Dungeon of Lust: Managing Otherworldly Beauties

Chapter 159: First Seal of Despair

Mias pulled back slightly, studying the half-dead woman’s face.

"What?"

Ophelia let out a light laugh at his confusion.

"The oracle. They said when I awoke, we should travel east immediately lest Greed find and kill us."

Mias sighed.

"I don’t think immediately means a couple of minutes, taking a few bites of meat and sips of water, does it?"

’Can’t a girl get a few minutes of rest after one of the top three worst months of her life?’

Ophelia flashed Mias a grin.

"I know... so, uh, we should probably get a move on."

As he said that, a chilling wave cut through the air and crawled down their spines.

Without a word, smoke curled beneath Ophelia and lifted as Mias swept her into his arms.

A moment later, he was sprinting through the forest, not daring to look back, smoke bursting from his heels to propel him faster.

Ophelia, far larger than the small-framed Mias, looked up at his face as the wind rustled their hair.

His expression stayed flat, but a hint of emotion flickered in his eyes.

Well, not that much could be gleaned from his eyes.

But still!

As delusional as Ophelia was, she wasn’t a fool.

She knew his loyalty didn’t belong to her — not fully. His life was still tethered to Lust’s dungeon. He was definitely worried about what Greed was doing so close to his master’s domain.

After all, the Vices didn’t play nice with anyone — not even each other.

Or perhaps his worry was for himself and her.

Thinking of that...

’What does he even think of me?’

Was Ophelia merely a means to an end? A possible answer to his questions? Or did she herself have value to him?

For some reason, Ophelia felt she didn’t want the answer to that one.

Ophelia sighed at the dismal prospect that was her future...

Despite the terrible state of her body and depleted Aether, she enjoyed her princess carry as Mias dashed through the woods.

This was probably going to be the highlight of her life.

A branch whipped past her face.

Which was... deeply pathetic.

From how Diligence described it, it was all downhill from here.

Her expression dimmed as she remembered where they were headed.

Mias hopped over loose branches and avoided crushing leaves. Birds burst from the canopy, fleeing the same terrible pressure.

The cold pressure of wants hardening into needs, pressing in from all sides.

The feeling was resistible, but its power was slowly growing as Greed grew closer.

While Ophelia wasn’t sure exactly what want would be turned into a need in Mias’s mind, she didn’t want her own wants to take claim.

If her desire for revenge hardened into a need, it would cost her life.

’Though maybe it’s already become a need...’

Or perhaps it would be the other desire... the one tied to the pretty man carrying her.

Either way, once sidetracked, Greed would catch up and kill them.

Therefore... trap.

Ophelia braced herself as Mias swiveled around a tree, only for something unseen to slam into him, shredding the smoke trailing from his body.

Then even the sound of their breathing felt swallowed, as if the world had been wrapped in velvet. It claimed their sight and even paused the wind.

Mias muttered to himself as he clutched his head and dropped to his knees, barely maintaining his hold on Ophelia.

"What the..."

Ophelia, still plagued by tremendous pain, kicked her legs while still aloft in Mias’s arms.

"Oh? Did I forget to mention the Lost Expanse is east of us? And that it’s full of ancient traps? Oops."

Mias clutched his head as he struggled to control his smoke.

"Huh?"

In this space, power could only be exerted within the body. Something Mias would come to realize soon.

Still in pain, Ophelia chuckled, then added:

"Oh, and when we meet the others... I’m Rose. Don’t use my real name."

Mias muttered under his breath as he shakily stood up.

"Lost Expanse? Others?"

A flash of torchlight shone, taking claim of the darkness.

The forest was gone. In its place stretched a narrow stone corridor, walls cracked with age. Torches lined both walls, illuminating a path that led in only one direction.

The walls gave off a damp, mossy smell, and each footstep Mias took echoed.

His eyes had also been stripped of the gray outline, returning to the endless onyx void.

After shaking off the effects a little more, Mias stood and began sauntering down the hallway. A slight strain in his face, having been weakened by the trap’s effect.

"You’re a little heavy."

’This— seriously?!’

As much as Ophelia wanted to slap Mias, she couldn’t help but laugh.

Ophelia barked out:

"You really don’t have many friends, do you?"

As Mias trudged along, he grimaced and looked down.

"Huh? How’d you reach that conclusion? Where’s the correlation? And can you stop moving?"

Ophelia swiveled her head left to right, trying to ignore the throbbing of her head.

"Seems I was right."

Mias shrugged and kept lugging along.

Eventually, a heavy spruce door came into view... two iron rings for handles and a wooden figure carved into it.

The figure seemed to be a crest...

It looked like a fusion of a skull and a heart.

The heart-skull crest was split cleanly down the middle, one half smooth and rounded, the other jagged and hollowed, as though something had gnawed its way out from within.

Cracks webbed through the wood around it, old and dark with age, yet the carving itself looked strangely well-kept.

Mias lightly set Ophelia down and began inspecting the stone walls around them and the torches upon them.

He began tracing his fingers along the cracks and held his hand to the smoke radiating from the fire.

Then he sauntered over to the wooden door and placed his hand on it.

Once he did, he looked back at Ophelia.

"Rose, something is wrong with my senses, so no conclusion I reach can be fully trusted, but I don’t feel any other traps. I think it’s safe to open."

Mias slowly dragged his hand down, gripped the iron ring, and began to pull.