After the black-haired girl left, the shaking—like an earthquake—died down considerably.
Had Elucia lured the monster away?
Lonis had no proof to support the guess, but somehow, she felt that was what had happened... And after crawling for so long, she understood why Elucia had told her to crawl up the stairs.
Crawling put the strain on her thighs and arms. The muscles around her ankle didn’t have to work at all, so the pain eased considerably.
And since she wasn’t using her injured ankle, her healing ability could do its work... It hadn’t even been an hour before the sprain was completely healed.
For a normal person, an injury like that would take at least a week to heal!
That terrifying rate of recovery was already a hundred times faster than normal... Happy but worried, Lonis continued upward.
Gradually, the passages around her seemed to grow more and more dilapidated. Before, only the floor had been rusty and the ceiling cracked. Now, hardly any part of the floor was intact.
The stairs were in ruins, and in some places, running water had worn them down into slopes... After who knew how long, exhausted Lonis finally reached what looked like a fairly spacious area.
This must be the upper-level hall Elucia mentioned, right?
Cold, damp mist hung in the air. There were no emergency lights, but things that looked like shards of crystal jutted out from every corner of the hall.
There should have been a huge glass pillar in the center of the hall.
But whether it had been worn down by time or destroyed in some conflict, the entire glass pillar had been smashed to pieces. Shards were scattered everywhere.
...
“I’ll wait here for Elucia.”
Though no one was there to stop her, this was a good chance for Lonis to escape.
But ever since the Abyss Tentacle Monster had captured her, she’d learned to be a little more sensible. She could learn the basics of this world first, then look for a chance to escape later.
The lessons might be a little humiliating, but a wise person knows when to yield and when to stand firm. Elucia was still much better than those tentacle monsters.
Lonis found a rock and leaned against it, her knees held together.
...
...
...
But Lonis hadn’t expected that even after she’d grown thirsty and started to feel sleepy, Elucia still hadn’t appeared.
Had she taken a wrong turn?
But there was only one way up, and this really was a hall.
Then... could it be...?
Lonis’s heart gave a thump.
She didn’t want to imagine the worst possibility: Elucia hadn’t lured the monster away. It had caught up with her instead.
That was entirely possible. Elucia looked powerful, but she was still human. Even she could be helpless against a terrifying monster.
If she’d been pinned down by the Tailhammer Beast...
“Should I go save her right now?”
At the thought, Lonis got to her feet without thinking.
But even if she wanted to help, she had no idea where to look... The Underground World was as vast as a labyrinth, and far too complicated.
And then, in a daze, Lonis thought of another possibility.
Elucia called her a slave, but she had also saved Lonis from the tentacle monster.
Being tied to a chair and tortured had seemed terrifying, but after all that shaking, the pain of feeling as if her body were being torn apart had completely vanished. And her body had made her realize that she was a girl.
The break room and the warehouse, too. Elucia had seemed to torment her with words, but hadn’t the sadness Lonis felt over her hallucinations disappeared thanks to Elucia’s company?
(Could it be... Elucia actually cares about me and is trying to help me?)
At that thought, Lonis was utterly confused.
She was a little afraid of seeing Elucia again, but even more afraid that she might never see her again.
...
With her thoughts in turmoil, Lonis waited for another hour.
The empty hall remained silent.
...
That was more than Lonis could take. She couldn’t sit still any longer.
She stood up. Even if she ran into danger, even if she got lost, she had to find out what had happened.
Because Elucia might be in desperate need of help, just as Lonis had been.
But just then...
...
...
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps came from the other side of the hall.
Lonis looked up excitedly, but as soon as she listened closely to the footsteps, she froze.
They weren’t Elucia’s.
Elucia wore high heels, and her footsteps were powerful and sharp. These steps were faint and quick, clearly belonging to someone else.
Whoever it was must have been small and light on their feet...
Of course, it might not be a person at all. It could be some kind of beast.
At the thought, Lonis quietly clenched her fists and hid behind the rock, ready to fight for her life if anything seemed wrong.
But Lonis never would have guessed...
The source of the footsteps was a little Gothic lolita!
She wore black Lolita shoes with towering platforms. Her dark skirt swayed as she walked, giving her an incredibly elegant air.
Her Gothic Lolita dress was all in a dark style, and with her black hair and black headband, she looked gloomy and utterly dejected.
But perhaps it was because the little girl was especially cute?
Lonis didn’t feel afraid at all. Instead, she felt a little flutter of affection and thought the girl was adorable. She almost wanted to hug her tight and kiss her.
...
“!”
Lonis was staring at the little girl, and the little girl, who was looking around, naturally noticed the silver-haired girl hiding behind the rock.
But the little girl’s expression was nowhere near as “friendly” as Lonis’s. She frowned, then shouted...
“Masochist Lonis, get over here already! Do you expect your Mistress to come find you?”
“Huh?”
“It’s me, Elucia! Get over here... Wait, what’s with that shocked look? Are you asking for a beating?!”
...
...
Lonis was completely dumbfounded when the black-haired little girl claimed to be Elucia.
It wasn’t until the girl ran over, jumped up, and punched her hard in the chest that Lonis finally felt like this was real!
Only Elucia could have such a nasty personality!
Only Elucia would bully her the moment they met!
“I-is it really you, Elucia?”
“Want me to turn on your little toy so you can make sure?”
“Ah, n-no!”
At the mention of turning it on, Lonis shook her head in a panic... She really wanted to ask Elucia why she’d turned into this, but she was afraid of being punished, so she didn’t dare.
As for the little Gothic Lolita, she stretched lazily and said:
“Haaah. I didn’t realize it wasn’t an ordinary Tailhammer Beast, but a Tier 6 elite one. I let my guard down. I almost got caught.”
“Huh?”
“My magic wasn’t fully replenished to begin with, and now I’ve used it all up. Mm... I’m exhausted. Lonis, what are you standing around for?”
“W-what do you want me to do?”
Since the other girl had saved her once again, Lonis’s voice had instinctively grown more respectful.
“A lap pillow, obviously! This rock is so hard. How am I supposed to lie down and rest on it? Sit down here and let me rest my head on your lap.”
The little girl pointed at Lonis’s thighs, wrapped in white stockings, and complained with a deeply displeased look.
