S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 187

Chapter 187

There was no time to savor the emotion before the battle began.

With a light wave of his hand, Caladium sent massive flames rising from all directions, stretching out instantly towards Abaddon. The hellfire created by his magical power immediately devoured the surrounding objects and surrounded Abaddon like a siege.

"Hmph, still the same insignificant fire trick."

Abaddon let out a scornful chuckle. Landing lightly on the ground, he leisurely walked through the flames. As expected, Caladium's flames failed to pierce his tough skin. It was exactly the same fact he had confirmed during their battle a hundred years ago.

Boom boom boom! Massive rock fragments generated around Abaddon and rained down on Caladium. Caladium's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he extended one hand towards the empty air.

Crash! In an instant, the rocks shattered into powder and scattered. Caladium nonchalantly waved his hand, brushing off the rock dust.

"Your pathetic rock throwing remains the same."

Abaddon's face contorted dramatically. The pitch-black skin was bulging with veins, clearly indicating he was extremely angry. How he was getting so worked up over such a trivial provocation revealed just how much he had been living in a position of superiority.

Crash! Boom!

Flames erupted, and rocks flew back and forth. Adelaide stood momentarily stunned, watching the battle between the two devils.

The fight between the Devils was far more magnificent and grand than she could ever imagine. While she could follow it with her eyes, the mere thought of getting caught between them made her legs go weak.

'Compared to what's happening here, my fight with Uriel was nothing more than child's play...'

She had thought her own battle was quite intense, but compared to the demons' fight, it seemed incredibly insignificant. In fact, from the midpoint, it was less of a battle and more about who could endure longer, which made her feel even more embarrassed.

When she shifted her gaze, she saw Lisianthus battling the berserk Uriel. Lisianthus was also demonstrating movements she could never hope to imitate, pressing Uriel relentlessly. Despite being injured in the shoulder, he showed no signs of backing down.

For some reason, his gaze toward the monster was particularly murderous. It was natural, given that she had torn his shoulder, but the burning anger over his golden irises seemed more intense than just that.

'Oops, this isn't the time for that.'

Adelaide quickly snapped out of her daze. There was no time to blankly watch others' fights. The Demon King's army had already approached right before her eyes.

"Adelaide. You rest."

Lupinus approached with Bell, suggesting she take a break. Bell also nodded in agreement, his three heads moving up and down in sync, creating a lively rhythm.

"No, I can't possibly..."

"Just listen. I'll tear those flies to pieces."

Flies? Would he see me the same way even if I were to spread my wings? Adelaide, making an out-of-context worry, obediently nodded. Lupinus's voice was so grim that she couldn't possibly disagree.

Only after seeing her nod did he seem relieved, and he readjusted his grip on his sword. Then he leaped towards the Demon King's army, pouring out golden sword energy. Bell also rushed forward and began eagerly devouring the Demon King's soldiers.

"Krraaagh!"

"Aaack!!"

Screams and explosion sounds erupted everywhere. The Demon King's soldiers were torn apart trying to attack Lupinus and Bell, melted in hellfire while attempting to help Abaddon against Caladium, and met a gruesome end caught between Uriel and Lisianthus.

Some even began firing magic towards Adelaide and Greenville's demons. Lupinus tried to rush to block them, but there was no need. Adelaide was not someone who would simply stay put even if told to do so.

Swish!

A whip with embedded thorns sharply pierced through the enemies' heads and returned. The Demon King's soldiers flying in the air fell helplessly to the ground. Just as Lupinus said, they truly looked like flies.

Simultaneously, a transparent barrier formed, surrounding the area where Pia, Raham, Cereza, and Julliard were. It was a defensive shield created by Adelaide's power.

"Cough!"

She swung her whip and let out a small cough. Something hot was rising from her throat, and sure enough, it was a blood clot. Just using her power once and already coughing up blood. She had clearly overexerted herself during the battle with Uriel. Her head was becoming increasingly dizzy, and if she let her guard down, she might lose consciousness.

Adelaide gripped her sword hilt more tightly to regain her focus. Lupinus stared at her with fierce eyes. His expression was one of reproach for not staying still. She deliberately ignored it and swung her sword at the Demon King's soldiers returning behind her.

The fierce battle continued.

Caladium continued to pour out flames with a distorted expression. Numerous large and small wounds now covered his body.

Abaddon was also injured, but his situation was quite different. Embarrassingly, he had been distracted several times during the battle with Caladium. His occasional glances towards Lisianthus irritated Caladium, whose temples were throbbing with anger.

"You don't have the leisure for that."

Instead of losing his temper, Caladium calmly sought an opening. When lava erupted from the empty air and covered Abaddon's body, smoke rose over his pitch-black skin.

"I have plenty of leisure."

Despite it surely being painful, Abaddon responded casually. However, he realized he might receive a critical blow if he wasn't careful and withdrew his gaze from Lisianthus.

"Weren't you utterly defeated even when you possessed Helheim? How pathetic to recklessly charge in without knowing your place."

Abaddon sarcastically mocked Caladium. He expected Caladium to become furious and attack, but surprisingly, Caladium's expression remained calm.

"Bastard, is that what you call provocation?"

Mere taunts were not enough to lose his composure. Having already suffered so much, this was nothing. Thinking about what the annoying manager and the dirty half-breed had done, this was trivial.

"Even without Helheim, I can kill you and then some."

Caladium drew out all the demonic energy deeply embedded in his body.

"I'm much stronger now than I was back then."

Startled, Abaddon stiffened. His pure white eyes glinted strangely as they scanned Caladium.

Whether he had obtained some other power or not, the energy emanating from him was extraordinary. That fool wouldn't be putting on an act, and his confident demeanor suggested he had something to rely on.

Then I'll have to go all out as well.

Abaddon drew up his pitch-black demonic energy. Sharp stone-like protrusions began to emerge over his rocky, uneven skin.

And an even more intense battle ensued.

The two devils unleashed massive demonic energies at each other. Even a small attack was powerful enough to claim the lives of dozens of upper-level demons just by grazing. The waves generated when the two devils collided mercilessly crushed some of the Demon King's army.

Caladium's power was not as easy as expected, causing Abaddon's gaze to turn sharp.

"What power did you obtain?"

Unable to contain himself, he asked the question. Abaddon was a demon with great curiosity, and he wanted to confirm the facts before Caladium died.

Caladium let out a snicker in response.

"A bastard like you would never understand."

A non-sequitur. This was one of the things Abaddon hated most. Irritation rising, he swung his fist roughly. Caladium annoyingly bent his waist, avoiding the trajectory.

What Caladium had gained was neither a god's blessing like Helheim nor an entirely new power. The sole reason he had become this strong was simply that he now had a purpose in life.

Adelaide.

She was a foreign substance that had abruptly entered Caladium's life. Because of her, he simultaneously experienced joy, sorrow, love, and jealousy that he had never felt before. He had been tormented by his life being completely disrupted because of her and had fled, but the place he arrived at was filled only with terrible emptiness.

"I couldn't help it. You, a demon, wouldn't understand, but this is the fate of the weak. To survive, we had to betray, and we had no choice."

Ellie, who once followed him with an innocent face, explained her betrayal like this.

Weak and helpless. It was a phrase he most despised. Yet, deep down, he knew it was the reality. As a predator born from birth, he had no words to add to this cruel truth.

But Adelaide had come to find him and declared:

"I'll show you. The sight of defeating Los Halde and even killing Abaddon. And after that, you must come back."

No matter how strong the manager was, war with Los Halde was madness. For Greenville, who was merely B-class, it would be most rational to carefully protect themselves and slowly expand their scale. Subtly flattering Los Halde, who was at the top of the pyramid.

But Adelaide did not do that.

Thinking about it, she had always been like this. Despite being just a mid-level demon, weak enough to faint with a single gesture. She fought Boraca to save him, battled with Sol Dungeon for Durahan, and now boldly challenged Los Halde.

So how could he not love her?

How could he ever be separated from her?

Adelaide, who was once merely a foreign substance, had now become his everything and the purpose of his life.

And for the first time in three hundred years, he became afraid of losing a battle. Because if he died, he would never see Adelaide's face again.

Ironically, as fear settled in, his movements became more careful, and his attacks more precise. The demonic energy he used to pour out recklessly was now used efficiently, surprisingly leaving him with plenty of strength.

"Everything is because of love."

Caladium murmured with a slight smile. If his past self had heard this, he would have cursed and called it nonsense, but now he thought there was no better way to explain his inner feelings.

"How dare you speak such nonsense before me...! Yes, I'll take your last remaining horn right now!"

Abaddon, breathing heavily, charged towards Caladium. Though he didn't intend to provoke, somehow it worked perfectly.

Well, I'm grateful for that.

His silver-gray eyes flickered within the blazing flames.

Scrape.

With a chilling sound, a hard horn was cut off. Not Caladium's, but the two horns atop Abaddon's head.

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