Chapter 6

The night was as dark as ink, and a storm was brewing.

A figure stumbled and fled through the dense, dark forest.

It was a woman of remarkable beauty and graceful figure.

Her face was made up, and she was dressed fashionably, unlike the residents of the nearby villages. She must have been a tourist from a big city.

She ran through the forest, and the thorny bushes and branches along the way scratched her all over, leaving her bruised and bleeding.

Despite this, she did not slow down, as if something terrifying was chasing her from the darkness behind her.

The lights ahead, growing closer, were like a beacon of hope in the darkness.

"Almost there, almost there..."

"I don't want to die, I don't want to die!!!"

The woman screamed in her heart, her eyes growing more and more hopeful as the lights drew nearer.

Finally, she tumbled and crawled over the last steep slope, reaching the open ground in front of the temple gate, which was built with pebbles and cement.

"Is anyone there? Please, help me!!!"

The woman used the last of her strength to cry for help, collapsing in front of the closed temple gate. She propped herself up with her right hand on the old wooden door, trying to push it open but finding it locked.

"Open the door, please, open the door..."

Her hoarse voice revealed deep despair.

The little strength she had left could only produce a faint, mosquito-like sound on the door.

In the end, she didn't even have the strength to speak...

The woman slumped in front of the gate, her chest heaving with labored breaths.

"Ugh, ugh..."

She turned to look into the darkness, biting her lip and emitting a low, mournful whimper.

Perhaps in the next second, the "monster" would emerge from the darkness and drag her into the depths of despair.

"Open the door..."

The woman whimpered.

Creak—

Just as the woman was at her most desperate, a sound like a heavenly melody came from behind her.

The old, weathered temple gate, which looked as if it would fall apart at any moment, opened as she wished.

The woman turned her head sharply, and a straight, soft beam of light from inside the temple illuminated her nose.

As the wooden door opened, the light that fell on her nose expanded, filling her eyes and finally enveloping her body.

Her trembling body froze in that instant.

Then—

The woman saw a clean-faced young man, and her eyes, filled with mist, slowly widened.

The face that appeared in the soft light was like a masterpiece painted by an artist striving for perfection, meticulously covering every visible flaw.

So beautiful...

Even in the midst of the urgent and dangerous situation, she couldn't help but marvel at the young man's outstanding appearance.

The person who opened the temple gate for the woman was none other than Moyou, who had just finished eating.

At that moment, everything in front of him was pitch black.

Moyou glanced at the disheveled woman and then turned his gaze to the deep, oppressive darkness ahead.

In that direction, a faint, gossamer-like aura of willpower was surging in the darkness, the distance indeterminate.

"Human? Or something else?"

Moyou stared at the aura "burning" in the darkness, remaining silent.

Whatever it was...

If it could make this woman so desperate and hopeless, it was likely not a good thing.

The woman finally reacted, crawling on the ground and hugging Moyou's calves, her voice hoarse as she cried, "Please, help me, something is chasing me... my friends were all killed..."

"Be clear, is it a human or an animal?"

Moyou still didn't look at the woman, keeping his gaze on the aura in the darkness.

Since the other party remained motionless, he could only observe.

Hearing Moyou's question, the woman hesitated for a moment and then whispered, "I, I was only focused on escaping... I didn't see what it was, but I heard my friends' screams, they, they..."

Speaking in a broken voice, the woman suddenly looked at the light inside the temple, which brought some sense of security, and pleaded, "Can, can I come in?"

"..."

Moyou didn't speak, just stepped aside to make room.

Seeing Moyou's action, the woman instantly understood. Despite having little strength left, her will to survive made her crawl into the temple like a worm.

She then struggled to lift her head and look at Moyou, wanting him to close the door quickly.

It was then that the woman belatedly noticed that Moyou was staring in the direction she had come from.

It seemed that since opening the door, the young man in front of her had never taken his eyes off that direction.

Can he see it?

The woman's eyes were blank, thinking of this possibility.

But to seek more security, she didn't have time to delve deeper, only wanting Moyou to close the door quickly and call out the people in the temple.

"Lock the door, the monster is almost here..."

The woman pleaded weakly.

If she weren't so exhausted, she wouldn't have asked for Moyou's permission and would have run into the temple directly.

"If your friends were all killed by the 'thing' you mentioned, do you think this rickety door, which a child could kick down, would be of any use?"

Moyou's expression was calm, his tone steady and strong.

The woman looked at the wooden door creaking in the breeze and couldn't say a word.

At the same time, she noticed that Moyou was too calm, not acting like a typical teenager.

"Then, then call out the people in the temple..."

"There's only me here."

Moyou replied casually, then saw that the "aura" in the darkness finally moved, slowly approaching.

"Why, why are you the only one here..."

Hearing that the entire temple had only Moyou, the woman was stunned.

A rickety door and a boy no older than sixteen... how could they stop the monster that had killed her companions in the forest?

The woman fell into deep despair.

Moyou didn't have the time to consider the woman's feelings.

Although he didn't know what the "monster" the woman mentioned was, he could confirm that this "monster" knew how to use "aura," which meant it could pose a threat to him.

If this woman hadn't come here for help and had died in the forest, she wouldn't have brought the trouble with her.

But at the same time, he wouldn't have known about the dangerous presence in the forest.

In any case—

From the moment the woman collapsed in front of the temple gate, Moyou knew he couldn't stay out of it.

Fortunately, he now had the means to counter "willpower."

"Come in."

Moyou observed the movement of the "aura" while stepping back.

"Can you help me up..."

The woman looked at Moyou, who was stepping back, and pleaded.

Moyou didn't speak, just shook his head.

Given the current situation, this seemingly harmless "seeker of help" was still within his range of caution.

Seeing Moyou's coldness, the woman could only crawl into the temple with great effort.

However, she didn't notice—

Under the light, the young man in front of her had no shadow.