Chapter 354: Could I Possibly Like Him?
Shaye Shub-Niggurath was bewildered by her own reaction.
She couldn’t understand her sudden interest in Qin Chu. While the Hero’s role was important to humans and Demon Beasts, she, a Witch, didn’t care.
Whether he brought hope to humanity or was torn apart by the Demon King, whether humans or Demon Beasts ultimately ruled this world… it made no difference to her.
She had left the Demon King’s Palace for one reason: to find the imposter. And after arriving in the Imperial City, she had another objective: to find the one who had set that humiliating trap.
She wasn’t a fool. Despite her lack of personal experience, she possessed the requisite knowledge. The thought of experiencing… that… before even losing her virginity mortified her.
Her hatred for the perpetrator was even greater than her annoyance at the imposter.
She suspected the mysterious Horus was responsible.
Despite these two objectives being paramount, she had felt an inexplicable attraction to the Hero upon meeting him.
As if invisible threads connected them.
His gentle smile, his handsome face, his attentiveness to her preferences, his respectful demeanor…
He was so much more appealing than that… baboon, Carlos.
Poor Carlos, unknowingly insulted again.
Could it be… that she liked him? Love at first sight?
The thought startled her, but she quickly dismissed it. She felt more suspicion than a racing heart when she thought of him.
But he had undoubtedly made a stronger impression on her than any other man.
While acknowledging his charm and charisma, she couldn’t explain the strange sense of familiarity. And what puzzled her even more was this intense curiosity, a feeling she had never experienced towards any other man.
It was this curiosity that had led her to follow him, to discover his residence, to observe him, hoping to understand his allure.
She had seen him leaving the Residence with several women, under the cover of night.
So, he was just like the other powerful men in the human world, surrounding himself with beautiful women?
She felt a flicker of disappointment, her opinion of him slightly diminished.
But her curiosity remained, and she followed them. While the Hero and his companions were strong, they were still no match for her.
As long as she remained hidden, they wouldn’t detect her.
She watched as they moved through the city, then left, heading beyond the walls.
What was he planning, sneaking around like this?
Her curiosity intensified, and she quickened her pace.
They disappeared into the forest. After a while, a powerful magical fluctuation erupted, and they vanished.
Shaye’s crimson eyes narrowed. Her form flickered, and she reappeared where they had been, her face grim.
Faint magical residue lingered in the air.
A spatial teleportation array?
She was intimately familiar with such magic. It was her own creation.
Ordinary spatial magic wouldn’t have surprised her, but this… this was her spell.
She had never taught it to anyone. How had the Hero learned it?
Her curiosity and suspicion intensified. There was something strange about this Hero.
But it seemed he wasn’t aware of her presence, or of the teleportation array’s… unique properties.
Her eyes glowed crimson in the moonlight.
A sly smile touched her lips. She extended her hands, sensing the residual magic, determining the array’s destination and distance.
While not entirely accurate, it was enough.
She opened her eyes, a smug smile.
She flicked her wrist, and a twig rose from the ground, drawing patterns in the dirt.
Then, with a snap of her fingers, she vanished.
…
A heavy, oppressive atmosphere hung over the Imperial City, a palpable tension, like a balloon about to burst.
Carlos, the president of the Adventurer’s Guild, still seethed from his earlier encounter with Shaye and Qin Chu. They had completely ignored him, treating him like… air. No, like a baboon. He couldn’t just stand there and watch them go off to a hotel…
That night, he had received an invitation from Loseweisse.
The woman who seemed more like a Witch than a Saintess had offered him an opportunity, instructing him to visit her at the Holy See.
It had been almost half a month since then.
He had searched for Shaye, mobilizing the Adventurer’s Guild, but she was nowhere to be found.
As if she had been a figment of his imagination.
The Hero had also disappeared, supposedly on a Demon Beast hunting expedition.
Both gone at the same time…?
Carlos’s imagination ran wild. Hunting Demon Beasts? They were probably off somewhere together.
Perhaps the city’s hotels weren’t exciting enough for them.
Maybe they wanted to experience the… pleasures of the forest, the riverside, the mountaintop, the open fields…
The images infuriated him, his body trembling with rage, his eyes blazing.
“Damn it!”
He roared, kicking open his door and storming towards the Holy See.
While he was powerful, he had to admit that the Hero, capable of single-handedly defeating Eldridge, the Demon Beast Second Prince, was beyond him. He had faced Eldridge in battle and been utterly defeated.
He wanted to know what “opportunity” Loseweisse had for him.
He soon reached the Holy See, easily gaining access as the president of the Adventurer’s Guild and a devout follower of the Goddess of Holy Light, heading straight for the Saintess’s chambers.
On the top floor, Augustus stood by a window, a cold smile on his face, watching Carlos approach.
He had underestimated Loseweisse.
She was more capable than he had thought, even recruiting the president of the Adventurer’s Guild. She was clearly determined to kill Qin Chu.
What a pity.
He had a rather favorable impression of the Hero.
If not for his desire to obtain the Hero’s body, he wouldn’t want him dead.
He shook his head, his gaze returning to his reflection in the mirror. His usually hunched posture was now straight, the wrinkles on his face less pronounced, his white hair now tinged with a dark grey.
He looked years younger.
Carlos reached the Saintess’s chambers and knocked lightly.
The door opened automatically.
Loseweisse, her appearance pure and innocent, stood before him.
She smiled: “Mr. Carlos, your presence here suggests you’ve accepted my offer.”
Carlos took a deep breath, nodding: “What is this… opportunity you mentioned?”
She smiled, her hand sweeping across the table.
Seven scrolls appeared.
“Choose one.”
Chapter 355: Even I Can Be Yours
Seven scrolls lay on the table.
The temperature in the room plummeted.
Carlos shivered, goosebumps rising on his skin.
He was afraid.
He didn’t understand. They were just scrolls, yet they filled him with dread.
Loseweisse watched him, a faint smile on her lips, waiting for him to choose.
She didn’t rush him. He was already trapped by fate.
The seven scrolls, along with her valuables and her diary containing incriminating information, had been stolen. She had thought she would never see them again. But the night her divine heritage had been revealed, she had received another oracle, and the scrolls had reappeared.
And she now knew their true purpose.
They not only contained knowledge, but could also be used to create powerful and loyal servants.
Carlos was a suitable target. Controlling him meant controlling the Adventurer’s Guild and its thousands of members, a significant boost to her power, crucial for her plans to overthrow Augustus.
Carlos’s fingers trembled. He wanted to touch the scrolls, but he was also afraid. After a moment, he looked at Loseweisse: “Will touching these scrolls grant me power?”
She shook her head: “No, obtaining power isn’t that simple.”
“They offer an opportunity.”
“Whether you gain power depends on your own wisdom, ability, and talent.”
Carlos’s eyes narrowed: “Even so, it’s still a valuable opportunity. Why offer it to me?”
He wasn’t a fool. Such generosity was suspicious. There had to be a catch.
“I told you, I want your cooperation.”
“I want to become the Pope.”
Carlos was stunned.
He stared at her in disbelief. Her ambition was astonishing.
The Pope had always been a man. A female Pope was unprecedented, as shocking as a male Earth Mother.
He had underestimated her.
“To become Pope, I need to remove Augustus. While the scrolls have granted me power, it’s not enough to defeat him alone. I need help.”
“If you gain power from the scrolls, you’ll help me overthrow Augustus.”
“And in return, I’ll help you deal with the Hero, Qin Chu, so you can have Natia. How does that sound?”
“And… if you wish… even I can be yours,” she added, her voice suddenly seductive, her face flushing slightly, her eyes like silk.
In that moment, Carlos found her incredibly beautiful.
Second only to Shaye Shub-Niggurath.
His heart skipped a beat.
He took a deep breath.
Her offer seemed… genuine. She clearly wanted something from him.
And she had become much stronger, far surpassing his own level. This fueled his ambition and his desire to catch up.
As for whether he would continue cooperating with her after gaining power, becoming involved in the Holy See’s internal struggles… he would decide later.
He no longer hesitated. His gaze swept over the scrolls. They held the key to his future, the power he craved. He had to choose carefully.
But they all looked identical. He couldn’t sense any difference between them.
Let fate decide, then. He reached for a scroll.
Buzz…
The moment his fingers touched it, he felt a powerful pull, like a whirlpool, drawing his soul inwards.
His consciousness was dragged into a vast, empty darkness.
He panicked.
Then, a sudden burst of blue and purple flames erupted before him.
Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
The flames danced around him, their blue and purple hues enveloping him.
A distorted face materialized within the flames.
He screamed, a desperate, terrified sound.
He felt his eyes burning, as if blood was pouring from them.
His body was wracked with unimaginable pain.
His soul felt as if it were melting.
A sinister laugh echoed around him, accompanying his screams.
He was the master of deceit.
He was the weaver of fate!
He was the God of Trickery and Fate!
And all he desired… was chaos, pure, unadulterated chaos!
While this mortal seemed more suited for the God of Darkness, Blood, and Slaughter, he had chosen him.
So, his most loyal servant, bring him a glorious apocalypse.
Kill the ant whose fate he couldn’t see.
Carlos’s eyes exploded, blood streaming down his face.
…
Meanwhile, in the Snow Chain Mountains.
Shaye Shub-Niggurath’s face was grim.
She had been searching for a long time, and a chilling realization dawned upon her: she had been tricked.
Whether Qin Chu had known she was following him or it was simply his usual caution…
He had deliberately obscured the teleportation array’s magical signature, leading her astray.
She had wasted so much time searching these desolate mountains, and the thought of being fooled by a mere Hero, a human, infuriated her.
This wasn’t over.
She would make him pay.
…
In the Kasidar Truro Forest.
Qin Chu, Heloise, Iyeta, and Anthea searched through the dense forest.
While the soul fragment contained a description of the heart’s location, it was vague.
And the Kasidar Truro Forest was vast. Finding anything within it was a difficult task.
Despite their strength and their efforts, they hadn’t found anything yet.
Swoosh!
A crimson dagger suddenly materialized behind Qin Chu, plunging towards his back.
Before he could react, Anthea’s spear pierced the shadowy assassin. With a flick of her wrist, she flung the grotesque corpse away.
It landed with a sickening thud, its body twitching and contorting before finally falling still.
It was likely one of the creatures Carlos had mentioned, encountered by the rogue adventurer.
It looked less like a human and more like a desiccated monkey, its body covered in a mold-like fuzz, a walking corpse.
Yet, it wore tattered scraps of clothing and carried well-made weapons: daggers, bows, swords, spears, staves…
Some even wore storage rings.
They were the remains of adventurers who had entered the forest seeking treasure, power, or even immortality.
They had died here.
But death wasn’t the end.
Their corpses still roamed the forest, preying on those who entered, just as they themselves had once been preyed upon.
Such creatures were numerous, a testament to the countless lives lost within this forest over the centuries.
But today, they had encountered their nemesis.
A trail of corpses marked their path.
Qin Chu noticed Iyeta’s acquisitive nature. She collected every storage ring from the fallen adventurers, her face lighting up with each acquisition. She seemed to be making quite a haul.
He would have her share a small portion of her loot. Keeping 70% for himself wasn’t unreasonable.
They continued deeper into the forest.
Shaye emerged from Qin Chu’s back, her gaze sweeping over the surroundings. They had reached the forest’s central region.
A faint red mist hung between the trees, growing denser as they approached the center.
It was like swirling blood, its metallic scent thick in the air.
“Be careful…” Shaye said, her voice grim. “I sense… we’re close.”
