Chapter 160: The Labyrinth Wants You
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: The Labyrinth Wants You
The torn scroll awakened the vengeful spirits of the Underground City one by one.
From minor spirits who had met a futile end to evil spirits harboring deep-seated hatred for the Labyrinth.
Every single one of the dead opened their eyes and manifested in this place.
—Where is this...?
—Ah. Ahhh. I... I am...
Forced awake by the magic inscribed on the scroll, they writhed in agony. Then, as one, they began to swarm toward Sion, the one who had revived their consciousness.
This was the effect of the Spirit Summon Scroll. Since he had awakened those who were at rest, he had to pay a corresponding price.
He either had to offer his own life force or provide a sacrifice.
"I've got nothing to give you, dammit."
Sion had no sacrifice to appease their wrath.
Nor was he in a position to leisurely perform a ritual.
"Instead... I'll bring you back to life."
So, Sion promised them resurrection.
—Can you handle this?! There are far more than you think! Your soul will shatter first!
"I have to handle it. If I die, it's over anyway."
The parade of ghosts surged forward.
A wave of death created by hundreds of vengeful spirits. Even the monsters dominated by the Labyrinth's malice trembled at their resentment.
Sion was not afraid. Rather, he felt a thrill of ecstasy.
Every single one of those numerous souls was as good as an ally.
Who would hesitate in the face of resurrection? He was certain there would be none.
If he could just dominate them, they would become the warriors standing at the vanguard of the Labyrinth's conquest.
"Over here!!! I'm the one who woke you up!!!"
Confirming the souls of the adventurers approaching through his Spiritual Eye, Sion spread his arms wide. He decided to throw his own body into the fray, using it as the gateway through which the ghosts would be resurrected.
Since there was no time to bind and contract each soul individually with Spirit Chains, he devised a method to automatically contract them by letting them pass through his body, binding them as they went.
It was a new way to use the Spirit Chains, born from a moment of crisis. Though it would place a massive burden on him, he was out of time.
"Guaranteed industry-leading benefits!!! Contract with me now and everyone gets resurrected!!! What are you dawdling for?! Hurry up and come back to life!"
At Sion's shout, the spirits that had been rushing to kill him faltered.
Normally, he should have been terrified, yet here he was, getting angry and yelling at them to hurry up.
From their perspective, it was a bewildering situation.
—Industry-leading benefits?
—What... are you... saying...
—Resurrection...? I... I don't have a body....
Sion smirked at the confused reactions of the spirits.
They knew nothing. Once he bound them with Spirit Chains, the slave contract was complete.
He was genuinely excited at the thought of swindling these fools who didn't even know the state of the industry.
Let's aim for maximum profit. I'll turn them all into slaves.
The evil spirits who seemed impossible to persuade remained aggressive, but the souls with weak willpower or those on the verge of fading began to lose their hostility at Sion's words.
Sion drove the point home to the wavering spirits.
"If you contract with me now, I'll make you a body!!! If you want to live, help me!!! Don't you want to see your families on the surface?! Don't you know that even rolling in a field of shit is better than being dead?! What are you waiting for, dammit!! There's no time!!!"
Sion screamed, even utilizing a Warrior's Roar. The first to respond to his desperate cry was none other than Roy.
—Contract!!! Let's sign the contract and find the light!!!
Roy, who was already in a contract with Sion, acted as a shill and dove straight into Sion's heart.
As soon as Roy's soul passed through Sion's body, he entered one of the corpses of the fallen adventurers. Through the Sanctuary of Resurrection created by the Saintess, the dead adventurer's body began to twitch once more.
The original owner of the body had given up on life and departed, but Roy, who refused to die, took their place.
He still hadn't accepted that he was completely dead. His mindset was: I don't have a body, but my soul remains, so I'm not dead yet.
The will to live. Roy's desperate desire not to die pushed back the death of the flesh.
The death of the living was denied by the departed.
The Sanctuary of Resurrection granted by the Goddess and Sion's Spirit Chains began to show an unbelievable synergy.
—He really came back to life!!!
—What...! It's true...?!
—Me too... I want to live too!!! Me too!!!!
—Let's goooo!!!! Resurrection!!!!
Seeing Roy successfully resurrected, the spirits who had been hesitating flew toward Sion.
They had nothing to lose. Even if the bodies were taken away once the battle ended, they had seen someone succeed, making the attempt more than worth it.
Roy had played his role as a shill perfectly. To the souls gathered by the Spirit Summoning, this was a manifestation of a miracle and a clear demonstration of the possibility of resurrection.
—Ah... my daughter... if only I could see my daughter....
—I don't want to die! Get me out of here!
—Dive into those bodies!! You can be resurrected!!!!
The adventurers who had died in the Underground City swarmed toward Sion. From minor spirits to evil spirits, everyone craved resurrection without distinction.
Hundreds of spiritual bodies passed through Sion's body.
Soon, Sion's soul began to twist under the pressure. Helena shared the impact before his soul could collapse, but it wasn't enough.
Sion's eyes were half-unfocused, and he trembled, tears and saliva streaming down his face.
"Aaaaaagh—!!!!"
—Sion! You will die at this rate! You must stop now!!!
"N-not yet!! There are still... so many slaves left—!!"
Sion grit his teeth against the profound spiritual shock that threatened to shatter his ego. His eyes were glazed, and his vision was failing.
This was the second time he had experienced such a horrific shock since entering the Underground City.
Eventually, his mind began to crack. Amidst a pressure equal to or greater than what he felt when summoning the Three Villainesses, Sion wondered what the hell he was doing.
It hurts enough to die. I want to die because it hurts so much.
Pain is always a vivid sensation.
In the midst of the pain he could never get used to, Sion wanted to collapse.
However, the reason he remained standing, refusing to give up everything and sink to his knees, was simple.
"Guh... cough... that scroll... was expensive..."
The thought that he had to get his money's worth kept him from stopping. His reason had already flown out the window. The malice and grit remaining within him, along with his extreme miserly nature that refused to take a loss, kept him going.
He had already made back his investment long ago, but his paralyzed mind didn't tell him that.
"I can't die!!! Dammit, why would I die!!!!"
Sion began to endure through sheer spite and stubbornness.
While the souls of the adventurers wrapped in Spirit Chains found their way into the bodies of the dead, Sion endured the collapse of his soul.
—There are plenty of adventurer souls, but not enough bodies to go around!
"The monsters...! Put them in the monsters...!!!"
Eventually, the souls began to inhabit the bodies of monsters instead of adventurers.
The adventurers watched in silence at the bizarre sight of a High Orc bashing a Dungeon Troll's head with a club.
Not only had the dead returned to life, but now monsters were beating other monsters to death.
"Wipe them all out! To the one who kills the most!!! I'll give you the best body!!!!"
The ghosts danced at the promised reward.
Even if they died, they could be resurrected by Sion to fight again.
This was, in fact, a method of soul manipulation that had reached the pinnacle of necromancy.
While this was only possible due to the Goddess's grace, Sion's mental strength—which allowed him to endure while commanding such a vast number of souls—also played a major role.
"Wow..."
Ainhel, who had been unexpectedly rescued by Trolls possessed by adventurer souls, wiped his blood-stained face in admiration.
A spectacular sight unfolded as a single army pushed back the monsters invading the Central Section. He had never seen such a mad scene in his life.
Adventurers and monsters intermingled to drive back the approaching tide.
"You there! Are you alright!"
Paramel, who had caught his breath thanks to Sion, was rallying the surviving adventurers.
Ainhel waved his hand at the approaching Paramel and asked.
"Cough... I'm fine. But what about Lord Sion...?"
"He's over there. Right there."
Looking in the direction Paramel pointed, Ainhel felt a slight chill.
"Ha. That man is a true monster."
"Indeed... he is a remarkable person."
Ainhel watched Sion's rampage in horror.
Seeing Sion with his eyes rolled back, barking orders and driving the resurrected adventurers to work... it made him feel like he should be working harder himself.
*
The ordinary monsters didn't matter anymore. The resurrected adventurers would kill them.
However, the masters of the Underground City were still alive and well, and they were the problem.
The Manticore, the Chimera, and the Minotaur. The resurrected adventurers were being swept away by them.
—Wait! That is...!
Despite Helena's protest, I consumed two drugs.
The two substances Lafnel had given me before I entered the Labyrinth.
One was an Elixir Pill that pushed the five senses to their limit, and the other was a powdered stimulant.
I chewed the bitter Elixir Pill and snorted the powder.
My senses came alive. Shaka's Remnant responded to the drug made from ground magic stones.
My vision expanded in the illusion that the world was slowing down.
If I couldn't win with my basic skills, I had to resort to doping.
Isn't this kind of medicine the greatest weapon humanity possesses?
In this frantic cauldron where everyone is going mad, I can't be the only one who's sane.
—I think you are the craziest person here...
Since the resurrected adventurers are handling the small fry, I'll take care of these guys.
"Let's go."
Yuria was facing the Manticore alone, so I had to help her quickly.
I sprinted through the Labyrinth. It felt refreshing. I knew I wasn't in my right mind.
But to face those monsters, I needed to let go of my sanity a bit.
"Sion!!"
"Yuria! Go save Leah and Rosier!"
Seeing Yuria's horrified expression, I shouted at her to save Rosier.
Soon, I passed her and reached the Manticore.
As soon as it spotted me, the Manticore lunged with its venomous tail stinger. The beast was clever. It knew that a prolonged fight would only disadvantage me.
"Hyaaaah!!!!"
So, I had to dive in and go for the throat, win or lose. I leaped toward it, prepared to be stung by its tail. I had an antidote, so it would be fine.
The distance was still too great. Closer. Just a little closer...
Now!
I thrust my right arm high above my head.
At the same time, I pulled a hammer out of my Subspace Pocket.
It wasn't an ordinary hammer.
It was a colossal war hammer made of Black Iron, famous for its weight.
I pulled this massive war hammer—which would normally be impossible to lift to such a height—out of the Subspace Pocket directly above my head.
All I had to do was determine the direction the hammer would fall.
Strength surged into the hand gripping the handle, and I slammed the hammer down toward the upper body of the Manticore as it tried to sting me.
Squelch!
The venomous stinger at the tip of its tail grazed my face.
BOOM—!!!!!
At that moment, the massive war hammer falling from above crushed the Manticore's head.
I could tell its skull had been pulverized; the Manticore pinned under the giant hammer had breathed its last.
Even Gon couldn't lift this thing properly because of its weight. With my strength, I never could have lifted the hammer above my head.
By forcing such an object into my inventory, I had just executed one of the bosses of the Underground City in a single blow.
By utilizing the fact that items in my inventory can be summoned right in front of my hands, I was able to "lift" objects I wouldn't normally dream of carrying as high as possible and drop them.
Of course, the recoil sent me flying forward as I lost my grip on the handle.
"Guh...!!!"
My back scraped against the stone floor of the Labyrinth. It felt like my back was bleeding. My right arm was bent at an odd angle, and my fingers were a mess.
There was no time to feel pain. I scrambled up and shot arrows into the eyes of the Dungeon Trolls rushing toward me.
While the Trolls thrashed in agony with arrows lodged in their eyes, I pulled an antidote from my inventory and gulped it down.
Manticore venom is notoriously potent. Even a slight graze is fatal, so I had to take the antidote immediately.
"Kieeeeek!!!"
While drinking the antidote, I pulled out a double-edged battle axe and smashed the knees of a thrashing Dungeon Troll.
"Gueeeek!!!"
I thrust a spear into the mouth of the wailing Dungeon Troll to finish it off, then bit into its flesh and swallowed before other monsters could arrive.
The thick, bloody scent unique to Dungeon Trolls filled my nose.
My wounds began to heal. The Giant's Stomach digested the monster meat, boosting my recovery.
Perhaps because I was half-high on the drugs, I couldn't really feel the pain in my broken fingers. In fact, it was enjoyable. It felt as if my senses were completely liberated from pain.
"That's one."
Two boss monsters remained.
The Chimera and the Minotaur.
I wondered how much I'd get for those.
I needed a lot of money to make up for what was spent on this Underground City campaign.
The Saintess and the Tower Lord would take care of the Demon King. I'd monopolize the rest of the monsters.