DID YOU KNOW? YOU CAN NOW READ THREE TO SIX CHAPTERS AHEAD. CHECK MY PROFILE FOR THE LINK.
----
Maribel stepped out of the teleportation circle, releasing a small sigh of relief at the familiar sight of the hidden chamber concealed deep beneath her grandfather's mansion.
Beside her, the white-haired man who had once stood among the Ten Great Saints emerged from the circle as well.
Without saying a word, he walked a few steps ahead before turning back toward her and extending a hand.
"My Lady."
Maribel looked at him for a long moment, drawing in a slow, measured breath as she desperately tried to calm the simmering rage boiling inside her.
She reached out and took his hand.
Then, without warning... "How could it all go so wrong!?"
Her scream echoed throughout the underground chamber as she violently yanked him off balance, throwing him to the floor. Before he could even react, she seized him again, flipped him onto his back, and slammed him into the stone with enough force to shake the room.
Boom!
"All of my plans..." Her face twisted with barely restrained fury as she glared down at him. "They were there for everything."
Her breathing grew heavier. "They were watching me..." Her fingers trembled. "...mocking me... mocking my ideals..."
The former Saint tried to push himself back to his feet. The movement only drew her attention back to him.
"Damn it!"
She brought her foot crashing down onto his head.
Boom!
His skull struck the stone floor hard enough to crack it.
"Damn it!"
She stomped down again, putting even more strength behind the blow.
BOOM!
The fractures spread farther across the chamber floor.
"Damn it!"
BOOM!
Each impact echoed like a cannon blast through the underground room.
"Damn it all!"
BOOM!!
This time, her leg punched straight through his skull before crashing into the stone beneath it.
His head burst apart instantly.
Fragments of bone, flesh, and white matter splattered across the chamber floor, staining Maribel's legs crimson. She didn't even spare the remains a single glance.
Her teeth ground against one another so hard they almost squealed. "What do I do now?" she muttered, her voice trembling with fury. "I have to tell Grandfather."
She laughed bitterly. "But what am I supposed to tell him?" Her hands slowly curled into fists. "I really messed everything up... didn't I?"
Silence answered her. "...Damn it all." She lowered her head. "...This fucking world."
She remained standing amidst the blood and shattered remains for several more minutes, muttering curses beneath her breath as her anger gradually burned itself out.
At last, Maribel released a long, exhausted sigh.
Without bothering to clean the blood from her clothes or legs, she turned and began climbing the long winding staircase leading back toward the mansion above, leaving a trail of crimson footprints behind her with every step.
She finally reached the wooden door at the top of the staircase, wrapping her fingers around the handle and twisting it open.
Just before the latch turned, a glowing magic circle suddenly spread across the surface of the door.
"...What?" Maribel instinctively stepped backwards.
The familiar wooden door seemed to soften, its surface rippling like thick sludge before slowly dissolving away. In its place stood a massive obsidian door, its flawless black surface polished to the point of reflecting the dim light around it.
The transformation did not stop there.
Beginning with the door as its epicentre, the surrounding stone walls began melting in the same unnatural manner, flowing like liquid before hardening once more into a smooth, crystal-like material that gleamed faintly beneath the chamber's light.
Even the staircase beneath her feet changed.
The rough stone steps she had climbed countless times became glossy black crystal, each one reflecting her bloodstained figure back at her.
"What... is going on?" A trace of unease finally entered her voice. She watched helplessly as the staircase itself began to dissolve.
One step disappeared. Then another.
Within moments, the entire staircase had vanished completely, leaving behind a vast enclosed chamber.
Maribel's eyes widened. Only a few metres away lay the corpse of the former Saint.
She stared at it in disbelief. "...How?" She had left him dozens of flights of stairs below.
Yet there he was, exactly where she had abandoned him, his shattered remains still staining the pristine floor.
"What is this!?" Her voice echoed throughout the chamber as she spun around frantically.
Walls.
Nothing but smooth crystal walls stretched in every direction.
There were no windows.
No corridors. No staircase. No other visible exit. Only the enormous obsidian door standing silently before her.
"Do you like it?" The gentle voice whispered directly beside her ear.
Maribel flinched violently.
She immediately sprang backwards, creating distance between herself and the tall woman who had appeared without the slightest warning.
Long crimson hair cascaded over the woman's shoulders as she smiled with quiet amusement.
"Who are you?" Maribel demanded.
The red-haired woman let out a soft giggle, her laughter carrying through the silent chamber like a gentle breeze.
"I must admit," she said with a pleasant smile, "I expected you to last considerably longer."
Her crimson eyes studied Maribel with open curiosity. "After declaring that you intended to devote your entire being to the task..." She tilted her head slightly. "...it seems that was all you were worth."
Maribel's expression darkened. "I said..." Magicules erupted from her body in a violent torrent, swirling around her as [Avarice] awakened once more. "...who are you?"
"Ah." The woman laughed again. "So that's [Avarice] in action." There wasn't the slightest hint of concern in her voice. "Sally was right." She smiled warmly. "It really is quite a dangerous Skill."
Maribel's eyes widened. "...It's not working?" Disbelief quickly gave way to frustration. "What is this?" she demanded, her voice rising. "My Skill is supposed to be the strongest."
She looked at the woman as though trying to understand the impossible. "And yet... every one of you simply shrugs it off."
Her breathing grew uneven. "...Why?" Her fists trembled at her sides. "Why is this happening?"
"Oh, you who believes she can rule the world..." The red-haired woman grinned, her smile stretching far beyond what should have been possible, revealing row upon row of razor-sharp teeth.
"Shut up!" Maribel screamed.
Magicules erupted from her body as the power of [Avarice] surged to its limit. She vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing directly before the woman and driving her fist into her face with everything she had.
The red-haired woman didn't move. Not even an inch. Instead, agony exploded through Maribel's arm.
A crimson chain burst out from the centre of her clenched fist, wrapping around her wrist before violently dragging her upward.
"Wha..." Instinctively, she reached out with her free hand to grab the chain.
The instant her palm touched it, another crimson chain erupted from her hand, yanking her violently to the side.
Her body jerked through the air.
Within moments, she was left hanging helplessly between the two chains, suspended above the glossy floor with one arm pulled skyward and the other stretched sideways.
The red-haired woman let out a small sigh. "Unfortunately..." She shrugged almost apologetically. "...I'm not allowed to play with you. If I do, Maple will realise what I've been up to."
Maribel's eyes trembled. Pain coursed through every part of her body, and tears streamed down her cheeks against her will.
"W-Who's Maple?" she managed to choke out. "Who are you? Why are you doing this? What do you want from me?"
The woman smiled gently. "This humble Arch Demon was granted the name Tomokashi by my Lady Maple."
"As for why you're here..." Tomokashi glanced toward the massive obsidian door as it slowly swung open.
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the chamber. Sally walked inside, her expression as impassive as ever. "You're here..." she said calmly, "...to bargain."
Maribel's face twisted with fury. "Sally!" she screamed. "You tricked me! All this time!"
Her glare sharpened into murderous hatred. "And you..." Her voice shook. "I'll kill you. I am Maribel Rozzo! I swear I'll..."
The words never finished.
Suddenly... She was drowning. An endless ocean surrounded her. Frigid seawater flooded her mouth and nose.
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't swim.
The crushing weight of the abyss dragged her deeper and deeper, the unimaginable pressure squeezing every inch of her body until it felt as though her bones would shatter.
Even so... She couldn't tear her eyes away. Something was watching her.
Far below, an impossibly massive creature rested within the darkness. It was so enormous that it seemed larger than the ocean itself.
Its eyes slowly opened. They stared directly at her. The faint light radiating from those colossal eyes illuminated the depths beneath her.
Only then did Maribel realise, that this wasn't an ordinary abyss.
The seafloor was gone. Instead, beneath her stretched an endless graveyard.
Countless corpses drifted through the darkness, piled atop mountains of ancient bones that disappeared beyond sight, skeletal hands reaching upward as though beckoning her to join them.
The abyss was made entirely of the dead.
Maribel convulsed violently, as reality returned in an instant. She vomited onto the polished floor beneath her, her body still hanging limply from the crimson chains.
Sally watched her for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh. She stepped forward and gently lifted Maribel's chin so their eyes met.
"I know I played a part in all of this," Sally said evenly, "but for someone so weak to have the nerve to underestimate a Demon Lord..."
A faint smile appeared on her face. "...is almost laughable."
Maribel's entire body trembled uncontrollably beneath Sally's gaze.
"You can't even withstand my aura without being brought to the brink of death." Sally's crimson eyes remained completely indifferent. "Any other Demon Lord would've killed you the moment you spoke."
She released Maribel's chin and took a single step back. "But, as I said before..."
"You're here to bargain."