The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 500: That feels like a lie
The mountain forest was never meant for mortals.
It glowed — not with sunlight or moonlight, because the peak swallowed both — but with its own strange, ancient luminescence.
A soft bluish-white radiance seeped from the moss, from the bark, from the floating mist that clung to the roots like drifting ghosts.
Every breath tasted like magic.
Every sound echoed like a whisper from something older than time.
Isabella didn't care.
Her boots clicked sharply against the forest floor as she marched forward, Glimora trotting beside her on tiny paws, while Osiris followed behind like an oversized, confused, arrogant guard dog.
The air was cool, quiet, and full of mystery. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶
And yet the only thing Isabella cared about was not punching Osiris in the throat.
⸻
In her mind:
Bubu, what tasks haven't I completed for saving Shelia?
Silence.
Then—
A dry, irritated voice echoed in her skull:
"GOOD morning to you too, host."
Isabella rolled her eyes so hard she saw heaven for two seconds.
Be serious, Bubu. Just tell me.
The system made a loud, sarcastic "loading" chime, and a translucent blue screen flickered into existence in her mind's eye.
Lines of text scrolled like they were annoyed at her for existing.
⸻
QUEST MATERIALS FOR SHELIA'S RESTORATION
1. Ashvine Root
Found: Along the skeleton of a dead ancient beast at the peak.
Use: Rebuilds bones and marrow, temporary hallucinations if mishandled.
Note: Must be dug out by hand and soaked in mountain dew for one hour.
2. Firemoss
Found: Inside a magma-split rock halfway up the mountain.
Use: Restores voice and vocal cords. Warm to the touch.
Note: Must be handled with fingers dipped in snowmelt.
3. Silent Nectar
Found: Dropped willingly by the skyflower hummingbird.
Use: Repairs nerves and internal organs.
Note: The bird must choose to give it. Cannot be forced.
4. Ghostshade Bark
Found: On the translucent tree near the cliff edge.
Use: Prevents body rot and poisons from spreading.
Note: Only visible to a woman who has cried for another's death.
5. Redstone Powder
Found: Beneath cave floor at the mountain's entrance.
Use: The binding catalyst in the ritual.
Note: Guarded by hallucination spores. Requires a wet cloth over mouth.
⸻
Isabella's eyelid twitched.
These are all hard. And terrifying. And annoying.
Shelia's face flashed in her mind — pale ruined, unconscious, barely breathing.
Isabella exhaled.
But she's my friend. So we're doing this.
She scanned the list again.
Ashvine Root first.
Firemoss second.
Actually… Firemoss… I could use him for that. Dumb phoenix man. He might actually be useful for once.
She turned slightly, glancing behind her.
Osiris was walking with his hands clasped behind his back like he was touring a royal garden, eyes constantly moving from glowing root to luminous rock.
He looked around with such boyish fascination that it made Isabella's eye twitch.
He finally noticed her glance — just a flicker of her eyelashes — and before he could react, she snapped her head forward again and sped up her pace.
Osiris blinked.
"What… did I do?" he muttered under his breath.
Glimora snorted.
Isabella heard nothing, already mentally planning 58 ways to use him for labor later.
⸻
The forest deepened.
The glowing mist stroked their ankles. The trees towered above them like old gods leaning over to watch. Strange blue butterflies drifted lazily between branches, illuminating the path.
But Isabella barely acknowledged any of it. She reached into her infinite space pocket, pulled out her magical map, and tapped the corner.
The map unfolded in the air like an enchanted scroll, its surface glowing with shifting runes and moving paths.
It pointed — a thin, shining line leading upward toward the peak.
Osiris's eyes went wide.
"…what is THAT?"
"A map."
"That is not a map," he said, instantly offended. "Maps do not float."
"This one does."
"Why?"
"Because it's magical."
"…why?"
She inhaled sharply. "Osiris."
He closed his mouth.
For two seconds.
Then:
"Where did you get it?"
"My space."
"What is that?" he asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. "You summon things from thin air. You use strange tools. You speak to yourself. You carry items I've never seen. You—"
"It's called being better than you," she cut in.
His jaw tightened.
"Or perhaps you are simply hiding something."
She stopped walking.
He froze.
Glimora waddled behind Isabella and hugged her leg like a tiny emotional support creature.
Isabella turned her head slightly, voice low and sharp:
"I'm hiding the fact that you're annoying."
He squinted. "That feels like a lie."
"It isn't."
He huffed — actually huffed — like a man insulted by the quality of air he was forced to breathe.
Isabella rolled her eyes and kept walking.
Osiris followed a little too closely behind.
The forest floor shifted from dirt to stone as they climbed. Roots glowed brighter. Moss glittered softly. Strange crystalline shards stuck out of the ground like remnants of old magic.
Osiris stepped on one and flinched.
"What in the—"
He stopped, crouched, picked it up. "It's sharp."
"It's crystal from the beast skeletons," Isabella said without looking up from her map.
He frowned. "How do you know all this?"
"Knowledge."
"That tells me nothing."
"It tells you more than you need."
He narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
For a few minutes, the only sounds were the crunch of stone under their feet and Glimora's tiny footsteps.
Then Osiris cleared his throat.
"So… why are we walking to the top?"
Silence.
"Isabella."
More silence.
"Woman who assaulted me with soap."
She didn't look at him.
He sighed heavily. "Are we going to fight something?"
She ignored him.
"Are we collecting something?"
Ignored again.
"Are you taking me to kill me?"
Isabella stopped mid-step.
She turned her head just enough to give him a side glare.
"I'm not wasting that much effort on you."
He blinked. "So… no?"
"No."
"…then what are we doing?"
"Walking," she muttered.
"That is NOT an answer."
"It's the only answer you get."
Osiris scowled. "You are impossible."
"And you talk too much."
He stopped walking entirely, offended.
"I talk perfectly."
"Well, stop."
"Why?"
"Because it's annoying."
"Your face is annoying."
She turned her head so slowly it almost creaked.
Osiris immediately regretted speaking.
Glimora gasped.
A tree nearby bent away from the tension.
Isabella took a deep breath through her nose, turned back around, and walked even faster.
Osiris scrambled to catch up.
He muttered under his breath, "She's always so moody…"
She didn't hear it.
If she had, he would've been buried under crystal shards.
⸻
The magical map pulsed in her hand.
A glowing arrow curved upward, shifting through the mist.
"We're close," Isabella muttered.
Osiris leaned forward, curious despite himself. "That thing… it guides us?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Magic."
"That is not—"
She shot him a look that could kill a god.
He shut up.
They walked for another ten minutes — up winding stone paths, across roots thick as snakes, under drifting lights shaped like tiny fish.
The forest thinned.
The air grew colder.
And the mountain's peak — glowing faintly with a quiet, eerie aura — came into view.
The map flashed once, then dissolved into silver dust.
Isabella exhaled.
They had arrived.
