CHAPTER 091
"Arabelle, Ermier, are you not thirsty?"
Sephilia asked Arabelle and Ermier, who were engrossed in treating the mountain beasts.
The line of injured mountain beasts in need of Arabelle and Ermier's care seemed endless.
Ermier, who had always looked very frail, was no exception, and Arabelle also appeared extremely exhausted.
At Sephilia's question, a wave of forgotten thirst hit them all at once.
As the pale faces of Arabelle and Ermier nodded toward her, Sephilia smiled and stood up from the rock she was sitting on.
Unlike the tired Arabelle and Ermier, Sephilia still looked beautiful and full of life.
She seemed to sparkle in the dark forest.
Sephilia took out a transparent glass flask from the bag she was carrying.
Inside the flask, a ruby-like bright red liquid shimmered.
"It's juice made from wild raspberries that I carry around. It quenches your thirst instantly."
Sephilia smiled brightly and brought the flask to her crimson lips.
Her elegant, white neck moved dynamically as she drank the juice.
Watching Sephilia drink the juice made the forgotten thirst unbearable.
Arabelle's dry lips moved involuntarily.
Ermier, entranced by the red juice, licked her dry lips.
When Sephilia raised the flask towards the two girls, the half-filled red juice captivated their gaze.
Arabelle and Ermier looked at each other simultaneously.
Arabelle turned her head to look at the flask Ermier was holding.
Just one sip of the refreshing and sweet-looking juice seemed like it would bring immense happiness.
She wanted to reach out and grab the flask.
But...
Arabelle glanced back at Ermier.
Ermier's face was so pale it had a bluish tint, and her lips were dry and chapped.
Her large eyes had long lost their vitality.
Her frail appearance, with small hands, clenched, seemed to share the same thoughts as Arabelle.
The two girls couldn't bring themselves to reach out first and just stared at each other for a moment.
"Ermier, you drink first. I don't feel that thirsty yet."
Arabelle's cheeks flushed slightly as she lied.
When Ermier hesitated, Arabelle nodded and made her eyes into crescent moons.
Ermier took the flask and began drinking the juice without hesitation.
Gulp, gulp.
Ermier drank without pause as if she were extremely thirsty.
Before long, Ermier's face lit up with color as she pulled the flask away from her lips.
She wiped her red-stained lips with the back of her hand and smiled contentedly.
"Oh..."
A surprised voice escaped from Ermier's lips as she extended the flask to Arabelle.
The flask was now empty.
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry, Arabelle. What should I do?"
Ermier looked at Arabelle, tearfully apologizing.
She had not left a single sip for Arabelle, who had given her the juice first...
Feeling ashamed and sorry, Ermier couldn't look at Arabelle and lowered her gaze.
"It's okay..."
Warmth spread over Ermier's trembling shoulders.
"We'll go down to the village in the morning and get something to eat. And in some parts of the forest that haven't burned, there might still be fruits. Let's look for them when the sun rises."
Arabelle comforted Ermier gently.
She was glad.
Arabelle's eyes curved into a smile as she looked at Ermier's now slightly pink cheeks.
When Arabelle carefully wiped away the tears from Ermier's damp eyes, the two girls held hands.
Sephilia's lips twisted slightly as she watched the scene.
She had intended to feed it to that thing, but now it was useless because it had been drunk.
Her beautiful eyes, like lakes, momentarily turned into glossy yellow orbs.
"Thank you, Sephilia."
When Arabelle and Ermier turned towards her, Sephilia's emerald eyes sparkled as she responded with a loving smile.
"I know a place where there are still fruits. It's not far from here. Let's go together."
***
First door.
Roar!
Buzz, swish,
Thud...
Thump!
The head of the Gargoyle Commander rolled to the ground.
The foul-smelling blue liquid seeped into the crevices of the uneven stone floor.
The Emperor lifted one knee from the ground and slowly stood up on both legs.
The Musatru sword in his hand continued to hum as if breathing.
Thick blue liquid dripped from the blade onto the floor.
Dark eyes peeked out from beneath his black hair that fell over his forehead.
His eyes, burning like fire, were so cold they seemed to freeze everything around them.
Kaligo, covered in patches of blue liquid on his white fur, approached the Emperor's side.
"Are you sure it's human?"
At Kaligo's sudden question, the Emperor's gaze fell on the small white leopard.
The white leopard's eyes took in the dozens of gargoyle corpses scattered on the stone floor.
Just moments ago, these gargoyles had been flapping their pointed wings frantically, but now they lay dismembered and turned to stone.
"Are you talking about that?" the Emperor asked.
Kaligo sneered and replied, "I'm talking about you. It's hard to believe that someone who split the head of the gargoyle leader in two is purely human."
The Emperor who entered the first room was... not a human from the human world but another 'monster' competing with the underground monsters for supremacy.
There was not an ounce of hesitation or fear in him.
He mercilessly cut down the flying gargoyles as if there was no reason to waste time.
Even Kaligo, who had seen countless heroes and warriors over a thousand years, felt a chill down his spine at the sight of the Emperor advancing without any change in expression.
Kaligo's words were not wrong.
The Emperor thought as he walked towards the body of the gargoyle leader, whose head lay at a distance.
Fear or anger were luxuries he could not afford.
The Emperor lifted the hefty body of the gargoyle, which reached up to his waist, with one hand.
The body had already turned to hard stone, but the sharp, pointed wings still fluttered.
I cannot stop because of Arabelle, who sacrificed herself without a hint of fear or hesitation for me.
The Emperor gathered the flailing wings and,
Swish, rip.
He neatly sliced them off with his sword, separating them from the body.
Thud.
The stone body fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Strangely, the wings detached from the body fluttered gently in the Emperor's hand, as if they were showing affection like a pet.
The Emperor quickly placed the wings into the leather bag hanging around Kaligo's neck.
"Cut off an unchanging part of the monster's body with each door you pass through. The monsters will become stronger as you progress. The bodies of the monsters you defeat will obey you," said Esperal, the elf in charge of the barrier, as he hung the bag around Kaligo's neck.
"You weren't bad either," the Emperor said as he walked towards the opposite door.
The white leopard lifted its head to look at the Emperor.
"You turned out to be a very fierce monster, especially when you were tearing at the gargoyles' necks. It almost made me pity them."
Kaligo shrugged at the Emperor's gruff compliment, which didn't sound like a compliment at all.
"Remember, I turned a third of the gargoyles in this room into stone," Kaligo said.
"Make it a fifth instead of a third," the Emperor retorted mockingly.
Kaligo roared, but his transparent glass eyes looked pleased.
The Emperor and the white leopard passed through the first door and walked down a dark corridor.
The dry air quickly became damp.
The sound of water echoed from a distance, and their ears perked up.
The wave patterns etched on both sides of the corridor began to ripple as the Emperor approached.
"Can you swim?" the Emperor asked, detecting the salty smell of the sea.
Kaligo arrogantly raised his tail. "I was born and raised on an island off the Radian coast, once the roughest in the continent. I swam before I could walk."
"That's good. I didn't like water when I was a black leopard."
"You and I are fundamentally different. I'm a thousand-year-old monster, not comparable to a mere black leopard."
The Emperor curled one corner of his mouth and said quietly, "I'm looking forward to seeing the skills of a thousand-year-old monster teaching a young black leopard."
As the Emperor and Kaligo stood before a large wooden door with a carved ship,
Clunk,
The helm of the ship turned, and the door opened.
Creak.
The sound of seagulls pierced their ears through the opening door.
The Emperor and Kaligo stepped into the second room.
***
"Wasn't I right? This place wasn't affected by the wildfire," Sephilia said proudly, flashing a bright smile.
Arabelle and Ermier, who had followed her deeper into the forest, nodded.
Just as Sephilia had said, the small space they entered was filled with healthy trees and plants.
"Found it!" Sephilia clapped her hands and skipped towards a tree as tall as she was.
Arabelle and Ermier followed her, holding hands.
Looking up at the tree following Sephilia's finger, they saw three luscious, round purple fruits.
Though there were only three fruits, each was as big as Arabelle's fist and looked delicious.
"It's the most delicious fruit in our territory," Sephilia said, quickly picking one and taking a bite.
Arabelle and Ermier, seeing the unfamiliar, radiant purple fruit, hesitated to pick theirs.
"It's incredibly sweet and refreshing. It tastes like a mix of well-ripened apples and grapes."
As Sephilia took another bite, juice dripped from her lips.
Just looking at Sephilia's satisfied expression made their mouths water.
With eager eyes, Ermier reached out and easily picked a fruit.
When she offered it to Arabelle first, Arabelle shook her head and said, "You eat first, Ermier. I'll pick mine."
Arabelle stood on tiptoe to pick the highest-hanging fruit.
Pluck,
Her face brightened as she held the luscious fruit in her hand.
She realized how hungry she had been when she saw the fruit.
Turning her head, she saw that Sephilia had already finished her fruit, and Ermier was almost done as well.
Ermier's face was filled with satisfaction as she ate the fruit.
Arabelle quickly brought the fruit to her mouth, but,
Thud,
Something hard yet soft hit Arabelle's leg.
Startled, she looked down...
A mother deer and a newborn fawn were nuzzling her leg.
The trembling fawn was supported by the mother deer, whose dark eyes were fixed on the fruit in Arabelle's hand.
The hunger of the mother deer, if she couldn't eat anything, she wouldn't be able to give milk to her fawn...
Arabelle looked at the fruit in her hand.
Her stomach growled.
Her parched throat felt scratchy.
Gathering her resolve, Arabelle brought the fruit to the mother deer.
In a gentle voice, she said, "Would you like to eat? It's okay. They say it's very sweet and delicious."
The mother deer hurriedly began eating the fruit.
As she chewed the fruit, she repeatedly fed the juice to the fawn until the fruit was gone in the blink of an eye.
"Arabelle, how could you give such a precious fruit to the deer? Now we really have nothing left to eat!" Sephilia yelled, her brow furrowed in anger.
The startled deer quickly disappeared into the forest.
Arabelle watched the deer for a moment, then turned to Sephilia with an apologetic smile.
"Just a little longer, and the sun will rise. We'll go down to the village and get something delicious to eat."
Ermier whispered, holding Arabelle's hand tightly, and Arabelle nodded.
As Arabelle and Ermier headed back to where the animals were waiting, reptilian eyes glinted from behind them.
The beautiful face staring into the dark forest where the deer had hidden twisted in anger.
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