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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Curse's Grip
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First, I scoured every corner of the inn with my Perception.
‘No presence can be felt inside.’
It seemed all the long-term guests had checked out of the inn.
Then, I immediately felt a strange sensation. One room felt completely empty, as if it didn't register in my Perception.
But I knew what was in there.
‘Diana’s room, located deeper inside the dining area…’
Had some special treatment been applied? Diana’s room didn’t show up in my Perception.
I stopped surveying the inn with my Perception and thought for a moment.
‘If not here, there’s nowhere else to go.’
It was too late. While I could find another inn, I’d undoubtedly be fleeced.
Having splurged on preparations for the Labyrinth, now was the time to be frugal. Settlement with Joy Hog’s party wouldn’t happen until tomorrow night, after all.
Besides, recently, my position at the inn was practically that of Diana’s houseguest.
I had settled my overdue lodging and meal expenses with the silver coins I received as change from Zirnier Basil the other day.
— “I won’t charge you for lodging and meals, so you can continue to stay here. Think of it as employee welfare.”
Diana had said that, allowing me to continue staying at the inn.
‘After all, ‘closed for business’ means not accepting other guests, not telling staff to leave.’
Since I was Diana’s employee, there was no problem with me entering the inn and staying as usual.
Surely, nothing out of the ordinary would happen.
But my thoughts began to wander in a different direction.
‘Diana’s curse, her berserk state, ‘female,’ ‘living dildo’…’
I wasn’t exactly sure, but based on the information gathered from my conversation with Edelbert, it was presumed that Diana possessed a curse that intensified sexual urges.
And occasionally, this intensification of urges was referred to as a berserk state.
“Haha. Oh, come on. No way.”
I chuckled.
Having been with Diana all this time, I hadn’t sensed even the slightest sign of such a thing.
Even if Edelbert’s words were true, I trusted Diana.
Diana was the one who saved me from those damned beggars.
And that wasn’t all, was it? Diana was the woman who had apologized for *my* mistake, even after I’d committed the huge blunder of practically tearing at her soft, ample breasts.
It was hard to imagine Diana, of all people, succumbing to mere sexual urges.
*Creak—*
I opened the inn door, and the dimly lit tavern came into view.
The usual festive atmosphere, always bustling with lively chatter, eating, and drinking, was completely absent. It was silent.
Even with the tavern lights off, Diana was always present in the kitchen.
But today, the kitchen lights were off too.
Thanks to that, the entire inn was dark. It felt strangely eerie, too.
‘…Right. It’s a holiday, and it’s late, so Diana must be asleep in her room.’
It was quite sad not to see Diana after two weeks back on the surface, but oh well, there’d be a chance tomorrow.
I promised myself tomorrow morning and immediately headed up to my room.
I was tired. I just wanted to rest now.
I climbed the stairs to the second floor with the utmost caution, trying not to wake Diana.
Room 201. My room was right there.
*Creak—*
I immediately turned the doorknob and opened the door.
*Thump!*
“…?”
The moment the door opened slightly, it immediately swung shut.
From the inside.
My surprise at this strange phenomenon lasted only a moment before a familiar voice came from inside the room.
“B-Balkan…? Balkan, is that… you?”
A voice filled with obvious panic. At the same time, a voice dripping with concern.
It was Diana’s voice, familiar as could be.
‘No, is that really Diana’s voice…?’
Yet, I felt a strange unfamiliarity in that voice.
It was different from her usual relaxed and gentle tone.
The voice I just heard was closer to a sweet, melting moan, hot, sticky, and deeply saturated.
‘Why is Diana even here? There was no sign of anyone at all?’
The situation also felt off.
She wasn’t picked up by my Perception, and there was no sign of anyone, so how and why was Diana in my room?
‘Ah. Was she changing the bedding?’
That would make sense. As for the lack of presence, perhaps Diana’s level was too high for me to detect.
“J-just… a moment… *nghh*… Just a moment, please wait…”
Diana’s voice was strangely dazed.
I waited at the door for Diana to open it.
Meanwhile, I checked myself.
I had just emerged from the Labyrinth, unwashed, and dirty. The smell of sweat was overwhelming.
It would be a shame to dirty the clean bed Diana might have changed in just one day, so I decided to wash up first before lying down to sleep.
*Creak.*
Soon, the room door slowly opened. I stopped my thoughts and looked ahead.
My 2-meter tall height gave me a high vantage point. The scene inside the room immediately came into view.
“…?”
The room, which I expected to be neatly arranged, was a mess.
Especially the bed.
The white mattress cover was visibly soaked in water, and an unknown liquid had splattered onto the floor near the bed.
‘Did she just try to clean up? Did she spill water or something?’
And as the door fully opened.
*Whoosh—*
A hot, humid air, thick and rich, immediately wafted in, making my body tingle strangely.
The room was filled with Diana’s scent. My nostrils filled with Diana’s scent. It felt as if even my brain was being consumed by Diana’s female pheromones.
A scent so stimulating it made my head spin for a moment upon inhaling it. The pure, beautiful, and superior body odor of a female.
Standing at the door was Diana, the owner of that scent.
[Diana Or**ia LV.6**]
[**Diana po**esses ** Blessings and Cur**es: 6]
[Current most influential curse: Curse of Lu**t, Wea**ne**, Corruptio**n]
‘…Her level dropped?’
The first digit of her level had changed. From 7 to 6. It had dropped further.
Was that even possible? If it was a curse, it wasn’t impossible.
“Balkan… It really is Balkan…”
My eyes had momentarily strayed to the Status Window, but her sticky voice immediately drew them back.
Diana was in a state starkly different from her usual composed self.
Her sweat-soaked hair clung to her neck and face, her gray dress was disheveled as if hastily put on, and parts of it were muddily damp, as though soaked in water.
Most strikingly, it was Diana’s lower abdomen.
This was utterly impossible to miss.
“Haa… Hahh…”
Every time Diana took a heated breath, her lower abdomen twitched, and a pitch-black darkness, along with a pink glow, gathered there.
‘That’s…’
That darkness felt strangely familiar.
‘It’s the darkness I saw when I encountered that [Being].’
The darkness that threatened the [Being] in the light!
That was now gathering on Diana.
Soon, an obscene pattern, like a mix of a woman’s cervix and a heart, appeared on Diana’s lower abdomen.
‘…Is that the filtered curse? The Curse of Lu**t, Wea**ne**, Corruptio**n?’
What words were being filtered, exactly? I couldn’t tell from a quick judgment.
“Balkan…”
Diana exhaled a hot breath and spoke.
Her eyes, which were always firmly closed, were now only half-open, unfocused, merely taking me in with a vacant stare.
Thin drool dripped from her lips, wetting the floor. Holy water.
Diana was so disheveled that she looked utterly unlike herself. Something was very wrong with her.
“M-Ms. Diana…?”
Still, just as I was about to try and sort out the situation.
*Squeeze—*
“I was worried…”
Diana rushed forward and embraced me tightly. Her voice sounded genuinely relieved, grateful that I had returned alive.
Diana’s ample bosom pressed firmly against my steel breastplate.
I, who had momentarily stiffened at her heartfelt, fervent embrace, carefully placed my hand on Diana’s back and patted it gently.
The scene before me was bewildering and hard to comprehend, but I could tell she had been worried about me.
“…Thank you for worrying. I returned safely, Ms. Diana.”
“…”
Still, the hug was safe.
Why was it? It felt like my third Labyrinth expedition had finally truly concluded.
We embraced each other tightly for about 10 seconds.
And just as I was about to discreetly pull away, Diana didn’t let go.
Did she want to hug a little longer? That was a pleasant thought. So, I ended up holding her for about another minute.
*Squeeeeze—*
Ten minutes passed like that.
“…?”
*Tighterrrrr—*
Thirty minutes passed.
“M-Ms. Diana? *Ugh*…”
“Hee hee…”
What was this? I couldn’t break free. Diana was genuinely hugging me and wouldn’t let go.
Due to the overwhelming difference in strength, no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t break free from Diana’s simple hug.
Diana pressed her body closer and closer. Her large breasts pressed against my breastplate, softly deforming.
Her arms, wrapped around my neck and tracing my obliques and back, completely restrained my body.
Diana stood on her tiptoes slightly, leaned in, and whispered into my ear.
“I won’t let go… Not anymore…”
“Ms. Diana! *Ugh*, snap out of it!”
Hearing her heated voice and ragged breathing, I realized the situation was taking a strange turn.
“*Sigh*… *Haa*… Balkan, Balkan’s scent…”
Diana buried her nose in my neck and inhaled deeply. I must have smelled only of sweat, but Diana shivered as if she’d caught an enchanting aroma.
With each ragged breath, Diana’s breasts rubbed against my breastplate.
She pressed against me with her sweat-soaked body, gazing at me with drool dripping from her lips, as if I were a delicious meal laid out before her.
Her eyes, visible through the slight slits of her eyelids, were no longer sparkling amber but began to be consumed by a pinkish hue. And most notably.
*Press. Presssss.*
Diana thrust her pelvis forward, pressing her lower abdomen firmly against my groin.
*Throb♡ Throb♡*
I could feel the pattern, a mix of cervix and heart, on her lower abdomen throbbing and vibrating.
I couldn’t maintain my reason watching that. My central bicep subtly throbbed. It had started reacting the moment I entered this room, but I gritted my teeth and endured desperately.
The Diana before me was clearly not in her right mind.
“Press here… *Hard*… and… fill my womb… thrust into me…”
— *Diana, when her curse runs wild, is the most dangerous female in this Labyrinth City.*
— *If you willingly choose to live your entire life as Diana’s living dildo, I won’t stop you.*
Only then did Edelbert’s words make complete sense. Indeed, there wasn’t a single lie in what he said.
At this very moment,
Diana was undoubtedly the most dangerous female in the Labyrinth City.
“Hahh, haaahh…” Balkan, Balkaaan…”
“*Ugh!*”
*Thwack!*
Diana, whose eyes had completely turned pink, roughly pushed me onto the bed.
Like a delicate maiden, I was sent flying to the end of the room by Diana’s light shove and tumbled onto the bed.
Diana approached me step by step.
“Every day, you just get more and more arousing… Staring openly at my cleavage every day… Casually bumping into me to touch my chest… Reeking of male scent, like a pervert, taking off your shirt in front of me… Why do you do that?”
“T-that’s… Ms. Diana. Please, snap out of it!”
I really had nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths. Honestly, I thought it was Diana’s excessive generosity. Still, this wasn’t right—
*Presssssss—*
“*Ugh*…”
“Do you know… how hard I’ve been trying to hold back… every time I see you? Hmm?”
Diana muttered that and immediately straddled my waist.
Her ample hips, which even a famously form-fitting dress couldn’t properly contain, pressed down hard on my groin.
The pattern on her lower abdomen was still throbbing.
“This is… annoying…”
*Crunch—*
Diana tore off my 40-silver-coin breastplate with her bare hands.
Witnessing such an absurd phenomenon, I could only shut my mouth in silence.
The problem was, beneath the breastplate, I was wearing nothing but my underwear.
“Haaah…♡”
Diana looked down at me for a moment, as if admiring a beautiful landscape from my waist.
Past my abs, considered an attractive feature in this world, over my pectorals, up my neck, and finally, my helmeted face.
As Diana’s eyes took in my face, her expression instantly crumbled.
“Haaaaa… Ughhh… Ughhhhhh…! Aaaaaah…!”
And as if in agony, she clutched her head and cried out.
It was as if her reason was trying to suppress the instinct to pounce on me.
Diana’s eyes, which had turned pink, began to regain their original amber glow.
It was proof that she hadn’t been completely consumed by the curse yet.
‘Good.’
This was my chance.
Now, I could help Diana, who was on the verge of being consumed by the curse.
Suddenly, the thought occurred to me.
Was this really an opportunity?
Or rather, if I did nothing now, I could comfortably have sex with Diana, couldn’t I? Be honest, Nam Su-jin. You have feelings for Diana, don’t you? You haven’t had sex in ages, it’s all built up inside you.
Go ahead and let loose. If you do it now, it would be consensual, yet akin to rape. If she ‘took’ me in this situation, Diana would feel guilty and take care of me for the rest of her life, wouldn’t she? Thinking about the future, wouldn’t it actually be more beneficial to let her take me just this once? Let’s enjoy ourselves!
It was a devilish idea. And a strangely convincing one, too.
‘No. That’s not right.’
But I immediately shook my head. I absolutely couldn’t do that.
That would ruin not only my future but Diana’s as well. Look at Diana now. That mysterious pattern is throbbing her womb; she’s not in her right mind even now.
If Diana were to violate me in this situation? Honestly, it would be to my advantage. I could shed a few tears, play the victim, and then latch onto Diana to plan my future, making things much easier going forward.
But.
‘What about Diana’s feelings?’
Kind-hearted Diana would live with guilt for the rest of her life for raping me. And she would suffer, recalling today’s events every single day.
No matter how much I told her it was okay, she wouldn’t forgive herself for harming someone while under the curse’s influence.
I absolutely did not want Diana to live the rest of her life blaming herself.
Having steeled my resolve, my actions were swift.
“Hahh, hah…!”
Diana let out a ragged breath.
The darkness within the pattern on her lower abdomen throbbed even harder. As if urging her to ‘take’ the man beneath her immediately.
At that, Diana’s eyes were completely tinged with pink.
But I was a little faster.
‘I had a card up my sleeve too.’
*Shhhhhh—*
A mysterious light wrapped around my arm.
The same dazzling radiance that had enveloped my entire body when I met that [Being] and fell from the fountain.
A new Blessing I had obtained during this Labyrinth expedition.
[◆ Blessing of Radiance]
– The primordial light dwells within you.
– Exerts absolute influence over darkness.
I focused all my attention on wielding it.
I had a gut feeling. With this light, I could repel the darkness that had consumed Diana.
But it wouldn’t be easy. I’d have to prepare to faint for days, pushing the Blessing to its absolute limit just to affect Diana’s curse by a hair’s breadth.
A light so beautiful, so dazzling it felt almost sacred, filled my right hand.
“Please bear with it a little longer, Ms. Diana.”
“…?”
As I firmly pressed Diana’s lower abdomen with my light-wrapped hand.
“Nghhh?!”
The pattern, a mix of pink and darkness, was swept away by the light and shattered.
*Swaaaaaaaah—*
The light of Radiance filled the room.
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