His legs rushed toward the hut they had been living in till now, the shadow veil making anyone unable to sense his aura.
None of them could see him with their eyes. It had barely been ten seconds, and he was already rushing toward the hut. The grass petals crushed beneath his feet, creating a strange scene.
He ignored the villagers roaming around, as if nothing had happened. So of them were powerful, so he kept his distance from them.
Crossing the entire village, Ash reached the hut, hoping Jessie would be inside.
He looked through the small window, hoping to find Jessie, but his jaw clenched as he found no one.
The ti bomb was ticking — every second seeping away 5 MP.
As he turned around, he saw a person staring at him.
Ash's heartbeat rose; if puppet knew, that ant the puppeteer knew — and that implied everyone knew.
But there was a hint of confusion, of suspicion.
Ash froze in place, not even breathing. The person stared for so ti, then shook his head and left the area.
"Too much ti wasted," Ash muttered. One crystal was already over, and another was half spent.
That ant three crystals were already consud for the day, yet he didn't feel any serious discomfort so far.
He had two options — either return or push further to find her.
Assassin gritted his teeth; there was no looking back. If he had co this far, then why not give it his all?
His hands rubbed together as he readied his gun to shoot in any case. Pushing further, he evaded everyone, hyper-aware to avoid any collision, but at the sa ti his movents maintained pace.
As he ca closer to the tree stump, his heartbeat rose, his intuition flaring with danger.
How much can I hide? Ash was tense.
The only other place Jessie could be was where she had heard the strange voice — the calming beat that srized the listener.
Ash hadn't seen that place because the monk had forbidden him from entering the area, but he had been to its outskirts.
The large tree's stump looked as magnificent, violet energy curling around it like pulsing blood veins. A path was carved into the ground, leading down through stairs to the heart of the tree.
Heart of the Heart.
Ash looked around for any danger. There stood a man outside, arms folded, beside another broad man.
Ash instantly recognized him — it was the person who had made him laugh all day. But now, seeing him, all he could see was a forged man.
Currently, he wasn't even talking, just standing expressionless like a dead man. Both didn't even recognize each other, as if they only knew their task.
Are they even real?
This question had been revolving in his mind for quite so ti. If these n were trapped in a mind hex, then that proved this plane had a human race — contradicting the information he had received from Jessie's family.
If they weren't real, then what was the motivation for the tree to keep him and Jessie alive, trapped here? This was a mystery that intrigued him — if it could forge life, then why take the risk of keeping them alive?
On top of that — why only humans?
He had reasoning for the second question: it was to lure them in. The tree must have read their mories, finding the ideal image of a lonely village in the desert — or what they needed most: a source of water, food, and a clean environnt.
But the first question remained — why would it not just kill him and Jessie?
Ash looked ahead, stepping inside. He really didn't care anymore. If he could just run away and never look back at this insane beast, he would.
As he descended, an open area ca into view, violet light shimring around the roots of the tree. A large platform was built, touching its roots.
There stood Lyria — and another girl. Jessie sat atop the platform, her eyes closed. Ash felt an intense chanting hum in the atmosphere.
his resolve wavering just by hearing the rhythm. He foced to talk inside his head, attempting to ignore the voice, but it was deeper than that.
'I need to hurry'
It felt like background music that played whether you listened or not. His hands moved, grabbing the pistol. The bullet was filled with his poison — dark and dense, almost dripping.
Ash took a deep breath and shot.
The sound of the bullet was muffled by the silencer, but still, a low, pressed sound spread through the chamber, breaking the intense rhythm.
The bullet hit her leg, getting stuck inside.
He knew there was no aning in hiding anymore — the tree was aware of him now.
Two more bullets fired, but this ti they didn't hit the legs — they struck dead center in the heads of Lyria and the other girl.
He didn't care whether they were real or puppets of the tree. He wasn't heroic enough to save everyone — all he wanted was to save himself and his friend.
Jessie opened her eyes, standing up. Her eyes had lost all signs of life, staring straight at Ash.
Ash swiftly moved sideways to avoid her gaze. He was still under the cloak, so he hoped that moving a little would render him invisible again.
But her gaze followed his movent — as if she saw everything.
"Fuck." Ash had anticipated this.
He didn't think he could fool an A-rank mind manipulator. Devourer hadn't been aware of his presence earlier, so it hadn't tried to look actively — and he was hidden from its basic sensory skills.
He moved closer to Jessie in a swift motion, just as a dragon's fla burned down the spot where he had been.
Ash was fully aware of her weakness. She was a beast in long-range combat, but in close range, she wasn't proficient.
He knew exactly what she lacked — fire resistance. If she could resist her own flas, then nothing could stop her from casting them on herself, burning both the fighter and her opponent together.
But she didn't have anything like that — at least not as far as he could rember.
Surprisingly, he saw her hands moving to cast a fire spell that would harm both herself and him.
Ash swung his short blade, making multiple cuts on her hand, the poison dripping thickly. Then, using her as a base, he wrapped his legs around her neck, holding her in a chokehold.
[King's Domain: 18 MP/second]
Ash activated King's Domain to prevent her from using any magic spells in the anti.
While she struggled in his grip for breath, an beautiful man entered inside, the face that could make anyone fall in love with him in a instant.
Ash's hands lay on his face, realising.
"It's "
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