"At that time I never really knew much about her.

But at some point I realized--"

Elaine felt miserable.

She hadn’t slept for god knew how many hours already and at that point they’ve been walking for over an hour since the earthquake in Alice’s chamber happened. Thankfully she was provided a means to fight it. She took the woven water flask she had found back in the grotto and drank. It contained more of Blanc’s soup which she prepared during the time they waited for Ss’zsl to scout ahead. Instantly she felt all the fatigue from her body get washed away like no energy drink could match. Coming from someone who drank Red Bull like water during all-night gaming sessions but would still fall asleep on top of her keyboard regardless, it was certainly a magical substance.

The group was led that time by Blanc, while the rear guard was left to Elaine’s undead, who shambled along without giving any effort to keep with everyone else’s pace. Elaine had tried to order it to run, but the fastest it could go was just a marginal improvement to its walking, yet looked absolutely awkward doing it. As a result their pace was slowed down considerably, but Blanc didn’t look like she paid any mind to it.

“Better safe than sorry,” she said. But Elaine doubted they needed it. After all, there wasn’t much point.

A flash of light drew an arc in the air as Blanc’s scythe cut through what may have been almost two meters thick of flesh and bone. The victim was one of dozens of gorilla-shaped monsters the size of a small house. In an instant she pried the weapon off its corpse and threw it towards the direction of one of them who decided to flee, and divided it in two from the waist up. One of the monsters decided to take advantage of her disarmed state and tried to crush her with its club. But the weapon froze in its hand and shattered spectacularly upon meeting Blanc’s head.

When the last of the monsters fell, the large hall was littered with a grand total of eighteen corpses in various states. Some of them were dissected, some had pierced organs, and some were frozen solid. One unlucky monster with a bite on its arm was still writhing on the ground.

“I heard Rock Crusher meat is delicious. Would you like me to cook some, dear?”

With one hand Blanc separated, or rather broke one of the frozen monster’s arms from its body. The way she waved a dismembered arm at Elaine while covered in blood was… exotic to say the least.

“Is something wrong with her?”

“Don’t let the captain hear you say that, Miss Elaine.”

The scenery had changed abruptly from the dreary, featureless cave to a hall similar to that of an ancient ruin. Pillars built with carved stone lined the walls while pattered slabs covered the entire floor. Under the dim light of the torch Elaine had to carry, everything appeared to have an aged yellowish coloring to them, further enforcing the idea that the dungeon might have been from a long-gone past. It was as every bit as eerie as it appeared, too, as echoes of howling and the sounds of slaughter reverberated throughout the halls every so often, causing everybody to stop as a precaution.

Exiting the mountain should have been an easy task. Instead it had turned into a monumental chore when they learned that the entire underground network of tunnels had turned into part of the dungeon. What was worse was that when it happened, their direct route to the surface had been blocked by debris. Though that would normally not hinder someone like Blanc who could punch a hole through a wall without much effort, it was a different story with what they referred to as a ‘Living Dungeon’. Apparently the outer boundaries of those types were immune to most magic, and whatever opening they could make would immediately be mended by the dungeon itself. Elaine had even seen it happen when Blanc gouged a crater on the floor with her weapon; a hole that promptly repaired itself just like they said it would.

“Basically, a Living Dungeon is a structure that has its own will. Think of a beast that actively tries to keep the prey it swallowed inside it, dear. Our only choice right now is to find the dungeon’s designated exits. While these things can prevent breakouts, they cannot completely seal themselves off from the surface after they had awakened.”

Blanc and Ss’zsl purposely left out some of its more cruel aspects to prevent Elaine from panicking. Between the former’s martial ability and the latter’s ability to navigate, they were confident that they could find the exit without much, if any harm. As for the fate of their fellow soldiers who were dragged into the dungeon, they had no choice but to leave them to tend to themselves. If fortune willed it, then they would be able to meet with a group, increasing their ability to survive. But they were still anxious about one thing:

Would the dungeon even let them leave?

Judging from the incident at the camp, it was obvious that they were inside a high-ranking death trap. For monsters, size and power also came with it a certain level of intelligence. Worst case scenario they would have to fight the dungeon itself just to escape.

After a short break, they set out once again. Enemy monsters weren’t an issue for the arachne, while traps were easily identified by the watchful and experienced eyes of Ss’zsl, who had come from a dungeon riddled with them himself. But despite their overall competency, there wasn’t anything they could do with the layout of the dungeon.

It was particularly troubling for them to discover that all of the stairs they’ve encountered so far only lead deeper. They made sure to check again, but as if the dungeon purposely wanted to drive them further into itself, no other means of escape were found. And, with depth came danger. The monsters they faced progressively became stronger and the traps, more devious. While Blanc had no problems facing off against anything that stood in her way, she feared for any ambushes that may target the vulnerable human she was escorting. Even if they had the modified undead act as the rear guard, it was only actually useful if Elaine managed to give it the necessary orders.

Ss’zsl, on the other hand, also grew increasingly anxious. Tripwires and pressure plates were easy enough to identify, but as they went deeper into the dungeon the trigger mechanisms become harder and harder to notice. Some were even unavoidable. Once, they entered a room where the chamber’s trap mechanism was triggered when the gargoyle at the corner left its pedestal. The trap opened the ceiling, letting a swarm of scourge crawlers to drop on them from above.

Afterwards they had to maintain a pace so agonizingly cautious that the zombie even passed them on several occasions.

It was a necessary measure. In the end, the most important thing was survival. They could readily obtain food from their kills and water from magic, but what they could not obtain was a guarantee to their safety.

And as if to stress that fact, two large double-doors stood between them and the only other room that they haven’t seen yet. It had minimal decorations on it, but what little it has, they were magnificent.

“Floor boss?”

“Likely, Captain.”

Two bronze dragons adorned the dark, stone doors that sealed the following room from the rest of the dungeon. They were of Eastern design; elongated, wingless and serpentine. Elaine thought back to her previous encounter with a dragon. That one was Western, definitely. Were dragons the same in appearance across worlds? And if the golden dragon was seen in the area, did the dungeon have a second one?

--So many questions, so few answers.

“Stay here, Elaine dear. I’ll handle this,” said Blanc proudly.

The advantage of having a door was that they could only send a small group or even Blanc alone to enter the room to face whatever was inside, sealing the door shut to protect the others. It should be more effective considering the door looked amazingly heavy. Though they considered the possibility of being attacked while the fighters were inside, it still had to happen. They had no choice. Much to Elaine’s chagrin, her undead had to stay for their protection.

“Can’t we send the zombie in instead?”

“I don’t think so, honey.”

With her weapon on her right hand, Blanc grabbed the door’s handles with her left arm and right foreleg. With just a little bit of effort the ear-splitting sound of metal rubbing against each other echoed throughout the dungeon. Ss’zsl didn’t seem to mind but Elaine had to cover her ears to protect them.

To make things quick, Blanc darted inside the moment the opening was wide enough to fit her body with enough maneuvering, which was a surprisingly narrow gap. Elaine thought she would have needed at least two meters of space, but she barely needed one. In a moment the giant half-spider disappeared inside the room and shut the door with a loud crash.

Just to be on the safe side, they had eliminated all of the monsters from the nearby rooms beforehand. That way even if the door made a telling noise, there wouldn’t be many who would be able to hear it and gather. It paid off, as even after five minutes they heard no response from anything that might have been left in their wake.

Elaine was familiar with the concept of floor bosses in dungeons. In a lot of the RPGs she’d played, stairs that lead deeper into dungeons were usually guarded by significantly more powerful monsters than the ones that could be found roaming the area. So it was no surprise to her that it took Blanc over ten minutes to clear the room.

--Though it was horrifying to see her completely drenched with green liquids and guts when she opened the door.

“Pyrna’an. Damn things. I hate fighting those.”

As Elaine later learned, Pyrna’ans were like giant, poisonous porcupines. Though they were herbivores, they defended themselves by curling into a ball to threaten would-be attackers with their five or so meter long quills. At the same time they continuously released poisonous gas around them. When on the offensive, they would also roll like a ball of death towards their enemies. They would not have been such a troublesome foe if they weren’t completely immune to most magic when they were curled up.

“Let’s take another break, dear. It will take a while before the air in that room clears.”

“But wouldn’t the monster inside spawn again?”

Blanc stared at Elaine, thoroughly entertained. She fought hard to not let herself giggle, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twisting.

“You’re a bundle of surprises, aren’t you dear? Yes, they will appear again, just like you say. However, they won’t appear again so soon. And whatever monster inside won’t be the same as the last time.”

“Oh.”

Elaine was so used to games that she never thought of it as a genuine fight for survival among those who actually live it. Of course, death was permanent. That was why they Blanc had to set such an agonizingly slow pace despite being able to handle almost everything that came her way.

There was no respawning in that world. Death was permanent.

Of course, she was well aware of that fact. But being inside such an absurd and fantastical thing as a dungeon, she couldn’t help but allow her imagination and experience in games to run her head.

The time when she convinced herself that exploring the cave alone was as risky as going to the forest came to mind. If respawning was a thing in that world then the value everyone placed in lives would have plummeted through the floor.

She stared at the pure-white lady in front of her. Blanc was nonchalantly wiping herself with a cloth, but was unable to prevent the green from staining her dress. Previously it had already been stained from the different colored blood of her earlier kills, and the final result was a qipao with quite a wild pattern of different colors, which obviously displeased the owner.

“Umm… Sister Blanc? I think you can use salt with that.”

--Though she had no idea if it’ll still work with that much stain on them.

“Oh? Salt?”

Blanc stared thoughtfully at her clothes. After a while she seemed to come to a decision.

“I think I’ll pass, dear.”

“What about soap?”

The arachne tilted both her human and spider head questioningly.

“Soap? What in heavens is that?”

To say Elaine was shocked was an understatement. How did they clean their bodies, then? Admittedly, Blanc had a flowery, slightly spicy aroma around her, which was weirdly pleasant to smell. Was that her body odor? It can’t be. Elaine guessed that the reason why she smelled as such had something to do with how her soup was similarly spicy.

It can’t be—

“Sister Blanc, may I ask something? What do you do for a living?”

They had no choice but to wait for the room ahead of them to clear up anyway, so engaging in small talk should keep the atmosphere between everyone light.

She already expected an unusual answer from the unusual monster. Everything about that world was unusual, anyway, so what else should she expect her answer as anything but that; unusual?

Yet her answer still shocked her.

“I? An apothecary, you could say, though it would also be correct to call me a herbalist. In essence, I am a healer, dear.”

“Get out of here. Really?”

Blanc pouted, seemingly hurt.

“Is that so hard to believe? Well, I guess that’s true.”

“What got you into medicine?”

It was a simple question that came to her naturally. She was genuinely curious. Stereotypes were hard to let go, so hearing about a venom-toting spider-monster having a job as what was essentially a pharmacist had Elaine’s brain reeling. What she didn’t expect was for Blanc’s mood to suddenly take a turn, with her face suddenly becoming downcast and her shoulders sagging. After a while Blanc smiled once again and replied.

“I forgot. It’s been such a long time, you see.”

“Oh… It’s okay.”

Elaine may be daft with socializing but she knew when to drop the topic. After all she’s had firsthand experience in being asked questions she didn’t want to answer. At least in that aspect she wasn’t beyond help.

Maybe she’ll have the opportunity to ask again in the future.

“Anyway, how about treating me to a good look at your cute face, hmm?”

“Huh why?!”

Blanc pointed at the right side of her own face. Elaine immediately understood what she meant.

“Do I have to…?”

“Yes. Don’t be shy.”

Before she knew it, Blanc had pulled out a piece of white cloth from her pack. Her left foreleg beckoned Elaine to come closer, but the gesture from a hairy arachnid appendage further discouraged her. But after a moment of consideration she decided to swallow her reservations and follow instructions.

Blanc’s hands felt the same as it did when she first touched Elaine’s face; cold, inhuman. But at the same time they were gentle and reminded her of home somehow. Those cold hands carefully swept the bangs that covered her wound away. She felt the other’s face draw uncomfortably close through her closed eye. She also felt the latter’s scrutinizing eyes all over her face, not just on her wound. The amount of attention gave her chicken skin. Her face heated up, which Blanc would definitely notice.

It took her a while to finish and come with a verdict.

“You’re very lucky, dear. There’s no sign of infection. But still we need to clean the wound and put some dressing on. Oh, also some medicine, just to be safe.”

Elaine flinched when she felt the rough texture of the cloth brush against the sensitive, exposed nerves on the fringes of her wound. But from her own experience of her mother treating scrapes on her knees and elbows when she was a child, she knew better than to move away.

“Hold still, dear. I’m almost finished.”

That’s what everyone says when they’re still far from done, Elaine thought. Regardless that was her intention anyway. That was until Blanc moved from the edges into the wound itself. The moment she felt it touch the general area where her eye used to be she couldn’t help but jerk away violently in pain.

“Ah—I do apologize, I meant to do that as gently as I could.”

Elaine cradled her face while glaring accusingly at Blanc. In return she was met with a remorseful expression, which she found to be enough to calm herself with. It only took that much for her to calm down and pull her lips into an apologetic smile of her own.

“It’s fine. I was just surprised, I think.”

They started over after Blanc cooled the cloth with her magic. The cold eased the pain a little, but Elaine suspected that most of it came from the abruptness of it all. It was still painful, though. Her muscles trembled whenever the cloth came across the more tender spots of exposed flesh. But the feeling of Blanc’s hands gently cradling her face, always taking care not to cause any more pain than was necessary, somehow gave her reassurance.

“Finished~”

There was a slight feeling of loss when her hands left Elaine’s skin.

“Press this against your wound, gently.”

She handed a small piece of clean cloth the size of a folded handkerchief to her before she turned to remove the pack off her back.

It was then that it occurred to Elaine—

“Why didn’t you just melt some ice to wash it with?”

“Well, you see, the medicine we’ll use doesn’t mix well with water. We’ll need to dry your wound as much as possible.”

Afterwards, she rummaged through her pack for a small, sealed pot and a few more pieces of cloth, one of which looked like a roll of bandage. The moment she opened the vial, a strong, spicy smell spread throughout the chamber they were in.

“What’s that smell…?”

“Ah, this, dear? Don’t worry, it’ll be gone soon enough.”

Another glowstone was lit in such a way that it only emitted a very dim glow, yet hot enough that Elaine could feel the heat a meter away from it; much the same way as the state where she found her first one. Blanc then dug a hole on the ground small enough for the stone to fit snugly within. Then, she took a strand of her hair and stuffed it inside the pot.

“Hair contains a large amount of magical residue. My hair is also made of webbing, so it’ll let the solution stick better,” she explained as she mashed the ingredients together using the same iron rod they’ve been using as a torch handle. Elaine also got to learn something pretty interesting. Was that why her hair was so white? Then, Blanc retrieved another pot from her pack, a size larger than the first one, and then pulled a sprig of herbs from inside.

“This is a Hekatya Herb. It’ll sooth the pain somewhat, and it’s very effective against burns.”

“So… what was inside the first pot?”

Blanc winked playfully at her before saying a line so cliché Elaine almost laughed.

“My own blend of medicine; in other words, it’s a secret.”

Her stomach clenched slightly from the arachne’s words.

Seemingly finished with mixing the strange slew of ingredients, Blanc placed the pot on top of the pit. It only took a little while for the stone to heat the solution to the point where dark-colored steam started to escape the opening.

She applied only a small helping of the finished product; a runny black goo that somehow smelled fragrant. It turned the entire cloth an unattractive black. Much to Elaine’s dismay, that was exactly what Blanc had wanted, judging from the satisfied look on her face.

“Alright, it’s ready, dear.”

“No thanks.”

“Why?!”

Was it actually shocking for her to refuse such a diabolical-looking thing? All jokes aside, Elaine was, at the very least, hesitant to apply that… ‘medicine’ on her face.

It was the second time she’d seen Blanc pout that day. She had to admit, it kind of suited her; it was a nice contrast, anyway.

“… Are you sure that’s safe?”

“I’ll have you know, I’m the only monster in the city that can make medicine for humans, my dear,” she proudly stated.

Blanc seemed to know just the right words to not impart Elaine any confidence at all.

In the end she begrudgingly agreed to the ‘treatment’. But just as she did, Blanc asked yet another absurd thing from her.

“No.”

“Oh come on, dear. Are you still afraid of me?”

“No.”

She wanted Elaine to lie down on her lap. And by lap, that meant right on top of her hairy spider forelegs.

“Why do I need to lie down? And on your lap, of all places?”

“You hurt me, dear. It’s better to be lying down for this. It would be troublesome if I have to keep minding your hair, you know? And I can’t have you lie on top of a rock; that would be uncomfortable for both of us.”

Was that a valid point? Elaine felt like Blanc was making excuses to gain more contact between them. She looked around for help, but found that Ss’zsl was busy averting his eyes like a true champion of the cause. Her zombie was…

… sleeping?

“Aren’t you supposed to help your master out?” she thought.

“… Alright.”

She begrudgingly agreed. Blanc’s expression lit up when she did. Even her spider half looked jittery in expectation.

As she walked towards the excited Blanc the regrets piled up even more. But after she had already agreed, she felt like there wouldn’t be any good to come out of suddenly backing out. Blanc looked absolutely enthralled by the situation. She was even patting her ‘legs’ in a way that would have appeared adorable if she didn’t posses a terrifying lower body.

“There. It’s not so bad, right?”

“… Yeah.”

Honestly she thought it’d be at the very least discomforting, but it turned out that the hair on Blanc’s forelegs were quite soft; a big surprise considering she’d seen it deflect blows from all sorts of things. Elaine even thought it felt like the fur from a fluffy dog.

“Alright, dear, hold still for a while again, okay?”

She nodded and closed her eyes in fearful anticipation. Blanc made some weird noises before she started to tend to her. Goosebumps ran up Elaine’s arms and a chill went up her spine when the arachne’s cold hands brushed the remaining strands of her bangs away from her face.

The first contact between the cloth and her face was surprisingly tame. There was no pain at all, unlike earlier. What she did notice was that despite the solution Blanc applied to it was heated to steaming temperature, the cloth felt quite cold on her skin. Was it because of her magic? Or was she mixing up sensations already?

“Now to wrap you up nice and neat.”

Elaine suddenly remembered the time when she had tended to Ss’zsl. Back then she didn’t know how much cloth she needed to tie to each wound, so she ended up making snake mummies out of his bodies. Though he hasn’t mentioned anything about it since, she was sure that it’ll be part of his drinking stories in the near future. And that made her embarrassed.

Blanc’s skill in handling her patient was nothing short of outstanding. The way she was able to wrap the gauze under her head without moving it, despite lying on her lap was something Elaine thought even the talented nurses back in her world couldn’t do, though that may just be because she had never needed to be patched up like so. In fact despite the work being done to her, she felt herself overcome with a feeling of drowsiness.

The cold hands working on her with a gentle mother’s touch and the warm, soft sensation of Blanc’s ‘fur’ under her head was somehow a comforting contrast. She felt her face loosen, her arms limp, and her breathing calm. Though there was some strain on her lower back and butt for lying down on the hard stone that made the majority of the floors of the dungeon, it was nothing compared to everything else.

Or maybe her fatigue simply caught up? She hadn’t slept properly for such a long time, after all. She didn’t even notice that Blanc had already finished and was already stroking her hair.

But they still had a dungeon to escape. That fact pulled Elaine’s eyelid open, though slightly. It felt like it weighed as much as her body. But then a cold hand passed over her face, stopping just over her eye.

“Sleep, child.”

Persuasive words. When the hand left her face to cradle her head once more, Elaine managed to glimpse at Blanc one last time before a lungful of warm air escaped her mouth.

Strangely she thought she heard Blanc whisper something in her ear. But on the road to unconsciousness, she had missed her words completely.

But it sounded like an apology.

.

“Soldier.”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Do not tell others what you’ve seen or heard here. Understand?”

“… Yes, of course, Captain.”

Ss’zsl stared, admittedly longingly, at scene in front of him. The human looked at home where she lay, breathing softly and slowly. Meanwhile his captain, a terror among the inhabitants of the city for her threatening air and martial prowess, wore a smile he had never seen her make. He had a guess as to why the captain was secretive about it. And that pained him slightly.

The country of monsters was founded so they could escape the life of being perpetually hunted for bounty. That was the idea. But their King also visualized a world where everyone could live in harmony with the other races. To that end their King travelled the continents, collecting other monsters who could dream of the same world as he did. Some willingly followed and adopted his ideals, while more only followed because he was strong. Ss’zsl was part of the former group, who are unfortunately the minority within the only city founded in the continent of humans.

He recognized that humans cannot be generalized. Like the Dullahans who look up to some human heroes they considered were honorable and worthy adversaries to cross blades with, Ss’zsl also recognized a few humans himself.

Elaine… wasn’t such a human. If anything, the only admirable part about her was her willingness to interact with them, and not just run away screaming like the vast majority of the civilians he encountered during his duties. However even in that regard she wasn’t completely in the clear, as her presence with the group was only due to being given no other choice.

As he coiled his body to take a rest, the sight of a strip of cloth wrapped clumsily around the base of his tail came to his view. It was stained with his blood, but at that time it had already healed and wasn’t necessary. He considered removing it, but found himself unwilling to do so. Chalk it up to laziness, but it had grown on him quite quickly. He couldn’t help but smile as he reminisced the time when Elaine hurriedly tended to his bodies in an effort to save as many as she could.

“I guess that’s another good point about her,” he thought. Though she had an alarming recklessness that went as far as taking her down the caverns alone, it was probably by that same recklessness that allowed him to keep his life in the end. He had recognized that part of her as something he needed to correct to the point where he couldn’t stop himself from accompanying her on the mission they undertook.

What kind of normal human would stop a monster from running away out of concern for his well-being anyway?

It was then that it occurred to him:

He hadn’t thanked her for it yet.

“Captain.”

She didn’t reply. But Ss’zsl decided to overstep a little and continue.

“What do you think of humans?”

It was a question that had certain notoriety between citizens. Though they were gathered under the banner of their great King, who viewed coexistence as a cherished ideal, most monsters didn’t see it the same way and only followed him out of respect. Out of that same feeling, there was fear that any word against the idea was an offense to the King, and was therefore suppressed by none other than themselves. The two other captains Tehr and Fyrn were special because of their mindset, but it was obvious what most of them thought.

They still hated humans.

“I like them. Humans. All of them.”

Though he had already expected that answer from his captain, it still came across as quite a shock. Ss’zsl knew the requirements for a spider monster to evolve into an arachne – and it was unfathomable to him for someone who became one to harbor such feelings.

Blanc had her eyes closed while leaning forwards, all the while she kept her hands busy caressing the human girl’s hair. Because of their unique bodies, arachnes were unable to completely lie down to rest, unlike less robust humanoids like centaurs. That aside, it would have been a touching scene if the backdrop wasn’t a dreary dungeon… and if Blanc’s white dress wasn’t stained everywhere with blood.

The sight gave him the assurance that the captain didn’t lie.

But it didn’t add up.

.

Midnight had already passed long ago by the time they resumed their exploration. Before they went even deeper, Blanc had to replenish their meat supply from the dead pyrna’an, which she had frozen solid before she exited the chamber.

Another monster had taken the place of the defeated floor boss prior to when she woke up. That meant Blanc had to, once again, battle it before they could move onwards. Fortunately it was just a higher form of a gargoyle, so they could move past the room immediately after.

It took Elaine a while to figure out where the giant Rock Crusher meat they obtained earlier went; whenever they had meals, she had failed to see that Blanc’s spider half also ate food at the same time as her human half did – probably because she was too scared to look at what was essentially a giant black tarantula. According to the Blanc, her two bodies required sustenance individually. And because of the difference in scale, as well as the necessity to keep herself fed for any and all future fights, the spider half burned through a lot of meat and often.

That meant they needed large prey whenever they stopped to eat.

“Sister Blanc, isn’t that poisonous?”

“Ah, yes, but the poison is neutralized by heat. It’s fine as long as it’s thoroughly cooked, dear.”

Again, that didn’t give her any boost in confidence.

Elaine found herself more trusting of Blanc’s words after a solid five hours of sleep on her ‘lap’, which made her feel like a new person. Otherwise there would have been no way for her to accept the meat of something she knew came from a poisonous animal. Blanc, on the other hand, seemed… happier? Though they kept the same cautious pace as they wandered through the hollow halls of the dungeon, it seemed like she had gained some spring in her steps.

“There’s a group of monsters up ahead, dear. Wait here while Big Sister Blanc cleans up, okay?”

“… Right.”

Ss’zsl, on the other hand, had become quieter. He would only respond if he was asked a question, and even then he’d sometimes miss them altogether. During those times he would appear as if he was deep in thought. If he had hands they would surely be touching his chin already. Her zombie, on the other hand…

“Run. Try it.”

“…”

“… Nevermind.”

--was the same as ever.

As a testament to Blanc’s overwhelming individual capability, none of the later monsters, though a size larger and more ferocious than the previous ones they’ve encountered, were still able to so much as graze her. The only thing she seemed to avoid were the same monsters that had a taste of Elaine’s face – the so-called ‘Scourge Crawlers’. When alone, or even when they were part of a small group, Blanc would unhesitatingly charge in, but every swarm they ran into, they either went around or Elaine would order her zombie to clear the way.

That was another thing Blanc had managed to convince Elaine to do; make use of her zombie once again.

“I hope I don’t need to keep seeing that.”

“You could always just close your eyes, dear.”

The way her undead ‘fought’ was way too much for her to bear.

Later on, they finally reached the third set of imposing doors in their grand dungeon tour. That time, an exquisitely horrifying scene of marauders raiding a small house was depicted. There, two women appeared to be beaten and… abused while one man looked on in horror as he hung from a rope on his neck. It was a disgusting scene that Elaine couldn’t understand why anyone would carve such a majestic door with.

“How tasteless.”

“Yeah…”

Blanc ruffled Elaine’s hair to get her mind off the door.

“Most dungeons are tasteless, anyway. Don’t worry about it, dear. Now, once again, stay here for a while, okay?”

“Alright. Umm… Good luck.”

“Huhuhu! Sister Blanc will give it her all.”

She definitely enjoyed the change.

Elaine sat down and prepared camp. The second floor boss they’ve encountered took Blanc almost an hour to defeat purely because it was an extremely bad matchup for her. It was against a monster called Ifrit, which was a strangely familiar name that was also used in her world. Surely enough, it was a fire-based monster, and in that world it looked like a bipedal alligator with the body proportions and scale of a t-rex. Though Blanc was still able to defeat it and suffer only a patch of burnt… spider part, it still took a long time. That was why Elaine thought that a better use of her time was to prepare a warm place for Blanc to return to.

But just as Elaine was about to strike a glowstone with the iron rod to light it up, a method she learned from Blanc after the latter fought the ifrit, she heard a disconcerting sound of uncertainty.

“Oh… what happened here, I wonder?”

Despite requiring only barely a meter of space to squeeze through, Blanc surprisingly opened the large iron doors wide.

“Come take a look, dear.”

She did. And what resulted from the sight was a face that looked as baffled as her peer.

Corpses. There were five of them in all, and each of them had the size of the earlier Rock Crushers, but had an appearance vastly more vicious than the latter.

Blanc approached one of the corpses; a monster which died from being pierced through the head from a white spike that erupted from the floor. Considering she wasn’t warned to do otherwise, Elaine approached one of them herself, though cautiously. The one she looked at apparently died from having its chest caved in by extremely powerful blunt force.

Elaine suddenly remembered those R18 pictures from the internet of people being killed by things like trains, trucks and other large, fast-moving objects. The corpse before her appeared similar to them, but the glaring difference was that the cavity had been created with an almost perfect rectangular shape.

“Looks like it was killed with a weapon,” Blanc suddenly remarked beside her, which almost caused all sorts of heart-related incidents in Elaine. “From the depth, I’d say with a large war hammer.”

A thoughtful but optimistic look appeared on her face. She looked at Elaine smilingly, but refrained from explaining further. Elaine sought help from Ss’zsl, but found that he had slipped off her shoulders at some point and was checking the corpses himself. Her zombie, meanwhile…

“…”

--was drooling?

“We’re quite lucky, Elaine, dear.”

“Why?”

Blanc placed her hand on Elaine’s head and slightly ruffled her hair. The gesture no longer annoyed her as much due to her hair no longer scraping against her open wound after it was covered with bandages.

“Fyrn and Tehr are likely nearby. Somewhere.”

Finally, they were going to meet with others! Even though they were also monsters, Fyrn was still someone who protected her from his fellow monsters, and Tehr even gave her a ‘gift’ to protect herself with, horrifying as it was. Elaine had to admit, hearing that those two were nearby made her hopeful of what was to come.

But then the sound of obnoxious laughing echoed throughout the chamber. It was then followed by what may have been a muffled curse directed at someone. Those loud sounds created a stir within the chamber and soon, thousands of scourge crawlers came scuttling out of the holes on the roof.

--and they were in the middle of everything.

“Those idiots…! Now I don’t feel like looking for them.”

She couldn’t help but feel the same.