Taming The Villainesses novel Chapter 344

Creeeak-.

As the heavy iron door swung open, the damp, moldy stench unique to underground spaces rushed into my nose. Mixed with it were strange, unpleasant odors that grated on my nerves.

Because of that, Aira dug deeper into my arms, trembling violently.

Was she afraid?

It was only then that I realized—

It was not that she hated leaving the safe zone.

It was coming here.

“... What a wretched place.”

Someone muttered.

It was probably Mirna. As she said, this place was terrible.

Bloodstains were splattered everywhere, pulled teeth and torn nails littered the floor—all were a grim testament to the suffering that had unfolded here. An inescapable prison.

The end of hope.

I had been locked up here myself not too long ago due to the Nymph Fever Koronoi incident, but even then, it hadn’t been this bad.

Just then, Elga nudged me.

“No time to dwell. They’ll notice we’re here soon. We need to move.”

She was right.

There was no time to be immersed in emotions. This wasn’t even reality—just a figment in a dream.

We kept our eyes forward, never glancing at the iron bars around us, and simply followed the nymph’s lead.

How long had we been walking?

“This place is like a maze. We've been walking for tens of minutes, but there’s no end in sight. Was the palace’s underground always this big?”

Elga voiced her doubts.

I shared the same sentiment.

Like her, I was also feeling doubtful. We had walked long enough to reach the dungeon’s end, yet we were still circling similar corridors.

Was the nymph leading us into a trap?

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Mirna spoke calmly.

“It’s common for the deepest parts of the subconscious to form a labyrinth. A place where one locks away thoughts they don’t want to face, or things they don’t want to see. It's a psychological defense to keep what's inside sealed.”

As if to prove Mirna’s words, the further we went, the stronger the stench became. The ground beneath us grew damp and sticky.

“... What is this?”

Elga grimaced at the inky black water now lapping at her ankles. It was so dark that you couldn’t even see the bottom.

The further we went, the higher the water level climbed—first to our knees, then to our thighs, we were wading through the murky sludge.

“This is awful. The stench is stabbing my nose.”

Elga scowled.

Perhaps annoyed by her complaints, the nymph walking ahead let out a long sigh.

“This is where all the palace’s waste and sewage gather. It’s a dumping ground for everything people have thrown away. If you can’t even handle this, there’s no way you’ll be able to face that monster. Go back.”

“Hah, I'm just saying, I never said I can't handle it.”

As they exchanged some bickering, we arrived before a massive iron gate. Its bars were spaced just wide enough for a small child to squeeze through. _{fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm}