“There’s a warning magitech device.”

Kadosh lifted a hand and made a pulling gesture. A spherical magitech device that had been silently spinning in the darkness was drawn into his grasp.

The cave remained dark and quiet. Aside from the sound of dripping water, there were only faint noises, like insects scraping against gravel.

Kadosh raised his hand and looked around. The underground tunnels, woven like a spider’s web, led to who knew where. Their complexity was enough to give even demonfolk with specialized exploration talents a headache.

But since there was a human magitech device used for warning...

“Our direction is correct. And we’re already very close.”

“Yes, Lord Kadosh. The demon hounds also seem to have picked up the target’s scent.”

A hideous black demon hound clawed at the ground, the earlier scraping sound coming from it. Soon it dug up a patch of buried bloodstains and several scraps of cloth dyed red.

“Lord Zagu was right. The opponent is seriously injured.”

Kadosh crouched to inspect. The scraps of cloth were clearly ones that had been used to apply medicine and rebind wounds.

Human methods were far more varied than those of demonkind. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Even when it came to healing, humans had healing magic, scrolls that stored healing magic, various magitech tools—some weapons were even embedded with magic stones engraved with recovery spells, increasing the user’s endurance and sustain.

Yet with so many options, the opponent had chosen the least effective and most primitive method: applying medicine and simple bandaging...

“It seems our prey truly is at the end of the road.”

Kadosh stood and gave an order to the surrounding shadows.

“Continue forward. Don’t give them a moment to breathe. If the opportunity arises, we’ll finish the prey ourselves.”

“Yes.”

The shadows swept forward soundlessly. These well-trained Flayers were a rare organization among the usually rough and irritable demonfolk that could truly be described as showing “absolute obedience.”

It had to be said—the Enchantress Grand Duke was unmatched among demonkind when it came to “training.”

After all, she was the Queen of Succubi. Anyone who didn’t know the truth behind that decayed outer shell would easily be captivated by that soul-deep “enchantment.”

“All for Lady Enchantress.”

The memory surfaced in Kadosh’s mind—Lady Enchantress personally appointing him as the captain of the Flayers, her hands touching him as she fastened the badge that symbolized his identity—

Among all the Flayers, she must value me the most...

A fervent love flashed through Kadosh’s eyes as he quickly joined the pack’s hunt.

...

“Found them.”

The Flayer squad soon located the place where Ariel and Miss Muse had previously stayed.

Kadosh raised his hand, signaling everyone to halt and remain alert.

The fire had already gone out, but the chaotic traces showed that the departure had been rushed.

“So they’ve escaped, after all? But...”

Beside the extinguished campfire, a figure still lay there quietly.

There was no lighting; all Flayers had night vision. In Kadosh’s sight, the golden-haired beauty lay with her fingers interlaced over her chest, like a fragile princess waiting for rescue.

Unfortunately, they were not princes.

They were the claws of the Demon King.

Kadosh wasn’t surprised by the scene. According to the intelligence Lord Zagu had provided, this time their target was very likely two people.

And from the current information...

“The one who set up the warning device ran first?”

That was indeed the most rational judgment. Leaving behind a useless burden not only made escape easier, but could also delay pursuers like them for a short time.

If the one who fled were smarter, they might have set traps around this “Sleeping ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Beauty,” buying even more time and greatly increasing their chance of escape.

“Humans are always this cunning. But this bait... we have to swallow.”

After all, their primary target wasn’t the one who had fled.

It was this golden-haired “Sleeping Beauty” in front of them.

Or perhaps it should be called a sleeping prince?

A meaningful sneer curled at Kadosh’s lips. Humans not only had many methods—they liked playing games too.

“You. Go.”

Kadosh pointed swiftly to a Flayer at his side.

Without hesitation, the Flayer drew a sharp boning knife from his waist and slowly approached the now completely surrounded Miss Muse.

Even if “she” suddenly woke and launched a surprise attack, there would be absolutely no chance of escape in this situation.

The Flayer soon reached Miss Muse—but he didn’t immediately move closer.

Instead, while cautiously holding up his knife and watching his surroundings, he circled around her.

Time ticked by.

After a few seconds, the Flayer signaled to Kadosh.

“No traps?”

Kadosh frowned, stepped closer to Miss Muse, and circled warily as well.

Still nothing.

“Strange...”

Had the other party been frightened to such an extent that they no longer had the energy to set traps, thinking only of escape?

No. They were enemies who dared to fight Lord Zagu. Even injured, they couldn’t possibly lack that much courage.

There had to be something wrong.

But his subordinates had already searched the area in advance. There were no issues.

Then the problem lay in...

After thinking it through, Kadosh’s gaze suddenly fell on the “sleeping prince.”

He drew his knife abruptly and thrust it straight through the prince’s heart.

But...

There was no sensation of blade piercing flesh.

With a soft pop, the golden-haired beauty known as the prince deflated rapidly like a punctured balloon.

And as it collapsed, something hidden beneath it—round objects similar to the earlier warning device—finally came into view.

Those were...

Alchemical bombs.

“We’ve been played...” Kadosh’s eyelid twitched.

Boom!

A massive explosion roared through the underground cave.

In such a sealed, narrow space, the explosive flames ricocheted repeatedly off the walls. Both their power and their impact multiplied several times over.

Countless bits of gravel rained down. Massive rocks began to collapse. Falling stalactites were like a rain of blades, quickly burying most of the explosion site.

...

At the bottom of the river.

Hidden beneath a large rock, Ariel poked her head out and looked toward the fireworks-like burst of flame that gradually illuminated the entire space.

A trace of disdain flashed in her eyes.

You actually thought I’d abandon Miss Muse?

Ridiculous. Don’t you know what the power of pure love is, you bastard!

Confirming that the enemy should all be within the blast’s range and would have no time to monitor their surroundings, Ariel grabbed Miss Muse—whom she had temporarily wrapped in magic to prevent drowning—and moved swiftly along the riverbed like a fish.

Before the river channel could be blocked by falling debris, she swam upstream and slipped into an unfamiliar branch tunnel.

She knew the downstream stretch of an underground river usually had a higher chance of leading to an exit.

But the enemy knew that too. They would definitely intensify their search downstream.

Besides, without knowing where any of these cave exits led—and while being chased by a pack of wild dogs—this kind of complex terrain actually gave her more room to maneuver.

“Puh—ha...”

After confirming there were no pursuers, Ariel finally surfaced and gulped in air.

To conserve mana, she had only cast a water-separation spell on the still-unconscious Miss Muse. She herself had simply relied on holding her breath.

Fortunately, holding it for over ten minutes wasn’t an issue for her.

Given her lung capacity, she could probably suck a metal bucket flat.

“The problem is... there’s no time to adjust.”

She leaned Miss Muse against a rock by the riverbank. Without bothering to rest or mind the tearing pain in her wounds from the intense movement, Ariel quickly surveyed the surroundings.

Passages spread everywhere, interwoven and complex. Dark stone lay in all directions. This underground space looked the same no matter where you turned.

Forget having a sense of direction—she might not even recognize the place she’d just arrived from.

The enemy would be the same.

“But numbers are their advantage.”

Before leaving, Ariel had briefly sensed the squad’s size—roughly a dozen.

She couldn’t be sure whether that was the entire pursuit force or just one team. But either way, for someone who could rely only on herself—and had to carry Miss Muse—it was extremely unfavorable.

Moreover, this demon squad was very different from the demonfolk Ariel had faced before. Not only were they powerful—at least mid to late fourth-tier, roughly equal to her or even slightly stronger—but they were also highly trained.

Sending such a large force just to chase two people at low HP... they really thought highly of her.

Was that bastard Zagu really this vindictive?

Ariel ground her teeth. She’d only toyed with him a little. Was this level of retaliation really necessary?

“Because of their numerical advantage, for efficiency, they’ll definitely split up next and conduct a carpet search.”

Like a net.

Constantly compressing her space to evade. Once any one of them made contact, they likely wouldn’t fight her to the death—but would cling to her with everything they had.

And then that net would tighten rapidly, until it cinched her completely—leaving no path of escape!

“So I have to be fast.”

Run faster.

Break through faster.

Never get entangled. Never get surrounded!

“Sorry, Miss Muse. This time, I’m really going to offend you.”

Ariel lifted Miss Muse onto her back.

“Mm... heavy.”

Only then did she realize that Miss Muse was far sturdier than she’d imagined. Her figure was long and slender—but also much heavier.

She seemed a full head taller than Ariel.

“She looks so delicate, yet she’s not light at all. Is that the result of training?”

As expected of Miss Muse. She must discipline herself strictly in daily life, or she wouldn’t have such a perfect figure!

There was no time to dwell on it. Ariel pulled out a rope and tightly bound Miss Muse to herself.

Miss Muse’s legs were too long. To prevent them from dragging on the ground and causing secondary injury, Ariel had no choice but to bind her legs to her own body as well.

Like an old tree coiling its roots around her back.

“Ah... this feeling of being completely wrapped up... it’s so warm...”

Ariel couldn’t help sinking into it slightly.

But in a moment of crisis, there was no time to indulge in warmth.

“We’ll save that for when our hearts are truly in sync.”

She took out a bracelet and lightly tapped it onto Miss Muse’s wrist.

“Attach.”

Click.

The bracelet closed around Miss Muse’s slender wrist. With a flicker of deep blue light, a fitted, streamlined set of magitech armor rapidly formed over her body, adding a layer of solid protection.

At that moment, Miss Muse gained a hint of heroic sharpness atop her already stunning beauty.

This magitech armor had been looted by Ariel earlier from a demon camp. It likely belonged to some human adventurer. Because she’d been roaming the Abyss, she’d never had the chance to sell it.

She hadn’t expected it to come in handy at a time like this.

In fact, the reason she could use so many items now was precisely because most of the things she’d collected in the Abyss hadn’t been sold yet.

If she’d still been in that old state—dirt poor, all resources funneled into cultivation—it would’ve been troublesome.

As expected, her luck had always been decent.

Ariel herself, however, didn’t put on any armor. She’d never had the habit of wearing it. That kind of thing would only slow her movements.

She merely used specially made cloth infused with mana to tightly wrap the hilt of the Heavenly Flame Greatsword to her palm.

That way, no matter the situation, the sword would never leave her hand.

“Don’t worry, Miss Muse.”

Ariel murmured to the sleeping Miss Muse once more. All those fleeting emotions typical of adolescent boys and girls vanished in that instant.

What remained was only resolve.

“Dealing with desperate situations...”

“I’m very good at it.”