Chapter 206: Repent by Working to the Bone
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 206: Repent by Working to the Bone
“Help you? Me?”
“Yes. If you sign a long-term contract with me right now, you’ll go to heaven when you die. This is a matter of human survival, so the Goddess will wipe away all your sins and even crown you as a savior in the afterlife. The Goddess and I are on pretty good terms, you see.”
“The Goddess crowning me as a savior? Did you take an arrow to the head?”
“Excuse me? Oh, are you not a follower of the Goddess Church?”
“...Can you look at my ears and still ask if I belong to the Church?”
“What’s wrong with your ears? Oh, right, you’re an elf.”
“A half-elf, to be precise. One who is forbidden from having a religion.”
“What, a half-elf can’t have a religion? If there’s a law that shitty, tell them to go screw themselves. What does it matter if you’re half or pure-blooded? I don’t discriminate just because your ears are a bit long. I doubt the Goddess does either.”
“...Mine are shorter than most.”
“Shorter for an elf, maybe, but still longer than a human’s. What, are you bragging about your ear length right now?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I’m saying...”
Kairan wondered if the man before her reacted this way because he was an Easterner. Those from the East were known to be relatively free of such prejudices.
In truth, it was because he was from Earth, but her assumption wasn't entirely off the mark.
To Sion, it didn't matter whether she was a half-elf or not.
The only thing that mattered was whether she was useful.
“Ugh, you keep talking in circles. Just give me a straight answer. I’m in a hurry. Do you want to help me and go to heaven, or do you want to stay here like a pathetic loser, wallowing in your own ‘suffering’ and crying?”
“Did you just call me a pathetic loser?”
“You are a pathetic loser. It looks like you’re going through some mid-life crisis or a late puberty phase with all this soul-searching. Forget all that—are you going to help or not? Stop arguing and decide. We don’t have much time. If Freya’s barrier breaks, I’m dead.”
“What kind of...”
Faced with such a forceful demand, Kairan wondered if she truly could go to heaven.
No, even if she could, she wouldn't have the nerve to go.
Given how many people she had killed, what would that make the innocent people who died for no reason if she ended up in heaven?
‘Still...’
Even if she were to wander the afterlife as a restless spirit.
She felt that suffering outside the Labyrinth would be better than suffering inside it.
For a brief moment, she had felt the crushing weight of loneliness, left alone in the darkness of the Labyrinth.
In that thick gloom, where no one witnessed her struggles, she felt utterly alienated.
Her life had been stained by the pain inflicted by others.
Conversely, that meant her entire life had been populated by shitty people.
She had lived a life so inextricably entangled with others—even when she didn't want to be—that she had often wished to be alone rather than lonely.
But when she suddenly found herself truly alone in a life where "other people" were hell...
She felt lonely because there was no one left to receive her hatred, and no one to vomit her pain upon.
That was when Sion appeared.
Talking to this egalitarian who didn't have a discriminatory bone in his body made her own situation feel truly pathetic and miserable.
Finally, Kairan made her choice.
“Even so, I hate the idea of heaven. It’s not a place for me. But... but if you can just get me out of here. I don’t care if I wander as a ghost. I just want to escape this empty Labyrinth and wander the world.”
“So, you’ll help me?”
“Did I ever really have a choice?”
“I’m giving you a choice for the first and last time. If you choose to help me, I’d appreciate it if you followed only my orders until my goal is achieved. For instance, become a fighting dog that dies when I say die and fights when I say fight.”
“So you want me to be a complete slave... Fine. I will help you. Better to spread my pain, sorrow, and loneliness to you than to writhe in agony alone.”
Kairan finally realized something.
Rather than hurting alone, it was better to boldly reveal the inner ugliness she had hidden all this time and expose her pain in every detail—even if the other person couldn't understand her.
Talking to Sion made her realize that this was the way to feel unburdened, and that being depressed together was far more enjoyable.
It was a truly malicious mindset—intending to infect even Sion with her own gloom.
“You’re a piece of work, aren't you?”
“If you’re going to take me as a slave, you should be prepared for that much. I will follow your orders, so you must endure my pain and sorrow.”
“If I can use the Medusa Queen as a slave in exchange for being an emotional punching bag... that’s a win for me.”
Counseling was one of Sion’s specialties.
Managing the party’s mental health was a natural part of his duties as a porter, so it wasn't particularly difficult.
“Alright. The contract is sealed. I’m going to use you like a servant. Work to the bone under me, and then repent when you die. Then you might actually go to heaven.”
“Stop talking nonsense... I told you I can’t go to heaven.”
“We’ll see about that after you’ve been put through the wringer. Get ready, because I’m going to work you to death.”
Sion’s chains completely ensnared Kairan’s soul.
Sion had no intention of giving her peace.
Having seen her sins alongside her tragic past, he intended to work her like a dog.
His mindset was to scrub her soul clean by putting her through absolute hell.
Yes, he finally had a justification.
A justification to work her to the bone.
*
“Sion! Are you awake!?”
“What are we supposed to do if you just faint like that! Get up and summon your creatures again!”
Hearing Helena’s worry and Freya’s shrill cry, I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth.
It seemed I had blacked out for a moment.
“There sure are a lot of them.”
While I was out, the number of monsters had increased.
Freya’s barrier was flickering, on the verge of shattering.
Helena was also in a position where she had to prepare her next spell.
Looking around, I realized we were in a dire situation.
At the same time, I saw Kairan waking up.
It seemed the snakes had been protecting her while she was down.
She looked mostly uninjured.
Good, she’s in perfect condition to be worked.
I shouted at the newly awakened Kairan.
“Kairan! First order! Sweep those eyeball monsters away!”
Those Watchers were the biggest problem.
They were strong, they moved in packs, and they were cunning enough to retreat whenever things got dangerous.
I had to take those bastards out first. Otherwise, the situation would only keep getting worse.
“You succeeded in dominating the Queen!”
“To be precise, I succeeded in a contract.”
Kairan, now fully awake, let out another roar and lunged toward the Watchers floating in the air.
Closing the distance in an instant, she coiled around a Watcher that was firing curses and dragged it down. Once they hit the ground, she began to tear it apart.
She blocked the Watcher’s curses with her own Petrification Curse, and whenever they fired their beams, she twisted the Watcher she was holding to redirect the blast toward other monsters.
The natural-born hunter already knew how to deal with the Watchers.
Despite losing her Ability and having her body changed, Kairan seemed even stronger than before.
“Finally, we can catch our breath.”
“My magical power is starting to run dry.”
“Here, take these potions.”
After Helena downed three Mana Recovery Potions, she resumed her magical barrage. Freya, claiming she couldn't do anything more than reinforce the barrier, collapsed onto the ground.
‘The tide is turning.’
As Kairan slaughtered the Watchers and resurrected their corpses as Serpents and Gorgons, the monsters from the Snake Nest began to outnumber the indigenous species of the Ancient Ruins.
The more corpses there were, the stronger and more numerous my summons became.
The moment I secured Kairan to hunt down the enemy’s bosses, my victory was practically guaranteed.
“Your fighting style is starting to look like a Necromancer’s.”
“I know. It’s basically like commanding an undead army.”
As Helena said, my combat style had become similar to necromancy.
Creating corpses and summoning snakes was the typical combat pattern of a death mage summoning the undead.
“The Mana Eaters are starting to gather.”
“How do we deal with those things?”
To kill Mana Eaters, one usually had to inject so much magical power into them that their stomachs literally burst.
“There is another way.”
“Another way?”
“Yes. A method specifically designed to counter Mana Eaters.”
Of course, she added that this was a method difficult for ordinary mages to attempt.
“To put it simply, think of it as injecting poison into the mana.”
“Poisoning the mana?”
“Yes. It’s too complicated to explain to a non-mage. Simply put, it’s a way to destroy a Mana Eater from the inside by intentionally letting it feed.”
The method involved creating a highly condensed sphere of magical power, making it vibrate irregularly, letting the Mana Eater swallow it, and then scattering mana fragments inside to blow it up.
She gave a few more explanations, but I couldn't quite follow them.
One thing was for sure: among living mages, only Helena and Tower Lord Mabel could properly use this technique.
“Watch closely.”
Helena manifested pure white spheres in the air.
She manipulated the spheres of pure mana and launched them toward the Mana Eaters that were approaching to gnaw on the barrier. The creatures were immediately drawn to the mana spheres and swallowed them without hesitation.
“Burst.”
As soon as she confirmed they had swallowed the spheres, she detonated them. With that single word, the Mana Eaters exploded.
She continued to chug mana potions while dealing with them. I wondered just how much mana it took to create those small spheres.
“The good thing about a Dragon’s body is that no matter how many potions you drink, it doesn't strain the system. This body has a very sturdy liver.”
Helena looked pleased.
She seemed very satisfied with her Dragon body.
“The monsters are finally thinning out.”
Freya, who had been resting on the ground, looked around and announced that the situation had improved.
Thanks to Kairan going wild in the Medusa Queen’s body, we survived the Ancient Ruins without any major casualties.
Honestly, I had been prepared to lose a limb or two. Kairan had taken all the hits in my place.
“Let’s get out of here while they’re faltering. They will swarm again soon.”
“Right, let’s escape.”
We had to leave before the monsters respawned.
If we rested just because we succeeded in the first wave of defense, we’d have to face the next wave.
We ran in the direction we believed the exit to be.
Thanks to the Gorgons I summoned using their wide-range detection, we were able to find the path quickly.
“They’re coming again!!!”
“We’re almost out of the ruins! Kairan!!! Block them!! I’ll just summon you again if you die, so block them!!!”
Just before we cleared the ruins, another monster wave began. I sacrificed Kairan and the summoned snakes to make our escape.
The monsters of the Snake Nest left behind collided with the pursuing Watchers, and a bloody battle ensued.
“Let’s move, fast!”
Kairan would give her life to hold them back.
If she died, I could just call her back later.
Leaving the snakes to cover our rear, we ran without looking back.