dungeon

"HAH!" Bell lunged forward, stabbing a two-legged dog in the head before retreating to observe his surroundings for potential danger.

'Interesting,' I noted while paying attention to the dog's disintegrating body.

"Bell, do monsters here usually disintegrate?" I asked.

"How did you not know monsters disintegrate? It's common knowledge," Liliruca said in a mocking tone.

"Did I ask for your knowledge?" I retorted.

"Can you two stop bickering for one second, please?" Bell interjected.

"If this girl stops commenting on everything I do, then I will consider," I replied.

"Mr. Bell, why did we bring a blind lady here in the first place? All she does is follow and do nothing but watch!"

"You are doing the same, are you not?" I managed to quell the urge to cut her down.

"But I'm only a supporter!"

"Liliruca, can you stop picking on Xian? I know why you're worried, but we need to focus on the dungeon," Bell tried to mediate.

"If Mr. Bell says so," Liliruca finally calmed down.

"Heh," I felt amused by my student being able to tame girls quickly, maybe a hidden talent of his.

-

We moved forward deeper into the dungeon, encountering many monsters on the way, mostly giant ants and a shadowy monster with a humanoid figure. Their fighting style showed a resemblance to consciousness instead of the mindless strikes of a beast.

Bell sidestepped an incoming strike and swiftly stabbed the ant's head, killing it.

"Mr. Bell, watch out!" Liliruca warned him, making Bell notice four incoming ants.

Bell quickly readied himself and leaped into the ant group, taking them by surprise and killing one with a stab to the head.

Two ants surrounded him, attacking simultaneously. Bell reacted quickly, jumping up and landing on one of their heads, swiftly stabbing the ant's head before retreating to assess the situation.

The two remaining ants rushed toward Bell, but he quickly backstepped away from them and killed both by decapitating them.

Along the way, I noticed Liliruca's gaze fixed on Bell's dagger, a thief's gaze that I had encountered many times.

"Mr. Bell, you're doing so well!" Liliruca complimented.

"Haha, it's only because of this knife," Bell showed his knife to Liliruca.

"I might rely on this knife too much, though," Bell humbly admitted.

"Idiot, a warrior should always rely upon their weapon. Without trust in your dagger, your strikes will be hesitant," I playfully karate-chopped him.

I returned to searching for an empty room to release Kirion and found an isolated place devoid of any living beings.

"Bell, I need to do maintenance on Kirion; I will go to an empty room," I separated from the group after informing Bell.

"Kirion?" Liliruca questioned.

"Ah, Kirion is what she named her sword," Bell recalled the conversation he had with me about the sword that emerged from my chest.

"But she didn't even pull out the blade, let alone use it," Liliruca remembered the katana she held but never used.

'She is hiding something,' Liliruca wanted to follow, but Bell's presence made her unable to do so.

-

Arriving at an empty field, I set the cloth on the ground. Unsheathing my katana, I pricked my finger and started to inscribe the cloth with seals and chants.

"By the will of my being, I seal thee with my soul and blood to an eternal stasis, and with the authority of a demi-goddess, I declare this decree absolute!" The blood seals started to glow brightly as if listening to my words.

This seal was an altered version of my original seal. Instead of using ink and soul to empower it, I used my blood and manifested my soul as a demi-goddess to empower it.

The original incantations were 'By the will of my being, I seal thee with my soul and blood to a long slumber.'

After finishing engraving the seal, I put away the katana and retrieved Kirion from my soul.

"ROAR!" Kirion could sense the death-filled air in the dungeon and wanted to feast.

"I, HUNGER, WHY, YOU, CHAINED, ME!" Kirion screamed, and the air turned slightly red as bloodlust emanated from the decaying seal.

"I'm sorry, old friend, but I chose a new path," I slowly unwrapped the old cloth. The air grew heavy quickly, and the screams of past victims screeched.

"YOU, TRAPPED, US!" "WE, HUNGER!" "WE, STARVED!" "CURSE YOU!" "FEED, FEED US!"

Multiple voices screamed from Kirion, but I was steadfast and finished unwrapping the old cloth and started to wrap the new seal onto Kirion.

"I'm sorry, Kirion. Do not worry; you will have your moment of freedom when I need it."

"CURSE. YOU!" "YOU. CANNOT CHAIN US FORE--" The screaming stopped as I finished wrapping Kirion. The red seal glowed brightly but dimmed quickly.

"I shall call you when the time is right, for the rite of blood shall be performed under a blood moon," I recited an old chant I always recite before a battle.

I quickly recovered and returned to Bell.

-

Returning to Bell, I noticed him using a different knife and focusing on defending himself against three giant ants with much difficulty.

Searching around, I discovered Liliruca was nowhere to be found. To think my discipline fell for such an obvious trickery. I sighed in disappointment,

gripped the handle of my katana, and readied myself to dash.

"Slice, Click." Silence filled the room after a soft slice and click. I turned around and saw the three ants decapitated and a stunned, injured Bell looking at me.

"Ah, Xian! Thank you for the help," Bell said and collapsed to the ground.

"Explain why you are wielding a different dagger," I crossed my arms coldly.

"AH! Liliruca and I also thought I was relying on that dagger too much, and she gave me a different dagger. Don't worry; I still have my dagger here--" Bell tried to search around behind him but found no handle of his dagger.

"Eh, where!?" Bell turned around and found his dagger gone.

"Sigh, you put too much trust in strangers, Bell," I sighed and told Bell to come to the surface.

"We will probably recover it on the surface; let's go. Our little pallum will be there," I went back to the stairs.

"Huh, pallum? Wait a moment, Xian." Bell quickly followed me.