Death Heir's Devouring System
Chapter 42: Silent Conversations

Chapter 42: Silent Conversations

Meeting Isolde across the vast desert was certainly unexpected. It was thanks to Cinder that Azrael had managed to locate her.

Was it incredible fortune... or a harbinger of misfortune?

’Only one way to find out.’

He guided Cinder downward, and the beast obeyed without hesitation. Gently it lowered its altitude, landing atop the pile of corpses that Isolde was still nonchalantly sitting upon.

With a screech, Cinder lowered its head and opened its maw wide, revealing two rows of black fangs. With staggering speed, it began to devour the corpses like its life depended on it.

’Is this a characteristic that still lingers from when it was alive?’ Azrael wondered, approaching the girl.

He considered calling out to her but stopped himself. She was deaf.

’How do you communicate with someone who’s blind, deaf, and mute?’

Scratching the back of his head, he stepped closer.

Stopping just behind her, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, taking caution not to startle her.

The moment he did, her feet stopped dangling back and forth, freezing in place.

’She doesn’t seem startled and isn’t attacking—that is a good start, I suppose.’

Gracefully, Isolde rose to her feet and shifted her head towards the Heir of Death.

"... Did you kill these monsters?" Azrael asked, knowing she couldn’t hear or respond.

Unsurprisingly, she didn’t seem to acknowledge his existence, her eyes locking onto Cinder.

Taking a few silent steps, she approached the beast and put her hand over its silver feathers. She was gently petting it.

Azrael arched an eyebrow. ’I do hope she didn’t just outright ignore me.’

He sighed. ’At least Cinder isn’t attacking. It seems as long as I don’t order it to attack, it will not be hostile.’

[You have evolved.]

An unfamiliar gentle voice echoed in Azrael’s mind, making him raise his guard. Before he realized it, his scythe was in his hands, ready to defend.

"Telepathy?" he muttered, studying Isolde.

Again, she didn’t seem to acknowledge him.

Grinding his teeth, Azrael stepped forward, took her hand, and began tracing words across her palm.

"You can talk?"

She didn’t seem startled by his actions. She nodded in acknowledgment.

"Why don’t you do it more often?"

[Uses too much energy.]

He wasn’t surprised. Azrael hadn’t flown a long way with Cinder, yet he felt that a large portion of his power reserves had been used up.

’Since it seems that we are going to be stuck together, I might as well make sure she won’t become a liability.’

He traced again. "Did you kill these creatures?"

She nodded.

’Good,’ Azrael sighed in relief.

"Can you talk?"

[Telepathy only.]

"Can you hear?"

[Words and sounds move air; I feel the change and act accordingly.]

"Can you see?"

[Vague shapes of objects and souls are all I can manage.]

His hands froze, eyes darkening. ’She can see souls?’

That meant she could sense the corruption lingering inside him. Should he really be traveling with someone like her? Maybe he ought to eliminate her now. But... she might be useful. And if he ever crossed paths with Seraphina, she might grow suspicious. If her mighty friend disappeared, who else could be responsible but someone with something to hide?

’Besides... can I even kill her?’ His brows frowned, remembering the way she had gotten rid of the Twisted monsters at the mountain range without lifting a finger.

[Everyone has their secrets. But in times like these, keeping them can be fatal.]

She spoke, sensing his internal worries.

’Even if it is painful to admit, she is right,’

He traced again. "If you can see souls, do you sense humans or monsters nearby?"

Isolde stood motionless for a few seconds, then pointed west. _{fr.eew eb novel..com}

[Humans.]

Then she pointed east.

[Monster.]

"Not many, but one?" he muttered, his gaze stopping at the lava ocean in the far distance.

Since he figured it could become a future problem, he asked how far and strong. All he got as answers were "Far" and "Strong."

Eager to ask more, he was about to trace again but halted, seeing the way her head dropped. She had used too much energy.

’Better stop here,’ he thought, eyes stopping at her face. Now with her head lower, he realized that there was a wide scar on her cheek draining blood.

With a flick of his finger, he called forth Gray’s Cigar, then used Frostflare Flint to light it up, lowering the temperature by a few degrees.

The change instantly caught Isolde’s attention, which led her to raise her head—

Only for Azrael to shove the cigar in her mouth.

Naturally, she recoiled, taking a step back. The cigar fell from her lips.

"Such ungrateful people," Azrael muttered, tracing the word "heal" on her palm before shoving the cigar in her mouth again.

This time, she didn’t back away and took a puff. Miraculously, the wound trembled and began to close. He didn’t miss the chance to observe the item, he determined that it was endless. No matter how much she smoked, the cigar didn’t diminish.

[Thank you.]

The words echoed again as she gave a small, graceful bow.

He didn’t answer her, it wasn’t like he had helped her out of the goodness of his heart. He had to ensure that his teammates were in top condition if he wanted the highest chance of survival possible.

Observing the way Cinder was devouring the pile of corpses, Azrael considered testing if he could create enough water with his Blessed Teapot to take a shower. Since the only piece of clothing he wore was Maiden Skin and he had a fair amount of blood smeared all over his body, he looked like some deranged lunatic next to Isolde with her pristine armor.

[We should move.]

However, before he could, her words froze him in place. Since it would have taken too long to trace his question on her palm, Isolde guessed what he was thinking and answered his question.

[We would be attacked.]

He cursed, following the direction she pointed.

For the first time since coming to the Ashen Desert, he saw the sand move.

There was something beneath it, approaching them at alarming speed.

Without hesitation, he scooped up Isolde, surprised by how light she was, and leapt onto Cinder’s back.

In a flash, they were airborne.

Just when they began to ascend, the sand below them fell. A colossal worm with a maw big enough to devour the pile of corpses in one gulp appeared. Surging toward them.

But Cinder was faster. They rose out of range before the worm could catch them.

Heart pounding, Azrael activated [Inspect] on the beast before it vanished beneath the sand.

Name: [Unnamed]

Race: [Blightcoil]

Danger Level: [Savage]

Corruption Rank: [Tainted]

His body shuddered.

’This was close. If she hadn’t warned me, I wouldn’t have sensed it in time.’ He heaved a sigh, taking a glance at the girl.

Unnerved as ever, she sat on the edge of Cinder’s back. Her legs dangling back and forth without a care in the world. She slowly took puffs of Gray’s Cigar, enjoying her injuries being healed and the coldness the blue flame provided her with.

Seeing that she wasn’t in bad condition, he took her palm and asked.

"What can we expect when we meet other humans? Do you know anything about the monster that has opened this Rift—the one we need to kill?"

She shrugged.

[I’m not an oracle. You’d have better luck asking Seraphina about such matters.]

There was a momentary pause before her words echoed once more.

[She is perfect, after all.]

"Hey now, nothing and no one is perfect. Everything has its faults."

Isolde stubbornly shook her head.

[You haven’t seen her soul. You wouldn’t understand.]

[She is perfect.]

Azrael let the matter drop and turned his gaze toward the horizon.

Hopefully... they would leave the Ashen Desert soon.