CHAPTER 64: BLOSSOMING SPARK

"Stay about five steps away. Get too close, and you’ll get slashed."

"Do you really have to be that far?"

Deklan smiled acutely, regretting even thinking of helping out.

It took more than a full minute of coaxing while she walked back toward the exit to get her to stay, and even then, Kaelyn demanded to keep five steps away from her. Now, there was a very awkward gap between them, so awkward.

Like traveling with someone who might be an enemy at any moment.

Deklan was walking on the left side of the road, while Kaelyn was walking on the right side.

Tch! This is what trying to do good gets you!

[Don’t lump the good with you, host. You’re the one who made her think that way.]

Yeah? No one is talking to you, Einstein!

[Who’s Einstein?]

Deklan rubbed his face roughly, annoyed that he even needed to deal with the system.

On the side, Kaelyn stole a glance at him and then looked ahead again before folding her arms.

"Listen, I’m not going to help you fight anything. I’m only going to accompany you scout ahead."

"Of course, duly note—"

"And don’t get it twisted, I’m only doing this for the safety of my group. Better to know the Null Zones in this area now than risk one of my people in the future."

"Yes, yes... I’m not twisting anything."

Deklan trotted on ahead with his shoulder sagged, not expecting this romantic night where the two of them would be killing Ghosts together to become a walk together of a shy couple, too far to even talk. Of course, change the couple to a cold woman and the other a misunderstood man, and the scene would be perfect.

All Deklan was hoping for right now was a few Ghosts to appear to get rid of this awkwardness.

Lady Luck was listening.

Crash!

Kaelyn drew her katana and held it upright when something crashed out of the house beside her.

Her eyes narrowed to focus—aura already enhancing her physique, ready to fight.

It was a shadowy wraith, a Ghost from the Shadowed Town.

Sounds of clanking armor could be heard coming from inside the house, and a Flame Skeleton emerged, sword raised high.

Moving with speed, the Shadowling dodged the strike and phased through the Flame Skeleton’s body.

One could see the skeleton paralyzed for a few seconds from that.

A punch then followed, hurling the Flame Skeleton forward.

That Shadowling—and a few more that dropped from above began pummeling the paralyzed skeleton, and soon enough, its body evaporated into a gush of flames. Everything happened right before Deklan and Kaelyn.

And once the Flame Skeleton was dealt with, the Shadowlings turned to Dekelan, and then to Kaelyn.

Seeing this, Kaelyn gripped her katana tighter.

She was expecting to fight, but to her surprise, the Shadowlings simply darted away, leaving them alone.

"Huh...?" Kaelyn lowered her katana.

It was clear that she was taken aback by what she saw; no Ghosts should be doing this.

"See?" Deklan walked on ahead, hands behind his head like he was taking a night stroll instead of going through a war between two Null Zones. "I told you I saved their Alpha Ghost. I’m basically their savior, so they won’t attack us."

Kaelyn didn’t answer; she sheathed her katana and walked again.

On the other hand, Deklan glanced at the Shadowlings hiding inside the broken house.

He secretly gave them a thumbs-up when Kaelyn was not looking.

For the better start of their venture into the inner area of the forest, the two could only hear loud, distant explosions and a few roars of Ghosts here and there. But that was because they were far away from the real battlefield.

As it turns out, the bulk of the battle happened right at the border.

Deklan and Kaelyn pressed their backs against a cover and peered at what was going on ahead.

"Holy..."

Seeing the battle ahead took the breath out of Deklan’s mouth.

The border, conveniently enough, was marked by a long, still river that crossed over the entire inner area and perhaps even beyond. Two wide bridges serve as pathways to cross over to the other side, which is the start of nothing short of a lava terrain.

Unlike the shadowy side they were on right now, across was engulfed in flames.

It was akin to looking at the inside of the oven, but the flames were licking as high as the ceiling.

Burning trees, burning houses, burning Ghosts—everything over there was burning.

And the Ghosts were fighting mostly around the bridges with a few exceptions here and there.

Shadowlings against Flame Skeletons—while the Hellhounds were fighting against Shadow Knights.

"Seems like the Ghosts across haven’t realized Sasaki was captured by me," Deklan thought aloud—as he saw about a dozen more Hellhounds growling and roaring on the other side, still watching from afar instead of participating. "And there’s no sign of the Alpha Ghost, too."

Deklan nodded.

It’s a good thing that the Null Zone across hadn’t realized Sasaki’s absence.

Had that been the case, the Alpha Ghost would’ve ransacked the Shadowed Town by now.

Deklan scanned the area, searching for any other way to cross over to the other side without participating in the battle too much. He only found one way, and that is to go to the very edge and cross over the river on foot.

Not that hard to do.

"Psst!" Deklan called Kaelyn across. "Follow me."

He went back around the house and headed straight to the tall shadow tree at the very end.

Once he and Kaelyn reached that tree, they scanned the area for Ghosts and immediately sprinted across the road and leaped into the river. Even though there were no Ghosts around, the battle was chaotic, and some Ghosts might stumble upon them.

Splash!

Deklan and Kaelyn swam across.

Some carcasses littered the flowing river, creating a haunting scene that would spook any modern man.

But Deklan wasn’t any other modern man.

He drew a sharp breath—and plunged into the riverbed, slipping beneath the growing tangle of drifting corpses clogging the flow. Kaelyn followed closely behind, both of them swam—like desperate frogs through the dark, blood-tainted water.

Deklan surfaced on the far side, breaking the surface into ragged gasps as he pulled in clean air.

Now, he needed to climb the wet dirt to reach the other side.

A few seconds passed, and Kaelyn eventually emerged.

"I’ll go on ahead first," Deklan said, keeping low as he noticed a few Ghosts brawling not too far away from their positions. "I’ll check the coast, and then you can come up. Wait for my signal."

As he got out of the water, Kaelyn caught his hand.

"Are we still on this? Trust me a little bit more, please."

Swish!

Deklan thought she was still worried that he might ditch her right here out of spite for what happened earlier, not trusting him enough to let him lead. But to his surprise, it wasn’t really that—Kaelyn cast a spell and dries his body and clothes.

"It’s going to be easier for you to climb if you’re not wet."

"Oh... Thought you were throwing a tantrum again. Wait here."

Slowly, Deklan climbed to check the situation.

On the other hand, Kaelyn remained in the water, holding onto the edge while watching him climb.

Just a few seconds earlier, while underwater, the carcasses that piled on the surface blotted the moonlight completely, making it hard for her to see where she was going. She got lost in the darkness, but then she saw a blinking light.

It was Deklan’s hand.

He already anticipated her trouble and used mana to light up his hand, telling her the way.

’He looks young, younger than me, and he doesn’t seem trained either, since his fighting style is messy. But he’s incredibly intuitive and sharp. Resourceful, too.’ Kaelyn admitted to herself a reluctant spark that she would never say out loud. ’Annoying pervert or not, he’s reliable.’

Kaelyn’s eyes narrowed when she saw red drops littering the wet ground as Deklan climbed.

It was blood, and it came from his shoulder.

’Is that because of me...?’ She thought, recalling the heavy slash she had made to him earlier.

Kaelyn bit her lower lip; it looked painful.

Seems like the cream was wiped away while he was swimming earlier.

Considering how his personality was, he would be complaining to her non-stop about that slash, but he surprisingly didn’t. Kaelyn mostly has bruises with a few cuts, in a lot better shape than Deklan. But he still volunteered to scout the situation first.

It could’ve been her, but he didn’t even give her a choice.

And that would not go unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Deklan pulled his body up the slope, climbing like he was a gecko.

Fuck this. Fuck my life. Fuck everything around me.

[Stop being such a princess, host.]

Yeah? How about I drizzle salt into your wounds? Because that’s what I’m experiencing right now!

Deklan could feel pain across his entire body, mainly because he suffered burns and long cuts from his battle against that stupid Hellhound, and swimming through water only made it worse. Even though he was dry now, crawling against the wet ground still didn’t help either.

Why am I here? Why do I choose to do this? I’d rather cuddle with Marsha right now.

Oh, right, that stupid blue tower. Where the heck is it?

Upon reaching the flaming road, Deklan raised his head high enough to look around.

No Ghosts around.

Most of the battles happened on the Shadowed Town side, so this is to be expected.

But there’s nothing to use as a cover—Those Hellhounds could see us crossing if they turned.

Deklan looked to the left and noted a small gap between the burning house and the barrier, perfect for them to sneak in as long as they’re fast enough. He looked down at Kaelyn and nudged his head, "Come, it’s clear."

Kaelyn climbed and prowled beside Deklan, also looking around to check.

"Once there’s a big commotion from the other side, we’ll run to that gap," Deklan pointed at the small gap he noticed earlier, right beside a burning house. "It’s about five big steps away. We need to be quick, or else we’ll be spotted.

Hearing this, Kaelyn looked to the other side and spotted the dozen Hellhounds.

All of them were watching the battle, so Deklan’s plan was good enough.

In about ten seconds or so, their opportunity came.

Boom!

Roar!!

A Shadow Knight managed to slam a Hellhound into a house.

"Go!" Deklan stood up and sprinted across.

Just a step into the burning Null Zone, his body froze suddenly as his eyes widened in surprise.

[Notice: Host has entered a Null Zone!]

[...]

[Area identified: Land of Flames.]