The Harem of Juicy MILFs

Chapter 39: New Lead [7]

The wind laden with ashes and fine dust swept across the desolate plain. Where the previous floors offered a profusion of lush vegetation, an almost suffocating exuberance of vines and foliage, the twenty-fifth floor revealed a completely different face. A field of ruins stretched as far as the eye could see, broken remnants of an ancient civilization. Columns of black stone, eroded by time and the wear of the elements, stood pointing toward a crepuscular and permanent sky. Collapsed arches spanned disjointed paved paths, and fragments of walls adorned with indecipherable runes lay among the debris.

To the north, the edge of these ruins was bordered by a dense and dark forest, whose trees with twisted branches seemed to have fed on the death of this forgotten city.

Gerhman and Hae-neul advanced cautiously, their steps echoing on the fractured slabs. Their gazes scanned the moving shadows, inspecting every corner from which a threat might emerge. The silence weighed heavily, disturbed only by the whistling of the wind through the ruins.

"At first, I didn’t believe in this story of a past civilization," murmured Gerhman, his deep voice echoing strangely in this funereal setting. "Since we had never seen anything like it before. But it looks like she was right." He paused, his eyes sweeping the jagged horizon. "Electhra’s readings indicated structural anomalies compatible with non-organic constructions. I thought it was a mistake."

Hae-neul raised her head: "She would never have lied to us."

"Hum... I know," conceded Gerhman. He had never really doubted Electhra’s word, but skepticism was second nature to him. Never having encountered such ruins on the previous floors had made him cautious, almost incredulous. But the facts were there, imposing and undeniable.

They continued their progress in silence, following what must have been a great avenue, flanked by mutilated statues with eroded faces. Suddenly, a powerful explosion tore through the calm air. The explosion came from the north, from the very heart of the dark forest, raising a cloud of dust and frightened birds above the canopy.

"It must be them..." said Hae-neul, reacting immediately to it.

Gerhman did not wait. "Let’s go."

He immediately set off toward the forest, his long strides devouring the rocky ground. Hae-neul followed him, her body still aching but her mind already focused on the fight to come.

---

In the clearing, at the heart of the forest, three silhouettes stood on the defensive. Around them, the ground was churned by recent impacts, tree trunks lay broken, and acrid smoke rose in gray volutes.

"When is this going to end?" complained Yein, wiping the sweat beading on her forehead. "I’m sick of it. Why do we have to deal with all the low-level grunt work?"

"If you hate it so much, make sure to become someone high-ranked," retorted Jin, his exasperation piercing through his voice.

"Everything is but the will of the..." began the other zealot in a fatalistic tone.

"Fuck that, when are you going to stop with this will story?" yelled Jin, cutting him off sharply. He clenched his fists, his knuckles whitening under the tension. "Anyway... let’s finish what we have to do and get back to base."

"What a great team..." said a voice suddenly behind them.

The voice came from above, clear and mocking. Instantly, they all went on guard, their bodies shifting into combat position, their eyes scanning the darkness between the branches.

When they looked up, they saw two silhouettes perched on the branches of a massive oak, about ten meters high.

One was a woman, wearing light combat attire, her red hair tied in a ponytail. The other, a man, crouched with a mocking smile on his lips.

"We heard some noise," said the man. "And we told ourselves: ’Hey, some comrades are in trouble.’ But it seems you simply have trouble getting along." He said it in a mocking tone.

"We don’t need your comments," growled Jin, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?"

"No need to be on your guard," he launched in a calm, almost casual voice, as he jumped lightly. His feet touched a lower branch.

"We are here because we heard that the cult of the void is in this tower," he continued, tilting his head.

Upon hearing this, the cult members exchanged panicked glances. Their usually impassive faces tensed with surprise. How could this stranger know their hiding place? Only the high-ups were supposed to know about their presence here, and especially that bastard Ha-jin Ho who keeps hunting them down.

"Shit..." swore Yein, clicking her tongue in dismay. She stepped forward, her slender silhouette standing out against the stone frame. "Tell me, what guild are you from?" she asked, her fists clenched. She wanted to know who they were dealing with, to gauge the extent of the threat facing them.

Gerhman shrugged, his smile widening in an almost amused way. "Does that really matter?" he replied, his hands still tucked in his pockets. He gently shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Instead, I propose something better."

A heavy silence fell over the group. The cult members exchanged questioning glances, their hands instinctively moving closer to the weapons they carried hidden under their clothes.

"I see you’re having trouble deciding," continued Gerhman with a condescending smile that never left his lips. He tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes shining with a dangerous gleam. "So I propose an arrangement: tell me why you are here and where your base is. In exchange, I offer you a gentle death. But you can always refuse, of course..." His voice took on a deeper tone, almost a whisper: "know that your death will be terrible."

The air around him seemed to freeze, as if his words had the power to chill the atmosphere itself. The cult members felt a shiver run down their spines, but none stepped back.

"Have you lost your mind!?" replied Seyon in a mocking tone, although her voice trembled slightly. She stepped forward in turn, her arms crossed over her chest, displaying a defiant air she did not really feel. "It looks like staying in the tower has made you completely crazy. Do you really think we’re going to let ourselves be intimidated by a guy like you?"

Gerhman did not respond immediately. He simply looked at them, his smile still fixed on his lips, but his eyes had become dangerous.

Faced with this worrying silence, the cult members seemed intimidated. Their confidence wavered. Yet they maintained their stoic expression, refusing to show the slightest sign of weakness. Yein clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palm. Seyon briefly looked away before bringing her gaze back to the intruder, a muscle in her jaw twitching nervously.

The silence stretched, heavy with threats, when suddenly Jin exploded. He had endured enough of this game. "Fuck..." he swore between his clenched teeth. Without another word, he launched himself at Gerhman, drawing his sword in a fluid motion. The blade sliced through the air with a sharp whistle as he leaped toward the branch where the intruder stood.

But before he could reach Gerhman, his primal instinct screamed a warning. As if electrocuted, he dove to the side, rolling in the dust with desperate agility. At the same moment, something fell from the sky whistling, shattering the ground exactly where he had stood a second earlier. A crater opened in the earth, sending shards of stone and dust in all directions.

The sound of the impact echoed like a clap of thunder in the silent night.

"What the..." began Yein, her eyes wide.

The explosion of debris fell slowly, and in the dissipating cloud of dust, a form began to take shape. Barely visible in the darkness, it was rising from the crater it had just created.

Gerhman, still perched on his branch, tilted his head toward the newcomer. "You should have acted a little faster," he murmured with a cold smile. "But I suppose it was to create the surprise effect."

The person Gerhman was talking to was none other than Hae-neul, who had been standing on the tree branch a few minutes ago.

The cult members stepped back, their certainties collapsing like a sandcastle.

"Who is that?" asked Seyon, her voice betraying genuine concern for the first time.

Gerhman jumped lightly from his branch, landing silently next to Hae-neul. He finally took his hands out of his pockets and crossed them behind his back, his smile widening.

"I present to you Hae-neul, vice-mistress of the Aegis guild," he announced in an almost friendly tone. "But don’t worry, she is not here to kill you. Not yet. She simply came to accompany me." He paused, his eyes shining in the darkness. "So, I ask my question again: tell me why you are here and where your base is. And perhaps, perhaps I will be merciful."