I Became the Villainess, But My Beast Husbands Can Hear My Mind?!-Chapter 122: Hidden Beneath The Mountain

Once the fun was over, Roxanna started to feel nervous again. Before they began climbing the mountain, she looked up and took a deep breath.

"If the legend is true," she said softly, "then when will they decide who is allowed to climb this mountain?" She tightened the climbing gear around her waist as she spoke.

"Maybe it’s just nonsense," Luan replied casually. "If it were really true, then Cyrus and I shouldn’t even be allowed to climb anymore. But look around, there’s no strange person here judging whether we’re worthy or not."

"Still, be careful," Cyrus said. After taking out his climbing gear, he put his bag back on his shoulders. "It’s too early to guess what’s waiting for us up there. Even the clouds look strange. I can’t fly to the top because of that."

"You’re just a little red sparrow," Luan teased, "so don’t act like an eagle that can fly so high." Although he sounded like he was mocking Cyrus, Roxanna knew he was worried about him. "Don’t risk your life. If you get hurt, we’ll lose two people in no time."

Cyrus let out a soft sigh. "Of course not. I won’t let you lose two competitors so easily," he said with a small laugh. "You’d be way too happy."

Luan only smiled in response, and his eyes softened. After making sure everything was ready, they finally took their first step onto the mountain.

"Do you think there are demon beasts around here?" Roxanna asked softly. She just wanted to be careful because she didn’t want to act recklessly and ruin their plan to save Calen.

"There aren’t any voids near the foot of the mountain, so I don’t think there are demon beasts here," Cyrus replied. "But I don’t know what’s waiting for us above, so stay close to us, okay?"

Roxanna nodded. The last thing she wanted was to act like a stupid girl and make things difficult for her husbands.

[This mountain looks a bit scary,] she thought as she looked around.

The sky was gray as she climbed higher, and there were no signs of life anywhere. The mountain was quiet—too quiet, even. In her world, places like this were often linked to ghost stories and strange legends.

[Good thing I came here with my husbands,] she thought. [Well, it’s not like I’m afraid of ghosts anyway. But still... climbing this kind of mountain alone would definitely be scary.]

Just as she was thinking that, Luan and Cyrus immediately reached for her hands. They held her tightly and helped her climb. Even though the path wasn’t very steep, they still had to work hard to get up. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Actually, it would have been easier if they climbed in their animal forms, but they wouldn’t be able to carry their belongings like that.

"Did you enjoy climbing mountains back then?" Cyrus asked. "I mean... there are mountains in your world too, right?"

Roxanna laughed softly. "Yes, there are. But I only climbed small ones, and only during office trips. I usually don’t do this kind of thing by myself."

After all, Roxanna didn’t like climbing alone, and most of her friends didn’t really enjoy outdoor adventures either.

"Office? What’s that?" Luan asked.

Roxanna smiled. "An office is..."

Along the way, she ended up explaining many modern terms to them, from offices to schools. She even told them about school competitions.

Some people might find it annoying to explain basic things over and over again, but Roxanna actually felt happy because she could let them enter her world too.

Without realizing it, they had been climbing for almost three hours. Even so, they hadn’t reached even half of the journey yet. Instead, Roxanna felt like it was only a warm-up.

She didn’t mind climbing longer, but at the same time, she didn’t want to waste time and make Calen wait too long.

"Should we walk faster?" she asked.

She turned to Luan and Cyrus. They didn’t look tired at all and were barely even out of breath. Actually, she didn’t feel tired either. Maybe it was because her stamina as a beast was so good.

"Yeah, I think we can do that," Luan said.

After that, they didn’t talk much so they could move faster. At first, everything felt easy and calm. They even barely sensed any danger around them.

However, as they walked quickly, Roxanna suddenly tripped over something on the ground, almost making Cyrus and Luan fall with her.

Luckily, they managed to steady her, so none of them fell.

"I’m sorry, I’m sorry," she said quickly. "I wasn’t watching my steps properly."

Honestly, she always paid attention to where she walked. From the beginning, she had seen that the path was completely clear.

[Did I trip on a rock, but—FUCK! WHAT’S THAT?!]

Her eyes widened as she looked down and saw a skeleton emerging from the ground—no, wait. She had actually tripped over a skull.

She hadn’t seen anything like that before. It must have been hidden under layers of dust and dirt, blending in with the ground.

"W-What is that...?" Roxanna whispered, her voice trembling.

Luan and Cyrus followed her gaze. The moment they saw the skull, their expressions changed.

"That’s..." Cyrus frowned. He slowly crouched down and brushed away some of the dust with his hand.

More white bones appeared one by one. There was an arm, a rib, and part of a spine. But as Cyrus kicked away the dust around them, they finally saw even more skeletons beneath their feet.

"What the hell..." Roxanna muttered to herself. Without realizing it, she tightened her grip on Luan’s and Cyrus’s hands. "What really happened on this mountain? I thought only healers lived here."

At first, she thought this might be a mountain graveyard. But even in the mountain, most people would place bodies in more hidden areas, not in an open place like this.

When they exchanged glances with each other, they suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet begin to rumble.

At first, it was faint, almost like distant thunder. But soon, it became impossible to ignore.

Roxanna held her breath for a moment.

"D-Do you feel that?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"I do," Luan replied, immediately pulling her closer to him. "Something’s wrong."

Cyrus quickly became more tense, ready to react at any moment. His sharp eyes scanned their surroundings.

The ground cracked. Thin lines spread beneath their feet like spiderwebs.

"Move!" Cyrus shouted.

Before Roxanna could even react, Luan wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped backward. At the same time, Cyrus grabbed her other arm and pulled her with him.

A loud cracking sound echoed through the mountain.

CRACK—!

The ground they had been standing on collapsed. Dust and rocks fell into a dark hole below, disappearing into endless darkness.

Roxanna stared in shock, her breath stuck in her throat. "If we were a second slower..." she whispered.

Luan tightened his grip on her. "Don’t think about it," he said firmly. "You’re safe."

Cyrus landed beside them and looked down into the hole, his expression serious. "This mountain is unstable," he said. "And it’s full of traps."

Roxanna swallowed hard. She realized that the skeletons might belong to people who had failed to climb all the way to the peak.

She clenched her fists, thinking that this might be one of the trials to prove whether someone was worthy of stepping onto the summit or not.

"Maybe I should climb alone," Roxanna said. "These people..." She looked around at the skeletons. "They probably weren’t healers or deer beastkins."

"No!" Luan said firmly. "I won’t let you climb alone. It’s too dangerous."

"Yes, just forget it!" Cyrus shouted at her as well. It was actually the first time Roxanna had ever heard him raise his voice like that. Usually, he was calm and composed. "Let’s just keep going together!"

However, when they started moving again, the ground shook so violently that rocks began falling from above.

Before any of them could react, the ground beneath them suddenly collapsed.

"Roxanna!" She heard both of her husbands shout at the same time.

In the next second, Roxanna felt her body drop so fast. She even barely had time to scream before she started falling.

Cold wind rushed past her ears, and her heart slammed wildly in her chest.

"Roxanna!" Cyrus yelled again.

Without hesitation, he reached for her and twisted their bodies so that his back hit the ground first.

Meanwhile, Luan shifted into his cat form so he could land more easily.

Cyrus thought he would be fine, but what he didn’t expect was that his body landed right on sharp rocks. It was so sudden and so intense that his breath was knocked out of him.

"Ugh—!"

The rock pierced his stomach, and unexpectedly, it also pierced Roxanna’s stomach.

"Fuck! Fuck!" Luan immediately turned back into his human form. He hovered around them, feeling confused about whether he should act right away.

His hands trembled as he looked between them. Both of them were bleeding, both of them looked pale, and both of them were in danger.

"Damn it... damn it..." Luan muttered, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"L-Luan..." Roxanna said in a weak voice. "Pull me up... first. I-I will be fine."