Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The Gate to Heaven and the Gate to Hell
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The Rabbit Commanders immediately made their intentions clear to each knight order.
"Wait, you mean the captains are going to act separately?!"
"Is that... okay?"
"""Oh."""
It was a terribly sad fact, but who in the army would want to stick with their division commander?!
The MZ-generation knights showed fervent agreement, and even the veterans quietly let it slide.
Of course, they had to line up according to the tournament results to enter, but there were knights who resented the commanders for ignoring that and cutting in line.
But what could they do about it?
These were the leaders of major martial forces, and the noble houses were flattering and coaxing the Rabbit Commanders left and right to keep them from breaking away.
On top of that, they were incredibly powerful—if you spoke out of turn, you'd get smacked for sure.
Crossing the united Rabbit Commanders would darken any knight's future...
"But isn't it unfair that only the captains can ignore all the rules and enter the dungeon endlessly—!"
"""Sh, shut up!"""
"Urk?!"
Knights who saw a comrade mustering pointless courage swiftly tackled him to the ground.
The knights who knocked out the fool who couldn't read the room felt immense pride in safeguarding their order's peace.
The Rabbit Commanders inwardly applauded as events unfolded exactly according to plan.
And so, the world's strongest knights gathered before the dungeon for the first time ever.
They boarded the carriages operated by those knights... no, wait!
"I'm Serkan—aaargh!!!"
"I'm Eric—aaargh!!!"
"Heh, these young fellows really grow on me."
"Indeed they do."
The two most infamous oddballs from the Raider Guild became the Rabbit Commanders' companions.
******************
Serkan, who ended up riding with the Rabbit Commanders against his will, was overcome with emotion.
'Urk!! Me, such fortune!!!'
He'd always dreamed of earning enough money for his own fief.
Not long ago, he'd felt massive envy toward the two adventurers who'd struck it rich thanks to knights, mages, and heroes.
It was all because their interview—about getting filthy rich off coins—had been printed in the Imperial Gazette.
And the contents!
'It was all the result of hard work.'
'And the strong bonds of friendship with our comrades.'
'That's right, it was like a dream come true.'
What? Haaard work?!
Friendship?! Dreams?! Hope?!
What bullshit was that?!
From what he'd heard, they hadn't done jack.
They'd just gotten lucky riding in a carriage with people they randomly met in the Iron Labyrinth and touched those coins!
Sure, the heartwarming story came out that they split half the proceeds with those folks, but he'd have done the same!
Serkan had drowned his sorrows in booze for days on end, grumbling like that.
Then he'd teamed up with Hero Lowell, Priest Martin, and Eric for a break.
But a top-priority guild quest had forced them back into action—only for it to mean riding in this luxury carriage!
Convinced it was the grace of the heavens, he vowed to nail this quest.
Soon, at the dungeon entrance, having steeled his resolve, Serkan spotted Eric in the distance with the other knight captains.
The oddball adventurers locked eyes and nodded.
For their own dreams, they treated the knight captains like gods.
Of course, their true thoughts were!
'This time, I'll uncover the Iron Labyrinth's secrets no matter what!!!'
'This time, I'll touch those coins no matter what!!!'
Selfish adventurers to the core.
But thanks to how deferentially Serkan and Eric treated them, they earned serious goodwill from the old-timers.
"Heh heh, that's the passion of youth!"
"Our boys need to shape up like these lads... tsk tsk tsk."
""Thank youuu!!! ""
And so, the Abyssal Depths expedition began with the twelve Rabbit Commanders and two oddball adventurers.
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I-is this the power of the strongest knights among knights?!
Punching away compressed air blasts flying at them from the side.
Not budging an inch even when terrifying mini-golems shoved at them.
To think they could breeze through the first chamber that had us struggling so hard to advance...
"Serkan? Stop spacing out."
"Yeah, if you fall behind, we'll all be in a bind."
"S-sorry! Seeing your lordships' prowess up close like this... my heart's just pounding too much..."
"Ahem, we are pretty strong."
Good thing the flattery worked on the captains.
And my job is to keep this carriage upright and safe, so snap out of it!
Thanks to the captains' absurd strength and teamwork, they cleared the first chamber without a hitch.
Now it was time for my role in the Iron Labyrinth.
As I hurriedly prepared to map the area, Eric's voice suddenly came from beside me.
Looks like he kept his carriage steady too.
But that guy, no way?!
"Do you know about the holy sword said to have been found in the first chamber?"
"Huh? Oh, that sword that turned the capital upside down?"
"It might be in this labyrinth."
"Wh-what?!?!"
"No way!"
He still hasn't given up on that?!
No, wait. Up till now, while adventuring with Hero Lowell, we'd checked out spots that seemed to hide secrets.
Which means...
"Serkan, what this young Eric fellow says—mind if we join in?"
"Your lordships' will is all that matters. I'm fine either way."
"Then it's settled. Hey, you! Is that for real?"
With powerhouses like these acting together, there was basically no danger here.
The only worry was that hunting for hidden secrets might take forever, boring the captains. How to handle that?
"Don't worry, Serkan."
"Eric?"
"Check this out!!"
"Wh-what's this?"
What Eric pulled from his bag was a book.
No—a collection of maps drawn in the Iron Labyrinth so far!
In this place, passages shifted randomly nonstop, so most adventurers tossed their maps as soon as they exited, since they were useless.
But he'd collected and kept every single one?
"And I gathered all the ones others had drawn too."
"G-good lord..."
"Heh, this young man would've made it big in anything."
"So, lad—do you know where this hidden spot is?"
"Look here, everyone."
Eric swiftly overlaid hundreds of maps, discarding the irrelevant parts.
One spot stood out—unnaturally empty, yet a fairly large rectangular space.
"So you're saying there's an empty space inside this rectangular wall?"
"High possibility."
"Hang on, isn't this area..."
"Serkan, you know something?"
"This is the 'Death Zone,' where armored golems swarm in huge numbers."
"Zone of Death... we'll have to fight like hell."
"Kukuku, how long's it been since we explored?"
"Eric, Serkan—can you guide us there?"
""Yes, sir!""
Combining forces, Eric and Serkan led the way. It took time in the Iron Labyrinth, but they reached the Death Zone.
But the name wasn't for show—they faced fierce resistance.
Kwaaaang!
Slash!
Claaaang!!
"Damn!! They just keep coming endlessly!!"
"This side's clear!"
"Here, the walls don't block them even when they spawn, so we have to keep punching through!"
"And I hear there's a time limit too!"
"We gotta take 'em down faster than now?!"
The knight captains pulverized the endless steel golems from both sides.
But something was off—the armored golems were spawning way more than usual.
One captain sliced off a golem's leg, another crushed its chest core, then they pressed on against the next wave.
"Whew, resistance this fierce? Something's definitely here!"
"It better not be jack squat after all this!"
"Hey! No time to chat! Push forward!"
As the golem count the captains smashed passed fifty.
The narrow labyrinth path widened. Serkan and Eric, scanning the walls, finally found what they sought.
"H-here!! There's writing here!"
"Finally?! Serkan, what does it say!"
"It's this!"
The inscription Eric and Serkan found read as follows.
｢ There are two doors here. ｣
｢ One leads to heaven, the other to hell. ｣
｢ But the doors look identical, impossible to distinguish. ｣
｢ Standing before each door is an angel from heaven and a devil from hell, but they look identical too, impossible to tell apart. ｣
｢ Both the angel and devil know which door is heaven and which is hell. ｣
｢ However, there's no guarantee the angel stands before heaven's door or the devil before hell's. ｣
｢ The angel speaks only truth, the devil only lies. ｣
｢ The angel knows the devil lies, and the devil knows the angel tells the truth. ｣
｢ In this situation, find heaven's door with 'one question.' ｣
｢ If ready, touch the white orb and shout your answer. If correct, the door to the next trial opens; if not, face attacks fiercer than now. ｣
"What the hell is this crap!!!"
"Way harder than the first chamber's riddle—dozens of times!"
Wh-what is this?!
This riddle's on a whole other level from any I've seen.
Eric's face went pale reading it too, so I'm not alone.
Armored golems keep swarming, and even with the captains' insane power, stamina's finite—we need to think fast.
Short answers are out!
We have to question the angel/devil types, so it must be yes/no format.
But how...
"E-Eric, do you get it?"
"......"
"Eric?!"
"Hey, lads! What's the holdup!"
"Speak up!"
Eric's deep in thought, hand on chin—leave him be.
The captains battling golems might know something, so I shared the inscription.
And sure enough, the captains!!
"What the hell is this crap!"
"We ain't bookworms holed up in libraries!"
"F-first, we'll buy time—solve it slow!"
No one knew!
Of course—battle-hardened warriors, not mages.
But with sword clashes and explosions everywhere, my brain's freezing!
Damn!! Should've gone straight to the safe room!
Regret crashed over me like waves when Eric's eyes lit up.
"That's it!!"
"Eric?! You got it?"
"No! Still stumped!"
"Guh?!"
Then why the dramatic pose?!
Urk, Eric's always like this.
Back in other dungeons, he'd poke stuff claiming he knew, only to troll everyone!
Ignoring my thoughts, Eric grinned and reached for the white orb.
"H-hey! Eric! What're you doing?! We don't know the answer!"
"Yeah, we don't! But this riddle's different from the first chamber!"
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the last line again."
As Eric said, I reread the last line.
｢ If correct, the door to the next trial opens; if not, face attacks fiercer than now. ｣
"Huh?"
"Serkan, you see it too? This isn't one-and-done!"
Eric was right.
Wrong answer here just means "fiercer attacks"—spelled out.
Unlike the first chamber's unknown penalty.
Th-that means...!
"You madman!! You wanna grind till we get it right?!"
"Got a better idea?!"
"Well..."
"The captains are beasts! No matter how strong the enemies ramp up, they'll hold till we crack it."
Eric had a point.
Still, needed permission first—I yelled to the captains.
"Heh, gonna get even rougher here?"
"Kukuku, can't wait!"
"Hey!! Don't worry about us, lads!"
"Yeah, let's do it!"
No clue why, but the captains seemed thrilled.
With formal okay from the captains.
Eric and I locked eyes and nodded.