Chapter 209: What Crawled Up
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209: What Crawled Up
Just before activating the Ring of Intangibility to break through the swarm of Iron Beetles, I felt Joshua’s soul return to me.
At that moment, I realized something serious had happened to Joshua and Leah during their escape.
“Joshua. Joshua, can you hear me?”
I temporarily placed Joshua’s soul into a golem. It was much easier to communicate this way than trying to converse in a purely spiritual state.
“Why are you still in the Labyrinth? I thought you’d be out by now!”
“I was looking for a Transfer Stone when I found your tracks and followed them.”
“No… Ah, this is a real problem.”
“What is it? Did something happen to Lady Leah?”
“Well…”
Joshua began to explain the situation rapidly.
“So… the hole you fell into while running away happened to be connected to the Necropolis?”
“Exactly. She’s in the Necropolis all by herself right now.”
Olivia had mentioned that the difficulty of the Necropolis was nearly on par with the Ancient Ruins. And Lady Leah was there alone?
“This is a nightmare.”
“What are we going to do? If we go to rescue her, we’ll all be in danger, but if we leave her be, the probability is high that she’ll…”
She’ll die.
Even if I made it up to the 5th floor and organized a 6th-floor subjugation team as quickly as possible… since Leah had fallen into the Necropolis of all places, her survival couldn’t be guaranteed.
“Of all things, the Necropolis had to be located below a Layer Division.”
A Layer Division meant adding a 0.5 floor to the existing level. It meant the difficulty spiked accordingly. Based on my experience so far, the monsters on the 6th floor each possessed at least one god-awful ability. Those lurking beneath a Layer Division would likely be even worse.
“To go back up, we’d have to find another Transfer Stone. We’d also have to kill the flesh monsters guarding it. Even if we organized a subjugation team and came back down, it would take at least three days.”
“You’re planning to go down, then.”
“There’s no other choice.”
We had to carry out the Leah rescue operation ourselves.
Me, Helena, Freya, and Ulysses. Plus Joshua.
“It’s a team without a vanguard,” Helena remarked.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
As Helena said, this makeshift rescue party lacked a frontline. To be precise, there was no one but me.
“I’m going to lose it.”
I’d have to bust my ass. I wanted to use the snakes to avoid the grunt work, but to set up a meat shield with them, I needed to pile up corpses for the summons. In the end, it meant I had no choice but to roll around in the front lines myself.
“Let’s move for now.”
We couldn’t afford to delay any longer. I pulled Joshua out of the golem’s body and headed toward the Necropolis.
Sssshhh…
The sound began to reach my ears.
The Iron Beetles were gathered, gnawing away at the walls. Before they could notice us, I activated the Ring of Intangibility and flew in the direction Joshua indicated.
*
An hour and a half had passed since Joshua left.
Leah stared into the darkness, facing off against the entities glaring back at her. They didn’t approach, but they were undeniably threatening.
Humans. Human shapes.
Since she lacked the Spiritual Eye, she couldn’t see them clearly, but she could tell they weren’t living creatures. They had human forms, yet they weren’t human. They were closer to monsters—monsters of the Necropolis.
Almost nothing was known about this place. Aside from Olivia’s walkthrough and Prodo’s information, hardly anyone had ever entered the Necropolis, leaving most of it shrouded in mystery.
What… exactly are you?
If they were monsters, they should have attacked a human, but despite being monsters, they merely watched Leah instead of lunging. It was incredibly unnerving, but Leah thought it was better to be in a standoff than to be fighting.
Given the atmosphere, I probably shouldn’t light a fire.
Leah waited silently, enveloped in darkness. She barely moved and suppressed her breathing as much as possible. These were all things she had learned from her teacher, the Spider of the Dark Division. Hiding her presence and masking her existence was second nature to her.
But can I endure the hunger and thirst?
Three days was the limit. Once three days passed, it would become difficult to hold out. Staying still without eating, drinking, or sleeping—three days was the maximum. If a rescue team didn't arrive by then, the situation would turn for the worst.
Please, let Joshua’s soul reach Sion.
She prayed inwardly that things would work out. Just then, something rushed toward her at high speed.
Damn it!
With a slight tug on the thread attached to the tip of her pinky, the silver thread—sharp as a blade—swung toward the small entity lunging at her. It was a spiderweb designed to take an enemy’s life with minimal movement.
“Squeak!”
“....”
Normally, the body should have been sliced in half or the head sent flying, but the small creature stopped right in front of the silver thread. Leah looked down at the tiny thing writhing in the darkness. A creature that noticed a silver thread that should have been invisible—it was dangerous.
A mouse…?
It was a single, tiny mouse. For a moment, she wondered if Sion had come to find her in mouse form, but the mouse that approached Leah’s feet spoke in a completely different voice.
“You there, human. Are you a human who came down from above?”
“....”
“Answer me! You who have entered the King’s Tomb, are you indeed a human from the Surface?”
“What… is this?”
A talking mouse. A mouse that could speak the human tongue.
Is it a monster?
The Labyrinth was full of cockroaches and mice. They were closer to pests parasitic to the Labyrinth than actual monsters. However, a talking mouse was a different story. The moment it used human language, there was no way it was an ordinary Labyrinth mouse.
“I am the King’s Right Hand! Are you indeed a human from the Surface!?”
Leah’s mind raced. What was the intent behind that question? Why ask if she was from the Surface? Why was it so obsessed with the Surface?
Is it aiming for Regression? Or…
The reason it persistently asked if she was a human from above—did that imply there were also humans who came up from below? To begin with, monsters were hostile toward humans. They were programmed that way from the moment they were born.
Leah withheld her answer. Answering hastily would surely lead to a bad outcome.
“Why isn’t this human answering! If you are a human from above, please, help us!”
When she remained silent, the mouse blurted out new information.
“Help you? Help with what?”
At the mention of help, Leah realized the mouse seemed desperate rather than hostile.
“For the King’s resurrection! We need a human’s help!”
“You need a human’s help? Why?”
“Because only a human can clear away those terrible things!”
“Things?”
“Yes! The cursed objects that crazy madwoman left here! If we don’t clear them, the King will soon go berserk!”
Cursed objects left by a madwoman.
Could it be?
Leah suddenly wondered if it was referring to the three holy relics left by the Saintess.
The reason the Saintess left the holy relics here is very likely to keep this ‘King’ the mouse speaks of imprisoned.
The monsters of the Necropolis couldn't leave. If the reason for that was also the seal placed by the Saintess from two generations ago? Above all, the fact that no one could easily enter the Necropolis was likely due to it being hidden by a barrier.
“Follow me! The King awaits!”
Soon, a swarm of mice approached Leah. She had no choice. For better or worse, she had to follow them.
How much deeper are we going?
She walked for a long time into the depths of the Necropolis, which was lined with stone sarcophagi and the departed. The monsters that should have lunged to kill a human merely stared at Leah blankly, and the mice flanking her opened a path in perfect order, guiding her way.
As she went deeper, the thickening concentration of mana made it increasingly difficult to breathe. Despite having adapted to mana, it was becoming unbearable. In a situation that exceeded the maximum levels experienced on the 6th floor, Leah felt a wave of nausea and revulsion.
It’s alien.
It was a distinctly alien energy. In the sensation that something which shouldn't be on the 6th floor had taken root there, Leah grew fearful of what threat lurked in the darkness. It was surely something she couldn't handle. Perhaps it was something that transcended ordinary monsters.
“We’re almost there! You, human!”
“What…”
“Show respect before the King. That is, if you wish to receive his grace and escape the Labyrinth.”
“Escape the Labyrinth…?”
“Yes! He is a benevolent being and will not kill you. He might even choose you as a servant. In fact, that would be better for you. It’s a chance to cast off your pathetic human flesh!”
“....”
Leah felt a chill at the mention of casting off her human flesh. Was it planning to inflict the Curse of Transformation? Or perhaps twist the very source of her existence? Feeling her hands tremble, Leah chewed over the mouse’s words.
She was terrified, but she couldn't show it. And if she wanted to live, she had to show respect. She had long since discarded her pride while living in the Labyrinth City. In a situation where survival was the top priority, bowing her head to a monster was something she was more than willing to do.
“O King! I have brought a human! It seems to be a human who accidentally fell into the burrow! Seeing as she pierced the void of the barrier, I believe she can break the curse!”
The mouse shouted in front of a tightly closed stone gate. At the mouse’s frantic squeaking, the entity inside the gate answered in a raspy voice.
[Enter.]
For a moment, Leah felt the strength leave her legs. Something beyond a mere voice struck her mind, shaking her fragile soul. Soon, the stone gate opened, and a darkness deeper than anything she had seen before flowed out, coiling around her ankles.
[You are a child who has already received a calling. Is that why you were able to pierce the void?]
The darkness whispered. The King of the Sewers observed Leah’s body, mind, and soul.
[You are destined to descend further.]
In that moment, he declared Leah’s fate.
[And thus, you shall die.]
A death sentence. A predicted future.
Leah continued into the darkness. Without even realizing she was trembling, she faced the monster before her. Soon, the stone gate closed, and the sealed entity spoke once more.
[Release my seal. I shall erase the fate intended for you.]
It was a lion. No, perhaps it was a sewer rat wearing a crown. She couldn't properly perceive its form. The illusions bloomed by the darkness hid the shape of the demon that had crawled up to the 6th floor. With Leah’s mental strength, it was nearly impossible to fully comprehend the King of the Sewers.
However, Leah realized one thing.
This was not a being she could defeat with strength; she had to hold out as long as possible. She had to survive the delusion of the ancient god until a helping hand arrived.