Chapter 9 : Elucia's Secret
After the black-haired girl left, the earthquake-like trembling weakened considerably.
Had Elucia led the monster away?
Although there was no evidence to support this guess, Lonis felt that this seemed to be the case... and after crawling for a while, Lonis also understood why Elucia had told her to crawl up the stairs.
Because when crawling, she used her thighs and arms for strength, and the muscles around her ankle didn't need to exert force at all, so that painful feeling was much weaker.
And if she didn't use her injured ankle, then her recovery ability came in handy... In less than an hour, the sprain at her ankle had already healed.
For a normal person, such an injury would take at least a week to heal!
Such a terrifying recovery speed was already hundreds of times faster than normal... Lonis felt both happy and worried as she gradually climbed upward.
Gradually, the surrounding passages seemed to become even more dilapidated. Originally it was just rusty floors and cracked ceilings, but now there weren't even a few intact floor tiles left.
The stairs were severely damaged, and some places had even been washed into slopes by water flow... After advancing for who knows how long, the exhausted Lonis finally reached what appeared to be a spacious area.
This place looked like the upper hall that Elucia had mentioned, right?
The air was filled with misty and cold moisture. There were no emergency lights, but there were many crystal fragment-like things inserted in various corners of the hall.
In the center of the hall, there should have originally been a huge glass column.
But whether due to the erosion of time or the ravages of war, the entire glass column had been shattered, with broken fragments scattered everywhere.
......
"I'll wait here for Elucia."
Although no one was commanding her, for Lonis, now was a good opportunity to escape.
But ever since being captured by the abyssal tentacle monster, she had become somewhat "well-behaved"—it wouldn't be too late to honestly learn the common sense of this world first, then look for a chance to escape.
Although the learning process might involve some humiliation, a real man could bend and stretch, and Elucia was much better than those tentacle monsters.
So she found a rock and sat down with her knees together.
But Lonis didn't expect that even after waiting until she was thirsty and her head was getting drowsy... Elucia's figure still hadn't appeared.
Had she taken the wrong path?
However, there was only one path leading up, and this place was indeed a hall.
Then, could it be that...
Lonis's heart skipped a beat.
She didn't want to imagine the worst possibility... that Elucia hadn't led the monster away, but had instead been entangled by it.
This possibility was quite high. Although Elucia seemed very capable, no matter how capable, she was still human, right? Facing terrifying monsters, she would surely be powerless too.
If she was being suppressed by the Tail Hammer Beast...
"Then shouldn't I be rescuing her right now!"
Thinking of this, Lonis instinctively stood up.
However, even if she wanted to help, she didn't know where to go looking... This underground world was vast like a maze and really too complex.
Moreover, in her confusion, Lonis thought of another possibility.
Although Elucia called her a slave, she had rescued her from the tentacle monster's grasp.
The torture of being bound to a chair seemed terrifying, but after a bout of vibrations, Lonis felt that the torn pain throughout her body had completely disappeared, and she had also physically realized that she was a girl.
The same was true for the lounge and storage room—although she seemed to be tormenting her with words, hadn't that depressed feeling from the illusion also disappeared without a trace because of Elucia's companionship?
(Could it be that... Elucia is actually caring for me, helping me?)
When she thought of this, Lonis became completely confused.
She was somewhat afraid of meeting Elucia, but even more afraid of never seeing Elucia's figure again.
......
With such complex feelings, Lonis waited another hour.
And the spacious hall still had no sound whatsoever.
......
This time, Lonis couldn't sit still at all.
She stood up—even if she might encounter danger, even if she got lost, she had to go investigate.
Because Elucia might be in urgent need of help, just like she herself had been.
But at this moment
Tap, tap, tap!
Footsteps came from the other side of the hall.
Lonis had just excitedly raised her head, but when she listened carefully to the footsteps, she froze.
Because these footsteps weren't Elucia's.
Elucia wore high heels, and those footsteps were very powerful and penetrating, but these footsteps were very weak and had a fast frequency, clearly belonging to another person.
This person's body should be very light, and not very tall either...
Of course, it might not be a person at all, but some kind of monster.
Thinking of this, Lonis quietly clenched her fists. She hid her body behind the rock, ready to fight desperately at the first sign of trouble.
But Lonis never expected...
The source of the sound was actually a gothic loli!
She wore high platform Lolita black shoes, and her pitch-black skirt swayed as she advanced, looking extremely gorgeous.
This gothic loli dress was overall in a dark style, and the little loli also had black hair with a black headband, looking gloomy and very dejected.
But perhaps because the little loli was exceptionally cute?
Not only did Lonis not feel fear, she even felt a bit of affection and cuteness. It made her unconsciously want to hug this little loli tight and then kiss her.
......
"!"
Lonis was watching the little loli, and the little loli, who was observing her surroundings, naturally also noticed the silver-haired girl hiding behind the rock.
However, the little loli's expression wasn't as "kind" as Lonis's. She frowned and then shouted loudly...
"Masochist Lonis, hurry up and come over here! Do you want to make your master come find you?"
"Huh?"
"I'm Elucia! Quickly come to me... wait, what's with that surprised expression? Looking for a beating?!"
......
......
Seeing the black-haired little loli claim to be Elucia, Lonis was completely stunned.
It wasn't until the other party ran up to her and jumped up to punch her chest hard... that Lonis felt reality!
Only Elucia would have such a nasty personality!
Only Elucia would bully her as soon as they met!
"Is it... really Elucia?"
"Mm, do you want me to turn on the little toy switches to let you confirm?"
"Ah, no no no!"
Hearing about turning on the switches, Lonis frantically shook her head... Although she really wanted to ask Elucia why she had become like this, she was afraid of being punished, so she didn't dare to speak up.
And the gothic little loli? She stretched leisurely on her own and said lazily:
"Hah, I didn't expect that it wasn't an ordinary Tail Hammer Beast, but a Class 6 elite Tail Hammer Beast. I was careless and almost got caught."
"Huh?"
"My magic power wasn't full to begin with, and now it's completely used up. Mm... my body is so tired. Lonis, what are you standing there for?"
"Wh-what do you want me to do?"
Because the other party had once again saved her, Lonis's tone unconsciously became respectful.
"Lap pillow, lap pillow! The rocks are so hard, how could I possibly lie on rocks to rest? You sit here and let me use your lap as a pillow."
The little loli pointed at Lonis's white stocking-wrapped thighs and said very dissatisfiedly.