Chapter 417: Doppelganger’s Camouflage

The cage hit the ground, and the Kurnish surrounding it went wild.

They clicked their tongues, hissed, banged on their chest and the ground, and growled repeatedly.

’I really can’t tell what they’re about to do to her,’ Cero thought. ’Are they going to eat her or...? This whole ritual is weirding me out.’

Selia could tell that one of the Kurnish was acting differently, but that did not mean much. The fact that it wasn’t banging its chest or the ground didn’t comfort her at all.

’I didn’t get to use this much.’

Doppelganger’s Camouflage, a Skill that allowed Cero to temporarily change his physical appearance to match that of a different Species.

The Skill had three unfortunate drawbacks.

The first was that Cero’s Stats were lowered to match those of the Species he was camouflaging as. The second was that his Skills were temporarily unusable.

Third, because the Skill had no ’Memory’, usage required the absorption and consumption of genetic information every time.

This meant that he could not use it to camouflage into a Worka without devouring more Worka, something that Cero definitely did not want to do.

Thinking that he could get rid of such a troublesome drawback, Cero had spent a Skill Point to turn it into Doppelganger’s Camouflage Lv.2, but the drawback remained the same. The difference, however, was that Cero could now use certain Skills while camouflaged.

’It’s still useful, sometimes.’

Currently, Cero was using Partial Invisibility to hide his clothing as well as the device showing the broadcast.

In other words, Cero currently appeared completely naked.

’I’ll wait for the cage to open,’ he thought. ’And steal her away first!’

Cero pursed his lips, feeling that the wording was a bit perverted.

CREAAAK!

The front side of the cage opened and started to fall!

The Reptilian girl, dizzy and light-headed to the point of almost fainting, didn’t have the strength to scream anymore.

She thought about heading out of the cage and running away before the Kurnish could get her, but her legs completely lacked the strength to do so.

’Still, I have to do something!’ she told herself with gritted teeth and struggled to stand on her feet. ’I’ll run! I’ll run away!’

Her trembling legs barely managed to get her out of the cage.

The Kurnish had calmed down quite a bit, all staring at her with wide eyes and salivating mouths.

They were waiting.

’Looks to me like they enjoy the hunt,’ Cero thought. ’They want her to run away.’

He smirked and leaped forward.

’But I won’t let them!’

The people watching the broadcast cheered and celebrated even harder as they saw one of the Kurnish running directly for the Sacrifice!

The girl raised her arms to defend herself however she could, shutting her teary eyes and praying internally for help, when the approaching Kurnish wrapped its arms around her waist, lifted her up so her waist rested on its right shoulder, and started running away!

"Aaahhh.... Aaaahh...!"

Just as she was about to scream again,

"Are you sure the helicopter won’t follow us?" the Kurnish asked.

"You...! You are the one...?!"

"Yes, I am," Cero nodded as he ran, holding her on his shoulder. "I am here to help you-"

"Let me go!" she shouted. "Let me go!"

Her hand even started to pull on his head while she swung her legs widely.

"You’re a Kurnish! A Kurnish Devil! Let me go! I would rather be given to the Kurnish than..."

"Do you really believe in that crap?" Cero sighed as he abruptly came to a stop, causing her hand to fling away from his head. "It won’t take long for them to come for us..." he whispered, and his clothing reappeared.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed as clothing appeared around the Kurnish out of thin air. "You really are a devil! Let me go!"

"It’s true..." Cero muttered. "The helicopter isn’t moving. The broadcast is still showing the cage even though it’s empty... What is this ritual even supposed to be?"

He swiftly turned around, causing the girl to gasp.

Cero stared at the helicopter in the distance, before deactivating Doppelganger’s Camouflage Lv.2.

"They think you were taken by Kurnish," Cero said as he lifted the girl off his shoulder. "Good for you."

The moment that her feet reached the ground, she jumped back and away from him.

"You were invisible earlier... Just now you showed yourself as Kurnish..." she muttered through gritted teeth. "You’re a Demon!"

Cero couldn’t help but smile.

"To those who think that this Sacrifice will bring them good fortune, yes, by meddling with it, I would seem like a Demon," he said. "But to you who is being sacrificed," Cero added, extending a hand towards her. "I should be more like an Angel, don’t you think?"

She remained silent, but her conflicted expression and her foot digging into the earth below made her thoughts obvious.

"Demon or Angel..." He shrugged. "My name is Cero."

The Reptilian girl turned around and started running away.

"Call my name," he added. "If you need help."

She did not look back, running as fast as she could through the forest.

’Cero...’ She repeated the name internally.

It didn’t match the names of any known Demon or Devil.

’Can I really trust him?’ she asked herself. ’Can I really... Meddle with the Sacrifice?’

Branches scratched against her arms and clothing as she forced her legs to keep moving.

"HSSSSSS!"

Selia flinched and nearly tripped.

The Kurnish that had surrounded the cage weren’t the only ones that would come for her.

She clenched her teeth as a Kurnish approached from the right, focused solely on her.

The girl slipped and fell as the Kurnish leapt in her direction.

Bang!

The thick fallen branch she had picked up slammed against the Kurnish’s head.

’Are these really spirits? Are they...’ she gulped as the leaping Kurnish fell. ’Something to be worshipped?’

Meanwhile, Cero cracked his knuckles.

’I’ll diminish their numbers while clearing the Quest.’

[Quest: "Borgian Regeneration, The Final Piece".]

’If she doesn’t ask for help by the time I Clear the Quest, then...’