Chapter 1380: 138. Unfilial Disciple

After exerting tremendous effort, Ariel finally managed to force her teacher back inside, extinguishing the spark that had very nearly burst into brilliant flames.

After finishing, she clapped her hands with quite a sense of accomplishment, feeling that her level as a master of romance had finally risen another step. From now on, she would surely be much more composed when dealing with all those other man-stealers and would no longer inexplicably fall into a passive position every single time—especially when facing a certain fake best friend......

But before she could stay pleased for long, Ariel discovered that Muen, whom she had ordered to turn around, was still secretly peeking over here. Her anger immediately flared.

"Bastard! So you really are still lusting after someone else's teacher, aren't you?!"

Without another word, Ariel stepped forward, expertly grabbed Muen's vulnerable spot, and twisted it clockwise one hundred and twenty degrees. "Teacher is still nothing more than a soul body! And you can still bring yourself to make a move on her?"

"Hiss......ow, ow, ow!"

Muen cried out in pain. "Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! Heaven itself can testify, I've barely even properly spoken to your teacher a few times. How could I possibly have any improper thoughts about her? Besides, she's your teacher, a great senior who's lived for several hundred years. No matter how bold I am, I wouldn't dare reach for someone like that."

"You wouldn't dare? You even dared to hook up with a dragon over a thousand years old. What is there that you wouldn't dare do?"

"That was also just a misunderstanding. Miss Dragon and I are purely companions......purely companions with only a tiny bit of a special relationship! And right now we're even in the middle of a falling-out!"

"Do you believe that yourself?"

Ariel bared her teeth, practically wishing she could bite him directly.

What kind of companions kept being companions until they ended up in bed together?

Did this bastard really not blush when saying things like that?!

"Hiss......darling, you have to believe me."

As the pain eased slightly, Muen gazed deeply into Ariel's eyes. Every blink, every curve of the corners of his mouth, revealed sincerity straight from the depths of his heart.

"As Belrand's number one good man, I would never lie to you."

"Your credit score with me is already so low you couldn't even get a loan for enough money to buy a piece of black bread." Ariel rolled her eyes at him disdainfully.

"Then in your eyes, am I really nothing more than a stud who can't even walk straight the moment he sees a pretty woman?"

"Aren't you?"

"This......this misunderstanding is way too huge!"

Muen beat his chest and stamped his feet, looking utterly grief-stricken.

Why?

Why did everyone always misunderstand him this way?

How was he supposed to prove that beneath all those false outer labels of pervert, scumbag, and beast in human clothing was the most sincere inner heart of a good man?

Did he really have to dig out his heart and show it to them?

"Still pretending."

Ariel curled her lips.

They had known each other for so long and had gotten to know each other deeply so many times. How could she possibly still be fooled by this act of his?

Believing Muen Campbell was a good man would be less convincing than believing black bread was the most delicious thing in the world.

"Damn it......you forced me into this!"

Seeing that his sincere explanation had absolutely no effect, Muen suddenly tore open the clothes he had only just put back on and, with one broad movement, pulled Ariel into his arms.

"Y-you......what are you doing?"

Caught completely off guard, Ariel struggled in panic.

"Since you don't believe in my sincere heart and really think I'm a pervert, a scumbag, and a beast in human clothing, then there's nothing I can do. I can only act like a beast for you to see!"

Muen's tone was filled with the bleakness of someone who had completely given up on maintaining appearances.

But his wandering hands were clearly already poised for action, even somewhat impatient. They directly launched a two-pronged attack from above and below, very quickly breaking into the girl's most vulnerable areas.

"Y-you......p-pervert!"

Ariel's little face instantly turned slightly red, her delicate body constantly twisting.

But such powerless struggles were nowhere near enough to free herself from the hands of this vicious beast in human clothing. Instead, she was like prey thrashing inside a trap, only sinking deeper and deeper.

"It's still daytime......n-no!"

The girl's curses, furious shouts, and coquettish scolding all tried to force Muen back......

None of them worked.

Muen, who had completely transformed into a beast in human clothing, not only did not stop his assault, but became increasingly enthusiastic under the girl's resistance. His movements grew even more ruthless, and soon he had completely peeled away her fragile outer layer.

And then Muen saw what was hidden beneath her ordinary clothes......

"Hm?"

Muen's movements froze completely.

He blinked, feeling somewhat unable to believe what he was seeing.

Only after several seconds of careful inspection did he finally confirm that he was not hallucinating. Then he raised his head, the corner of his mouth curling into a teasing smile as he looked meaningfully at Ariel.

He had already thought himself more than enough of a "beast in human clothing," but......

"Miss Ariel, who looks so proper on the surface......why does what you're wearing underneath look even more beastly than I am......"

Black?

Openwork?

And tied with strings?

The one on top was even more outrageous. It was practically......

"D-don't look!"

The faint redness instantly deepened into the crimson of something fully ripened.

Ariel turned her head away, her entire delicate body twisting unnaturally. She was still struggling, but the arrogance and righteous indignation from earlier were completely gone......

Now she looked more like......

Someone refusing while secretly inviting more?

"We haven't seen each other for only three days, and you've already turned into such a little beast. Looks like I need to properly teach you a lesson!"

Muen said angrily.

The situation instantly reversed. Muen went from the person who was supposed to receive punishment to the person about to deliver it.

And he showed absolutely no mercy.

She was actually even more beastly and perverted than he was?

She was playing even more wildly than him?

Where had that innocent and pure Ariel from before gone?

Damn it!

How could the dignified protagonist chosen by destiny, the child of the world burdened with the responsibility of saving the world, possibly become like this?

No!

Absolutely not!

For the continuation of the world, for humanity's future, and also for light and justice......

A heavy fist had to be brought down upon a perverted beast like this!

"Take this!"

"Mm!"

......

......

Void space.

Peles gently released the Void Eye, allowing it to float above her head. Then she snapped her fingers, and an ancient bronze lamp suddenly appeared, illuminating the darkness within a radius of a hundred meters.

Not far from her, a figure floated silently.

Peles slowly walked over and lowered her head.

But the instant her gaze fell, it happened to meet a pair of terrified eyes that had suddenly opened wide.

"You bastard, you actually dared to trick......huh?"

Huggins stared blankly for a moment.

Because he discovered that the bastard brute who had disguised himself as a mage was no longer anywhere nearby.

There was only a woman who looked......a tiny bit familiar.

......No.

Not just a tiny bit familiar.

As Peles's figure gradually became more solid, that beautiful face, untouched by even the slightest trace of time, appeared before Huggins's eyes.

The moment that face completely overlapped with the one in his memories, Huggins immediately felt a chill surge upward from the soles of his feet, passing through his legs, internal organs, spine, chest......

All the way into his brain.

His entire body, together with his soul, began trembling.

"Teacher!"

Ignoring the weakness of his body, Huggins immediately flipped himself over and fell to his knees with a thud, crying with incomparable misery.

"Teacher! I've finally seen you! I've missed you so much, Teacher! All these years, I've been searching for you because I wanted to stay by your side and fulfill my filial duty, but I could never find any trace of you. I was almost starting to think that you had died......"

"Now that I see you're still alive, I'm truly so happy. Teacher, I......"

"Which one of those dog eyes of yours sees me as still alive?"

Peles coldly interrupted Huggins and extended a hand, giving it a light wave.

Her hazy arm formed from smoke passed directly through Huggins's body without even stirring the slightest breeze.

Huggins froze for a moment before immediately continuing to wail.

"Teacher! You have to believe me! What happened back then was only a small accident. I absolutely never sincerely wanted to hurt you......please believe me! From now on, I will do everything within my power to reconstruct your physical body and make it ten times more beautiful than before......no, a hundred times!"

"Forget it."

Peles's expression remained cold. "I don't have the courage to use a body reconstructed by you."

"Teacher! I......"

"Shut up!"

Powerful soul force surged out and directly sent Huggins flying.

Peles looked at her pathetic former disciple without the slightest trace of pity in her eyes.

There was only bone-deep coldness.

"Don't call me Teacher. I'm no longer your teacher......"

"How could that be......once a teacher, always a teacher. Teacher, I never intended to......"

Huggins struggled to crawl back up, looking like a stray dog as he tried to continue wailing.

But Peles casually pointed a finger at him and sealed his voice.

Finally, silence.

"I didn't blame you that much for what happened before. I just treated it as me having been blind. Now that you've fallen to this point, it can be considered your retribution. As for what I should do with you next, I'm still thinking about it. I may need to think very carefully about this matter. After all, I've waited a very long time for this day, and perhaps you still have some use."

"But......"

Peles's tone became slightly stern, as though making a cold declaration.

"No matter what, you no longer have the right to call me 'Teacher.'"

"Mm! Mm! Mm!"

Huggins wept bitterly, looking incomparably miserable and pitiful.

But how could Peles possibly be deceived by him now?

Some betrayals were carved into the bones and engraved into the heart, far more capable of warning a person than any physical wound.

"I'll simply pretend I never had a student like you. Don't worry, I let go of this matter long ago. After all......I already have a much better disciple now."

"She's a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times better than you!"

As Peles spoke—or perhaps showed off—the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

A figure surfaced in her mind.

A figure filled with pride and resilience, always charging forward no matter the circumstances, yet at the same time possessing genuine kindness, sincerely respecting her as a teacher and treating her well from the bottom of her heart.

Yes.

She already had the finest disciple in the entire world.

She was already satisfied with that, feeling that perhaps this was heaven's gift to compensate her for all the suffering she had endured......

As for the mistaken choice she had once made, she would simply let it scatter with the wind.

Peles smiled slightly.

Her entire being finally became completely relaxed, and the wound that had once existed in her heart fully healed at this moment.

Without hesitation, Peles turned and left, paying no further attention to the wailing behind her.

She left the Void Eye and returned to the space inside the ancient bronze ring.

"Hm? My adorable disciple seems to be doing something interesting. Let me take a look......"

The moment she returned, Peles sensed the fluctuations in her disciple's emotions. She casually waved her hand, intending to connect to the scene outside.

However......

"Huh?"

She froze.

Because she suddenly discovered that at some unknown point, the ancient bronze ring had actually been sealed from the outside.

She could not connect to the outside world, so naturally she also had no way of knowing what was happening out there right now.

"She actually dared to lock me out?"

Peles immediately formed a rough guess about what kind of scene was currently unfolding outside.

If it had been before, she would simply have assumed her adorable disciple was embarrassed and had done this because of that. She would not have cared too much.

After all, it was hardly the first time something like this had happened.

But this time, she suddenly felt extremely angry.

"To actually guard against her own teacher......this disciple isn't very good either!"