Alive… alive… for now.
Aphrodite cautiously glanced around, a sense of bewilderment quickly replacing the relief of having survived the ordeal.
“So… what kind of place is this?”
As she looked around, Aphrodite noticed her vision clearing somewhat.
What had been nothing but vague blobs of color before was now revealing more concrete details, albeit still a little blurry, but much better than earlier.
Just as Aphrodite felt a flicker of gratitude for this improvement, Alice, cradled in her arms, suddenly spoke up.
“Damn that Monster, making me lose so humiliatingly! My clothes… I swear I’m going to kill it!” Although Alice was still unable to move, the anger in her voice hadn’t lessened one bit.
“Even now, you’re still fussing over that? You’re something else,” Aphrodite said with a wry smile.
“But those were brand new!”
Alice’s words dragged Aphrodite’s attention back to her.
Large swaths of fabric had been corroded away, exposing a broad patch of skin from Alice’s left shoulder to her chest, bare and vulnerable to the cold, damp air.
Under the dim light, that exposed skin appeared nearly translucent and pale, the delicate smoothness of her shoulder line extending downward, outlining the gentle, rounded curves of the young girl’s figure just beginning to take shape.
Her exquisite collarbone looked like white jade carved by an artist’s hand.
Below it, the soft undulation of her chest was barely held in place by the black form-fitting garment she wore.
That originally snug black garment now stood out all the more due to the damage it had sustained, its lace edges teasingly half-covering and half-revealing.
A few strands of wet, reddish hair clung to her smooth neck and collarbone, rising and falling softly with her shallow breaths.
If this were any ordinary man, he might have found himself unable to restrain his feelings.
Unfortunately, Aphrodite was neither an ordinary person nor a man…
Thinking that made Aphrodite feel a strange wave of sadness.
Still, letting Alice remain half-naked like this wouldn’t do.
Even though Aphrodite was no longer male, her mindset hadn’t changed.
After a brief moment’s thought, Aphrodite reached down and ripped a long strip of relatively intact fabric from the hem of her skirt with a sharp “shrrip.”
The action was rough but swift.
She hastily wrapped the torn cloth around Alice, barely covering the exposed skin, and tied it off with a crude knot over her shoulder.
Only after finishing did Aphrodite realize a sudden chill.
She had clearly ripped too much.
Her original skirt, which had reached to her knees, now had a large chunk missing from the hem, barely reaching mid-thigh.
Any sudden movement risked an embarrassing exposure.
Feeling uneasy, Aphrodite pressed her legs together and tugged down on the remaining fabric, trying to cover more.
“Ouch… it hurts…”
At that moment, Alice’s condition suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse.
The girl who had been shouting about revenge a second ago now started whimpering softly.
Seeing this, Aphrodite immediately understood it was the lingering Dark Corrosion that had invaded Alice’s body causing this.
Aphrodite didn’t know much about healing magic, but if left untreated, this kind of thing could be fatal.
Sighing, she gently placed her hand on Alice’s ice-cold forehead.
“Hold still. Don’t move.”
“I’ll try to make you feel better.”
As a former member of the Demon Clan, Aphrodite knew quite a bit about the Dark Corrosion, but this was her first time trying to heal it for someone else.
Still, since the power of the Holy Radiance could resist the Dark Corrosion, maybe channeling it into Alice would help.
With that hope, Aphrodite began her first attempt.
“Ugh…” The moment her power made contact, a chilling backlash surged through her, and Aphrodite stifled a grunt.
“Ugh… it hurts… it’s cold…” Alice’s body trembled violently, letting out a pained whimper as she instinctively tried to pull away from the discomforting touch.
“Don’t move!”
“I’m helping you! If you keep moving, I won’t care anymore!” Aphrodite “threatened” while adjusting the flow of her power, trying to make it gentler.
The healing process was rough and faltering.
Aphrodite grew increasingly exhausted.
Just as she felt she might not be able to hold on, a strange warmth quietly seeped into her channeling from nowhere.
The power was gentle and pure, instantly amplifying her faint Holy Radiance!
Though she had no idea where this power came from, Aphrodite didn’t have time to question it.
She immediately seized the chance to guide the strengthened energy.
“Mm…” Alice’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed as she let out a contented sigh.
“…Warm… warmer now…” Unconsciously, she nuzzled her cheek against Aphrodite’s palm resting on her forehead, like a kitten finally finding a source of heat, letting out a satisfied murmur.
Aphrodite was utterly drained, gasping for air, but seeing Alice’s clear improvement, she finally relaxed and even smiled with a small sense of pride, absentmindedly brushing the strands of hair on Alice’s cheek.
Looking at the girl like this, she really was quite cute.
“Feeling better? Weren’t you just angrily threatening to get revenge on that Monster?”
As the pain and cold faded, Alice’s consciousness fully returned.
She snapped her eyes open, suddenly realizing what she had just done—she had actually been rubbing her cheek against this “big liar’s” palm?!
And she had made that sound?! Looking down, she saw the tattered scrap of fabric wrapped around her—clearly part of Aphrodite’s skirt—and Aphrodite’s skirt, shockingly short and revealing pale thighs…
Instantly, a surge of indescribable shame mixed with earlier humiliation exploded like a volcano in Alice’s heart! She was Alice von Klein!
She had been utterly defeated by such a disgusting, ugly Monster! Her clothes destroyed, almost dead!
And in the end, she had to be saved by this “big liar”! Even worse, she had just… just rubbed against her hand?! Made that kind of sound?!
Too shameful.
Absolutely too shameful!
“That… that disgusting ugly beast!” Alice bolted upright like she’d been scalded, clumsily pulling the sliding cloth tighter, her cheeks blazing red.
Pointing toward the pit’s edge, she raised her voice, trying to cover up what had just happened with anger.
“How dare it… how dare it ruin my clothes! And make me look like this! I’m going to go back and turn it into mince meat!!!”
Watching Alice instantly “revived” and brimming with fighting spirit, Aphrodite was dumbfounded, silently cursing in her mind: “??? What happened to that little kitten who was purring and rubbing my hand just now?! I really shouldn’t have felt sorry for you! Retract that statement! This redhead is not cute at all!”
Aphrodite was exhausted and just wanted to get out of this hellhole as soon as possible.
She immediately doused Alice’s fury with cold water.
“Then go ahead. Don’t let me hold you back.”
With that, she turned and began feeling her way along the rock walls to find a way out.
“Hmph! Like I want you to see me off! I’ll do it myself…” Alice’s fierce words had barely left her lips—
“Roar——!!! Hissss—thud! thud!”
An even louder, closer, and more furious roar echoed from above the pit! Following that was the slick, heavy slapping sound of tentacles beating the stone walls.
Several loose rocks fell with a “crackle” and tumbled to the pit floor!
Alice froze stiff, her newly kindled “flame of revenge” instantly snuffed out without a trace.
She wanted revenge, sure, but facing that tentacle Monster alone? Just imagining it made her legs go weak!
Seeing Aphrodite really start to walk away without looking back, Alice panicked completely.
She abandoned all pride and forgot her earlier boasts.
Grabbing the already shortened hem of Aphrodite’s skirt so hard she almost tore it off.
“Hey! Where… where are you going?”
“Out of this damn place.” Aphrodite didn’t look back.
“You… you’re not going to come up with me to deal with that Monster?”
“Th-then you can’t just leave me here either!” Alice was frantic, holding on tighter.
“But you said you wanted revenge?”
“I…” Alice was at a loss for words.
Her cheeks flushed deeper, her gaze darting nervously before she stiffly insisted, “O-of course! But… but Auntie said! My task is to protect you! To get you back safely! So… we can’t be separated! Right! We can’t be separated!”
As if she’d found the perfect excuse, she nodded emphatically.
Aphrodite looked at Alice’s terrified yet stubborn expression, even invoking her aunt as a shield, and felt both irritated and amused.
“Fine, fine, we won’t be separated.” Aphrodite resignedly held out her hand.
Without hesitation, Alice grasped it tightly.