Chapter 134
Chapter: 134
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 134
>Chapter Title: Labyrinth (3)
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>The annex of Scarzapino, lit up as brightly as midday.
In the pitch-black shadows of the deserted rear garden, just off from those dazzling lights, Riccardo was helplessly caught by the mysterious exorcist.
Crack. His elbow joint, twisted back to its limit, creaked ominously.
“Gaaah……!”
Riccardo tried to scream, but a sudden gust of wind from somewhere clamped down on his vocal cords, muffling the sound.
“……!”
The exorcist stared down at Riccardo—his face drained pale with terror and pain, twitching helplessly—with an utterly expressionless face.
How long did that go on?
Just before Riccardo lost all strength and slumped, the wind sealing his mouth vanished.
[I won’t ask again. Speak. Where did he send my son?]
Finally able to breathe, Riccardo gasped for a moment. Then, before this terrifying visitor’s patience ran out, he shouted hastily.
“…The, the labyrinth! The labyrinth!”
[Where in the labyrinth?]
“I don’t know the exact name of the place! But I glimpsed it in that storyteller’s memories. I don’t know when, but you’ve definitely been there before!”
[…….]
The strength drained from the exorcist’s arm.
With his upper body finally free, Riccardo painfully turned to look behind him and asked.
“…But why? Why are you asking me? You could just know everything you want to know!”
The woman gazed down at Riccardo without a word.
On that chilling face, where no expression could be read, the only sign of life was the gray pupils that occasionally flickered silver.
And no one else could possess those unique eyes.
‘As I thought! This woman is currently possessed by the Holy Emperor!’
Judging by the wax-pale face and raven-black hair, she was likely of the Kornsiim clan or carried their blood. To serve as a vessel for the Holy Emperor, her channeling ability—and thus her bloodline—must be far from diluted.
This was surely one of the Holy Emperor’s makeshift measures to avoid leaving the imperial palace.
‘In that case… if I can somehow escape this situation, it means the Holy Emperor won’t pursue me anymore, right?’
If he headed to the labyrinth to find his son, then Riccardo still had a chance.
As he racked his brain, the exorcist, who had been watching him silently, spoke in a calm tone.
[Very well. Then the child will return safely.]
“……?”
[It seems by chance that he sent my son there, but surely the child has something to find in that place.]
…What?
“You’re… not going to the labyrinth?”
Riccardo’s voice trembled with shock as he asked again.
“Why on earth? I can’t understand you or His Highness at all! Why do you always ignore the clear path right in front of you and….”
[…….]
“No, that’s not it. That’s not the problem.”
How long had it been since Sigurd Sigursson blasted Prince Mores away, and already this exorcist had appeared before Riccardo?
She must have been ordered to stand by nearby in advance, anticipating any unfortunate incidents during the prince’s outing.
But why? If she knew something like this might happen, why didn’t she stop his outing beforehand…?
“……!”
Sudden realization widened Riccardo’s eyes.
“Don’t tell me! You didn’t foresee it at all?”
Not just sealing prophecies, but avoiding predictions about the prince entirely?
Was that what the storyteller meant by complete uncertainty?
“But how, how is that possible? How can you do that? Because you…!”
But Riccardo cut himself off, drawing in a sharp breath. A cold, chilling gaze pierced straight through his thoughts—and even his soul—freezing his entire body stiff.
Those eerie eyes.
The woman’s gleaming silver-gray eyes examined Riccardo closely for a moment.
[To know even that much… you were cooperating with him of your own volition.]
“……!”
[To willingly call yourself a slave to such a wicked one… that’s a grave sin deserving immediate execution.]
A foreboding premonition flashed through his mind.
The Holy Emperor had no intention of letting Riccardo go!
“Your Majesty! I… I am a member of House Scarzapino! You cannot harm me without cause like this!”
[Your background won’t shield you as a servant of evil. Do you truly think I don’t know who you are?]
The exorcist—no, the Holy Emperor—drew the sword from her waist with elegant poise.
A deadly hooked curved sword with a sharply bent blade. The sharp shotel, symbol of the exorcist, reflected the moonlight in a sinister silver gleam.
“Wait! Then the pact… Don’t forget your restrictions, O Guardian of Delcross!”
Struggling to control his trembling jaw, Riccardo desperately cried out.
“The sudden incident Sigurd caused today was not my intention! Until now, I have not violated the rules of the manifest world, nor strayed greatly from human limits. Therefore, you have no right to blame my free will!”
[…….]
“Please, do not turn away from the consequences born of your own mistakes!”
The Holy Emperor paused, silently staring at Riccardo.
As Riccardo swallowed dryly under that utterly emotionless, mechanical face, the Holy Emperor finally nodded calmly and spoke.
[Yes. That was indeed the agreement.]
Did it work?
[So rest assured. Severing you from him is none other than this exorcist’s free will.]
‘…What?’
Cold sweat beaded as an unpleasant premonition hit.
[Isn’t that right, Sir Sharon?]
“……!”
Riccardo recoiled in shock. The eyes looking down at him had turned a deep black.
A chill raced down his spine.
“Heh heh heh.”
The exorcist’s haggard face split into a grin.
“Yes, indeed it is, Your Majesty.”
The curved sword she raised high into the air gleamed round like a crescent moon in the night sky.
And before Riccardo could open his mouth again.
Crack!
The shotel struck down like lightning onto his crown.
* * *
Beep, bleep, bleep—
Harsh alert tones battered his ears in succession.
Indecipherable text windows flickered endlessly before his eyes, cluttering his vision.
〚Party□ member recognized. Lycanthrope Lord has rege□ned.〛
>〚Error! Cannot recognize Party□’s exact □formation!〛
>〚Reque□ting target entity □formation update from Str□.〛
>〚Reque□ting scale synchronization adjustment from Str□.〛
Ah, damn.
No idea what, but it felt like he’d triggered something big again?
[This is bad, Seongjin!]
The Demon King shouted, brimming with tension.
[For some reason, a condition tied to this place has been met! Something dangerous might appear, so we need to get out before it’s too late!]
‘Y-yeah.’
Seongjin backed toward the entrance, sweating profusely, when thud—his body hit a wall.
‘……!?’
Feeling around, an invisible something had completely sealed the cavern entrance. Like the intangible barrier Sigurd Sigursson had created.
“…What the hell?”
Orden, likewise blocked from retreat, muttered in confusion.
And then.
In the deep cavern, empty just moments ago, an enormous creature’s presence suddenly emerged, radiating terrifying menace.
Two red eyes glinted ominously in the darkness.
〚Lycanthrope Lord detects intrusion into boss room. Clear □ enemy reaction!〛
‘Hey, Demon King. Looks like we’re screwed.’
Grrrrrr….
An extreme low-frequency growl from the thing made every hair on his body stand on end. Seongjin and Orden drew their swords in unison, glaring ahead.
Then boom. The heavy thud of something planting its foot.
Whoosh—the entire area lit up brightly. Torches lining the cavern walls ignited all at once, principle unknown.
〚Error! Cannot recognize Party□’s exact □formation!〛
>〚Reque□ting target entity □formation update from Str□.〛
What finally appeared before them was a massive blue-furred beast.
Its head resembled a canine, while its shaggy body and the hands gripping axes looked almost human.
Its legs, however, were distinctly bent backward like a quadruped’s, yet it moved bipedally with eerie ease.
“Lycanthrope? But that size…?”
Orden, observing it with a ghastly face, muttered lowly.
Indeed, the beast’s form resembled lycanthropes—the ferocious beasts that occasionally prowled the northern demon realms.
Only everything was absurdly larger. Its shoulder height neared four meters, and each axe in its hands looked over two meters long.
〚Reque□ting scale synchronization adjustment from Str□.〛
>〚Error! Cannot establish clear adjustment criteria!〛
Another oddity: unlike typical lycanthropes, it wore intricately crafted metal ornaments.
Its red eyes gleamed without pupils, but the ornate decorations gave it the air of an intelligent being with civilization.
Clink.
With each step, the metal trinkets swayed, reflecting the torches’ blue flames.
‘…What the hell is that?’
While Orden drowned in utter confusion, Seongjin’s impression facing the beast was far simpler.
‘Oh, boss mob. We’ve entered its boss room.’
[…That’s all you have to say?]
‘What else? You enter the boss room, you beat the boss. What’s to think about?’
Rooooar!
The beast bellowed thunderously and charged.
Whoosh. With speed belying its massive bulk—like a bolt of lightning—it swung an axe.
Seongjin dodged habitually, but Orden, thinking of regular lycanthropes, failed to react to the exceeding speed.
‘Damn…!’
Reflexively raising his aura-infused sword overhead, Orden gritted his teeth against the impending impact.
Clang! The clash of weapons rang out!
“……?”
Orden blinked.
Heavy, sure. But not the impact he’d expected.
〚Error! Cannot calc□late damage from □ attack!〛
>〚Reque□ting scale synchronization adjustment from Str□.〛
The beast swung again. A menacing strike with a whoosh of displaced air.
Thud! Yet it bounced off Orden’s sword with a relatively light impact sound.
Grrrrr.
The beast halted, growling at him in clear displeasure.
Seongjin seized the gap to retreat beside him. But Orden’s eyes now burned not with confusion, but clarity.
〚Error! Cannot establish clear adjustment criteria!〛
>〚Reque□ting target entity □formation update from Str□.〛
“Hmm, charging in and clashing blades without scouting first… you’re pretty brave, huh? Seems more manageable than I thought?”
As Seongjin spoke casually, Orden snapped back at him indignantly.
“You think so? But what was I supposed to do? Its movements are completely unpredictable!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes! It’s abnormal, Your Highness! It looks like a lycanthrope, but its power, speed, center of gravity—none of it makes sense!”
Seongjin tilted his head.
“Hmm. I see. I’ve never seen a real lycanthrope, so I just thought it was like a Blata Mentis. Same size and all.”
“Bla… what’s that?”
“Oh, a monster from Gehenna. Pretty gross one. Compared to that, this guy’s downright cute.”
The moment Seongjin said it.
Beep. A clear alert tone rang out.
〚Confirming target entity □cord from Str□.〛
>〚P□layer ■■■ ■■.〛
>〚Adjustment reference entity: Blata Mentis.〛
>〚Scale synchronization adjustment commencing from Str□.〛
And then.
Flash! The beast’s red eyes flared as it charged again, slamming both axes down simultaneously.
Sensing an ominous difference this time, Orden rolled aside like Seongjin instead of blocking.
And that was correct.
Boom!
A cavern-shaking crash, and crack—a meter-wide gouge tore into the floor.
At that devastating power, Orden’s face paled; he’d nearly taken it head-on.
“See? Same size means similar attack patterns and power. Just like that guy’s foreleg smash, right?”
Amid the rising dust, only Seongjin wore a relaxed expression as he gave that assessment.