Chapter 92: The Labyrinth's Helper
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: The Labyrinth's Helper
“What’s with this now?”
The Bracelet of Growth vibrated faintly before blooming a single flower.
“A flower! Could it be...!”
The flower growing from the bracelet had deep blue petals, its color and shape reminiscent of a cornflower.
I stared at it for a moment, captivated by its beautiful and mysterious hue, until the stem attached to the bracelet snapped, and the flower fell to the floor of the Labyrinth.
“Whoops.”
I quickly scooped the flower up from the ground.
The Bracelet of Growth was an accessory that periodically produced plants that could serve as magic herbs or elixirs. Furthermore, it had a special property where it grew stronger the deeper the floor. Since we had reached the Underground City, that meant it had been strengthened five times.
Surely, this wasn't just a simple flower. It had to be some kind of magic herb with an effect, right?
Naturally, there was no mention of it in Monster Dismantling Savoring. That book was filled only with records of monsters; it didn't cover magic herbs like this.
I could probably find out more about this flower if I looked through the magic herb records at the Alchemist Guild, but I had no way of identifying it right now. I needed someone to ask. I turned to my companions.
The Saintess, perhaps because her only interest lay in killing heretics, didn't know what it was. Rosier and Raphael were the same, and only Sasaro, who was older, noticed that it seemed to possess a mysterious energy.
In the end, I took the flower to Paramel, the smartest member of our party.
“Paramel, do you know what this flower is?”
“Hm...? That... hmm. It looks exactly like Happiness Grass...”
“Happiness Grass?”
“Yes... it’s an herb that, when brewed, makes you feel drowsy, reduces pain, and gives you pleasant dreams... though if you overdose, you might die in your sleep...”
“I see.”
“Ah, I can’t say for sure it’s Happiness Grass... I’m not certain. It just looks similar...”
“So it’s a different plant that just looks like Happiness Grass?”
“Yes... probably... Hmm. Looking closer, it’s definitely not Happiness Grass. I don’t know what it is... What could it be? This flower.”
“I wonder.”
No one knew what the flower was.
However, according to Olivia’s explanation, the Bracelet of Growth only produced things that were helpful, so if I could just figure out how to use it, I was sure it would be beneficial.
‘Should I take it to Lafnel and show her?’
Just as I was about to put the flower into my subspace pocket, a tiny whisper reached my ears.
—Chew that flower.
“Gah!!!”
Startled by the somber female voice, I jumped as if having a fit. Paramel looked at me strangely.
“Are—are you alright? You suddenly started twitching...?”
“Ah, I’m fine. I’m okay.”
“I see... that’s a relief, then.”
I almost caused a misunderstanding for nothing.
But what was that voice just now?
Could it be...
‘Is it that Witch who entered me?’
The Witch who had silenced the wailing of the vengeful spirits in my moment of desperation. It sounded like her voice.
‘But she wants me to chew this?’
Could I trust her?
‘Her goal was definitely to hitch a ride on me to get to the Surface.’
The Witch’s goal was likely to escape the Labyrinth and be liberated. The problem was that I couldn't read her thoughts or memories.
Unlike Shaka, she thoroughly hid her presence from me.
‘It’s different from when Sakya was here.’
Shaka had borrowed my body to deal with the High Orc Warlock. At that time, as he borrowed my body, Shaka’s memories and his remnants flowed into me.
But the situation with this Witch was different. She hadn't borrowed my body, nor had she transferred her power to me. She had simply silenced the vengeful spirits of the adventurers I had absorbed in the Upper Levels. In the end, I had no idea who she was, what abilities she had, or what she was thinking.
‘I don’t even know her name.’
It was hard to trust her blindly. Moreover, the Witch had looked at my Spiritual Eye and called it a treasure. If she was aiming for my Spiritual Eye and trying to take over my body...
—It is impossible. Your flesh... belongs to the Villainesses.
“Ugh...!”
There it was again. The voice.
A chilling resonance. The voice of a ghost. The Witch spoke to me once more.
—Chew the Homeward Grass. Only then... can I speak to you... more easily.
So the name of this flower was Homeward Grass. It seemed I needed to eat it to communicate with her more effectively.
‘Should I eat it?’
I wasn't sure. I couldn't trust this Witch. I didn't know her identity or her motives.
However, I felt no hostility. No malice, either. I only got the sense that she was trying to help me.
Her voice was certainly eerie, but for some reason, I felt like I could trust her. It was just a groundless feeling, but I had many experiences where following my gut had paid off.
‘Let’s eat it.’
I chewed the petals of the Homeward Grass.
“Ugh...”
It was bitter. It was so incredibly bitter that it felt like my tongue was curling back into my throat.
“Cough, cough...!”
I forced the flower down with some water.
Suddenly, something squirmed inside me. It was a different flow of magical power than what I felt when using the subspace pocket. This was the kind of feeling I had when contracting with the Three Villainesses.
Yes, it felt like something was touching my soul.
‘Wait...?’
My head spun for a moment, and then a blurry figure appeared before my eyes.
‘Holy... shit.’
It was the Witch. The Witch who had entered me earlier was now reflected in my Spiritual Eye. She was holding a long pipe, looking down at me intently.
—Can you see me now?
“Yes... cough. Holy shit.”
—There is no need to answer aloud. You will arouse the suspicion of the interrogators. Just think, and I shall read it.
The Witch seemed to have already grasped everything happening in the Underground City through my body.
‘Who the hell are you? What is your identity?’
—I am... one who died before.
‘One who died before?’
—Mm. This might be easier to understand. I am Moira’s comrade-in-arms, Mabel’s teacher, and Lafnel’s friend. And I am the Saintess’s mortal enemy.
“......”
Could this woman be...
One of the five members of the expedition. The unnamed member.
Lafnel had told me about it once. How five Platinum Badges had gathered in the past to stop a Dragon that was trying to regress from the 7th floor.
The current Tower Lord Mabel, Guild Master Moira, the hole-in-the-wall shopkeeper Lafnel, and the crazy Saintess Freya. And finally, the one person who had died without being known.
‘That... was you?’
—Indeed. Some of your memories have flowed into me. Not even a century has passed on the Surface. And yet, the Labyrinth has already changed this much...
She seemed to be reminiscing as she exhaled smoke. Soon, finishing her thoughts, the Witch looked me straight in the eye and spoke of the hell that was about to unfold.
—The Demon Kings of Utopia are targeting the 5th floor. The Great Cataclysm is about to begin again.
‘What???’
What kind of crazy talk was this now? The difficulty was going to go up even more?
This was fucking ridiculous. I’d already nearly died several times even with that notoriously powerful Saintess in the party. If the difficulty rose any further, it was just insane. I was going to die.
If there was a Labyrinth Lord, I wanted them to stop this insane, forced hardship right now. I didn't know this mission would become this difficult.
‘Wait, wait a minute. Another Great Cataclysm? What on earth does that mean?’
—Exactly what it sounds like. Great Cataclysms happen for various reasons. It is usually said that "that person" at the deepest part causes them... but the monsters of Utopia can cause them as well.
—And now, by sending up the Giant, it has become certain. The monsters of Utopia are rapidly increasing the mana concentration of the 5th floor. They likely intend to use the heretics to send something else up. Heretics are useful tools, after all.
‘No, wait... what does that...’
Who was "that person" at the deepest part? And what were the monsters of Utopia? And the mana concentration was increasing? What did that even mean?
—What is called a Great Cataclysm ultimately means the Labyrinth is becoming increasingly difficult. It also means the nightmares that were barely sealed away are gradually waking up.
‘Sealed?’
—Yes. It seems you heard some of the secrets of this world from the child named Olivia.
‘...’
—I do not know exactly what the "games" or "updates" you speak of are... but that child Olivia’s assumption was wrong. The Labyrinth Lord is not manipulating the Labyrinth.
‘Then...?’
—The Labyrinth Lord has not yet truly awakened. The Great Cataclysm is merely a fetal movement.
I couldn't help but tilt my head at the Witch’s words. The Labyrinth Lord hadn't woken up yet? What did that mean? Wasn't the existence of a Labyrinth Lord already a confirmed fact?
—A Great Cataclysm... signifies the fetal movement of a nightmare.
‘The fetal movement of a nightmare?’
—Yes. This Labyrinth is a place where ancient mysteries and calamities were sealed away. Originally, it was a tightly closed box without even an entrance. However, as humans began to come and go, the holes gradually widened and multiplied.
‘Does that mean...’
—Yes, the adventurers are poking holes in the Labyrinth. As a result, the nightmares began to leak out... and eventually started to flow back. That manifested as an increase in entrances and resulted in the strengthening of monsters. The floors of the Labyrinth... are a kind of wall or membrane. The thinner the membrane becomes, the more things will wake up.
The Labyrinth entrances appearing all over the country, along with the birth of variants. It was all because adventurers had been frequenting the Labyrinth. Furthermore, the reason the Labyrinth was divided into floors was to prevent the things below from coming up.
‘B-but...’
—There is no way to reseal the Labyrinth now. It is already riddled with holes. Now, even if adventurers do not enter, the nightmares will wake up on their own. Since the attempt to suppress it early failed, it has become impossible to block the entrances again.
Then, in the end, did it mean all the nightmares sealed inside the box called the Labyrinth would wake up and go to the Surface?
—Not... not immediately... but someday... it will surely happen. Whether it be in 10 years, 100 years... or if everything disappears within a single year... I do not know.
‘...’
My head was spinning.
If the Labyrinth burst after I died, frankly, I didn't care. I wasn't so full of humanity that I’d worry about future generations. But what if the Labyrinth burst while I was still alive? What should I do then?
Imagine monsters that even the Platinum Badge adventurers who frequented the deep layers of the Labyrinth found difficult to handle coming up to the Surface. There would be no way to stop them.
‘The world will be destroyed.’
—It is not being destroyed. It is returning.
‘Pardon?’
—I mean it will return to the primordial age. To the age of heroes and gods. Or to the age of chaos before that. However, there will be no place for humans in that world.
Ultimately, the Labyrinth bursting was synonymous with the end of human civilization.
Even if it was a civilization only at a medieval level, it was precious to me. In a situation where I had no way back to Earth, if even this small civilization disappeared, it meant a return to the primitive age. No, if the monsters of the Labyrinth crawled out, humans would be reduced to slaves or livestock.
‘W-wait a minute. The scale is getting too big. Can I... can I believe everything you’re saying?’
—It does not matter if you believe me or not. The moment I ascend to the Surface, I shall depart for the unknown realm of the afterlife. The one remaining on this land is not me, but you. I am merely pouring out the information I know before I leave.
‘....’
—The fact that I am using my remaining strength to speak to you, give you information, and try to help you is also a token of my gratitude. You could see it as the price for liberating me from this Labyrinth.
The moment she left the Labyrinth, the Witch would completely disappear. That was why she was handing over the information she had gathered before she departed.
“What... what should I do?”
—A method, you say. Fortunately, you possess a very precious weapon.
‘A weapon...?’
—Yes. You have something others do not.
The Witch pointed to my eyes.
—The Spiritual Eye. Only that will lead you to the end of this Labyrinth. If you descend to the end and reseal the nightmares, you can stop the Labyrinth’s rampage. And for that purpose, I shall do my best to help you until you leave the Labyrinth.
The Witch reached out her hand toward me.