Chapter 341: Only I Am Sane!

“Samantha?” Ansu was taken aback. It had been a long time since he had heard that name...

He had imagined what Celia might see in her hallucinations, but he never expected her to see Samantha first.

Seeing his hesitant expression, Celia suddenly pointed toward the dry, blackened woods. “Ansu, you don't believe me? She's right there! Right there! Look!”

“Right... I see, I see.” Ansu reached out to touch her forehead, his palm meeting burning heat. He gently pushed her shoulders to turn her around. “You're sick right now. Go get some sleep. You need to rest.”

If she falls asleep, she'll quiet down a bit.

But Celia shook off his hand like someone having a manic episode, her voice rising to a near shriek. “It's true! Why won't you believe me? She's there! She's really back!”

To make Ansu believe her, she clutched his sleeve, frantically trying to explain.

“Samantha came back to seek revenge on us! This curse on our wrists was cast by her!”

Left with no choice by her frantic pleading, Ansu looked back in the direction she was pointing.

The withered woods loomed faintly in the scarlet mist, their charred, twisted branches tangled together. At first glance, they did indeed resemble several tall, slender figures standing there.

But that was all they were.

He sighed softly. “Celia, I only see a row of dead branches.”

Yet Celia wasn't listening to him at all.

She stared intently at the dark silhouettes of the trees, her dark red pupils swirling with uncontrollable murderous intent.

“No! I won't let you have your way!”

“Samantha! I'll kill you... I'll kill you! I won't let you take away everything I have!”

She took a step to charge toward the woods, but Ansu quickly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back.

“Celia!”

Ansu cupped her face with both hands, forcing her to look at him.

“Celia, Celia?”

But he couldn't snap her out of it.

Celia's gaze cut right past Ansu's shoulder, pinning itself to the withered black woods.

“Samantha, I'm warning you... Take back your curse... I will stop your resurrection, and I will stop your conspiracy!”

Her body trembled slightly with extreme rage. Her muttering grew increasingly incoherent, yet it retained a bizarre logic, as if she were truly having a conversation with Samantha.

“Don't even think about using this to threaten us!”

“No! Ansu and I would never beg a woman like you for mercy just to survive! Either get lost, or I'll kill you!”

Ansu frowned, his heart sinking at Celia's delusional state.

He forced himself to calm down.

They said that a madman's logic was always self-consistent, and he realized he could actually analyze something from Celia's wild ramblings...

In the world she perceived, this blood-eye curse mark had been cast by Samantha—which explained why only the two of them had it while the others in the party did not.

Samantha was fighting her way back from hell, and this curse was her first tentacle reaching into the mortal realm, using it to force Celia to submit and beg...

It actually sounded somewhat plausible.

And knowing Samantha as Ansu did, this was indeed something that wicked old witch would do.

But if he actually believed it, he would be the madman.

Looking at the increasingly agitated and hysterical Celia, Ansu pondered how to calm her down and coax her back to sleep.

Just then, Vera quietly slipped over from the side.

With her hands clasped behind her back, she tilted her head, her bloodshot eyes staring gloomily at the hysterical Celia as her lips slowly curled into a bizarre smile.

“Hehehe...”

“Good... Go mad... The madder, the better!”

Leaning in close to Ansu's ear, she squeezed out a sweet, dripping tone. “Bro~ther~ would you really fall in love with a crazy woman?”

Ansu rolled eyes at her, ignoring the bait.

Vera didn't mind either. She drifted over to the campfire on her own, sat down with her chin resting in her hands, a dreamy smile on her face.

“This is wonderful...”

“Everyone has gone mad, and only I am sane...”

Vera was also immersed in her own world, but to Ansu, this version of her was at least much quieter than before.

After a moment's thought, he walked over and reached his hand out to her. “Hand it over.”

Vera blinked, instinctively clutching her pocket. “What? The compass? No! I'm not going home! I want to accompany you to the very end, I want to—!”

“Not that.” Ansu shook his head. “You were rambling earlier about poisoning everyone... so that only you would survive. I know you were serious, so hand it over!”

“Oh...” Vera obediently dug into her pocket, pulled out a palm-sized glass jar, and handed it to Ansu.

“You actually have one?” Ansu glared at her, annoyed.

Vera giggled and nodded.

Ansu examined it closely. The jar was half-filled with a thick, viscous liquid, sealed with an oak cork. It looked like a homemade concoction she had whipped up herself.

Ansu stared at her, his tone suddenly turning flat. “Explain.”

Vera's heart skipped a beat. She knew that when her brother looked this calm, he was at his most terrifying. He was truly angry.

She obediently sat up straight, her gaze drifting toward the dusty battlefield at the edge of the horizon.

Danielle and the other two were still fighting like cats and dogs over there. Although a victor had yet to be decided, Elder Matthew was fighting one against two and seemed to be reaching his limit.

“Teacher Danielle taught me this before.”

Vera explained softly. “She said that to slay monsters and hunt black mages, demon hunters can use any means necessary. So, at my pleading, she taught me how to brew many magic potions...”

She looked at the potion in Ansu's hand.

“This thing is called the Decaying Dream Decoction. It's colorless and odorless, perfect for slipping into human food and water. There's no immediate reaction after drinking it, but they will slowly die in an increasingly deep dream. By the time anyone notices, they'll already be long dead.”

Danielle actually taught you this? Ansu grumbled internally, glancing again at the glass jar and its cheap oak cork. “And you actually dared to carry this around with you?”

“Teacher Danielle is nice to me~” Vera giggled. “Whenever I play the victim, her maternal instincts overflow... She'll teach me anything and help me with whatever I want...”

“You're proud of that?” Ansu stared at her, speechless.

This "Darkened Vera" truly wasn't holding back at all, pouring out every single dark thought she harbored toward Freya, Danielle, and Celia...

Vera hung her head, quick to admit her mistake. “Sorry, Brother. I won't do it again!”

Then, clinging to him like a warm coat, she wrapped her arms around Ansu's waist and nuzzled her face into his chest.

“Brother, I'll be good from now on~”

Ansu glanced down at her. “...Good again, are you?”

“Mhm!” Vera nodded vigorously, then stole a glance at Celia, who was still raving in the distance, her lips curling up into a tiny smirk.

Hehehe, what a perfect opportunity!

I must stay sane.

...