Wasteland Domain

As its name said, this domain is called the "Wasteland Domain" but there is no "land" to speak about only chambers and tunnels connecting to other chambers.

I've been grinding this domain for quite a while now with Nisha's help. She helped me a little bit too much. I haven't killed a single poo monster because of my low-level Angelus Frame. However, I never saw her use hers. It makes me curious.

As we walk in this sewer tunnel, I ask, "Why aren't you using your Angelus Frame?"

"I'm not a Frame user."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"Then why are you this strong?"

"I just am."

I stop asking questions there. I could only assume that her strength is something to do with her swords rather than her level. She has three swords but she has only been using her golden-hilted one. My guess is that its power is akin to the power of the Angeli.

"What level are you again?" I ask.

"One hundred three."

That's so high compared to mine. I'm only at level 65. Anthropa—21, Angelus—22, Daemon—22. I was evenly leveling them up by switching constantly. But I notice that my Angelus Frame is the easiest to level up. It must be because the monsters here are Daemon-types.

We arrive at the next chamber. Sludge monsters are startled and automatically become hostile toward us. Thirty of them come all at once. I stay back and let Nisha do her thing. With a single horizontal slice, she kills them all. But this time, she's breathing heavier. She must be tired of all that hack and slash even though it looked so easy.

"You want a bite?" I offer.

"No," she refuses, not looking at me.

"Come on, don't be shy. This is all I could do to pay you back."

She just stands there, deciding whether she should. I take the matter into my own "wrist" by nearing it to her mouth. She forgets what she said and just bites me. Ugh. . . it still hurts but not that much.

"Don't take too much, okay?" I remind her and she nods.

After that, she lets go, wipes her lips, and looks at me for a second. Her eyes glowing red and her lips stained with my blood. The color red is harmoniously paired with her white hair. It's as if the stainless innocence has been befouled by sinfulness. An empty paper, letting the dark ink spread as far as it can until there is nothing left to write on.

She blinks a few times, looking away. I look away too. Why was I staring at her? That was so awkward!

"I'm sorry," I apologize with a voice crack. I just made it worse!

"Thank you," she says.

Why is she thanking me? Oh, probably because of the "meal". Well, she doesn't have to. I should be the one thanking her. Killing these monsters in one slice is something I can't do. I tried to kill one of them earlier. It would've taken me an hour. If she wasn't with me, I would be stuck in the first chamber right now.

We head to the next chamber. I notice that the ground we are walking on is fixed. The bricks are not buried in the mud. This could be a sign that only a few people treaded on this path. This is sus.

Slowly appearing in the darkness, there is a large gate stopping us from going any further. Because I'm only using my thermal vision, I'm not sure what it's made out of. I can only see its features.

"What is that?" I ask her.

"The gate to the final boss. We should leave now."

"But we still have a boss to defeat it."

"This is as far as I can take you. No one has ever entered this gate and come back out. Well, except for the Queen. Anyway, I can take you to another domain."

"No, I think we should beat this. I feel the rewards are gonna be great."

"And the risk of dying is gonna be great too. I don't know about you but I'm the last vampire and I can't just kill myself early over some dumb boss fight."

"Then don't come with me."

"Argh!!" she grunts in agitation and pulls my arm. "Listen to me! We don't know what is waiting behind that gate! You might regret it once you're inside. I already told you, didn't I? Guys who are at a higher level and stronger than us entered and never came back!"

*Sigh*

"Fine," I submit.

If she said that she could not beat whatever is behind that gate, I should listen to her. The reason for my overconfidence could be that I fought strong bosses before but with Zaori and Lucy—two of the strongest in the Underworld.

*Clang*

"What's that?" I ask as I turn around. "ARGH!!"

A wave of sludge breaks out of the gate! From the ground, it rises to our knees and we can't get out!

"What is this?!"

"I don't know!" she answers. "Just get out!"

I struggle all I can but I can't. She's far stronger than me but she too can't get out of this stubborn and sticky muck! What on Shannia is this?!

We scream as it pulls us towards the gate. She uses her sword to anchor on the brick floor while I make use of my dagger for I am in my Anthropa Frame. The bricks crumble as they couldn't handle it.

"It's no use!" I panic as we get closer and closer to the gate.

Out of desperation, she slices it with her sword but it gets stuck too. "Crap!" she curses. "What do we do?!" she asks me.

"How should I know?!"

"We're gonna die!" she cries.

"Oh, no. . ." is all I could say under my breath. We're past the gates now.

*Clang* They close shut.