Jean withdrew with her heart racing; the arrow indicating Gabriel's position had suddenly changed. Her hatred hadn't faded, but she still didn't stand a chance against him. She had to hide in a crevice for several minutes to regain her composure.

"This is nothing! You are strong! Nothing can stop you!"

She came out of the hiding to take a look, but nothing had changed. There was nothing that posed a threat. She hadn't noticed because of how dark and wide it was, but there was no way out except for where she had entered and a fissure high above that she would have to climb to reach.

Precisely in an intermediate area above was the woman who had spoken to her. She was sitting on a ledge and struggled to keep her balance due to her serious injuries all over her body.

As soon as Jean realized that she could barely keep her head up, she rushed to her aid. Of course, while moving as silent as possible. She wasn’t sure of being out of danger.

She left the weapons leaning against the wall and approached the only way up, a narrow corner with an uneven wall but with enough boulders to climb without complications.

"Hold on! I'm almost there!,” Jean whispered.

Upon arrival, Jean laid her hands on her shoulders to prevent her from falling and to heal her. It was a slow process that demanded all her concentration. Healing others felt arduous despite her passive skill. As if despite having no ill intentions, the young woman’s body considered it an invasion.

[You have learned Ki — Level 1.

You are now able to manipulate your body's vital energy at will, allowing you to strengthen your body, increasing both your physical damage and your defense.]

Pupil of Evil didn't miss a single opportunity, but... Was she evil?

»Human Aspirant«

Level: 18

Name: Dih

Marks: [Sacrificed]

Details: You are unaware of the evil that afflicts her.

A splash in the puddles below startled her. One of the beaten undead was trying to stand up without much success. Seeing it for the first time was disconcerting; it was true that they didn't rest for long. What made them raise again? The dungeon?

Dih slowly opened her eyes. It didn't take her long to recognize Jean. She didn't make a scene, but she did have the urge to hug Jean. However, she stopped when she noticed Jean's lack of enthusiasm. She just concentrated on whispering.

"Jean! For God's sake, how did you manage to survive two days down here with all this miasma if your level is...? Holy shit! You're almost my level! How did you manage to...?"

Despite the poor visibility, Dih recognized Rikkom's leather armor immediately. She put her hand on Jean's shoulders and nodded. No more questions were needed, she understood how many hardships she had gone through.

Dih stretched her body, waved her arms, and shook out her legs to get the blood circulating. “Gosh, you're the best, redhead! I've never seen a cleric who heals wounds without leaving after-effects, and I've fought alongside many!”

It took Jean a while, but in the end she recognized her. She was one of the members of the group in her vision. The most brave and loyal. The one who never flinched in the face of combat.

Jean smiled uncomfortably. “I'm sorry to tell you this, but... I don't quite remember who you are!”

“No shit!”

Jean raised her eyebrows at the rudeness of her speech. “I mean, ... I remember my life on Earth, at least in part, but nothing of how I met you and...!”

"Relax! That doesn't matter now! Follow what's inside your heart and don't let anything disturb your kind spirit. Whether the memories come back or not, I know who you are.”

Although Dih didn't seem much older than she was, her words carried the weight of experience. Jean couldn't help but compare her to her own father's positive way of speaking. Perhaps that was why she felt she was her best friend.

On the other hand, she felt ashamed for hating Gabriel so much. Her father wouldn't agree with how she had succumbed to hate. Even knowing it was a mistake, she didn't brush that feeling away; she was incapable of it. Hatred fueled her from so deep within that it seemed to have a conscience of its own.

Dih staggered briefly. Her breathing was labored too. She presented the same symptoms that she had suffered when she had high levels of corruption, so she tried to reduce them with Evil Coexistence. Much to her surprise, nothing improved.

"You're an open book, redhead! What's wrong?"

“I-I can't lessen the corruption of your body! I thought I could extend one of my skills to you..."

Dih smiled. “Always caring for others! That's my girl! Don't worry! I have Body Purity. It had kept me alive so far, but the problem is I'm fucking thirsty.” She lifted a full waterskin whose contents gave off an unpleasant smell. “Every time I go down there to kick some asses and get some of this shitty water, I get sick as hell."

[Body Purity — Level 7. Rank 2.

Your body is capable of resisting poisons, diseases, curses and corruption. It also allows you to passively purify them.]

Jean broke into a smile. It was really a relief to know that she wouldn't lose her helplessly. But that smile didn't last long.

“How did you defeat the creature that dragged you into the depths?”

Jean didn't understand where the question came from. Something didn't quite fit, as if her version of the events were distorted.

Dih spoke with conviction. “Gabriel said a creature grabbed your leg in the middle of the celebration. By the time they realized it, it was already dragging you through a fissure.”

Jean was puzzled. An internal struggle was raging inside her. Was she lying or was her vision incorrect. She could not accuse Gabriel without proof. It was better to hear Dih's version first.

“Hey! What's wrong, redhead?”

"Where is Gabriel right now? Why are you alone and the others are undead?"

Dih gritted her teeth. "As soon as they informed us of what happened to you, Gabriel organized a rescue mission. He claimed you were alive. He claimed he could feel you and no one disputed it...”

Dih lowered her head in shame. “... Some of us didn't believe him... I'm sorry!"

Jean gently rested her hand on Dih's shoulder as she proceeded with the explanation. “Understand me! This dungeon was impossible for our group, how could you survive on your own? ... But since most of the expedition joined right away, I decided to help too.”

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Dih finally looked Jean in the face, but to her surprise, her eyes didn’t reproach her for not wanting to descend. Her mind had no time for that. There was no trace of a lie in Dih's expression, fueling the doubts within her.

“Before descending, Annie formed two more groups to cover more ground. “Tomm, Ariana, Amog and Erihs went with them. The rest of us went down with Gabriel as leader. Very powerful adventurers accompanied us, but... after 3 hours of advancing through this hell, we realized that people were disappearing. We didn't understand how it was happening. There were no screams or signs of a fight."

Jean's face was pure disbelief and indignation. "Why didn't you return then? Did you all intend to die because of me?"

Dih ducked her head in embarrassment, but somewhat relieved that Jean understood her predicament. "At first we thought about it, but after a certain point no one seemed to care about the disappearances. Our minds seemed numb. I thought it was because of the miasma. Besides, no one stopped because Gabriel never did. His tenacity fighting the impossible was our encouragement. We watched him go up 2 levels in a few hours. It was mind-blowing."

Jean wasn't too amazed until she remembered that going up two levels in such a short time was nearly impossible for someone of his level. Perhaps her unusual experience bonuses were not unique. “And where is everyone now?”

Dih shook her head. “I've been thinking a lot in the many hours I've been here alone. I believe that there are one or more illusionists playing with us! I believe that they provoke visions and separate us without us realizing it. They have even managed to make us fight among ourselves. And the worst thing is that they are so powerful that even Gabriel got confused!"

Jean was aghast. “W-what?! How?!”

"The massacre began with a derisive laughter. None of the remaining adventurers could stand up against him. I only received a glancing blow and it felt like the onslaught of a train. I still don't understand how I managed to run away from him."

Jean put aside her horrible vision of Gabriel throwing her into the abyss and remembered her kindness during the vision with Ned. The illusionists were playing with them and killing them for fun? It made perfect sense to think that the vision in which he threw her could be a lie to make her hate Gabriel.

Dih began to descend without warning towards the undead below who was trying to climb. She kicked him in the face before landing in an area away from the puddles. There, Dih found Ned's spear leaning against the wall. She recognized it at once. She didn't hesitate to pick it up as she grasped how it had gotten there. "Poor idiot...! He never told you how much he liked you! I know it's not a good time, but he would have liked to tell you."

Dih's statement worsened Jean's guilt, and awakened the apparently weak and terribly beaten undead.

After a macabre convulsion, he lunged straight for Dih, leaving all traces of weakness behind. If the spear hadn't stopped his advance, he would now be digging his scaly, infected fingernails into Dih’s arms.

Even though the spear was stuck in his chest, the undead didn’t hesitate. He advanced forward while the spear began to emerge from his back, managing to slightly reach her hand with his nails. Surprisingly, he barely managed to inflict some minor scratches. Dih's skin was very tough. “Damn motherfucker!”

Dih gripped the spear tightly and lifted it along with the undead. She then swung it to the right, causing him to impact against the wall. However, not everything happened as she expected. He fell at her feet and kept moving frantically until he grabbed her left boot.

Dih kicked him in the head and distanced herself momentarily to gather momentum. This time she aimed for his arms. After a powerful stomp, the undead’s arms snapped like twigs. However, the creature didn’t give up. He propelled himself with his legs in an attempt to bite her again.

Dih aimed at his head again. “Die, dammit!”

The impact crushed his head, and his brains ended up all over the floor, staining it with a disgusting black liquid.

Eight undead more appeared from the bottom of the cavern, so Jean started to climb down in order to assist her. However, Dih raised her hand to indicate that she didn't need to. After all, none of the undead were above level 15.

“You had previously fucked me up, motherfuckers! But this time it will be different!”

The most impatient one was the first to die. He didn’t even evade despite the spear going straight for his head.

She performed a kick to prevent the second undead from reaching her, and pulled hard on the spear, which was still stuck on the first. She prevented him from getting up by stomping on his chest, and finished him off with the spear.

She followed up with a mid-height sweep attack. The impact shattered the rib cages of two very close undead, breaking spine and organs in its path.

The next five received more of the same, but the spear didn’t seem designed for such fighting style.

Dih placed the spear leaning against the wall again. "Okay, Ned! From wherever you're watching us, I hope that made you feel better! It's up to us from now on. Rest in peace, buddy!"

“Don't you think you should...” commented Jean, who had climbed down despite Dih’s negative.

“Easy, redhead! With you around to heal me, I'm unstoppable!

She clenched her fists and charged forward again, full of confidence against a new wave. She punched everyone within reach as black blood splashed everywhere. Whether it was bursting his head like a pinata or turning his chest into a bagel, Dih didn't stop delivering blows for a moment.

Engulfed in a frenzy of violence, she barely noticed the number of smashed undead around her. The continuous combat and her reckless way of fighting kept attracting more and more creatures.

Some of the undead tried to get up with serious difficulty, but it didn't take long for them to carpet the floor again.

Dih turned around while stomping a head. “No matter how much I beat them, I don't gain any experience! Before you showed up I gained a little, but it hasn't happened again. These bastards kept raising even though I beat them over and over again. How did you manage to finish them off?"

Jean was dumbfounded; she had underestimated how powerful ki was. “Could you teach me to fight like...?”

Dih spun abruptly and adopted a combat stance once more. She stared for several seconds into the darkness of the winding entrance until a purple flash momentarily blinded them both. Her body plummeted to the ground like a chopped tree while her head remained momentarily suspended in the air.

Jean held back her scream, covering her mouth. Her hair stood on end when she saw the young woman's head rolling on the floor. The sight was so harrowing that she could barely contain her nausea.

Jean ran at full speed to her aid, trying to attach her head to her neck. Maybe she still had time to save her even if it meant spending all her mana. However, halfway through, she froze. Dih's decapitated head rose into the air, dragged by her hair. She was not alone; his derisive laughter betrayed him. A man's voice she knew very well now; it had appeared in two of her visions.

“Gotcha, Dih! ... I don't need you anymore!”

It was unmistakably Gabriel's voice.