Meanwhile, the wired couple was nowhere to be found among the group, while the saint group was closer to their destination.

“We’re almost there,” Aria said, pointing to the island emerging from the muddy river.

“Finally, a land without mud! I’m so exhausted from constantly using mana like this,” Ella said, looking at her legs with the mana coating wobbling. And her feet had some stains. She then glanced at Aria. “Is there a water source?”

Aria nodded, smiling to reassure her. “There’s a natural lake on the island.” It has already been a week since we’ve had a good place to clean our bodies. This must be particularly difficult for her, as she is used to always being in a palace.

“Aria, have you seen the Cursed Child? I haven’t detected his presence for a long time,” Ella said as she brushed off dirt from her skirt. “Maybe he drowned in the mud or maybe he ran away. That would fit for him, returning to where he belongs.”

Not paying much attention to Ella’s remark, Aria responded, “Faye is with him. Maybe they are looking for things to collect.” Her voice sounded nonchalant. The Red Witch has been with him a lot lately. They stick together like bread and jam.

Ella checked her dress to ensure it was in perfect condition before continuing to walk. “We’ll never know the truth about him. He was a prisoner, fleeing from jail. There’s no guarantee he wouldn’t do the same again.”

He won’t run and flee again. He won’t break his promise. She looked back and focusing her senses on the mud surface. but detected nothing. He’s too far away. Or maybe he wants to do it this time? She headed back to Ella. “He will follow us,” Aria said, but her voice was covered with cloud.

Ella walked to Aria. “Aria, but we haven’t seen—”

“There’s something following us from far behind,” Eeon interrupted, his gaze shifting to Ella, a warning in his eyes. “Prepare for battle.”

Everyone turned their heads to look back, where a sleek, black creature with two wicked fins slithered, leaving a glistening trail in its wake.

He really keeps his promise.

“What is that thing?” Ella nervously asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t detect any mana essence from it. Perhaps it’s a rank six pentacle, capable of concealing its power from me,” Eeon replied, gripping his sword tightly. sending mana to his feet. Ground beneath him start harden. let everyone stood firm.

Squelsh! Squelsh! Yomp, yomp, yomp. The monster slowed down, finally coming to a stop.

“It stopped?” Ella said.

The creature remained motionless, its head tilting at an ugly angle as it searched for something. Eventually, it found the group, and its body shifted, its dark eyes fixating on them.

Couldn’t you make it look a better than that? Maybe put some lovely flowers on it. That would help a lot. But I understand it’s following the same design as Rocky.

kawack! Crack! Crack! Strange crawling and cracking sounds emanated from within it.

Splash! With lightning speed, it darted towards them, its grotesque fins synchronizing as it effortlessly slithered through the mud.

Splash! Splash! Splash! It moved faster and faster!

“What can we do? What is that thing?” Ella panicked.

Arwwooo~ Arwwooo~

What is that sound of you?

The group heard a dark and eerie cry as the creature moved closer, its open maw wide.

Arwwooo~ Arwwooooooolll~

Could you speak in a normal language? That screeching sound is freaking everyone out.

Taken aback, Ella gathered mana in her hand and drew her sword, which shone with a bright white light.

Aria raised her hand and said, “It’s okay. Please lower your sword.”

Eeon glanced at the floor for a moment before sheathing his sword, but Ella couldn’t shake the cloud of worry that rushed over her heart. She swiftly looked at Aria, wanting more explanation. “But, that—”

Ella’s eyes widened when she saw Aria’s face. She smiled, a sweet smile that Ella had never witnessed before.

“Ella, don’t worry, he won’t hurt us,” Aria reassured, her voice as clear as wind chimes on a summer day.

“What are you talking about? That’s a monster…” Ella replied, clearly confused.

“Ella, it’s him, Rain,” Aria said.

“Haaaaa!?” Ella exclaimed, trying to squint her eyes and focus on the monster.

Splash! Splash! The monster slowly approached the group until it stood in front of Aria. Its mouth opened wide, revealing a sloppy man covered in mud, standing on a wooden board and holding makeshift oars made of tied-together wood sticks and vines.

“Aria, have you seen my slides? I can do them too! They might look messy, but they can glide through the muddy sea just like you. Look, even as a regular person, I can keep up with you at incredible speed,” he said, gesturing with his hands and pointing to different parts of his mud slider board.

“Ahem! I am proud to present to you my greatest invention, The Fishman Slider,” he declared, with his nose pointed to the sky.

“Ahem! I helped him too,” the Red Witch chimed in, teasingly.

“Nah, you just boomed that monster and watched me do all the work. I had to collect the remains and put them together,” he said, showing his claws at her.

“Daring, watching children play is also a hard task, you know,” Faye said, her hand covering her mouth.

“Do not call me a child, Mistress,” he replied, with a dragged-out tone.

“Aww, your words are spicier,” she said, her red eyes shining.

The two of them locked eyes and continued arguing.

Am I mistaken, or do they seem closer? Aria thought, sensing something strange between the two. Faye seemed happy, her words resonating with a jingle sound, while Rain used more casual words and made exaggerated hand movements. Aria glanced into his blue eyes and noticed a spark of life within. The corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “Please, you two, stop arguing,” she said.

Rain quickly made a gesture and saluted. “Yes, sir!”

Faye glanced at Aria, then lightly touched her own lips before bowing her head slightly. The wind brushed against her hair, making a jingling sound.

Aria turned around, but a child’s voice stopped her.

“Oh, by the way, why did you stop running? Aren’t we racing to that island? Oh, I see, you don’t want to take first place, even though you’re the fastest runner. Ah, you’re so kind, Aria. But I don’t want to lose to the others. I’ll keep going, okay?” Rain asked.

He completely misinterpreted everything, but let’s leave it as is. She responded with a nod.

Rain smiled and crawled back to the board, swiftly taking off. As he flew away, he sang, “I’m a fish, a fish king, a big heavenly fish that can fly across the sky~ My fin is the largest, even one flip can send me the length of mountains~” He sang the entire way.

Faye swiftly walk followed him. “Fish king, wait for me too.”

Aria subconsciously tapped her thigh.

When Rain first set foot on the island, he turned back, raised both hands to the sky, and shouted with all his might, “Yeah! I’m the winner! I’m the fish king, the king of muddy land!” Then he waved his hand with the fullest swing at Aria.

Ella was shocked. Her mouth hung open in disbelief at what she saw.

Aria smiled sweetly and even let out a little giggle. “Hi-he-he, who wants to be the king of the muddy land? He-he, maybe it’s just you, the one who loves it.” She waved her hand back at him.

Not long, everyone stood firm on the big island. Aria guided them into the inner side. There was rich with various green plants and tree, some of which had leaves three times bigger than normal. As Aria made her way through the rough field, her title as scout became noticeable. Eventually, the group found a grass plain with a big rock that provided shelter from the wind, making it suitable for setting up camp.