Chapter 56

Was it a dream?

Absolutely not. It felt too vivid, squeezing not just her flesh but her very soul with an overwhelming pressure.

Lin’s steady heartbeat suddenly raced to its limits. Her senses sharpened, her body stiffened, and a chill ran down her neck.

The instinct of the water spirit in Lin’s mind rang out like a loud alarm bell. Every nerve in her body screamed silently.

That thing… It’s dangerous.

She needs to run away now!

But Lin couldn’t even twitch.

Because the aura of death was pressing down on her entire body.

The cold death qi that had settled around her crushed her lungs mercilessly. Breathing itself became a struggle.

“Cryyy…”

Lin stumbled back. It was an unconscious movement.

She cautiously eyed possible escape routes while keeping an eye on the Death God.

The nearest escape route was the door right behind her. Lin felt confident, having spent her entire life running away.

She crouched low and gathered all her strength into her legs. She pressed her feet firmly against the ground, her curled toes gripping the rough wooden floor tightly.

For that one explosive moment of speed.

The air was thick with tension when the Death God made its move. The blade of the sickle fell like a guillotine, delivering a verdict of execution.

Snap!

At that same instant, Lin unleashed every ounce of strength she could muster, and her foot pushed hard against the ground.

The water spirits possessed extraordinary physical abilities even in their basic form. Even as a young girl, her strength matched that of a human knight’s enhanced body.

Crack! The wooden floor gave way under the pressure as Lin launched herself forward with great power.

Perfect escape!

Clang!

“Huff!”

But it was not to be. Her body jerked mid-air. It was the chain. Karami had procured from the blacksmith a sturdy chain.

In her intense anxiety, Lin had completely forgotten about the chain wrapped around her ankle. She fell with a thud.

The sickle fell.

Thanks to the chain, perhaps. The Death God’s attack was aimed toward the door, as if predicting her escape route. Had she not been stopped by the chain, her upper and lower body might have been permanently separated.

Still, there was no room for relief. The attack of the Deathle God was not something visible, and it did not end with that.

Sweeeeet!

The wind howled with chaotic ferocity, as if the Death God was creating magic that interfered with the laws of the world, producing something from nothing. A razor-sharp wind, much like the sword qi of a skilled swordsman, surged forward.

“Cryyy!”

Numerous cuts appeared all over Lin’s body, blood gushing out. The inn room was torn apart like firewood. Even the chain was severed by the sword wind.

The moment the restraining chain was cut, Lin’s leg moved in a futile spinning motion before darting swiftly toward the door.

The Death God glided through the wall and chased after the fleeing fox.

“Hmm…?”

Karami woke up right after the chaos unfolded.

His eyes, just waking from sleep and still in a state between being asleep and awake, suddenly snapped wide open. The wall was blasted through, and pieces of debris were scattered across the floor. Wind and rain flooded into the room.

It wasn’t much of an issue to him. He wasn’t particularly shocked since it wasn’t his property.

But Lin was gone.

All that was left in the open door was the chain cut cleanly, lying there by itself.

“What is this…?”

Tap tap.

The sound of hurried footsteps approached.

Seira rushed into the room, her face deathly pale.

“Are you alright?”

“Uh… I’m fine, but what on earth is going on?”

“I heard commotion and came out, only to see Hongho being chased by a Death God. I thought you were finally receiving divine punishment, but it seems you’re unharmed.”

The inn room looked like a battlefield torn apart by a fierce battle, yet strangely untouched was the area around Karami.

“You’re saying Lin is being chased by a death god?”

“Yes. For a Death God of that magnitude to suddenly appear must surely be caused by Hongho’s misfortune.”

Seira, who had brushed past the Death God, vaguely sensed its energy.

Her legs almost gave out, rendering her unable to resist as death loomed dangerously close. The Death God exuded an overpowering presence that made any intention to fight futile.

There was no doubt it must be due to Hongho’s calamity. That was no ordinary Death God; it had transcended the typical realm.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Karami was already changing out of his sleepwear, preparing to leave. Seira could not grasp his intention and stared blankly.

“You’re going to chase it?”

“Are you kidding? A slave is in danger, and it’s only natural for me, as the master, to go and rescue them, isn’t it?”

A water spirit like Seira doesn’t particularly like dogs. She finds their barking unpleasant. Likewise, Karami’s words right now sounded just as annoying to her.

Even if she identified Lin’s location, it wasn’t as if Karami could do anything about it. Since he was completely inexperienced in combat, it was an understandable statement.

“You’ll just end up being another sacrifice. Stop wasting your energy and stay put.”

There were two possible courses of action at this moment. Either get help from the knights before greater damage occurred or simply wait for Hongho to perish, the source of misfortune.

Boom!

A rumble of vibration resounded. Through the broken wall on the other side, chaos erupted in the residential area.

“There!”

With a casual disregard for Seira’s warnings, Karami sprinted out right away.

There was no trace of a smirk on his face. What kind of confidence did he have? Did he not even know if he could survive?

‘Die or don’t die.’

She had done enough monitoring. If he chose to cross the line of death, she would just report it and switch to easier administrative work. But…

‘…Assessments must be done accurately.’

Karami, the habitual abandoner of slaves.

She would personally witness and document his repugnant actions.

Seira somewhat justified this rationale to herself and pursued him from behind.

***

“Huff, huff…!”

In the city night, only the sound of torrential rain was audible.

Hastened footsteps split the gloom.

To Lin, who was unfamiliar with the landscape here—where the textures underfoot were roads rather than dirt and stones—it all felt incredibly strange. But nonetheless, she put her lifetime honing of escape skills to good effect.

Taking full advantage of her small build and her cat-like flexibility, she skillfully squeezed through slits barely wide enough to fit her, slipping between walls and occasionally scrambling up steep walls to clamber on rooftops.

Her body’s movements were light and raw, reminiscent of a beast. This agility was usually enough to evade most pursuers, but the Death God did not fall into the category of “most.”

She knew it was coming after her without even looking back. Without even hearing it.

The Death God was chasing her, sprinkling the scent of death specifically for her. The scent made her heart race like a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

Why is it chasing me?

Lin suddenly asked herself. She had thought that way before. The monsters in Baeyun Gorge were just a location issue. If she escaped here, she might be safe.

But the Death God chasing her with evident hostility shattered that slender thread of hope.

Misfortune was like an endless shackle intertwined with life. As long as she bore the mark of the pink tail, there was no escape.

While gasping for breath and running forward, Lin abruptly turned her head. The Death God, which had been pursuing her like a leech, was nowhere to be seen.

Where did it go?

Did I shake it off?

It was a mistake. She should know that not everything visible matters. She could still feel the scent of death.

At that moment.

Boom!

The wall next to her exploded and collapsed, creating a massive cloud of dust. Cracks ran through the bricks, scattering them in all directions, and from within the chaos emerged the azure Death God.

The sickle of the Death God gleamed like a blade that could cut through the flow of time, drenched in rain. The shock wave enveloped Lin.

“Kryyy!”

Lin’s body soared high into the air and then crashed down. It bounced off the ground like a stone skipping on water.

The small body absorbed the full impact. Shaking and trying to get up, Lin fell again.

“Keeyyy…”

Lin’s pitiful cries were pitiable, but useless against the Death God.

The azure eyes of the Death God were fixed on Lin. That distant gaze seemed to pierce through Lin’s body and into her soul, as though it had a specific interest in her soul.

The chains wrapped around her soul.

The Death God slowly stretched out its hand.

Lin shut her eyes tightly.

“Now?”

“Now.”

The puddle of rainwater reflected what emerged—a chimneysweep standing against the moonlight. A werewolf silhouetted against the moonlight.

With ash-colored long hair fluttering, Seira hurled herself forward like a bullet, transforming her arm partially into water to claw downward forcefully.

Snap!

Seira swung the Death God’s arm aside. During the moment it hesitated, she turned around, gripping Lin by the collar to give her a spin.

“Here.”

She threw her.

“Ha ha ha, even without your words, this much is—Cough!”

Waiting nearby, Karami tried to catch Lin with his arms wide open, but with his flimsy constitution, it was too much. Both he and Lin were sent flying backward by the impact.

Karami slid on the rain-soaked ground, but even in the chaos, his arms firmly cradled Lin.

“Keeeng…?”

The chill of Lin’s body was met with a gentle warmth. The smell that reached her nose was calming in a strange way. Lin lifted her head to confirm it.

Karami’s soaked hair hung limply like seaweed, and his clothes were in disarray. Nonetheless, he wore a smile as he looked down at her.

“You’re really good at running away. But I would prefer if you didn’t run away from me…?”

“Keeeng?”

Karami stroked Lin’s head as he stood up.

Seira agilely evaded attacks from all sides with her nimble footwork. She stepped on the handle of the scythe, using it as leverage to jump backward and land gracefully by Karami’s side.

“I did what you wanted…but what do you plan to do from here? This isn’t a normal Death God. Even calling in all the knights wouldn’t guarantee a victory.”

While Seira kept her fur bristled in readiness, Karami silently stared at the Death God. Even from a distance, it somehow seemed familiar.

“Father, even you can’t just recklessly swing your scythe at my slave.”

“Father…?”

The Death God, with tranquil azure eyes, also gazed intently at Karami.

Their gazes locked in the air. Seira looked back and forth between the two, not understanding.

The Death God was the first to look away. It turned its head, seemingly looking at something, then gracefully flew toward it.

The situation ended anticlimactically, leaving the tension in the air somewhat awkward. Seira vaguely sensed that Karami had something to do with it.

“You….”

“Ah, look how cold you are. Let’s go back quickly. The child might catch a cold.”

Karami made a convenient excuse and began walking toward the inn. Seira stared fixedly at his retreating figure with narrowed eyes.

It needs to be corrected.

Karami might be even more dangerous than the evaluations known to the world suggest.