S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 183

Chapter 183

"This won't be an easy opponent. I'll handle it."

Lisianthus stepped forward, casually dismissing Uriel's words. He apparently hadn't noticed Adelaide's fearsome expression yet.

Adelaide's frown deepened at Lisianthus's words.

Not an easy opponent. It was a simple phrase, but somehow it didn't sit well with her. While it was true that Uriel was strong and would be quite challenging in a one-on-one fight... she didn't want to hear that right now. For some reason, it made her feel like she was losing.

"No. I'll take care of her as originally planned. Lisianthus, deal with those corpses."

"...Master, I apologize, but I believe we should modify the plan."

Lisianthus carefully expressed his disagreement. It wasn't that he didn't trust her. He simply couldn't feel at ease leaving everything to her. Not because he feared she might lose, but because he was terribly worried she might get even slightly hurt.

Uriel emanated an aura far stronger than he had anticipated. While Adelaide, empowered by Helheim, wouldn't lose to such an opponent, it was certain she would sustain injuries both major and minor during the battle. And Lisianthus found even the smallest scratch on Adelaide's body utterly horrifying.

"I still think I should be the one to handle Uriel—"

"No, I'll take care of it! Lisianthus, don't you dare go near that woman!"

Adelaide shouted before she could stop herself. Her voice had been quite loud, drawing many gazes their way. She hastily continued speaking with flushed cheeks.

"I-I mean...! I want Lisianthus to focus on protecting our faction. We decided from the start that I would handle Uriel, and that Lisianthus would conserve his strength...."

Lisianthus watched with wide eyes as she rambled on. Soon, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Adelaide, could it be... are you jealous?"

Jealousy. It was a blatant word. Adelaide's face and neck instantly turned pink. She shyly avoided his gaze, looking here and there, before finally giving a small nod. So this is what jealousy feels like, she thought to herself, finding it rather fascinating.

Lisianthus's expression brightened like never before. His long eyes curved gracefully into crescents. Laughter constantly spilled from between his reddish lips.

"...So this is how wonderful it feels. To be the object of jealousy."

"You're not going to deliberately make me more jealous just because you're happy about it, right?"

"Well...."

He pretended to consider it mischievously. Adelaide grabbed his clothes in horror.

"Lisianthus!"

"I'm joking. How could I dare do such a thing?"

While he truly wanted to see more of Adelaide's jealous side, he couldn't bring himself to make her anxious just for his own pleasure. It was only natural, given his sincere love for her.

Lisianthus chuckled as he waved his hand lightly. The corpses approaching them immediately shattered and scattered in all directions.

"Sorry to interrupt, but how long do you two plan to stay lost in your own little world?"

"Raham, I told you to leave them be!"

"B-but I think we should wake them up soon...."

Raham, who had carefully spoken up, shrunk back when Pia scolded him.

He was right—it was time to emerge from their private world. Uriel's controlled corpses had started rushing toward them en masse. There were so many that even Julliard, experienced in facing multiple opponents, was taken aback.

Adelaide cleared her throat with a cough as she finally realized she had been caught up in an inappropriate mood for the situation.

"Anyway, I'll handle Uriel! If you interfere, I'll make you jealous too!"

"You already do that every hour of every day, Master."

"...Anyway! That's what we're doing!"

She leaped forward quickly without waiting for his response. Lisianthus briefly considered stopping her but couldn't bring himself to do so. Her eyes had been far too determined.

The battle resumed shortly after. The faction's demons fought fiercely while surrounding Pia, and Lisianthus followed his master's orders by protecting their faction and dealing with the corpses.

Adelaide made a great leap and swung her sword as soon as her feet touched the ground. With a swoosh! A red light burst forth, forming a whip so long its length couldn't be measured, which wrapped around and pierced through the enemies.

When the massive impact hit, the corpses' bodies crumbled to dust. The space before them, which had been packed with corpses, cleared instantly. Through the scattered dust, Uriel's clear face became visible.

"Uriel!"

Adelaide shouted her name fiercely as she jumped up again. If she could just kill that woman, the war would end. Then she could meet Caladium too. Hot fighting spirit rose from deep within her chest.

However, unlike during the war with Sol Dungeon, Adelaide didn't make the mistake of giving in to excitement. Apart from obtaining Helheim, she had grown significantly. Being able to maintain composure at the tip of her sword even when excitement surged during battle was one such improvement.

Soon, Adelaide's jet-black hair lengthened and large wings formed behind her back. She had properly prepared for battle by drawing out her power while leaping.

Even at this moment, Uriel maintained her composure with a gentle smile. Because of this, Adelaide remained vigilant until the end.

Snap!

Just as the distance between them closed, something strongly grabbed her ankle. Simultaneously, Adelaide's body fell downward.

Instead of panicking in surprise, Adelaide spun once in mid-air. The red whip rotated as if it had been waiting for this moment. When she landed lightly with a tap, everything that had surrounded her was already dead.

"This is...."

She frowned as she quickly scanned her surroundings. She had definitely dealt with all the corpses just now, yet new corpses were forming again, flowing like water.

Did the ones I just killed come back to life? But there seemed to be far more than before. There were plenty of faces she had never seen before.

When she hurriedly looked back to where their faction's demons were, the situation appeared similar. The number of corpses had at least doubled since she had rushed forward earlier.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you coming?"

Uriel, who had somehow leisurely settled into a small chair, chuckled as she spoke. She hadn't even drawn her weapon, as if certain she wouldn't need to act herself.

Adelaide swung her whip again to destroy the corpses rushing at her. While most were high-ranking demons, they weren't particularly strong, so dealing with them wasn't difficult. However, she gradually became out of breath.

"Huff.... How many demons died here?"

She asked while brushing off the dust on her clothes.

"No, that's not it. Just how many demons have you killed, to have this many corpses?"

The fact that far more corpses were coming back to life than she had killed meant that Uriel had killed that many demons. Most dungeons wouldn't even think of going to war with Los Halde. When did she manage to kill so many demons?

"Do you remember every meal you've eaten in your lifetime?"

What a pointless question. Uriel snorted before adding:

"Well, at least I'm certain that today I'll have my most satisfying meal yet."

She didn't need to follow Uriel's gaze to know. It was clear that the "meal" she referred to meant Lisianthus.

Adelaide ground her teeth hard. As much as she wanted to clash with Uriel right away, frustratingly, she couldn't get close. No matter how many times she killed them, corpses kept coming back to life and blocking her path. To make matters worse, some of them were flying species, which made things even more annoying.

She hoped that if she kept dealing with them, they would eventually decrease, but no end was in sight no matter how much she swung her sword.

"Hah... huff..."

"Oh my... at this age... such hardship...!"

The faction's demons began to lose stamina. Since their area was wider than where Adelaide was, they had to deal with even more reviving corpses.

Among them were corpses with abilities too strong for the faction's demons to handle. They must have been very powerful even among high-ranking demons when alive. Perhaps some were even noble demons.

However, corpses revived through necromancy were weaker than when alive, and thanks to Lisianthus occasionally using his power to eliminate dangerous ones, there hadn't been any major problems yet. But it was clear that if they continued like this, everyone would eventually become exhausted.

'The only option now is....'

If she asked Lisianthus to kill Uriel, they could end this. However, the problem was that Abaddon might show up at any moment. Given that victory couldn't be guaranteed even at full strength, they couldn't afford to deplete their power just yet. While it might become necessary if there was no other way, it was still too early for that.

'I can nullify Uriel's necromancy with my power.'

It wouldn't be easy. Just because her power was SS-rank didn't mean she could easily nullify an S-rank power. She might fail, and even if she succeeded, it would certainly drain a large portion of her demon energy.

However, despite these risks, this was currently the best option. Adelaide gripped her sword handle tightly, determination burning in her eyes.

Just as she was about to manifest her power—

Flash!

Suddenly, a brilliant white light burst forth from behind her. When she turned her head in surprise, an amazing sight met her eyes.

The source of the light was none other than Pia. She was praying with her hands neatly clasped together, facing the sky. Dazzling light spread in all directions from her delicate body.

"Arghhhh!"

"Gaahhh!"

As the light seeped into them, the corpses writhed and groaned in agony. Soon their bodies became faint and disappeared. Unlike before when they turned to dust, they completely vanished into the air. They had been purified.

It was a noble and holy power that felt quite painful to demons, including Adelaide. The sacred power of the celestial race.

There couldn't be anything more suitable for countering necromancy, which was considered the most evil power. While it couldn't completely nullify the power itself, it could at least greatly reduce the number of corpses being generated. Purified souls couldn't be revived as corpses again.

"Lady Adelaide, go!"

Pia shouted loudly. Her body was already drenched in cold sweat. Her white limbs trembled constantly. Using celestial power in the demon realm was rapidly depleting her strength.

However, Pia endured by drawing upon every last bit of her strength. While she might not be as powerful in combat as other demons, she was strong in her own right, as proven by her ability to withstand Nightmare. For Greenville's sake, she could certainly overcome this much.

Previous Contents Next