Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 182: Hunt the Gorgon

"Kill the Gorgon, quickly!! Our line is about to break!"

While the Gladiator Brothers were occupied with the Gorgon, Ulysses—who had been holding back the Serpent alongside Abram and Joshua—coughed up blood as he screamed.

Medusa appeared from behind the Serpent.

Her size was distinctly different from the Gorgon and the Serpent, the mid-bosses of the Snake Nest. She was a small monster, her stature somewhere between a Lamia and a Lizardman.

However, as if her size mattered little, she charged toward Abram the moment she appeared. She caught Abram’s sword with ease, grabbed his jaw, and forced him to meet her gaze.

"You crazy bitch...!!"

"Abram!!"

"Aaaargh!!!"

Despite being near the level of a Platinum Badge, he was utterly helpless against Medusa’s ambush.

Medusa is much stronger than I expected...!

Sion had anticipated a monster from the entrance of the 7th floor, but Medusa’s strength exceeded that. She was weaker than the giant that had ascended from the 7th floor, but she was by no means someone they could take lightly. Because she was small, she was more agile and possessed perfect control over her abilities.

Furthermore, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she would retreat if she sensed danger and commanded all the surrounding monsters. In some ways, she was more troublesome than the giant.

"Guh... dammit...!!"

Sion, who had been busy tearing into and swallowing a Naga’s head, spat out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blood and barked an order.

"Light it up!!! Maximum output!"

The Hypercube that had been protecting Jack flew toward Medusa in an instant.

Naturally, Medusa snatched the incoming Hypercube out of the air as if it were nothing, but that was when the real problem started.

Flash—!!!!

Following Sion’s command, the Hypercube erupted with a blinding radiance.

"Kieeeeeee—!!"

Medusa screamed and recoiled from the impossible amount of light. Abram, who was also blinded, fainted briefly as his lower body began to stiffen.

Ulysses, horrified by the sight that looked as if a lightning bolt had struck right in front of them, shouted, "My eyes!!!"

"Ulysses! Send Abram over here!"

"R-Right! My eyes...!!"

His vision blurred by the flashbang, Ulysses fumbled for Abram using his sense of touch. He quickly pulled him out, bound him with thorn vines, and flung him toward Sion.

"Abram! Wake up!"

"S-Sion?"

"You can't feel your lower body, right?"

"I can't see well, either..."

"Your eyes will heal on their own. Open your mouth!"

"Mmph!!?"

Sion poured a potion he had received from Lafnel down Abram’s throat.

"These are damn expensive, and I only have a few bottles! Ulysses! You can perform Curse Breaking, right?!"

"I get what you mean!"

Since there were few potions to dispel the Petrification Curse, Sion was telling Ulysses to handle the dispelling as the situation required.

Sion then turned to Abram.

"Just hold on a bit longer! We’re going to break through the Gorgon and escape!"

"Understood. I'll endure as much as I can."

Abram limped back toward the Serpent and Medusa. Joshua and Ulysses were coughing up blood while trying to hold back the two monsters, so he needed to rush back and help.

This is insane.

The moment Medusa appeared, she began radiating the Petrification Curse, complicating the situation further. The Serpent spat venom like a dragon, while Medusa fired off her curse.

Abram’s arm began to stiffen again after another accidental eye contact, and Ulysses barely managed to dispel the curse in time.

The Song of Confusion Joshua played was unable to control the Serpent and Medusa. Moreover, Medusa, having figured out Joshua’s technique, would scream before his song could reach her, completely neutralizing his skill.

It was a bad matchup. Joshua couldn't control the snakes that were already under Medusa’s dominion.

With Joshua neutralized, Abram and Ulysses were the only ones left to hold back Medusa and the Serpent. The situation was spiraling toward a catastrophe.

In the first place, it was madness for only six people to be holding back a Platinum Badge-tier enemy disguised as a mid-boss, a Medusa in peak condition, and an uncountable swarm of monsters.

"Ah..."

Jack could barely breathe amidst the rampaging monsters.

Sion was performing a dance of death with the monsters, never knowing when he might fall. The Gladiator Brothers were covered in blood, struggling to beat down the Gorgon. Ulysses was coughing up blood from the strain of repeatedly neutralizing the Serpent’s venom and Medusa’s curse.

The only one who seemed relatively normal was Joshua.

However, even Joshua was reaching his physical limit. The mental strength he used to keep his sanity against the madness was running dry, and even Abram’s divine power was beginning to bottom out.

If ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the worst came to pass, they would all die here.

"Why is this Gorgon so strong!!"

"Fuck! Just die already!"

Chloe and Maximus were miserable. They had to finish off the Gorgon quickly to open a path, but the damn thing refused to die.

It felt different from any monster they had faced before. No matter how high its intelligence, a monster was still a monster. There should have been an opening, but the Gorgon gave them nothing.

It felt like fighting a seasoned hunter—or rather, an adventurer in the guise of a monster.

Wait.

Chloe thought of Kairan. Sion had mentioned that his connection with her had been severed. And for some reason, the Gorgon was giving off a vibe similar to Kairan.

If the Gorgon killed Kairan and absorbed her abilities... if that’s why the Spirit Chain was broken... then we aren't fighting a simple monster. We’re fighting a Platinum Badge who has undergone Labyrinth Assimilation.

When Labyrinth Assimilation occurs, one becomes obsessed with the Labyrinth, eventually consumed by the urge to descend further until they turn into a monster. Many such beings existed on the 7th floor.

Perhaps the current Gorgon was similar to a monsterized Platinum Badge one would find on the 7th floor.

Only now did it make sense why the two of them were struggling so much against a single Gorgon. It was like fighting a Platinum Badge in the middle of a transformation. Naturally, it would take time.

In fact, Kairan was a step above the Gladiator Brothers. Even among Platinum Badges, there were tiers of strength. Just as everyone was weak before Moira, the strongest of the Platinum Badges, the brothers were weaker than Kairan. And now, that Kairan was wearing the body of a mid-boss monster and fighting desperately to kill them all.

It was only natural they couldn't break through easily.

"At this rate...!"

Ulysses felt the looming shadow of death. It was the worst-case scenario. With monsters pouring in relentlessly, once they hit their physical limits, only death remained.

"Haha. Everyone’s screams sound so wonderful. I’m starting to feel it. I’m really feeling it!"

Suddenly, Joshua pulled out a dagger and began to laugh.

With all his performances rendered useless by Medusa, Joshua was being consumed by madness. He decided to use every trick he had before he completely lost himself to the frenzy.

"On such a magnificent stage, how dare a mere snake interfere with my performance? It’s filled with such beautiful screams. No one shall interrupt my festival."

Joshua’s pride was wounded. He couldn't stand the fact that a hideous snake-head was drowning out his soul-infused music with its screams.

With the ecstasy of standing on the ultimate stage and the contempt and hatred for the worst audience imaginable, he drew his blade and slashed his own arm.

Joshua’s greatest trait and his identity—his ability, 'Instrument Making'—became more effective the more precious the object used to create the instrument was.

And to Joshua, nothing was more precious than himself.

He would become a living instrument. He would overturn this desperate situation and carve out a path to escape. That was the best performance a maddened Bard could offer.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Joshua laughed, his face contorted in pain.

His arm became the instrument, and the spurting blood and the agony of the wound amplified the sound. Joshua’s laughter began to drown out Medusa’s screams. The screams of the adventurers gathered and became a terrifying chorus.

"Let's all go mad together."

Sion, who was already half-insane, didn't care. But the rest of the party and the monsters filling the hallway began to be tainted by Joshua’s madness.

For some reason, the Gladiator Brothers began to find this crisis enjoyable. They realized their emotions were turning strange, but they were in no position to stop Joshua. Even though they knew the performer behind them had committed a mad act, they felt so good that they simply laughed.

The blood-soaked gladiators laughed. Their attacks became sharper and faster. It was clear they were receiving some kind of buff. Conversely, Kairan, who was feeling a growing sense of frustration from Joshua’s music, instinctively ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt the need to flee.

The mad Bard was unleashing a wide-range skill. He was granting his allies a happiness that ignored the consequences, while inflicting deep frustration and a sense of defeat upon his enemies.

"What have you done!!!"

Ulysses shouted at Joshua. His thorn vines were expanding uncontrollably, and Ulysses screamed as he watched them grow beyond his command.

Watching the situation spiral into insanity, Abram realized once again why Joshua had died in the past.

He’s a total wildcard!

He had dragged both friend and foe into a whirlpool of madness. Still, thanks to the madman’s self-harming show, the situation was opening up.

Kairan, sensing death as the Gladiator Brothers' eyes gleamed with an eerie light and their movements became freakishly aggressive, turned and fled.

Furthermore, the Serpent, which had been ignoring Joshua’s music thanks to Medusa, began to fall under the spell and started slamming its head against the walls. This gave Abram some breathing room.

Moreover, the thorn vines Ulysses had been controlling expanded wildly beyond his reach, blocking off three hallways and creating a gap to escape.

Finally, the Bard’s performance came to an end. Joshua, having sacrificed his right arm, fainted with a smile on his face. Abram hoisted the unconscious Joshua onto his back.

"Chloe! Carry Sion and run!"

"We won't know the way to the exit without Sion!"

"We have to get out of here first! And we have to kill the Gorgon! As long as that thing’s eyes are on us, this situation will keep repeating! Run in the direction the Gorgon fled! We have to kill it to end the monster attacks!"

They had to erase the Gorgon’s eyes. Otherwise, Medusa and the Serpent would track their location and hunt them down again.

Under Abram’s command, the party sprinted toward where the Gorgon had vanished.