41 C-Rank Dungeon (7)

"Uhh...?"

"Wait, wait, wait!? What do you mean by 'first kiss'!? Shouldn't you have kissed Leon before?" Matthew asked with a clearly confused face.

"WHAT!? Why would you think that!?" Stacy's red face returned to its normal color as she processed his words.

"Uhh... so you weren't dating Leon?"

"No...? He's just a childhood friend." Stacy clarified with a shake of her head.

'So... I didn't cuck a royal blood... I'm somewhat disappointed.'

"Why would you think that?" 

'Oh... so Stacy just challenged me out of confidence, and not because she was dating Leon.'

"Nevermind..." Matthew sighed.

"Also, I won't be taking 'responsibility' for you. After all, you were the one who killed the Succubus and faced the consequences." He said nonchalantly.

"I just enjoyed the process~" he added with a faint smirk as he turned towards the portal.

Kill...

After he said those words, he suddenly felt a dangerous presence behind him and swiftly created a barrier of vines around himself.

"The fuck are you doing!?" 

Twirl!

With Kelsia at her side, Stacy was suddenly conjuring a massive spear that would likely be able to pierce through the dungeon's walls due to the intense pressure of the water.

"Ah~, since you won't take responsibility, I'll force you myself." Stacy said with a disturbing smile, her eyes turned lifeless, as if she had lost her emotions.

"Don't worry... it will be fast~" Her smile widened, sending chills down Matthew's spine.

'Ah... god damn it.' Matthew gritted his teeth.

Swish!

He dashed towards the portal, but before he could reach it, it closed abruptly.

"The fuck!?"

"Ahhh, did you forget? After someone clears a dungeon, they gain control over it. Although I can't remove the portal, I can still change its position," Stacy explained calmly as the water spear grew larger and the pressure intensified.

It was clearly a dead end for Matthew.

"You know, if you just promise to take responsibility, I'll let you go~. It's that simple~" Stacy stated, her voice firm as the gigantic spear hovered menacingly close to Matthew.

Hearing her proposition, Matthew let out a deep sigh, seemingly resigned.

"Haaaahhh... I didn't want to reveal this trick so early," he muttered, stretching his arms, preparing for what was to come.

Stacy watched him, puzzled and slightly amused. From her perspective, Matthew appeared trapped with no way out.

"Well, Stacy... 'Don't worry... it will be fast~'!" He repeated her words with a wide smirk, his eyes suddenly shifting to a deep shade of violet.

In an instant, their surroundings transformed into a dark, unsettling world.

"Ah..." Stacy gasped as she felt the ground beneath her turn into a strange, dark substance that seemed to glue into her body.

Swoop!

In the blink of an eye, the massive water spear was enveloped and then completely disintegrated by an onslaught of dark chains.

Not stopping there, the chains swiftly wrapped around Stacy, immobilizing her in a position that resembled crucifixion.

"Aether!" Stacy cried out, and a radiant golden light burst from her, dissolving the dark bindings.

But then, violet chains, similar to the dark ones, wrapped around Stacy's body.

"Aether!!!" Stacy cried out again, but this time, those chains seemed to be unaffected by her power.

"Ah...!" Stacy budged, trying to get out of those chains. She tried to contact Kelsia, but noticed that she couldn't.

She immediately started panicking; however, she suddenly calmed down as she saw a figure coming out of the eerie, dark liquid.

"Mhm~, do you like this place? I think it's pretty cool." Matthew added with a faint smile.

"....."

"Why so quiet now? Just a moment ago, you were all about 'taking responsibility' and such." He teased her with a faint smirk, steps forming from the eerie liquid as he ascended to meet Stacy at eye level.

Grasping her chin, he forced her to meet his gaze.

"Stacy... I'm not someone you can easily provoke. Did you think that having an S-Rank spirit meant you could defeat me?" he chuckled.

'Well... you would indeed beat me quite easily, but my class is just a little bit overpowered.'

"You're only strong because you have a constellation's backing! Without it, you wouldn't stand a chance!" Stacy countered, glaring at him.

"Pfffff... you really thought that I had a constellation backing me up?" Matthew burst into laughter.

"Ahh... you are really a dreamy girl; I am not under contract with either of the constellations, though they have contacted me."

"Besides, Stacy, aren't you the one who contracted a constellation?" Matthew smiled deeply.

Stacy's eyes widened upon hearing his words, and she quickly averted her gaze away from him.

"Surprised, huh? And from the looks of it, you can't use their power because... you haven't completed the process to actually acquire their blessing, right?"

Grip...!

"Ahh... such a pity~, isn't it? If you had their blessing, you'd probably be able to beat me, wouldn't you?" Matthew uttered in a mischievous tone while he caressed her cheek softly.

"Hahahaah~, whatever. I'm just going to say this once, so make sure that you hear it."

"I do not have any kind of interest in you. Our 'session' today is probably just a one-time thing, so don't get your hopes up." he stated bluntly with a cold voice.

"Besides, it's your own fault. If you didn't act so dumbdly and attack the Succubus so recklessly, this wouldn't happen."

"However, even if that happened, I was drugg—!"

"—Don't even dare to say those words. Just because you were drugged doesn't mean that I wouldn't do anything to you. You can call me a rapist, scumbag, or whatever."

"Face the consequences because it was your own action."

As he spoke, the dark realm dissipated, returning them to reality.

Stacy collapsed, her spirit crushed, as Matthew turned away, leaving through the portal without another word, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Drip... Drip...

Tears slowly escaped Stacy's eyes, tracing paths down her cheeks as she clutched the material of her clothes tightly around her legs.

"...Kelsia..."

{Yes, Master...?}

"Is there any way to defeat him?" Stacy's voice trembled slightly.

{...I cannot say for certain. However, within you lies a vast sea of fortune, along with traces of a constellation's presence. This constellation, from what little I can discern, appears to be among the most powerful.}

{If you complete the contract with the constellation, you should be able to defeat him. The only thing you should be wary of is definitely that 'power' that the boy showed you.}

{I... I don't know how to describe it. When I entered that world, trying to contact you, I felt a huge amount of darkness revolving around my body and immediately got out.}

"Darkness...?"

{Yes, pure darkness. It was if he was a Demon in human form.}

"Mhm... do you think ten S-Class heroes can deal with him?"

{Yes, and very easily. Although that "power" is very strong, if there are ten S-Class heroes and one of them is a Holy Priestess, it should be easy for them.}

"I see..."

Stacy stood up and wiped the dirt away from her clothes. Then she started walking towards the portal as her luscious lips curled into a deep, seductive smile.

'This time... you won't be able to escape...!'