Chapter 292
Chapter 292
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 292
Chapter Title: The Barrier Master's Nasty Hobby Barrier
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Byoren's power, the site where the Qi Gate had been sealed.
After dispelling the barrier laid by the Barrier Master, what came into view was an unexpected scene.
It had been nothing but an empty ravine just moments ago.
Yet now, a mansion stood there out of nowhere.
Looking up at the mansion, Byoren spoke.
"This whole thing is a barrier."
What appeared to be a mansion was actually a barrier.
It was a barrier so elaborate that even Byoren, who wielded the same arts, felt a twinge of unease.
"And it looks like there's spatial distortion inside, too."
Aslan added his assessment while eyeing the barrier.
"A masterpiece."
Glaisees stroked his chin with an intrigued expression.
As he moved to casually raise his hand, Krash stopped him.
"There's something inside we need to retrieve. Please don't smash it up on a whim."
"What do you take this old man for? I was just planning to activate a few traps around the perimeter."
Glaisees chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
His eyes gleamed faintly as he did.
"The rats will be on the move."
Krash understood Glaisees' words immediately.
"Ixion's set up his own tricks here, hasn't he."
A setup to alert his side the moment the barrier was broken.
Ixion had prepared for it in advance.
"Spot on. I examined it pretty thoroughly and still missed it. Cleverly hidden."
And that meant Ixion would soon come charging in.
'So the Barrier Master got caught after all.'
It was something he'd considered, given the complete radio silence.
Now it felt certain.
'He waited deliberately for the moment Byoren reclaimed the Qi Gate.'
They couldn't just abandon the place, though.
Even without the Qi Gate, Abella would find some other way to scheme if Byoren got it back.
'I've even thought there might be ways around it entirely.'
In the end, reclaiming the Qi Gate was necessary.
Meanwhile, shadows began to writhe and extend from beneath Glaisees' feet.
The shadows spread out, soon lurking throughout the surrounding forest.
"Little one, looks like this old man should stay put here."
Glaisees planted himself firmly at the entrance instead of following Krash.
A maze like this would take time to navigate even for a veteran.
Better for Glaisees to hold the door than let Ixion lie in wait for prey.
"Won't leave any bait for him, though. You good with that?"
Glaisees showed a rare spark of enthusiasm.
A true Lactea clansman, hunting down World Erosion beasts one after another.
The Lactea Clan despised World Erosion entities more than any other family in the world.
"Quite the appetite. Nice to see."
They'd leave the entrance to Glaisees.
"Then our job's simple."
Krash positioned Byoren at his side and stood before the door.
He gripped the doorknob without hesitation.
"Reclaim the power as fast as possible and get out."
Krash flung the door open.
Inside was what looked like an ordinary home.
If not for the hallway stretching endlessly ahead in repeating loops.
'A maze.'
This was the Barrier Master's barrier maze.
Krash glanced back at Aslan and Byoren.
They both nodded and stepped inside together.
The moment the three entered—
Boom!
The front door slammed shut behind them.
Soon, the same hallway vista unfolded in their wake.
The corridor had a warm, southern-style ambiance.
A single lantern hung on the wall, with pillars spaced at intervals dividing the rooms.
Each room had a door on either side.
Krash tested one, opening a door.
It revealed yet another identical corridor.
Stretching on forever, ahead and ahead without end.
No matter how many doors he opened, the end never came.
A proper labyrinth, indeed.
"Byoren, can you break it?"
"Not impossible."
Byoren frowned and placed a hand on the wall.
"But it'll take a while. The barrier's too damn big."
Even Byoren couldn't guarantee success quickly.
Even with Glaisees guarding the entrance outside.
Too much delay, and who knew what might happen.
They couldn't afford to waste time.
Krash turned to Aslan.
Aslan met his gaze and flashed a sly grin.
"Time to earn your keep bringing me along."
Aslan pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket.
He strolled forward leisurely, swept aside the carpet on the floor,
and began drawing a magic circle with the chalk.
Krash watched, then recognized it.
This wasn't modern style.
It was an ancient one, long obsolete.
"Grave robber magic, right?"
A relic from the old days that Glenn used to use.
The magic tomb raiders employed to locate them.
"Sharp eye."
"Seen it before."
Back when Krash was cursed to hell and back.
He'd raided ruins hoping to snag some ancient artifacts.
But once he learned most demanded a heavy price, he quit.
Already teetering on curses, adding ancient relics would've been suicide.
Still, he'd seen this circle etched in ruins a few times.
If it was there, the place was looted clean—turn back.
"Not the original. Tweaked it a bit."
As he spoke, Aslan overlaid another circle atop the first.
His hands moved with expert precision until he abruptly stopped the chalk.
Then he placed his hand on the circle and infused it with mana.
"Tomb raider magic only points the direction at best."
As he'd said, it was crude magic.
It indicated relic locations by direction only.
To pinpoint, you'd redraw it repeatedly.
But Aslan's was different.
Following his activation, chalk dust flowed like smoke from the circle.
Soon, arrows began drawing themselves on the floor.
Chaining together to show the path ahead.
"So I modded it to show position in real-time."
Altering old magic forms wasn't easy.
Especially ancient ones.
They weren't perfectly constructed spells.
Mostly hacked together until they worked by accident.
Slight changes often broke them entirely.
Aslan had reinvented it by patching on a new circle.
"Genius, as expected."
"Praise away."
Aslan shrugged with a grin.
The future Flame Emperor was reliable as ever.
"Follow the arrows to the spot."
"Good work."
Krash bolted along the arrows.
They kept chaining as Aslan said.
Guiding steadily which door to take.
Thanks to it, Krash barreled through doors nonstop.
"Byoren."
As they dashed through rooms, Krash called to Byoren, who stuck close.
"The Barrier Master might already be in Ixion's hands."
Something Krash had long considered.
Mentioning it, Byoren glanced his way.
She snorted dismissively before replying.
"I figured as much. Haven't seen Mom dropping by since then."
Byoren had suspected it too.
Krash eyed her briefly.
"I get what you're worried about."
If the Barrier Master was captured, Ixion could use her as a hostage.
Even if she meant nothing to Krash, she was Byoren's only mother.
Could she stay unshaken in that moment?
"I know her personality better than anyone."
Byoren met Krash's eyes steadily, no tremor in hers.
"She'd never want me suffering for her sake. That's why she left me behind."
To keep the Demon Emperor and Ixion off Byoren.
She'd sealed her power and vanished completely.
No way she'd wish Byoren sacrificed now because of her.
"She'd rather I play the dutiful daughter for once. Won't hold us back."
Krash fell silent at that, then looked ahead.
"If we can save her, we will."
If possible, Krash would gladly rescue the Barrier Master.
With her and Byoren combining barrier arts,
they could save far more people.
Byoren's barriers, potent enough to restrain even the Worst,
were irreplaceable.
Adding the Barrier Master went without saying.
"So when I say we're saving her, don't hesitate."
She moved only when certain.
Got it? Krash said.
Byoren snorted again.
"Who said otherwise."
Pure Byoren.
Conversation done, Krash kept following the arrows through rooms.
They didn't stop, chaining on, but the scenery stayed the same.
Enough to make one doubt if something was wrong.
But Krash charged ahead without a second thought.
Soon, yanking open one door revealed stairs leading down.
The endless corridor had finally changed.
"Byoren."
"Yeah, next barrier maze."
Aslan's magic proved flawless.
Worth the blind faith.
The arrows led downward.
No reason to dawdle.
"Going down."
The moment Krash's foot hit the stairs, blue lanterns lit up in unison.
Seeing them stretch below, Krash pressed on.
The stairs seemed ordinary enough.
Except they repeated endlessly the deeper you went.
Long.
Perfectly matching "spatial distortion," the stairs just kept going.
Krash narrowed his eyes.
Felt like ages descending, yet nothing changed.
Krash halted and glanced at Aslan.
"Path's definitely down."
Aslan confirmed the arrows pointed true.
"Something else is interfering, though."
At that, Aslan conjured a small pebble in his hand.
"Krash, chuck it down hard."
Krash caught the tossed pebble and hurled it floorward as instructed.
It bounced around, heading down.
Its sound fading gradually—
Ting, roll roll, ting ting ting!
Suddenly, the sound echoed from above.
Aslan, Byoren, and Krash's heads snapped up in unison.
There was the pebble Krash had thrown, tumbling down from overhead.
Krash caught it neatly.
"Aslan."
Krash turned smoothly to him.
Aslan nodded.
"This staircase loops top to bottom."
"Spatial distortion?"
"Likely. Breaking it needs a specific trigger."
Krash crushed the pebble and scanned around.
Then his Sixth Sense twitched.
His gaze shot upward.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Something was descending.
And accelerating.
The thought hit; Krash reflexively scooped up Byoren.
"Eek!"
Tucked under Krash's arm, Byoren let out an girlish squeak.
Her ears flushed red in embarrassment.
No time for apologies—Krash yelled at Aslan.
"Aslan, run!"
Hearing him, Aslan bolted down the stairs.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!
Then a massive iron ball appeared behind them.
A sphere huge enough to fill the passage.
Gaining speed the lower it rolled.
Krash drew Thunderclap mid-stride.
Nothing in the world came easy.
'Then I'll smash through.'
Resolved, Krash raised his sword.
The ball menaced, accelerating wildly.
Wrong opponent.
Whoosh—
With blazing black flames, Krash thrust.
Black Flame slashed from the tip, smashing into the ball.
Clang!
The ball split in two instantly, halves hurtling past Krash and Byoren.
Krash exhaled shortly.
"Kr-Krash."
Byoren called his name.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
Another iron ball rumbled from above.
Krash froze.
Even slicing one, more kept coming from above.
Trapped completely.
This was a Möbius strip.
"Goddamn it."
One thing was clear today.
The Barrier Master had some seriously twisted hobbies.