Secret World of Occultists-Chapter 19: Fear of Death

The next couple of days passed in the blink of an eye as the group of pilgrims slowly approached their destination.

It had only been less than a week since they started climbing the mountain, yet the distance they had covered was not something that should have been possible within that time frame.

Luke could only accredit this to the anomalous concept of space that spanned this mountain.

Although the destination was now within reach, the obstacles the group had to face had gotten progressively difficult.

Every day, there was at least one pilgrim who the flames would consume. It had to be noted that the intensity of the flames increased the higher they climbed the mountain.

Their food supply had run out two nights ago. This was despite the number of pilgrims gradually reducing in numbers with each passing day.

And finally, the nameless monster had begun its hunt!

No one knew when the monster came, or how it attacked. But every night, one member of the group would silently go missing.

Now, including Luke and the little girl, only five people remained in the group. The other three were the bearded leader of the group, the woman who dragged the little girl by the chains, and finally a burly young man.

As the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, the flames on the mountain gradually started to dwindle.

When Luke lowered his head to look at the state of his body, he realized that everything below his knees had been covered in red blisters. On the first day, it had only been his feet.

However, instead of tending to himself, he rushed toward the silver-haired girl in the distance.

"Hey!" He screamed in panic as he knelt beside the unconscious girl. "Are you alright?! Hey, answer me!"

Half of the little girl's body had been covered in burn marks. It was a miracle that she was even breathing. Her eyes were tightly shut, and her breathing was labored.

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"Forget about her, boy!" The woman snapped. "Hurry up and prepare the campsite! It's getting dark!"

Luke made haste, ensuring that the wooden torches were firmly staked to the ground. While the two other men in the group busied themselves as well, setting up tents.

Only the woman and the little girl remained. It went without saying that the latter was in no position to carry out any work.

As for the woman, she gazed at the unconscious little girl with a twisted look on her face. Her eyes seemed to blaze with insanity, and she couldn't stop her mouth from watering.

However, she quickly hid that demented look when Luke walked past her and carried the little girl toward the center of the camp.

By the time the sun had completely set and the sky was dyed with all that was dark, the small campsite remained the only place of solace on this mountain.

Yet, the pilgrims knew... no matter how many torches were staked to the ground, the nameless monster would always come in search of prey.

All the people gathered at the center of the camp, each one of them looking haggard and emaciated beyond belief.

Their eyes shone with nothing but desperation and helplessness.

Surprisingly enough, Luke remained the only person with an optimistic mindset among them.

One reason was that their destination wasn't that far now. He figured they would only have to travel for another day before they finally reached the summit.

The second reason lay in his past life. He had cultivated this mindset out of necessity.

Knowing from an early age that he wouldn't live to see past his mid-twenties, it became his guide, helping him navigate the hardships of his brief existence.

"Guys... look on the bright side!" He tried to sound as jovial as possible. "Just one more day and we'll reach the peak. Just one more... day..."

Seeing everyone remain as gloomy as ever, Luke didn't know what else to say. It also didn't help that they had run out of food and water. It was understandable why they would be so downcast.

Right as he was about to speak again, the woman suddenly screamed, "It's all because of that girl! She is cursed! Cursed, I tell you!"

She said while pointing at the unconscious little girl. "How is it that more than half of us have died, yet she still lives?! She is cursed!!"

The burly man silently gazed at the little girl, his thoughts a mystery. Meanwhile, the bearded man couldn't help but sigh in dejection, "She's alive because this boy has been sharing food with her. Please... stop making this worse than it already is."

"You!" The woman now pointed at Luke, her eyes bloodshot. "You... You are cursed as well! If you hadn't shared food and water with her, we would still have something left to eat!"

Luke's expression darkened. He carefully observed the woman's deranged expression.

This bitch is crazy!

He then looked at the burly man, who seemed to be siding with her. Finally, Luke gazed at the bearded man who seemed like he wasn't really taking anyone's side.

"Ma'am, please calm down, okay?" Luke tried to diffuse the situation as he slowly retreated towards the little girl, standing before her, subconsciously guarding her. He had a feeling that things were about to spiral out of control any moment now.

"You.... Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!" The woman finally lost it. The next moment, she retrieved a dagger from within her hemp robes, her eyes flashing with madness.

Luke's eyes widened at this sudden turn of events. "Wait! Let's talk this out—"

However, his words got stuck in his throat when the woman suddenly pounced with the dagger in hand.

Except, it wasn't Luke that she was attacking.

She turned around and unexpectedly dashed toward the bearded man and stabbed him in the stomach.

"You... why..." the man was stunned. He had never expected the woman to attack him.

However, despite being taken by surprise, his eyes suddenly flashed with ruthlessness. He tightly grabbed the woman's hands wielding the dagger and forced the blade away from his stomach.

While a contest of strength was going on between the two, the woman screamed at the top of her lungs, ordering the burly young man, "Kill the boy and that slave! Once we kill them, we'll have more than enough food! Hurry! Kill them! Kill them all!"

The burly man's eyes flashed with bloodlust. It seemed like he was waiting to hear those words from the woman. At once, he started walking towards Luke and the silver-haired girl with unbridled killing intent.

Luke's heart was gripped by terror when he saw the towering hulk of a man approach him. He raised his hands in surrender, all the while screaming, "Wait! Wait! Wait! You don't have to do this!"

However, it fell on deaf ears. The burly man clenched his hand into a fist and viciously swung it at Luke. The latter instinctively closed his eyes in panic—something that he would deeply regret.

BAM!

The punch connected straight to Luke's face, causing him to miserably fall to the ground.

"Ughh!" Luke felt like his face had caved in. He'd never been in a fight before in his life. As such, the experience was as shocking as it was agonizing.

He didn't have much time to think as the burly man now stood over him, before dropping his full weight onto him. Then, blow after blow rained down, pummeling Luke into helplessness.

Blood splattered from his face and he could feel the bones creaking under the devastating punches.

He tried to raise his arms to block, but it was futile. He tried to push the man away, but once again it was futile.

The fear of death crept into his heart. Luke was no stranger to it. He knew that if he didn't do anything soon, he would die. Again.

He flailed his limbs around, desperately struggling to survive, but the burly man was relentless. Suddenly, Luke's right hand touched the nearby wooden torch staked at the boundary of the camp.

That's it! The youth finally found something to retaliate with. He grabbed the base of the torch with all the strength he could muster.

But no matter what, the torch just wouldn't budge. It was only then did he realize that the base of all the torches around the campsite was covered in a layer of solid black ice.

Fuck...

Luke slowly started to lose consciousness. By now his face was all bloodied and bruised, and there was not a single thing he could do to fight back.

If I die now, the girl won't survive either... No, I can't...

His hand limply fell down on the black ice that reflected the splendor of the starry night sky.

Meanwhile, the burly man raised his fist one final time, knowing his next attack would definitely kill Luke.

His expression turned vicious and he swung his bloody fist down at Luke with all his might.

BAM!

The burly man frowned, his expression gradually darkening. His attack didn't land on Luke's face. In fact, it didn't land on Luke at all.

Instead, it landed on the ground! Luke had vanished right before his very eyes!!

"Where did he go?" A chill crawled down the man's spine.

One moment, he was straddling Luke, hammering him with punches. The next moment, the youth disappeared from underneath him, leaving him to crash onto the ground.

"She was right," he muttered fearfully, "the boy is cursed!"

On the other side of the small camp, after a long struggle, the woman was finally able to stab the bearded man straight through the heart.

Her clothes were bloody and she was gasping for air, but her eyes gleamed with a deranged light. "Yes... I finally have food! Yes... I won't starve! I will survive!"

She slowly got to her feet, turned around, her gaze landing on the burly young man who was kneeling on the ground, looking around in confusion.

"Where's the boy?" She snarled as she approached the man. "Did he run away?"

The burly man got to his feet and turned around. His voice was laced with fear as he answered, "Y-Yes... He... He ran away!"

"...He's as good as dead," said the woman. "He won't survive this place. Not when there's that thing lurking around—"

Her words got stuck in her throat when a strong gust of wind blew through the campsite.

Suddenly, all the torches were snuffed out one by one!

"Impossible!" The woman blurted out in horror. "These torches, they... They are blessed by the sun! It can't be!"

As the light of the silver moon cast an eerie glow on the campsite, the burly young man suddenly noticed a towering figure emerge behind the woman.

His eyes flashed with terror and he pointed his trembling finger toward the shadowy figure.

The woman felt her heart sank when she saw the man's gesture. Her body started to uncontrollably tremble and she slowly turned around.

And there it was...

The nameless monster!!