Rhys pinned the beautiful, silver-haired girl to the ashen ground. Her light blue eyes were wide with shock.
A hint of anger was now mixing with the surprise. Her pale cheeks were flushed with a light red colour. The girl struggled slightly under him.
She was strong, but Rhys had already completed his preparation.
[Soul-flow regulation array successfully activated.]
His lips curled up into a cold smile. He immediately jumped back from the ground. Standing a few feet away, he stared down at the girl.
Her eyes showed confusion at first. Then, that confusion turned into surprise.
"How did you do it so quickly?" she asked. There was no fear in her voice, just curiosity. She then sniffed the air, her small nose twitching.
"Moon-glow moss, laughing ghost fungus, shadowcat saliva, and powdered riverstone," she listed the ingredients perfectly.
Her eyes, when they looked at him again, held a new expression. He thought it looked like respect.
"You have distracted me with these... not even with a complete potion. Human, you are really smart."
Rhys felt a little smug.
"They weren’t potent alone," she continued. "But together, they can intensify emotions. It creates a veil over a person’s true intent. But they only work for a few seconds after they are mixed." Her brow furrowed in thought.
Her gaze then landed on the robe that was covering her body.
"You poisoned me by staining the substance on this robe," she said. "And since it successfully affected me, it must have been at full potency. That means you mixed it within a few seconds. But I did not see you do so." Her voice trailed off.
Rhys felt his own heartbeat increase. The smug feeling on his face disappeared. The shadow-sting dagger appeared in his hand.
Without thinking, he plunged the dagger deep into her throat. A gurgling sound escaped her lips. She stared straight at him without blinking.
[Why did you do that?]
’She sounds smart...’
[Will you kill every smart person?]
’If they have an ounce of a chance to become an enemy, yes.’
Rhys waited for the notification of a kill. It did not come. He felt a cold knot of dread in his stomach.
’System, why aren’t you announcing her death?’ he asked in his mind.
[...]
The System was silent.
’She isn’t dead?...’
He then moved again. Bringing the dagger down, he cleanly cut off her head. Her head rolled towards his legs. He kicked it into the distance.
’Now that seems fine,’ he thought, trying to calm himself.
[...]
The System remained silent.
’Still not dead?’
"Human, you are so rude."
Rhys jumped back in shock. He whirled around to see her head floating in the air. All the silver hair on it danced like snakes.
The sight made his skin crawl.
"If I said that was a misunderstanding, would you believe me?" Rhys tried to put on the most handsome smile he could manage.
She just glared at him without saying a word. Rhys could feel a dangerous cold starting to radiate from her.
The ash around them started to swirl faster and faster. Rhys knew he had truly messed up now.
’Should I dig out her heart too?’ he wondered desperately.
Her floating head seemed to follow his gaze down to her body.
"You can try," she said, her voice flat and cold.
"Haha. How could I do that?" he laughed nervously. "I don’t like to force girls. Especially not pretty girls. I would rather they willingly offer their hearts to me."
He blinked, then hurled the dagger down. It flew through the air and stabbed directly into her headless body.
Splash.
The dagger pierced the exact spot where her heart should be. He raised his head to lock eyes with her again. Both of them continued staring for a few minutes.
The silence was heavy and awkward. Rhys finally coughed.
"Can we speak now?" he asked, clearing his throat.
[You are really rude,] the System commented in his mind.
’Shut up. How the heck did that array not work on her?’
[It worked, actually. That is why her body still has not moved.]
Rhys peeked at her motionless body, then back at the obviously angry floating head.
’So that’s why I am still alive.’
[Yes.]
"Human, how dare you...."
[Courting death...]
"Shut up!" Rhys shouted into the air. The girl froze. The System froze. Rhys coughed.
"You continue..."
Silence.
Rhys laughed awkwardly. The situation was now a tense standoff. Her head floated in the air, glaring at him.
Her headless body lay on the ground, pinned by the invisible power of the Soul-flow regulation array.
"Do you need help rejoining?" Rhys pointed at her head, then at her body. The frustration was evident in his body language.
That was the final straw. Like a glass mirror shattering, the girl’s expression changed. Tears flowed from her eyes as she wept.
"H-human. Sniff. You are so rude. Sniff. I just wanted to talk to you and you... sniff..."
[...]
’...’
’There is no way I can kill her, right?’
[I do not think so. But analysis suggests her body is losing life energy at an alarming rate.]
Sure enough, wrinkles started to form all over her body.
[It seems floating in the air costs her a considerable amount of life energy.]
’So she might die as long as she can’t rejoin?’
[That is not certain. Do not forget she was just a corpse before devouring your life energy. She is also stronger than you; do not forget how easily she froze that Feral wolf.]
"Why aren’t you speaking? Human, you are so rude!" Her furry ears dropped as her eyes reddened with tears.
"How am I rude when you were the one to attack me first!" Rhys acted indignant while secretly continuing the conversation with the System.
"That’s because you intruded when I was hunting! You smelled tasty, better than that disgusting old man’s smell."
"Disgusting old man?"
[System analysing... It seems she means the owner of this labyrinth.]
’I know.’
"So what if I smelled good? Do people walk around devouring the lifespans of others just because they smell good?" Rhys asked back.
"That..." Her face showed confusion.
"If you had asked politely, I would have offered it to you. But you forced yourself on me. That’s a big red flag for a fellow human."
"But I am not human..." she bit her lip.
"You look human, though. That’s enough."
She went silent, appearing to be about to cry again. Rhys cleared his throat.
"Well, since you look so pitiful and because I am a magnificent man, I am forgiving you. Let’s write off our enmity."
[That’s a wonderful piece of tactical manipulation, Host!]
He watched her eyes shine with happiness upon hearing his words. Then, biting her lip, she asked.
"Then... can you feed me?"
"What?"
[What?]
Author note:
Sorry for the late Chapter. Don’t forget to drop power stones or golden tickets if you like the story. That will help alot in the exposure the books may get.