Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires-Chapter 278: Fleeing the Quiet

"This is cool," he admitted as he stepped into the room with the large hot spring. It was more than twenty metres in diameter and the whole place was basically just for him!

Now this was the type of vacation that he was not going to complain about for sure!

Following the proper etiquette, he took a quick shower before entering the hot spring. Once he did, he felt like he was going to melt.

All the tension, worries, and doubts he'd carried seemed to evaporate in the high, yet comforting heat.

"Now that I know this place exists," he murmured, "I'll be coming here as often as possible."

As the water embraced him and his body, it seemed that his skin was becoming healthier with each passing moment.

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'I see now why they say that places like this help your skin.' The change in his skin did not go unnoticed.

During his time in the capital, Zaroth had often heard women—those who typically wore expensive clothes—swear that visiting a hot spring once or twice a week worked wonders for their skin and libido. Zaroth had always dismissed it as overhyped nonsense... until this very moment.

"It seems that it wouldn't hurt if I started paying attention to the rumors around me more often. Who knows what kinds of wonders I might be missing?" he muttered softly.

A few minutes passed, and he gradually got used to the temperature as he released a soft sigh and gazed at the ceiling.

Then, unforgotten thoughts and emotions began to surface in his mind again.

"For fuck's sake, can't I just enjoy something without having to worry?" he cursed softly under his breath. The distraction that the hot spring was providing was not going to be enough, it seemed, to calm his worries.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked himself, eyes drifting to his reflection in the water.

'You're trying to overstimulate yourself so that you don't have to think,' Luna's answer echoed in his mind.

He grimaced as she was able to perfectly pinpoint what he was doing up until now. "Then why isn't it working?" he asked quietly.

'Not too long ago, you slept with a queen, fought a Demigod, almost died, and gazed at the dead body of your loved one. It is obvious that it is hard to top something like this, and as such, your mind is experiencing low amounts of dopamine,' she explained.

'The amount of traumatic experiences you've lived through in such a short time have no doubt scarred you greatly, even if you haven't fully realized it yourself. All this time, you've been jumping from one grand event to another. Now that you're finally stopping in one place to take a breather, not only are all the troubling memories flooding back, but the peace you're feeling feels unnatural, making you believe something is wrong.'

"Then is there not a thing that I could do to fix it?" he asked almost like he was pleading for help.

'There are two ways: You can overwhelm your senses even more—getting completely and utterly blasted with alcohol, sleep with as many women as possible, or go and risk your life. All of these things should make you stop thinking about your current torment.'

'Or you man up and face your emotions head-on and make peace with them. These are your two options: You either avoid the pain for as long as you can, or confront it and stop letting it control you.'

Zaroth grimaced when he heard the words 'man up'—it would indicate that he was a weak brat that was too afraid to face his emotions head-on… which was sadly the truth. Wasn't it funny in a way? Fighting and killing a Demigod had not been as scary or hard as facing his emotions.

"I guess you are r–"

He began to speak but was cut short as the loud noise of the bells were being aired around the city. That could mean only one thing: they were under attack.

Zaroth gritted his teeth. "Just when I was starting to relax!" he complained, yet inwardly he was partly happy that something he could occupy himself with had occurred.

He quickly dried himself up, summoned Nightshade, and put his gear on.

Then with dazzling speed, he dashed out of the hot spring, scaring the girl in the reception for a moment.

His speed even startled himself. Was he moving so fast thanks to the effect of the hot spring, or was it because in a way, he was running away from his problems?

"It doesn't matter," he muttered as he reached the gates and called for them to lower the bridge.

After they did, he stepped outside the city, and the bridge was raised again behind him.

Seeing that there was nothing in sight yet, he sat on the ground and awaited.

The scent of ash had faded, but the darkened stones and scorched trail still bore the marks of Luna's fire-breath from the day before—a lingering reminder of her inferno on the mountain path.

Curiously enough, while Luna had killed thousands—leaving behind little evidence—Zaroth's battle with the few who had remained was still easy to trace. Faint bloodstains dotted the ground, silent markers of the struggle.

The bodies of his enemies were long gone. He hadn't removed them himself, so it seemed that one of the city's workers, still laboring on the walls, had taken care of the cleanup.

A few minutes later, a few people entered Zaroth's field of vision. He smiled as he got up on his two feet.

This time, they weren't riding horses. They were mounted on lizards with rough brown skin—clearly suited for the uneven terrain.

"Now let's see what you got."