Chapter 146: He’s Melting

“Why hasn’t Saul woken up yet?” Wright crouched beside Saul, anxiously asking Byron.

Just moments ago, the formation had suddenly failed, and the induction device had stopped functioning.

Nick had no choice but to remove the electrodes from Saul’s body.

Byron glanced at the busy Nick.

While organizing the induction device, Nick said, “The final readings show that only one emotional entity remains in Saul’s body. It’s very calm. The one who survived definitely isn’t Morten.”

Byron turned to Wright. “Mm.”

Wright: Are you running out of words for the day or what?

Wright sighed, rubbing his hands together. “I didn’t end up helping at all. Do you think Saul will complain to the Tower Master when he wakes up? Will I die the very night we return?”

“Mm…” Byron hesitated to respond.

“No!!!” Wright clearly misunderstood Byron’s meaning and hurriedly leaned down, speaking to the unconscious Saul. “Saul! Ah! Ah ah ah!”

Suddenly, he started making strange noises.

Both Byron and Nick were startled by his outburst and quickly followed his gaze.

Wright finally shouted, “Saul, he’s melting!!!”

Saul’s arms, which had been resting at his sides, had begun to melt like burning wax, slowly sliding down from his skeleton.

Not only that, but when Byron nervously rolled up Saul’s sleeves, they saw that even his normal-looking arms had started to deform.

His skin sagged, looking as though he had aged a hundred years in an instant.

And the aging skin was continuing to spread toward his torso.

If this continued, would it affect his entire body?

“How could this be happening?” Nick’s expression darkened as he frowned.

Byron looked at the induction device beside him and suddenly realized something.

Before he could speak, the ground suddenly trembled, and a violent wind swept from behind them.

The three of them turned at the same time, only to see that the soul storm, which should have lasted for a few more days, had already begun to collapse.

Countless white fragments lost their color, and the wind’s rotation was slowing down.

But with that came tremors in the cracks, and massive rocks began to fall from above.

“Our formation must have accelerated the storm’s collapse. The cave is going to cave in—we need to leave now,” Nick said quickly, clutching his induction device tightly.

“But with Saul like this, will he turn into a dried-up corpse by the time we get out?” Wright asked urgently, concerned for his own life.

Hearing this, Byron suddenly reached into his mouth and pulled out a pouch—the same one Saul had used to store spoils of war earlier.

With a light shake, the pouch expanded into a large sack about a meter wide.

Byron held the opening open and gestured at Saul with his chin. “Mm!”

This time, Wright miraculously understood Byron’s meaning. He carefully but quickly lifted Saul and stuffed him into the bag before his melting skin could hit the ground.

Byron didn’t tie the sack shut. Instead, he swung it over his shoulder and carried it as they ran.

The tremors at the rift hadn’t affected the surface. The higher they ran, the weaker the aftershocks became.

Finally, they reached the cave entrance.

Wright reminded the others, “There are a lot of Head Monsters outside. We need to be careful and find a weak spot to break through. If we get surrounded, we’re done for.”

“The Head Monsters have poor eyesight. Should we wait until nightfall to go out?” Nick suggested cautiously.

No one could take the risk of facing a mountain full of Head Monsters.

Byron handed the sack to Nick and stepped forward, carefully peeking outside.

However, he soon returned with a surprised expression.

“Mm~” He lightly shook his head.

“They’re gone?” Wright asked in disbelief. He rushed to the spot Byron had just stood in, cautiously sticking his head out of the cave. Then his upper body followed, and finally, he stepped all the way out.

The sunlight behind him cast a massive shadow from the mountain, covering almost all of Hanging Valley.

The surroundings were eerily silent.

The brutal, gladiator-like scene from before had completely vanished.

“They really disappeared.”

Byron and Nick followed him out.

Standing at the cliffside cave entrance, they felt a mix of emotions.

Especially Wright—he never expected that once the evil spirit vanished, the Head Monsters would automatically leave as well.

Could it be that the Head Monsters had only existed because they were attached to the evil spirit?

Suddenly, something moved in the shadows.

“Who’s there?” Wright shouted sharply.

A few people staggered out from below the cave where the three of them stood.

Wright looked down and realized they were apprentices from Landship Sail. Some of them even looked familiar—they were the unlucky ones who had been hunted by the evil spirit alongside them earlier.

“It’s you?” One of them recognized Wright, knowing that he was a Level 3 apprentice.

Meanwhile, none of the survivors from Landship Sail were at Level 3 anymore.

The situation had flipped, and those on the ground immediately cowered.

“Sir.”

“What happened to the Head Monsters? Are you the only ones left here?” Wright asked coldly, standing high above them.

The group exchanged glances before one of them stepped forward to answer.

“Sir, after you entered the underground, the Head Monsters went on a rampage and started killing everyone. Most of our companions were bitten to death. But just a moment ago, for some unknown reason, the Head Monsters suddenly shrieked in terror and then disappeared. We were afraid something dangerous was happening, so we hid in place, not daring to move.”

Although he seemed to be respectfully answering, Byron noticed something unusual—a strange look in one of their eyes when they exchanged glances.

“Sir, that evil spirit… What happened to Lord Morten?” Another apprentice stepped forward nervously, and in doing so, he blocked the view of the suspicious apprentice behind him.

“They’re sending a signal to the outside!” Byron immediately realized these guys weren’t being honest.

“I can feel something massive approaching,” Wright suddenly crouched down, pressing a hand to the ground. “Judging by the vibrations, it’ll arrive in half an hour. And it’s not coming in peace—we have to leave now.”

“Let’s go. Head straight back to the tower.”

Byron nodded. The three of them immediately jumped down from the cave entrance, landing on the ground.

As they were about to run, one of the Land Vessel apprentices suddenly stepped forward, seemingly wanting to stop them.

But at that moment, the sack Nick was holding began to struggle violently.

Realizing who was inside, Nick quickly placed the sack on the ground.

Because he hadn’t tied it shut, as soon as he let go, the opening burst open.

A frail-looking boy emerged.

“Waaaahhh!”

The apprentice who had tried to approach instantly recoiled in terror. He stumbled backward after only two steps, falling to the ground and scrambling away on all fours.

The others trembled as well.

They wanted to run, but their legs were frozen in place.

Not falling over like the first guy was their final shred of dignity.

The boy from the sack clutched his head, seemingly in pain.

His hands were pure bone, making it impossible not to wonder—beneath his tattered clothing, how much flesh was even left on his frail body?

“Saul?” Byron noticed that although Saul’s expression was pained, his eyes were clear. And his skin, which had been aging rapidly before, seemed to have recovered.

Saul lowered his hands and looked over. “Senior?”

Looking around, he realized he was no longer underground.

Then he looked down—and was shocked to see that both of his hands had turned into white bones.

And at his feet, inside the sack, were two slimy puddles… and one of his anti-shock gloves.

“Wh-what happened?”

Did he just wake up… without hands?

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