Chapter 163: The First Death
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: The First Death
My consciousness is fading.
My body reached its limit long ago. It wouldn't be strange if I dropped dead at any moment.
"Guh-ack..."
Blood poured from my mouth like water.
My hands were drenched in my own blood. Suddenly, the world spun, and my vision was stained black.
A blackout. It was becoming increasingly difficult to stay conscious.
"Sion!"
"Yuria... ugh..."
Yuria and the others were looking down at me.
They, too, looked utterly exhausted. Like me, they must have been put through the wringer, swept up in the waves of monsters.
"You must rest. Sion, your body is on the verge of breaking apart."
"Right..."
I was cradled in Rosier’s arms, while Paramel and the healers poured divine power into me.
The Three Villainesses had successfully anchored themselves to the pillars. That was enough. I could die in peace now.
Since the Three Villainesses were properly settled into the pillars of the Underground City, they would become the guardian deities of the 5th floor.
Cataclysms would no longer occur on the 5th floor, and furthermore, they might even be able to manipulate monster spawns.
Perhaps they could even rearrange the locations of the sections at will.
Humanity had claimed the 5th floor. I couldn't even begin to imagine how far we could develop because of this.
I wanted to savor the victory a bit more, but my eyes were drifting shut. I wanted to stand up, but I had no strength left in my body.
The pain was excruciating, and the painkillers and stimulants no longer had any effect. Was death the only thing left?
Unless I died and was resurrected, there seemed to be no hope.
-Sion. You may die in peace now.
"Haa... Yes? Ah... right..."
-However, from now on, you must not die anywhere other than the 5th floor.
"What? Why is that..."
-Can you not feel it? The Malice of the Labyrinth.
"Ah..."
I only realized it after hearing Helena's words.
If I were to die inside the Labyrinth, my soul would be bound to it. If that happened, there was no telling what the Malice of the Labyrinth would do to my soul.
-Since the Three Villainesses have taken up residence on the 5th floor, the Labyrinth won't be able to openly touch you in the Underground City. But other places are dangerous.
If I died on the 5th floor, there was a high probability the Three Villainesses would protect my soul. But if I died on another floor, my soul could collapse entirely.
If it looked like I was going to die on the 6th or 7th floor, or even deeper, I had to hold on by any means necessary and make it back up to the 5th floor before dying.
-Now that you've meddled with the Labyrinth... you've reached a state where you can't even die in peace.
Because I didn't know what would happen if I died, I couldn't die even if I wanted to.
In exchange for becoming the master of the Underground City, I had gained a new penalty.
"Paramel..."
I called out to Paramel.
He was healing me with trembling hands. His expression looked incredibly frantic.
It was likely because of the Saintess. He was performing the healing according to the Saintess's final command to keep me alive, but he probably wanted to run to her side this very instant.
It was only natural, as he must have heard the news of her passing.
"You... you can stop now..."
"It is the Saintess's command... to keep you alive... the Saintess's..."
"Paramel..."
Paramel shed tears.
I didn't know what to say to him.
-Goodness. That timid man is crying again.
Freya wasn't dead yet.
Right now, she was inside me, looking at the weeping Paramel and clicking her tongue, wondering why he was crying over something like this.
'Sigh. I don't know how to explain this to him.'
-What is there to explain? Just tell him the truth. That the Saintess has returned as a Messenger of God. That it is the Goddess's will. You can just say that.
'That's true, but how do I deal with the aftermath? You have many followers.'
-Well, you'll have to figure that out. Since you've claimed me, shouldn't you shoulder at least that much pressure?
Freya had a point.
Should I just break the news to the high-ranking officials of the Church or the Pope? If I told the general public that the Saintess had entered the body of a bird, they might treat me like a monster. There was no telling what kind of backlash there would be.
Yes, let's tell the high-ranking officials first. If it became known that I, someone not even affiliated with the Church, possessed the Saintess, radical followers would surely come to my house and cause a riot.
I felt it would be safer for an authoritative Bishop or the Pope to announce the Saintess's resurrection to the citizens.
-Um... Sion. What on earth is going on?
'Ah, Helena.'
-Why is the Saintess in the room next to mine...?
I heard Helena's flustered voice.
She seemed extremely bewildered by the new neighbor who had moved in next door.
Helena appeared quite shocked by the appearance of a noisy neighbor.
-Have you been watching the outside world from a place like this all this time? You must have peeked at everything, even the Porter's nighttime activities. How lewd.
-Lewd?! No! What are you talking about! I didn't watch!
-Hmm. No one knows for sure. You've always been a bit lewd, haven't you?
-Y-you wretched girl...!
'Please, I'm begging you, don't scream inside my head. I feel like I'm going to throw up.'
-Ah... I'm sorry.
-Don't raise your voice in front of a patient, Helena.
-Ggggh....
Helena was fuming, and Freya was laughing.
I heard they didn't get along and were enemies because Helena often interfered with Freya.
Looking at them now, they felt more like bickering rivals than enemies. Perhaps because they were both already dead, their personalities seemed to have mellowed out a bit.
It was as if they had that peculiar transcendence unique to those who had died.
"Yuria... did the Demon King leave...?"
"Yeah... it seems he went back. But..."
"Why...?"
"The Saintess..."
At Yuria's words, I looked toward where the Demon King and the Saintess had been fighting.
Many people were gathered there. Not just Raphael and Abram, but adventurers were also standing there in silence.
First, I had to recover the Saintess's remains. Even if her soul remained inside me, I couldn't leave her body in the Labyrinth.
I had to take her back properly, whether to cremate her or bury her.
"Paramel..."
"Yes, Sion."
"Let's... let's go over there too."
"But if you move now..."
"It's fine."
"...."
Paramel, who was still dripping tears, couldn't find the words to answer.
"I'm going to die soon anyway. Let's go."
"I understand. I will carry you."
As Paramel tried to pick me up, Rosier placed a hand on his shoulder and took me from him.
"Go on ahead. I'll carry Sion."
"Sister... Yes, I'm sorry."
Paramel's hands were shaking.
He hadn't been able to witness the Saintess's death because he was busy tending to me.
Paramel had remained faithful to his duty until the end, holding onto me so that I wouldn't die.
Now, Paramel's duty was over. He looked like he wanted to run to the Saintess this very second.
Rosier realized this and sent Paramel ahead. Sobbing, Paramel ran toward the Saintess.
"Sion, please hold on just a little longer."
"Yeah... ow, my back..."
As I groaned while being carried on Rosier's back, Lady Leah gently took my hand.
"Sion..."
"My Lady, why are you crying too..."
"No... it's nothing. I'm sorry... for being no help..."
"Don't say that... It was your first time down here..."
The Lady wept as she looked at me. No help? Just surviving was a huge help.
It was an incredible feat to have survived such a mess on her first trip to the Underground City.
Considering that Rika, Rien, and Erika had died, the fact that the Lady survived this chaos was a testament to her talent. Even though everyone from the Druid Club President to Lafnel had died, she was perfectly fine. Perhaps this, too, was a talent for Labyrinth exploration—high survivability.
-You're quite popular.
I laughed inwardly at the Saintess's remark.
Yuria was also struggling to hold back her tears. Everyone was worrying too much about me.
Honestly, these people. I'll just come back to life even if I die.
I just needed to hold on a little longer.
'Just a little more...'
We followed Paramel, who had run ahead, to where the Saintess was.
Many adventurers were surrounding the slumped remains of the Saintess, and several healers and Paramel were sitting across from her, wailing loudly.
"Rosier... put... put me down..."
"Understood. Please be careful. Right now, you are..."
"I know..."
I knew too. I knew I could collapse at any moment.
"Whew..."
Staggering, I pushed through the crowd and approached the Saintess.
The marks of battle were clearly left on her body.
Just how many times had the Saintess died and been resurrected while fighting the Demon King? Her body was clearly not normal.
Her physical form had reached its absolute limit, and it seemed she had used up every last bit of her remaining lifespan.
-I worked hard.
'I can feel it. You've been through a lot, Saintess.'
-I'm not the Saintess anymore. Call me Freya.
'Haha... Yes. Lady Freya.'
Having cast off the duties of a Saintess, Freya seemed to want to be called by her name.
Since she had likely been called 'Saintess' her entire life, she now wanted to be addressed by her own name.
"Porter... you've come."
"Yes. Raphael..."
Raphael was standing guard over the Saintess's body.
Before I could share the news that the Saintess's soul was with me, I remembered something I had to do first.
"Raphael. I'm sorry, but I have a request."
"What is it? Speak."
"Please gather the bodies of the adventurers in one place. Before their bodies rot, I will put them in my subspace pocket."
"I understand. I will do so."
Raphael, suppressing his emotions, helped Abram, who was sitting in despair, to his feet. Then, he spoke to the gathered survivors.
"I need everyone's help. Let's recover the bodies of our fallen comrades. With the Porter here, we can take their bodies to the surface. They can be resurrected. The Guild and the Church will cover part of the resurrection costs for those who participated in this raid. Please help until the end."
At Raphael's request, the gathered adventurers and healers began to bring the bodies of the adventurers scattered throughout the Central Section.
"Cough..."
"Porter... you're about to go too, I see."
"Tower Lord."
The Tower Lord, whose right arm was stained black, approached me while being supported by mages.
She, too, was in a wretched state.
"I feel like I'm about to die as well. I leave my body to you."
"Haha... I don't have much time left either."
"Oh... you too?"
"Yes. Me too."
"Hahahaha... Cough! Cough... Guh-ack..."
"Tower Lord!"
As the Tower Lord spat out blood, the mages supporting her were horrified.
"Don't make such a fuss. People die in the Labyrinth. So stay quiet. It's not over yet. We... have to go up."
At the Tower Lord's words, the mages fell silent.
Right, it wasn't over yet. We had to go up.
"Then, I'll see you later. Porter, please take good care of my body in your subspace pocket."
"Of course."
Soon, the Tower Lord slumped down in front of me and let the strength leave her body.
The Tower Lord went limp. I closed her eyes and put her into my subspace pocket.
Truly, many people had died.
I continued to put their remains into my subspace pocket until the very end.
I held on for another hour. The spirits I had contracted with screamed for new bodies, and listening to their ghostly wails, I finished recovering the adventurers' remains.
"Well then. Everyone, I'm counting on you."
"Yeah... I got it, Sion."
"I will make sure to bring you back to life."
"See you at the top."
With the farewells of Lady Leah, Rosier, and Yuria, I closed my eyes.
They and the other survivors would send me back up.
Since the Three Villainesses could now control the transfer stones in the Underground City at will, we would be able to go straight from the Central Section to the Labyrinth City.
I peacefully closed my eyes.