Chapter 19
Chapter 19
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Spilling the Tea on the Party's Collapse
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"Gaaahhh!"
A scream laced with agony echoed through the labyrinth.
I gripped my axe tighter and brought it down hard. I'd aimed to finish her in one blow, but my strike was a bit off. Instead of the neck, it sank into her collarbone.
"Y-You fucking bastard-!!!"
Deluna dropped her soft-spoken tone and spat out a stream of vulgar curses.
A strange energy began to gather in her hand. It felt hot. The air around us heated up noticeably.
Instinctively, I yanked my axe free and leaped back from Deluna.
'What the hell is that? Fire?'
My guess was spot-on.
Just as I pulled away, flames erupted in Deluna's hand, and a fireball slammed into the spot where I'd been standing.
Magic. I'd heard explorers at the tavern chatting about it, so I knew it existed, but this was the first time seeing it up close.
Blazing flames roared fiercely. Scorching hot. One hit from that, and I'd end up as Nam Sujin barbecue in an instant.
"Y-You son of a... guh..."
"Big Sis! Are you okay?!"
"You idiots! How'd you like it if it was you?! What are you standing around for? Kill him already!"
"Yes—gah!"
The guy who'd rushed over hugging Jermi took a chin hook and crumpled.
Jermi popped out of the woman's arms and charged straight at me.
"I got one!"
"Good job. Now go put some damn clothes on."
I averted my eyes from Jermi as much as possible, gripping my axe in one hand and dagger in the other.
"Avenger of Big Sis!"
"How dare you stab us in the back!"
Who tried to backstab who first? And your big sis ain't dead yet.
Four women drew their blades and rushed me, each one snarling.
They felt totally different from the goblins.
Unlike goblins, who were all roughly the same height, weight, and build, these varied—some tall, some average, some short.
In short...
'Hard to get a read on them.'
The arcs of a big one's swing differed from a small one's. Sure, everyone's sword style was unique, but...
With all their different heights and builds mixed together, it was tough to track the flow of battle. No wonder they gang up.
Crack!
'Then crush them before I figure it out.'
The overwhelming gap in physical ability made it possible. Even if my reactions lagged a step, reflexes and agility covered it.
I wrenched the axe from the big woman's throat. A sickening tug, and the tactile feedback of slaughter rippled through my fingers.
"Hah... huff... What the hell is that guy? How'd he sever a neck in one swing..."
"His strength's not the issue. Why's he so damn fast?"
The fighters looked flustered at a glance.
They had the edge in skill and experience, but raw physical stats blew it wide open.
"What kind of man... fuck, moves like that..."
And against a guy way below their league. Stamina, power, speed—all of it.
Had to be a shock for this world's women.
But that was their problem. I refocused on the fight.
I glanced toward the edge of the battlefield.
Deluna clutched her throat like she was stemming the blood, one hand extended toward me.
"........."
Her lips moved rapidly, like she was chanting something, but I couldn't hear a word.
'Casting a spell?'
Unknown energy swirled in her hand. Twice as big as before.
Letting that finish would be bad news.
Thinking it, I acted—hurling my dagger on instinct.
Thunk!
"Guh!"
The blade buried in Deluna's gut. Her eyes bulged wide. Serves you right. Who told you to close your eyes and chant?
Her concentration broke; the energy fizzled slightly. I moved to finish her off.
Wham!
An unexpected kick sent me tumbling. I'd glanced away at Deluna for a split second.
"Guh, let go!"
"Nope. Not happening!"
Snap!
"Gaaaah!"
But I wasn't just taking it. Mid-flight from her gut kick, I grabbed her calf and buried my axe in her thigh.
Crunch! Snap! Craaack!
From thigh to gut to skull.
I left axe marks all over her body like twisted hickeys.
Shoving the nuisance corpse aside, my eyes met those of a guy who'd died leaking brains.
"..."
Nausea surged, then vanished just as fast.
My head cooled. My body ignited with eerie heat.
Don't think. Focus on surviving now. Swing that axe one more time. That's how I live. Survive first, then find my sister or a way home. So swing it! Behind you!
Snap!
"Gaaaa!"
Axe into the shin of the guy creeping up behind.
Before he hit the ground, I yanked it free and aimed for the neck.
Craaack!
By the time he landed, his head was gone.
"...Heh... bullshit..."
My heart pounded like it might burst as I stood, clutching it. Deluna's defeated mutter caught my eye.
The energy in her hand had scattered clean away.
"If I'd known he was a psycho monster like that, I never would've messed with him..."
The woman who'd casually beaten people and sold them into slavery called me a monster.
"H-Hiiik! Stay back! Don't come any closer!"
Deluna, once so poised and bold, flailed pathetically and scrambled away.
'Fine. Monster or whatever, doesn't matter.'
To reach my goal, I could become something worse.
"D-Do you know who’s above me? Huh?! You don't?!"
"Don't know, bitch."
Craaack!!!
I brought the axe down.
"Ah..."
Densi blinked awake, staring blankly at the blood-soaked surroundings.
Dead. Her master, who'd demanded one-sided loyalty and submission for over a decade.
And not just her—the ones who'd constantly brutalized her under orders. All gone.
Densi's chest stirred with unfamiliar emotions.
A tangled mess she'd never felt before.
Her heart churned with a riot of feelings, but one thing was clear:
This wasn't sorrow or gloom. It was euphoria. Pure ecstasy.
Slither...
She sensed the slave-binding magic etched into her soul shifting.
The enslavement spell that defined her as a slave wavered, unmoored without a master.
She wasn't fully free. Just temporarily masterless.
'No time...'
This specially modified slave-binding spell prevented harming the master—and if no new contract formed within three hours of their death, it claimed the slave's life.
But deep in the labyrinth? No way to find a new one fast.
And even if she did, it wouldn't be normal.
'Even if I escape and rejoin the organization, I'd just end up under another Deluna-type bitch...'
Was this life worth dragging out?
"Kakchi."
The familiar voice made Kakchi's shoulders twitch. Her solar plexus throbbed instinctively.
Memories flooded back: him casually burying an axe in a throat, fighting like a feral beast.
Turning, she saw him—drenched in gore, axe dripping fat and red meat.
Drip, drip...
Her whole body went limp against her will.
She'd seen plenty of rough stuff, but his presence hit different now. Urine trickled out; she couldn't help it.
Her underwear soaked through, pooling on the floor.
"Heh."
Helmet hid his face, but she felt his gaze.
He chuckled in disbelief, then leveled the axe at her.
That's when Densi realized.
Ah. Yeah. I still wanna live a bit longer.
She'd flirted with death moments ago, but that was stupid.
Her trembling body screamed the truth: even as a wretched slave, she wanted to cling to life.
"Whose side are you on?"
...Whose side?
'He’s saying I still have a choice?'
"You told me to run from that puppet. Why? What's your reason?"
To him, it must've been baffling. Why would someone who'd tried to sell him as a slave—and worse—help him?
Densi's face flushed.
'H-How am I supposed to explain that...'!
It wasn't some noble reason. She barely grasped it herself.
But she touched her neck.
The leash he'd tied with mana rope was still there.
A month later, she hadn't removed it.
Laziness, fashion—excuses till now. But finally, the truth dawned.
"P-Protecting my master... is a slave's duty..."
"...What?"
Slither...
Densi dropped to her knees, bowing low. Like full prostration. She held out her palms above her head.
The leash handle rested there.
Forehead to the dirt, trembling, she offered her lifeline.
"Become... my master."
Slave contracts couldn't be broken by the slave's will alone—only payment of their price or master's release.
One slip, and she'd be enslaved till death.
Giving everything—life included—to another. To him.
A crushing wave of defeat and humiliation as a woman... that morphed into indescribable pleasure.
And above all, Densi knew.
What face hid under that helmet.
'Actually... I like it...'
Hell, it was a sweet deal.
"Cut the corny shit and spit out your real feelings. Make it simple."
"...I'm destined to be a slave anyway. Better rolling under a man than a woman..."
"Should've said that from the start. Still the same low-rent nympho monster from day one. A hundred times better than those slimy bitches. Okay. You pass."
Snap!!
Kakchi's leash yanked taut.
In the quiet darkness, a woman opened her eyes.
Thousands, tens of thousands of puppets filled her view.
She glanced at one with severed strings, then closed her eyes again.
"One bug bit the dust..."
Pathetically.