Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Rescue Request
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[Chapter 1 - 1st Floor #18]
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[Torment Force Lv1 acquired.]
[Unique Ability: Torment Force]
[Transcend, overcome, and sublimate the boiling torment stemming from human desires and emotions with an iron will, turning it into your own power.]
[1. Concentration increased by 50%]
[2. Convert surging torment into power.]
[New abilities for Torment Force may develop upon level up.]
[The Labyrinth World remembers your unique ability.]
[The Labyrinth World remembers the story of you developing a new unique ability.]
Cheon-ho blinked blankly at the light window floating before his eyes as he woke up.
His honest thought was this.
‘What the hell is this bullshit?’
Waking up had been fine.
His eyes had opened perfectly naturally.
It wasn’t forced—he’d slept enough to wake refreshed.
‘Hmm.’
Cheon-ho read the light window carefully again.
Unlike level ups, item acquisitions, or achievement completions, only he himself could view detailed skill or stat checks like this.
So that was a relief.
It was an ability he’d be embarrassed to show others, after all.
But setting that aside, Cheon-ho thought.
‘Not bad, though?’
It could dramatically boost his concentration when used.
And converting torment into power? He’d have to try it to know exactly what that meant, but no matter how he thought about it, there was nothing bad here.
‘Father.’
Cheon-ho briefly pictured his father’s face. And in his heart, he thanked him.
Without his father’s training, a skill like this wouldn’t have appeared.
The power of an iron will that transcended even torment.
It sounded ridiculous, but also kinda cool.
His imagined father flashed a thumbs-up and grinned.
Then Mitra spoke.
[Hmm, it seems both your torment and will are extraordinary.]
[I wouldn’t know for sure, but for it to manifest as a separate ability like this...]
Cheon-ho flinched.
Was Mitra seeing the entire light window?
‘No way she can read my mind too?’
Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
He mentally cursed Mitra a few times, but got no reaction.
[More importantly, my liege, how about getting up now?]
[Lucille is waiting for you.]
Cheon-ho blinked again. He naturally turned to the side and met the gaze of Lucille, who was already awake and watching him.
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, he managed to keep a poker face.
She must have been awake for a while, as Lucille beamed brightly.
“Hero, good morning.”
“Yes, good morning.”
As he replied, Lucille sat up.
It looked like she’d woken up earlier but had stayed put, covering him with her wings.
‘She could’ve just woken me.’
“I waited a bit since you were sleeping so soundly. You didn’t get much rest last night either, it seemed.”
It was as if she’d read his mind, as Lucille continued.
She must have noticed his bleary eyes from yesterday morning.
“Hmm, thank you.”
He gave a suitable response and checked the time: 10:05 AM.
That wasn’t “a bit”—she’d probably waited over an hour.
He felt refreshed from the late sleep, but a little guilty too.
“I’ll fetch some water. Just wait a moment.”
Lucille smiled brightly again and headed to the spring.
Cheon-ho watched her back for a moment, then muttered absently.
“She really seems like an angel, doesn’t she?”
How could someone be so kind?
Mitra replied in exasperation.
[My liege, she is a real angel.]
“Hmm.”
Now that he thought about it, yeah.
She was an angel. Wings and all.
Cheon-ho nodded a few times as he watched Lucille draw water from the spring, then looked around.
He was thinking about the morning tasks and preparations for heading to the 2nd floor.
But right then—
“Ah!”
Lucille suddenly cried out.
Cheon-ho sprang to his feet reflexively and looked at her. Lucille stared into empty space, rapidly manipulating her hands. A light window seemed to have appeared.
“Lucille?”
“Hero!”
She gave a short reply and ran straight to him. A light window with a yellow border floated above her head.
“It’s a rescue request. Definitely from another angel.”
Lucille’s voice was quick.
Instead of calming her, Cheon-ho looked at the light window.
The yellow blinking really looked like an urgent signal.
“What’s the content?”
“Just a moment.”
As Lucille waved her hands again, the light window expanded, revealing details.
[Rescue Request]
[Sender: 7th Rank Combat Angel Saschiell]
[Content: - ]
Lucille’s eyes widened. Of course—no content at all.
[Perhaps there wasn’t even time to write the content. Or maybe the situation didn’t allow it.]
That would make it serious.
But Lucille took a deep breath and spoke in a fairly calm voice.
“Yellow blinking means it’s not the worst case. The blinking color changes based on the sender’s situation and urgency...”
It sounded more like she was reassuring herself than him.
Cheon-ho met her eyes and asked calmly.
“Lucille, can you pinpoint the sender’s location?”
The most crucial info.
Lucille fiddled with her fingers a few times and answered immediately.
“2nd floor. I can only get a rough direction for now, but it’s definitely not far. Since you liberated the tower, Hero... the nearby miasma cleared, letting this 2nd-floor request reach us across layers.”
2nd floor.
And not too far, from the circumstances.
Right then—
A new light window appeared before both Cheon-ho and Lucille.
[Hidden Quest: Rescue Request]
[7th Rank Combat Angel Saschiell is dying somewhere on the Great Labyrinth’s 2nd floor.]
[7th Rank Combat Angel Saschiell is currently in a severely weakened state. Find Saschiell before it’s too late.]
[Quest Duration: 48 hours]
Lucille gasped at the word “dying.”
But Cheon-ho actually calmed down.
48 hours.
That much time meant she wasn’t on the verge of death right now.
If she’d been farther away, the request wouldn’t have reached them, so two days gave them some leeway.
‘Stay calm anytime, anywhere. Maintain cold reason. Fleeting anger and excitement may boost your power, but uncontrolled strength is just a blind blade. Keep your reason. Don’t lose your composure.’
Recalling his father’s teachings, Cheon-ho asked in a steady voice.
“Lucille, do you know her? From the same branch?”
At his question, Lucille flinched and blinked.
She swallowed dryly, regaining her composure.
“No, first time seeing the name.”
Not from Lucille’s branch.
Meaning, not an angel who’d escaped the Great Labyrinth from her branch.
“Then she’s likely an angel who’s been active in the Great Labyrinth from the start.”
“Ah... Yes! Probably.”
That was good.
They might get location info on other angels from this one.
‘Or run into other angels who received the request and mobilized.’
Lucille seemed to think the same.
“Anyway, let’s hurry. It’s urgent, even if not the worst case.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Meeting other angels was a bonus.
The priority was rescuing the one who sent the request.
“Lucille, one last thing. How strong is a 7th Rank Combat Angel?”
Cheon-ho wouldn’t hesitate to help regardless, but the opponent’s strength could affect the danger level.
At his question, Lucille pursed her lips uncertainly.
“I can’t say for sure, but... around your level now, Hero, or a bit weaker.”
Lucille wasn’t a combat angel.
She’d seen him fight several times, but that wasn’t enough to gauge strength precisely.
“Got it. Thanks for the info. Let’s pack up and go.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Cheon-ho and Lucille divided tasks and gathered their scattered belongings.
After storing the bed and bath in inventory, they quickly changed clothes.
Finally, Cheon-ho picked up Mitra and glanced at Lucille.
“Nothing forgotten?”
“No, Hero.”
Lucille nodded with a tense face and turned toward the 2nd floor.
Cheon-ho wasted no more time and started descending the tower.
But as they were about to leave the 1st floor—
“Ah.”
Lucille murmured softly, and Cheon-ho understood why.
Her gaze was on the magic stone embedded in the wall.
He’d told her to take it when they left.
Her discovering joy in the work was great, but now wasn’t the time to mine.
“Let’s hurry first.”
At Cheon-ho’s words, Lucille nodded quickly.
“Hmm, but let’s take at least one.”
No time for all, but since they’d stopped, one wouldn’t hurt.
Cheon-ho expertly pried out the wall-embedded stone, and Lucille swiftly stored the low-grade magic stone in inventory.
Without a word exchanged, the work flowed smoothly, and they shared a small smile.
[You two work together seamlessly.]
Mitra commented, and Cheon-ho agreed.
“Now let’s really hurry.”
“Yes, Hero.”
They left the tower and ran toward the 2nd-floor stairs.
&
Time flows equally for all.
As Cheon-ho and Lucille headed to the 2nd floor, someone moved in the depths.
The Plague God glared at the ceiling.
Its yellow eyes burned with hatred toward the distance, and its polluted maw murmured curses.
Go.
Move.
Apostles of plague, ride the winds, rise, and spread like flames.
From mid-layers to lower.
From lower to lower still.
The apostles of plague gathered.
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Raguel silently stared at the rescue request before her.
It had clearly come from quite far away.
What to do.
Raguel turned to Aurael, who naturally looked toward the request’s direction.
No need for discussion.
Save the comrade in peril.
Even if the distance made timely arrival unlikely, they wouldn’t give up.
Aurael led, with Raguel carrying Eizel on her back following behind.
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The Great Labyrinth’s 2nd floor.
The true beginning of the Great Labyrinth.
7th Rank Combat Angel Saschiell exhaled faintly. In pitch-black darkness, she peered into the distance, seeking a thread of light.
What of the rescue request.
Had anyone seen it.
Saschiell prayed fervently.
Hoping it reached powerful heroes and angels.
Not for her own life.
‘Must stop it.’
What was happening on the 2nd floor.
The impending catastrophe starting at the Great Labyrinth’s outskirts.
Saschiell could hold out no longer and closed her eyes.
She slowly lost consciousness in the darkness, as if sinking into the sea.
End of Chapter 1 - 1st Floor. Continues to Chapter 2 - 2nd Floor.
[Chapter 1 - 1st Floor #18] End