The bright and dazzling white light temporarily blinded Lorne. After about half a minute, his vision finally returned.

The outcome of the battle was already evident. The Holy Knight Arnold was kneeling on the ground, his eyes lifeless as he stared at the ceiling, his sword lying beside him. Meanwhile, the "Dark Night Enchantress" Helena calmly approached her defeated opponent. Dark red runes surrounded her body, rhythmically shifting and pulsating like flowing notes. In sync with this rhythm, Helena's lips moved, as if singing. However, this song could only be heard in Arnold's mind; no one else could hear it.

"Clack clack, clack clack clack, clack clack clack clack clack!" Aze excitedly exclaimed. He meant to say, "My Lord, see what I told you? Helena's singing can curse people!"

"It seems your prediction turned out to be true," Lorne smiled, patting Aze's shoulder. "In any case, it seems like we won the bet today."

Luck was on their side. At that moment, the lucky ring on Lorne's finger suddenly shattered. Five minutes had passed, just in time.

To be honest, this battle plan was quite risky. Lorne couldn't determine how much he could strengthen Helena, if it would be enough to defeat the Holy Knight Arnold. So, in order to increase their chances of winning, instead of distributing their limited Evil Points to two subordinates, they decided to go all-in on one person. And the reason they chose Helena was because she was slightly stronger than Aze. Well, just a little bit stronger.

"Clack clack, clack clack..." Aze sighed. He still didn't fully understand what his Lord had done, but all he knew was that Helena suddenly became incredibly powerful, to the point of astonishment.

"I'll explain later," Lorne said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I couldn't make you stronger today, but there will be more opportunities in the future."

Aze didn't say anything, he just nodded vigorously. The skull on his face couldn't show any expression, but through his actions, Lorne could see excitement, envy, and anticipation. Awe and longing for power were the nature of all monsters. Unfortunately, as a Dungeon Lord who was ridiculously weak, Lorne could never fulfill his subordinates' expectations. But from now on, everything would be different.

"Speaking of which... I'm quite surprised by how strong Helena has become," Lorne mused. "Perhaps it's the result of the lucky ring? It truly is an incredible artifact. Too bad it was a one-time use..."

Helena paused in front of Arnold, preparing to deliver the final blow. The latter remained unresponsive, still staring blankly at the ceiling. Just then, Arianne, who was in the corner of the room, suddenly spoke, "Using her singing to create illusions and then manipulate the opponent's mind... so this is the ability of the 'Dark Night Enchantress.'"

As she spoke, she lightly snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the "Lock of Heaven" that tightly bound her body loosened and fell off. Seeing Arianne effortlessly break free from the restraints, Helena showed a rather surprised expression. However, Lorne wasn't too surprised. He thought to himself, no wonder Arianne had been behaving so casually before... it turns out she could easily break free from the chains at any time.

"Can I ask you for a favor, Helena?" Arianne took a slow step forward, her tone tinged with sadness. "Could you please not let Arnold die too painfully? Although he's rigid and boring, and he was even a spy the Pope arranged to keep an eye on me... but he was once my follower."

Arianne's expression was quite sincere. After a brief moment of contemplation, Helena turned her head and looked at Lorne for guidance. Lorne nodded silently. And so, Helena stopped singing. She reached out her hand, her nails visibly lengthening at an alarming rate, resembling sharp daggers, aimed straight at Arnold's neck.Cleanly and decisively, she slits his throat.

"Thank you, Helena."

Amidst the pool of blood, Arianne bends down and gently brushes her fingers on the face of the holy knight, Arnold, closing his eyes for him.

She sighs softly, murmuring to the corpse:

"It's unfortunate that it ends this way. Although you have been by my side for these years, our paths have been completely different from each other...

"And neither of us had a choice. Perhaps this is fate."

After saying these words, she closes her eyes, clasps her hands, and begins to recite a prayer. This prayer is from the holy scriptures of the church, its contents calm and soothing, possessing the power to comfort the soul.

At this moment, Arianne seems to emit a holy radiance.

Though he has already stopped breathing, Arnold's expression undergoes a certain change. He becomes serene and peaceful, as if finally obtaining the long-awaited release.

Lorne watches in a daze.

So, Arianne truly is a saint...

"The Merciful Saint."

Only now does he truly sense this.

...

After the prayer ends, Arianne shakes her head vigorously, banishing the lingering melancholy from her mind, and puts on a less serious expression:

"Lorne, you're quite something. To instantly strengthen your subordinates to this extent... Ordinary dungeon masters couldn't do this."

"After all, I unlocked... Uh, unlocked new powers." Lorne answers. He almost let slip the words "System," but being quick-witted, he changes his words just in time.

"Well... indeed, the power of the 'Contract' should not be underestimated." Arianne walks around to Lorne's back again and examines the deep red marks on his spine, "It is truly worth testing."

"So, everything that just happened was your 'test' for me?"

Lorne spreads his hands.

"Truth be told, that holy knight Arnold was quite strong. Don't you think the difficulty of this task was a bit exaggerated? If something went wrong in the middle, I would have been a goner..."

"Don't worry." Arianne waves her hand dismissively, "If anything were to happen, I would step in to save the day. The 'Lock of God' alone is not enough to hold me back... You did well, and I respect you a bit more now. Well, you are the slave I chose after all!"

With that, Arianne playfully slaps Lorne's back with force.

A loud smacking sound.

Lorne lets out a sigh.

As he looks at Arnold, who has unfortunately become a tool, he can't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

"Oh? As a dungeon master, a high-ranking demon, you're actually sad about the death of a holy knight?" Arianne's expression is somewhat surprised, "But don't blame yourself... Although you gave the command and Helena carried it out, ultimately, his death falls on me. It was all my plan."

"Are you trying to comfort me? No need." Lorne forces a smile and shakes his head, "I was just thinking of where to bury this guy..."

This guy probably wouldn't want to be buried in the dungeon. After all, he hated us evil creatures so much... Well, I'll move him outside later and bury him in a nice place with a good view.

"Burying Arnold is indeed important... but, have you forgotten something, Lorne?"

"Hmm?"

"I said that if you could defeat Arnold, I would reward you." Arianne's expression becomes serious.

"After all, training is just a mix of whip and candy. So now, I'm going to give you candy! Go ahead, make a request. I can fulfill one of your wishes!"

Right, there was something like that.

Only now does Lorne remember.

... Meanwhile.

Upon hearing those words just now, Helena seems to have become excited in her own world. In a place where Arianne's gaze cannot reach, she eagerly raises her hand and makes a rather lewd gesture.

At the same time, she winks at Lorne frantically.There was absolutely no pretense as a high-level monster.

Clearly, in her eyes, this was a great opportunity to make advances on Arianne!