Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)-Chapter 138: Recovery

All around us, the landscape is unrecognizable. Every building is flattened. Every structure is smeared into ruin. Nothing remains but collapsed walls, shattered bones, and a thick carpet of blood and flesh.

Then—

Wooooosh!

A sudden gust cuts through the rot-heavy air.

With a flap of his massive wings, Inky descends from above, blasting away chunks of rotting meat and bone with each powerful beat. The darkness spirit wyvern lands with a heavy thud just beside Eris, his giant frame shielding us instinctively.

He leans in, gently nudging Eris' hand with his head, purring softly.

The girl smiles, giggling, reaching up to rest her palm against his face.

"Thank you, buddy," she murmurs. "Thanks to you, I got here in time to protect Felicia"

Inky purrs, happy to receive the praise.

"Now then," Eris turns toward us, her expression shifting back to focus. With a quick swipe of her hand, she brushes a smear of blood from her cheek. "What do you need me to do?"

"Protect me," Princess Felicia replies, her voice calm again. "Just for ten minutes. I need to recover."

Eris nods without hesitation. "Understood."

Without another word, Felicia lowers herself to the ground. She sits cross-legged, her hands resting lightly on her knees. Her back straightens, and she closes her eyes.

Then—

She begins to breathe.

Slowly.

Steadily.

Each inhale is deep, measured—drawing in more than just air. Drawing in the very essence of the place around us.

"Huh?" I hear Eris exclaims.

Meanwhile, I'm stunned too.

(Wait! This is!) I mutter, as I realize what's she breathing in. (You are absorbing the corrupted mana! The demonic essence!)

"Yes." Felicia replies calmly. "Since I'm already corrupted, a little more won't hurt. In fact, it'll help me recover faster."

"I… I have so many questions now…" Eris mutters, her voice a little shaky—equal parts awe and concern.

"I'll answer them all. When I have time," Felicia replies.

"Yeah," Eris sighs. "You'd better."

Slowly…

The corrupted mana seeps into our skin, entering our lungs.

It coils around us, drawn inward like smoke into a flame.

And from deep within, our demonic core responds.

The energy rises. Surges, both inside and outside, merging together.

Becomes A burning tide, both foreign and familiar, flows through our veins.

Damn!

It's hot.

Violently hot!

Like molten iron coursing beneath our skin!

I feel like I'm on fire—

But somehow, I'm not in pain.

Instead… our muscles begin to relax.

The tremors stop.

The stabbing aches fade to dull thuds, even the bone-deep exhaustion starts to lift, layer by layer.

It's like our entire body is being reforged.

One breath at a time.

————————————-

As our body begins to heal, I start to hear it—

Faint at first.

Then louder.

The unmistakable sounds of battle, echoing in the world outside.

Zombies howl in the distance, their guttural cries growing more frantic by the second.

Skeletons screech with high-pitched, hollow wails, their bones clattering like twisted wind chimes in a storm.

And above it all—

BOOM!

CRACK!

SMASH!

Explosions rock the air.

That must be Eris.

She's out there, fighting, protecting us. Her weapons are crushing the undead with sheer force, each blow a miniature earthquake.

BOOM!

BOOM!

From the way it sounds—those deep, devastating impacts—she must be using her hammer, or maybe a mace. Something heavy, something brutal. That's just so Eris.

And then—

I hear another roar.

Not from the monsters, not from Eris.

But from Inky, I suppose?

However, it isn't the cry of a wyvern this time. No. It's deeper. Wilder.

More… beast-like.

It sounds like a lion, or maybe a wolf.

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(Wait… is he turning into a lion now?) I wonder. (Since he can become a darkness wyvern, a darkness lion should be easy, right?)

(URRRGHHH!!!)

I let out an inward groan, frustration bubbling.

I want to see them.

I want to watch Eris fight. I want to see Inky's new form. I want to feel the rush of battle again!

But, princess Felicia's eyes remain closed, still deep in meditation.

And so… everything remains dark to me.

I'm trapped in here.

Blinded, with nothing to do, nothing to play.

Ughhh—this is torture!

"Tch, if you have nothing to do, learn how to control demonic energy!"

(Oh shit! You are right!)

Hehe…

I then focus, feeling the way the princess is commanding this energy to heal her.

And just like that, time creeps by.

Five minutes have passed, the sounds of battle slowly fade. The screeches die out. The crashes go quiet.

Seems like there's no more enemies. It's over.

Eris has protected us well.

And then—

The ten-minute mark arrives, exactly as Princess Felicia promised.

Slowly, she opens her eyes.

A slow breath escapes her lips as she rises to her feet, smooth and steady. And the moment she stands, I feel it—our body is whole again.

No pain. No tremors.

Fully restored.

Power hums beneath our skin. Every muscle feels alive, pulsing with fresh energy, like the body was just reforged in a divine forge.

Felicia rolls her shoulders, then flexes her arms, testing her range of motion.

Yeah. She's back. Stronger than ever.

Across from us, Eris leans against Inky's side, one hand resting on his smoky black body, watching us with a pensive expression.

Just as I suspected… Inky has taken the form of a giant wolf—three meters tall, several meters long—and honestly, he looks cool as hell.

His fur is made of pure darkness, shifting and swirling like living shadow.

Ahhh…

This version of Inky—so fluffy! So majestic!

I can't!!!

He's so cute!

I want to pet him so badly!

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Eris speaks.

"Hey… I've been thinking," she begins. "Can I call you by another name? Y'know, instead of Felicia?"

(Huh?)

The thought barely registers before—

Uh-oh!

I feel it.

That familiar, simmering fury boiling up from within.

Felicia's annoyance spikes instantly. Her eye twitches.

"Haaa?" she growls, sharp and offended. "What the hell are you talking about? You should be grateful I even let you call me by my first name in the first place!"

(A—WAIT! WAIT!!)

I flail in panic—well, mentally. (Eris doesn't mean it like that! Calm down, please!)

Eris, meanwhile, stays perfectly calm, as if completely unfazed by the snarling princess.

"Well," she explains patiently, "it's just that… both you and my Felicia have the same name. So it gets confusing, right? I thought we needed a different way to address each other."

Felicia pauses.

"…Oh," she mutters, her expression losing some of its bite. "So that's what you meant."

(Phew…) I sigh in relief.

Then, I suggest to princess Felicia.

(Let me change my name instead. You're the princess, so it's only natural for me to change my name!)

"No, actually," Felicia interrupts, her voice suddenly calm—too calm. A slow grin spreads across her lips.

"Call me… Alter. Felicia Alter."

"…Huh?" Eris blinks.

(EH?!) I freeze.

Alter?!

But then...

(Wait a minute!)

I suddenly realize the reason behind that name.

"Yeah," Felicia smirks. "Like Arthuria Alter. Little Felicia, you know what I mean, right?"

Eris tilts her head slightly, clearly not getting the reference.

But me?

(HOLY SHITTT—SHE KNOWS! SHE KNOWS!!!)

Hehe.

Hehehehehehehe…

This is awesome.

Honestly?

That would be the coolest name ever!