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Within the depths of Helheim, the Queen of Death itself glanced with a smile at the crystal ball in front of her, seeing Maria react to her things always brought her a smile and gave her a chuckle. Her father and her two siblings were now gone as their meeting had ended some time ago, and now Hel rested atop her bed while doing nothing much other than watching her little Divinely Protected Isekai'd Ghost.

"Hahaha! She's so hilarious. Come on, you don't like how I tweak them? I've even given them some bonuses to their effects! Don't be so ungrateful, Maria." She laughed a bit, as she glanced Maria sigh and then move on.

Hel smiled while drinking from a cup of wine. A special wine fermented in the depths of Helheim for eons, it was so rich in flavor that it was almost vinegar. Nonetheless, it was one of the few beverages her palate found acceptable… however, each time she glanced Maria eat the food she made with her friends, she began to drool.

"Seriously what does she adds to that food that makes it so tasty looking… Ahh, I want some of that food as well. But I guess it is a bit too late to ask for tributes." Sighed Hel.

She sipped another bit more of that wine before relaxing and watching Maria's adventures through the crystal ball, which connected to Root's eyes.

"That Dungeon is indeed quite dangerous, yes… I hope you're prepared for what's coming next, dear Maria." Hel sighed, she was no longer smiling, as if feeling sorry for Maria.

Meanwhile, within the depths of the Miasmic Dungeon, the Dungeon Core began to move rapidly, reacting to Maria and her party completely cleaning the Second Floor. Fury seeped deep into the Dungeon Core's very being, as black and red veins spread across the Third Floor, the power of the Evil God's Fragment becoming stronger and stronger.

"They're approaching… Closer… What is their motive? Do they desire… to steal my strength? To devour me like I have done to others living beings… and their remains?"

The Dungeon Core began to experience, for the first time… fear. It was afraid against death, against losing everything. It desperately began thinking, and then, it merely decided to do what it knows best. To summon monsters and utilize its powers to order them to destroy anything that might threaten it.

Countless monsters began emerging, waking up from their slumber one after the other, the third floor was not the home of merely Abyssal Ants, as stronger beings that roamed, powerful and fueled with Miasmic Powers. And within its very end, the Dungeon Core's avatar's eyes glowed bright red, sensing the presence of something getting closer…

"GRRRRRHHH…"

.

.

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(Maria's POV)

Leaving aside Hel's audacity, I was now only 1 Level off reaching max Level! The next floor should be the last one as well, so it should be totally possible to get there and slay the Boss, level up, and evolve into an even stronger form. This time I'll try to pick up something that doesn't worsen my Curse, if possible. I remember Lucifer said there might be "Paths" opening to me in the future. I might have to take one of these "Paths" whenever I am offered an Evolution, at long last.

Whatever Path I choose might change my future and everything else, greatly. I'll have to be careful though. Although I often fall to temptation and end up choosing something overpowered anyways, it should be good if we at least try to not get as blinded… Hopefully.

"And we're done." Lucifer said.

"Shall we go directly to the third floor? I've barely used my strength so I feel like I could easily help you defeat the Boss… Though if the Boss ends up being the same Ant Queen and all, we'll need to be more careful." Brunhild pointed out.

"Yeah, I agree, we need to be more careful." I said. "Wait for a bit, let's recover our HP and MP first. Root, can you help us out?"

"GYUH!" Root began floating everywhere, producing delicious fruits and leaves, and feeding them to us.

Both of them recovered fatigue and exhaustion, alongside a bit of HP and MP. However, we still had to compensate as it wasn't enough, so we drank a few HP and MP Potions to refill completely. Unless we are a in a desperate situation, it is way better to recover MP through Potions.

Why? Well, imbuing my Mana into other people might hurt them in the long run if I do it all the time, after all my Mana comes contaminated with my powers and even Miasma, too much of it could damage someone, even the most resilient ones such as Lucifer and Partner, so unless we're in the middle of a dangerous battle, it is better to recover MP using potions, which I've been perfecting through all this time to recover way more than the first time I made them, heh.

"Phew, that hits the spot, I feel renewed…" Helga sighed in relief. "Alright everyone! We're going to the last Floor, once we're done here, this will be finally over!"

"YEAAAH!"

"Finally!"

"Man I just want to go back to bed!"

"I want to sleep for a whole week, using this damn golem for so long's fucking my back."

"I want a cold beer once this is done!"

"The beer and food will be on me once we're done with this job, everyone, so you better work your asses off and not disappoint Maria and the rest!" Helga said, cheering up the dwarves, their mechs raised their arms in celebration.

"Everyone, don't lower your guards, Floor 3 is the most dangerous one. It is where the most Abyssal Ants were, and it is a gigantic Cave System. The Ant Queen I remember had the power to shape the Dungeon and the walls, so it is very easy to get lost. Stay at our side and don't sidetrack." I told everyone.

"ALRIGHT!"

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