Doreen nodded softly, responding with a gentle murmur. Perhaps it was her absolute trust in Eros, but after hearing his words, her trembling body finally stilled.
"The mist is indeed spreading!" Barbara’s voice suddenly rang in Eros’s ear.
Eros stiffened. He turned back toward the direction they had come from, but his eyes met nothing but darkness. Seeing his movement, the girls followed his gaze, yet they saw nothing unusual.
"Is there something over there?" Undine asked curiously.
"The mist is coming," Eros replied succinctly.
The girls were startled and turned back once more, but there was still no sign of anything. However, they knew Eros wouldn't joke about such things, so they patiently watched the horizon.
A few minutes passed. Suddenly, a thin, pink line appeared at the edge of their vision. Seeing this, the girls' pupils shrank in unison. The mist was actually spreading toward them!
Just as the thought crossed their minds, the rosy fog surged forward at an incredible speed, coming to a halt barely ten meters away from their position. Looking at the now-stagnant wall of fog, a strange feeling welled up in Eros’s heart. This mist... it’s exactly like the 'poison circle' in the battle royale games from my past life. It would spread to a certain point, stop, and then surge again after a set time.
Eros shook his head, clearing his thoughts. Whether the mist functioned like a game mechanic or not wasn't the most pressing issue. The question was whether to push forward or rest in place. After a few seconds of deliberation, he decided to keep moving. Though he had an artifact to purge contamination, waking up multiple times a night was too much of a hassle. It was a pity that The Brilliant Sun, despite having a "living" characteristic, wasn't smart enough to have a timer function. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to bother himself.
He informed the girls of his decision, and unsurprisingly, no one objected. As Eros said, who knew when the mist would move again? Being this close, they risked being swallowed if it surged. And looking at the color of that fog, they couldn't help but recall the "amorous" scene from the previous night. Ahem! If there weren't "outsiders" present, they might not have minded resting. But with other men (like Thomas) and various companions around, they were far too embarrassed.
With everyone in agreement, Eros pulled out a branch to divine the direction and prepared to set off.
The number of evil spirits at night was significantly higher than during the day, and they seemed bolstered by the red moon, becoming much stronger. Along the way, even with Eros’s efforts to avoid them, they ran into five or six waves of spirits, each numbering about a dozen. During the day, Undine and the others could handle these easily. At night, however, it would take them considerable time to clear them without Eros's help. Furthermore, because of the high density of spirits, they didn't dare use guns for fear of attracting a massive swarm. They had to rely on alchemy weapons and sealed artifacts.
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Watching Doreen weave through the spirits with her scalpel, Eros marveled at the contrast between her "armed" and "unarmed" personas. Man, I really like this~
While thinking this, he casually punched a spirit’s head clean into its stomach. With his intervention, the dozen spirits were cleared in moments. Undine looked at the headless, shortened corpses and stuck out her tongue in distaste. "You’re way too crude!"
Eros shrugged helplessly. "Greatswords are too big to carry around, and I don't like small things like daggers. Fists are just better."
Joanie added worriedly, "Physical contact makes it easy to get contaminated by spirits."
Eros just laughed it off. "I have a purification artifact, don't I? It's not a problem." As he spoke, he picked up the branch to divine again. Hearing this, Joanie’s concern lessened slightly.
After traveling a bit further, Barbara’s voice returned: "Twenty people are three kilometers to the front-left. The person you’re looking for is among them—along with two others you’ve had relations with."
Eros let out a sigh of relief. Mary was indeed alive. But who were the other two Barbara mentioned? He perked up and smiled at the girls. "I have a feeling we’re not far from our target."
Elsewhere, a petite girl with pink hair, wearing an oversized coat, sat perched on a rock. Her expression was troubled; it was her turn for the first half of the night watch. She looked up at the tall, blonde, large-breasted woman standing beside her.
"How much longer do you think it'll take for the Academy to notice the anomaly and send help?" the girl asked. "Sixty people from two classes, and now only twenty are left. That's just our sixth-year group; I can't even imagine the state of the lower-year students."
The blonde woman looked at Mary, her tone cold. "Most of those who died were commoners without sealed artifacts."
"That’s true, but quite a few nobles died too," Mary sighed. The blonde woman didn't argue, remaining silent.
"I wonder if that Prince is still alive..." Mary rubbed her cheeks, her voice unconsciously laced with worry.
"Which Prince?" The blonde woman’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Who else could it be!" Mary huffed.
The blonde woman let out an "Oh" before speaking casually. "You’d do better to worry about yourself than him. He’s already a Sequence 7—far stronger than us. Plus, he has '异种血脉' (Alien Bloodline) and belongs to the Elf race skilled in healing. Dealing with the dangers here should be much easier for him. Not to mention, he’s in the same class as that Imperial Prince. As the heir to the Empire, the Royal Family certainly wouldn't be stingy with artifacts and resources."
"I guess so~" Hearing this, Mary realized Eros’s situation was likely much safer than hers. Her worry was indeed redundant.
Just as she was about to say more, the blonde woman suddenly made a hand gesture. Mary understood instantly; her eyes turned sharp with vigilance, and her hand moved toward the alchemy short-sword at her waist. Nearby, the blonde woman gripped the hilt of the knight’s straight-sword planted in the ground before her.
In the shadows they were watching, several humanoid figures were approaching.
"Are they evil spirits?" Mary whispered.
"High probability," the blonde woman replied shortly.