Chapter 272: Infighting Within the Third Faction

On the 59th floor of the Dungeon, a red-haired woman sat cross-legged on the ground. Her posture lacked any feminine elegance, exuding a rough, masculine air—but no one would dare criticize her for it.

Only half of her right hand remained, making her look like a crippled adventurer.

Crunch!

The woman casually picked up a Magic Stone from the ground and tossed it into her mouth. The hair-raising sound that followed was that of the stone being crushed between her teeth.

As everyone knows, Magic Stones are not edible.

They are the core of a monster's body, supplying the energy needed for movement and life. But for humans, consuming Magic Stones provides no energy and can even result in internal damage, like torn organs.

Because they are the core, monsters instinctively protect them, making Magic Stones the hardest part of a monster's body.

In fact, those from high-level monsters are tougher than the creatures' own flesh.

Yet, the woman's teeth were even harder than the Magic Stone.

After swallowing it, flesh began to writhe and regenerate slightly from the stump of her right arm. It was only a slight improvement—but a visible one.

The woman frowned as she looked at her severed arm.

'This body really burns through energy.'

Recovering from the injury demanded a massive amount of energy.

And because her body was so incredibly resilient, the energy needed for regeneration was even greater than expected. That left her with no choice but to use the Magic Stones harvested from the Violas for herself.

"You failed."

Her hand paused slightly as she reached for another Magic Stone, but she didn't deny it. She had seen Aria and the fetus, but returned with neither. That, to her, was the ultimate failure.

A man approached from behind, wearing a white cloak and a mask that only revealed his eyes. The malice and sarcasm in his voice were unmistakable.

"You finally found your target, and still let it slip away. Even against a group weaker than you—what a pathetic failure."

The sharp words rang out unfiltered, but the only response was the woman's cold stare.

After he finished speaking, she suddenly let out a chilling laugh.

"Jealous?"

The smugness drained from the man's face in an instant. The crimson eyes beneath his mask turned icy.

With a flash, he appeared before the woman and swung a punch at her.

A sonic boom echoed across the floor.

Yet the woman easily caught his fist with her remaining left hand.

Her expression didn't change in the slightest. It was as if the punch hadn't even been worth noticing.

'Dammit!'

The man nearly ground his teeth to dust.

He hadn't held back, but he never imagined the gap between them was this wide.

With a cold sneer, the woman tightened her grip on his fist and hurled him away like a cannonball.

The man slammed into the wall like a fly, blood bursting from his mouth on impact. He then dropped to the ground, his body limp and powerless.

The woman didn't show a shred of sympathy. He had brought it upon himself.

After finishing everything, the woman instinctively touched her neck. That slash from the other day was far more brutal than the man's punch. All that terrifying power had been concentrated into a single strike, slicing through her flesh with ease.

'Who was that person?'

Even now, the memory of that blow made her neck ache faintly.

If she hadn't sacrificed her right arm, she knew she would've been killed on the spot that day.

The lingering pain served to calm her growing irritation.

'That sneak attacker must have some kind of special skill... or a magic that lets him hide his presence.'

'If that strike had been any stronger, I would've been finished in one blow.'

She was painfully aware of her limitations.

Her strength might outclass Aria's by a wide margin, but even she couldn't stop an ambush from behind. And with how well that man could conceal himself—if he pulled the same trick again, would she have to sacrifice another arm?

'I need a way to deal with him.'

'Or... I have to get stronger.'

She glanced down at her regenerating right arm, then sat back on the ground.

Her eyes flicked toward the man still bracing himself against the wall. Her tone now carried none of its earlier sarcasm.

"She's already lost one fetus. It's time to cultivate the next."

"Since you're so jealous, I'll leave this mission to you."

The man gripping the wall clenched his fists so hard the stone crumbled beneath them.

"What do you think her fetus is!?"

The woman ignored his roar. To her, this man was just another pawn, one who'd been deceived and consumed by that thing. If her arm had been intact, he wouldn't have even been needed.

"Are you just going to bark like a useless mutt? You're nothing but a stray she picked up. Did you really think you mattered?"

Bastard!?

If their strength gap hadn't been so overwhelming, the man would have charged her already. Veins bulged on his forehead, blood gushed from his mouth—yet he swallowed the humiliation.

"You'll never understand her will. You're just a replacement she created."

"I'll prove I'm the one she truly cherishes. You only have what she made for you."

The man was desperate to prove that he was the one closest to that goddess. He clung to the belief that it was out of mercy she had revived him—that he was the one she had truly chosen!

His fanatic conviction drew only disdain from the woman.

'Treating that thing like a goddess... what a lunatic.'

Still, she had no interest in his delusions. To her, he was just a tool. If he failed, he'd become the fuel for her next breakthrough.

Whether he succeeded or not didn't matter. She was the one who controlled the Violas. He was merely a proxy—nothing more.

That alone proved her bond with that thing ran far deeper than his.

The rest was just his own pathetic delusion.