Chapter 442: Spider Woman
Poisonous bugs and dark elves lurked in the land of eternal darkness. This place had once been the lair of the Broodmother, Sandalphon.
Dark elves, with dark skin and silver hair, stuck their heads out from the densely packed windows of their beehive-like constructs when they heard footsteps outside.
The moment Cherry stepped into the Village of Dark Night, a somewhat nostalgic and sense of familiarity came flooding in as memories from her childhood replayed in her mind.
She only brought her maid, Bella, and a friend she recently made, Charlotte Casta.
Cherry turned her head, glancing at the slim, elegant n.o.ble girl dressed in white, who was following behind her silently. Those beady snake eyes of Charlotte, which had originally dark green, had now turned into ordinary light blue eyes.
Although Cherry didn"t know how he did it, Wilde had clearly become the strongest black magician of the current era.
At this thought, Cherry felt most at ease. On the way here, Cherry had told Wilde how she had recognized him at first glance. It was all because of what Boss Lin had said—"It"s a small world."
Wilde had been rather surprised by this. Cherry didn"t know that Wilde had been convinced he had been abandoned by Boss Lin once more. When it came down to him and Joseph, Wilde had almost thought that Boss Lin had chosen Joseph, but he had survived in the end. It seemed like he was still useful to Boss Lin.
Cherry also told Wilde the reason they were heading to the Village of Dark Night. Wilde only had disdain when he heard about it. A dead man like him was being used as a trap. A brat... She"s a brat.
However, this was Boss Lin"s test for him, and he definitely had to give a satisfactory performance.
Wilde switched out to Charlotte. They were almost symbiotic now. Their consciousness hadn"t yet completely fused, but they were already overlapping, so both their thoughts were completely synchronized.
Cherry stopped walking. They had finally reached their destination. A small tavern, which could be considered one of the rare few means of entertainment for dark elves.
She pulled aside the entrance"s curtain and entered to see a group of faces, mostly familiar to her. They seemed to be the bunch of dark elves that had bullied Cherry and her mother back then.
Dozens of dark elves were either standing around or seated in this small tavern. Seated in the middle of them was a beautiful elf lady, with wavy, silver hair and light purple eyes.
"My little Cherry, we haven"t seen each other for a long time. Come, give me a hug." Stephanie"s eyes lit up when she saw Cherry as if she was an elder who really doted on her juniors.
Cherry had an indifferent gaze and ignored her. She merely smirked and said, "Stop pretending, Stephanie. At this point, aren"t you tired of acting?"
Stephanie, who used to be Sandalphon"s confidant and had the moniker "Spider Woman," was synonymous with terror within Cherry"s memories. Stephanie didn"t care about Cherry"s tone, instead, batting her fluttery eyelashes as she gazed behind Cherry. The blonde, blue-eyed n.o.ble lady behind Cherry was looking a little nervous.
"Friend of yours?" Stephanie licked her lips.
"Does that have anything to do with you?" Cherry raised an eyebrow and glared. "Let"s cut the c.r.a.p. I"ll take my mother"s ashes with me now."
"Hahaha!" Stephanie couldn"t help but laugh. "All dark elves hope to one day be buried in the Village of Dark Night. Your mother won"t be happy if you take her away."
Cherry"s face turned dark upon hearing that. She hissed icily, "Who are you to represent my mother? She doesn"t want to stay in this d.a.m.ned place for even a minute longer!"
Stephanie"s smile froze. At the same time, the dark elves surrounded Cherry with hostile intent.
"Little b.a.s.t.a.r.d." Stephanie"s pupils dilated slightly as she rose from her chair, revealing glittering crystals studded on her long skirt. "I"ll give you a chance. We now have a unique path to the Lower District. Our goal is to turn the Village of the Dark Night into a new Rolle Resources and have your Ash Chamber of Commerce as our p.a.w.n."
Cherry raised an eyebrow and looked around, her expression unchanging. She would always prioritize using the ability that Boss Lin bestowed her, "Enchanted Heart Seal." However, just looking at Stephanie"s face made Cherry itching to leap up and tear her apart.
In a certain sense, her mother"s death was connected to this old hag.
The Village of Dark Night had never been Cherry’s territory. Also, "Enchanted Heart Seal," could only serve as a charismatic power that allowed her to lay some groundwork. But now, she didn"t have much time left.
In fact, there were too many unfavorable circ.u.mstances for Cherry right now. Perhaps leaving at once was the right choice.
But... Cherry really felt like killing Stephanie. Thus, she looked Stephanie straight in the eye and scoffed, "Hmph, dream on, idiot."
An ominous glint flashed across Stephanie"s eyes as she muttered, "Then you and your mother shall stay here for all eternity."
As soon as she said that, the dark elves all around, who had been sharpening blades, used their transcendent abilities in succession with merciless intent to kill. However, Cherry"s little face displayed a defiant look.
Stephanie could easily see that Cherry didn"t have any transcendent talent. So, why was she that confident? Was it because of that delicate n.o.ble lady she had brought along?
Stephanie observed the young lady behind Cherry. That timid n.o.ble revealed a pair of mesmerizing, dark green snake eyes, but Stephanie felt that she was completely harmless while a.n.a.lyzing the situation cautiously.
"You little b.a.s.t.a.r.d… Ugh!" Stephanie was about to curse when she suddenly felt a sharp pain throughout her body. She instinctively lowered her head to see that the abilities and blades of her subordinates that had been attacking Cherry had somehow pierced her body.
Stephanie"s violet eyes widened in disbelief, and her subordinates were horrified.
"Hmph." Cherry"s young face was full of killing intent. "Go to h.e.l.l, Stephanie."
"Enchanted Heart Alteration"—this was a higher form of "Enchanted Heart Seal."
From the moment she entered the tavern, Cherry had used her ability to influence all inside. This made one, including Stephanie, subconsciously swap the ident.i.ties of Cherry and Stephanie.
The dark elves thought they were attacking Cherry but were, in fact, targeting Stephanie instead. Stephanie"s body was now riddled with holes, and she still had the look of being taken by surprise.
Cherry let out a sigh of relief. Stephanie"s mental resistance was higher than hers, but she had underestimated Cherry too much, and that was why Cherry had been able to influence her heart.
With blood trickling down her wrists, Stephanie hunched over from her serious injuries. However, she started chortling. "Little b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I nearly underestimated you."
Cherry knew that she wouldn"t be able to kill Stephanie in one go.
"Hahaha!" Stephanie broke into full blown maniacal laughter. Then she raised her head. The top of her scalp started to engorge, and round, black spider eyes began to grow on her wide forehead like bubbles. They were densely covered with short hairs, but the lower half of her face was still as good-looking as ever.
Cherry"s eyes widened as she watched Stephanie"s body begin to expand. The gorgeous crystal-embedded gown burst at the seams as flesh-colored spider limbs grew out of Stephanie"s waist and abdomen. She laid on the ground as her belly enlarged, becoming a huge spider"s abdomen.
Stephanie had become a ma.s.sive flesh-spider.
"Become my food, Cherry!" Stephanie was salivating. Her high-pitched voice was gratingly sharp, like fingernails scratching against a chalkboard. The ma.s.sive flesh-spider continued to rave maniacally, "I didn"t want to use this body, but you forced me to!"
Cherry nearly threw up seeing Stephanie"s disgusting body. Stephanie was now completely naked. White spider silk shot out of her b.u.t.t and covered the entire tavern. In no time, the entire place had become her nest.
Cherry subconsciously stepped back and nearly fell down. Bella quickly stood in front of Cherry and lifted her maid"s skirt, pulling out some daggers which she threw at Stephanie.
The blades whistled forward, but unfortunately, these were all like mere tickles, incapable of even cutting through the thin spider silk.
"Lord Wilde!" Bella gritted her teeth and called out, imploring the seemingly unperturbed "Charlotte" on the sofa.
Charlotte revealed an ominous smile and praised hoa.r.s.ely, "The aura of the Broodmother, Sandalphon. I believe you stole her power, right? Not bad, killing it would be a waste. You would make a beautiful specimen."
Specimen? You"ve got a really unique taste... Cherry felt relieved to see Wilde so calm.
Stephanie stiffened as she subconsciously looked at Charlotte.
This little lady had been clearly harmless before, but now, her Supreme-rank power had practically engulfed the entire Village of Dark Night. The powerful aether within her body was in any way inferior to that of Sandalphon, whom Stephanie had once served.