Dungeon of Lust: Managing Otherworldly Beauties

Chapter 172: Ruin

Salome sang her good graces as the mob continued to follow her around the loop.

’But how long will this last?’

While these beasts were lost to reason, they could still definitely sense the life further in. If Salome kept dodging and running, it was inevitable that some would give up chasing her not by design.

Meaning, distraction was her main goal, but if she proved to be too elusive, they’d simply give up on her.

At the hairpin in the loop, Salome kicked off the floor and shot to the ceiling, gliding above.

It was about time she stopped running away.

Below, the wolves were catching up.

9 dark gray Monsters, the Ashen Vilkas, were directly under her, trying to run up the walls to get her.

They’d spring off their hind legs, get a few paces up the flat wall, and jump toward Salome’s legs, then fall back down and try again.

Salome flapped her wings and sent herself to the wall and kicked off to keep herself aloft, a wolf nearly catching her leg with a well-timed jump.

At the back of the pack, the serpents began spewing venom, regardless of the fact that the Vilkas in front of them were not immune.

Salome used this to her advantage, trying to get the snakes to poison their own, but inevitably, a bit of the vile, toxic phlegm stained her wings and quills. Since they hadn’t come into contact with her nerves, there was no pain, but the reagent was corrosive; her quills began drooping and melting.

If she wasn’t careful, she could lose them altogether.

Yet, even if they were closer to catching her than they’d ever been before, some of the mob below started to show signs of disinterest or, more so, impatience.

’I guess they need a taste of blood...’

Salome flew to the side and kicked off the wall again, sailing until she was directly above the middle of the group — above the normal Vilkas.

As she hovered, continuously dodging the streams of venom, a wild expression crept onto her face.

How long had it been since she was in a predicament like this?

Not where it was she, a strong entity pitted against many weak. But a singular weak entity against strong ones.

After all, a single Emergent Monster was enough to cause Salome trouble, and two would be able to defeat her.

So, facing the entire Emergent group below head-on was suicide.

Her entire time within the Dungeon of Lust, she’d never fought a group that was overall stronger...

Well, the oracle that had ’killed’ her was stronger, but that was in a much different sense. The beasts she currently engaged with were fearsome and bold enough to proclaim their strength straight up and not hide behind strands of fate.

Salome sharpened and extended her claws, matching Awilix’s as she spun upsidedown and the bottom of her heel made contact with the roof.

She couldn’t spring herself as fast as Toy, but she could definitely be more devastating.

Salome was the Queen of Ruin, and ruin was falling headlong, inciting devastation.

Ruin didn’t care about its target’s strength, will or persistence; it simply wished to return all to dust.

Salome launched off the cavern’s ceiling down into a Vilkas, slamming her claw through its head and gripping its mushy brain, which exploded into a fine paste.

Salome withdrew her hand and jumped up in the air again, barely dodging savage swipes.

As she rose, Salome watched the wolf’s body stumble around for a few seconds before realizing it was dead. The brainless Vilkas fell into the ground as a crowd of hisses and snarls dared Salome to do it again.

Instead, Salome glided back to the hairpin turn.

She would have struck like that again, but the Monsters had almost caught up.

Salome began to loop them around again, then pick off one or two more while Toy and the others dealt with their own battle.

***

Toy stood on her own, opposite side of the hallway as Alpha and the rest — Alpha wielding Vale’s shield.

On crafted stone ledges, Diana and her squadron of mostly Archers stood with bows at the ready.

The first two Vilkas were upon them with vicious, toothy grins.

Toy, equal in strength to the two beasts, gripped the hilt of her dagger and stepped forward, answering their feral snarls.

This confidence wasn’t so much a confidence in victory, or even that she’d survive.

It was that she was no longer convinced of a surefire loss.

She still didn’t think herself strong. She still knew of her weakness. She knew that accepting weakness was not a sin, but she also knew the dangers of embracing it fully — letting it consume her.

Toy activated Featherweight, halving her weight, and shot forth toward her opponents.

The two Vilkas looked pleased as they charged in response. They pressed their claws forward and tried to grab the goblin.

However, Toy didn’t even have to look at the attack to know what was coming. The single moment their shoulders twitched, Toy was already sliding beneath one of their legs. She sprang up behind it and plunged her dagger into its neck before it could even look back.

The other, a little startled but still consumed by madness, turned its head and tried to bite Toy.

It barely managed to open its mouth before Diana’s empowered arrow from [Draw Back] found a home in its head, followed by Edith’s strike with [Irong Plea] through its lungs.

The two beasts collapsed under Toy.

Yet, as proud as Toy was of herself and her victory, being weak also had its upside.

It helped one stave off overconfidence.

For it was overconfidence that was the weakness of the strong.

Toy grimaced as the next pack of two appeared.

Then, not too long later, they were dispatched in a similar fashion. This process repeated a few more times — rogue groups being culled by Toy and the warriors.

All of a sudden, a fully formed Mias appeared next to Toy and donned his scythe, an odd look of dissatisfaction on his face.

He spoke two words.

"Be prepared."