Chapter 340: Private Life (2)

Chapter 340: Private Life (2)

....

Silence.

Silence hung in the bathroom for what seemed like an eternity.

Dolores stared down at Choco, or rather, Vikir, with a blank expression.

"...Choco, did you just say that?"

She tugged at Vikir's body.

seueug-

Vikir closed his mouth and avoided eye contact, but it was already too late.

"Choco? Are you Choco? Yes, you are, with the mole on the bottom of your foot and the scar on the bridge of your nose... Has the demon transformed? but I can't feel any magic at all... No, but I thought you just said it clearly."

Dolores began to examine every inch of Vikir's body.

From his lips to his gums to his eyelids to his eyeballs.

Vikir's mind was barely able to comprehend after the battle with the Ryumajin.

He had no choice but to speak, if only to avoid suspicion.

"...meong."

But the crisp, careful pronunciation, which made the line feel all the more awkward and unnatural, only served to heighten Dolores's alarm.

"You, who are you, who are you?"

Dolores was now more than a little frightened.

If he left it at this, things could get out of hand, so Vikir simply told her the truth.

"Calm down." Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

The moment Vikir spoke, the warm bath water seemed to freeze.

Dolores stiffened as if she were an ice sculpture.

"...."

"...."

There was another infinite silence.

"Hmm. I think there's a misunderstanding...."

"Kkyaaaaah!"

Unable to bear the weight of the silence, Vikir opened his mouth once more, only to be met with Dolores' screams.

There was nothing he could do about it now.

Vikir put on his mask and transformed into Night Hound.

A human body with a face covered by a mask would somehow explain it.

It would be much faster and more intuitive than trying to communicate with words.

...Pop!

The effect of the picaresque mask reveals Vikir's human body.

Splash! -Slosh!

The water ripples as Vikir's body drapes over Dolores' half-laying body in the bathtub.

A look of horror on her face, clearly visible even through the steam.

Facing Dolores like that, Vikir twisted his voice as low as he could.

"It is me. Night Hound. Van...."

However.

"Split in half!"

It was Dolores' fist that returned.

... Pow!

Dolores was so embarrassed that she performed the miracle of splitting the bath water in half.

She lashed out with a fist strengthened by divine power and defeated the pervert in front of her.

Jukbang.

The fist shot out with a tremendous aura, reminiscent of Dolores in her prime, when she was known as the Saint of Steel.

And the moment that fist met Vikir's chin.

...Tug!

Of course, Vikir's thinly held consciousness was cut off.

* * *

Vikir slept soundly for the first time in a while. It was a good night's sleep without a single nightmare.

"...!"

Vikir jerked out of bed.

His wounds were almost healed.

'....'

'You don't give me choco? It's a pity.'

'....'

'Are you sure you're not a dog? This is suspicious.'

Vikir's tongue licked Dolores's cheek.

And Dolores kissed Vikir's mouth, nose, and the rest of his face.

Dolores clamping her mouth shut and swallowing the screams that came out.

Trying to lighten the mood, Vikir cracks a joke of his own.

" ...I'm lucky I didn't get neutered."

"Kkyaaaaaah!"

Of course, that only irritated Dolores even more.

* * *

Two more days passed.

Dolores was able to wipe the slate clean of all of her previous thoughts.

"The more painful the reality, the more deeply you should think about the meaning of life and religion. Only then will it lead you to a better realm of greater goodness... So you meant that there is meaning in the process itself, not in the outcome of your agonizing and torturing. Thank you, Vikir."

Her expression was more determined than ever, as if she had realized something.

Vikir nodded, not knowing much about theology.

'Before the regression, this was the floor where Dolores spent most of her time, but this time is different.'

In the past, Dolores had wasted months on this floor.

She'd spent months on this floor, until a desperate Tudor convinced her that she needed to find Bianca, and she'd finally left.

This time, however, Dolores shook herself out of her thoughts very quickly.

Whether it was because of the realization, or the traumatic event in the bathroom, or both, he wasn't sure.

" ...If we go out of this gate, will we be separated again?"

"I suppose."

At Dolores' question, tinged with regret, Vikir nodded nonchalantly.

But even if we are separated now, we will meet again someday. That's what towers are for.

If only Dolores had come to her senses a little sooner, a lot of lives could have been saved.

Step-

Vikir took a step forward.

Dolores hesitated behind him, gripping the cuffs of Vikir's robe for a moment.

Then released.

Step-

She, too, took a large step forward to stand beside Vikir.

<※A small perk for all the trouble you took to get here, send a message to the figure outside the tower who will be anxiously awaiting my arrival!>

"I'm not fooled by your fake answers."

<※ The 'Letter Item', originally worth one golden candy, will be given away for free once a month to residents of this floor only!>

"We don't have time to wait a month, because there are probably tons of people suffering on other floors right now."

<※ Your chances of being in this room are less than 0.0001%, you're the lucky one who's been chosen!">

"I decide whether what is in front of me is luck or not."

<※ From the very next floor onwards, the difficulty will increase by at least ten times compared to the floors you've been through so far!">

"It doesn't matter what penance awaits me, I'm not afraid."

<※ Please rest here to rejuvenate your body and mind so that you can challenge the tower again!>.

"... Are you ready?"

"Of course."

Vikir and Dolores stood side by side at the starting line.

"It's going to be a tough road from here on out."

"With you, I can handle anything."

"Are you sure you want to abandon this place of comfort?"

"My heart will never change, no matter what."

At Dolores' confident answer, Vikir nodded.

And with that, they began to walk away, looking in the same direction, heading in the same direction, with the same stride.

Companions.

Their gazes were unwavering, shining straight ahead.

As if they were not afraid of the 11th floor of the Abyss, the core of darkness they were about to encounter.