Chapter 25: I'll Burn You into a Mummified Corpse
"Mmph... Mmph-mmph!"
The moment her consciousness returned, Lilith realized she couldn't make a sound.
Bandages were wrapped around her mouth.
She tried to move, only to find her hands were also immobilized.
Her entire body was suspended in mid-air, hung by bandages like a piece of merchandise on display.
"Mmph-mmph-mmph!"
Sensing something was wrong, Lilith tried to break free, but she only ended up swinging helplessly in the air like a pendulum.
So she widened her eyes, surveying her surroundings in terror.
This was a massive, circular, pure white space.
Along the surrounding walls, huge niches were arranged in neat rows. In each niche hung a monster—there were the moths that had attacked them earlier, as well as some bizarre creatures she had never seen before.
Without exception, they were all meticulously wrapped in white bandages, preserved in their final moments—some roaring, some struggling, some wailing... It was a morbid and eerie biological wax museum!
"What... what the hell is this place?"
Looking at these 'exhibits' before her eyes, Lilith felt her skin crawl.
Just then, her gaze swept across the center of the room, and her pupils suddenly constricted.
"Mmph?!"
Suspended in the air not far from her was another person.
It was Hill!
However, when Lilith saw Hill's current appearance clearly, even though she considered herself a "seasoned veteran" who had seen the world, she couldn't help but blush, feeling so ashamed she wanted to cover her eyes.
Hill's eyes were blindfolded with a white ribbon.
The bandages bit into his flesh, binding his body into unsightly shapes; his legs were pulled apart and suspended, forming a very humiliating pose, leaving his entire person defenseless and exposed to the air.
"Mmph-mmph!"
Unable to see his surroundings, he could only struggle, letting out indignant sounds.
"Holy crap..."
Seeing this scene, Lilith was dumbfounded, feeling her cheeks gradually grow hot.
"Is this some doujin artist's live teaching session?"
"Then again, isn't Hill a boy... Why does this scene actually look kind of good?"
"Forget it, one more look."
Thinking this, Lilith continued to steal glances.
It was at this moment that an elegant, raspy, yet neurotic voice drifted up from below.
"Welcome to the Eternal Gallery! I am the master here; you may call me the 'Pure White Collector'."
"Eh?"
Hearing the voice, Lilith turned her head to look, only to see a pile of bandages on the floor slowly squirming, quickly converging into a humanoid shape.
It was a weirdo wearing a tattered white tailcoat and a top hat. Its entire body was wrapped airtight in bandages, revealing only a single murky, yellowed eyeball that was flickering with a fanatical light.
Without needing to guess, she knew this fellow was the guardian of the eighth floor of the Abyss Labyrinth.
"What perfect specimens..."
The Collector tilted its head back, arms spread wide, looking at Lilith and Hill as if admiring world-class masterpieces.
"Whether it's a child with a pure soul or a girl who possesses such massive magic power despite being a Succubus, you are both materials I've dreamed of!"
"Look at these legs! Look at these hands! Once the internal organs are hollowed out, filled with spices that never rot, and then wrapped in these sacred bandages... you will surely become eternal works of art!"
It grew more and more excited as it spoke, its body even trembling slightly with agitation.
Then, the bandage-man walked over to Hill's side, scrutinizing the artwork before it like admiring fine porcelain, and reached out to grab Hill's ankle.
"Mmph-mmph-mmph!"
Feeling the Collector's malice, Hill let out another angry whimper... but at this, Lilith's face was covered in black lines as she looked at the Pure White Collector with a gaze like she was looking at an idiot—the other party noticed something and shifted its gaze back to Lilith.
"Oh? It seems this distinguished guest has something to say? Is there some dissatisfaction? Feel free to bring it up."
Snap—
The Collector snapped its fingers.
Thus, the bandages wrapped around Lilith's mouth finally loosened.
"Phew... Hah!"
Finally able to move her jaw, Lilith quickly took a few large gulps of air and immediately started cursing:
"Hey, hey! Are you sick? Who wants to be your artwork!"
"And did you get the situation straight, you idiot? Stop joking around, I'm a man! What kind of specimen are you making? Let us go, quickly!"
Being treated like a plaything for display made Lilith feel both ashamed and enraged, while also feeling concerned about the Pure White Collector's strange fetish—"Is this guy a necrophile? How disgusting!"
But to this, the Collector only paused slightly.
"A man?"
The murky eyeball rolled around twice, seemingly genuinely confused by Lilith's claim.
"That's right! Even that kid is a boy! Can you at least figure out the gender before you kidnap people!"
Lilith explained through gritted teeth, her tone quite righteous.
However, what answered her was a hair-raising low chuckle.
"Hehe... Hehehe..."
The Collector laughed eerily, then with a wave of its right hand, it conjured a massive full-length mirror from nowhere and pushed it directly in front of Lilith.
"Distinguished guest... why don't you see for yourself?"
"See what?"
Lilith didn't understand the Collector's intent; she frowned while reflexively looking into the mirror.
The next second, she froze.
In the mirror, a white-haired, red-eyed girl floated in mid-air.
Her clothes were a bit disheveled, and her black skirt was pulled upward by the bandages.
Her beautiful legs, clad in black stockings, hung helplessly, her shoes lost somewhere.
Cheeks flushed, eyes teary, lips swollen, plus this strange pose... it was practically writing the words "Come and bully me" in big letters across her face!
"Look."
The Collector pointed at the image in the mirror and said gloomily:
"This appearance... this posture... and you actually tell me you're a man? Hahahaha!"
"I f*cking..."
Looking at herself in the mirror, Lilith's mouth twitched, for a moment not knowing how to rebut.
"What can I do?"
"There's nothing I can do!"
"Being this good-looking isn't my fault, is it!"
The more she looked at herself in the mirror, the stronger Lilith's sense of shame became, until finally she could only rely on angry cursing to cover up her inner embarrassment.
"Bastard... you bastard bandage-monster! Let me down right now!"
But the angrier she got, the more excited the Pure White Collector became, and even its tone turned playful:
"Heh, you think such a small trick can fool me?"
"If you were a man, how could the Demon Lord keep you by his side at all times?"
"But..."
As it spoke, its tone shifted, and that single eye narrowed slightly:
"Since you've said so, as a rigorous Collector, I must verify the 'authenticity' of the material a little—let me try for myself~"
"Huh?"
At these words, Lilith's legs tightened, and cold sweat quickly broke out on her head.
"What do you want to try?"
Just as she finished speaking.
A slender bandage, like a snake's tongue, slowly moved up from Lilith's ankle.
"Mmph! You!"
Lilith went stiff all over, her scalp tingling; that sensation was truly disgusting to her!
"Stop... Stop it! What are you doing! Don't!"
"Don't move... I'll be able to confirm it soon... Just let me take a look! Hahaha!"
The Collector's tone grew more and more excited.
But, just then.
Creak—
The bandages suddenly made a sound as if they were under unbearable strain.
On Lilith's forehead, a blue vein suddenly bulged!
Shame?
Fear?
No!
What filled her heart at this moment was only the heaven-shaking rage of being treated as a toy, having her gender questioned, and being sexually harassed by a pervert!
"Every single one of you is like this!"
"I'll let it slide that the Abyssal Watcher was Hill's manifestation of evil thoughts, but you, looking this disgusting, actually want to touch me too!"
"Even Asmodeus hasn't touched me yet! Bastard, go to hell!"
"Ugh! Ah!"
Boom—!"
A loud explosion echoed throughout the entire Eternal Gallery!
A terrifyingly dark red magic power erupted from within Lilith like a volcanic explosion!
The originally indestructible enchanted bandages were, in this instant, like fragile tissue paper, forcibly snapped and blown to bits.
Then, Lilith, having broken free from her restraints, landed on the ground—her entire body enveloped in violent red magic, her hair fluttering without wind, her eyes crimson as blood!
At this moment, Lilith was a Super Saiyan Succubus!... Well, actually, she had just condensed her magic power to enter an explosive state.
"What? You actually!"
Seeing this scene, the Pure White Collector was extremely surprised, even taking a step back in panic.
Then, Lilith, staring dead at the other party, gritted her teeth and spoke word by word:
"You think you can touch me? You think everyone is the Demon Lord?!"
"See if I don't burn you into a mummified corpse!"