I Revived My Maid, Now She Hungers for My Blood

Pandora paused. Her gaze drifted downward, landing on the solid, pristine floor beneath her feet, devoid of any special markings. Her voice was soft, yet crystal clear. “She should be right below us.”

A flicker of genuine surprise finally appeared in the attendant’s eyes. It was fleeting—barely a ripple—quickly smoothed over by her practiced, polite smile. But Pandora caught it.

“Why... would she be down there?” Curiosity laced the attendant’s voice.

Pandora shrugged, an easy smile breaking across her face. “If she’s not up here, then naturally, she’s down below. Isn’t that the simplest answer?”

She turned, her gaze sweeping over the giant flower buds scattered around the testing ground. They were opening and closing to some innate rhythm, puffing out bursts of fresh air with every motion. The buds were pale gold, translucent, and massive—each one taller than a grown man.

“If I had to guess,” she pointed at the largest of the buds, “I’d say these flowers share a certain resemblance to the ‘tree’ elevator at the oxygen bar entrance we took to get down here. If the same person designed them, then her design philosophy—or her aesthetic—would naturally leave similar fingerprints on different works. It shouldn’t be surprising to see parallels, right?”

Ever since the Heartwood Bar one floor up, she’d been paying attention. Whether it was the “living” plants that parted automatically in the oxygen bar above, the “tree” elevator hidden behind the wall of foliage, or the breathing giant flower buds before her now, they all exuded a similar vibe. As for the giant buds, though massive, they mostly lurked in the shadows of this level, keeping a low profile. However, when she had just come down the spiral stairs, the excellent bird’s-eye view had made them the first thing Pandora noticed.

After all, from the very beginning, she hadn’t been all that interested in the testing ground or its secrets. To an ordinary Apprentice, this might have been a mind-blowing revelation. To her, it was just par for the course. Why obsess over it?

Her gaze returned to the attendant. The woman had recovered from her momentary lapse. She nodded seriously, a new glint in her eyes... was that scrutiny?

“True. If the same person designed them, her design philosophy would naturally bleed through to some degree. You guessed right.” The attendant stepped aside, gesturing toward the nearest giant flower bud. “There is indeed another level below.”

With that, the attendant led the way toward one of the massive, pale-gold buds. Pandora and Elsa followed.

Just like the “living” plants in the oxygen bar above, as they approached, the bud broke its normal rhythm and peeled open its petals wide ahead of schedule, revealing the pedestal at its center. The pedestal was also pale gold, its surface smooth, rhythmically venting a humid breeze that carried the crisp scent of vegetation.

“Please.” The attendant stood at the edge of the bud, smiling invitingly.

Pandora gave her a look, then stepped onto the central pedestal, Elsa right beside her. Their combined weight caused the pedestal to sink slightly. Then, it began its slow descent. The speed was unhurried, perfectly smooth—just like a normal elevator.

Pandora waited.

However, the exact moment the pedestal dropped far enough for the pale-gold petals to completely enclose them—the floor suddenly vanished from beneath her feet!

Not a weightless drop, but the literal disappearance of the “pedestal”!

Splash!

Splash!

Two sounds of hitting the water rang out almost simultaneously. Pandora plunged into a pool of warm liquid.

“Phew—” Surfacing from the warm water, Pandora wiped her face, feeling a bit dumbfounded. Beside her, Elsa maintained her stoic expression, but with her wet hair plastered to her cheeks, she looked a bit bedraggled.

As for the attendant, she only now drifted down from the sky—right out of the bud’s opening they had just fallen through—descending at her own leisurely pace under their watchful eyes. Not a single drop of water touched her skirt as she landed gracefully on the edge of the pool. She beamed down at the two soaked girls in the water, a mischievous lilt to her voice:

“How was that? The bud might be the entrance, but it’s definitely not an elevator~”

Pandora just shook her head helplessly and stood up in the warm pool. She found it more amusing than infuriating.

The attendant’s smile widened. Becoming a drowned rat was unfortunate, sure. But when the pool was perfectly heated, the water clean and clear rather than murky, and carried a faint botanical fragrance... well, that took the edge off the misfortune.

As she climbed out of the pool, her dark Apprentice uniform clung to her, dripping steadily. Pandora casually wrung out the hem of her shirt, but her attention was quickly captivated by the sight of this new space.

This was underground. Deep underground. Yet overhead, a warm, liquid gold light cascaded down. It wasn’t the sun, but rather luminescent bodies hanging from the cavern ceiling like massive fruits. They swayed gently, spilling forth a thick, warm halo of light like melting honey, illuminating the entire cavern.

The ground beneath her was incredibly soft. It wasn’t dirt, but a dense, spongy moss tinged a pale flesh-pink. Stepping on it felt like treading on the skin of some living creature. Despite being a sealed underground cavern, Pandora could feel a breeze. It brushed past her, stirring her wet hair and reshaping the wind-chime-like flowers dangling in the air, coaxing out a crisp, melodic cascade of chimes.

“Quite nice, isn’t it? My little place.” The attendant clasped her hands behind her back, looking like a kid showing off a treasure trove as she smiled and asked.

Pandora nodded. The air was thick with a wondrous fragrance. The sweetness of bubbling, bioluminescent nectar mingled with the crisp bite of lavender, the rich body of aged wine, and just a hint of... the distinct scent of burnt rosemary.

It really was... quite nice.

But her eyes quickly caught onto something else. Amidst the myriad of exotic, ever-shifting flora and blossoms, there existed an element of... stillness. A disharmonious note.

It seemed... to be some kind of plant?

Pandora stepped forward, gently brushing aside an unripe, jade-like fruit dangling in her path, and laid eyes on the bizarre flora that seemed to serve as the “support” or “foundation” for the entire garden.

It was pitch black. Its dark branches didn’t look like wood; rather, they resembled twisted, black veins, snaking their way between the vibrantly colored, glowing flowers. It too had “flowers,” but these blooms—so darkly crimson they bordered on pure black—seemed perpetually frozen in a half-open state, exuding a sickly, wilting aura. The texture of the petals was undeniably akin to the finest black velvet, yet they voraciously absorbed and devoured the warm golden light surrounding them.

It was the sole black hole in this garden of shimmering brilliance.