Shadow Monarch: Heroines Could Hear My Thoughts?!

Chapter 34- Two Hearts Linked By Fate (Part 3)

When they reached the dungeon wheel in the basement, Aria sighed and asked Elise.

"What do you intend to do, princess?" She asked.

Aria was sure that she checked every dungeon the wheel had from G-Rank all the way to the A-Rank which was also the highest-ranked dungeon this wheel could open. S-Ranked dungeons and higher are a whole different story of themselves.

S-Ranked dungeons are basically legendary places that are only entered by the strongest of the strongest in the world. The danger of such places was unimaginable for a normal person. Even Aria was sure that if she entered one of them, her death was set in stone from the first second she steps inside.

"Did you really?" Elise asked back as she held her chin with her delicate finger seemingly deep in thought.

'So, from what you said, he was sent to a harder dungeon, right?'

[Yes, Elise. That's most likely the case.]

'So, assuming that he wasn't sent straight to his death. He is either in an F-Rank dungeon, an E-Rank dungeon, or a D-Rank dungeon. But, considering the fact that his system wants him to gain strength as quickly as possible, I will assume that F-Rank dungeons won't do it for him. That leaves E and D-Ranked dungeons.' She analyzed everything in her head.

However, even though she was able to narrow it down, there were still many dungeons that he could be inside.

'Wait.' Suddenly, she opened her eyes and looked at Aria.

"You said you checked every one of them?"

"Yes. I'm confident I didn't leave any."

'Why did I forget about this? The system probably sent him to a place that is not inside the dungeon wheel. That could be the case. But, how can I trigger that place.'

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[I think I can do that, Elise.] The system spoke out of nowhere.

'You can?'

[Yes, I also have many dungeons programmed into me. Sending you to one of them is not a problem. But, unlike Rin, you can't get any action points in case you were sent there. This means that you can't get stronger inside these dungeons. Normally, these dungeons could only be accessed by quests so the fact that you are about to enter one of them of your own will changes the restrictions.]

'It's not a problem. Show me the possible E and D-Ranked dungeons you have.' Elise didn't bother with that restriction at all, she will have many opportunities to rank up and get stronger in the future.

Then, in a moment, a long list of dungeons appeared in front of Elise. It was filled with all kinds of dungeons, varying in rank. But, in an instant, the whole list became way shorter than before. The only dungeons left were 10 dungeons. Five E-Ranked and five D-Ranked.

Reading their names, Elise tried to shorten the list even further. She wanted to make it at least 4 dungeons or less if possible.

'What is she doing?' Aria looked at the girl beside her with a puzzled expression.

She had been looking dazedly at thin air for quite a while without saying anything. But, Aria assumed it was her way of thinking so she didn't ask her about it.

"Do you know what ability Rin has?" Elise asked.

"It's shadow manipulation."

Blurting out the name of her brother's ability like that wasn't a good thing and Elise knew that but because of the pressing circumstances, she had no other choice. As much as the red-haired beauty hated it, she had to rely on Elise to get her brother back.

"..."

When she heard the name of his ability, Elise was taken aback. She had expected all kinds of powers but the one he got was something she never predicted.

'Sigh, it's not time to think about such a thing. That actually helps a lot. There are only two dungeons that could be linked to him. The others are just too vague to be possible.'

[Aren't you being way too broad, Elise?]

'I have no other choice. I'm gambling with my choices here. If it works then that's good if it doesn't then I will have to keep looking.'

She was aware that assuming things like this was wrong but getting a small lead no matter how insignificant would help greatly.

"Turn the wheel… Put it into the D-Rank first. I have a hunch that he's inside a D-Rank dungeon."

"I already said-"

"I know, just do what I told you."

'Sigh, calm down Aria. For the sake of Rin, I have to keep calm. Keep calm!!' Taking a few deep breaths, she quickly turned the wheel to the E-Rank.

Then, both of them entered the portal that appeared in front of them.

On the other side, the only thing they saw was complete darkness. Aria quickly used her lightning element to create some light for them.

"What in the…" She couldn't believe her eyes.

This place wasn't supposed to be here. She was sure she checked every dungeon possible in every rank. It took her hours and hours but she was certain of that. Yet, right in front of her, there was a dungeon she had never seen before.

"Lava mansion… huh…" Elise muttered under her breath.

She chose this one as the first place to enter because it just sounded weird. Every other dungeon including the other one she was suspecting all had one single common thing between them. They were all vast dungeons varying from plains to mountain ranges to even oceans. Yet, the only one that was considerably smaller in scale was this one, a 'mansion.'

After exchanging glances for a moment, the two walked inside the place. They were inside some kind of room.

"He isn't here…"

Looking around, there was no trace of Rin… So, they quickly left the room to check other parts.

However, not even a minute passed when they saw it… A silhouette was standing in the hall on the first floor.

His body was standing but he wasn't moving at all. Aria was the first to react as she ran down the stairs quickly.

She didn't even need a second to recognize who that person was. His silhouette was all too familiar for her.

"RIN!!!"

Elise swiftly followed her down. Deep inside, she was feeling something weird. It was something she never felt before. As if she found something that belonged to her, a part of her body that she lost a long time ago and now was right in front of her.

When the two reached him, the boy seemed to have heard them since he turned around. That's when they saw it, a truly horrifying sight that sent a chill down their spines.

From head to toe, Rin was covered in blood. No, scratch all of that, every part of his being was soaked wet in blood as if he took a bath in that crimson liquid. A huge sword slash covered his chest and ran all the way down to his stomach. They could see his organs from their positions. His left arm was twisted at a weird angle and a huge chunk of his left leg was nowhere to be found.

His state was so bad that they could only question how a human could still be standing even after suffering from all of that. But, what shocked them, even more, was his eyes. They were glowing ominously in the darkness. Not only that, but his expression was so calm and composed that they almost forgot that he was in a near-death situation with all the blood dripping to the ground.

Rin scanned the two of them with his eyes. He didn't know whether this was an illusion or not but aside from his sister Aria, he saw another girl that he knew yet also didn't quite know. It was as if he knew her for a lifetime but also never met her before.

Such a weird feeling made his chaotic senses calm down. The fight he just fought was the worst one he ever face, it was a hell on earth where he saw the grim reaper multiple times waiting to harvest his soul at any moment.

The pain he was feeling was so tremendous that he could not feel anything anymore. The only thing keeping him awake was the skill 'berserker' that kept pumping his body with the energy he didn't even need. He tried to close his eyes and fall unconscious, he wanted to just sleep for a long time and ignore all of this suffering. Deep down, he knew that if he fell unconscious, his death was basically set in stone so he tried to ignore these thoughts.

"E-Elise…" He muttered as he felt all the energy seep out of his body as he fell forward. He wasn't even aware of what he said and was purely following his instincts.

*Swish*

Before he could hit the ground, someone appeared in front of him, held his body gently, and supported him from falling. His eyes had long lost that small glint and were now closed completely.

"Not the best reunion, is it, Rin?" Elise muttered as she left him to rest on her shoulder. Her eyes calmly analyzed his face silently.

(A//N: Finally, the duo is back.)

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