CHAPTER 45: CAPTURING HER WITH AGGRESSIVE SWEETNESS

Deklan had watched the movie about a Ghost like her back in his previous world.

It was quite popular, and frankly, he found her kind of Ghost to be the scariest.

Not because of her appearance, though it was also added to her overall frightening appearance, but he was more afraid of her because she’s a tricky one. Once she asked the question, nothing the person said or did would matter.

She’s a vengeful Ghost, and all she wanted was to vent her anger through killing.

Deklan had thought of an answer that nobody had used before, becoming the one who was more aggressive, but he doubted his answer earlier, especially since his voice cracked a little at the start from how scared he was inside.

But instead of tearing him apart, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden blushed.

Yes, blushed.

I may believe that my answer could work, but to be this potent? That’s unlikely. What happened?

[Host, your Eerie Smile skill is on earlier...]

My what?

[Your skill.]

Deklan paused for a second and then reached for his mouth.

He only now remembered that he had that useless skill from Pumple, the one that allowed him to smile unnaturally wide. To think that the useless skill he had been loathing from the start would save him like this... It was ironic.

Who would’ve thought the right answer to her question wasn’t through words, but through a smile?

No wonder those people died. She’s insecure, so when she saw me...

Regardless of how lucky he was to survive the question, he was still not in the clear.

Now he needed to find a way to leave without angering her.

Leaving right away would probably offend her, right? Then let’s stick with what works.

Since his aggressive approach was working extremely well to the point that the Riven-Mouthed Maiden was still acting bashful even until this moment, playing with her foot as if she were a maiden in love, it’s unwise to change his approach.

Instead, he should continue!

Deklan used the Eerie Smile skill again and took a step closer.

He gathered his courage, grabbed her waist firmly with his hand, and drew her in until their bodies met.

Almost instinctively, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden flicked open her fan, covering her lips again, treating it as a barrier between their faces that were inches apart. Deklan stared into her eyes without fear—only a bold, disarming confidence that enthralled the maiden.

Even though she was a Ghost, Deklan found her scent to be surprisingly alluring.

It was a tender blend of floral sweetness and warm, smoky elegance.

"So, what is your answer...?" He asked again.

Naturally, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden was flustered, not ready for this kind of situation.

She was prepared if Deklan turns out to be a hidden powerhouse. She was prepared to chase and hunt him down should he attempt to flee. She was prepared to end him on the spot if he surrendered. But she was not prepared for him to make a move on her.

Since when was that an option? More importantly, who would even do that?

Deklan, on the other hand, stared ahead blankly.

Fuck this... why is she so tall? I’m certain this body is at least six-three—yet my forehead barely reaches her nose.

I’m closer to her chest than to her eyes. Fuck, this is humiliating.

Had the Riven-Mouthed Maiden had the common sense of a human, she would certainly think of him as a kid due to his height. He was at least a few inches shorter than her. But fortunately, she’s a Ghost— he should be fine.

Pivoting his attention away from her, Deklan eyed the town hall.

Both his brows furrowed at a thought.

I made the radar device to scan anything that has mana, but it only picked up this Ghost.

Even though he was side-tracked because of the system, he remembered what he came to this Null Zone for, and that is to find the Blue Tower. It must be somewhere inside—and it should be in the possession of an Alpha Ghost.

The Riven-Mouthed Maiden doesn’t have it, so that could only mean it was the other Alpha Ghost.

Boom!

Deklan turned to look at the distant explosions.

Since the Riven-Mouthed Maiden is a silver-rank Ghost, that could only mean the other Alpha Ghost is also around her strength. In that case, I have no chance against him as I’m not even at the bronze rank yet.

Both of them are in a battle, and I can’t possibly win against the other Alpha Ghost alone.

Upon understanding that, Deklan realized this was a crucial opportunity.

He can’t mess this up.

If he could capture the Riven-Mouth Maiden, then taking out the other Alpha Ghost—and retrieving the Blue Tower would be a lot easier. But the question remained—how? How in the world can he even try to capture her without angering her?

"Y-your... words... too sudden..." the Riven-Mouthed Maiden spoke.

Deklan looked at her in surprise.

He knew the Pale Night Lady could talk a little bit—but he reckoned the Ghosts who could talk properly would be those at even higher ranks. But the Riven-Mouthed Maiden spoke well. Her voice was astral and endearing, but he could understand her perfectly.

"Forgive... me..." She continued. "I... c-cannot... accept..."

For a few seconds, Deklan paused.

He kept staring at the Riven-Mouthed Maiden, who couldn’t meet his gaze.

And then, a thought came to mind.

In haste, Deklan opened the Shop menu and searched the miscellaneous section, scrolling through the list of sold items. Since he had been leveling up the Ward, there were more items unlocked, but he didn’t care about the new items.

All of his focus was poured into searching for a specific kind of item he needed for this exact moment.

Shit, there’s nothing like that here. Seems like I have to create it.

Deklan checked his mana inside and realized that it was minuscule.

Crafting the radar device had drained a hefty portion of his mana, and on top of that, scanning the Riven-Mouthed Maiden lashed back at him with a brutal recoil—enough to make him doubt whether he could use the Ghost Conqueror skill right now.

But he has to.

He had no other choice, as this is life or death.

Even now, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden might still attack if he couldn’t fulfil his role.

Deklan put a wide smile again, enhanced with the Eerie Smile skill, and reached out his hand past her head.

She was confused as to what he was doing, but was alerted when she sensed mana.

"Ssshh... Don’t you trust me?" Deklan asked, still charming the maiden with his eerie smile.

And it worked.

Instead of retaliating, she remained still while Deklan formed something behind her head.

Blood dripped down from his nose from overexertion, but he remained steadfast.

Once Deklan withdrew his hand, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden’s gaze followed it and then settled on the item resting in his palm. It was slim, onyx-colored, and elegant—a finely carved hairpin. Its body was etched with the coiled form of a shadowy wold—the deep black sheen wasn’t mere lacquer.

It was the natural hue of the Shadow Beast Weapon Persona.

Deklan only made the hairpin and activated his only weapon persona.

"If you are going to cold-heartedly reject me, then—at least let me give you this," He said, showing the hairpin to the Riven-Mouthed Maiden, and then took the initiative to slide it through her hair. "At least don’t decline this..."

From her face, one could see that she was reluctant.

But under Deklan’s demanding pressure, she couldn’t bring herself to pull away from him.

And as easy as that, Deklan managed to put the hairpin on her.

Capture her now, system. Now, now, now, now! I won’t last long!

Deklan was still wounded from the backlash, and his mana was also low.

So, naturally, he couldn’t maintain the hairpin for long.

[Notice: Ghost Conqueror skill has been used on the Riven-Mouthed Maiden!]

[Capturing in process...]

Deklan stared at the appearing and disappearing dots while keeping a wide smile on his face.

From his battle against the Pale Night Lady, he reckoned capturing a Ghost simply needed—the Ghost Conqueror skill to touch the target Ghost’s body. Back then, when the spear was impaling her body, the capturing process was going.

But the moment she pulled it out, the process was cancelled.

Just that alone showed him that capturing a Ghost doesn’t really require brute force.

As long as he can make the Ghost keep touching the Ghost Conqueror skill, then it’s good enough.

[Estimated time: 30 seconds.]

Thirty seconds?! Thank God!

Deklan could feel that he wouldn’t last a minute, and he was afraid that the capturing process would take a longer time since the Riven-Mouthed Maiden was a lot stronger than him. But surprisingly, it’d only take thirty seconds.

[The Riven-Mouthed Maide’s fondness is high, host. It’s easier to capture her]

Hah... I guess Marsha’s luck is rubbing off on me.

Blushing, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden held the hairpin gently and then smiled.

Now that her demeanor has completely changed compared to earlier, the smile she has, though wider than normal, doesn’t make her look scary. In fact, she still retained her natural beauty. Regardless, her beauty can only do so much to distract him.

[Estimated time: 26 seconds]

Deklan held his head as seconds passed extremely slowly.

It was akin to doing a plank—time moved much more slowly to him.

Compared to doing a plank that made one feel like their core was on fire, Deklan felt like his skull was breaking apart. Even so, he acted naturally. He pulled the handphone from his inventory—stepped to the Riven-Mouthed Maiden’s side, and slid an arm around her waist.

[Estimated time: 19 seconds]

"You’re curious how it looked, right?" He asked with a strained voice. "Let me show you."

Click!

Deklan took a picture and then showed it to her.

Un the photo, there was Deklan with an unnaturally wide smile, and seemingly strained like he was on the brink of pissing his pants—and then there was the Riven-Mouthed Maiden who was looking at the camera with interest.

[Estimated time: 13 seconds]

"What do you think?"

"Pretty..."

[Estimated time: 9 seconds]

"Of course, I made it with all my heart. Do you think I stumbled here accidentally/"

"You’re not...?"

"Nope. I came here for you."

[Estimated time: 5 seconds]

"But we’ll continue our talk later," Deklan finally said, his smile disappeared as he looked at her with pure relief, masking his face. "I told you earlier, didn’t I? If you decline me, then I am going to kidnap you."

"Hmm...?"

Swish!

Out of nowhere, the Riven-Mouthed Maiden was startled when the hairpin burst with mana.

She was stunned for a second, but in the next, she tried to reach Deklan.

But it was already too late.

Deklan watched the Riven-Mouthed Maiden being turned into energy and shot away.