Chapter 110: Adaptation Complete
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 110: Adaptation Complete
I peered into the room while remaining concealed against the wall to avoid the cultists' notice.
Inside, something I never could have imagined was writhing.
‘No, what on earth is that?’
How should I even describe it?
Yes, it looked like a massive, pinkish mass of flesh, resembling a giant spoon worm.
A gargantuan, man-eating spoon worm, roughly the size of a van, was in the process of swallowing Sasaro.
‘There’s still a chance.’
The only saving grace was that the creature hadn't even finished swallowing Sasaro’s upper body yet.
If I acted now, I could pull him out. But if I delayed any longer, I would lose him forever.
‘I don’t know what that thing is, but once Sasaro’s body is completely consumed, there’ll be no turning back.’
That creature might be the medium for the "Ability Extraction Ritual" used by the Red Apostle. The secret to how they steal an adventurer's ability and transfer it to a cultist might lie within that fleshy thing.
Or perhaps the secret to the Authority of Resurrection used by the Black-Clothed Saint was hidden inside it.
Regardless, if he was eaten completely, it was over. The problem was that there were more cultists in the room than I had expected.
“Hey, shouldn’t we be pulling him out of there?”
“I know. I know, but...”
There were too many of them. I hesitated to charge in. One wrong move, and both Roy and I could be captured and turned into food for that creature.
‘There look to be at least twenty of them.’
Could the two of us take down nearly twenty cultists and rescue Sasaro in time?
Among them were two types: the priest-class, who were weak in physical combat, and the assassin-class, who specialized in it.
If it were just the priests, I could simply charge through since I was immune to curses, but the assassins would be too much to handle, even with Roy’s help.
‘It’s practically impossible for the two of us to kill all of them and pull Sasaro out before it’s too late.’
It was impossible. We would surely die. Getting out in one piece seemed unlikely.
In that case, the best option available to me was to follow the path recorded by my mapping back up and bring the rest of the party.
It took ten minutes to get here, but if I ran while looking at the map, I could make it out in three.
‘No. That’s also impossible.’
The round trip alone would take at least six minutes. Furthermore, I didn't know the situation above—whether the battle had ended or if they were still fighting the trolls.
If they were still occupied... it would be a total waste of time.
By the time I returned with help, Sasaro would have been completely swallowed by that monster, rendering him beyond salvation.
Besides, we wouldn't have even made it this far if Rosier and the Saintess hadn't drawn the trolls' aggro. Going back up was a waste of time.
In the end, there was only one way left.
“Roy.”
“Yes. Speak.”
“I’m sorry. Please be the bait.”
I had no choice. To retrieve Sasaro’s body, I needed someone to distract the cultists.
And Roy was perfect for the role. If he drew their attention, I could snatch Sasaro and make a run for it.
“Understood. You must bring me back to life.”
“I’ll definitely bring you back. If possible, I’ll even look for a better body for you.”
“Good. I’ll trust you.”
I handed Roy a torch.
He lit it and dashed toward the cultists.
Roy would draw their focus. The torch in his hand would surely catch their eyes.
“You sons of bitches!!! Does it feel good jerking off to corpses in a back room like this?! While you bastards were rubbing your dicks on dead bodies, I was busy fucking that Arha bitch you worship! That whore Arha is my personal fuck-toy! I put her to good use!!”
Roy bellowed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing painfully as he hurled insults at the cultists.
‘That crazy bastard! How can he spew such things without even taking a breath?!’
Soon, the enraged cultists surged out of the room, firing dark magic at Roy. He dodged their attacks and fled into the pitch-black maze.
A large number of cultists emptied out of the mysterious room where Sasaro was.
Only about five remained. I was almost impressed by the ones who stayed behind despite hearing such insults.
‘Now.’
I darted into the room like an arrow and plunged my blade into the back of a startled cultist.
The man couldn't react properly to the sudden ambush.
Thwack!
“Guh...!”
The blade pierced his lung, and the cultist couldn't even scream. He staggered and collapsed.
Thud.
Four left.
“Y-You!! It’s you again! That porter!”
“Guaah!! Damn it!”
They trembled with rage the moment they saw me. They immediately unleashed the strongest dark magic they could muster.
All sorts of curses flew toward me. The black magic swirled around my body, but all I felt was a slight stinging sensation.
That was it.
I rushed toward the panicked cultists.
‘Thank god. All four of them are priest-types.’
Dark mages and shamans were actually easier to deal with than the cultist assassins.
Because of my contract with the Three Villainesses, most curses were neutralized and vanished before they could take hold.
“Dammit!!”
“The curses aren't working! Hans! Get out and report the situation!!”
A cultist named Hans tried to flee the room. As I moved to stop him, the remaining cultists lunged at me together.
“Run, Hans!!!!”
I missed one.
‘It’s fine. I just need to get Sasaro. Focus.’
Their armament was simple: just a single short ritual dagger.
But I had a shield and dozens of weapons.
I held the overwhelming advantage. There were only three of them. I’d kill them quickly and pull Sasaro out of that man-eating spoon worm.
“Hyaaa!!!!”
“Not so fast!”
I used my shield to deflect the dagger of a cultist charging at me.
Clang!!
Perhaps because I parried with significant force, the man lost his grip on the dagger. His upper body was thrown back, leaving his chest wide open.
I slammed my axe into his staggering frame.
Crack!!!!
The satisfying sound of ribs shattering was followed by the cultist’s agonized scream. The axe buried itself deep in his chest.
I kicked the writhing cultist in the groin to knock him down, then swung my shield at the jaw of another cultist closing in from the side.
The shield was reinforced with steel around the edges. It was a blunt weapon in its own right.
Crunch!!!!!
The cultist who took the hit to the jaw collapsed mid-charge. He tried to stand, but he wobbled and failed, likely due to the impact on his brain. His jaw was completely shattered; he couldn't even close his mouth as he spat out blood-streaked saliva.
“T-This can’t be...!”
Seeing two of his comrades fall and convulse in an instant, the last one began swinging his dagger wildly with a terrified expression. His movements were simple and awkward.
I could probably grab his arm.
“Hah!!!!”
Got him! I seized his arm, twisted it in the opposite direction until it snapped, then swept his legs out from under him.
“W-Wait—!!!!”
I thrust my shortsword into his open mouth, finishing him off for good.
Except for the one who escaped, they were all dealt with. The one with the axe in his chest had died while slumped on his knees, and the one with the shattered jaw was still squirming on the floor, unable to get up.
I stabbed the survivor in the back to make sure he was dead, then headed for Sasaro.
“Sasaro!”
His upper body was almost entirely sucked in.
I grabbed his legs and immediately shoved him into my subspace pocket.
That was it. Now I just had to escape...
“Hold it right there.”
“...You guys...”
The adventurers who had scattered when the giant appeared.
Their names were definitely...
“Long time no see, Porter.”
“You remember us, right?”
“It’s... it’s Roca...”
I remembered.
the bald one was Max, the middle-aged man was Hail, and the young-looking one was Roca.
I thought they had all died when they were separated by the giant, but they were alive.
‘How?’
Wait, how did they survive in this dungeon?
The moment the question crossed my mind, Max activated his ability.
“Damn...!”
In an instant, ropes extending from Max’s arm bound my legs.
I tried to draw my dagger to cut the lines, but Hail rushed over and pinned me down before I could.
“W-We’re sorry. We didn’t want to do this either.”
“...You guys...”
“We had no choice if we wanted to live.”
They had betrayed us.
They had chosen to become cultists.
“B-But... we’re not cultists.”
“What?”
“We’re... different from those cultists... You can’t even compare us... We’re not like those idiots...”
Roca sobbed with an expression that was somewhere between a smile and a cry.
“The Master wants you. Come with us.”
“Wait. Master? What the hell are you talking about?!”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
Hail hoisted my bound body onto his shoulder. The man who was always thinking of his family was now a completely different person. With dead eyes, Hail prepared to drag me away as if further conversation was unnecessary.
If I let them take me, I would meet their master.
‘Most likely, that master is...’
High probability it was the one called the Black-Clothed Saint.
Fainel had told me.
The Black-Clothed Saint seemed to be someone from the outside. From the start, the Black-Clothed Saint was an external force that had joined the cultists.
‘He wants me?’
Why?
Why would he want me?
I’d find out if I followed them.
‘Like hell I’m going.’
I wasn't curious enough to stick my head into a tiger's den just to satisfy a whim.
Now that I had Sasaro’s body, it was better to escape quickly.
‘I have two options right now: the Teleportation Scroll or the Ring of Intangibility.’
Should I use the scroll to get out of here fast, or save my only scroll and use the Ring of Intangibility to break through to the surface in one go?
‘There’s no guarantee I can get another Teleportation Scroll.’
It was right to save my trump card. There was no reason to waste a consumable item when I had an alternative.
As soon as I organized my thoughts, I activated the Ring of Intangibility.
‘It worked.’
This time, the effect extended to all the equipment I was wearing.
There was no unfortunate incident of my clothes falling off.
“Uh!”
“Damn! He’s getting away!!!”
The ropes binding me naturally fell away, and my body hovered slightly off the floor.
I didn't sink through the floor, but I was in a state where I could pass through walls.
Perfect. Time to go.
“No!!!”
“Get back here!!!!”
The wretched traitors scrambled to catch me, but since my intangible body was completely immune to physical attacks, their hands passed right through me.
I phased through the three betrayers blocking my path and exited the room.
‘Let’s get upstairs fast.’
The maximum duration for intangibility was five minutes.
In my current state, three minutes was the limit. There was no time to dawdle. I had to get above the Layer Division within three minutes.
With my mapping ability, I could reach the stairs directly by passing through walls. I didn't need to navigate the complex maze; flying straight to the stairs felt incredibly refreshing.
‘Roy...’
Since he hadn't returned to me yet, it meant he was still alive.
He had bought me a lot of time. But he didn't need to buy any more.
‘Come back.’
I pulled the chain, extracting Roy from the cultist’s body.
This was the end of it.
I had hunted the giant and rescued the captured comrade.
Now I just had to put the giant’s corpse in my inventory and escape.
I could meet the Frogman next time.
Mission accomplished. After squeezing a massive reward out of the Church and the Guild, I could start the plan to normalize the Underground City.
“Sion!!!”
“Rosier! Rosier!!!”
“S-Sion?? Kyaaaaa!!!!”
As soon as I phased vertically up through the stairs, I ran into Rosier.
She had built a mountain of troll corpses and was looking for me, drenched in blood. The moment she saw my intangible form, her eyes went wide and she screamed.
“No! I’m not dead! It’s the ring’s effect! I’m not dead! Calm down!”
“Ah. Ahh... Ah... Intangibility... Ah. Right, thank goodness. I thought you were dead. Oh... my heart...”
She must have thought I’d become a ghost.
Once the intangibility wore off, Rosier finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the Saintess, having finished off the remaining trolls, approached us.
“I heard you went to rescue Sasaro. What happened? Is Sasaro safe?”
“Ah, about that. I succeeded in recovering Sasaro’s body for now.”
“Haa. That is truly a relief. Thank you, Porter.”
The Saintess patted my shoulder firmly and ruffled my hair.
The blood on her hands made me feel extremely grimy.
“Oh, and I also found out that the Black-Clothed Saint has taken three adventurers as subordinates.”
“Pardon? Subordinates?”
I passed the information about Max, Hail, and Roca—whom I had encountered below the Layer Division—to the Saintess.
“Those bastards... By the way, what happened to Roy? Didn't he come up with you? I don't see him.”
“Roy is dead. His body is likely still down there.”
“And his soul is with you?”
“Yes.”
“...Then practically speaking, everyone has survived.”
“I suppose so.”
Since we could take the dead Raphael and Sasaro back to the Church for resurrection, this could be considered a successful survival for everyone.
...Somehow, as time went on, my thought patterns were becoming more and more like the Saintess’s.
“Everyone returning safely from such a difficult operation. Praise the Goddess.”
“It is all the Goddess’s will. Praise her.”
“Uh... Praise the Goddess.”
The Saintess and Rosier suddenly began praising the Goddess. It felt like I should join in given the atmosphere, so I prayed with them.
Honestly, I think it was just good luck. Or maybe it was because I worked my ass off? No, let’s not overthink it. We all suffered. Let’s just go with the majority and credit the Goddess.
Since I had a girlfriend who was deeply religious, I had to act the part.
Rosier would be happy if I at least acted like I believed in the Goddess on the surface.
“Since we’ve killed all the trolls, let’s take a short break.”
“Let’s do as Rosier says. Everyone worked hard.”
We moved to where Paramel and the unconscious Helena were.
I’d collect the corpses later. Now was the time to rest.
“Ah, should we have a light snack?”
“A simple sandwich sounds good.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
Even though Raphael, Sasaro, and Roy had fallen in battle.
I was still hungry.
We roughly washed the blood off our hands with water and shared sandwiches.
It was a truly Labyrinth-esque dinner.
Even if comrades die, you still have to eat.
I felt like I was finally, fully adapting to the Labyrinth.