Chapter 202
Exclamations of awe erupted from various places at the colossal structure standing at the Destination.
“Oh...”
“Wow...”
Most of these exclamations came from the Otherworlders. After all, the Labyrinth (Labyrinth) had something that stimulated their sense of adventure.
Its colossal size, seemingly covering an entire Territory, and its seemingly complex structure were striking. With such visible grandeur, the Otherworlders must have felt as if they were witnessing a mystical landscape.
“If I upload this to the internet, it’ll go viral instantly, won’t it?”
“Wow, I’m so hyped.”
Of course, that was only from the Otherworlders' perspective. For the Gaians, who only had one life, it was probably filled with nothing but worry. Especially for the Knights who had to spearhead the penetration of that place.
“We’re going in all at once.”
As we gazed at the Labyrinth for a long time, the 2nd Knight Commander stepped forward and spoke.
“There’s no need to play into its hands.”
There were multiple Labyrinth Entrances, not only the massive Entrance visible before our eyes, but also other Entrances positioned a short distance away on either side.
If we were to circle this Circular Labyrinth, we would probably find dozens of similar Entrances. As if it were inviting us to split up and enter.
Naturally, dividing our personnel in such enemy territory would be nothing short of suicide. So, we chose one entrance and all went in together.
“In times like these, having too many people is actually inconvenient...”
5th Knight Commander Serena muttered with dissatisfaction. The Labyrinth Path was wide, but unfortunately, it wasn't wide enough to accommodate the entire Extermination Squad. Perhaps ten people could fit abreast.
Of course, that's if they squeezed in; to move comfortably, about five people in a single file were the maximum. As a result, the Extermination Squad entering the Labyrinth had no choice but to form a long line.
Still, it’s a good thing there are exactly five of us.
My Party Members happened to be five, including me. I let out a sigh of relief as I walked along the path.
Our Party was currently a few rows behind the Vanguard. If I were to compare this long Extermination Squad Formation to a snake... our position would probably be around the neck.
The Knights took the Vanguard, leading the way, and with my high combat prowess, I would provide support if anything happened.
Behind them, in the body of the formation, were Otherworlders and Mages of decent Skill. And at the very end, in the tail, Knights were once again guarding the Rearguard.
For something devised in such a short time, it was a pretty good formation.
So we kept walking. guarding our surroundings and sometimes even sightseeing
The path was not straight. There were many turns, as if deliberately designed to make us get lost, and several forks in the road. Most of those forks in the road were probably dead ends.
The Knight Commanders at the front chose any path without much hesitation.
Grrrk- Grrrk- From time to time, the cries of Imps could be heard. They weren't visible yet, but there were probably plenty of Imps beyond the walls.
This was Occupied Territory by Imps, after all. If they intended to create a Labyrinth, there would be no need to keep the Imps away.
Then, after one had walked for quite some time, there was a moment.
Thud. Suddenly, the footsteps of those walking in the Vanguard halted. I craned my neck to look ahead and saw a massive wall blocking our way. True to the Maze, a Dead End Path had been installed.
In a normal Maze, we would have to turn back and find another way... But as I said before, we had no intention of moving according to its will. Odelia, who had been staring at the wall before us, gave an order.
“Break it.”
At her words, the Knights immediately swung their weapons.
CRASH-!
With a massive sound, the wall before us crumbled. And at the same time, a new path appeared.
We weren't weak, so if our way was blocked, we'd just break through. Our sole purpose was to take Paimon's head. Everything else was merely cumbersome interference.
Breaking through walls to exit a maze was something I only thought about as a child.
To think I'd actually get to do it. I looked ahead, feeling a strange sensation.
“Kreek?”
“Kiiiririk!”
Beyond the crumbled wall, Imps could be seen rushing towards us. Hearing the loud noise, all the creatures nearby popped out. I'd seen them so often they almost feel familiar now.
“Everyone, Prepare for Battle!”
Odelia at the front shouted, and I picked up my spear. The Knights at the front let the rushing Imps flow past them. It wasn't a mistake.
They deliberately let them through to distribute the burden on the Vanguard. That's why they had maintained such a wide interval in the first place.
Thanks to this, an Imp quickly arrived before me.
“Kiiiririk!”
It had pointed ears and red eyes. It was a Monster from the Demon Realm with not a shred of reason visible. I mechanically thrust my spear.
CRUNCH! With a chilling sound, the Imp's head was smashed. For a moment, I couldn't help but be taken aback.
*Hmm?*
It was because the spear had penetrated better than expected. It was always an easy opponent, but this time it felt unusually easy.
How to put it... if last time it felt like cutting through gristle, this time it felt like slicing through butter.
The resistance I felt at my fingertips was completely different from before. My power had increased.
I haven’t exactly been training, though?
As I pondered why such a difference had occurred, a reason suddenly came to mind. It was the round elixir Odelia had given me a while ago.
I thought it was just wild ginseng...
Still, for something supposedly precious, it certainly had an effect. My body felt light, and my magic circulated quickly. It was as if all the waste products had been expelled from my body.
I had been wondering why my condition felt so good lately; the elixir had been slowly absorbed, revitalizing my body.
*Nice.*
That wasn't all. The “Hero Title” that the Otherworlders received was also showing its full effect here and now.
Swoosh-! Just then, Chae-rin, right beside me, swung her dagger and slaughtered an Imp. White particles were burning the Imp's corpse, starting from the cut she had made.
“Oh, wow.”
Chae-rin, seeing that, let out an exclamation of awe. Then she immediately started speaking something into the Void.
“Everyone, can you see this? They said “Additional Damage against Evil-aligned,” and this is how it shows up. Isn’t this pretty cool? Wow, I wonder if People without Titles can even live with this kind of sorrow...”
For the record, she wasn't currently Live Streaming. In battles like these, the broadcasts had long since switched to Recorded Broadcasts due to brutality and security concerns.
She was just talking by herself to the recording camera like that. So that's how good the Hero Title was. It was a Streamer-like quality I hadn't seen in a while.
Anyway, the fighting continued in that manner. Imps were Monsters everyone had hunted so much that they were sick of them. Thanks to that, the Cleanup was quick.
“Let’s go.”
After finishing the battle, we started walking through the Labyrinth again.
It was a repetition of breaking through Dead End Paths when we got lost, and eliminating Imps when they appeared. Imps appeared quite frequently, but it wasn't particularly difficult. It was literally just Imps.
However, boredom did set in. This was because the Labyrinth, despite being unnecessarily vast, had no particular components.
Did they focus so much on scale that they neglected the interior?
Indeed, a month was a short time even for Paimon. While it might have been able to establish the framework, adding the 'flesh' would not have been easy.
But the scale was real, so we had to walk endlessly through this Labyrinth. In between, the Knights chatted amongst themselves in worried tones.
“This... we might end up spending the night in this Maze.” “Don’t worry about that. We brought plenty of camping gear. You saw it yourself, didn’t you?” “By the way, is that Demon Paimon really in here?” “Yes. That much is certain. The Investigation Team has confirmed it multiple times.”
The problem is, we don't know where it is in here...
The Senior Knight muttered, sounding frustrated. Indeed, there was no particular Destination in this Labyrinth. There was no Treasure Chest if we reached the Center, nor any Clear Reward for exiting.
We simply had to find Paimon, who was somewhere in this Labyrinth. Naturally, it was frustrating and unsettling from the perspective of those in Pursuit.
Fortunately, however, that period didn't last too long. After rummaging through the Labyrinth for a few hours, they heard a voice from somewhere.
─Crush.
A serene and elegant... yet utterly unignorable voice. The moment its command fell, the walls on both sides suddenly began to contract rapidly.
RUMBLE-
“Th-the wall...!”
“It’s, it’s him!”
“Where is he! Pinpoint his location!”
Panic instantly began to rise within the Extermination Squad. The walls closing in from both sides were terrifying. Some rushed forward, trying to escape the terrain, while others raised their swords to try to break the walls themselves.
In that situation, I quietly grasped its location. I focused my Combat Instinct as much as possible on my Hearing, then traced back the source of the voice. The sense of distance and direction from the voice was grasped.
There it is.
Having grasped its location, I immediately broke through the wall on the left.
CRASH-!
With a massive sound, the contracting wall literally shattered into pieces.
By then, the Knight Order seemed to have also finished grasping the location. Odelia pointed at the wall I had broken and shouted.
“There it is! Paimon is beyond that wall!”
WAAAAAH! At her words, the Extermination Squad rushed beyond the wall, everyone scrambling. The boredom accumulated over several hours, and the urgency of the walls closing in, made them act hastily.
The formation, which had stretched out like a snake, began to collapse instantly.
“Wait! Don’t move so hastily! If you scatter like that─”
A Knight Commander stepped forward to try and stop them, but it was already too late. The Otherworlders seemed excited, having received their Hero Titles.
*Screw it.*
Because of that, I decided to move as well. I was probably the one who could best pursue Paimon from here.
I could pinpoint its location with my hearing, and I possessed enough combat prowess not to be blocked by trivial walls. Therefore, I decided to go ahead and at least tie its feet.
“I’m going ahead.”
I told my Teammates that and immediately moved my feet.
Thud-thud-!
Paimon, floating in the air far away, came into view. It seemed to have no intention of fighting head-on, flying away into the air even at this moment.
I briefly considered using Blood Force Art to throw some blood... but unfortunately, it didn't seem to be within range.
First, I need to close the distance.
So I ran without hesitation.
CRASH-! CRASH-!
I was smashing through any Stone Walls that occasionally appeared. The commotion was loud, so quite a few Imps gathered, but I just coolly ignored them.
They wouldn't be able to catch me with those short, stubby legs anyway. The Extermination Squad behind me would take care of them.
Naturally, the creature wasn't idle while we were in pursuit.
“Walls, rise.”
THUD!
It kept moving its mouth, hindering our advance.
“Winds, blow.”
“Waters, surge.”
Every time it uttered a word, Magic occurred around us. Fierce winds blew, pushing people back, and then suddenly water surged like a flood, drenching everyone.
It wasn't threatening, but it was incredibly annoying.
“This is really something.”
At one point, my temper flared, and I quickened my pace.
Still, thanks to my persistent Pursuit, I got quite close to it. The opportunity came when it issued its next command.
“Fog.”
Hissing... With just that one word, a phenomenon began to occur around us once again. Steam rose from the water Paimon had scattered, instantly engulfing everything, a foggy space where not even an inch ahead was visible.
Unfortunately for it, even with my vision restricted, I could still gauge direction sufficiently. Vision was an important sense for me too, but I had plenty of other senses to compensate.
I could feel the sound of the wind in my ears and the immense magical energy covering its body. I immediately leapt towards it.
WHOOSH-! Beyond the fog, the creature leisurely flying through the Sky came into view. Paimon, sensing my presence from behind, suddenly looked back. Perhaps not expecting me to appear so quickly, Paimon's languid eyes filled with a momentary shock.
Without hesitation, I prepared a Strike. I wrapped the spear shaft with thick blood imbued with magical energy, then added Sword Aura on top of it.
The spearhead, sharp enough to rival a Monomolecular Cutter, surged towards it.
“Barrier.”
It hastily gave the command, and my spear collided with the Barrier it created.
CRASH-! The air around us briefly vibrated with a massive sound. It was a pretty strong hit, but unfortunately, the Barrier it created didn't even show a scratch.
However, that didn't disappoint me. I hadn't expected it to be pierced by just one Strike.
Still, at least I had surprised it, so it wasn't entirely useless.
“...So we meet again.”
“Yes, shouldn’t we finish what we couldn’t last time?”
Our eyes met for the brief moment we were suspended in the Void. I wanted to continue the attack, but unfortunately, there was no time.
“Fly far away.”
It was quicker to issue its command first.
THUMP-As if the air itself was pushing me, my body was instantly propelled away. I wanted to resist, but unfortunately, it wasn't easy while leaping in the air.
Having shaken me off, it began to leisurely float away once more. Landing on the ground, I clicked my tongue in annoyance.
“...It clearly has no intention of fighting.”
It's a cunning creature, alright. Shouldn't a king fight a bit more fiercely?
Feeling frustrated, I briefly looked around. The same Labyrinth as before was visible, stone walls that hadn't changed at all. If anything had changed...
“...But where did everyone go?”
The entire Extermination Squad that had been moving with me was gone.
It was day one since entering the Labyrinth. In just one day, I was stranded.