Abel never expected to find 2 bottles of 'Power Potion' before he even met the Countess. Those things were essentially a shortcut for his summons to level up.
In order to increase the ability of those Dark Gold Boss, Hell had developed many different enchantments. Each of them focused on a particular skill, and it could even level up alongside the creature.
Now, the entrance to the fifth floor was just in front of him. Abel wasn't planning to use the 'Power Potion' yet. He had already spent so many days here, and he didn't want to wait any longer before seeing the Countess.
The weird thing was, Abel didn't see a single hell creature on the fifth floor after he entered. It seemed like an empty dungeon, but it had a thick scent of fresh blood mangled with the wave of heat in the atmosphere.
As Abel kept moving forward, he came across a big metal wok filled with red liquid. Abel gave it a little sniff, and he could tell it was fresh human blood. However, all humans had vanished in this world. Abel had never seen one ever since he arrived, so where did this blood come from?
If Abel was a Deity or an Alchemist with deep knowledge of blood, he would know all of this was actually the blood of a female virgin.
After a few turns, the last room was right in front of his eyes. Abel could sense waves of heat coming from within. Unlike other ones, this room was glowing in red flame.
Abel let his spirit guardian knight captain stand in front since it had the strongest fire defense, while the other 4 guarded by the side as he stepped in the room.
"Eh, how many years has it been since a guest has visited!" A sighing female voice emerged amongst the flame. Afterward, Abel saw a middle-aged woman wearing a luxurious noble long dress in the middle of the room with 7 female servants bowing by her side.
Abel did not expect the Countess to speak like this. He thought all hell creatures' souls and bodies were consumed by hell; how could they have any thoughts? This was too weird, but Abel just needed to confirm if she was really the Countess.
"Are you the Countess guarding this place?" Abel saw that she was wearing a long noble dress, so he bowed perfectly and knightly.
"Countess? No one has addressed me like that since I got trapped here. It had probably been millions of years. I almost forgot about this title!" The Countess mumbled to self, trying to recall the distant past.
The moment she confirmed she was the Countess, Abel had already got all his gears ready. He held the Bane Ash, a gold magic staff in his hand. It had the attribute of +50 fire resistance. It was the strongest fire resistance thing he had.
"Brave adventurer, can you listen to my story before we fight? I know this place is no longer supported by hell. Before, I could die countless times before being reborn again. Now, I can no longer do that, so please listen to my story. Even if I fall into a deep endless sleep after this, at least someone in this world will know about my past!" The Countess asked with a gentle voice. She stuck both of her empty palms to show that she had no intention to harm him.
"Speak up!" Abel didn't put away his Bane Ash. He only held down his summons to guard him by his side.
"Adventurer, I saw that you just did a knight's bow. This reminded me of my husband long ago. He was a knight as well!" A spark of joy emerged on the Countess's face. Although it only lasted for a split second, Abel could see it very clearly.
"A knight is destined to die in a battle, and he was no different. The only thing I could do was to preserve his favorite thing, my beauty! Because of this, I found countess Experts and Alchemists. At last, an Alchemist from the City Palace told me that virgin blood could help preserve my beauty forever!"
Upon hearing this, Abel automatically thought of that big wok of fresh blood in the hall near the entrance.
"Through all kinds of exchange and bribery, I accumulated a large bucket of female virgin blood and placed them into a container with a magic circle made by the Alchemist. He said it could preserve its freshness forever. However, what awaited me was not endless beauty, but a disgusting betrayal!"
The Countess grew ferocious, as though she had been destroyed. She then followed, "Many people were jealous of my wealth, so they set this trap up after my husband died!"
"Countless evil people rushed into my house and locked me up in the dungeon. They didn't find my rumored wealth, so they burned my house down. Just like that, I died in the dungeon!"
By this point, the Countess's voice became sharp, as she said in anger "Seconds before I died, I made a deal with hell. I needed revenge, and I sacrificed everything I had!"
"Just like that, I had become a member of hell. Maybe my grudge is even bigger than the contamination of hell, so I can preserve my consciousness. After many years, hell and heaven entered this world together, and everything I've ever known vanished alongside my enemies and relatives.
"I hate humans; they made me like this. But I hate hell, even more. It has locked me up half-dead for tens of thousands of years. I've driven all the hell creatures to the other floors and only left some Devilkins on the fifth floor to clean up for me. I don't want them here in my home, my only home.
"The honorable Countess, I believe everything you said, but no matter who's right or wrong, it's all in the past!"
Abel found her situation difficult. Since gathering human blood was forbidden, she would probably be round up and attack as well if she did the same thing in the Holy Continent.
"Young knight, where do you come from? Knights faded away long ago, according to my memories. Although there are still religious holy knights, you don't have a religious scent on you. You are a real knight!" It was only after the Countess said what she wanted to say, she noticed this human in front of her was different.
"Why don't you think I'm a challenger?" Abel asked.
"Simple, you don't have any scent of heaven or hell on you, so you are not one of the challengers. Also, it had been countless years since heaven or hell visited this world. Maybe a lifeless world like this is not worth the attention!" The Countess replied.
After a bit of hesitation, Abel said, "I'm an outsider!" But he was not sure if she understood what this meant.
"You come from another world?" The Countess's eyes suddenly began to sparkle.
"Yes, I come from a place without the scent of heaven nor hell!" Abel said with a nod.
"If, I said if. Is there any chance you'd want a steward, a well trained noble female steward who grasped fire elements and battle techniques?" The Countess didn't want to miss this rare opportunity, so after a bit of hesitation, she let Abel know her heart's desire.
Abel was confused; why this Countess would ask such a question. The 7 elite female servants next to her had already held up their blades and started to strike towards the Countess.
The Countess sighed coldly and quickly jumped back. In a flick of a hand, a wall of flame appeared. The elite female servants kept running, but they all started to scream of agony when they made contact with the wall of flame.
"How can you guys even have fire ability without my enchantment!" Said the Countess with a cold laugh.
It was at that exact moment, the Countess' long dress dropped, revealing a light body of armor and a long blade. In a blink of an eye, this middle-age woman had transformed into a female warrior.