As the battle continued, Regulus quickly achieved his initial goal—shredding her garments to restrict her movements through shame.
However, surprisingly, the psychological effect was negligible.
Initially, Julia had hesitated, her movements inhibited as she tried to cover herself. But as she lost more and more of her clothing, her warrior's pragmatism took over. She completely abandoned her modesty, forcibly ignoring her half-naked state to focus entirely on survival.
In this situation, catching her unharmed had become an extremely difficult task.
'Can I only use the method of exhausting her stamina?' Regulus frowned, dodging a swift kick.
No.
At this rate, with her monstrous physical conditioning, it might take until nightfall—or even longer—to completely wear her out. After realizing that her attacks were completely ineffective against his invisible barrier, Julia had decreased her attack frequency. She was now pouring all her stamina into evasion.
She was clearly stalling, forcibly dragging the fight out.
Regulus's patience was wearing thin. He didn't want to continue this meaningless game of tag in the forest.
In that case... he would just have to change the terrain.
"Carol," Regulus called out casually. "Move a little further away."
"Eh? Ah, alright."
As she replied, Carol immediately backed away, giving Julia a look of profound pity. As an observer who knew Regulus's true nature, Carol naturally saw what was coming. Julia's evasive strategy was fine as long as Regulus was amused, but the Archbishop had clearly lost his patience.
Julia's expression became much more serious.
She had sensed it too. Regulus had not made any truly meaningful attacks from the beginning. He had just been playing.
The next moment, she saw Regulus raise his right foot.
The moment his boot landed, this seemingly ordinary step unleashed an incredible, logic-defying destructive power.
BOOM!
Centered on Regulus, the entire forest floor suddenly collapsed. The earth shattered and crumbled as if struck by a meteor. The destruction rapidly spread outward, engulfing everything around Julia and pulverizing the bedrock itself.
She wanted to dodge, but her footing had completely vanished. With nowhere to leverage herself, she could only fall along with the collapsing earth into the ever-widening sinkhole.
As she plummeted downwards into the darkness, the corner of her eye caught sight of Regulus. Ignoring the massive boulders and deadly debris raining down around them, he pushed off a falling rock and rushed directly toward her like a missile.
Just as he was about to reach her side, Julia tried to kick a massive chunk of debris into his path to block him. But against Regulus, who possessed the absolute defense of Stillness, the boulder simply shattered into dust upon touching his clothes.
'I lost,' she murmured to herself, her heart sinking.
But even knowing she was outmatched, she wasn't prepared to give up so easily.
After all, if she were caught now... according to the arrogant oath she had made earlier, she would be completely at his mercy. Right here. Right now. She was already bitterly regretting making that promise. If only she hadn't been so confident! Even if she had to lose, she would have preferred to go back to the mansion, to the dignity of her own bedroom, to accept her "punishment." Not in a collapsing pit of dirt!
So, just before Regulus could embrace her in mid-air, Julia forcefully twisted her falling body.
She lashed out with a desperate, full-strength kick aimed right at his chest.
Given the previous clashes where no amount of force could budge him, she knew this kick wouldn't hurt him. But the recoil would surely send her flying backward. As long as she was fast enough, she could use the impact to create a significant distance and escape his grasp.
But having learned from her previous agile escapes, Regulus wouldn't let her succeed so easily again.
The moment Julia's foot shot out, his hands moved like lightning.
She almost got away, but at the absolute last fraction of a second, his fingers closed like an iron vice around her ankle.
Looking at her other foot, which was still trying to kick him away, Regulus didn't even bother to react. Ignoring her struggles, he forcefully yanked her by the ankle, pulling her yielding body directly into his arms. He locked his grip around her waist and pressed her against his chest.
Now, she couldn't possibly escape.
As the two continued their freefall into the abyss, they reached the very bottom. With a deafening roar, Regulus and Julia were buried instantly under countless tons of rock and dirt.
Up on the surface, the dust slowly began to settle.
Carol, who had retreated to a safe distance, shook her head, utterly speechless.
"This commotion is a bit too much..." she sighed, dusting off her armor.
Approaching the massive crater where Regulus and Julia had been buried alive, Carol calmly sat down on a relatively intact stone near the edge.
Rescue them? Worry?
None of that was necessary. Given Regulus's Authority, let alone this small amount of rubble, she wouldn't worry even if a whole mountain had fallen on him.
Julia, on the other hand, might be feeling rather uncomfortable right now. But with Regulus there, Carol wasn't worried about the girl getting crushed. She was more worried about her innocence.
Deep underground, buried beneath the rubble.
It was pitch black, save for a faint, unnatural glow. Because Regulus had climbed directly on top of Julia at the moment of impact, he had blocked all the crushing weight. By extending the effect of his Authority, he had created a small, perfectly stable pocket of space within the collapsed earth.
Julia lay flat on her back, completely unharmed, with the white-haired Archbishop pinning her down.
"I guess I won, right?" Regulus said, a victorious smile evident in his voice.
Julia stared up at the man looming over her in the confined darkness. She was panting heavily, her skin covered in sweat and dirt, her torn clothes barely clinging to her body.
She no longer knew what to say.
"The problem we should be considering right now is how to escape from being buried alive, isn't it?!" Julia hissed, her voice trembling slightly.
"No," Regulus replied smoothly. "I'm far more concerned with who won."
"...You won," Julia gritted her teeth, admitting defeat. "After all, in this situation, I have absolutely no ability to continue resisting."
"Since that's the case, then according to our agreement... I'll claim the prize you promised me earlier."
"Eh! Wait!"
Julia's eyes widened in sheer panic.
"The air here is limited! What we should be doing right now is finding a way out—Ugh, ah!!!"
Julia's logical argument turned into a panicked, soft cry as she felt his hand slide smoothly up her exposed thigh.
She hadn't expected this man to actually make a move here!
In this situation? In this state? Buried under tons of earth, pinned to the ground with barely enough room to breathe, and he was still thinking of doing that?!
'I'll die! I'll really suffocate and die!' she panicked.
Especially in this claustrophobic posture, being pressed underneath him with absolutely no avenue of escape.
"I said no! You need to sober up!" she pleaded urgently, her hands reaching out to push against Regulus's chest as his lips began trailing down her neck.
"I'm very sober right now," Regulus murmured against her collarbone.
"Very sober..."
She couldn't see a single trace of sobriety in the man pressing her into the dirt. His eyes were dark with unyielding greed.
"You... wait a moment!" Julia gasped, trying a softer, negotiating tone. "Regulus, please. Let's first get out of this rubble. After we're out and back in the mansion... I won't stop you from doing whatever you want. I'll even actively cooperate with you! How does that sound?"
Being buried alive was terrifying enough; she certainly didn't want to lose her maidenhood while gasping for oxygen in a dirt tomb.
"Well now~" Regulus chuckled darkly.
The conditions she offered were very tempting. But the sheer panic on her beautiful face, lit by the faint ambient mana, was even more enticing.
In fact, taking possession of her directly in their current, desperate state...
This first experience, though certainly not comfortable, would definitely leave her with an incredibly deep, unforgettable memory, wouldn't it? It was the perfect way to break her pride.
"Ah!!! Wait! What are you doing!??" Julia shrieked, her voice echoing in the small earthen chamber as he forcefully parted her legs.
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