The Smiling Death-Chapter 305: The Living Dead

Amon remained frozen where he stood.

Fear crawled over his entire body like countless cold insects. His spine stiffened, his muscles refusing to listen to him. His heartbeat went wild, slamming violently against his ribs.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

It felt as if his heart was trying to escape his chest.

’Wha–what? Did I hear something wrong? Was that my imagination?’

His breathing turned shallow. Each breath felt heavy, as if the air itself was too thick to inhale.

Slowly, very slowly, Amon forced himself to move. His neck creaked slightly as he turned his head backward.

The moment his eyes landed on the tree, his blood ran cold.

The dead man was still there.

Hanging upside down in the same position. Legs hooked over the branch. Arms dangling lifelessly toward the ground. His body had not moved an inch.

But something was different. His eyes. They were now open.

Amon’s eyes widened in pure terror.

’H–his... he’s alive? T–ta–talking to me?’

Amon’s brain slowed down. He couldn’t think straight. It was a total mess.

The dead man’s irises were completely white, blending with the sclera, forming a hollow, empty gaze. At the center of each eye was a single small black pupil, sharp and unnaturally focused.

They stared directly at him. Those eyes were horrifying. They were not filled with anger, nor with madness.

They were empty.

The face of the hanged man remained expressionless. There was no emotion. No expression on it. He was still, calm, and indifferent.

Though there might have been slight curiosity in that man. So he was looking at Amon, as if studying him completely.

Amon’s body refused to move. His legs felt like they were rooted into the ground. His hands trembled uncontrollably at his sides.

’Dead... no...’ his mind screamed. ’That’s not dead...’

He was confused about what to call that being. An undead?

He couldn’t look away.

He continued staring at the dead or perhaps undead man hanging before him. Then the dried lips of the corpse moved.

Slowly.

Crack.

Crack.

The sound of dry skin stretching echoed faintly in the silent forest.

A heavy, ancient voice came out once more. It was slow. Loud. Cold.

"Who... are... you?" he asked again, with the same heavy voice.

Each word felt like it weighed tons, pressing down on Amon’s chest.

Amon swallowed hard.

For a moment, he couldn’t speak. His throat felt completely dry. His mind went blank, fear overwhelming every thought.

Seconds passed.

Then, forcing himself. Forcing his frozen lips to move, Amon tried to smile. He couldn’t just stay frozen. Not replying and staying silent.

It was a weak smile. A trembling one. But he tried. His voice came out nervous and shuddering, barely steady, yet polite.

"H–Hi..." he said softly.

"I... I am Amon."

He took a shallow breath, gathering what little courage he had left.

Though he wanted to turn around and run away without looking back,

At the same time... he wanted to stay. More than a month had passed since he had talked to someone.

Also, curiosity was bursting inside him. Who was this dead man? How could he be alive in that state?

’He’s not human... that’s for sure.’ Amon had reached that conclusion. Of course, anyone would think the same. The being was not human.

’A living dead?’

Amon kept his forced smile.

"Who... who might you be, sir?"

The words left his mouth carefully, as if one wrong tone might shatter whatever fragile balance still existed between them. He spoke with respect.

The living dead remained silent. His eyes continued to observe Amon with curiosity.

Silence stretched. The man didn’t reply for a while.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Only the sound of Amon’s heartbeat echoed in the silent forest.

Finally, the man opened his mouth in amusement.

"It seems you are scared, young man." The voice was as before heavy and hoarse.

Amon flinched. His smile wavered.

’What should I say? What reply might be right? Should I make a joke?’

Amon thought for a while.

"Well... it’s shocking to see... a body... which looked dead... talking like a living person," Amon spoke those words, waiting for the man’s response.

"Haha. Don’t fear, young man. I am just an old man... staying here for a long time now. It’s the first time meeting someone after so many years. I don’t remember when I slept... and how many years have passed since then."

The man spoke in an ancient voice. His eyes wandered away from Amon. It was as if the man was recalling his past after a long time.

Amon listened to him carefully.

’So... he’s an ancient being? Staying here for hundreds of years... interesting.’ Amon’s fear slowly started to subside.

"Sir, who might you be?" Amon asked again. Now he was more curious to know about this man.

"Who am I? It’s not very interesting. I am just a nobody who has been stuck here. Your name is Amon... so, Amon, tell me about you. Why are you here? This place... it’s not something someone comes to for vacation or exploration," he said, as a smile formed on his ugly face.

Amon’s lips twitched. Still, he kept smiling politely. ’This guy... he can at least tell me his name.’

"Sir... I am an academy student from the Valmoria Kingdom. I accidentally fell into an unknown teleportation gate. Then I found myself on this island. So I am stuck here, trying to find a way to go back... and somehow ended up here, meeting you." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Amon told the man everything in short. He didn’t go into detail or try to lie.

The man looked like someone who had been here for too many years. There was no way he would suddenly have some grudge against the academy or the Valmoria Kingdom.

The man, still in the same position, listened to Amon curiously.

"Interesting. Academy student. Valmoria Kingdom. It seems I have been asleep for much longer than I initially thought," he spoke in amusement. A wide smile twitched on his face.

Amon frowned at his words. It seemed like the things Amon had just said felt new to the dead man.

’Is he much older than I guessed?’ Amon thought.