The Witch's Anatomical Notes

Chapter 107

The Moon-Eater

Lucy had been waiting by the Styx for more than an entire hourglass cycle.

The thunderous rumbles from across the river came in bursts, with no sign that the battle was coming to an end.

Still, considering this wasn’t Master Theodosius’s first time entering the Realm of Death for a purge mission, he probably wouldn’t run into trouble… right?

Lucy glanced back at the Path of No Return and the towering Gate of the Dead, pondering her chances of making it back alone if something really did happen to Theodosius.

Just then, two flickering green soul flames—one large and one small—floated toward her along the riverbank.

As the figures drew nearer, their twisted and bizarre forms became clear—two upright-walking giant squid, vividly grotesque.

She tightened her grip on the "Key to the Abyss of Nightmares" hidden in her sleeve, ready to escape into it at a moment’s notice.

Unexpectedly, the lead squid spoke in fluent Common Wizard Tongue, “I am Uku, from the Primary Plane. Greetings, living one.”

“Hello. May I ask what you need?” Lucy relaxed her guard slightly.

“Nothing urgent,” the squid’s mouthparts wriggled. “It’s just that my daughter is curious about you. She has never seen a creature from the living world, so I brought her here.”

Only then did Lucy notice the half-meter-tall pink squid hiding behind Uku’s over-two-meter-tall body.

Its curled-up tentacles and posture carried a distinct girlish shyness.

Though its appearance was quite Lovecraftian to human eyes, as a pure anatomist, Lucy felt only the urge to study this unfamiliar biological system.

Suppressing her impulse to take out her scalpel and dissect the "little squid girl," she instead retrieved a few malt candies from the Abyss of Nightmares and offered them kindly.

“I’m Lucy, a wizard.”

“Ugu-gu—”

A muffled sound came from the little squid girl’s mouthparts, but she still reached out a tentacle to shake Lucy’s hand, snatching the candies as she did. Her movements were clumsy, yet endearing.

"She’s only just begun to grasp your language,” Uku said with a tone full of paternal affection.

The Realm of Death had its own native inhabitants, and naturally, its own culture and language.

As for the wizard tongue, that was something they learned from the souls drifting through the Styx.

Lucy gently stroked the little squid’s pearlescent head, though her thoughts had already begun dissecting the possible organ structures beneath that skin.

She looked toward the churning energy storm across the river and probed, “Aren’t you going to help?”

“Lady Lucy means the Dog God?” Uku gestured toward the rumbling with a tentacle. “You may not know this, but we serve one of the Seven Gods of the Realm of Death—the Lord of the Styx, Icarus. Our duty is to maintain the riverbanks of the Styx.”

“Beyond that, we do not involve ourselves unless Lord Icarus gives a direct order, so you may rest assured.”

“Besides, the shockwaves alone from a battle at that level are terrifying. How could we dare interfere?”

Lucy suddenly understood.

No wonder these natives seemed so calm—they were essentially public servants in the system. As long as they did their assigned job, everything was fine.

At that moment, the little squid was stuffing the candy into her drooling mouth, and her pink skin flushed with a blissful red hue.

Uku also revealed a sincere smile.

Though the Primary Plane conducted annual rites and sacrifices, those offerings were all for the true gods.

For natives like them, flavor was a genuine rarity in the Realm of Death. If lucky, they might scavenge a few treats from the souls' belongings.

“Judging by the situation, the battle will likely continue for quite a while. Lady Lucy, would you care to rest at our humble abode?”

Nothing could be better!

Lucy was eager to investigate how these beings survived in the Realm of Death. And with the Abyss of Nightmares as her fallback, she could retreat at any moment and wait for Theodosius to finish dealing with the Dog God before reemerging.

She readily accepted, “It would be an honor.”

Thus, guided by the two squidfolk, Lucy made her way toward the Styx.

There stood a wooden house built on the riverbank, resembling a stilted dwelling, with part of its structure extending out over the Styx.

This was also Lucy’s first time observing the souls in the Styx at such close range. Countless soul flames drifted downstream like a swarm of fireflies, flowing into the shadowy depths.

“Where do they eventually go?”

“The Sea of Eternal Slumber,” Uku explained. “The end of the Styx is known as the Sea of Eternal Slumber, a domain under the authority of the Death God—the Sleeper. Along the way, the river passes through the Coffin Corridor, the Courtyard of Judgment, the Avenue of the Sages, and the Nurturing Cradle. Each place is guarded by one of the true gods of the Realm of Death.”

Pushing the door open, Lucy was surprised to see another squid inside the wooden house—one even larger in size.

He was currently seated at the river’s edge, holding a fishing rod in his tentacles, its line dangling into the Styx.

“Visitors?” the fishing squid asked in a deep, rumbling voice.

“This is my husband, Udi,” Uku introduced. “And this is Lady Lucy, from the Primary Plane.”

“How was today’s haul?”

Udi’s thick tentacles drifted lazily in the air. “Not bad.”

Curious, Lucy leaned in.

Just then, the rod in Udi’s tentacle twitched.

“Got one!”

As the rod was lifted, a faint green soul was pulled out from the water.

“This one’s soul is heavy. He must have something good on him.”

Udi skillfully rummaged through the soul, pulling out a few pieces of bread and dried meat. After confirming there was nothing else, he tossed the soul back into the river.

Lucy, watching from the side, found the whole process rather fascinating.

“This is how you survive?!”

Uku took the food from her husband’s tentacle.

“Yes. The Realm of Death cannot grow or produce any materials. When the living die, the items they carry with them enter the Styx alongside their souls. We survive by retrieving supplies from them.”

Lucy studied the soul-fishing rod that shimmered with a cold gleam.

“May I take a look at your soul-fishing rod?”

“Of course.” Udi handed the tool to her.

It felt cold and smooth like jade, yet light as a reed.

“This is made from the only plant that can grow along the Styx. We call it soul-fishing reed.”

After examining it for a while, Lucy returned the rod to Udi.

“Come in and try some of our food from the Realm of Death.”

Soon, the table was filled with various foods.

However, after just a few bites, Lucy stopped—these items fished from the Styx had neither taste nor provided any sense of satiety for the living. It was like swallowing air.

Unwilling to waste their precious supplies, she turned her attention instead to the warm scene of Uku feeding the little squid girl.

These natives of the Realm of Death, living as family units, didn’t seem too different from the way people lived on the Wizard Continent.

Suddenly, a surge of energy erupted from across the river, breaking the calm.

Udi’s soul flame flickered erratically. “Your lord from the Primary Plane is indeed powerful—he’s managed to suppress Lord Fenrir. Though Fenrir ranks sixth among the Seven Gods of the Realm of Death, he is the only one whose true body has ever descended upon the Primary Plane.”

Seated across the table, Lucy asked curiously, “The Dog God once descended upon our world?”

“You didn’t know?” Udi set down the food held in his tentacle and continued, “Two thousand years ago, Lord Fenrir offered the moon as a sacrifice to descend in his true form. That’s where the title ‘Moon-Eater’ comes from.”

“Unfortunately, his physical body was later destroyed by a Crown Wizard, and he slumbered for decades before being reborn in the Realm of Death.”

Sacrificed the moon to descend in true form?!

But the moon was still clearly hanging in the sky over the Wizard Plane.

Just as Lucy was about to voice her doubt, Udi suddenly raised a tentacle.

“It seems the two lords have decided the outcome.”