abcnovels
Book 6
Book 6: Chapter 201
Malvina and Volearden stood next to Vur, one beast on each side of him because they were unwilling to stand beside each other to face him. They were standing a good distance away to prevent any threads from attaching to them. After Tafel finished explaining the importance of the princess bug from her spot on Vur’s head, Volearden immediately raised his paw.
“I’ll do it,” the armored dragon said, not giving Malvina a chance to speak. “There sure are a lot of bugs, but individually, they’re too weak to pierce my armor. I’ll waltz through them, find the princess bug, capture it, and waltz right back out.”
Vur’s eyes crossed to look at Tafel, who was standing on top of his snout. Although he didn’t say anything, Tafel could tell he was asking why Kim Hajun always exaggerated the difficulties of tasks. Then, Vur shifted his gaze back onto Volearden. “Okay,” Vur said and nodded. “You capture the princess bug.”
“Of course,” Volearden said. “Don’t forget it was the dragons who stepped up when you needed them.”
“Wait,” Malvina said. “It’s just a princess bug.” She positioned her wings as if she were placing her hands on her hips. “Phoenixes can just as easily capture it. In fact, I’ll capture it before this metal lug, and then, it’ll be phoenixes who saved the day.”
“Okay,” Vur said. “You capture the princess bug too.”
Malvina and Volearden snorted before they both set off into the sky at the same time, heading for the massive web that had grown even larger. Tafel met Vur’s gaze. The demon blinked. “So, I’ve been forgetting Mary a lot lately. Do you mind if I go over and kill some bugs with her?”
“Go ahead,” Vur said. “I’ll pay extra attention to you two with my threads.”
“Thanks,” Tafel said and kissed her hand before squatting down and patting Vur’s snout. The demon’s horns glowed silver, and she stepped through a portal leading to the web where Mary was slaughtering bugs.
***
Kim Hajun walked down a tunnel. The sounds of clacking and laughter came from behind him, and he couldn’t help but turn his head. Lindyss was sitting in a rocking chair, and the chair was being held up by four skeletons, who were looking at each other while cackling. A fifth skeleton was laughing and following along while holding a ball of yarn and a cocktail glass. The undead were speaking, but it was impossible for Kim Hajun to discern a single word with the infernal laughter echoing through the corridor.josei
“What?” Lindyss asked, noticing Kim Hajun’s gaze. She raised her head, her hands still working the knitting needles and yarn she had been looking at. “Did you need something? Already looking to give me a portion of your soul, huh?”
Kim Hajun shook his head before turning back around. Strong individuals were eccentric. If she wanted to knit while being carried like royalty by the undead, who was he to stop her? Kim Hajun looked ahead, squinting upon seeing a light appear around a bend. He had asked the lords and their subordinates to gather together, and he had also made sure he’d arrive a little bit later than the rest. That way, his impudence would rile up the lords, but they’d have to stifle their anger upon seeing Lindyss. When the time came to fight the severed hand, they’d use that pent-up energy for a good cause: defeating an Oebu Sin.
The cackling behind Kim Hajun drew his attention away from his thoughts. He stepped around the bend, and the people waiting in the clearing turned to look at him. “You’re here,” Ashley said, her rifle in her hands, the barrel of the gun pointed at the ground. “About time.”
Before anyone else could say anything, cackling followed by loud shushing sounds rang out from the tunnel behind Kim Hajun. The skeletons stepped into view with Lindyss sitting in a chair hoisted on their shoulders like palanquin bearers. The curse elf swept her eyes over the lords, her gaze lingering over each one, before nodding at Kim Hajun.
The well-dressed man smiled. Now, the lords would be as obedient as sheep before him. Not only that, but Lindyss would have to play along with his plan as well. If the severed hand singled the cursed elf out for whatever reason, she’d be forced to fight back without him having to make a request. Although it was a loophole in the contract, and the elf wouldn’t be happy with him, depending on how badly hurt the elf and Oebu Sin were, he wouldn’t mind exploiting it. Kim Hajun cleared his throat.
“Everyone,” Lindyss said, causing Kim Hajun to freeze in place. The cursed elf placed her knitting needles down on her lap. “I have something I need to say before we begin.” She smiled at Kim Hajun before pointing at his face. “This man’s behavior greatly displeases me. He knows he needs my assistance, but he’s unwilling to ask me nicely to help him.”
Jasmine was the first lord to react. She walked over to Kim Hajun and shook her head before placing her hand on his shoulder. “Perhaps you saw a future where you were companions with us, but right now, you’re just a weakling. Some people”—she leaned closer and gestured towards Lindyss while whispering—“like her”—she returned back to her original position—“don’t like it when an ant demands to look them in the eyes and talk face to face.”
Kim Hajun furrowed his brow. What? He tilted his head back to look up at Lindyss. Had the cursed elf set him up? She lured him into signing a contract that’d extract a varying portion of his soul once she completed a task he asked of her depending on the difficulty of the objective. If he asked her to defeat the severed hand, she’d take his whole soul!
“C’mon,” Gaegukja Yeol said from Deowi’s side. The Extreme Heat Clan, being the strongest clan in the tower, had to partake in the meeting determining the tower’s fate. “Stop wasting time. Ask her to help us beat the Oebu Sin.”
Kim Hajun looked up at Lindyss with a frown. She smiled back at him.