Chapter 143 : That Bastard

“Do you… want to hold hands?”

Milly looked back. The girl’s face was filled with fear, her body trembling slightly.

She had underestimated Stacy. This was quite the performance. If she hadn’t known who was behind Lisa, she might have been fooled by those terrified eyes.

So far, only in portraying fear was Lisa’s acting flawless.

After all, given who she really was, she had seen countless people in the face of death. Some charged, some accepted their fate, but most showed fear. The primal terror engraved in their souls as the scythe of death fell.

Having seen so much of it, mimicking it must be second nature to her.

Milly didn’t refuse. She reached out and grabbed Lisa’s trembling hand.

The unexpected move stunned Lisa. She had expected rejection, but Milly had grabbed her hand without hesitation.

“If I lose you, it’ll be a hassle.”

“Eh?”

Milly didn’t explain. If something unexpected happened, she would drop Lisa and run, leaving her alone in the wind. She wondered what Stacy would do then. It would be interesting to see.

Besides, she knew exactly why Lisa wanted to hold hands. It wasn’t fear. She was using the fog as an excuse to get closer. And Milly could use this to keep Lisa close, preventing her from running away and hiding in the fog if things went wrong.

The hand in hers was soft. Too soft for a farm girl. If she was going to act, she should have gone all the way.

And the hand was cold. Was she doing it on purpose, or was it accidental? Though not as freezing as Stacy’s own hands, it was definitely colder than normal.

Lisa, on the other hand, had been clinging to her side since her hand was taken. She kept glancing around, as if checking for monsters. Only in being scared was her acting impeccable.

The fog grew thicker, blurring even the nearby trees. Milly knew that if they kept wandering blindly, they would be lost forever, perhaps becoming one of the skeletons littering the ground.

She glanced at the human remains. Unlucky souls who had lost their way and died here.

She pointed her finger at a dead tree nearby. A bolt of lightning snapped it in half, leaving a scorched mark.

Black smoke rose from the break, but it was quickly swallowed by the fog.

“Milly, what was that for?”

Lisa seemed confused. Why make such a noise? Although there was no immediate danger, it revealed their location to any predators in the fog.

“Making a signpost.”

The effect was worse than expected. After a dozen steps, the scorched mark was lost in the fog.

Although the visibility was poor, the mark wouldn’t disappear. She just had to keep making them. Her electricity wasn’t fully restored, but it was enough for this. And even if she ran out… she glanced at the hand she was holding. Someone wouldn’t just let her be helpless.

Using someone like this might have weighed on her conscience before, but knowing who was behind Lisa, she felt nothing.

As they walked, Milly suddenly stopped. Something had been attracted by the noise. In the thick fog, she sensed a dangerous presence.

Something was here.

She scanned the area. The fog blocked her vision, and she couldn’t use her God’s perspective. She couldn’t pinpoint the location. She could only slow down.

Lightning gathered at her left fingertip. At the first sign of trouble, she would release it, let go of Lisa’s hand, and hide in the fog to see her reaction.

Just then, Lisa stopped.

“Milly…” Her voice trembled. She pointed to the right. “I feel like something is watching us… is it a man-eating monster?”

The girl looked terrified, trying to get even closer to Milly, almost burrowing into her arms.

Veins popped on Milly’s forehead. This acting was getting out of hand. If it continued, she might just shout Stacy’s name.

But Lisa was probably right. Even though Milly couldn’t sense anything in that direction.

“Over there.”

She looked where Lisa was pointing and fired without hesitation. The lightning cut through the fog, followed by a roar and a monster’s shriek. The explosion cleared the fog for a moment, revealing a massive black shadow.

“Get back!”

She pulled Lisa back as the shadow lunged. Milly’s face fell. It was a Shadowblade Beast, like the one she had killed, but much bigger.

Its appearance had changed too. Its forelimbs had mutated into poisonous bone blades. Even if the strike didn’t kill, the poison would.

Unlike the previous one that only turned red in its second phase, this one had red and black scales from the start. It was much more dangerous.

Worse, Milly wasn’t at full strength. Without Broken, her lightning couldn’t pierce its defense.

But she had no intention of fighting it. She would leave it to…

“Kyaa!”

Lisa screamed, shattering the silence. Before Milly could react, Lisa pulled her hand free.

Just a second too late. Milly watched as Lisa curled up behind her, clutching her skirt.

“H-Help…”

The warm, trembling body pressed against her back left Milly speechless. Lisa was clinging to her, acting terrified.

Clearly, she had underestimated Stacy.

That bastard.