Chapter 20 The Piano: "Do you want to kill him?"
This mark actually lights up?
Catherine raised her hand and pressed it against the rock beside her, using the cool temperature to force herself to clear her mind a little.
She had never noticed this mark before, and given its location, which was difficult to spot, she hadn't paid much attention to it.
She couldn't remember whether the mark changed when the alien spider vented its anger, or at other times.
Catherine's eyes darted around somewhat sluggishly.
She suddenly sat up, her head still fogged up by the heat, and did something she would never have done if she were sober.
She bent down and kissed the dimly lit spot.
The change happened in an instant.
Almost the instant she kissed him, Tarasco, who had been in a state of passion, went berserk.
His body temperature dropped instantly, then spiked to an extremely high level without any pause. Strange and intricate patterns rose from an unknown corner, rapidly covering his profile.
As Catherine's body temperature dropped in Tarasco, alarm bells began to blare in her mind. Her body reacted instinctively, pushing against the stone wall with both hands, propelling her forward and then immediately rolling to the side…
Although her body was still very sore from the frenzy, she managed to narrowly avoid a sharp foot that was thrusting at her.
Tarasco appeared to have clearly lost his mind.
He couldn't recognize who Catherine was in front of him; he only felt that everything living in the cave except for himself was conspicuously obstructive.
Catherine had no choice but to flee. Although she was moving quickly, it should be noted that Tarasco, in his berserk state, was even faster than usual.
Before long, Catherine inevitably developed many wounds, both deep and shallow, on her body.
Catherine thought inappropriately that it was fortunate she had gained escape experience in the snake pit before, otherwise she might have already died under a thorn.
However, Tarasco's speed was increasing, and sweat slowly began to bead on her forehead.
Catherine dared not be distracted for even a moment; her entire focus was on the alien spider's movements, fearing that a moment's lapse in concentration would cost her her life. Therefore, she did not notice that the blood dripping from her wound was being absorbed by the soil at an eerily rapid pace.
She gripped the only hair ornament she had taken off her head, which could hardly be considered a weapon.
That was when she first entered the Vatican. An older nun, seeing how pitifully thin she was, took pity on her and gave her her own pearl hair ornament, which was of some value. That kind lady probably never imagined that, years later, it would become her "weapon" of protection.
Catherine tensed up, subtly maneuvering against Tarasco—no, it couldn't even be called maneuvering, it was more like her one-sided escape.
She searched for any place that could temporarily conceal her body, hoping to gain a moment's respite. Although the seemingly solid rocks could barely withstand Tarasco's second claw strike.
As time passed, Catherine's gaze slowly and uncontrollably fixed on the still-flickering green mark.
A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes.
Since that mark could cause such a huge reaction from just one kiss, what if we inserted a hair accessory inside...?
Of course, Catherine had considered that doing so might very well result in Tarasco's death. This would return her to the state of being she was in when she first entered the Devil's Forest.
She wasn't sure if she could survive a day under those conditions. Besides, after being under Tarasco's protection for so long, her survival skills might be worse than they were initially.
But if she doesn't do that, she'll die today... no, very likely in the next second, from Tarasco's attack!
Catherine secretly made up her mind and began to plan an opportunity.
She likely has only this one chance. If she fails, at such close range, she has no chance of escaping his claws.
Catherine's eyes flashed with anger. She raised the hair ornament in her hand and, without any hesitation, stabbed downwards...
However, the sensation under my hand was not the slight lag of sinking into supple material, but rather a feeling of being tightly bound and restrained by a rope-like object, making it difficult to move forward.
Catherine sensed something was wrong, opened her eyes in surprise, and looked up. Before her lay a vast green net, which upon closer inspection revealed to be composed of tens of thousands of plant branches.
A single branch is already strong and resilient, let alone a large net made up of so many branches, which is even less likely to be cut down.
Catherine's face paled several shades.
She didn't know how the green net came to be, but its current actions were clearly intended to help Tarasco.
She couldn't defeat a single alien spider, and now another one has appeared...
Before she could think of anything else, the net suddenly gathered and surrounded her, then gradually dispersed, and a stunningly beautiful woman walked out from within.
She had waist-length hair as green as vines, looking both dangerous and mysterious. Catherine watched her warily, but the woman approached her as if completely oblivious.
Catherine's knuckles were white from the force of her grip, and the tips of her hair ornaments gleamed with a bluish luster in the moonlight. She kept backing away, maintaining a distance from the stranger, but soon…
Her back slammed into the stone wall behind her, leaving her no room to retreat.
The woman smiled and stepped forward to take the hair ornament in her hand. She lowered her eyes to examine it, and Catherine's gaze followed hers, moving to the hair ornament and thus missing the woman's eyes, her expression flickering slightly for a moment.
The atmosphere remained silent for a long while, and Catherine's entire body was tense to the extreme.
The woman then slowly spoke: "Oh, darling, if you were to stab him with this, he would be crippled if not killed."
"Or..." She turned her gaze to Catherine's eyes, her voice carrying a dangerous, seductive tone, "Do you want to kill him?"
The woman felt the trembling in Catherine's hands, transmitted through her hair ornaments.
She smiled, and then with a sudden burst of strength... Catherine immediately felt herself lose control of her right hand, and the pearl hair ornament fell into the woman's grasp.
"What do you want to do?" After some time, Catherine had come to her senses.
She knew this mysterious woman didn't intend to do anything to her; otherwise, given her abilities just now, she would have been completely defenseless. Therefore, the woman's purpose became unclear.
"I'm here to help you," the woman said, without answering Catherine's question.
At this moment, Tarasco, who was behind him, finally broke free from the vines and roared as he lunged at the stranger who had suddenly appeared.
The woman seemed completely oblivious to the impending danger behind her, continuing to smile and talk to Catherine.
Catherine looked at Tarasco behind the woman, who was very close to her in just a few seconds. Just as she was about to warn him, she saw the woman in front of her slowly raise her hand.
The next second, the beast, which was several times her size, seemed to be frozen in place, still in its pouncing posture.
Catherine stared at the scene, her pupils widening in disbelief: "You are... a witch..."
Although she found it hard to believe, she still asked for the most suitable answer.
Catherine had always thought that she might be a mutated species of some kind of magical beast, a hybrid of various vines and human characteristics.
But monster battles are mostly about pouncing, biting, and tearing, which looks bloody and violent. It's not like what she just did, where she simply raised her hand and froze her opponent in place.
In this world, perhaps only magic could create such a breathtaking sight.
But the witch had already...
The cool touch on her skin brought Catherine back to reality, bringing her thoughts back to the present.
The witch withdrew her hand and casually hooked her chin: "So clever, hahaha. So, do you want him to live? If this little spider dies, you probably won't be able to survive in this forest either, right?"
She leaned close to Catherine's cheek, ignoring her slight turn of the head in resistance, and breathed into her ear: "I can help you... to bring him back to his senses~"
Every word the witch spoke carried an alluring charm, but Catherine always knew that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
What do you want me to do for you?
"Hmm, you're too weak right now..." The witch looked her up and down and gave a very objective evaluation with disdain. "Let's owe it to you for now. I'll tell you when the time is right."
After speaking, the witch didn't pay attention to Catherine's reaction and turned to walk to Tarasco's side. He was now frozen in place by the spell, unable to move, and could only glare fiercely at the approaching witch.
But the witch clearly didn't care.
She circled Tarasco carefully, then stopped at a certain spot, bent down, and beckoned to Catherine, calling her over.
Catherine obediently walked over and found that the witch was looking at the green mark.
"Did you figure something out?" Catherine heard the person next to her ask.
She studied it carefully for a long time, but finally shook her head.
"Don't you think..." The witch's fingers circled around the mark, drawing Catherine's gaze to follow, "It looks familiar, doesn't it?"
Her words seemed to break the shackles of memories stored deep within her mind, and Catherine recalled the scenes in the church...
The crisp sound of wind chimes in the afternoon, the nuns' robes fluttering in the breeze, the old piano in the prayer room...
!piano……
Seeing the look of shock that flashed across her eyes, the witch smiled with satisfaction: "Do you remember where you've seen it before?"
“In the church…” Catherine’s voice still held a hint of disbelief.
But she did remember it. Once when she was a child, she couldn't sleep one afternoon and sneaked out to play in the prayer room. She had squatted in front of that old piano, trying to figure out how the sound could come out of that bulky thing.
And there is such a mark engraved on the foot of the piano.
A note from the author:
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