Chapter 234
Chapter 234
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: The Abyss of the Deep Valley, Erebos #4
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There are three women here. Fuck, I want to shove their panties aside and fuck them all roughly.
My voice echoed from empty air.
It was unmistakably my voice, with no room for excuses.
But it hadn't come from my mouth. That's why I panicked hard, breaking into a sweat, and the stares suddenly piling onto me made me feel like I was dying.
"This is a misunderstanding. A frame job. I absolutely never thought anything like that."
Succubi, kin of darkness, were said to read the darkness in people's hearts and cleverly exploit it to shatter their minds. Fucking bastards indeed.
Three women. Six tits. Wow—!
"Fuck, shit! Who the hell are you! You motherfucker! Don't fuck around with my voice like that!"
As I spat curses at the empty air, someone grabbed my shoulder. It was Antiope, who'd been covering our rear.
"You're getting eroded by the abyss right now. No need to react that violently."
"I really didn't think that."
"You're denying it so hard it's making you seem guilty and raising suspicions."
The women's eyes glaring at me were razor-sharp.
Lately, I'd been a bit softened by Luna's warm gaze, but this was the kind of look women usually gave a guy like me, a Samarían.
The cold stares from women were plenty to make a man shrink, so my back was drenched in sweat.
But it was Hippolyte who broke the tension.
"Succubi don't make up total lies. They just exaggerate and twist things. That's what stirs up the agitation."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, from now on, weird stories will echo in all four of our voices. Some truth might be mixed in, but most of it's bullshit, so ignore—"
As Hippolyte started to say something.
I wish they'd rough me up hard in Mars's temple.
This time, Hippolyte's voice rang out in the air.
Gulp.
What followed was the sound of Hippolyte swallowing from her throat. Who knew a gulp could be that loud? Gold-tier swallowing indeed.
But true to her veteran adventurer form, Hippolyte quickly regained her composure.
"As I said, this is just a trick of the darkness. I'll give everyone a blessing of courage's litany."
Her calm demeanor, declaring she'd chant a spell as a priestess, made her back look incredibly reliable somehow.
"Bravery and courage shall be my shield, and with strong might upon my shoulders—"
Shoving me down with strong might, then mounting me from behind like taming a wild horse would be fucking great.
"—no matter the valley of the shadow of death I walk, I fear not, for always a sharpened spear-tip of stern valor and—"
I want her to stab me with a thick, hot spear. Just, without thinking anything, tie me up with rope in this darkness.
"...."
Hippolyte's fervent prayer ground to a halt.
She was facing forward, so I couldn't read her expression, but her pauldrons were trembling visibly—she was shaken bad.
"Sis... the prayer stopped. Sis, sis—?"
Antiope, at the rear, kept calling out to Hippolyte. But no response came.
Antiope let out a shriek.
"Samarían, sis is breaking down! Quick, shove that gallnut thing in her mouth!"
"Fuck—."
I hurriedly grabbed Hippolyte's shoulder and turned her toward me. Right then, I nearly screamed in shock.
Her sharp brown eyes had turned pitch black like inky darkness, gleaming grotesquely.
"Wha-what the fuck is this!"
So I ended up yelling. A woman with her entire eyes blackened like that—it was straight out of a horror flick.
Worse still, the moment our faces met, Hippolyte curled her lip in a smirk and let out a frivolous laugh in a voice she'd never use.
.
An indescribable laugh, like a mad beast's howl.
Not just that—she hurled the torch she held to the ground and bolted off into somewhere like a charging bull.
Swoooosh—.
"Guuaack—!"
The ropes tying our waists dragged me, Elfride, and Antiope along with Hippolyte's waist and leg strength.
"Urk—!?"
Elfride, caught off guard, was rolling around on the ground.
Like an owner being dragged by a tethered bull.
Wasn't Hippolyte supposed to be powerless in the dark?
"We're fucked, totally fucked! Samarían, you tied yourself to sis, so you deal with it!"
"Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to do here!"
"If we get dragged into the darkness like this, we're all dead!"
"Damn it—!"
But there was nothing I could do to stop it. The only desperate thought was whether to cut Hippolyte's rope with the dagger at my waist.
Of course, that'd send her vanishing into the dark for good.
A full-throttle Ferrari like Hippolyte? She'd be gone before we could grab her.
So I couldn't reach for the dagger at my waist.
Hippolyte was one of the few high-ups I knew who treated me well and casually. I didn't want to lose her here like this.
"Fuck, damn it—!"
But if we stayed like this, we might all get dragged into who-knows-where in the dark. So I reluctantly drew the dagger from my waist.
Raised it high, then slammed it down hard—.
Crunch.
Into the ground.
Groooowl—.
Screeeeech—.
The deeply embedded dagger screamed.
Not enough—I gripped the ground with all my might using the titanium gauntlet. Groooowl—sparks flying as it slid made a horrific sound.
"Everyone, hold on!"
"Damn it—got it!"
Getting what I was doing, Antiope drew her short spear from her waist and jammed it into the ground too.
Elfride rose from her spot and drove her wand into the ground with all her strength.
Kwaaaang—.
Hippolyte's strength was unnaturally immense right now, but not enough to overpower all three of us, so we finally skidded to a halt.
Kwaaaang—.
But the strap around her waist screamed like it might snap.
"Fuck, Lady Hippolyte, sorry—!"
Not missing the chance, I yanked the dagger from the ground, raised my palm high.
Whoosh—.
Then swung in a wide arc.
Smack—!
My gauntleted palm slapped Hippolyte's cheek flat-out.
"Graaaahk—!"
*
*
*
Hippolyte, who'd passed out from the slap, came to a few minutes later.
Or maybe a few dozen minutes. Who knows.
This pitch-black space messed with direction and time sense. Anyway, when one torch had burned out completely, Hippolyte fluttered her eyes open.
Her inky black eyes now gleamed brown again, like before.
"What the hell—. Why am I lying down?"
"Sis, you got eaten by the abyss. Nearly killed us all!"
"...Damn. I don't remember. I really did that?"
"Yeah!"
"Huh, even the paladin blocked it."
"Samarían slapped her cheek and barely managed."
"My cheek, huh—."
Only then did Hippolyte touch her reddened, swollen cheek.
It looked painful as hell, but since she'd snapped out of it, I felt relief first and decided no apology.
"So, where the hell are we now?"
"No idea."
"We're in trouble. Let's take a breather and regroup first."
With mutual agreement, we laid out a campfire on the ground and lit it.
Fwoosh—.
The firewood blaze brought some relief. Probably how caveman humans warmed body and soul too.
With the fire going, we checked our gear and supplies.
The sudden chaos meant we'd lost or dropped a ton, halving our stuff.
Among what we had intact, only this big pack I carried was fine.
Inside? Just rations and potions Luna packed for me to eat.
"How many lightning gallnuts left?"
"Lost some, down to under five. Rations for four barely last a day split. Most holy water vials shattered. Torch wraps? Two or so."
"Damn, showing such disgrace. I'm still far from ready."
Hippolyte slammed the ground—bam. Antiope spoke up.
"Don't beat yourself up. This is an ancient god's subspace laced with power. Surviving this easy would put you past superhuman, into legend territory."
Watching the sisters console each other warmed my messy heart like the campfire. Family, huh.
What if my little sis was here? Fuck, horrifying to imagine.
As Hippolyte and Antiope discussed next steps, Elfride quietly fiddled with her wand.
Click, click—.
From jamming the base into the ground earlier, the wand's bottom was splintered and ragged—looked nasty.
Click, click—.
She moved her hands like she was fixing it, but no tools or materials? No way to mend a broken wand.
"...."
But Elfride's face was pretty detached.
Unlike her initial panic, she'd kept some calm amid the weird whispers.
Come to think, her voice never echoed. Do succubi pick and choose victims?
"Damn—."
Finally giving up, Elfride muttered a curse. I held out my palm to her.
"Hand it over."
Elfride was never good at tool repairs. No patience, no handiness.
Back in slave days, I'd spent plenty time fixing her smashed furniture and stuff.
But she just eyed me lazily.
I said,
"You said without your wand, mana drain or whatever gets worse. Fix it quick and think escape."
"...."
Elfride kept glaring.
Thinking back, when we first met, she made this face a lot. Acts friendly but actually standoffish.
"I never asked you to. You offered."
As I recalled old times, Elfride extended the broken wand to me.
From Luna's pack, I poured sticky adhesive into my palm sloppily, smeared it rough on the break.
Uneven fracture didn't stick perfect, but wrapped in bandages, it looked decent.
"Done. No need for thanks."
"Thanks? Anyone could do that. Show-off."
"But you can't, idiot."
"What, idiot? You just called me an idiot? Hassan, you fucker."
"Fucker? I said idiot, why call me fucker? Too harsh, no?"
"Fucker. Retarded barbarian. Dipshit. Loser. Virgin. You think doing this now makes me grateful?"
"Fuck."
Fuck, I'm probably the only one in the world who does good and gets shit for it.
Our chat with Elfride ended there.
Just pissed each other off, quietly doing our own things.
Self-mocking—why'd I expect anything—I drew my waist dagger.
Scraped hard on the ground, blade's all nicked; gotta hone it or it'll be useless.
Favorite dagger since slave days, saved my ass plenty—precious to me.
So seeing it near breaking soured my mood.
Undid the leather belt at my waist, set the blade on it, hone hone—scrape scrape.
Elfride, still tinkering with her wand, spoke softly, like to herself.
"You're still using that old dagger."
"None of your business if I am."
"Far as I remember, you bought it with allowance I gave."
"Yeah, so? Want it back?"
"Nah. Thought you'd tossed anything tied to me."
"Why waste money?"
"Yeah, makes sense. Pauper—."
Elfride ended it there. Pauper? Mocking to the end. Brat indeed.
But her fidgety hands seemed to have some energy back.
Tap-tap—.
Maybe my imagination, but her pointed ear tips flushed red, twitching.
From long observation, sign her mood improved.
Good mood in this mess?
Always been like that—total mystery what she thinks.
Must be the darkness messing her head.
Kinda pitiful thinking that way.