Chapter 62: D-Rank Labyrinth — Library of Sin (5)
Chapter 62: D-Rank Labyrinth — Library of Sin (5)
The Library Guardian calling me an arsonist wasn’t exactly wrong.
Right now, I had turned into a living half-elf flamethrower, continuously spewing flames.
— Kirururuk!
The swarm of Small Magic Books had already grown used to fire attacks and began evading with acrobatic flight.
A battle where both sides were equally tired of each other.
It was around the time Spark of Glory had become completely overheated from excessive use.
“Hello there.”
With a lively greeting, a tall swordsman with a refreshing appearance rushed toward me, holding a teal-colored sword, and split a magic book in half.
“Would you like some help?”
“You’ve arrived, Sir Pendrick.”
Pendrick wrapped Astrimia in a starlight aura and repeatedly activated Powerful Cleave, slicing apart the Small Magic Books.
His movements were still comical and full of openings, but the power alone was unquestionably excellent.
“You’re the enemy, yet you feel reassuring. How did you get here?”
“Well….”
Crunch!
Swinging his fist with the bandages removed, Bartimir shattered a magic book and stood before me.
“We found research saying the movement of magic books slows in snowy terrain. So we kept searching for snowfield terrain.”
“A splendid judgment.”
“I know.”
Fzzzt.
《Warning: Roll sideways!》
A simultaneous warning from Insight That Sees Chaos and Eye That Perceives Truth.
I immediately threw myself aside, and the demon black mage’s fist smashed through the air where I had just been standing.
“So close.”
Bartimir smiled and stretched his arm again, but I evaded once more after identifying the attack beforehand thanks to my Mysteries.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Stay still. I’ll just knock you unconscious—”
Before he finished speaking, I grabbed Bartimir’s shoulder with my lightning-transformed hand.
“Ghh….”
As the electrocuted demon staggered, I immediately turned and ran without hesitation.
Pendrick rushed at me as well.
— This might hurt a little, Mr. Kar!
“Careful!”
The flat of his blade came down toward my head.
I sacrificed my right arm to block it while simultaneously releasing flames.
“Ah!”
— No!
Astrimia quickly moved the blade to block in place of the flustered Pendrick.
The flames split into two streams and barely passed by both sides of the genius swordsman’s face.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
While my lover confronted me, Bartimir had already recovered and closed the distance in an instant.
Pendrick also ran toward me with a smile.
“How can two people gang up on a delicate cultist like me?”
“You’re the one with all kinds of mysterious knowledge, right? Then we just have to tie you up. Red can easily deal with the kids!”
“Is that really so?”
I trusted the siblings.
They would definitely succeed.
“Sir Bartimir, please stop for a moment. I have something to say.”
“What?”
To the law-abiding demon who really paused his punches, I spoke solemnly.
“I am your father.”
“….”
I had boldly revealed the truth, but Bartimir only frowned.
“How are you my father? The old butler said we’re the same age.”
— …No, you just said something random to stall for time! Don’t take that seriously!
“‘Something random’? That hurts, Lady Astrimia.”
Since my petty trick had been exposed, I flicked my hand and activated Ghoul Mobility.
“Come at me. I’ll face you seriously.”
“Don’t regret it!”
“Please understand if it hurts a little!”
Transforming my body into black lightning, I welcomed Pendrick and Bartimir as they rushed toward me.
A smile naturally spread across my lips.
…This really is the joy of exploration.
What could be more enjoyable than fierce competition based on goodwill?
The friendly exploration contest was certainly providing fresh excitement.
But of course, with my Mental Energy nearly depleted from the long exploration, it was impossible for me to win a two-against-one fight.
“Don’t run!”
After electrocuting both of them at once when I found an opening, I fled—but Bartimir quickly caught up.
Demons were a race that grew stronger by consuming negative concepts.
Thanks to that, in this library filled with malice, his physical abilities increased several times over, allowing him to move with such incredible speed.
“Finally caught you!”
Bartimir pinned me to the ground and climbed on top of me in a mounted position, grabbing both my arms.
It was such an embarrassing position that my face heated up automatically.
“This is embarrassing. But if Sir Bartimir wishes, I’m willing to offer my purity.”
“Shut up!”
The demon shouted and shoved his petrified hand into my mouth.
With a half-elf’s delicate bite strength, there was no way I could break a stone finger no matter how hard I bit.
So I retaliated with my ultimate technique—licking.
Bartimir immediately grimaced.
“…You’re really persistent!”
“I can do this all day.”
Of course, I hadn’t grown enough yet to fight endlessly.
《Your remaining vitality: 80/100》
《Your remaining mental energy: 3/100》
I had been drinking vitality recovery potions like water, so my vitality was plentiful.
But my Mental Energy was close to its limit.
Continuing the fight would cause problems.
Fortunately, I had endured long enough.
It should appear soon.
— Intruders…!
Bartimir had just covered my face with his petrified hand.
A pure white Library Guardian rose from the ground and pointed its book sword at us.
— Leave the library!
“…Again?”
Bartimir shook his head as if annoyed and stepped on my body while standing beside Pendrick.
— Leave, or only death awaits!
Perhaps because it was a snowfield, the book knight slid forward and swung its sword horizontally.
Pendrick blocked it with Astrimia and frowned deeply.
“I can’t hold for more than three seconds!”
That was enough.
Bartimir pulled out a suspicious Mystery Tome emitting an ominous aura, brought it to his face, sniffed deeply, then rushed forward and dropkicked the guardian with both feet.
Normally, that should have had no effect at all.
But thanks to the fraud-like power contained in the Mystery Tome, the demon’s Strength and Agility temporarily skyrocketed, and the dropkick managed to affect even a Level-7 monster slightly.
— How dare…!
It dealt no real damage, but it definitely bought time.
“Let’s run first!”
“Yes!”
Bartimir ran without looking back together with Pendrick, who carried me on his back.
After being quietly carried on his shoulder for a moment, I suddenly spoke.
“I’m sorry.”
Crackle!
The lightning touching their backs made both of them stumble and fall forward.
Bartimir immediately jumped up and shouted.
“What are you doing!”
“A sacred exploration competition.”
“I get what you mean, but shouldn’t we survive first?!”
“From what? The guardian already disappeared.”
“…Huh?”
I calmly looked behind the demon.
Bartimir widened his eyes and quickly turned around.
— Intruder!
The Library Guardian was still chasing us perfectly well.
“…What!”
He immediately turned back toward me—
—but the treacherous cultist had already slipped far away from the innocent demon.
— Intruder!
The Library Guardian began attacking Bartimir and Pendrick.
“Hey!”
“I apologize.”
Even if it was a friendly exploration contest, one still had to risk their life.
The moment Bartimir cared about the enemy’s safety, he had already lost.
“You treacherous servant of the God of Nature—!”
That was high praise.
Marlin was searching while climbing a pile of white bookshelves shaped like a snowy mountain.
“Big Sister!”
Abel dealt with the Small Magic Books that kept flying in.
But judging by how his movements were becoming slower, he was nearing his limit.
“Abel, don’t push yourself!”
“Just hurry up and find it!”
“Why are you yelling? Want to get scolded?”
“I’m in a hurry!”
They continued bickering as they reached halfway up the bookshelf mountain.
“…There it is!”
Midway along the white ridge.
A bookshelf with a single space large enough to insert a book.
Marlin was about to rush up—
—but suddenly goosebumps rose along her skin, and she immediately grabbed Abel and dropped flat.
Whoosh!
Yellow powder scattered above the siblings.
“….”
Rosalia appeared silently, her body blooming with red flowers.
“…Abel, run!”
As Abel received the book and sprinted away on all fours, Marlin stood before the red-haired assassin.
It was not a confident confrontation.
“S-surely you’re not going to swing a dagger… right?”
“….”
If they fought directly, the siblings’ heads would be cut off within three seconds.
But this was a friendly contest.
An assassin whose abilities were designed entirely for killing was slightly disadvantaged.
Rosalia hesitated briefly while considering how to subdue the novice thief before her.
That moment of distraction—
Grab.
“Sis-ter!”
Marlin suddenly hugged the assassin without hesitation.
Rosalia reflexively tried to extend her hand, but then met the clear eyes of the tiger beastman hugging her tightly.
Her fingers stopped just before striking a vital point.
“Hehe, give me a hug.”
Marlin hadn’t realized it at first because Rosalia was so quiet.
But now she knew.
This cold-looking assassin was secretly soft-hearted.
“Big Sister? You can use all your strength to push me away. But I might sulk for a few days, so keep that in mind!”
“….”
The red-haired elf shut her eyes tightly.
Rosalia was an excellent assassin.
If a sudden situation made the mission difficult, she would instantly devise a completely different strategy and execute it perfectly.
The result of harsh training since childhood.
Although she had focused so much on assassination training that she was terrible at almost everything else, she had never once been outmatched in her specialty.
“…!”
After hesitating in surprise, Rosalia suddenly hugged Marlin and lifted her up.
Subduing an enemy without killing them and capturing them alive was also a traditional duty of assassins.
She had encountered situations requiring neutralizing enemies at close range dozens of times.
“Ahh, Sister!”
“….”
Carrying the struggling Marlin over her shoulder, Rosalia moved quickly.
Even though Marlin’s long tail blocked her vision, the red-haired elf closed the distance to Abel in an instant.
“Just a little faster!”
Abel hadn’t slept and had been moving nonstop.
His stamina was completely depleted.
His breathing was ragged and his legs trembled, but he squeezed out the last of his strength and ran.
The bookshelf was right in front of him.
We won!
Abel unconsciously dropped to his knees and pulled out the book filled with the young master’s favorite themes.
Just as he tried to insert it—
“Huh…?”
Rosalia rushed forward, grabbed Abel’s clothes, and threw him backward.
Even with her vision blocked, her movements were perfectly precise.
“…Sorry.”
Using full strength against a child made her feel guilty.
Rosalia apologized briefly and inserted the book.
Or rather—
She was about to.
— Kraaak!
The cry of the Blind Crow again.
Rosalia flinched.
In that moment, Abel quietly crept closer and stretched out his arm.
— Kraaak!
He slapped the flying crow away with the back of his hand and inserted the book into the empty slot.
Immediately afterward, Rosalia brushed the tail away from her eyes and widened them.
“Hehe!”
Abel was holding the lower part of the book Rosalia had inserted.
“I covered my eyes just for this!”
“I did it, Sister.”
“Well done!”
“….”
Rosalia shut her eyes tightly again.
“But what happens now?”
Marlin soon received the answer.
Krrrk.
Two sheets of paper popped out of the air and fluttered down.
[Sharing Points: ■■■]
— A special benefit will be granted to those who donate three books!
“So both sides succeeded…?”
Soon, the bookshelf beneath their feet rose upward and transformed into a door.
[Archive of Ancient Manuscripts]
It was a door that looked old and worn, carrying the weight of many years.