"Then I'll have to tear you apart and pass through!" Alvin replied coldly.
The corners of the young woman's lips lifted slightly into a wicked smile, which then turned into loud laughter that surprised them. Has she lost her mind? Meryl wondered.
"You've become cruel since you left this place. Alvin, have you forgotten the beautiful times we spent together?" the young woman said slyly, winking.
— [We've found another womanizer.]
Message from 'The Pink Widow' in the public chat.
— [There's nothing better than women across all worlds!]
Message from 'The Womanizer' in the public chat.
"Did you spend time with a non-human being?" Meryl whispered in shock.
"Excuse me!" Elena called out impatiently. Time was passing, and they needed to find the crystal before someone else did. "We're not here to hear about your intimate relationship—we came to search the house for what we need."
Wasn't she supposed to be angry, jealous of Alvin's relationship with that girl? But Meryl found no trace of annoyance in Elena's calm expression.
"Oh, forgive me, I completely forgot because I was so focused on my lover's beauty…" the young woman spoke slyly, but Alvin interrupted her coldly, "I'm not your lover."
"We'll discuss this inside. Please, come in!" she said, extending her hand toward the house with the open door.
"After you," said Alvin.
"Of course," she replied before starting to walk toward the house, followed silently by the others. Tulip's expression tightened slightly as his nose caught a faint scent. Mint? He wasn't sure if his guess was correct, so he tried to inhale more deeply.
Meryl stared at the green grass beneath her shoes. It remained still despite the light breeze in the garden. Inside the cottage, where the furniture was painted in warm, cheerful colors like orange, red, and shades of yellow, the scent of fruit tea hung in the air.
What caught Tulip's attention—while he was focused on that faint scent—was a painting hanging on the right-hand wall. He quietly let go of Alvin's hand and walked toward it.
An open feminine hand facing upward, with a purple tulip resting in its palm. Golden threads swirled around them. In the background, it looked as if the painting had been stained with red.
Tulip stopped near the painting, admiring its details. Everything about it was so mesmerizing that he didn't notice the surrounding sounds fading away.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock when the hand in the painting moved, clenched around the purple tulip, and tore its delicate petals apart.
Tulip's heart tightened with fear. He immediately turned to go back to Alvin and tell him what had happened. But his body froze in place, and his heartbeat raced when he saw the area was empty…
Alvin, Meryl, and Elena — they were all gone! And the room looked completely different from before. It was now empty and slightly dark.
The child swallowed hard in terror as he felt a hand gently pat his shoulder. He turned around slowly, hoping with all his heart that everything was fine and that Alvin would be standing behind him.
But… that hand was reaching out from the painting, stained with blood. "Aaaah!" Tulip screamed at the top of his lungs. He fell to the ground and crawled backward, his eyes wide with fear, staring at the head that was emerging from the painting.
Elsewhere, Alvin was at the peak of his fury, gripping his bloodthirsty sword. "Where are Elena and the others?" he asked angrily. They had been around him just a minute ago—how did they disappear so quickly?
Meryl had her master to help her, but Tulip and Elena only had a few daggers and weak poison that barely offered protection.
"Elena? Do you love her?" the young woman asked with a scowl.
— "My love life is none of your business!"
"Yes, it is!" the young woman snapped, her expression shifting to one of anger before she continued, "You spent so much time with me, and told me you had feelings for me. And now, after all this time, you come back and say you love someone else?"
— [Don't worry about your companions, I'm watching over them. Focus on your opponent.]
Alvin sighed in relief as he read the message—now his tense nerves could relax a little.
— [Can you share some details about your intimate relationship?]
Message from 'The Womanizer' in the public chat.
— [Can't you have a little shame?]
Reply from 'The Pink Widow' to 'The Womanizer' in the public chat.
— [You misunderstood me. I meant we need to hear the details to know who's in the right.]
Reply from 'The Womanizer' to 'The pink widow' in the public chat.
— [In that case, I'd like to hear the details too!]
Reply from 'The Sad Jester' to 'The Womanizer' in the public chat.
"It was just a passing relationship. I don't recall ever promising you anything," Alvin said wearily.
"If you didn't want me, why didn't you tell me? I've been waiting for you for so many years!" the young woman shouted in anger, slamming her hand into the nearby vase, shattering it into tiny pieces that scattered around Alvin's high-necked boots.
"If I had wanted you, I wouldn't have left you behind all this time. I would've held on to you. Now, stop this pathetic act and tell me— is the crystal here?"
Alvin ran the edge of his sword along the tip of his tongue, the corners of his lips lifting into a wicked smile. He added, "I'm going to kill you either way. But if you tell me where the crystal is, I'll be merciful and make it quick!"
"You… you're rejecting me?" she asked with a trembling voice, her wide eyes staring at Alvin in shock. "I… I loved you…"
"I don't care about your feelings!" Alvin cut her off in frustration. This conversation had gone on too long, and he had no desire to continue it.
"You… were deceiving me?"
"When did I ever lie? I told you from the start—it was just a passing thing. It's not my fault you deluded yourself into a nonexistent love story!"
— [You're being way too harsh with her.]
Message from 'The Sad Jester' in the public chat.
"Alvin!" the young woman cried, her face contorted and tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. "You'll pay for toying with my delicate feelings!"
Her orange hair suddenly lifted and, before Alvin's watchful eyes, transformed into snake heads with sharp, venom-dripping fangs!
— [Watch out, she's much stronger than you!]
Alvin cast a quick glance at his planet's message, and when his eyes returned to the young woman—she was gone. Suddenly, she appeared in front of him, raising her leg to deliver a kick.
Alvin instantly raised his sword, using it as a shield in front of his chest. The impact of the strike hurled him backward, shattering the stone wall behind him.
He barely caught his breath before finding her on his right side, her pulled-back arm launching forward with immense force, the air whistling around her fist as it sped toward his jaw.
Alvin retreated into the trees, but every time his feet touched the ground, a blow was already headed his way, forcing him to pull back again. At this rate, she might take him down before he even gets a chance to attack—especially since she was far stronger than him.
"Face the consequences of your actions instead of running away, you bastard!" she shouted angrily. She took a step back, then leapt forward with a high kick that nearly grazed his neck—if not for his swift retreat.
Alvin quickly raised his forearm to block the incoming blow to his face and shouted angrily, "You're insane!"
"I know these tricks very well!" she yelled, feinting with her right hand before striking powerfully with her left. "Trying to blame me and slip away from the situation—classic narcissist moves. I know them all too well!"
She swiftly lifted her leg and delivered a side kick to his chest, sending him flying until his back slammed against a rough tree trunk. Alvin lay there in immense pain, almost certain his ribs and spine had fractured.
She walked toward him, a smile on her lips reflecting the disappointment she felt in the man she once loved, while the snakes sprouting from her head stared hungrily at Alvin, eager to strike and tear into his flesh.