S-Class Dungeon’s Mistress - Chapter 168

“This…….”

“W-Why? Is he okay?”

Adelaide, who was anxiously standing next to him, asked urgently. His expression was not very good, which made her heart even more distressed. It felt like her heart was pounding in her ears.

Lisianthus quietly shook his head.

“No. He’s in terrible shape. He ignored what I said and went around the whole Demon Realm like that…… So this is what happened.”

“Lupin went all over the Demon Realm……?”

This was her first time hearing this. Why would a warrior like Lupinus wander around the Demon Realm? Adelaide was going to ask what he meant, but then stopped talking.

Because she realized it. There was only one reason for Lupinus to roam the Demon Realm. Yes, he was looking for her.

Her pink pupils trembled in shock. She clenched her fists and forced her voice out.

“He was definitely fine yesterday……!”

“In his condition right now, he couldn’t have been alright then. He must have pretended he was fine.”

“He pretended? Why in the world?”

She couldn’t understand, so Adelaide could only bat her eyelashes. If he was sick, then he should have said he was sick, why did he keep his mouth shut?

Even as a child, he never showed her he was sick, and he hasn’t ever since he came to Greenville. Although it was apparent that he was not in a good condition, he continued to be stubborn, and only listened to her after a long time of nagging him to return to Mediar.

‘Clearly, he’s still like a child who’s worried that he will be abandoned someday…….’

Her fingernails dug into her skin.

Perhaps it was not unreasonable for him to be anxious. To Lupinus, who had been constantly confessing his feelings, she had never convinced him herself. She tried to answer belatedly, but his insides had already festered.

‘Yesterday, I said something to Lupin.’

Adelaide looked at Lupinus, whose hair was changing color from moment to moment, as she recalled her words.

“Can you wait for a bit? I’ll sleep for now but I’ll talk to you after I wake up. I have something to say.”

Yes, that’s what she told him. Without even asking how he was doing, and just telling him to wait for her, just as he had always done.

And with a faint smile, Lupinus replied that he would gladly do so. He was afraid that he’d be kicked out of this place again if he was found to be in a bad condition, so he even hid his pain.

The guilt tightened in her chest. She couldn’t erase the thoughts that she was the one who drove Lupinus to this point. If she had looked at him a little more closely, she would have known he was sick. She regretted not doing so.

But now, she didn’t have time to blame herself. It was evident that Lupinus’ condition was getting worse every minute and every second that passed by.

He never said that his soul fragments were gone, so he’ll probably come back to life even if he died. But even if that were the case, she couldn’t just let him die saying that he’d live anyway. Each soul fragment was tremendously precious, and they didn’t know how many pieces Lupinus had.

“What happened?!”

At the same time, Pia rushed in looking as if she had just woken up. Raham, who followed her, quickly determined the situation.

“Oh my, Lupinus collapsed!”

“What? Then I’ll quickly heal……!”

“No.”

Lisianthus blocked Pia. Then, looking at Adelaide, he said flatly.

“There’s no point in healing him now.”

“Are you saying that Pia’s power won’t work because he’s human? I’ll take him to Mediar!”

Adelaide said and was ready to carry Lupinus right away. But his response was the same.

“No, that’s not it either.”

Lisianthus stopped her with a cold voice.

“It’s pointless.”

“Pointless……. Why?”

“As I said…… He’s in terrible condition. Because he stayed in the Demon Realm for too long with an imperfect body, the warrior and demonic energy have mixed in his body. It’s at a point where simply going to Mediar will not help him recover. It would be the same even if he went to the Human Realm.”

“Then…….”

“Not only that.”

Lisianthus paused for a moment. Somehow, his eyes looked very serious.

“At this rate, it won’t just end with the death of his body.”

Adelaide couldn’t understand what he was talking about, so he blankly said.

“If an ordinary warrior’s soul is contaminated with demonic energy, it would be enough to die and come back to life. In Lupinus’ case, the circumstances are different. His mixed-race body has absorbed too much demonic energy for a long time, causing problems with the soul itself. In other words, it means…….”

Her heart pounded faster, it was as if he was predicting the future. She was starting to hyperventilate.

“If he dies like this, he will never come back to life.”

Thud. Her heart sank down to the bottom.

It was a sudden remark. She had never even thought of a situation where Lupinus would die before her. It was so absurd that it seemed like Lisianthus was making a lame joke.

The legendary warrior, who fought against a devil and won. He was going to die just from absorbing too much demonic energy? It didn’t feel real at all.

“Then, how do I, what should I do?”

“Lisian would know.” Adelaide pressed.

“……I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of such a case, so it’s hard to answer with certainty. But finding a way that has a chance—”

Lisianthus slowly turned his head toward the door. His gaze passed Pia and Raham, who were standing with worried faces, and turned to the place where a purple light was flowing.

“It would be better to take him to Helheim.”

Adelaide asked back at the unexpected suggestion.

“To Helheim……?”

“Yes. Strictly speaking, Helheim is located closer to the Divine Realm than the Demon Realm. If we’re lucky, that power will stabilize Lupinus’ energy.”

Her pink pupils slowly filled with hope. But without hesitation, Lisianthus poured cold water on her expectations.

“But if we’re unlucky. It will be difficult for him to last long. In that case, you need to prepare your heart. Perhaps within a few days, the energy inside his body will explode and he will die.”

“If that happens, he can’t come back to life…….”

“Yes. Like I said, it’s impossible. He will perish just like that.”

Gulp. The sound of someone swallowing saliva was heard.

Adelaide didn’t respond and kept her silence. It still didn’t feel real at all. A tragedy of that kind couldn’t possibly happen so suddenly.

So instead of being startled or desperate, she calmly nodded her head.

“Let’s go.”

She gently picked up Lupin’s body. Because of their height difference, his legs were dragged.

“Will it really be fine?”

Lisianthus asked, correcting her posture to make her more comfortable.

“Yes, Lupinus is so strong…… I’m sure he’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much.”

“No. I’m asking you, Adele.”

He raised an eyebrow as if he was implying something. To him, it didn’t matter what happened to Lupinus. His concern was always solely directed at Adelaide.

“Will it really be alright for you to go back there?”

Judging from his serious question, he must have already noticed that Adelaide was extremely reluctant towards Helheim. She didn’t think she had shown anything particular, but Lisianthus was quick-witted.

“Yes, of course.”

Adelaide answered, moving towards the portal without hesitation.

It was natural. It was true that she hated going to Helheim, but she hated Lupinus getting sick many more times than that. If he could get better, she would gladly accept the pain from that time again.

“Alright. I’ll stay here to prevent any surprises. The portal is directly connected anyway, so if anything happens, please call me.”

“……Okay.”

This time her answer took a few more seconds. It was of course because she had expected that Lisianthus would follow her.

For a moment Adelaide thought about asking him to come. She felt that she’d be very anxious if he wasn’t around.

However, considering that the activation time of the portal connected to Helheim is quite long, and Lisianthus didn’t know much about Lupinus’ status, it was reasonable for Lisianthus to remain in Greenville.

“We’ll be back.”

Adelaide nodded her head to those who saw her off. She waved her hand at Pia who had a worried expression.

They will surely come back together. In very good health, at that.

She strengthened her will by tightening the hand holding Lupinus. Then she jumped into the portal at once.

Soon, a magnificent light enveloped her and Lupinus’ bodies. It was also accompanied by dizziness, as if the world was spinning. Perhaps because of Helheim’s peculiarity, the feeling was definitely different from the movement of normal portals. As expected, the startup time was much longer.

Flash!

When she opened her eyes again, she saw the space dyed in purple.

“Heuk!”

At the same moment she was startled, her body began to fall down. Lupinus, who was hanging from her back, also started to fall to the side.

“Aah!”

Adelaide hurriedly extended her hand to Lupinus. Fortunately, she managed to grab his arm by a hair’s breadth. Her heart was horrified at the thought that she almost lost him in this space.

She narrowed her eyes and looked down. The wind blew like crazy and hit her in the face. Since the light was getting closer and closer, the portal movement seemed to be ending soon.

Adelaide pulled Lupinus into her arms in preparation for the fall. She was thinking of taking out her wings if necessary.

It was then. The sight of golden eyelashes slowly fluttering like butterfly wings caught her attention. The somewhat unfamiliar blue eyes were gradually revealed. Lupinus had opened his eyes.

“Lu……!”

Adelaide tried to call his name, but she reached the end of the space at that moment. The humming sound was so loud that even shouting until her throat was hoarse wouldn’t reach him.

Soon, immense light engulfed them again. Lupin’s face was no longer visible. Adelaide relied solely on her sense of touch and hugged him tightly.

And finally the space changed.