Chapter 324: LIKE HELL WE DO, YOU JERK!!!
"What the fuck was happening here!!" Pearl shouted, her voice echoing through the desolate landscape as dark energy began to coil around Eli's unconscious form.
Arlyne, equally alarmed, took a cautious step back from Eli's prone body, "Should we try to pull him out of this...whatever it is?" she asked, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and confusion.
"ggrrr" Pearl, still trying to comprehend the bizarre scene unfolding before her, gritting her teeth.
The surrounding sand seemed to lose its vitality, turning black as if drained of life essence. It was a sight that instilled both awe and dread in the hearts of the two women.
"P-Princess Pearl, what should we do?" Arlyne stammered, her gaze fixed on Eli's convulsing form.
"I... I don't know," Pearl muttered, equally perplexed and frightened. This was her first encounter with such a phenomenon, and she had no idea what was happening to Eli.
"There were no human beings capable of sucking the life from others!" she exclaimed inwardly, grappling with the surreal reality unfolding around them.
After an agonizing moment, Eli's body returned to its normal state, providing a fleeting sense of relief.
However, the respite was short-lived as Asher Eli's form abruptly transformed into a reddish-black figure, shrouding him in an otherworldly aura.....
"!!!!"
"!!!!"
The women stood frozen in terror, their eyes wide as they witnessed this unexplainable metamorphosis.
"HELP ME!!"
"I AM SORRRYYYYY!!"
"LET US GOOOOO!!"
The echoes of haunting cries reverberated, heightening the tension and fear.
Now, both Pearl and Arlyne felt that fear called.... Death.
And it disappeared in a second....
"-ha-ha-ha-"
"-ha-ha-ha-"
Suddenly, they found themselves releasing breaths they hadn't realized they were holding.
Their faces flushed with a mix of lingering fear and confusion, and both Pearl and Arlyne clutched their necks instinctively as if trying to dispel the eerie sensation that lingered from the inexplicable event.
Arlyne, still trembling with dread, managed to stammer, "W-What 'Gulp' happened?" as her knees buckled, causing her to collapse to the ground.
'Thunk'
'Thunk'
Pearl, equally affected by the bizarre occurrence, struggled to catch her breath and found herself on her knees, eyes wide with fear.
"W-What was that thing?" Pearl whispered to herself, her mind swirling with fear and confusion.
Pearl snapped out of her fear and looked at Arlyne with slight embarrassment and coughed lightly.
Slowly regaining their composure, Pearl and Arlyne exchanged nods, silently agreeing to approach the fallen Asher Eli with caution.
They first used some sticks to touch Asher Eli's cheeks, ensuring there was no harm. Then, they called out with cautious concern:
"Eli?"
"Asher Eli?"
Pearl carefully poked his cheeks, but suddenly...
"ssshhh"
"FUCK!!!"
"HIKK!!!"
White particles materialized near Eli's heart before completely disappearing.
"Heheh.... It's getting weird, isn't it?" Pearl muttered with an idiotic expression, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.
"P-Princess?" Arlyne stuttered, seeing Pearl's weird expression.
Pearl coughed again to dispel her embarrassment, then looked at Eli in irritation, thinking, 'Tsk, because of him, I've been getting embarrassed in front of others!!'
Just as Pearl was about to poke him again,
"How long are you going to keep poking me?"
A stern voice echoed in the cave, making both Pearl and Arlyne flinch. They looked down and saw Eli slowly opening his...reddish-black eyes?
"Hmm?" Continue reading at m|v-l'e m,p| y- r
"...."
They were slightly taken aback, wondering if someone had possessed Eli. However, Eli's eyes soon returned to their normal ruby-red colour.
"Eli?" Pearl asked with a doubtful gaze.
"Yes"
"A-Asher Eli," Arlyne also asked with uncertainty.
"Yes...?"
But then suddenly,
""ELI!!""
"AAHHHH!!!"
They hurriedly hugged him, their faces wet with tears, crying like children. Eli, utterly perplexed, had a 'What the fuck happened?' expression.
After a few minutes of bawling, Eli gently coaxed them, patting their backs to help them cool down.
"I-I am fine," Arlyne stammered.
"Y-Yes, I-I am also," Pearl added.
Both of them separated from Eli with flushed faces, seemingly unable to believe they had just cried in front of a man.
Deep down, they regretted their outburst, not because they wanted to cry, but the stress of the situation: Eli lying motionless, the eerie aura he emitted, and being trapped in an S-Rank dungeon.... had overwhelmed them. Once they saw Eli's warm smile, their built-up stress had burst out like water from a dam.
Their faces were painted with embarrassment, as if they couldn't believe what they had just done, and they silently hoped Eli wouldn't tease or blackmail them.
"So, what happened?" Eli asked with a serious expression, steering the conversation back to the matter at hand.
Hearing that, both Pearl and Arlyne sighed inwardly. Despite feeling a little lost, they decided to share everything with him.
....
...
"I see," Eli nodded, glancing at Pearl in an odd way.
"What?" Pearl asked, her face turning a shade of red.
"Hm... Well, I never thought you would be this informative... I mean, you know? Kind of a..." Eli struggled to find the right words, considering Pearl's usually useless, pointless, commonsenseless... Seducing technique.
"YOU JERK!!.....HMPH!"
Pearl's face turned even redder as she slammed the document onto Eli's face before huffing away.
Eli chuckled and turned his gaze to Arlyne, who was observing the exchange with a peculiar expression.
"What is it, Arlyne?" Eli inquired.
"H-Huh? N-Nothing," Arlyne stammered, her cheeks slightly tinged with pink as she waved her hand dismissively.
Observing her flushed face, Eli suddenly became self-conscious, instinctively covering his body. He looked at the two girls, a hint of nervousness evident in his expression.
'Gulp'
He audibly gulped before asking with a hesitant voice, "Y-You guys... D-Did do anything, r-right?"
Frowning at Eli's apparent embarrassment and his protective gesture, both Arlyne and Pearl responded simultaneously, their voices echoing in the desolate cave.
"LIKE HELL WE DO, YOU JERK!!!"
"DON'T BE SO SHAMELESS, BASTARD!!"
Their vehement retorts reverberated in the desolate place... and it attracted someone who had been searching for its prey.
'Tuck, Tuck, Tuck...'
A mysterious tapping sound followed, causing both Arlyne and Pearl to flinch. The blood drained from their faces as they turned their heads slowly,
Only to be met with the sight of... A skull tapping its mouth like a typing machine.
"Tuck, Tuck, Tuck, Tuck...."
"KYAAAAA!!!"
"HHHHIIKKK!!!!"
In an instant, both girls fell down unconscious, the eerie sound of the skull continuing in the background.
"Huh?" Asher Eli was taken aback by the sudden turn of events.