Ironically enough, the waterfall that Salome's eyes seemed to have been obsessed with was the source of the noise. Well, not the waterfall itself, of course, but the thing it had just thrown over its crest and sent into a free fall to the land below.

It was distant, but the piercing, ugly sound was still easy to hear due to the nature of any ravine.

"AAArrghhh!"

It was the sound of a human screaming… screaming while falling to their inevitable death.

Salome spotted the poor woman just before her body disappeared from her view, the backdrop of the falling water almost making her look angelic.

Well, her death appeared inevitable at least. The fall was at least 50 meters, and while Salome didn't actually know what her landing zone looked like. It's not like it mattered if she died on impact or not…

'She's bound…'

During Salome's fleeting glance, she noticed the woman's hands and feet seemed to have been restrained. It appeared to be no mere accident that she'd been launched over the waterfall.

Though the how and why were not something she'd be able to figure out any time soon…

Salome and Toy weren't able to hear the moment of impact, but they did observe the result. The screaming ceased, replaced by the endless sound of the crashing waterfall.

The two otherworldly beauties and the cretins behind them stopped and stared with deadpan expressions.

Toy was the first to break the silence.

"How odd…"

Then, she resumed her stride down the rocky slope, continuing her descent toward the river below.

Salome just shrugged, jumped back into the air, and began gliding around, touching the ground only when she needed to gain some loft.

'That's not something we should ignore…'

However, they had no choice but to ignore it at the moment.

The waterfall was too far to risk the journey. While getting lost wasn't really an issue, the terrain kind of made that impossible; they'd be marching into the unknown, and who knew what might attack the dungeon at any moment.

They needed to be close by to spot any potential invaders. And now that the bitch was there, it was inevitable that more and more beasts would be drawn to their location by the Aether density.

But still, Salome had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time they would witness such a sight, and beasts were not the only thing they had to worry about. She also had a feeling that the first people to discover the dungeon would be the same ones responsible for that woman's fate.

But then again, it was also best to take the situation one at a time. At some point, the answer will come to them whether they want it or not.

Nearing the bottom, the group finally crossed into the foliage. There were sparse trees, but a tide of bushes and other shrubbery.

It was almost jarring how the bottom contrasted with the talus. It was like a war between red and green. Red was winning; of course, there was much more rock than vibrant greenery. However, the sublime beauty of the vegetation gave it a fighting chance.

Salome, gliding around in the air, took in the immediate surroundings.

"Oh, look, there is an alluvium deposit. Vale will be pleased."

Toy's walk slowed as she walked between bushes.

"Seriously, what is all-oovie--whats-um?"

Salome ignored the confused goblin and floated down the edge of the stream, dropping her hand in it, feeling the cold grip of the churning current.

'How peculiar…'

She couldn't see it, but she could feel it.

She could feel the mass of dead human skin cells and the minor Aether trapped within them begging to be absorbed by her. The sheer amount was frightening, especially when considering that a river is constantly flowing. While a dead body could easily get trapped somewhere between the rocks and feed this dead skin flow, the sheer volume suggested it wasn't just a few bodies, but perhaps a few hundred. Especially when considering humans didn't typically have much Aether trapped in their skin in the first place, an enormous amount was waiting for her to absorb.

'Perhaps even thousands…'

"Argh!"

Salome snapped around and prepared for a fight after hearing Toy's uncanny screech, barely different from the one the dying woman unleashed moments before.

But upon witnessing the situation, Salome sighed.

'Seriously… '

Dickless, the new Worker, had tripped and tumbled into Toy, who looked more freaked out than when she had a sword lodged in her gut.

After slaughtering a few meandering beasts and a couple of mishaps with the Workers tripping due to the fact that they had to carry the heavy bowls, the rest of the group reached the riverbank.

The Workers dipped the bowls in and filled them up, while Toy collected the corpses of slaughtered beasts that were pretty small in size…

'She'll touch dead, bloody abominations, but is scared to death of the imps?'

Salome didn't dwell on it and just held her hand in the river, constantly absorbing the welcoming gift.

While excess Aether from Vitality Drain didn't increase her overall Aether levels, it provided her with a temporary reserve.

When the group was done, they began their arduous trek back up to the Dungeon of Lust. As they reached the halfway point, where they'd been when they saw the falling woman, Salome cast another glance at the raging, overflowing waterfall.

'Just what lies beyond that horizon.'

Salome and company continued their trek until the maw of their dungeon was finally in sight; however, a bizarre sight greeted them.

A bloodied human man with bound hands and legs sauntered along while scraping his head on the rocky wall with each step.

The man's right leg was broken, the bone jutting out, and he was dragging himself along the wall until the sudden opening from the Dungeon of Lust removed his support. The man, who'd eyes had barely been open, helplessly fell into the dungeon and down the slight slope.

Salome wasted no time in leaving Toy and the Workers behind as she engaged her wings and shot forth.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.