Dungeon of Lust: Managing Otherworldly Beauties

Chapter 277: Something Treacherous

Adephagia sneered.

"And I can tell you’re a peasant confusing himself with a king."

Pride sighed as he relaxed, sinking his armored back into the purple felted throne. Then he tilted his head toward Vale.

"My friend, do you see how obstinate that rabble is?"

Adephagia, obviously reeling from Pride’s power, resisted fervently as she looked at Vale.

"Lust, was it? Are you his minion or something? How dull..."

Vale looked to his right, then his gaze drifted to Adephagia.

For all intents and purposes, he should stay silent.

What use was defending his pride? He was Lust, and holding onto such a thing was inherently hypocritical. Yet...

"I am no one’s minion. And, Adephagia, was it? You do realize you’ve simply joined the farce after critiquing it. I thought you were shaping up to be something special with your confident introduction. How dull..."

Adephagia began to open her mouth to respond, but Wrath tapped his finger with force, sending a shockwave of rage rippling throughout the black expanse.

"Clearly, working together was a pipe dream to begin with. It’s no use ripping open a wound so evident. Adephagia, I see you’re displeased, but forging true diplomacy and alliance was never an option amongst us. The goal here is merely to keep our eyes on the threat for our own sakes, not for one another. You’ll come to learn that."

’Once again...’

Wrath was speaking to Gluttony in a mightily placid tone and tame words he’d typically be screaming.

Wrath let out a low, wry laugh.

"On that note, let us continue..." Wrath’s gaze fell upon Vale. "I have finally identified the Beakon Virtue. It’s Chastity. Meaning, we now have the relative locations and identity of three Virtues: Chastity, Kindness, and Humility. Patience is missing. Temperance was thought to have died years ago, but no new one has appeared. We have no information on the other two. Unless our resident snake here has hidden another Virtue."

Wrath’s glare found Vale.

Vale, done cowering before Wrath’s might, simply shrugged.

’Stay curious, tin can.’

In all honesty, Vale was getting pulled along into this discordant dynamic. Fading into the background as an observer and absorbing insults would only take him so far.

Before Wrath could even begin to rage, Pride laughed.

"Why reiterate something so useless? Who cares where those ’Heroes’ are."

Glaring at Pride, Wrath sneered.

"Spoken like a true idiot."

’Man...’

The tension at the Council before had been loud and present. Hate was being sown and thrown without regard. But this meeting was eerily calm.

Vale had an idea why...

The two proprietors domineering over the arguments.

They were focusing on what came the moment this meeting ended; continuing their conversation in the real world.

With Sloth skipped, the next to go was Envy, who Vale realized was much like him — quietly observing.

But, unlike Vale, her goal in observation was seeing when she could thread in a poison needle upon her intended target.‌ To that end...

’What else has Greed told you, wicked woman?’

And how did that not count as subversion?!

Envy’s lips split into a grand smile.

"There’s no seed activity around me. Oh, and Lust over there, he is indeed hiding something — something treacherous."

’Huh?’

Vale’s mouth slowly split open.

"I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean?"

Envy snickered.

"You don’t?"

’Oh...’

Vale sighed.

’This bastard is trying to get me in trouble with Sloth.’

During his discussion with Greed, where’d she’d shut him up before he could say anything, he alluded to having a way to defy Sloth’s authority.

While Greed never got to learn what it was, all she had told Envy seemed to have been what Envy just claimed.

Vale had ’something treacherous.’

Something Vale couldn’t deny, nor could he explain.

"You really have it out for me, huh, Envy. Sending those spies before. Why are you so obsessed with me? I’m sorry, but this type of love is a bit crazy, even for me."

The crystal shone red upon saying that last sentence.

Wrath sighed.

"While Lust is a little snake in the grass... seeing that what he said at first is true; Envy, what is your goal in provoking him?"

Envy chuckled.

"Do I have to have an exact goal? Because, I’m afraid, I have none."

The crystal remained dormant.

’Wait.. what?’

Wrath leaned back.

"Good. As angered at the snake that you’ve made me, the two of you are important."

Vale found Envy’s bright green eyes.

"I was under the impression you wanted to kill me and take my Dungeon Core."

Envy waved her hand.

"That’s a bit presumptuous. Why would I want to do that?"

The crystal lay dormant.

’The hell...’

All motive had been lost to Vale.

Meaning, he had to rethink what the hell was going on with Envy and why she seemed to care about him so much.

But before he could ponder that, Pride stood and said:

"Well, I see no point in staying around for a petty and idiotic squabble. But, before I leave, Wrath, would you like to prostrate yourself and beg for forgiveness?"

The red eyes hidden behind Wrath’s mask glowed unnervingly bright.

Pride chuckled upon the sight.

"Very well."

Then, he turned and walked off into the void.

All of them except Sloth watched Pride walk off. When he disappeared, Wrath said:

"It seems I will have to depart as well."

After a moment of silence, he added:

"Before I go... Lust, looking at your eyes," Wrath sent a quick glance at Sloth, "something told me to trust your silence."

Wrath stood.

"As for my own predicament... Depending on what happens, I may be absent for the next few months. But, in that time, do remember the true threat. The Corrupted may not have sunk their fangs too deep into Pandora yet, but trust me, fighting each other is senseless."

Wrath turned to walk off.

"But if I have to remove someone uncooperative, I won’t hesitate to do so."

As Wrath stepped away, he said one last thing while not even caring to look back.

"And, Lust, Envy, don’t kill one another, or I will kill you."

Vale looked at the dormant crystal as Wrath disappeared into the void.

’Well, this has been a doozy.’