Chapter 9. Labyrinth Tartazan (2)

—KIIIEEEEEEEK!!

Blood Demons.

The bloody maws guarding the Labyrinth swarmed towards them.

However.

“…”

*Swish!* *Splatter!*

With a few monotonous swings of her sword, Rudine mercilessly slaughtered them.

Adina watched the scene unfold with a horrified expression.

“Ugh…”

The sight of dozens of swarming Blood Demons being gruesomely dismembered with just a few sword swings was truly something out of this world. Out of the Human World, that is.

What shocked Adina even more was the fact that the corpses of the Blood Demons, slain so easily, immediately turned into black ash and were absorbed into the ominous forbidden book Luke Richter was holding.

“Did I do well?”

“You did well.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

The two who had performed such a bizarre act were perfectly composed.

Their steps were light, as if they felt no sense of danger in the current situation.

Adina was the only one bewildered by their nonchalant, almost abnormal reaction.

‘Crazy people…’

Neither the person who casually read the cursed book, nor the person who insisted on bringing it here, seemed sane.

At the same time, Adina felt her questions growing.

Even she, who had lived a sheltered life since childhood, knew that these two were no ordinary humans.

But Luke Richter, the man who introduced himself as a dog of the Imperial Family, was more than just peculiar; he was suspicious.

It was suspicious that he managed Blackmore alone, even though it had been neglected for so long.

It was suspicious that he knew the exact location of this ominous cave.

And it was also suspicious that he knew the location of every trap, as if he could see the future.

Despite this, she had followed this stranger to this place due to her fear of being left alone, a slight curiosity about his identity, and ultimately, her fascination with the mysterious power he wielded.

‘…Just what kind of person is he?’

She had followed him out of a strange sense of competitiveness, but she didn't fully trust him.

That's why she couldn't hold back her curiosity.

“This place… it's not an ordinary cave, is it?”

“That's right. It's a Labyrinth, after all.”

“Labyrinth?”

“Yeah. You know what a Labyrinth is, right?”

*Nod nod.*

She didn't know the details, but she vaguely understood.

When a certain place is eroded by Strange phenomena, its structure and properties become distorted, losing its original form and transforming into a space filled with endless Chaos and darkness. Such a den of evil is called a Labyrinth.

“How do you know about a place like this?”

“I saw it.”

“Did you… come here often?”

“No, it’s my first time.”

“…Then where did you see this place?”

“Ah, there's that.”

As expected. There was something.

Adina gulped and continued her questioning.

“Then do you know the name of this Labyrinth?”

“Tartazan.”

“…Tartazan?”

Tartazan.

It was a name she had never heard before, so she looked at him with curious eyes.

He, with a calm face, slowly continued walking.

“It's the name of a Prison that existed in the Forgotten Era.”

“…?”

He uttered words she couldn’t understand.

“A prison… what was imprisoned there?”

“A True Ancestor.”

“True Ancestor…”

A true progenitor.

What a ludicrous name.

“What? Scared?”

“No?”

“If you’re scared, hide behind me.”

“…Nonsense.”

—She said, already hiding behind him with her ears perked up.

He clicked his tongue at her consistently cowardly behavior. Just then…

“That’s…”

Beyond them.

They had to stop in front of the thick fog that lay heavily before them. It was so dense and dark that they couldn't see through it.

Not only that, but the jet-black fog swirled like a raging torrent, ominous just to look at.

‘What kind of vengeful spirits…’

Having opened her Spirit Eye since childhood, she could see clearly.

At the center of the torrent.

Tangled vengeful spirits were biting each other and screaming.

Their identity was that of Monsters.

Among them…

“…Bound Spirits.”

Of course, among vengeful spirits, Bound Spirits were relatively low-ranked and weak, but if those crazed maws decided to attack in a swarm like that, there was no hope.

Passing through that terrifying torrent of Monsters with their bare bodies would be suicide.

That's why she tried to stop them, but…

“Wait.”

He stopped before she could even speak.

And what he did next was…

“Rudine.”

“Yeah?”

“See that door at the end?”

“Yeah, I see it.”

“Just walk straight to it.”

“Got it!”

“???”

Crazy.

Was he seriously planning to sacrifice his companion to pass through there?

“Are you crazy?!”

“What?”

“You’re going through *that*?”

“I am.”

He wasn't listening.

So, she tried to persuade him as quickly as possible, but…

“!!!”

Rudine was already calmly walking through the middle of the torrent.

The eyes of the screaming vengeful spirits turned to her all at once.

“No, don’t…!”

A ferocious energy, far beyond what she had anticipated, erupted.

And the vengeful spirits, who had been biting each other to possess a living body, pounced on Rudine, but…

—KIIIEEEEEEEK! KIIIEEEEEEEK!

All the vengeful spirits that attempted to possess her were torn to shreds.

There were no exceptions.

Luke Richter, who was calmly watching, said…

“Hmm, works perfectly.”

“…”

As if he’d expected it.

He was wearing a satisfied smile.

****

*Whoosh.*

The shredded vengeful spirits were sucked into and absorbed by the Book of Pindal.

The book, having absorbed the fragments of the vengeful spirits, hummed contentedly.

“Works perfectly.”

He had to nod in agreement.

Rudine was truly the ultimate minesweeper.

‘As if some Bound Spirits could overcome the Heavenly Star of Slaughter.’

It was a natural outcome.

If the rank of a Bound Spirit was low, the rank of the Heavenly Star of Slaughter was divine.

There was no way some maw could possess her.

Operation: Go, Rudine!

A success once again.

“In…sane…”

Adina muttered with a pale face.

There was no time to explain everything, so he took the lead.

“What are you doing? Come on.”

“…”

Footsteps light.

Well, it would be, considering I was nearing the end of the Labyrinth.

'Cleared it easily.'

This cave, consisting of three sections, was a Labyrinth formed by the怨恨-infused spirits of Blood Demons imprisoned in the Prison of Tartazan.

Having read the original novel, I knew exactly how to conquer this Labyrinth.

True Ancestor Arkantilla, the one sealed in the last section – all I had to do was destroy its core.

While the method itself was simple, the process was anything but.

That’s why this Labyrinth required thorough preparation before entering.

'Rudine, you're the best.'

Yeah, no need for all that.

Rudine alone was enough.

And so, I passed through the door.

“…”

A coffin placed in the center of an empty space caught my eye.

It was the final gate of the Labyrinth, and the place where True Ancestor Arkantilla's main body was hidden.

I slowly walked towards the coffin and stood before it.

After staring at it for a moment, I quietly reached out and opened the lid.

*Creak.*

The moment the metallic sound rang out.

“!!!”

*Swooooooosh!*

A sinister energy pressed down on the space, and an unknown bloody liquid poured from the ceiling, drenching everything in crimson.

The flowing blood quickly pooled, saturating the stone floor, making it squelch.

'Tch, the smell of blood.'

I could feel the surrounding temperature dropping by the second.

And then, a bizarre thing happened.

The rising blood, as if possessing a will of its own, began to flow back into the coffin.

*Thud! Thud!*

The coffin shook.

A wave of reversing blood enveloped the rattling coffin.

And then, as the overflowing blood flow was sucked into the coffin.

*Grooooooooowl!*

True Ancestor Arkantilla.

A beautiful being with long, disheveled white hair appeared.

If I left it like this, it would regain consciousness.

Therefore.

*Flip!*

I spread The Book of Pindal, which I had carried from the entrance, on the floor.

And, with a prepared dagger held in reverse grip.

“Huu.”

*Stab!*

I stabbed.

*Stab! Stab! Stab!*

I stabbed, and stabbed again.

The reason I bothered to bring The Book of Pindal all the way here.

It was because this cursed Forbidden Book was the core of the Labyrinth.

As I plunged the final dagger.

“!!!”

*Whooooosh!*

Infernal flames consumed the Forbidden Book.

And.

— *Aaaaaaaaagh!!*

The recovering figure of Arkantilla began to melt.

It stared at me with resentment, but I didn't care.

Entrance killing is a veteran's virtue, after all.

*Rumble, rumble.*

The ground shook.

It was the aftermath of the Labyrinth's core being destroyed.

— *Damn… you… insignificant… livestock…*

“Eat shit.”

— *Damn… you… Who… are… you…*

“Like I'd tell you.”

I smirked and stood up.

As I was about to leave.

“Luke!!!”

A startled Rudine ran towards me.

Adina, equally surprised, ran as well.

“Luke, *gasp*…! Richter, *gasp*…! What… have you… done…!”

And.

Hearing that, Arkantilla.

— *Luke… Richter…*

Muttered my name, and then.

— *I… will not… forget…*

Left its last words.

— *I… will…*

And vanished.

Without a trace.

“…I'm dead tired.”

****

Meanwhile.

“Master, here are today's accounts.”

A masked man handed some documents to a woman.

Their affiliation was the Dark Shadow Society.

An espionage and assassination organization that controlled the Empire's back alleys.

“Good work…”

The woman received the documents.

She started cracking her neck, and then.

“…Luke, Richter…”

“Master?”

“I… will not… forget…”

“???”

*Crack!*

Leaving behind incomprehensible words, her entire body exploded, killing her.

And she wasn't the only one.

True Ancestor Arkantilla's servants, hidden throughout the continent, waiting for an opportunity.

These individuals, disguised as ordinary humans and hiding within the underworld, all exploded and died at the same time.

With the True Ancestor gone, the servants bound by blood also perished.

And.

Just before their demise.

They all spoke the name of one man.

That name was.

“Luke, Richter…?”

Luke Richter.

It was the moment the name of a mere official spread throughout the Empire.