There had been no movement from Madame Freese for another two months, and Meili was starting to doubt whether she had truly given up.
Even though she constantly reminded herself to stay alert, staying too long in an environment without danger would inevitably lower one’s guard. After all, a person could not remain tense forever.
In the first two months, Meili had always stayed near Gloria’s house, never going far. Now, she would occasionally go a bit farther away to pick mushrooms.
She excelled in magic; as long as she went out, she always brought the swamp monster with her. Even if she encountered danger, she could escape. Gloria did not restrict her movements, mainly because this entire marshland belonged to her domain. As long as she was still here, Freese would not dare to openly do anything.
However… unfortunately, she received a letter sent by her relatives from her hometown.
Her younger brother had passed away, and the younger generation of her family wrote to ask her to return and attend the funeral. She definitely had to go on this trip, but because her family situation was complicated, she could not bring Meili along.
“I’ve already written to Aserni, she will come to take care of you for a few days.” Before leaving, she still made proper arrangements for Meili.
The day Aserni arrived, Meili and Aserni together sent off the grieving old grandmother Gloria.
Watching her leave in a carriage decorated with iris flower patterns, Meili felt uneasy and obediently stayed inside the house for several more days.
“No need to be so cautious. It’s been so long already, that coward Freese definitely wouldn’t dare come anymore!” Aserni lay on the rocking chair, hugging a fruit wine she had found from Gloria’s cellar. “If she had the guts, she would have come right after Gloria left!”
Meili remained half-skeptical. She always felt that Madame Freese was not the kind of person to give up so easily. But the fact was: she had remained completely safe.
Seeing that the day of Gloria’s return was approaching, Meili finally relaxed a little. Recently, she rarely accompanied the swamp monster outside. Seeing that the sunshine was lovely, she suddenly wanted to see him.
The swamp monster usually stayed in the waters near the house. Meili went out, and according to habit, went to search for him. Before she reached the water, she saw him halfway, walking toward the house.
From afar, Meili saw that slender figure and smiled, calling to him, “Cute!”
But for some reason, when the swamp monster saw her, not only did he not come over, he instead turned around and slowly walked into a nearby forest.
Meili froze. Wasn’t he coming specifically to find her? Why did he leave again? Could it be that he was angry because she hadn’t gone to see him these past days?
Meili felt a little uneasy. Compared to the very beginning, the swamp monster had changed a lot—learning how to get angry was normal.
Or… maybe he simply wanted to take her to see something.
Thinking of this, Meili jogged after him, “Cute, wait for me!”
In another part of the marsh, the swamp monster who had curled himself into a bridge suddenly moved, lifting his head in confusion to glance beside him.
He heard her calling him.
Meili followed the swamp monster who had his head lowered while walking into the woods. Because he wasn’t walking fast, she quickly caught up, grabbed his damp large hand, and spoke in a coaxing tone, “Cute, what’s wrong? Where are you taking me?”
She was still smiling cheerfully when she was suddenly caught off guard— that damp large hand tightly grabbed her, and another hand clamped down hard on her upturned neck.
Meili, unprepared, was choked by that force, her whole body falling toward the ground.
In the instant of shock, she realized something was wrong— the swamp monster would never treat her like this. This wasn’t the swamp monster!
In a flash of thought, Meili’s lips moved, and the wild flowers and grasses around her instantly grew wildly, breaking the restraint of this “swamp monster” while firmly binding him.
Meili pointed a finger, and the “swamp monster” trapped within was instantly revealed in his true form— a scarecrow woven from tree branches. In the moment she saw clearly, the surrounding weeds tore the branch-made scarecrow apart.
“Three months apart, and you’ve grown a bit.” The voice sounded almost right beside her ear. Before Meili could react, she felt a weight press down on her, and she was forced to the ground.
Light flickered beneath her body, and Meili saw a magic circle hidden within the trees. Only then did she realize she had stepped into a trap.
Madame Freese, whom she had not seen for several months, wore a cloak and held a sapphire necklace in her hand, standing right in front of her.
She came — she still came in the end.
At this moment, an inexplicable sense of finality settled in Meili’s heart.
Meili forced herself to lift her head, trying to buy herself a little more time. “Madame Freese, Gloria will be back very soon.”
Freese smiled slightly. She didn’t make any sort of villain speech, she struck directly.
Silver light radiated from the necklace in her hand, forming a strange connection with the magic circle they were in.
Freese’s movements were unbelievably swift and decisive. While Meili was still trying to use magic to break free, she saw Freese’s hand turn into a sheet of silver light, reaching straight into her head.
That dizzying sensation of separation — Meili had experienced it once before, when Madame Pegg tried to extract her soul.
That time, she had only survived because the black cat, Feicui, appeared suddenly and interrupted it.
But precisely because she had experienced it once, she would never fall into the same trap twice.
Extracting a person’s soul was originally something extremely difficult. Unfortunately, her soul and this body were not fully compatible, so over this period, Meili had learned many methods from Gloria.
Every day, she used a spell that could stabilize the soul, nailing her soul firmly into this body. It was painful, but at least now, Madame Freese could not easily pull her soul out — unless she wanted to destroy the body along with it.
The feeling of separation was faint, and Madame Freese noticed the problem.
If she had enough time — a full day or two — she could naturally peel her soul away. But she didn’t have that much time. Aserni might notice something wrong at any moment and rush over to break her ritual.
And that swamp monster was also a troublesome factor. Last time, it was precisely because she ignored its existence that she failed.
Sensing the stalemate, Meili forced a bright smile at Freese.
Seeing her smile, Madame Freese’s red lips twitched, and she suddenly smiled as well.
Faced with such a difficult situation, she did not panic or grow hysterical like Madame Pegg; she remained calm. It took only a moment for her to make a decision. “Since I can’t extract it, then I’ll devour it instead.”
Devouring another person’s soul was also extremely risky, and it would definitely leave some side effects.
“Alex, watch over my body.” Freese’s voice was gentle yet cold.
The sword-bearing Alex walked out from behind a tree, his expression solemn, his gaze filled with deep affection. “I will protect you well, Freese.”
Freese placed the blue gem onto Meili’s forehead. Her body emitted a burst of silver light, like a veil of ethereal morning mist, wrapping around Freese’s semi-transparent soul and lunging toward Meili’s body.
Meili’s body trembled violently, a hoarse breath tearing from her throat.
From a tree in the distance, Mr. Bole the owl drooped his wings with a sorrowful sigh.
He was Freese’s contracted messenger. Although he would occasionally commit small acts behind her back, he could never harm her under any circumstances.
Even if he did have some fondness for that little girl, Meili… all he could do was watch as Madame Freese killed her.
Seeing the swamp monster pass under the tree, the owl shifted its claws slightly… but still closed its eyes, giving no warning.
Madame Freese had commanded him to guard the perimeter, but… all in all, it was better to pretend he hadn’t seen anything.
Standing outside the magic circle, Alex’s expression flickered in the shifting silver glow.
He quietly watched and waited, and when he saw Meili’s amber eyes appear with overlapping green pupils—
The time was almost right. He stepped forward, came to stand in front of Madame Freese’s body, drew the sword from his waist, and with a look of deep affection, pierced straight through Madame Freese’s heart without a moment of hesitation.
The heart was the source of a witch’s power. Once the heart of a body was destroyed, a witch could no longer use it.
His action was so sudden that even Meili, who was struggling in pain, paused for a moment.
Both she and Madame Freese were shocked by this scene.
Because Madame Freese was trying to seize her body, in that instant Meili also felt Freese’s fury and disbelief.
After the flare of rage, Madame Freese’s clear killing intent surged through her heart at the same time.
Meili: …If you’re that angry, hurry up and get out of my body and go settle the score with that bastard!
Unfortunately, Madame Freese did not lose her reason to anger. Realizing that her original body was damaged, her first reaction was that she must seize Meili’s body as quickly as possible.
As for Alex— as long as she didn’t die, she would deal with him sooner or later.
Alex faced the burning fury pouring from one of Meili’s eyes that had turned green, and he smiled. “Freese, of course I love you, don’t doubt it.”
But loving her and wanting to kill her, those were not contradictory at all.
He took out a green gemstone necklace from his arms and casually tossed it. It fell directly onto Meili.
Within the faint golden radiance, the soul of Madame Pegg who should have long ago been devoured to death by fairies, actually emerged. Though already faint and transparent, the madness and ferocity on her face sent chills down one’s spine.
“Freese! Freese!”
“You’ve been lying to me all along! You wanted me to see that notebook on purpose!”
“You killed me!”
She pounced onto Meili as well, mercilessly biting Freese’s soul. The two sisters instantly fell into a fierce struggle, completely forgetting about Meili for the moment.
Meili: “…”
Please, if you want to fight, go to a dance studio and fight! Don’t squeeze inside this body together, it’s going to burst!
Still trapped within Madame Freese’s magic circle, she felt the soil beneath her becoming wet.
With difficulty, she stretched out her hand to touch it, and her palm came away full of mud.
The swamp monster had found her!
Alex also saw the slender swamp monster. He stopped admiring the battle between Freese and Madame Pegg and took two quick steps toward Meili. His longsword once again stabbed down ruthlessly into Meili’s body.
Since he wanted to kill Madame Freese, he would not allow her to successfully seize Meili’s body. In that case, he would simply kill both Meili and Freese inside her.
At the critical moment, Meili twisted to the side, dodging the sword aimed straight at her heart — but her chest was pierced through.
The pain rushed in along with Aserni’s distant shouting and scolding… and the sudden appearance of the black cat, Feicui.
With elegant steps, it walked across her chest, its long tail flicking once — and the souls of Madame Freese and Madame Pegg, twisted together, were yanked out of her body.
That mysterious black cat glanced at her once, then vanished.
Pain seared through her chest as she saw blood pouring uncontrollably from her body, spilling onto the ground. The soil beneath her rapidly turned into a swamp, enveloping her immobile form and dragging her into the depths of the marsh.
Before she was finally swallowed into the mud, she saw Madame Pegg’s weakened soul being devoured by Freese, saw Aserni restraining Freese, saw Alex turning to flee…
The mire surged like a tide and drowned her completely.
Darkness.
In the darkness, there was a familiar scent.
Rainwater, fresh grass — the scent of the swamp monster.
Something soft brushed against her cheek from time to time, and she slowly awakened from a long, deep, sweet dream.
Curled in clear water, surrounded by green wild grass and scattered wildflowers — they were also submerged in the water, their stems and leaves swaying.
Her long hair and skirt floated in the water. She slowly turned over and discovered that in this egg-shaped space, only water and grass enveloped her, with no sense of up or down, like a newly born world.
There was a slight itch where the wound had been. Lowering her head, she found that the wound had already healed, leaving behind only a faint pink mark. Water bubbles gathered there, wobbling as they drifted upward.
Dazed, Meili followed the tiny bubble upward with her gaze and saw a gray hand reach in through the swaying water weeds. The little bubble bumped into his fingertips.
Just awakened, Meili saw that large hand and felt reassured instantly. She took the initiative to hold it.
The hand touched her cheek, as if touching a newly bloomed flower. Then, he drew her upward.
Breaking through that small “eggshell,” she sprouted like a seed. Countless blades of rapidly growing grass flanked her, wildflowers overlapping layer upon layer, making a rustling sound. Raindrops rolled and dripped along those grasses and flowers, revealing to her a bizarre yet vibrant world full of life.
Suddenly, she understood — this was the swamp monster’s world.
Splash—
Bursting through the murky sludge, Meili was pulled up from underground, yet her body had not a trace of mud — only a refreshing scent of grass.
Outside, the sun was bright. The swamp monster stood in the water where purple iris flowers bloomed. One of his hands was held tightly by her, and he slowly bent down, wrapping his overly long arms firmly around her, his head resting against her back.
— A very warm, very solid embrace.
Meili blinked and hugged him back. She looked ahead and saw Gloria’s relieved face and Aserni’s expression of pure relief.
