Dragged along by Mephisto, Alice and Arale plunged into a place filled with thick smoke and lava, surrounded by misshapen monsters and wandering souls.
But the moment they saw Mephisto, they scattered, not daring to disturb the master of this Hell Dimension.
"Eek!"
Alice let out a frightened cry at the sight around her. Though scared out of her wits, she still trembled her way in front of Arale to shield her.
"W-who are you? W-where are we?"
Alice questioned Mephisto in a timid voice, then added a rather unconvincing threat. "You'd better let us go right now, or my brother won't let you get away with this!"
A threat without the slightest force behind it couldn't have frightened anyone, let alone a Hell Lord like Mephisto.
"My name is Mephisto, and my hobby is collecting all kinds of interesting souls. Welcome to my Hell Dimension."
Mephisto smiled and bowed with a hand over his chest.
"Don't worry. Before long, I'll invite your brother here too. I need someone to keep making artificial souls like you."
"Ohoho..."
Just then, Arale poked her head out from behind Alice, pointed at Mephisto, and burst out laughing.
"You look so funny, mister! Hahahahaha!"
"Run, Arale! He's a bad guy!"
While Arale was studying Mephisto's appearance curiously, Alice slipped her hands under Arale's armpits, scooped her up, and turned to run.
"Oho?"
Arale tilted her head to look at the panicked Alice, not quite understanding why she wanted to run.
If he's a bad guy, can't we just send him flying? That's what Kraft and Angela always taught me.
Still, Arale didn't struggle. She let Alice carry her around as she ran, because...
This is pretty fun too!
"Hahahahaha! Faster! Faster!"
Arale laughed as she cheered Alice on.
Meanwhile, Mephisto was in no hurry