Chapter 173: Step Brothers, I'm Stark (66 Bonus 22)

Herbert's confidence wasn't blustering in front of Svani — he was stating a fact.

The Mist Monastery was very powerful.

He himself might not count as strong, but the rest of the monastery certainly was!

The more he learned, the more clearly Herbert came to appreciate this fact.

Really powerful.

Not to mention that invincible old geezer — that old fellow was completely beyond the scale.

But even if you set him aside, the rest of them were no pushovers either.

Did the others really think the Mist Monastery's powerhouses were only the three Cardinals on the surface?

Plenty of former Cardinals who vanished after stepping down were still very much alive!

Once their strength reached a certain level, or once they felt they no longer wanted the outside world to disturb their cultivation, they would step down.

Some chose to wander the outside world and cultivate, while others voluntarily entered the monastery's underground seclusion chambers.

That vast underground space wasn't home to just one sealed sanctuary.

The exact number was unknown, but one thing was certain — there were definitely epic-level powerhouses.

Though these people normally paid no attention to the outside world, when the monastery truly faced danger, they would still awaken and take up arms.

"But why is Svani so insistent on destroying her sister? What did she see in those people's memories?"

To be honest, Svani's attitude this time was somewhat abnormal — even when she had wanted to scheme against him before, she wouldn't have shown it so openly.

Her heart was probably even more chaotic than it appeared on the surface.

So after refusing, Herbert chose to take his leave on his own, giving her more time to think.

Let her think carefully about whether she intended to keep hiding things like this, or to trust this partner she had worked with before.

"Ah, right, I seem to have forgotten to go see Elisha…"

When Herbert returned to the Endless Labyrinth and was about to head to the Lava Hell, he realized he had completely forgotten about the Coffin Mimic.

Oops, he had forgotten about her.

Going back now would be a little awkward for Svani too.

"Forget it, I'll deal with it later."

Herbert thought for three seconds and made his decision — to keep shelving it.

"It's already been left alone this long, another moment won't make a difference."

But what he didn't know was that while he was talking with Svani in the treehouse, the coffin in the darkness had actually already reacted.

"Ahhhh, this scent… shih-ha!"

"He's back!"

Thud!

A gorgeous head suddenly poked out of the coffin, crimson eyes staring fixedly at the spot where Herbert was.

"Come here, let me take a bite!"

"Stop wasting time over there, come on! Just, just one bite! One bite is all!"

"If, if I don't have your blood, I, I'll get even weirder, I…"

"Huh!?"

Elisha's expression suddenly changed as she felt, in shock, that the presence was fading.

"Gone?"

"He! How could he leave!?"

"You, where are you going!?"

"Herbert!!!"

In her fury, Elisha yanked hard at the chains on her body.

After eating so much Holy Blood hot sauce, her strength had long since recovered considerably, and the iron coffin's restraints on her were growing weaker and weaker.

"These rotten chains! It's all of you trapping me! Open for me, ahhhhh!!!"

At this moment, in her frantic desperation, the enraged vampire actually burst forth with astonishing strength.

Bang bang bang bang!

She successfully broke free of the shackles on her wrists and ankles — only one shackle remained around her neck!

"Hahahaha! I'm free! I'm free!"

"Herbert! I'm coming to find you!"

Elisha's current state was quite off — drooling while cackling wickedly:

"Hehehehe! I'm coming…"

But just then, something unexpected happened.

After breaking free of her cage, before Elisha could even rejoice, she pushed off too hard with her feet — failing to control her strength, she was suddenly launched out of the coffin.

But the problem was, her body shot out, but — her head didn't!

Elisha was yanked straight back by the chain around her neck, and once the chain snapped taut she was violently dragged back into the coffin!

Thud!

The instant her forehead made intimate contact with the coffin lid, Elisha let out a scream.

"Ah!?"

And just then, the iron coffin seemed to realize her escape attempt — the coffin patterns, which had shown no energy fluctuation at all, suddenly blazed to life.

The iron coffin suddenly came alive!

Clatter clatter…

The chains, which had been completely still moments before, slithered rapidly like pythons and locked her hands together again.

Clack clack!

And with those unsettling sounds, Eliza, who had been in withdrawal, suddenly snapped back to clarity.

"Mm!?"

Then, in the very next instant, she realized something was wrong.

Why am I here?

And also…

Not good!

Something bad is going to happen!

Realizing what was about to occur, Eliza scrambled headlong into the coffin, shouting at the top of her lungs as she went:

"Wait! I'll go back! I'll go back! Don't rush me! I—ah!!?"

But unfortunately, the coffin bro gave her no time to hesitate at all.

Just as she had gotten half her body inside, the coffin lid slammed shut with a sudden push.

Clack!

Eliza got pinched.

Fortunately, because her own strength was powerful enough, the coffin lid didn't slice her clean in half at the waist—it only tried to close a few times, failed, and then got stuck there.

But that was even worse than being sliced in half!

Eliza's upper body was wedged inside the coffin, but her lower half, still wearing the cake dress, was sticking out upside-down like a toppled scallion.

"Mmm mmm mmm!!?"

Eliza's two slender legs kept kicking hard, but because they weren't long enough, they couldn't reach the ground.

Apart from the visual effect, it served absolutely no purpose.

From a distance, that swaying cake dress looked just like a red-and-black sea anemone endlessly bobbing in the waves.

Hmm…

The inside is still white, though.

"I'm stuck!"

"Someone help me out here!?"

"Save me—"

"Herbert!!!"

"Mm?"

The Lava Hell.

Herbert, who had been chatting with Flora, tilted his head and blinked in some confusion.

"Master, what's wrong? Did you hear some sound? Is Creety harassing you?"

Flora, noticing Herbert cocking his ear to listen to something, immediately prepared to act—ready to hang that unruly devil up and give her another beating.

She'd always wanted to beat her anyway, so this was a perfectly fitting excuse.

???

Creety, who had been eavesdropping from inside the bronze fortress, was full of question marks and couldn't help but shout:

"Hey hey hey! What does it have to do with me!!? You damned demon, don't pick fights on purpose!"

"Hah, who knows whether it's you or not?"

Herbert paid no attention to the battle between demon and devil. He tilted his head to listen for a moment, then shook his head and said:

"It's nothing, I must have heard wrong."

Probably just the wind.

He turned his head back and continued asking Flora: "You were saying just now that even you heard that hymn?"

That angel is making this much of a commotion?

What is she trying to do?

Still 6 updates today, begging for monthly tickets!

Bonus update status: (22/115)

I was only 30 votes short of overtaking the person ahead, but then some big shot tipped that big shot with a Silver Alliance, so now the gap has become 200 votes.

(Palms pressed together)

Forget it, I won't care about the others anymore, I'll just keep working hard!

Begging for monthly tickets!!!



(End of this chapter)