Chapter 8. Labyrinth Tartazan (1)

Special Forces Commander Derek Baldwin couldn't comprehend the current situation.

He sighed in disbelief and asked again.

“He hid his power?”

“Yes, Commander.”

“Are you sure? You're not mistaken?”

“I'm certain.”

Derek Baldwin was speechless.

At first, it was curiosity.

Blackmore, a place even the Imperial Family had neglected for decades, was being managed by a low-ranking official alone. That news raised questions.

So he immediately raised his objection to the Prime Minister.

—If he is an ‘ordinary’ low-ranking official.

The Prime Minister subtly handed him a piece of information.

Along with the fragmented information that Luke Richter was not an ordinary low-ranking official.

Frankly, it was hard to believe.

He, the Commander of the Special Task Force directly under the Imperial Family, which handles information and classified secrets, knew absolutely nothing about this man named Luke Richter.

So he merely issued an order to confirm the truth himself.

“A Black Wolf, a Sky Extremity Bird, a Sentinel, a Bloodfang, a Revenant… all of these were found dead in front of his office?”

“Yes, all of them were Monstrous Beasts of Monster rank or higher.”

“Cut in half with a single strike? Do you think that's possible?”

“But we didn't find any other wounds besides the cleanly severed sections.”

“…”

Silence descended.

The cleanly severed sections of the Monstrous Beasts were merely traces of Rudine's one-sided slaughter, but there was no way they would know of Rudine's existence.

Thus, misunderstandings piled up, and the Special Forces Commander, who had been silently staring at the man, finally gave a short reply.

“…Something's there.”

For a moment, the corners of his lips turned upwards.

Honestly, he didn't have any particular expectations, but now that he looked into it, there were more than a few suspicious points.

To the extent that he couldn't even fathom what and how much was being hidden.

He needed certainty.

Certainty that he was a usable pawn.

And incidentally, to satisfy his own curiosity.

“Security?”

“No problems.”

Nod.

He waved his hand and answered casually.

“Bury this case for now.”

“Understood.”

“You can leave now.”

That was the end of it.

The man who had given the report bowed his head and left the room. Derek, left alone in his office, let out a chilling laugh.

“The Richter Family…”

Smirk.

He looked out the window and muttered in a voice laced with amusement.

“I'll have to start digging from there.”

****

Meanwhile.

“Hmm.”

I gently grasped the stone in my hand.

It was the stone engraved with the Rune of Time that Adina had given me.

“I'm telling you in advance, but I don't know how to use it.”

Adina, confidently laying the groundwork in advance.

I ignored her lightly.

Because I already knew how to use Runes.

“Rudine.”

“Yeah.”

“Stay away for a moment.”

I put some distance between myself and Rudine.

And I slowly drew up my meager Mana, intending to absorb the Rune.

With a humming sound, the Mana wavelength rotated and began to be gradually absorbed into the Rune stone I held.

'This is important from now on.’

Runes, instead of granting immediate abilities, are impossible to absorb through ordinary methods.

Absorbing the Primordial Language, imbued with divinity, into a mortal's flesh inevitably violates the Causality of the world.

'I have to twist it.'

Gooooooooo!

With the strange sensation of blood flowing backwards, my Mana wriggled.

A high-level suggestion encompassing Mana blossomed from my fingertips.

It was Karma.

The original sin of a forgotten deity began to twist Causality through the medium of language.

The myriad things of all creation melted into my deep consciousness.

The moment my true Mind's Eye reacted to the will of the world.

“I absorb the Karma.”

I quietly uttered the predetermined Activation Word.

At that moment, like ink spreading on water, space was dyed with a brilliant white dawn.

Under the immense pressure of time, everything moved slowly.

A moment later.

[Pilgrim who bears Karma, offer the price of your sin.]

A piercing voice tore through my eardrums.

It resonated within my head as if whispering directly into my brain.

'It has begun.’

Primordial Language, Rune.

The Primordial Language capable of containing the essence of a forgotten great god— that was the setting, probably.

Anyway, to absorb this, a corresponding price was required.

That price is.

“I relinquish Mana.”

I uttered the predetermined answer without hesitation.

The reason I chose Mana as the price was simple.

When relinquishing Mana as the price for absorbing a Rune, the side effects are the least.

'It’s not like I had a lot of Mana anyway.’

If I had been born with a lot of Mana, it might have been regrettable, but I, who had been born with a meager Mana pool, was an exception.

Besides, absorbing a Rune creates a special resource called Mind's Eye anyway.

There was no reason to cling to Mana.

And, a moment later.

As my vision, dyed pure white, gradually returned, I realized that Rudine and Adina were staring at me with shocked expressions.

The Rune, which had been pulsating in my hand, was absorbed into my flesh.

And, below my right eye.

The Rune's inscription was engraved like a tattoo.

Chirp chirp chirp!

I looked up and saw a sparrow flying in the air.

I stretched out my hand towards the sky to check the results.

Instead of empty Mana, an indescribable energy condensed at my fingertips.

An insignificant amount of energy.

That energy was even more pathetic than my meager Mana.

But.

“Acceleration.”

The moment I uttered the predetermined Activation Word, the condensed energy spiraled and pierced through the sparrow.

“Reverse”

It stopped.

More accurately, it slowed down.

Almost to a complete halt.

It wasn't just the sparrow.

Falling leaves, floating dust motes, the swirling wind… Literally everything that came into contact with the condensed energy was crushed and slowed by the immense pressure of time.

'The radius is pretty short, though.'

It was definitely a broken ability, but the radius was way too small.

Naturally, the duration was also short.

While the potential applications were limitless, I clicked my tongue in disappointment.

“Just now, what the…”

“….”

A sight that defied phenomena, that defied the laws of nature.

The eyes of the two girls who witnessed it were filled with shock.

****

After absorbing the Rune.

“Um, excuse me…?”

Adina, who had been following me, tugged on my sleeve.

And she asked in a nervous voice.

“I’m part of your group now, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then can I ask you something?”

I thought about it for a moment.

Since I'd obtained a Precious Artifact thanks to her, I readily nodded.

“What is it?”

“What… are you?”

“What am I?”

She perked up her ears and nodded.

It was suspicious enough that a human was living in this Magical Boundary, but above all, the Art he had just displayed wasn't something an ordinary human could perform.

So she asked, as a commemoration of becoming part of the group.

“An official.”

“Huh?”

Adina frowned at my answer.

“You’re one of the Imperial Family’s dogs?”

“Ouch, that stings a bit, but yeah.”

“Why is an official in a Magical Boundary like this?”

“Because I’m the administrator here.”

“…Administrator?”

Naturally, Adina tilted her head, confused.

“There’s an administrator in a place like this?”

“They recently appointed one.”

“Then what’s this Monster?”

“Monster?”

Adina pointed at Rudine with her fingertip.

“It's strange. How can a human’s energy be so Fierce?”

It was a truly unexpected remark.

Rudine, hearing this, scowled.

“A talking fox is stranger.”

“Well, that's true… What?”

She paused.

Adina, who had been walking briskly, stopped dead in her tracks.

She glared at Rudine, her swaying silver tail held high.

“Are you done talking?”

“See? This fox is way too human-like. And a scaredy-cat, too.”

That's true.

As I nodded in agreement, she blushed.

“Coward.”

“…”

“Chicken.”

“…”

“Little thief.”

“Eek…!”

Their childish squabble dragged on.

I would have liked to watch a bit longer, but…

“Stop.”

I stopped them.

We had arrived at our destination, the entrance to Labyrinth Tartazan, a small cave beyond the forest.

“…Is this our destination?”

Adina, hiding behind me, asked, her ears twitching.

I nodded curtly and moved forward.

“What kind of energy…”

As she muttered, an unusual, chilling energy enveloped the cave.

Unlike the bright exterior, the inside of the cave was strangely dark and eerie.

It was obviously a suspicious place, but…

“Follow me.”

“Okay.”

“Ugh…”

There was no time to waste here.

I planned to finish the exploration quickly, return to the office, and write my report.

As I lit the lamp I’d brought, the cave, shrouded in pitch black, was illuminated around the light source.

“…”

There weren't any immediate dangers.

Except for the fact that it was dark, cold, and enough to drive you insane.

As I was thinking this and walking, something emerged from beyond the thick darkness.

“Found it.”

It was an altar.

Judging by the patterns drawn in blood, it was undoubtedly an artificially constructed altar.

Seeing something I'd only read about in a novel in person was quite chilling.

But I couldn't stop, so I continued walking.

Then, Rudine pointed at something.

“…A book?”

At the center of the altar.

There was a pedestal made of stone, and on top of it lay a tattered book.

What was surprising, however, was the book's cover…

“…Human skin.”

No matter how I looked at it, it was human skin.

It was utterly horrifying, but I knew what it was.

'The Book of Pindal.'

Known as a Forbidden Book, it was a grimoire containing madness.

A cursed book that would taint the soul upon reading, revealing one's ugly true nature.

Normally, it would be best not to even touch it, but I had to read it to enter the deeper parts of the Labyrinth.

However, there was a problem.

To read The Book of Pindal, a high-ranking sorcerer skilled in the Sorcery of Haeju was required.

But.

“Rudine.”

“Yeah?”

“Go read it.”

“Okay!”

I didn't need any of that.

Rudine's soul, carrying the Heavenly Star of Slaughter, was already thoroughly twisted, so reading one more cursed Forbidden Book wouldn't make a difference.

As expected.

“I finished reading it.”

As she closed the Forbidden Book after finishing it…

“!!!”

*Rumble rumble rumble!*

The ground shook, and the closed entrance revealed itself.