READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 161
– 1 –
In the sunlight streaming down from the ceiling of the Dungeon, a woman with a seemingly delicate face looked up.
The skin revealed under her black parasol was so white and translucent that it seemed as if she could disappear at any moment.
The black dress enveloping her shimmered even in the darkness, accentuating her presence.
“Oh dear, an uninvited guest.”
At the moment she noticed me, her eyes widened in surprise.
‘What the…!!’
Her senses sharpened instantly.
All the magic she had accumulated, her very soul, warned her of the woman standing before her.
‘This is…!!’
And at the same time, her soul felt a deep cheer.
She instinctively recognized it.
There was something magnificent before her that could erase the demonic contract in an instant.
“I must reclaim…”
‘Do it…!!’
A violent impulse wrapped around her entire body.
Overwhelmed by a sense of helplessness, a deep thirst to reclaim what she had lost surged within her.
In that moment, facing the woman, she realized with certainty.
‘Monster!’
That the woman was something that would make her ‘perfectly’ herself.
‘The ultimate perfect piece…!’
It was something far more noble and great than that ‘noble Abellus.’
“You…!!”
Arpina’s green eyes ignited, flaring with energy.
In that moment, she needed nothing else.
Only to seize that woman’s soul and possess her body.
That was the sole impulse consuming her.
Bang – !
– Kyaahhh!
– Crack!
From the shadows swirling around Arpina, countless monsters burst forth.
“Of course. This is a Dungeon Lord after all!”
Whoosh – !
Boom – !
– Kyaahh!
With a sharp laughter, fire and ice summoned by Arpina rampaged from her hands.
The magic absorbed from a professor of the Royal Magic School and a noble criminal obliterated the monsters in an instant.
‘Huh?’
And the next moment, Arpina realized that ‘she’ was already distancing herself from her.
“Where are you going – !!”
At Arpina’s fierce shout, the black-clad woman briefly glanced back at her with a mocking smile on her kind and delicate face.
“You’re quite the blunt one. How pathetic.”
Contempt and mockery.
Until five years ago, she had never imagined someone would direct such looks at her, but it felt strangely natural now.
However, even more than that.
That attitude, that subtly alluring manner.
“Aw, throwing a tantrum, huh!”
Excited Arpina.
“Think as you will.”
Sweeping her long hair back, the woman continued walking, hiding her face behind the parasol.
Yet, in that relaxed appearance, she was escaping from Arpina at an unimaginable speed.
‘She’s running away.’
With that conviction, Arpina’s body surged forward rapidly.
Unlike the woman’s steps that seemed to glide across the ground, her magic erupted, shattering everything around her in an explosive advance.
However, despite that, Arpina felt a great sense of satisfaction.
‘Light.’
It was Arpina’s self-assessment of her current state.
Now free from her sense of helplessness, she was in the best condition she had ever been since coming out of the Magical Realm.
‘With my current self!’
Even if she faced the previous Abellus, she would not be easily pushed around.
She might even be able to fight more fiercely.
Of course, it was a misjudgment influenced by the exhilaration of activating her powers for the first time in a while, but at least she believed it to be true.
– Kyaahhh!
– Smash!
But countless undead and monsters stood in her way.
Skeletons charging without formation, frenzied Green Skins, and Monsters or Demons.
“You’re certainly impressive!”
Arpina sensed that the quality of these monsters was definitely higher than a typical ‘High-level Dungeon Lord,’ eliminating her doubts about the fleeing woman.
She couldn’t know that they were merely summoned as a distraction.
“But that’s all!”
Boom – !!
– Keahh!!
– Crack!
As a white lightning bolt summoned from her hand illuminated the passages of the dungeon, all the wooden furniture around her shattered and flew into the mist.
Monsters in the path were scattered like dust.
“With this! You can’t stop me, cute lady!”
“Yes, you do look cute.”
Before long, the dungeon led into a wide room.
The black-clad woman, who had dispersed the lightning aimed at her with the flick of her parasol, nodded her head with a smile that was almost kind.
And at that very moment—
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Arpina felt a chill at her nape.
A sharp energy that felt like it was cutting into her neck.
Crack—!
In an urgent moment when she turned her body, a dark crimson sword light swept past her throat.
It cut through the air, carving a deep trench in the ground.
With that—
Plop…
From the black hood flowed down platinum hair.
There stood a dark knight with a thick smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
Arpina’s eyes sparkled as she gauged the trench etched into the ground and the magic radiating from the knight.
‘He’s an Ace…!!’
An elite-level Death Knight, or Dark Knight.
She instinctively felt that this knight was either the strongest of the dungeon or among them.
It was a correct judgment.
Considering an average High-level dungeon.
‘But how weak!’
A sneer curled at Arpina’s lips.
Just feeling the power emanating from this knight was formidable.
Given how weak she was now, she would need some time to deal with him.
But that was all.
Especially in front of the impulse overtaking her body right now, it was nothing.
“What a cute Ace.”
Whoosh – !!
Once more, flames erupted from Arpina’s hands.
This fire was different from the other spells she had used before.
The flames, tinged with green like her murky eyes, flowed through the air, creating a strange shape as if devouring the space itself.
“You’re so kind. Trying to buy time for your owner to escape, aren’t you?”
“…!”
At Arpina’s ridicule, explosive crimson magic erupted from the knight’s entire body.
Watching the spectacle, Arpina, engulfed in green flames, let out another chuckle. No elite-level could possibly confront her.
‘Just like back then…’
Arpina’s brow furrowed as she recalled the time she charged at ‘noble Abellus.’
Such an unpleasant memory.
“You seem ignorant.”
To shake away that thought, Arpina turned her attention to the woman in the black dress visible beyond the knight.
She stood across the room, not fleeing, but watching the fight unfold.
Although her expression remained kind, her gaze was different.
It was as if a being that had lived for eons was looking down at something insignificant, igniting a fiery rage within Arpina.
‘I want to destroy you…!’
Imagining the moment her noble face contorted, a vicious smile curled back on Arpina’s lips.
Bam -!!
At that moment.
As Arpina became distracted by the black-clad woman, the knight moved.
With an explosive force against the ground, he rushed in where fury was reflected in her eyes, and his sword, gripped tightly with both hands, blazed with a crimson glow.
Arpina herself was not in perfect shape either, and had she allowed him to approach, he could have posed a threat.
“Good movement, kid!”
Kyaahhh!
But the gap in power was clear.
After dodging or blocking his strikes several times, a massive outburst of green flames erupted from Arpina, threatening to engulf the whole world.
It wrapped the knight, as if it were the fist of a giant god.
Crunch -!!
“Ugh…!”
His whole body was crushed, flesh melting and sticking, as if his soul was being extracted.
It was unbearable pain, yet the knight’s screams were restrained until the end.
Arpina grinned even more, savoring his tremendous endurance.
This knight, too, could have been worthy of her ‘collection’ under normal circumstances.
“Wait for me! I’ll take over your master’s body and cherish you! We can’t let your pretty face get a scratch, can we?!”
“You…!”
Hearing the knight’s furious cry, with a wild laugh, Arpina glanced back at the black-clad woman.
From a distance, the woman’s expression had shifted to one of slight embarrassment and ‘fear.’
The first sign of emotional change since Arpina laid eyes on her.
It was the expression of a Dungeon Lord witnessing the danger of either an Ace or the Dungeon Core.
“Kihi – !”
Nod.
As Arpina realized she was cornering her, she felt an exhilarating rush and twisted her hands.
“Ugh – !!”
The knight’s groans were echoed throughout the dungeon, suddenly enveloped by a shadowy presence.
The Dungeon Lord reclaimed her Ace.
‘He really was an Ace! It would have been a pity to lose him.’
“… If only I had let him die, maybe he would have lasted a bit longer…”
As Arpina realized that, her eyes narrowed, then swiftly curved into a smile.
The madness in her gaze remained.
“How delicious.”
For the first time, the black-clad woman folded her parasol.
“And so. What’s next?”
“That’s you!”
The green flames wrapped around Arpina’s body.
In an instant, they transformed into a colossal form resembling a phoenix’s wings.
A massive amount of magic, large enough to eclipse the ceiling of the dungeon.
“‘Finger of the Abyss.’”
In response, the black-clad woman swung her parasol.
At that moment, the space around her distorted and twisted.
As if a mirror shattered, the space cracked open, and countless tentacles spilled forth.
Each one, an entity infused with massive dark magic, wriggled like a living creature reaching out towards Arpina.
“Hah – !”
‘So there is power here!’
Feeling the magic contained within, Arpina realized she was not dealing with a normal Dungeon Lord.
However, it only fueled her excitement even further.
It was like a drug enhancing her anticipation for the body she would acquire.
“Too little, too little! Sweet lady!”
“This is…”
The black-clad woman’s eyes widened in surprise.
The green flames consumed the black tentacles, increasing in size.
As if they were devouring her power.
“Your body! Your soul! Your power! All of it is mine – !”
With an oddly distorted face fueled by impending victory and greed, Arpina wielded both green flames and black power.
Despite wielding magic, the epitome of rationality, her eyes lacked any glimmer of reason.
“This won’t do…”
On the face of the black-clad woman, a look of defeat emerged.
There was no longer any composure in her expression.
“‘Dance of the Dead.’”
The fabric of the woman’s dress fluttered as hundreds of shadows split apart.
Shadows filled the space as if performing synchronized dances.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
All the shadows flew toward Arpina herself, but at the same time, the black-clad woman’s body was also wrapped in shadow, attempting to vanish somewhere.
Realizing this, Arpina’s fingertips quickly traced a green symbol, and as she flipped her palm, the entire floor of the guild was covered in a magic circle.
“This is…”
The shadows that had been enveloping the black-clad woman suddenly vanished, and her body trembled.
The green flames blocked the path of the darkness.
“Whether master or servant, neither had the composure to face a crisis!”
Click, clack.
Swallowing even the shadows, Arpina approached her in a stronger state than before.
Her green eyes radiated even more intensely.
With a thrill of victory, she felt the fulfillment of finally obtaining what she desired.
“Perfect…!”
Smiling as she stroked the fallen, compliant hair of the black-clad woman.
Unlike the drabness she originally possessed, the hair of this woman shimmered beautifully, glowing on its own.
The skin, once pale, was equally mesmerizing.
Like it was sparkling with starlight, that skin captivated Arpina.
“This is… you’re mine now…!”
Arpina’s hand reached out toward the black-clad woman.
Green magic stretched out like threads, burrowing into the woman’s entire being, capturing her soul.
“…”
A faint smile flickered on the woman’s lips, but Arpina’s conviction in her victory kept her from noticing it.
Swish –
In that instant of the soul’s thread connecting.
Arpina felt a sense of doubt.
‘Was it too easy…?’
For such a powerful being, her soul should have possessed strength to match.
Yet, until she made contact with the soul, she felt no resistance at all.
“Foolish.”
But it was already too late.
– 3 –
“Foolish.”
The woman dressed in black, whom Arpina believed to be slain, lifted her head.
In her eyes burned a purple light, like flames from hell, while shadows shrouded her entire being in dark sparks.
“What’s this…!”
“You didn’t burrow in after all.”
The black-clad woman smiled gently as she grasped Arpina’s hand.
Yet, from her eyes and mouth, black vapor escaped, instilling fear in those who beheld it.
“I’ve drawn you in. Arpina Mailtron.”
“Ahh – !!!!”
As the black-clad woman uttered the name she could not possibly know, Arpina realized her situation.
Yet even now, her soul was witnessing a change in the surrounding scenery.
Swish -!
The enormous whirlpool engulfed her, dragging her through space.
The thread of the soul she had woven, the magic that had always obeyed her control, had turned into shackles, pulling her along.
– No…!!
Desperate resistance was futile.
Like being drawn into the Abyss, Arpina’s consciousness slipped away to some other space.
Swoosh…
Her consciousness soon found herself in the midst of a vast space.
Above a liquid expanse that stretched like an ocean,
– Where is this…
Having briefly scanned the floor from the leaves supporting her body, she shuddered and leaned back.
– Kyaahhh – !!!
The things she thought were liquid shrieked as they made eye contact with her.
– What is this…!
The moment she realized what they were, she sat back on the leaves, staring up at the vastness of darkness.
In that darkness, countless strange lights flickered.
– Thanks to you, I’m finally able to see my own inner self.
A familiar voice drew her attention, and as Arpina turned towards it, she could hardly contain her shock.
Gone was the frail and gentle black-clad woman.
– This is…
– Until now, I’ve only heard indirect descriptions of these beings.
What she saw took the shape of a person.
A huge person.
Yet the elements decorating this person were entirely different.
Blink
Blink
What she had thought was light was actually countless eyes, unable to be counted.
Eyes with black sclera and purple irises.
Wings adorned with those many eyes blocked out the sky as they gazed down upon her.
Swish…!
There were so many pairs of wings that she lost count, from the tips of which countless ‘somethings’ squirmed in the darkness.
Their size surpassed imagination, and the presence they radiated was more overwhelming than anything Arpina had encountered before.
– I thought so, but you’re not as pretty as I had imagined.
Within those many wings, there was a ‘her’ that was smaller than the wings yet so massive compared to a human.
A being wrapped in chains that seemed to embody the void itself.
That enormous and magnificent presence possessed a soul’s strength that only someone like Arpina, who could manipulate the power of souls, would be able to gaze upon.
At the same time, she sensed that the more she learned, the more gigantic it felt.
Even so, her tone remained gentle and kind.
– If you’re shy to show yourself, go ahead and spill your impressions.
As she perched on the edge of the undulating hemispherical basin, her massive limbs rested gently, calmly observing Arpina.
Though there were only vacuous colors where eyes should have been on that face, she could sense being gazed upon.
It was only when that enormous form pressed against the edges that she understood she was inside a gigantic bathtub.
– Beautiful…
In that moment, still enshrouded in fear, Arpina found herself in awe.
Despite the form that transcended imagination, the black-clad woman still bore an aura of beauty.
– Huh. That’s quite a compliment I didn’t expect.
The voice of the monster still belonged to that woman.
Yet all at once, the suffocating pressure emanated from that presence gripped her entire body.
– Now do you understand? What it is that you covet.
Finally, Arpina realized how foolish her choice had been.
After the shackles around her neck broke,
Her wingswere torn apart,
Pain coursed through her entire being,
And webs were woven around her soul.
– … Ah.
What she had once thought was a prison had merely been loose shackles.
Compared to the current experience, that was an eternity of freedom.
What she had perceived as the jubilation of her soul was in fact a scream filled with horror.
Having already learned of fear but failing to accept it, she could not properly respond when faced with another kind of terror.
Clang!
Here.
The inside of an unknown soul became her ‘home.’
– Now you will feel the time when you’re a threat to me, little widow spider.
– Hahaha…
Her end had arrived.
She felt the power of Libertus burrowing into her body, and she could no longer hold on to her fading consciousness.