novelraw Chapter 421: The Origin of the Old Mother of the Swamp
Chapter 421: The Origin of the Old Mother of the Swamp
The viscous depths of the sea shuddered, heralding an imminent collapse. A whirlwind of Face-Worms swarmed around Lu Li, carrying the silver bullet toward the cause of it all—the Old Mother of the Swamp.
— No! How dare you... That is my power! — roared the giant face of the Old Mother of the Swamp, contorted with fury. But beneath the rage, deep within her, lurked a sliver of fear.
Her own power had turned against her.
An indescribable conflict erupted between the face of the Old Mother of the Swamp and the Face-Worms. As if shielding Lu Li, they escorted the silver bullet on its path through the viscous water.
The Face-Worms descended upon the Old Mother of the Swamp, unleashing their accumulated hatred, tearing at her. Skin split to reveal bloodied flesh. Flesh dissolved, exposing white bone. Bone crumbled to dust, and deep within the Old Mother's skull, a single, blood-red point of light began to gleam.
With all barriers gone, the silver bullet plunged into the void, hurtling toward the luminous point.
— Stop... you insignificant wretch... — The Old Mother of the Swamp's terrified shriek was abruptly cut short.
A fracture appeared on the blood-red point of light. A soft click echoed, and the crack began to spiderweb across its surface.
The Face-Worms froze, silently witnessing what was, and what was about to be.
Crack.A clean, sharp sound, like shattering glass, echoed through the viscous depths.
The shattered, blood-red point collapsed like a dying star, scattering into a myriad of fragments that tumbled into the abyss.
In that same instant, the world around Lu Li began to transform.
Lu Li found himself plunged into a death vision. It meant... the Old Mother of the Swamp was gone.
"Is it over?" Lu Li wondered, finding himself standing in the middle of a damp, dark-green swamp.
"What happens now?"
Lu Li turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the dense thicket.
Squelching footsteps broke the swamp's silence. A young woman in a lavish, old-fashioned red gown emerged from the shadows of the trees, hurrying through the swamp.
Lu Li's gaze lingered on her beautiful face.
It was an exact copy of the Mother of the Swamp's human guise and the giant face of the Old Mother of the Swamp.
The Mother of the Swamp was not born of nature, nor of belief.
Once, she had been human.
As Lu Li watched, the young woman lifted the hem of her gown and ran past him. The faint scent of her perfume brushed against his face.
She kept glancing over her shoulder, as though someone were pursuing her.
But Lu Li's presence here meant she would not get far.
After running only a few meters, she stepped onto a patch of ground indistinguishable from the rest, and her ankle sank deep into the mire.
She nearly stumbled but managed to stay upright. As she tried to pull her leg free, she suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in fear. She stared back in the direction she had come from.
A faint voice drifted from the distance.
— My lady... Where are you...
Her pursuers were not enemies, nor were they monsters. They sounded more like servants searching for their mistress.
The young woman remained silent, her gaze fixed intently in the direction of the voices. Fortunately, her pursuers did not venture deeper into the swamp, and the calls gradually faded away.
Breathing a sigh of relief, she once again tried to free her leg.
She did not yet grasp the gravity of her situation.
What happened next confirmed Lu Li's suspicion: an ordinary girl could never escape the tenacious grip of the mire. By the time the muck reached her knees, her face was a mask of terror.
Every struggle to free herself only pulled her deeper. Her shoes, forgotten in her panic, were swallowed by the swamp. The lavish hem of her gown became stained with foul-smelling mud.
— I'm here! I'm here! — she cried out, but her shouts could not reach the servants who had already moved on. Just then, a strange rustling came from the bushes.
Several tribesmen emerged from the undergrowth and stood watching her.
She flinched in fear, but her spirits lifted almost immediately.
— Help me! I am the daughter of Duke Aeddar! My father will reward you handsomely! — she cried out to the tribesmen.
The tribesmen glanced at one another, then suddenly fell to their knees, murmuring incomprehensible words.
The mud, now up to her hips, filled her with nausea and dread. Struggling to maintain her composure, she tried to channel her father's authority. — I command you to help me!
But her command only seemed to intensify the tribesmen's fervor for their bizarre ritual.
She sank deeper still. Her red gown disappeared completely beneath the layer of filth. In desperation, she began to weep. — Save me! Please, help me...
Her voice grew hoarse and lost its power. The mud, now rising to her chest, leached the warmth from her body. Breathing became difficult, and her eyelids felt heavy as lead.
As consciousness began to fade, she turned her head toward the spot where Lu Li stood.
— Help me... — she whispered.
It was as if she could see him.
Whether this was a new ability granted by the second rose on his Spirit Gun, some unique power of the Old Mother of the Swamp, or merely a coincidence, Lu Li couldn't say.
He regarded the young woman calmly and gave a single nod. — Very well.
Stepping to the edge of the mire, Lu Li reached out and took her lifeless, ice-cold hand.
The mire fought to keep its grip on her.
— Why? — came a faint voice.
— You needed help.
— Why... — she asked again, but this time, the question was different.
Lu Li understood what she—or rather, what the Old Mother of the Swamp—was truly asking.
And for that question, he already had an answer.
— Those who do not value life are not worthy of it.
The cold form in his hands fell silent for a moment. From the face hidden in shadow, a whisper emerged. — Why wasn't it you... Why wasn't it you... Why wasn't it you!...
The Old Mother of the Swamp's final question turned into a desperate shriek. Her hands, sharp as blades, plunged into Lu Li's chest, tearing him asunder.
Lu Li shattered into pieces. The blow should have torn him from the death vision, but in that final moment, he saw what truly happened all those years ago.
In the dim, damp swamp, several figures knelt around a patch of mire. In the center, a single, slender white hand reached up from the surface. A blood-red agate bracelet on the wrist was the only spot of color in the grim tableau.
The scene froze, like a painting on canvas.
...
Lu Li's consciousness snapped back to his own body.
He lifted his head and once again saw the disfigured face, all its former beauty lost.
— Why wasn't it you! — the Old Mother of the Swamp shrieked one last time, lunging at Lu Li with the last of her strength.
The Face-Worms tearing at her face were blasted away by the surge of energy. The Old Mother of the Swamp's power slammed into Lu Li without any barrier to stop it.
But before it could reach him, it dissipated, as gentle as a summer breeze.
The echo of her shriek faded into the distance.
— Why... wasn't it... you...
Her dark consciousness dissolved into the viscous depths of the sea.