Free Web Novel“Meow~”
“Hm?”
Ariel spun around abruptly, instantly on guard as crimson flames ignited across the Heavenly Flame greatsword in her hand.
“Meow meow meow...”
Only after realizing it was merely a stray little wildcat wandering by from somewhere did she finally relax.
“So it’s just a cat? Where’d you come from?”
Ariel grabbed the cat outright without the slightest concern for whether it consented, immediately rubbing and squishing its chubby little face.
The kitten flailed and bared its claws helplessly, yet looked utterly adorable instead of threatening.
“Perhaps it’s one of the native creatures living within these ruins?”
Several wisps of smoke drifted upward from the ancient ring on Ariel’s finger before gradually forming the silhouette of a hazy figure.
The figure possessed a graceful, mature feminine shape, its curves enough to make Ariel deeply envious.
“This ruin has been preserved far too perfectly. It probably wasn’t affected much by the great chaos thousands of years ago, so the place may have already developed its own ecosystem. It’s not strange for cats to still be alive here.”
Peles stretched lazily.
Within the drifting particles of light, her stunning figure looked even more infuriatingly perfect.
Behind her, the dark forest stretched endlessly into the distance. Every ancient tree was impossibly massive, towering straight into the clouds, while the dense branches overhead blocked out the sky entirely, leaving the surroundings dim as night.
For some reason...
Ariel suddenly thought of the dangerous forest once known as the Forest of Death and Doom.
That was a place which had left a particularly deep impression on her.
Not only because she had accidentally ventured deep into certain ruins while searching for the missing Liya back then—
but also because, according to later deductions...
the childhood sweetheart she had carefully raised in her “fish pond” for an entire decade had been stolen away by that damned yellow-haired bastard during that exact period!
Damn it!
Why hadn’t she realized it sooner back then?!
If only she had discovered it earlier, then... then...
then she definitely would have gotten ahead of Liya first!
Otherwise, how could things have ended up like they did earlier in bed, where because she joined the latest and had the least experience, literally everyone could step all over her?
Even Liya, that shameless little seductress...
Damn it, she had genuinely believed Liya was pure before!
Who would’ve thought...
The moment she remembered it, the flames that had long lain dormant in Ariel’s chest suddenly ignited once more.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—never underestimate a poor young girl!
Her repeated defeats earlier might have looked humiliating, but one day she would absolutely win everything back!
All of you shameless temptresses, just wait for me!
“What’s wrong? Thinking about him again?”
Seeing Ariel suddenly growing irritated all by herself, Peles teased lightly.
“Hmph, who would think about that guy? That damned yellow-haired jerk ran off on his own and left me behind at home.”
Ariel crossed her arms and snorted coldly.
“Oh my, really?”
Peles covered her lips with a smile.
“But I never said who it was. Why did you confess on your own?”
“Teacher!”
Ariel’s cheeks flushed red as she stomped her foot.
“Why do you always do this...”
“Because my adorable disciple has become more and more womanly lately. It’s getting harder and harder not to tease you.”
Peles’s hazy body shifted slightly, symbolically dodging the greatsword Ariel swung at her.
“But speaking of which, if you miss him so much, wouldn’t it have been easier to just wait for him at the ducal estate? Why come all the way out here and suffer instead?”
“Hmph, haven’t I already said this before? I refuse to become some decorative flower he keeps locked away. That guy’s growth speed is ridiculous. If I don’t work harder, he might actually leave me behind.”
“Fast...”
Peles sighed emotionally.
“Hearing that word come from your mouth really is rare.”
Ever since becoming this girl’s teacher, Ariel’s cultivation speed among her peers had been utterly unrivaled. She had always been the one astonishing everyone else.
And yet within only a few short years, that once-hopeless playboy had suddenly risen to prominence and advanced at an even more terrifying pace until he stood shoulder to shoulder beside Ariel.
...If she did not work harder, he truly might surpass her someday.
That was not an exaggeration.
“In any case, there’s no way I’m getting left behind. And I’ll repay every bit of humiliation from before!”
Ariel clenched her fist fiercely.
A powerful aura erupted from her body. Judging by the density of her battle aura, she had already become noticeably stronger compared to several months earlier.
“Humiliation?”
Peles tilted her head.
“Cough, nothing.”
Ariel coughed awkwardly before forcing herself serious again.
“Let’s keep moving.”
“You’re certain you want to continue deeper?”
Now that they had returned to serious matters, Peles’s expression immediately grew solemn as well.
She turned toward the endless darkness hidden deep within the forest.
“I can sense something terrifying inside there. Something extremely dangerous.”
“Even you think it’s dangerous, Teacher?”
“If I were still in my prime, naturally I wouldn’t fear it. But now...”
Peles shook her head softly.
“With your current strength, there’s no need to fear anything below the Crowned level. As for me, I can no longer provide you much help. At this stage, aside from some knowledge and experience, there’s little I can still do for you.”
“Don’t worry, Teacher. Leave the rest to me.”
Ariel proudly raised her chin, resting the greatsword on one shoulder without the slightest fear.
“The greater the danger, the greater the reward. My instincts are telling me this place contains an opportunity massive enough to completely transform me. Right, little kitty?”
“Meow... RAAAGH!”
The gentle cat’s cry suddenly transformed into a savage roar.
Soft fur split apart as grotesque bone spikes burst outward. Flesh swelled violently.
In the blink of an eye, the adorable little kitten transformed into a horrifying monster.
Yet Ariel seemed to have anticipated it already.
Her prepared strike instantly collided with the creature.
“Just wait for me, you damned Muen Campbell!”
Ariel shouted fiercely, long hair flying behind her, heroic and dazzling as a single sword strike cleaved the monster cleanly in half.
That’s right!
When she returned, she would absolutely use this newfound strength to spank that yellow-haired bastard hard and avenge the grudge of having her own rear smacked red before!
Ariel always kept her promises!
......
......
“That feeling really was amazing.”
Morning.
Muen slowly opened his eyes, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above him.
His clear eyes, completely free of lust now, instead carried deep melancholy.
He was still reminiscing.
Even though he had already entered full sage mode, the Empress’s war drums still filled him with endless longing.
If not for reaching his limit, Muen might truly have wanted to remain forever drifting upon that warm sea of chrysanthemums without ever leaving.
Unfortunately...
“Sigh. Battling four great experts in one night... even after giving it everything I had, defeat was ultimately inevitable.”
Muen sighed mournfully.
Drained.
Once again...
completely drained dry.
Although he was no longer who he used to be and now possessed enough strength to turn the tables even against Her Majesty the Empress herself, one should not forget that before facing the Empress, the first three wicked women had already thoroughly ravaged him beforehand.
Against such relentless rotation battles, even an indestructible body would eventually exhaust itself.
Fortunately, while his body had been completely drained, his spirit had mostly recovered after resting this long.
Reaching beside himself, he discovered that the Empress who had spent such a passionate night with him had already left at some point.
Even after ending up in that state, she had still woken earlier than him...
Most likely because last night had been too embarrassing. Even the cold, aloof Empress probably felt somewhat shy about facing him afterward.
How adorable.
Recalling the delicious taste of that little wildcat from last night, even the thoroughly exhausted Muen felt heat rising faintly within his lower abdomen once again.
“Hopefully there’ll be another chance in the future.”
A smile curved across Muen’s lips.
After tentatively offering a brief prayer toward the goddess, he quickly adjusted his mood and returned to the important matter at hand.
Namely...
his current condition.
Ever since waking up, he had immediately been pinned to the bed and “abused” by four wicked women in succession, so only now did Muen finally have time to conduct a proper inspection of his physical state.
According to Celicia, he had been unconscious for three entire days.
Aside from last night’s chaotic battle, Muen’s final memory still remained at the moment he successfully reversed time back to the first stage and encountered Archbishop Ision.
He remembered that after being threatened by him, Archbishop Ision immediately rushed off to fight the Witch of Repentance.
The two battled from the western district all the way to the eastern district, from the ground into the sky itself. Their strengths were extremely close, making the battle terrifyingly intense.
They had nearly beaten each other’s brains out.
As for what Muen himself had been doing back then...
naturally, he had been cheering Archbishop Ision on!
Fight! Beat her harder! Yes, right in the face! I’ve hated that old woman’s face for ages already! Those wrinkles are deep enough to crush flies, yet she still acts young!
Muen remembered that his verbal support had actually produced excellent results.
At least three separate times, the Witch of Repentance had tried bypassing Archbishop Ision entirely to attack him directly, only for the Archbishop to seize the opportunity and beat her until she coughed blood repeatedly.
The way that old woman looked at him afterward...
either the love ran incredibly deep, or the hatred did.
However, aside from that, there was basically nothing else Muen could do.
After all, he simply could not interfere in battles at that level.
Nor was there any need for him to interfere.
As long as Archbishop Ision remained alive, the Salvation Society’s plan had already completely failed. Both the Empire and the Church would then be able to push into the city at maximum speed.
At that point, the Salvation Society no longer had spare attention to care about him. Their priority had become escaping the city immediately.
Muen still did not know what the final outcome had been.
Because shortly afterward...
he lost consciousness.
The blackout came suddenly, yet also reasonably enough.
Perhaps his mental energy had finally run dry.
Or perhaps, although every rewind restored his body completely, the tension within his mind had remained stretched taut the entire time regardless.
And once everything finally settled...
that tightly stretched string snapped completely.
Thus, Muen collapsed unconscious.
But regardless of why he had fainted, and regardless of the city’s current situation, his greatest priority now remained confirming his own state.
Because the Holy Lord of Salvation really had slapped him to death.
He truly had transformed into the Black Sun.
And he truly had returned through time reversal afterward.
All of it was real.
Therefore, he absolutely had to confirm...
what exactly he was now.
He was probably still mostly human.
Otherwise, he could not possibly have battled those four evil women for an entire night yesterday in his noble effort to cleanse sin from the world.
But...
aside from that?
He wanted answers.
Thus, Muen slowly closed his eyes.
