Broken Story: Reborn as a Villainess Author-Chapter 38: You have been had...

The pathways continued ahead. The deeper they went, the more ice they encountered. Reflecting on both sides, frost covered the entire area, making a soft click sound with each step.

Three hours had passed since they entered the dungeon. Since then, no one had said a word. Their eyes and ears stayed alert for any kind of threat they might encounter.

Dalia broke the silence, voicing out what everyone was thinking. "Is it just me or have we not seen a single monster since we entered?"

Arlo nodded in agreement. "You’re right... Aren’t dungeons supposed to be crawling with monsters?"

"Professor Vikram did say they cleared most of them," William said.

"True, but he said most of the ’strong’ monsters. The weaker ones should still be hanging around here somewhere."

Alackster stopped and looked far ahead. All he saw was more ice and a pathway that didn’t look like it had anything living within. "You are right... There are no tracks whatsoever... It’s... smooth."

William turned to face Acheron. "Big sis, what do you think? You haven’t said a word."

"Em... give me a moment." Acheron said as she took a few steps around to analyze the situation. She had been thinking the same thing for the past hour.

This wasn’t normal.

In each dungeon she had written, monsters spawned at random to stop anybody from finding the boss and clearing the dungeon.

But this felt too easy.

’What’s going on... Stellar, do you sense anything wrong with this dungeon?’ Acheron thought.

「No, not at all... The mana and everything seems normal to me.」

’Ophelia, what about you?’

『I agree with Stellar. There is nothing wrong with the dungeon... Maybe the monsters are just hiding.』

’Hmm... Could the professor have cleared more than they realized?’

「Probably... Yes, but the monsters should have respawned by now. The weaker ones waste no time in that compared to stronger monsters.」

"Maybe we still have to go a bit deeper..." Acheron replied.

Arlo raised his hand and stretched. "Well, it’s a good thing for us if we don’t encounter any and just go straight for the boss."

"Yay!" Dalia hopped in excitement. "By the way, how deep do we have to go to reach the boss chamber? We’ve been walking for hours."

"The boss chamber is usually at the end of the path," Alackster explained. "Depending on the dungeon size... It should take about four to six hours."

"Urgg..." Dalia groaned, resting on Arlo’s shoulder. "My feet are already killing me!"

While they bickered, Acheron was lost in thought.

’If the monsters were taken out by the professors... Maybe they spawn far deeper? What if they all gathered up at the boss chamber to ambush us...’

「Is that possible though... I thought weaker monsters aren’t smart enough to think that way.」

’Just saying... I can’t think of another explanation for this.’

『Maybe you should continue going deeper to see if any pop up...』 Ophelia said with an optimistic tone.

As Acheron was about to respond, a deep voice rumbled through her consciousness from the World of Ilmestys.

✷ "You have been had..."

Acheron’s eyes spiraled in shock.

’Shinra?’

He had never spoken before ever since she placed him and Ophelia in the merged world.

Why would he speak now?

’What do you mean we’ve been had?’

Shinra did not respond.

Ophelia descended down to the World of Ilmestys, lying in the bed Shinra rested on.

She passed her hand through his chest, locking lips with him for a moment before proceeding to remove both her and his clothes.

...

Acheron’s mind went on full thinking mode as she thought back through everything that had happened since they entered.

The lack of monsters, the empty pathways, the silence that rang throughout.

’We assumed the monsters were cleared out or hiding deeper in the boss chamber... But what if it’s neither? What if the reason we haven’t seen any... is because something is driving them away?’

「You think a strong monster predator cleared the area? That’s not possible if the professors already cleared the high-ranking monsters...」

...

In the midst of their romance, Ophelia paused in her endeavors, looking at her lover in the eye. She had soothed him enough for her question.

『What did you mean by what you said earlier, my love...』

Shinra rested his head back on the bed.

✷ "It’s quite obvious... But well hidden. That beast is one of a kind."

『What beast?』 Ophelia leaned in more on his shoulder.

Shinra smiled and rubbed his hand on her head.

✷ "The Origin of lies and entity of deceit..."

...

At that moment, Acheron finally caught on to everything that had been going on.

She raised her hand immediately, signaling her team without making sudden movements. "Everyone be quiet!" she said in a low tone.

They all stopped talking immediately, noticing the change in her tone.

"What is it? Big sis?" William looked at her with concern.

Acheron tilted her head upward slowly, her eyes scanning through the dark ceiling.

She could not see a thing... Then she cast a simple light spell that illuminated a small portion of the ceiling.

One by one, Dalia, Arlo, William, and Alackster lifted their gazes upwards.

A small oval-like substance could be seen dangling around, with a cord connecting it to the ceiling.

With more light, more and more oval-looking things lined up in perfect alignment. They looked like large eggs.

"What is that...?" Dalia asked.

The moment she spoke, eight enormous limbs, each one disguised as part of the ice ceiling, gripped it tightly.

At the center, where all the limbs converged, was a massive, segmented body with pale skin. It had very long hair with two normal eyes and one in the middle of its head that glowed red.

The creature had been there the entire time, watching them walk beneath it as it followed behind slowly and not making a sound.

Click. Click. Click.

Its face detached from the rest of the body, looking down on them.

Its mouth formed what could be described as a smile.

"Bloody hell..." Arlo exclaimed as he took a step back, instinctively from fear.

...

✷ "...deceit, the one that was rumored to have given birth to this dungeon. Its name is..."

...

"Oh my days, you’re clever..." Acheron’s lips curved into a smile despite feeling the terror in her chest. She remembered the name of the veil beast which she wrote to behave this way.

’Morena, the vengeful fate of the...’

...

✷ "...Of the Childless Mother."