Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

To counter the frontal assault, she used a kick to deflect it. Aljana defused the attack, then swung her hands like scythes, unleashing a series of strikes from both sides.

Algana's fingernails were as sharp as a monster's. Aside from her clenched iron fists, all her attacks were truly sharp snake fangs. Tione ducked to avoid them, engaging in close-quarters melee combat.

"Hahahaha! Well done, Tione, just like before!"

"Shut up, you're so noisy!"

Facing Algana, who has slain countless warriors, a defensive strategy is the worst possible course of action. No one can withstand the fiery onslaught of this embodiment of warlike lust. Only by taking the initiative can they have a chance of survival.

The frenzied, brutal punches rained down on Tione and Argana, leaving neither of them unscathed. Each blow was met with a two-for-one retaliation, resembling a chaotic bullfight. The life-or-death training they had repeatedly endured in the past was revived into an even more brutal struggle.

'Ooo ...

The sharp "skills" and breathtaking "tactics" intertwined, resembling a scene of primal struggle, causing the Amazonians standing around the deck to roar incessantly. The rising roars transformed into waves of power, scaring away any monsters that tried to approach the ship.

The magic stone lamp mounted on the ship casts an unsettling light.

“Ouch!”

Argana's fingernails grazed Tione's cheek, and blood splattered.

Argana, sprayed with blood, used her long tongue to lick away the blood from Tione's face.

"!...You snake woman!?"

Childhood memories filled with anger and pain immediately resurfaced, and Tiony was furious.

Even though the Berserk skill has been continuously adding "power" to her, Tione still uses her childhood humiliation to deliver blows with her fists.

"Your blood is indeed delicious, Tione?"

"You...!"

"I have always wanted to drink every last drop of your blood."

As she dodged the attacks, Algana's eyes began to gleam with the passion of a woman in love.

Just as Tione's disgust reached its peak from the snake-like eyes reminiscent of reptiles, the enemy's fingernails tore through her upper arm again, and Algana's bright red tongue drank the blood.

"——!"

At this moment, Tiony felt a sense of unease.

What seemed like a minor, insignificant change gradually worsened Tione's wound, causing it to bleed and pleasing the snake's tongue. As they brushed past each other, Argana licked the wound on her cheek, and Tione angrily lashed out with an elbow strike, but her enemy's body was already gone.

Attacks often miss.

--Wait a moment.

Just as the [Berserk Move (Skill)] enhanced Tione's "Power," so too did her opponent's skill level—

"How can you be so slow, Tione?"

"————"

The thrusting fist was deflected, and Aljana's figure disappeared from sight.

With limbs that moved like snakes, Algana slid toward Tione's outstretched arms and body, like a snake coiling around its prey, taking up a position behind the girl.

With a whisper in her ear, the woman's canine teeth bit through Tione's neck.

"—Gaa ...

A sharp pain shot through my skin, as if my flesh had been pierced, and just as my opponent had predicted, my blood was being sucked away.

The sensation of being ravaged by a tongue inside her body gave her the illusion of being parasitized by a centipede, and a strong feeling of disgust sent shivers down her spine. Without a second thought, Tione threw Algana and herself out of the room.

In contrast to Tione, who was rolling around on the deck, Algana quickly regained her composure and stood up.

"You damn thing...!"

Pressing her bleeding neck, Thione staggered to her feet.

With blood smeared on her lips, Algana squinted her eyes and, once again with relish, licked the blood away with her tongue.

I've seen this scene countless times in the Kingdom of Dou (Tir Sculla).

A female warrior, deviating from the norm, drinks blood while ignoring her opponent's screams.

Anger and pain made Tione tremble, and she spoke with certainty:

"You became stronger by drinking blood, right...!?"

She grinned when Tiony criticized her like that.

Algana smiled maliciously.

"You found out."

"Like Bajie, is it 'magic'...?"

"Mine is a 'curse'."

Alganna reached out and touched her exposed skin, saying this.

"The name of the 'curse' is [Black Witch]. You're right, the more blood I drink from those who receive my 'blessings,' the more my [ability stats] will increase."

"...!?"

"According to Kali, this seems to be called 'blood drain.' Only the main god (Kali) and her sister (Baje) know about this... I stopped it when I was training you, so it's understandable that you didn't notice."

【Black Witch】, "Curse", "Blood Absorption".

Upon hearing the name spoken by Algana herself, all the fragments of Tione's memory came together.

She had initially thought Argana's blood-drinking behavior was a scare tactic to intimidate her opponents, or a form of self-suggestion. However, she was wrong; everything had meaning. Including her abominable cursed name transforming into a terrifying nickname, everything did.

Overwhelmed by the shock and lost in ecstasy, Tiony spoke with disdain in his naturally rude tone:

"Drinking blood makes you infinitely stronger...? That's fucking unfair!"

"Not entirely. Once the 'curse' is lifted, the ability parameters will return to their original values, and drinking a little blood won't grant much power. Unless you drink a large amount of fresh blood directly, like just now."

"...What is the price of this 'curse'!"

"Among the ability parameters, only 'Durability' will decrease significantly."

"Stop babbling on and on!" Tiony cursed inwardly, but also felt a chill run down her spine.

This is a secret technique that allows one to gain unlimited boosts to other stats, even if they severely lose their "Durability" ability, provided the conditions are met.

"Curses" are already rarer than "magic" users, and hers is undoubtedly a "rare curse".

Gaining power through blood sacrifices, possessing both strength and repulsiveness, is a unique ability of Algana.

"Tione, didn't you ask me before? Didn't you feel any remorse for killing my own people?"

Facing the erratic-breathing Tione, Argana recounted past events.

"I grow stronger by consuming the flesh and blood of the defeated. They will not disappear, death will not make them disappear! All of them become nourishment for my power within me, and one day, they will become the 'strongest warrior' alongside me!"

Like offering thanks and prayers for the flesh and blood of their compatriots whom they have devoured to this day, the monsters spawned by the Kingdom of Fighting (Tir Sculla) shout out their inner joy.

"I'm not lonely at all! Our blood will mix, and we'll be together forever!"

The snake was laughing. As happy as a child.

The ruthless warrior believed that only by drinking the blood of the defeated and trembling with their own emotions could salvation be found; her eyes shone brightly.

"The goddess (Kali) is also eagerly anticipating our arrival. She hopes we will become the 'strongest warriors.' Therefore, Tione... I will devour your flesh and blood."

"Go to hell, you bastard...!"

Even the Amazons around him gasped, while Tione gritted his teeth.

"When I saw your face on the lake... I believed in fate."

A fierce battle is taking place in the sea cave.

Under the watchful eyes of the goddess (Kali) and the Amazons, Tiona and Bazé engage in hand-to-hand combat on the Black Rock Battlefield (arena). Like Tione and Argana, it is a bare-knuckle brawl.

Baje launched her attack using the [Valgoth], a weapon that Tiona did not possess. The blackish-purple membrane covering her right hand was a crystallization of "poison," and the ground beneath her fist sizzled and smoked, turning the same color.

Faced with Baje's "magic" that she couldn't defend against, Tiona could only frantically dodge left and right.

"I once cursed the god (Kali) who let you go. I had originally decided... to kill you with my own hands."

"...!"

"The same goes for Algana."

Contrary to her expressionless and emotionless words, Baje's attacks were harsh and fierce. She skillfully used the agile martial arts that Tiona had desperately tried to learn, attempting to deliver a deadly move called Poison Fist (Valges) into her opponent's body.

"To kill each other like this... is our destiny."

"Bajie! I didn't know you were so talkative!"

"Yes. I tend to become quite talkative when I get excited."

Seeing Baje's unchanging reply, Tiona thought to herself: Thank goodness Lefia isn't here.

If Bajie's Amazonian language were to be transmitted between herself and the common language right now, her own stupid brain would surely explode. And she would already be defeated. That's how fierce the opponent's attack was.

(Thanks to having sparred with Tione, I can move around much more freely... but Baje's "magic" is just too difficult to deal with!)

That move wouldn't allow Diona to crawl into her enemy's arms. Diona had seen it before: Baje's opponents would fall to the ground writhing in pain after being merely grazed by a poisoned fist (Valges). The way Baje coldly and directly finished off her opponents was a significant psychological trauma for young Diona.

(Ah! I can't think about all that! Only someone like Tione and the others would do that!)

As an adventurer, one should always be thinking about ways to break through difficulties in a labyrinth. While having thoughts that adventurers shouldn't have, Tiona decided to stop overthinking and take a step forward.

"Me? Bajie used to read to me, and sometimes she would even help me bathe, which made me very happy!"

"...That was just a spur-of-the-moment thing for me."

Even under the threat of poisonous punches, Tiona continued her offensive. Baje's astonishing "skills" were so refined that it was impossible to dodge all of her attacks at close range; her "magic" constantly grazed Tiona's body.

My skin started to hurt instantly, and it emitted a foul odor and white smoke.

In contrast, Bajie's defensive maneuvers also increased.

"!"

"~~~~~~~~!?"

Baje's sharp gaze struck Tiona squarely in her vitals.

Although Diona raised her arm, preventing the attack from hitting her directly, her left arm, which blocked the poisonous punch, emitted a horrifying scream. Consumed by the pain of her burned skin, Diona realized that a prolonged battle would indeed be disadvantageous, and she quickened her pace.

Seeing Tiona bravely attacking despite taking the poisonous punches, Kali watched with great interest and gave her a slight smile.

"Oh, 'Abnormal Resistance'. Looks like you learned it in the labyrinth city (Orario). But how long will it last? Baje's fangs are different from the monster toxins that are everywhere."

During her training, no matter how much Baje beat Tiona, she never used "magic" on her.

This is, of course, not because she is soft-hearted. Baje only uses "magic" when she is certain that she has killed her opponent—her prey. In addition to preventing the enemy from developing countermeasures, she also never gives Tiona the opportunity to discover "abnormal resistance".

This move is therefore inherently poisonous and deadly.

—Really, it might be even more toxic than the poison of the poison vermis!

The poison, more potent than the monsters lurking in the dungeon, sent chills down her spine.

On the other hand, Tiona also felt heat emanating from her body.

She possesses the same skill as her sister (Tione), [Berserk], which increases her attack power each time she takes damage.

Feeling her surge of power, Tiona didn't resort to tricks and charged head-on at her opponent.

"!"

The unexpected attack caused Bajie's eyes to widen for the first time.

Bajee retaliated with vicious punches against the unstoppable Diona, but Diona ignored her.

As she let a chunk of flesh be sliced ​​off her shoulder, she charged forward—delivering her opponent a headbutt with added power from the [Berserk Move (Skill)].

“Ouch!”

The reckless attack struck her ample breasts, causing Bajie to lose her balance.

Tiona gritted her teeth and endured the excruciating pain burning her shoulder. She spun around on her left foot and swung her right leg high into the air.

(Tione's favorite move—)

"Cut meat and break bones".

Tiona used all her strength to deliver a spinning kick to Baje's face.