"Look." Hel shifted his head toward the door and gazed at his clasped hand.
"The rush in your body as you inject the lifestone is life force. The body then absorbs life force and transforms it into pure spiritual energy.""I don't get it," Monika blinked and shook her head as profusely."Try putting your hand on top of mine."Monika followed his words as she overlaid Hel's hands with her blood-drenched palm."You feel it, don't you? It's warmth, a familiar surge you've experienced while activating cards, using a skill, or summoning me," Hel noted and glanced sideways at Monika's lightening expression. "We use this spiritual energy to control life itself.""Control life?" Her brows furrowed."You've asked me how a stone can live? It's simple. Whether stone, mud, or a speck of dust, they all have life." Hel saw the confusion on her face deepen. "Let me ask you this—what is water made of?""Hmm? A water molecule is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Why?" she asked."Well, it's not. Your science is inapplicable to this world. We don't even use the word 'science' since it's a mere fantasy here. The closest thing is alchemy," Hel responded.The door shook."Eh!? What do you mean? So what's water made of exactly?" Monika gasped at his strange remark."From a scientific perspective, the laws of physics and the fundamental principles governing the cosmos would persist regardless of whether life emerged," Hel said with his eyes glistening under his glasses. "Accordingly, life would be a byproduct of the universe rather than a prerequisite for its existence.""So, does life precede the universe? Or does the universe precede life? You earthlings mostly believed in the latter. However, in reality, the former is the truth of our world," Hel remarked while adjusting his glasses. "Everything is derived from life force as life is the underlying force that shapes and gives meaning to existence. Thus, the sole rank 0 element and a rank 0 rune that is composed of the said element is the Rune of Life—a lifestone. It is a starting point.""Water is made out of the element of water. The element of water itself is made of the element of life. If I had to give an analogy, imagine an element of life to be an atom from which all the other molecules are made," Hel said calmly. "There is an element of war, an element of sorrow, an element of past—but in the end, it all boils down to the element of life. Life is the progenitor of all things.""And the spiritual energy is the power generated from our consciousness to control these elements," Hel followed. "What transforms life force into spiritual energy is our consciousness—our mind. Hmm, think of magic. Theoretically, with the complete mastery of spiritual energy, one would become an omnipotent and omniscient being, a God."The gate shook more violently. The red light from the other side washed over their faces. Hel watched Monika stare blankly at his face."What?" Hel asked."Don't mind me," Monika said as she ran a hand through her messy hair. "It's just that you didn't strike me as… ugh. A smart type?""Well, this is the knowledge that even a child would know here." He removed his hand from the gaping door. "But why would you even think that I'm stupid?""I didn't say you're stupid," she said."No, you did. Saying I'm not smart implies I'm dumb," Hel exclaimed."Don't twist my words," she said. "You know what? You've changed my mind—you're indeed a dumbass." Monika reflected on her views.Hel gasped at her words. "What do you—""Yahahahah!" Monika laughed excessively as she patted his shoulder. "I was joking. Joking! We are now partners, right? Why are you so tight, Hel?""Ahaha! Well, indeed." Hel pretended to laugh. "That was a nice one, you whiny bitch."Monika's smile froze. "You're bad at both taking and making jokes," she said."Is that so?" Hel pondered. "Well, maybe that's because I didn't try to joke."This guy… He's just a spiteful kid, isn't he?"Oh, while my injuries have healed, I still feel drained from summoning you." Monika tried to switch the topic."Well, I wonder." Hel glanced over the top of his glasses with a small smile playing on his lips.Too spiteful! Calm down, Monika. Later…She sighed heavily. "Me too. It probably has something to do with Affinity. Perhaps the speed at which my body restores its spiritual energy reserves depends on it."Hel's brows twitched. "How do you know?"Monika smirked as arrogantly as she could while pointing at herself and locking her eyes with Hel's. "I'm a smart whiny bitch, that's how."She stepped toward the light. "But from now on, I'm also a magical bitch~"Speechless, Hel followed her. He wanted to laugh at her funny accent but barely refrained from doing so. His lips twitched.The ceiling was embedded with multifaceted clusters of blood-red crystals that cast a soul-stirring crimson hue and refracted the light into sharp beams while creating a hypnotic effect that supplemented the greenish glow of the moss-covered crevices with dew-like droplets spread across the rough stone.Their eyes adjusted. A peculiar sight unfolded before them."Hel, care to explain whatever the fuck this is?"The ground was strewed with the gigantic corpses of bloodied butterflies. Their wings were tattered and lifeless, discarded scatter-like like iridescent rags.Writhing masses of giant worms feasted on the decaying remains. They glistened with an appalling sheen as they burrowed and twisted through the soft flesh.Monica's eyes widened as her hand gripped Hel's arm. Hel stood stoically beside her. His expression was hidden behind the mask of the dark glasses.The nauseating and wet squelch of the worms' feeding was hand in hand with the occasional desperate twitching flutter of still-moving wings."Well, the adventurers whose corpses we've seen in the minotaur's chamber probably killed those vampiric butterflies on their way there." Hel pointed at the pile of corpses. "You've snatched the dungeon's core, so the dungeon is no longer under protection. The worms came from the outside."Monika watched as his face darkened."I have bad news." He adjusted his glasses. "We're not in a solitary dungeon but inside a labyrinth…""What's the difference?" Monika asked."Well, the labyrinth is a set of dungeons. In the best-case scenario, we're in the upper layer near the surface. But I doubt it. Those worms are not the type of keepers who'd live close to the surface," he informed her."So?" She prompted him to continue."Either we find a map outside or roam randomly with no hope of ever reaching any populated area." Hel took a step toward the swarm of voracious worms. "Those adventurers definitely had a camping area nearby. We need to hurry before it's demolished."Monika nodded her head."You're an archdemon, so you can look at their statuses. Which one is the leader among those?" Hel turned his head back to look at Monika walking closely behind him."There are too many." Monika strained her eyes. "Gimme some time.""Hurry up," Hel prompted. "Once they're finished with the butterflies, we're next on the menu."Monika scanned the surroundings.—Gloth |F|—Race: MaggothSpirit |F-|Strength |F-|Stamina |F+|Agility |F|Affinity |F-|Monika continued to survey.—Gloth |F|—…—Gloth |F-|—…—Gloth |F-|—…Finally, she detected an unassuming-looking worm after feeling her eyes burn with the strain.—Degloth |E+|—Race: MaggothPathway: SinSpirit |E|Strength |E|Stamina |D|Agility |E+|Affinity |E|Active: |Inflame |E+||"Pfft." Monika couldn't resist the laugh. "Degloth? Yahahah!""Where is it?" Hel shook her arm."No, like, can you seriously believe it? Hi—his name is De—gloth. PFtttahahah!"Hel didn't understand what was so funny about the name. "Quickly point it to me!"His grip tightened."Alright, alright," Monika whispered with a bare hold of her laughter. Her insides were churning. "There, you see de gloth on top of the mound of worms? The one with the blood smeared across its anus." She pointed."Yeah…""So you're not even gonna ask me how I know it's his anus and not mouth?" Monika inquired."Well, no need," he sighed. He raised his hand and pushed his glasses up onto his forehead. His piercing almond eyes pooled blood-red. "Let me show you what the real magic is," he said. A smirk formed on his lips. He focused on a worm that was a tiny bit larger than the others."Remember, magical girl, those who solely focus on skills are prone to failure. Skills have no versatility and are too limiting," Hel said with pride. He raised his hands and extended his fingers as faint, faded strings began to form at their tips.He began weaving the individual strings together to intertwine the threads into a single strand as they merged and their energies combined to form a powerful combined string.Hel shot it out from his fingertip at bullet speed. The string struck the worm's heart and pierced its hardened exterior. Degloth convulsed as its body jerked.Monika clapped her hands. "So cool!"This shithead is not as useless as he seems—Hel slid his glasses down. His grin twitched. "Well, it could've been—""GHAAAA!" Degloth screeched, angry, apparently. The worms stopped their feast. Their heads shifted to the magical pair."—an easy matter, but I've fucked up."—You useless fuck.