CHAPTER 425: CHAPTER 425: YOU HAVE... A TASK

Isabella had been walking for hours.

And when I say hours— I mean hours. The kind that made your soul start negotiating with your bones to just give up already.

Her legs ached from walking for hours, her steps dragging like she was carrying the entire mountain on her back. Her hair clung messily to her forehead, and poor Glimora was slumped in her arms like a sleepy little potato. Bubu, on the other hand, floated cheerfully above her shoulder like it hadn’t been shouting "Scan again!" every five seconds since sunrise.

"Bubu," Isabella groaned, pressing her palm to her face. "I can’t do this all day. My body is not built for this kind of slavery."

"You can and you will," Bubu said in that chipper, heartless little tone that sounded like it ran on other people’s suffering. "You still haven’t found a safe spot."

"What safe spot?!" Isabella snapped, glaring up at the glowing blue screen that was her so-called ’system’. "You’ve been saying ’safe spot’ since morning. What does that even mean, Bubu? Because I’ve found fifteen of them. FIFTEEN. And all of them are apparently ’unsafe.’ Unsafe how?! Do the rocks bite now?!"

Bubu’s screen blinked once. "Statistically speaking, in this world? Possibly."

"..." Isabella blinked at it, her lip twitching. "I swear, one day I’ll throw you into a volcano."

"You’d miss me," Bubu said sweetly.

"Not if I push you myself."

"You can’t push light, Host."

"Oh, I’ll find a way."

They glared at each other— one glowing blue hologram and one exhausted woman covered in dust, clutching a glowing baby beast like a tired mother holding her last shred of sanity.

Glorious.

Finally, Isabella flopped down on the grass, spreading her arms dramatically. "No. I’m done. I am not doing this anymore."

"Host, don’t stop there," Bubu said with forced patience, like a teacher talking to a student holding scissors near their own hair. "You have to continue. If not, the next creature you meet might actually be the end of you."

That made Isabella pause. Her brows furrowed. "...You couldn’t have said that before?"

"I just did."

"No, before I stopped walking!"

"You weren’t listening."

"Because you’re annoying!"

"Because you’re slow."

"Oh my God—" Isabella sat up, ready to strangle thin air. "You are lucky you’re not human."

"I prefer to think of myself as an advanced emotional support entity."

"Support entity my—"

A sound broke the air.

It was soft, far off, but definitely there. Something shifting, something... alive.

Both Isabella and Glimora froze. The silence that followed was so sharp it felt like the forest itself was holding its breath. Even Bubu dimmed slightly.

Then came another sound— closer this time.

"B-Bubu..." Isabella whispered, clutching Glimora tighter. "Tell me that was the wind."

"That," Bubu said flatly, "was not the wind."

"Great. Just great." Isabella stood up immediately, dusting her skirt off and starting to walk as if she’d been planning to all along. "See? I’m moving. Totally fine. Not scared. Just— uh— not staying here anymore because the air is weird."

"I thought so," Bubu hummed smugly.

"Oh, shut up," she muttered, quickening her pace.

"I’m not scared," she whispered again, hugging Glimora tighter. "I just don’t want to die ugly."

"You already look—"

"Finish that sentence, Bubu, and I swear I’ll eat you."

⸻

They walked for a while, and just when Isabella thought maybe, just maybe, her nerves would calm down, she saw it.

The mist.

Thick, silver-white, curling in the distance like fingers reaching out from another realm.

She stopped dead. "Okay... am I supposed to be here?" she asked slowly, her voice rising with every word.

Bubu didn’t answer immediately, which was never a good sign.

"Bubu," she pressed, "don’t tell me that’s— oh no. Oh no. That’s a creature base, isn’t it? That’s some kind of demonic Airbnb, right? Don’t lie to me, Bubu. Is that where Satan rents out property?"

Bubu’s sigh could’ve powered an entire kingdom. "Host, please stop being dramatic."

"Stop being dramatic? DRAMATIC?" Isabella pointed at the fog like it had personally wronged her. "There is glowing smoke in front of me, Bubu. Glowing. Nothing good ever glows unless it’s jewelry or soup."

"Relax," Bubu said, in the tone of someone who was absolutely not relaxing. "That mist belongs to the Lunareen."

"...The Luna-what-now?"

"The Lunareen," Bubu repeated. "A group of serpentine sea women—half-woman, half-snake—who inhabit the deeper regions of the mountain’s base. Usually in coral grottos, moonlit pools—"

"Wait—did you say snake?"

"Yes."

"Oh, hell no." Isabella turned right around. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope. I’ve already dealt with fanged goat children this week, Bubu. I’m not signing up for part two featuring slippery mermaids. Goodbye."

"Host—"

"No, no, don’t even—"

"Host—"

"I said goodbye!"

"Host!"

Isabella froze mid-step.

"What?" she hissed, glaring.

"Here are your facts, Host. You’ll need them."

Isabella’s eyes widened. She’ll be needed what facts? Why would she be needing them?!

⸻

🐍 The Lunareen

Type: Serpentine sea women — half-woman, half-snake.

Habitat: Deep ocean caves, moonlit shores, coral grottos.

Temperament: Seductive, territorial, vengeful toward men, unpredictable with women.

⸻

"Okay," Isabella muttered, "they sound like my kind of people."

Bubu ignored her again.

⸻

⚔️ Strengths

• Hypnotic Voice: Their songs lure any listener into a trance.

• Crushing Tail: Long, powerful tails can coil and crush ships or prey.

• Illusion Magic: Can mimic loved ones’ voices, change form underwater.

• Bioluminescence: Their scales can blind enemies or lure victims.

• Water Sovereignty: Command sea creatures, summon whirlpools.

• Immortality in Water: They don’t age or die unless removed from the sea.

⸻

Isabella blinked. Then blinked again. "Oh, that’s lovely. So basically—pretty, powerful, and impossible to kill. Love that for me."

Bubu continued mercilessly.

⸻

💔 Weaknesses

• Sunlight dries and cracks their tails.

• Silver burns their skin and silences their song.

• Silence weakens them entirely.

• Love kills them—apparently, the sea hates competition.

• Fresh water dissolves their scales painfully.

⸻

"Wait, wait, wait." Isabella raised a finger. "Love kills them? Love? As in—’I like you, here’s a flower’ kind of love?"

"Yes," Bubu said. "Very poetic."

"Poetic?! That’s horrifying!"

"Perspective, Host."

"Oh, I’ll give you perspective," she muttered darkly.

⸻

💀 Behavior

• Men: Tempt, toy with, then eat.

• Women: Judge by heart — help or destroy.

• Songs: Lure victims or mourn their dead.

• Form: Human upper body, snake lower half (10–15 ft).

• Clan: Live in Covens of the Coil, led by a High Seraph.

⸻

There was silence.

A long, awkward, world-ending silence.

Even the birds stopped singing.

Isabella blinked once. Then twice. Slowly, she turned to Bubu with the fakest smile in history. "Perfect," she said sweetly. "Then I’ll just be turning around now."

"Ah-ah, nope," Bubu said cheerfully. "You’ve been assigned a mission that requires go there."

Isabella’s entire soul left her body. "A what?!"

Glimora, bless her tiny heart, whimpered softly and hid her face against Isabella’s arm as if to say, she’s about to explode again, isn’t she?

Isabella took a deep breath, her voice shaking as she said, "Bubu, I swear to every moon, sun, and mountain in this world—if you make me go near those snake women, I will reprogram you into a toaster."

Bubu’s screen flickered. "Host, please. You’d burn your bread."

"Don’t test me!"

But it was too late. The mist ahead of them pulsed faintly, whispering like a heartbeat.

And somewhere deep inside it, something hissed.

The air thickened.

The light dimmed.

Even the wind held its breath.

And Isabella—glaring daggers at Bubu, clutching Glimora tight—knew one horrifying truth:

Whatever this "task" was, she was absolutely, definitely going to regret it.