CHAPTER 423: 423. TEMPTRESS VS MASHA

"Are ya dead?"

Masha hovered closer to the impact site, her blonde hair swaying gently as she floated above the jagged rocks. Her eyes scanned the still form crumpled against the mountain wall.

"What in tarnation? No breathin’... no aura... Well shoot, is she really dead just from that lil’ ol’ charm blast?" she muttered, scratching her head with the hand not holding the smoking star-shaped talisman.

She frowned, genuinely confused. "That’s all it took? Dang... I thought she’d at least twitch or somethin’. Manhunter’s gonna be all kinds of sad when she hears this."

Just as Masha started drifting closer, a sudden crack echoed through the abyss.

A thunder whip lashed out of the shadows—lightning crackling and dancing across its length. Masha barely managed to twist out of the way, but the edge of the bolt grazed her arm, sending a hot jolt through her skin.

"Yowch! That stung somethin’ fierce—"

"Oh... you dodged it," came a sultry, commanding voice from behind.

Masha whirled around to see Temptress emerging from the shadows like a ghost from a forbidden dream. She floated with poise, one hand elegantly twirling the thunder whip, her lips curled in amusement.

"Sorry to disappoint, sweetheart," Temptress purred. "But I don’t die that easily. You’ll have to try a little harder if you want to leave a scar."

Masha blinked, her gaze darting between the floating Temptress and the motionless body slumped against the rock. "Wait just a doggone minute... That there’s a decoy?! You let that thing just fall like a stone while you were hidin’ in the dark this whole time?!"

Her eyes narrowed. "And how in the seven seas is that clone so dang perfect?! Looks just like ya!"

Temptress didn’t bother responding. She simply smiled—smug, commanding, dominant.

’That one’s just a copy made from Tyler’s Copper Pot,’ she thought. ’ And Tyler created Preservation arrays he saw from the Clown’s memory keep the details pristine. Every girl on our crew has one now.’

But aloud, she said nothing.

Instead, she raised her hand and let the thunder whip crackle again, arcs of lightning dancing along her fingertips. "You seem... out of place, little dove. The Phantom Pirates send an outsiders to do their dirty work?"

Masha twirled the charms in her fingers and floated backward cautiously. "Oh, honey, they ain’t send me. I volunteered."

Temptress’s eyes narrowed slightly, but the smirk never left her lips. "Volunteered? How delightfully reckless."

"I was hopin’ to run into your Captain, truth be told," Masha continued, her accent thickening as her nerves kicked in. "Figured I’d give ’im a proper howdy before this mess was over. But I guess I got you instead."

A low chuckle escaped from Temptress’s throat. "You wanted Phantom Blackwood, and yet you got me? Careful, darling. I’m far more dangerous when I’m bored."

Masha tilted her head, expression unreadable. "Well now, ain’t that just peachy. I don’t care which of y’all showed up. My job’s still the same — keep ya from grabbin’ whatever’s down yonder."

Temptress licked her lips slowly, eyeing Masha like a cat toying with a curious mouse. "Is that so? And what exactly is down there that has your people sending charm-happy farmgirls to guard it?"

Masha shrugged. "Don’t rightly know. Ain’t my place to ask. I just know Gunn Calway said ’anyone can take it and bring it to him to get reward.’ And I reckon that doesn’t includes the likes of you."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Temptress whispered, letting her whip coil behind her like a living serpent. "You should’ve stayed home."

In the silence that followed, the sinkhole rumbled faintly.

Masha grinned, "Well shoot... Guess I stirred up a hornet’s nest, huh?"

Temptress’s eyes gleamed. "No, darling. You just stepped into my web."

The battle rages on...

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Meanwhile, Tyler stirred from his slumber, his eyelids heavy but twitching as familiar sounds echoed through the room. The faint creak of movement. And... moaning?

"I hear voices in my head," he muttered groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"That’s because we’re sitting on your face," came Mathilda’s voice, teasing and unfiltered.

Tyler blinked, then instinctively licked his lips.

Mathilda paused mid-sentence.

"...I was joking," she said slowly, watching him with raised eyebrows. "Wait... did you just—?"

He gave a lazy smirk.

"You dirty Captain," she whispered in his ear, her voice a mischievous purr. "You want us to sit on your face for real?"

Tyler chuckled and pushed himself upright, "What happened to the challenge?"

"Oh, that?" Mathilda said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Lily’s handling it. She went with Mana and Su Fei. You’ve been out for a while—it’s already afternoon. She still hasn’t climbed out of the Veins Peak, so I guess it’s not your average stroll through the Sinkhole."

Tyler yawned, then glanced around the room—and his eyes landed on Darla.

She was lying on her stomach, fast asleep, a soft pink hue tinting her cheeks. Her body shimmered faintly under the light, covered in glowing oil. A towel was the only thing preserving her modesty.

His gaze shifted to Mathilda—and only now did he notice she was dressed in the same towel-wrapped spa attire, glistening from the same strange oil.

"...What happened to her?" Tyler asked, pointing.

"Oh, that?" Mathilda grinned, holding up a small glass bottle filled with blue-gold liquid. "We were, ah, experimenting."

"Experimenting?"

"New massage oil I brewed," she said proudly. "I wanted to Call it, MMO.... Mathilda’s Moaning Oil"

Tyler raised a brow.

Mathilda leaned in, holding out the bottle with a sly smile. "Wanna try, Captain?"

He paused, then grinned. "How could I say no to such a tempting offer?"

Mathilda began to slowly slip off his clothes.

"Wait," Tyler said with a grin, pulling her gently toward him. "Just use the oil that’s still on your body."

Soon Darla woke up with familiar moans and joined them. They didn’t even forgot the maid who came to help them.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

Temptress was blasted backward, her body spinning through the air from the impact. But she wasn’t so easily rattled.

With a graceful twist mid-air, she snapped her wrist. The thunder whip lashed out like a viper, coiling around Masha’s leg in a flash of crackling lightning.

"You’re mine now," she purred.

With a sharp yank, Temptress pulled Masha toward her—only to hurl her downwards with brutal force, using her own momentum as a weapon.

Before Masha could regain her balance, a fist met her cheek.

CRACK!

She was sent careening down like a meteor, smashing into the rocky wall below. Stones crumbled, dust rose, and a small crater formed where her body landed.

Temptress didn’t wait. She chased after her, whip trailing behind her like a dragon’s tail.

"Poor Tyler," she mused with a wicked smile, flying down with unbothered elegance. "He’s sleeping through all this fun."

Masha struggled to push herself up from the shallow crater. Her golden hair was tousled, her charm flickering in her hand. Despite her cute features, her body trembled under the force of the blows.

Temptress appeared beside her, eyes glowing like a storm. Without a word, she slammed her knee into Masha’s side, sending her crashing through another chunk of the mountain.

"You’re adorable," Temptress said as she floated above the wreckage, "but so very weak."

Masha coughed, brushing dirt from her cheek. "Ain’t weakness, sugar. Jus’ a performance issue. This body ain’t exactly built for brawlin’."

"Oh?" Temptress hovered closer, whip crackling in the air. "Let me guess... you’re a spirit? A nascent divinity? Or maybe some pitiful soul puppeteering this dainty thing?"

"This here’s a clone, darlin’," Masha said with a crooked grin. "Went on a date not long ago too—with a mighty handsome guy, if I do say so myself. Fightin’ ain’t really this clone’s style."

Temptress’s eyes narrowed. "Then who are you really? You volunteered to ambush us. That’s not something done without motive."

"You’re quick," Masha admitted. "Ain’t exactly a grudge. Let’s just call it avengin’ someone. Though it’s personal, but not that personal."

"What’s your name?" Temptress asked.

"Masha." She tried to stand, legs shaking. "But if this is all ya got, sugar, then you ain’t beatin’ my real self. Not in a million years."

Temptress raised an eyebrow as Masha’s body began to glow—bright, hot, pulsing with unstable energy.

"Oh no," she muttered. "Self-detonation?"

Temptress immediately launched herself backward, retreating at lightning speed.

But then—

"Hah!" Masha’s voice rang out, playful and smug. "Fooled ya, missy!"

A sudden burst of light erupted—not from an explosion, but from a teleportation charm activating.

With a wink and a cheeky salute, Masha vanished in a swirl of glowing runes.

Temptress landed nearby, lips curling in amusement.

"Cute trick," she whispered, licking her lips. "But next time, little Masha... I won’t let you run."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Veins Peak Island, Masha appeared and collapsed unconscious beside another Masha — like an identical twin in appearance.

"I can’t afford to waste good clone material," the second Masha muttered, clearly she is also another clone.