Chapter 39: Stargazing Nightmare

"Ugh!"

"Ugh!"

In a clearing somewhere in the Reed Fields, two figures—one large, one small—were squatting on the ground, faces pale as they vomited.

Worse still, they were wracked with stomach cramps and a rising tide of bile. Their tongues were so numb it felt like they were holding a chunk of wood in their mouths.

"Uh… was my grilled fish really that bad?"

Behind them, a white-haired Incubus rubbed his chin, holding up a charred stick as he asked tentatively.

The fish on the sticks had already been nibbled at. Their teeth were sharp, their forms showing signs of demonic corruption. One side was scorched and swollen like cratered crocodile skin; the other side was raw in the middle—pink streaks on a white background.

Their ghastly eyes bulged forward, pale and unblinking, as if they'd died refusing to close.

"Ugh…"

The two victims glanced back at the gruesome grilled fish, and their stomachs heaved again. The mix of burnt stench and fishy rot in the air made them double over, retching all over again.

"How about… you try another bite?"

Merlin, still not giving up, scooted forward with the two sticks.

"Get lost!"

"Go die, Merlin!"

Samael and Ana snapped in unison, finally forcing the self-appointed chef and great sage to sulkily stab the two failed skewers into the dirt beside the fire.

After another round of vomiting, the victims rinsed their mouths repeatedly with clean water. Only then did they manage to recover, gloomily returning to their seats.

Samael cast a side glance at the two fish, still staring up at the sky with vacant eyes, and couldn't help but recall a certain infamous British dish from the future.

Stargazy Pie…

Basically, it was a pie crammed with sardines, tuna, mackerel, herring, horn shark, cod, and a seventh mystery fish. The fish heads stuck out from the crust, all staring straight up at the heavens with lifeless eyes. The shocking appearance combined with its sweet-salty flavor made it a true assault on the senses.

Merlin's grilled fish might not have the notoriety of that infamous recipe, but in terms of destructive power, they were on par with biological weapons.

And as it happened, Stargazy Pie originated in Cornwall, England—back in the 16th century.

Coincidentally, that was also King Arthur's birthplace, and the great sage Merlin, as the one who educated the King of Knights, had no doubt wandered through that very place.

If not for the difference in time, Samael would've seriously suspected these two skewers were among the ancestors of Stargazy Pie.

"Was it really that bad? I didn't think so…"

The Incubus, still not ready to give up, muttered to himself as he looked at his so-called masterpiece.

"You bastard, Merlin! That's because you didn't eat it!"

Ana angrily waved her tiny fists, her teeth grinding. She'd developed a full-blown trauma toward fish now. Just thinking about it made her mouth fill with that nauseating fishy taste.

"Yeah, how can you not eat your own cooking?"

Samael finally came to and picked up one of the skewers, grinning without mirth as he held it out.

Back when those two fish were just finished, he and Anna had instinctively taken what looked like golden, crispy, fragrant grilled fish. But the moment they bit in, every pleasant thought turned into a nightmare.

Damn it! That shameless bastard Merlin used an illusion just to save face!

"Appreciate the gesture, friend."

"But I'm a half-Incubus, y'know. I feed on dreams…"

Merlin blinked and smoothly nudged the biohazard away.

You bastard! You've barely eaten human food, and you dare to cook!?

This is what you call a reward and a thank-you? Screw you!

The two victims felt veins bulging on their foreheads, barely restraining the urge to grab this Incubus and beat the stuffing out of him.

"All right, it's getting late—let's get moving."

Sensing things were about to go south, the white-haired Incubus rose to his feet with a cheerful smile, pretending to take the lead, then promptly slipped away.

His movement was absurdly flashy, scattering into flower petals and reassembling in another spot as he advanced.

The two victims tried several times to catch up, but they were always kept just out of reach, making their teeth itch with frustration.

"Damn you, Merlin!"

Ana, clearly duped, huffed in annoyance. Slightly behind her, Samael mentally jotted down a note in his little black book.

At the same time, the ancient snake glanced back, his gaze falling on a swamp hidden among the reeds. A golden-red pattern briefly glowed across his palm.

After a full day and night of toil, he finally made some gains.

While Merlin and Ana had gone off, he—injured and left behind—had quietly absorbed the corpse of a Mad Lion, patching the gap in his Magical Beast Spirit Origin that had been missing a trace of divine essence.

Even without fully transforming into Uridimmu, he could now access some of its traits.

Heightened beast instincts, increased strength, faster movement—he even seemed to have gained some resistance to fire.

However, the Mad Lion Uridimmu was one of the lower-ranked among the Eleven Offspring of Tiamat, so the enhancements were quite limited.

And to keep that sly Incubus from noticing anything, he hadn't dared make a scene—he'd picked just one beast to absorb.

Once done, Samael cautiously tossed the remains into the swamp to erase all traces.

Gaining power wasn't something that could be rushed overnight.

In this era where heroes roamed and monsters lurked, freaks were everywhere. Brains beat brawn when it came to survival—slow, careful development was the smarter path.

After a moment to settle his thoughts, Samael pulled his gaze back and turned away from the reed-covered marsh, which now held a small secret.

...

After several hours of swift travel, the three had crossed most of the Reed Fields and were nearing the border.

"Hiss!"

As they passed through a watery patch, a brown-blue scorpion-like creature with a hooked tail suddenly burst through the reeds, striking out at them.

"Clang!"

Samael, in the lead, sensed the shift in air pressure and instinctively swung his sword, knocking the scorpion's tail aside.

"Roar!"

A strange cry rang out as a Mušḫuššu—a Magical Beast clad in greenish scales, lizard-shaped with a pointed snout—charged through the reeds on four short legs, baring its aggression.

Damn it, me again?! Do I have a sign on me that says "easy target" or something?

Once again singled out as the first target, the ancient snake seethed.

But before he had to face the thick-armored beast head-on, Ana—the little angel who always had his back—stepped forward without hesitation.

With a powerful swing of her purple-red scythe blade, she cleanly severed the beast's head from its neck, leaving behind a smooth cut.

As the scent of blood spread, faint rustling sounds began to rise around them—something else was crawling nearby.

The three exchanged glances, surged their Mana, and immediately bolted out of the swamp as fast as they could.

...

Finally, after a frenzied ten-minute sprint, they emerged safely from the Reed Fields.

From the open flatlands, they could just make out the grand silhouette of Uruk—the fortress city that stood as the last bastion of human dignity.

They had arrived.