer: "Your love seemed so brilliant when you destroyed my illusions, and you were even kind enough to free me. I could never resist the thrill of testing the limits of that love-"

I swung my fist without turning my face toward him.

Without my Beastification and with no mana left to enhance myself with magic or [The White Queen Of The Snow Hunt], I would never hit him unless he allowed me to.

Alkztaer didn’t dodge, and my punch blasted his head.

A few meters behind the destroyed clone, another one popped up.

Catherine: "Do not test my patience any further, demon. If you’re not bound to a contestant, leave at once."

Thin strands of blood rose from the ground beneath my feet. They cut the green, rubber-like water like it was plastic.

The blood then coagulated into a small shell on my soles, stopping the bleeding.

Alkztaer: "Not only unsightly, but also rude... Can you not mind yourself?"

With my feet freed, I could finally turn around to face the two.

Catherine had her back turned to me, and standing before her was Alkztaer’s newest clone.

Several small, round eyes began emerging from the forest around us.

Unlike the rag dolls that surrounded Miwen, these eyes belonged to dolls that were slightly bigger, about knee-high and smelled of porcelain.

Although their scent was also incredibly blood-like and didn’t blend as seamlessly without my Beastification as the ragdolls’.

It felt like two separate, conflicting smells.

Alkztaer: "...I don’t suppose my Lady is ready to form a pact with me?"

Elizabeth and Erika had warped how I saw demons. In every tale I had heard, demons were depicted exactly as Alkztaer.

No remorse, no understanding...

As if everything in the world existed only for his own pleasure.

Alkztaer: "Even though I heard your lovely confession?"

The last nail in the coffin: audacity beyond measure.

If I could fight him, he’d be dead before he could speak another word.

Alkztaer: "Even your blushing face is cute, my Lady."

Snapping his wings open, the demon burst into the air, hovering above Catherine and me.

Catherine’s porcelain dolls threw different utensils made of blood at the demon, from forks as large as their bodies to red, sharp knives.

Their aim was terrible, and nothing came close to hitting the demon, yet I sensed more mana in their attacks than in the blood sphere from before.

It felt like a final warning.

Alkztaer: "Fine. In that case, I’ll step away and wait until the Gods aren’t looking anymore. Unless, of course, I crave the beautiful struggle of your passion one more time."

The raindrops meeting his skin seemed to melt his body, and Alkztaer disappeared without a trace.

Seeing him gone, I let out a long, relieved sigh.

In front of me, Catherine’s shoulders dropped slightly, almost unnoticeably.

Catherine: "Hah... I hope he is worth it."

One of the porcelain dolls hurriedly grabbed Catherine’s arm and carried it back above its head.

It was a slightly cute sight. Especially since the doll had its small lips curled downward, as if immensely worried about Catherine.

Strangely, even though the dolls didn’t seem to breathe, I could hear something akin to a heartbeat inside each of them. The rhythm was slightly off, and I was too tired to make any sense of it, but I was sure of it.

Mia: "Sorry. And thank you."

My stomach churned from the heavy iron scent wafting from her, but I still bowed my head.

I didn’t want to make Miwen any enemies.

Catherine: "It’s fine. It’s just an arm."

She forced the severed arm back into her shoulder, rotating it until it was just right, as if she were changing a lightbulb.

Once it was properly attached, she lazily cracked her joints.

Catherine: "I would, however, appreciate it if you were to tell your master that he owes me a favor."

First Erik, and now a Goddess?

I couldn’t understand why so many people were trying to get favors from him, much less what he could offer a Goddess.

That felt like a promise I shouldn’t make.

Catherine: "Don’t worry, I have no malicious intention. Just tell him that if he makes it through this phase of the Divine Event, I’ll visit him again. To talk."

She patted the head of the doll that brought her arm. After the doll smiled, it held Catherine’s hand, and the two leaped toward the moon.

As their figures disappeared into the sky, the sun returned.

I had almost forgotten how blue the sky was, and how hot the jungle was supposed to be.

Mia: "...And I still have to deal with Miwen."

I let myself fall to my knees.

My moron of a husband would never let me live it down if he heard what I got myself into while he fought somewhere else.

Staring at the sky, I stopped panting so heavily and caught my breath.

Maya: "Hello there! Are you alright?"

A giant shadow leaped over me, blocking the sun, and at the same time, her soft voice reached my ears.

I had completely forgotten about Maya and the blue wolf, and I was too tired to fight.

Although Miwen said that during this Divine Event, his sister was collaborating with him, so...

Mia: "That’s not gonna bite me, right?"

Maya jumped off the wolf’s back. The beast lay on the ground behind her, staring at me with its giant, sharp eyes.

Despite the wolf’s intense gaze, I felt exhausted and didn’t bother to stand up or even stare back.

If it moved, I’d return to the Kingdom.

Maya: "Uh... No? It only seems to attack monsters and other things that threaten Champions. I think the Gods placed it here to prevent us from dying without fighting each other."

It was concerning how unsure she sounded, but...

Just like her brother often did, she pulled something outrageous out of nowhere.

Thinking about their uncanny resemblance, the tension left my body, and I chuckled a little.

Maya: "Oh, yeah. I have two favors to ask, if you don’t mind."

She extended a hand, and when I grabbed it, she used [Wind Magic] to lift me off the ground so that I wouldn’t have to take a step.

Just the air brushing against the raw flesh of my soles already felt painful, like it was burning me.

I appreciated her care, but it didn’t mean she could have two favors. Not even Miwen’s enemies asked for that many.

If she weren’t my sister-in-law, I wouldn’t have agreed, but alas...

I owed her one for helping shape up Miwen into a good man.

Maya: "First, can you carry the badges for me? I’ll pass to the next phase if I grab them."

She helped me hop onto the wolf’s back, and the beast led us back to the spot where Erik disappeared.

After I picked up the badges, we set off back to the ruins.

Maya couldn’t tell where Miwen was, but with my help, she pointed the wolf in the right direction.

While rubbing the wolf’s head, she began asking me questions about Miwen. I told her about my impressions, and she shared her perspective about what happened during the Divine Banquet.

Maya: "The moment he reappeared... It was like something had changed about him."

I was surprised that Maya shared my worries about her brother, but what surprised me most was how closely our thoughts matched.

Something happened to Miwen when he visited that white void.

Maya: "Still, with a girl like you by his side, I trust he’ll be alright."

She wore an unapologetic smile that was as bright as the sun.

I struggled to answer her and turned my face away slightly. Instead of saying something else, she kept smiling, and the silence crushed me.

Mia: "...You think so?"

The encounter with Erik and Alkztaer drained my energy, but I still surrendered a little too easily.

I hated how both siblings could easily manipulate others into talking through comfort.

Maya: "I know it."

Her voice carried so much confidence that even I started believing it deep in my heart.

I didn’t know how to respond to her declaration, so for a few minutes, I enjoyed the ride in silence.

The crevices made by Alkztaer’s magic almost reached the ruins where Miwen waited for us, but they stopped a few centimeters short.

I couldn’t tell whether that was intentional on his part or if Catherine’s dolls had stopped his attack, but I was glad nonetheless.

Miwen: "Huh. I throw a stick, and you come back with a new friend? And without the stick, no less..."

I hated him.

I hated this idiot so much.

Yet my heart was even dumber. It beat faster just from recognizing his voice, gaze, scent, and smile.

Mia: "Sorry. A lot happened, and I couldn’t capture Turner."

I pointed to the sky, and Miwen instantly understood the mess I got myself into.

Understanding didn’t mean he wasn’t worried, though. He demanded a lengthy explanation from his sister and me, and promptly scolded us for not running away. Of course, he also made fun of us along the way.

Mia: "...Where’s Kiara?"

I hated to be the bearer of bad news, but she deserved to know what happened to her friends.

Miwen: "The story Milo told me was similar to the one you heard, so... Could you talk with her? She ran away when I tried talking."

The defeated Champions were handcuffed and sat on the ground around the ice cube. While the ice had mostly melted, half of Milo’s decapitated body was still trapped inside it.

His head was nowhere to be found, and I didn’t bother checking the scent of the ashes on the ground to confirm my suspicion.

Instead, I focused on tracking Kiara’s scent.

I found her inside one of the makeshift houses in the ruins, with her back resting against a wall.

Mia: "...I’m sorry."

I wasn’t sure what to tell her.

A few minutes passed without either of us saying anything.

She kept her head buried in the crossed arms she held over her knees, and I sat beside her.

Kiara: "You must think it’s hilarious. I’m once again being punished."

Even if that wasn’t the case and we had nothing to do with this situation, I couldn’t blame her for thinking that.

She only met her partymates because of what we did, so we were responsible, even if indirectly.

As someone who had once been in a similar position, I understood her feelings all too well.

Mia: "It’s too late for them. But it’s not too late for your tribe."

Her drooped ears didn’t perk up.

Even her breath felt heavier than before.

Kiara: "Shut up. I don’t have anything left. Again."

I shook my head.

Mia: "You have the invite to be a [Citizen] of the Kingdom."

She raised her chin. Tears had welled up in her eyes, and even though she wasn’t sobbing, she furrowed them so much that the tears flowed down.

Kiara: "What difference does that make? He hates my tribe even more than he hates me."

Flowers blossomed on the floor cracks, and almost immediately, they withered.

Mia: "Maybe. But he hates seeing innocent people cry even more."

I stood up and offered my hand to Kiara.

Mia: "Back then, he hated that you didn’t take accountability. You’ve proved that you can take responsibility even for things that aren’t your fault when you tried helping your tribe."

I sat before her, slowly approaching my hand under her arms.

Mia: "If it’s the current you, I know he’ll help. Trust me."

After a few seconds, Kiara hesitantly took my hand.

To prove my words, once she had accepted the invitation to become a [Citizen], I took her inside the Kingdom.

Mia: "This is our armory. And this is Reina, our blacksmith."

Reina politely bowed her head to my guest, but her stare was intense, and Kiara briefly recoiled.

Still, once I told Reina the details, she agreed to give Kiara any item from our stockpile.

Kiara: "Are you sure? Those must be worth a gold coin each..."

Even without Miwen’s permission, Reina and I knew exactly what he’d say. We both nodded and helped her pick some of the better items.

Reina herself showed Kiara how she could manufacture a crown or a ring in a second, which should help earn enough funds to buy back her tribe.

Mia: "You can also call me. I’ll help you whenever you need. And if you feel like it, I doubt he’d say anything against housing your tribesmen here in the Kingdom."

Kiara started crying and hugged me tight.

It was a little embarrassing, but Reina seemed to understand and faced away, pretending to be busy.

After a few minutes of me patting her head, Kiara calmed down, and we returned to the world of the Divine Event.

We found Miwen and Maya arguing in front of the defeated Champions, and when we joined them, Miwen started pushing me around in front of the crowd.

Miwen: "Look, she’s a Snow White Wolf. Isn’t she the cutest thing?"

He lifted my arm, showed off my hair, and even squatted to show my legs.

When he noticed my injured feet, he enveloped them in a small sphere of [Light Magic]. Its warmth comforted me, and slowly, I felt the skin on my feet regrowing.

Mia: "What are you doing?"

I whispered into his ear without moving from the spot.

Miwen: "This is the best opportunity we’ve had to solve the demographic crisis. But for the life of me, I can’t convince them to join. Can’t you tell them about your tribes’ good points?"

As expected, it was something dumb.

After a long, exasperated sigh, I scratched my head and tried marketing the women of my tribe.

Mia: "Uh... The Snow White Wolves are good hunters? And we are very proud of our strength. We like meat. We aren’t good cooks... We are very loyal!"

Beastkin only cared about strength when looking for a mate. I had no idea what men of other species searched for when picking their wives.

Miwen told me he’d help me out, but the crowd didn’t buy into his comments about our tribeswomen being cute and surprisingly docile.

If anything, I nodded in agreement with the murmurs that beastwomen were quite aggressive and dangerous, especially during mating season.

Most of the men also worried about being taken as a mate by a stronger woman and the life of a stud they’d face.

Miwen: "Cowards, all of you! I can’t believe you even made it past the arena fights!"

Since he had only won or tied against beastwomen, Miwen didn’t seem to realize how difficult having one as a wife could be.

Maya: "I don’t have as much to offer, but we can be friends!"

The competition ended the moment she smiled.

It was completely unfair. Every man nodded along without thinking twice, and most might not even have heard her until the end.

Miwen: "...Alright. I guess I’ll pick the female Champions, then."

Even though he was increasing the size of his harem, that only made the demographic crisis grow into a bigger problem, and Miwen sighed dejectedly.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t stop chuckling.

Miwen: "You do realize that if I don’t sort this out soon, we might have to go with the brothel plan, right?"

Kiara looked at me, terrified.

Mia: "Don’t worry. He’s joking."

Miwen shook his head vehemently, but after a few knocks, I fixed his loose screws, and he apologized.

It wasn’t the first time he had proposed that idea, but for now, I wasn’t worried.

I was just happy to be by my stupid husband’s side.