Chapter 419: Hypnosis

Wu Qingsong barely managed to grab Charlotte and dive out of the vines’ attack range. Still, two tendrils wrapped around his calves, rapidly coiling upward.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Wu Qingsong drew his dagger and slashed through the vines, tumbling and crawling his way out of that hellish trap.

Behind him, however, the houndfolk’s screams continued. The moment a vine latched onto any part of their body, the next instant brought the sickening crack of breaking bones. Few could keep their wits in such agony, let alone react as Wu Qingsong had.

But they were far from safe. Wu Qingsong’s spiritual power was ineffective against Maylen, and Charlotte’s combat ability was just as unreliable. Once the forest calmed, how was he supposed to protect her from Maylen’s attacks?

“Awaken my ability! Quick! Awaken my ability!” Charlotte cried out in panic.

“Charlotte…” Wu Qingsong wanted to explain that it wasn’t that simple, but something was clearly wrong with her expression.

“You used it on yourself?” he asked.

“I did. But I never disliked you to begin with. I even kind of liked you,” Charlotte spoke rapidly. “You’ve got so many fascinating qualities, and you created a miracle like Nagrand. Why wouldn’t I like you? Why shouldn’t I induce myself to fall for you? If that’s what it takes to awaken my ability, then I should already meet the requirements.”

That works?

Wu Qingsong was dumbfounded. Before he could react further, Charlotte leaned in to kiss him.

“You don’t need to do this,” Wu Qingsong sighed, dodging her kiss and placing his hand on her chest.

By now, he’d lost count of how many beastkin girls’ abilities he’d awakened. The method had become reflexive.

Of course, most of those beastkin had weak, insignificant abilities. Only the Knight Order’s elites truly measured up.

Charlotte, however, was clearly not among the ordinary. As Wu Qingsong synchronized his heartbeat with hers, he felt an immense power surge from her body, strong enough to push him back a step.

“This… is this the feeling?” Charlotte’s face was a mixture of surprise, confusion, and undeniable joy.

Wu Qingsong suddenly sensed this was the result she had long hoped for, long sought after.

“No, something’s wrong!” Charlotte exclaimed. “My power didn’t increase much…”

“You’re a magic-kind to begin with. Your awakened ability should align with your original one, just greatly enhanced.”

“My original ability?” Charlotte looked puzzled.

At that moment, Maylen spotted them amidst the chaos and charged straight at them.

“Watch out!” Wu Qingsong barely managed to shield her, taking the brunt of the attack himself.

He tried to grab Maylen, but the latter slipped free before he could tighten his grip.

“Charlotte!” Wu Qingsong lunged, grabbing Maylen’s leg, only to be thrown off with a violent jerk.

“Stop!” Charlotte cried out desperately. “Stop this! This isn’t what you want. I know it’s not! You don’t want to hurt me. You never would!”

Wu Qingsong dreaded the image of her being gutted before his eyes. But to his shock, Maylen’s movements actually halted, his whole body trembling.

“Keep going! Don’t stop!” Wu Qingsong scrambled after him, locking his arms around Maylen from behind, pouring his spiritual power and the energy of his soulstones into Maylen’s mind.

“Stop resisting.” Charlotte seized the moment, her voice ringing out with newfound strength. “Let us help you. Let us drive out the thing possessing your body.”

But Wu Qingsong suddenly felt a violent surge of resistance. His spiritual power couldn’t suppress it at all.

“This isn’t Maylen! He’s not Maylen anymore!”

“I don’t care who you are! Stop this violence! Maybe there’s a way to save you. Please, stop!” Charlotte pleaded.

But lacking mastery over her newly awakened ability, she couldn’t restrain the powerful soul within the wolfman’s body. Wu Qingsong could no longer hold him. Maylen grabbed Wu Qingsong, yanking him from behind and throwing him forward.

Maylen bared his fangs and bit savagely into Wu Qingsong’s neck. Yet, ironically, this brought Wu Qingsong more freedom of movement and clarity. As pain sharpened his focus, he channeled all his spiritual power into assaulting the soul within Maylen while simultaneously drawing his dagger and driving it deep into Maylen’s throat, twisting viciously.

Maylen howled, flinging Wu Qingsong away. Though his body had been strengthened, it was still that of an ordinary beastkin. The blade had nearly severed his trachea and a major artery. Blood gushed out in torrents.

Desperately, Maylen clutched at the wound, but crimson seeped relentlessly through his fingers.

Wu Qingsong grabbed Charlotte, dragging her as they retreated. Maylen reached out, staggered a few steps, then finally collapsed.

Wu Qingsong gasped for breath. Since obtaining the Book of the Dead, he hadn’t fought so desperately, so pathetically. This reminded him of his early days in this world, stirring a bitter sense of defeat.

In the end, what had vanquished this unknown enemy wasn’t his wit, nor the knowledge and skills honed through years of study and training. It was still the same tools he’d possessed since the moment he arrived in this world.

But reason soon returned, calming his turbulent emotions. He approached the fallen body.

“Who are you?” he asked the figure lying motionless on the ground.

He could feel it. As Maylen’s life force ebbed away, the soul attached to the body weakened rapidly, crumbling into fragments. Wu Qingsong scrambled to seize those remnants, but found nothing of value within them.

“It’s dead?” Charlotte finally regained her composure. Embarrassment flickered across her face, ashamed of her earlier loss of control. In her entire life, aside from her childhood when elven armies slaughtered magic-kind, this had been her closest brush with death.

“He’s dead.” Wu Qingsong nodded.

Their relationship had now become difficult to define. Wu Qingsong didn’t believe Charlotte truly loved him. She had approached him with the clear intent of awakening this ability, even going so far as to use her own powers to influence his emotions.

That left him with a strong sense of betrayal. Yet, because Charlotte had helped him so much, he hadn’t turned hostile.

Nearby, the rampaging vines gradually ceased their madness. The houndfolk’s broken bodies slipped from their grip, landing on the ground with soft, sickening thuds.

“Are you blaming me?” Charlotte asked quietly.

“What you do with yourself is your own choice,” Wu Qingsong said flatly. “It has nothing to do with me. Past, present, or future, that will never change.”