The Smiling Death-Chapter 346: Disappeared Again!

"Ahh!.." Amon groaned, low and ragged.

With a pained grimace, he muttered, "Damn... that shockwave hit was really something."

His head throbbed from the impact. His vision was hazy and blurred. He couldn’t see anything clearly. He blinked hard, trying to drag the world back into focus.

His back was collided agaisnt many trees and branches. It gave him many wounds. He even heard a crack sound of bones.

His whole body was aching.

Then he felt something warm and yielding pressed against his chest. It was heavy, soft. No, impossibly soft. A weight pinned him to the forest floor. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Silky strands brushed his cheek, tickling his nose. Crimson hair spilled across his face like spilled wine.

’Scarlett!’ he thought. His eyes snapped wide.

She was draped over him completely. What he was feeling against his chest was her huge, round chest, her stomach pressed to his stomach, her body molded against his from ribs to hips. Every shallow breath she took pressed those generous curves more firmly into him.

’Oh my!’

His aching body screamed from the crash through branches and the brutal landing. Yet right now, the only thing his brain seemed capable of registering was this soft sensation.

’So the soft sensation... is her... oh Goddess.’

Almost on instinct, his right hand slid to her waist, fingers resting protectively, holding her steady.

Still sounding dazed, Scarlett murmured, "That... was stronger than I expected."

The sound of her voice yanked him out of his stunned haze.

With a dry throat, he managed, "Yeah."

She stirred slowly and groggily, pushing herself up with both hands braced on his chest. Her thighs shifted, then settled again, straddling his hips as she sat upright.

With a faint wince, she lifted one palm to rub her forehead. She clearly hadn’t yet understood the position she was in. Her weight balanced intimately over him, skirts rucked up just enough. Amon swallowed hard.

Concern visible in his eyes, he asked, "You okay?"

She had shielded him from the worst of the blast. He had felt the impact ripple through her body into his. Her gasp, the way she had curled instinctively toward him right before they hit the ground.

Taking a slow breath, she replied, "I’m... fine," finally blinking her eyes fully open.

Several slow seconds passed. Her gaze dropped. She now focused on her position.

Her eyes traveled down the length of their bodies. His hands still loosely cradling her waist, her thighs framing his hips, the unmistakable press of her seated astride him.

Scarlett froze. Crimson flooded her cheeks, bright enough to rival her hair.

"Oh—!"

She scrambled off him in a frantic rush, nearly kneeing him in the process. She staggered to her feet, smoothing her skirts with both hands as though that could erase the last thirty seconds.

Flustered and red-faced, she stammered, "S-sorry!"

Amon remembered the time when she first beat him. She had straddled him in the same way. But that time, maybe because of being too angry. She hadn’t felt anything. But right now... she felt slight shame and embarrassment.

She couldn’t quite look at him.

Amon stayed flat on his back a moment longer, letting the cool forest air wash over his heated skin.

He exhaled through his nose, trying and failing. To banish the memory of exactly how she had felt pressed against him.

With a low voice and a tiny crooked smile tugging at the corner of his mouth despite the bruises blooming across his ribs, he said, "...No harm done. You make a decent shield, though."

Scarlett shot him a mortified glare that somehow still managed to look faintly fond.

With embarrassment still coloring her face, she muttered, "Shut up."

Her expression gradually turned serious as she looked back in the direction where the tower had been standing before. But there was nothing.

Frowning slightly, she questioned, "It disappeared?"

Amon also looked while still lying down.

’I guess so... but this time it remained for far longer. Before, it vanished in a second.’

Confusion evident on her face, she asked, "What was that? What just happened? It appeared out of nowhere... then vanished like it never existed."

Her expression grew more and more confused.

Amon slowly pushed himself up.

"Ahh!" he groaned in pain.

Seeing him stagger while standing up, Scarlett quickly stepped forward to support him. She offered him her shoulder.

Amon rested his right arm over her shoulder for support.

With gratitude in his voice, he said, "Thanks."

Trying to remain composed, she said, "Um... for now, let’s get out of here. We will talk about what happened here when we are away from this place. Staying here doesn’t seem right choice."

Amon nodded. "Yeah, let’s go."

Before leaving, he retrieved his sword and put it back into his storage ring.

Both of them walked in another direction, away from where they had come.

When they were some distance away from that place.

With concern in her eyes, Scarlett said, "Let’s rest for a while. You don’t look good."

Tired and pale, Amon replied, "Yeah."

After all, Amon had hit many trees and fallen hard on the ground.

In the case of Scarlett, she was far stronger than him. So naturally, she hadn’t been affected much by that shockwave.

She made Amon sit against a tree.

Glancing at the sky, he said, "It’s getting late. Soon it will be dark."

With mild annoyance in her tone, she replied, "What can you expect? We spent half the day doing nothing, just walking."

"Hehe, sorry," he added sheepishly.

She just shook her head tiredly.

Growl~

A sound came from somewhere nearby.

Scarlett tried to see where it came from. The direction led to Amon.

Yup. His stomach had just made a growling sound.

He was hungry.

Blushing in embarrassment, he scratched his cheek with his finger. "Haven’t eaten anything for the whole day... so I’m kind of hungry."

Scarlett’s lips curved upward at his reaction. She nearly forgot just what kind of thing they had seen.

With a decisive expression, she said, "Alright. I will bring something to eat... guess we will have dinner here. We can also talk about this incident. After that, we go back to the village."

With a playful smile, Amon said, "As you say, my vampire."

"Hmph!" she responded, pretending to be annoyed.

Scarlett vanished into the forest to find something edible for both of them.

Amon was smiling as she left. When she was no longer visible, his smile vanished.

His expression turned serious as he checked his surroundings.

Calmly, he called out, "Vetaal? Where are you?"

A reply came from above.

"I am up, kid."