CHAPTER 65: MESSY INFILTRATION

[Notice: Host has entered a Null Zone!]

[...]

[Area identified: Land of Flames.]

Upon stepping onto the Land of Flames, Deklan could feel a bomb detonating.

But the blast didn’t erupt outward—instead, it sank straight into him, igniting his insides and scorching him from within. The burning pain forced him to clench his jaw tight. His Fire Skin trait let him endure more than most, but the sheer intensity still blindsided him.

Regardless, he was not the one in real trouble.

Deklan snapped to the side and caught Kaelyn in time.

He slid an arm around her waist from the front and hoisted her up before her foot touched the ground.

"What are you doing?!"

"No time! It’s hot, so prepare yourself!"

Deklan pivoted, took one decisive step, and threw Kaelyn toward the gap hard—his physical strength was now strong enough to fling a full-grown adult like a frisbee. And the moment she was airborne, he gritted his teeth and sprinted.

He was starting to get used to the heat, picking up pace with each step he took.

All he was hoping for was that none of the Hellhounds noticed him.

But one somewhat did.

A Hellhound turned to look to the right, predatory eyes narrowing at a glimpse of a passing shadow.

Meanwhile, Deklan crashed and rolled on the ground as he threw himself.

Once he was in the clear, he turned to check on Kaelyn, letting out a breath of relief to see her completely fine. Her entire body was sizzling with an aura, coated by mana, which protected her from the scorching heat of the Land of Flames.

"Use your aura, quick!" She exclaimed, seeing that Deklan was still exposed to the flames.

"No problem," Deklan raised a thumb up. "I’m completely fine. Just give me a second."

Deklan flipped and pressed both hands against the flaming ground, allowing the flames to seep into his body more. He closed his eyes, feeling the flames heating up his body from the inside as the Fire Skin trait adapted him to the environment.

The flames paralyzed him earlier because his body wasn’t hot enough.

Not because he couldn’t withstand the flames.

Once he was heated enough, standing in this Null Zone was the same as standing in a normal place.

"See?" Deklan rose to his feet, patting the dust from his clothes. "Totally fine."

"How can you do this...?" Kaelyn stared at his body like it was a piece of art. "This is impossible."

"I’ll tell you all about it, but when we get closer, alright?" Deklan winked as he walked ahead.

He looked around, searching for the place where the Alpha Ghost would be.

At least I need to locate the blue tower before leaving.

Upon stepping into this Null Zone, Deklan realized the reason why the Ghosts from the Shadowed Town were defending their territory instead of going across. This flaming ground was the reason—attacking would be a suicide mission.

All of them would be fighting at a disadvantage.

All the more reason for me to snipe the Alpha Ghost. Even if Sasaki were here, I doubt she’d dare step onto this side. Earning her acknowledgement by turning this hopeless battle around... It’s entirely on my shoulders. This battle was a loss from the moment it started.

The only reason the Shadowed Town is still standing is that—Sasaki exists. Without her, that Null Zone would’ve collapsed long ago.

Fantastic. This is absolutely great. Just means even more weight dumped on me.

[Or... you can ditch Sasaki and find another Ghost.]

Never!

[Then that means you chose to bear the weight now, don’t you host?]

What now? Is it a crime to complain in my own mind? Leave me alone!

Deklan soon spotted a big church in the distance, which was a perfect place to start searching.

Even if the Alpha Ghost isn’t there, he could climb up and view the entire place from there.

"I think I can’t stay for too long," Kaelyn muttered.

Deklan turned and saw that her aura around her feet was being burned by the flames, growing smaller and weaker with each passing second. "In that case, there’s no need for you to go on," He nudged his chin to the barrier. "Go out and wait for me. I’ll tell you what I found later."

"Not a chance," She answered decisively—catching Deklan off guard. "I don’t trust a single thing from your mouth. If I want to know about this Null Zone, then it has to be through my own eyes."

"Then how are you going to stay? Your aura isn’t going to last five minutes." He asked exasperatedly.

Being the one doubted was never a pleasant feeling.

"I have an idea," Kaelyn said, raising her index finger to point at Deklan. "You’re going to carry me."

"I’m going to what, now?"

Moments later.

Deklan sneaked through the Null Zone, using the burning houses and trees as cover.

Since war is ongoing, there were fewer Ghosts the further away he was from the river.

Of course, he was carrying Kaelyn—princess style.

Since the problem was the fiery ground, carrying her was the only solution without wasting her mana.

She insisted on being carried this way since she knew that he was going to try and feel her if he gave her a piggyback, and that is not going to happen. At least in this way, she could see clearly if Deklan tries to do anything funny.

After all, his face was in full view.

But jokes on her, Deklan doesn’t mind this style at all.

Sure, his arms are sore, but this feels pleasant all the same.

Compared to the awkward distance between them earlier, this was infinitely better.

For someone who’s so damn athletic, her body is really soft.

"Hiihk!" Kaelyn yelped.

Her eyes widened completely when she felt Deklan’s hand sliding further down with each step. Starting from the back of her knees, to her thighs, and now nearing her bottom. "You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

"Of course not, I’m running, you know," Deklan answered, but his face clearly showed otherwise.

"Hihk!"

Again, his hand slid further down, grazing her bottom.

Immediately, she drew her katana and pressed it against his neck, even grazing him, "Do that one more time, and I’ll cut off your junior and then feed you to these dogs. Do you understand?’

"Bold of you to think you can my junior that easily, it’s hard as a ste—"

Rrghh...!

Deklan dashed sideways and slipped behind a tree right when a Hellhound emerged from the junction, appearing from nowhere. It swung its massive head left and right as if it was on a mission, then dropped its snout to the dirt—sniffing like a trained police dog hot on the scent of contraband.

"Fuck me, that thing came out of nowhere." Deklan cursed aloud.

Because of the fire all around him, his perception wasn’t as good as it normally was.

"I think it can smell our scent."

"Yes, but it hasn’t found us yet."

"Now, where do we go? We have to go through that road to go to the church."

"Let’s kill it quickly."

Deklan turned to look at Kaelyn with a tilted head.

He wasn’t expecting her to be so bold, especially considering they were still exhausted from the battle earlier—and this Hellhound was the same size as the one Deklan fought. It wasn’t the smaller ones that were easier to handle.

"Are you kidding me? You can barely stand."

"Why are you hesitating for? Don’t you want to destroy this Null Zone? This is the perfect chance."

"It’s not the Alpha Ghost. Killing it would only waste our strength."

"Hmm... You’re really uneducated, aren’t you?"

"Huh? I got ninety on biology, so screw you."

Kaelyn has absolutely no idea why Deklan brought that up, but she didn’t want to ask either.

Instead, she nudged her chin towards the Hellhound that was still sniffing.

"Look at it closely," She said, tugging Deklan’s collar closer to her and pointing at the sharp bones that were protruding out of the Hellhound’s neck, following the wave of its fur. "That Hellhound is not the normal one. It’s the same with the one you fought, a Beta."

"A Beta?" Deklan raised a brow, curious as to what she was getting at.

All the Ghost knowledge he learned from the book only covers the types of Ghosts.

None about the Null Zone itself, so he was curious.

"Yes," Kaelyn nodded—and then elaborated. "Lesser Null Zone like this typically has one Alpha Ghost and one to four Betas. The easiest way to destroy this Null Zone is by killing the Alpha Ghost, but if you kill the Betas first, the Alpha Ghost’s connection to the tangible dimension—weakened, and that would in turn weaken it."

"How exactly do you know it’s a Beta?"

"Their manifestation is more complete. I’m not sure if you understand this properly, but when a Null Zone manifests, all the Ghosts in it are forced to inhabit a weaker manifestation. In simpler terms, what you see right now is a weaker version of their real bodies. And as the Null Zone grows stronger, they will slowly manifest their real body."

Deklan nodded his head repeatedly, fascinated by her explanation.

It was a world where Ghosts exist, but he didn’t know exactly how that came to be.

And now, things started to make sense to him.

Does that mean Pumple and Sasaki were also not in their real bodies? Pumple, especially, wasn’t a part of any Null Zone—so his manifestation must be really weak. Is there a way to help him grow? I’ll need to check with the system once I get back.

"Still, we can’t kill it easily," Deklan whispered.

He wasn’t confident that his spear throw would be able to kill it instantly.

And failing to kill this Hellhound with one strike would only draw more trouble to them, and at that point, they might be surrounded. Deklan would survive—since he has basically two lives, but Kaelyn would be fucked.

"We’ll both do the Binding Thread spell, and then we can strike it together to kill it instantly."

"Binding thread spell? What is that?"

"You don’t even know the fundamental neutral spells? What have you been doing?"

"Exercising, hunting, flirting, the usual stuff."

"I’m not really asking!"

Growl!

Deklan and Kaelyn froze when they realized the Hellhound was right beside them.

Slowly, Deklan scooted around the tree, careful not to make a sound.

"No time," Kaelyn whispered and pressed two fingers against Deklan’s forehead. "I’ll teach you how to use the Binding Thread spell. I’ll only show you the paths to channel it, so you have to pay attention, and then cast it alone."

"Alright, go ahead."

Swish!

From her fingertips, mana was fired into his brain.

And from his brain, it seeped into his newly awakened Mana Veins and then pulsated with sequences.

It took ten long seconds for the process to finish.

"Now, do it! I’ll follow up once you manage to cast it."

"Roger that!"