Using the body of the Hollow Alligator, Arthur swiftly headed to a specific swamp and immediately dove underwater.

The murky waters were as silent as ever and the only other alligator present did not react to the parasite’s arrival.

With the reptile’s large body, Arthur swam toward the depths and looked around, spotting no change whatsoever but that did not deter him as he knew it would eventually appear.

Ami told him that she had escaped the cave with the use of a hidden underwater canal which had appeared without any prior notice. It wasn’t difficult to link it with the disappearance of the Arman woman, whom Arthur assumed was either sacrificed to the ‘Lord’ or burned like any other witch.

The cave itself was right beneath the village, which means it was either big or the canal leading to it was over two hundred meters, which was the distance between this swamp and the village itself. Either way, Arthur was determined to get access and see the mysteries hidden within.

Since he had failed to spot the canal after his meticulous search, it could only mean that there was a mechanism to reveal it. Basically, whatever the villagers were doing when burning a witch, it would open up the canal. That’s the only way to explain how Ami escaped at such an fortuitous timing, which happened to coincide with the last Witch Hunt.

The parasite lurked underwater for several minutes, patiently waiting as he continued to inspect his surroundings; At last, he started feeling a strong water current that originated from the already existing cramped waterway.

Although it was a narrow path, Arthur squeezed the alligator’s body and followed the current, which soon led him to a new and bigger path… a canal.

As he followed the current, the parasite noticed that the walls were man-made and had countless faintly glowing runes on them. Slowly but surely, Arthur made his way to the end of the canal and soon reached the cave.

The alligator’s body jumped off the water and warily looked around; Much to his astonishment, the place was indeed a cave, but there were a couple of interesting things. For example, magical torches were hanging from the roof, providing ample illumination as well as warmth. Additionally, there were small ponds filled with clean water and even a couple of fish.

Last but not least, there were exactly three massive doors, two of which were tightly closed and reinforced with translucent orange chains that criss-crossed at the center.

‘This is definitely of Arman construct. A facility, perhaps?’

Undoubtedly, half of this cave was artificial and the dark golden plaques and the shining runes were enough of an evidence.

Arthur held back his curiosity and crawled toward the only open door as he kept feeling continuous tremors and chilling growls.

He was expecting a monster, but he wanted to know what it was exactly. After all, whatever was living here was the worshiped God of the zealous villagers.

The body of the Hollow Alligator was practical for many things, it was even more durable and powerful than Leonis’. However, it was, unfortunately, incapable of using Magic. Still, Arthur wasn’t the least bit scared or hesitant, he wanted to know the truth and nothing would stop him.

What lay behind the door was a corridor, a very long one, and at its end, there was a room filled with dense mist and a crouching black silhouette.

The parasite stopped at the entrance, looked around then focused his gaze on the half-visible silhouette. He was about fifty meters beneath the surface, so he could hear the cries and shouts of the villagers.

Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly, but only for a short while. Out of the sudden, there was a stronger tremor and the roof violently shook before it started to open, thus revealing the star-filled night sky.

Instead of the bound and half-burnt Evelyn, three villagers fell down to their death, and the loud thuds were enough to awaken the ‘Lord’. Two golden eyes pierced through the thick mist and fell upon the corpses near it.

A long and outrageously massive tail swiped left and right, clearing a bit of the mist and, at last, revealing the monster and its unique characteristics.

In more than a way, it resembled the standard Hollow Alligator, but its enormous body, black scales, golden eyes, and black bones protruding from its bent back suggested it wasn’t a normal beast.

‘I guess calling it a Devil was a close enough guess.’

Arthur carefully retreated to the back as two more villagers fell down and, like the rest, were gobbled down by the unknown beast.

As the parasite was making his way to the first cave-like room, he felt the ground shake and, within seconds, the monster from before was heading his way.

Its disproportionately big mouth was open and ready to snap Arthur’s body in two. Alas, it wasn’t faster than the parasite, and the corridor barely had enough space for it to move.

Even while being chased down, Arthur did not panic or do anything rash. He swiftly jumped back into the water and followed the same path that took him to the cave.

At the same time, the black-scaled alligator-like beast, strangely enough, was hellbent on pursuing him. It dove right into the shallow waters and used its body to break everything in its way, going as far as causing the canal to collapse.

Surprisingly, once underwater, the beast swam with an absurdly rapid speed, so much so that it caught up with Arthur the moment he appeared on the surface of the swamp.

Arthur quickly swam to the edge but ended up getting hit by the beast’s long tail, which blew him to the side and made his host roll on the ground multiple times. Nevertheless, he bore through the pain and crawled toward a specific spot.

As for the beast, it thrashed in the swamp and let out an enraged roar as it set its golden eyes onto the small Hollow Alligator.

It performed a small leap, landing on solid ground and lowering its mouth as it crunched on the motionless body of its target. Within two seconds, it swallowed it whole and only then was it satisfied.

Satisfied, it looked around then tried to get back into the dirty swamp water only to be hit by a blunt thing from the back.

A yellow-ish translucent and rectangular shaped barrier had its rear, causing it to stagger and almost lose its balance.

“Now that I've got you in my sight, I can’t possibly let you go now, can I?”

Leonis Sanguis appeared from behind a tree, he licked the blood leaking out of his lips and grinned at the confused beast.

Yes, the beast looked frightening and was monstrously strong. However, that wasn’t enough for Arthur to give up such a lucrative target, one that could empower him.

Night had fallen and he was no longer weakened by the sunlight. In fact, his stats have increased by a significant amount and, clearly, the beast was stronger underwater.

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This was a favorable environment for Arthur, one that allowed him to use his unique magic and possibly fell down the beast.

Infuriated, the beast roared again and turned its body only for its half open mouth to be struck by the barrier again, though, this time, the blow was thrice as strong.

The blunt and swift attack pushed it to the back and made it fall on the not-so-deep swamp waters.

While maintaining a relatively safe distance, Arthur controlled the barrier and repeatedly attacked the beast. The barrier’s shape changed into a triangle, which shot at the beast’s thick and long tail and pierced it.

The pointy sharp tip of the triangular barrier was able to easily pierce the beast and shatter its scales, causing a fountain of blood to gush out, soon coupled with the beast’s cries of agony.

The barrier flew higher in the sky and changed shapes again; It became as big as the beast’s head then descended upon it, hammering on its head a couple of times.

Eventually, the beast stood up and thrashed around, slamming its body against the barrier.

It was equipped with a strong physique but all it could do was resist the blunt attacks of the barrier.

Everything was going exceptionally well for Arthur. He did not have to get close or change his tactic; The barrier would either smash the beast’s head or instantly change shapes and pierce a part of its body, further wounding it and slowing down its movements.

At some point, however, the beast opened its bleeding mouth and released a blast of energy, one that pulverized the swamp and resulted in an intense tremor.

Arthur was about to retreat but the radius of the energy blast was surprisingly big and ended up hitting him. His body was flung in the air then, with a thud, slammed in one of the blackened trees.

“Hahahahaha…”

The parasite spat more blood and got back to his feet, his hand raised ever-so-slightly and performing a simple gesture, which called back to the barrier right in front of him, just in time to stop the mad charge of the massive beast.

For a couple of moments, the two of them were unmoving; Arthur was protected by his barrier while the beast was using its pointy teeth and large mouth in a vain attempt to break the barrier and kill the parasite.

As he stared back at the golden eyes of his target, Arthur chuckled and pushed his hand forward, which made the barrier move and slowly overpower the beast.

“You think I’m afraid of death? Hahahaha… you will be my dinner!”

*****

While her master was fighting the unknown creature, things had escalated at a drastic pace in the village.

After binding her to the stake, Dominus came forth and pulled a hidden lever under the stairs leading inside the Tavern of the Gods. This caused the ground around the risen stake to open up and mist to come out.

Before they could light the ‘witch’ on fire, however, she broke free and landed right in front of Dominus.

The old village chief, who had his weapon in hand, tried to attack her only to be kicked ten meters to the back.

“I don’t want to kill you. Don’t force me.”

Despite her warning, the villagers, beginning with Greg and Thaman, roared in unison and attacked her. What followed after was an absolute bloodbath, a gruesome sight that would traumatize anyone who had seen it.

The maid, with her hidden twin blades in hand, fought anyone who attacked her, either pushing them into the hole or slashed them down. She did not hesitate to deal fatal blows, and ‘ere long, her weapons and clothes were bloodied.

In the span of three minutes, twelve people were killed and five were pushed down. It was only then that the villagers realized how dangerous the ‘witch’ was. Nevertheless, they were adamant… suicidal, even.

They brandished knives, swords, farming tools, and kept going after the maid, who, after her one and only warning, showed no mercy.

There was no denying that there were good people in their midst, but that did not absolve their ignorance and foolishness, at least that’s what Evelyn thought. It did not matter who it was, as long as they attacked her, then they deserved to be killed for her survival.

In a situation such as this, when words failed to knock some reason into them, no more was there ‘right’ or ‘wrong’... only kill or be killed.

“You will pay for this!”

Greg had his arm cut off but managed to escape a deadly blow. His face was pale and he no longer had the strength to fight back, therefore, he opted to flee.

Sadly, he was afforded but a couple of steps before something leapt at him and literally ripped his jugular, killing him thereafter.

Greg’s attempt to escape affected some of the villagers, especially after they witnessed the brutal death of the rest. Some of the womenfolk hysterically shouted and ran away, wanting to save their skins.

“No! Don’t! I beg ye-”

Gary, fallen on his butt, raised his hands in surrender as he looked at the cold expression plastered on the maid’s face. She raised her right hand and stabbed his heart, which made his body go limp and lifeless fall.

“Mort, where is he?”

Seeing that most, if not all villagers were either killed or fled, Evelyn turned to look at Mort and asked. The zombie cackled and shook his head, but when he was about to chase after the escapees, she grabbed him and spoke again,

“Tell me where he is-”

She was interrupted by an ear-deafening screech coming from the inn. The disturbing cry incapaciated not only her but Mort and the villagers too.

While blocking her ears, Evelyn looked at the building and soon spotted a crimson-eyed white rabbit jump from the window and writhe on the ground as it puked blood. The screech it was letting out lasted for barely ten seconds but it caused all the villagers to fall on the ground, their ears bleeding.

However, it wasn’t the end as the rabbit, like a bolt of lightning, shot toward a specific direction, paying no heed to anything in its way.

Evelyn and Mort, though slower than the rabbit, hastily gave chase. They exited the village and sped through the eerie forest; they soon heard tremors and loud cries, and after a minute of fast running, they arrived at one of the small swamps close to the village.

There, the maid was surprised to see a massive beast with black-scales clashing against a familiar yellowish barrier.

“Welcome, my dear Evelyn! Mind giving me a hand?”

Arthur beckoned the maid as he moved his hand and slammed the barrier against the target again, momentarily binding its body.

Mort and the rabbit were the first to act, the latter, though small, lunged at the beast’s gaping mouth and shredded its tongue. As for the zombie, he jumped in the water and used both hands to hold the tip of the beast’s tail.

Using all of his strength, Mort pulled down, successfully moving the beast and allowing Arthur to initiate another attack on the head.

Evelyn, whose eyes no longer glowed with the fake golden light, wasn’t as reckless as her master’s familiars. Nevertheless, she was strong and her attacks were accurate and potent. Her twin blades shattered the scales and inflicted many wounds on the target, making her soak in more blood than ever before.

“More! Let’s take it down! Hahahaha..”

Arthur was the only one at the back, his maniacal laughter echoing and showcasing his exhilaration and excitement.

The beast was tenacious and refused to die down even with the four of them ganging up on it. It thrashed around and let out one last energy blast, an extremely powerful one that hit all of its enemies.

Arthur’s barrier moved in front of the maid, blocking some of the damage. Still, the maid was sent flying and almost lost hold of her weapons.

When the chaos subdued and they all regained their senses, the beast had dove underwater and escaped, leaving only sanguine waters behind.

Instead of giving chase, Arthur checked on the zombie and the rabbit as he approached Evelyn.

“Fortunately, you are my maid.” He muttered as he stretched his hand and helped her stand up.

She inspected her blades then her body, which sustained injuries but none were fatal. Before she could say anything, the parasite used a handkerchief and cleaned some of the blood off her face.

“You look really horrible.”

“Whose fault is that?!”

“Hehehe…”

She did not shove his hand away and only frowned as she saw particularly nasty wounds on his chest.

“Master? Your chest…”

“Ah, this? Pay it no heed. I’m fine.”

Once he was done cleaning the blood off her face, he performed a couple of comical moves to reassure the maid.

The rabbit jumped in his arms and, like a docile pet, snugged while rubbing its small head against his hand.

“Little one, you did a good job too.”

“...”

Seeing how calm her master was, Evelyn did not know what to say or do, she just stood there and waited.

“The villagers?”

“Some fled.”

“Whatever…”

He shrugged and let out a sigh, “Let’s pay them one last visit. We’ll use that hole to get access into the beast’s lair and kill it once and for all.”

“Why do you want to kill it, master?”

“Because it’s my dinner! Hahaha..”

“...”