Traveler: Derek Walker 17
"How dare you wreck my kingdom on your own! Die! Die! I'll kill you for sure!"
The princess's eyes blazed with murderous fury as she screamed, her voice thick with rage. There was no trace of princessly grace left in her—just the wicked witch straight out of a storybook.
She flipped through the pages neurotically.
"I sense something ominous," Sera said, her sharp instincts picking up on Dolce's final desperate struggle from the fairy tale book. The book unleashed a massive surge of mana, whipping up a fierce gust that shook the maze garden's trees. Branches swayed wildly, leaves fluttered down. Leaves caught in the wind scattered everywhere.
It was an ill omen.
"If you want to end the fairy tale like this... then you'll end with it too!"
Wooooooong! The powerful mana pouring from the fairy tale book gathered in the air. Sera gulped, staring up at the green mana orb. The dense destructive power radiating from it was almost too much even for me to handle.
Dolce's fairy tale book's final outburst. This turns it into a grim fairy tale.
Wooooooong! A resonant hum like a helicopter propeller echoed everywhere. The green mana amassed in the air spread outward with a deafening roar, rippling like waves from a pebble dropped in a still pond. Flashing green light made the waves visible.
"Hngh! What is that?" Sera squinted and looked away. The moment the waves spread, the space around us warped violently, melting like ink bleeding on paper. The ruined space realigned in an instant, regaining its colors.
But the restored space wasn't the maze garden anymore. This was the multicolored garden where we'd first arrived.
"This is that flower field! Huh!? But something feels off."
The sunset painted the sky. The sun, dipping below the horizon and casting a melancholic orange glow, looked utterly lonely. The sunset illuminated the land. The fairy tale garden, once bursting with colors, was now filled only with wilted flowers. Fading darkness had replaced the brilliant light.
"Eeeee! We're meeting again! Human! And beastkin! This time, I'll punish you for sure!"
A yellow light popped up from the death-filled garden. It was the garden fairy I'd killed before. The fairy swung its tiny fists wildly and shouted.
"Raplawai! Wake up! This time, we'll devour that human for sure!"
"Kraaaack!"
A massive man-eating flower burst from beneath the garden of death. Its ash-covered petals and charred stem looked like a 'zombie flower.' Shaking off the flames, Raplawai bared its razor-sharp teeth-filled petals, glaring at us with hostility. It fit perfectly with the grotesque surroundings.
"Whoa! It was gross before, but this is even worse!"
Even Sera, who loved nature, turned away in disgust. Yeah, this Raplawai didn't look like a product of harmonious nature anymore—it screamed impure black magic. I could see why Sera's hair stood on end and she shuddered.
Dolce's fairy tale book's final outburst. It revives every enemy we've faced so far.
These revived monsters have different weaknesses. And naturally, their base stats are higher than before. To perfectly clear this dungeon, you need to grasp the mid-bosses' changing weaknesses. If first-run Raplawai was weak to fire attacks, second-run Raplawai was weak to light attacks.
"What a horrific look that doesn't fit a fairy tale. Trying to shatter innocence on purpose, huh?"
"If it means getting rid of filthy humans, I'll do anything! Raplawai!"
The man-eating flower gaped its maw and charged at me and Sera. Reborn or not, its attack style hadn't changed. In game terms, it was just beefier HP, higher attack power, and a switched element.
"Holy Arrow."
A light arrow flew toward the demonic flower. The holy arrow sliced through the sunset-crimson garden, piercing the flower's whipping vines and shooting straight ahead. It stabbed the center of the open petals and exploded in radiant light. Raplawai's head shattered into pieces amid the sparkling glow.
"Raplawai! No way!"
"A plant trying to eat humans? What novel bullshit. Go eat flies instead!"
The fairy's face turned ashen. Her prized garden guardian lost perfectly in the rematch. Now, in the wilted flower garden, it was just me, Sera, and the fairy.
This fairy was just the control tower for Raplawai—zero combat power on her own.
"Um... how about a draw...?"
I stomped the fairy once more. Crunch! The sensation of brittle cornstalks breaking traveled up my foot. At the same time, the scenery around us shifted rapidly, just like when we'd moved from the maze garden to the multicolored one—everything blurred, vanished, and reassembled.
When Sera and I came to, we were in darkness. A faint light glimmered at the edge of our vision. It came from a creepy castle.
Sera, with her cat-like night vision, pointed at the castle in the pitch black.
"That's the castle from before. You said it was full of evil spirits, right?"
"Yeah. At this hour, all the castle's evil spirits should be active."
I pulled out a glow item to light the way and headed straight for the castle without hesitation. Sera followed cautiously behind me. Anxiety filled her face. Charging into a castle full of enemies— it'd be weirder if she wasn't worried.
"How do we take down the evil spirits this time?"
"There's a special item in that castle that binds the evil spirits. A cursed cross. Destroy it, and the castle's evil spirits vanish automatically."
And that cursed cross was in a church at one corner of the castle.
The castle looked truly chilling in the pitch-black night where even moonlight barely pierced. The eerie sound of rough waves crashing against the cliffs below amplified the ominous vibe.
As we approached, the massive castle gate creaked open on its own. The rusty metal screech tickled our ears.
"Eeeek!"
Sera glanced around and took the lead. The moment she stepped inside, a pale, ghostly figure lunged from the left.
"Light Control."
I lit up the surroundings with the skill. As a light-element skill, Light Control was super effective against evil spirit monsters. The spirit attempting a body slam melted away in the bright light. Only its chilling wail lingered in the air.
"Move as fast as possible."
Sera and I crossed the courtyard. Plenty of evil spirits chased us, but I repelled them with Light Control. The courtyard spirits were all trash mobs—easy to clear. Even non-trash evil spirits could've been vaporized with Light Control if I wanted, but for efficient clearing, we dodged them.
After passing the courtyard and skirting the main keep, a small church appeared before us. A weathered cross hung crookedly over the door, giving zero holy vibes.
"Let's go in."
Like the castle gate, the church door slid open as we approached.
"A trap?" Sera asked, looking back at me.
She was right—it was a trap. But to speed through here, we had to spring it.
"Doesn't matter."
Sera and I entered together. The door slammed shut behind us with a bang, locking automatically.
Sera knocked on the door. "It's completely locked."
Classic cliché from movies and games.
"Kekeke! You've finally come! I didn't expect you'd walk right in—your stupidest choice! Kuahaha!"
A nauseating voice, like it was declaring I'm the villain, boomed from ahead. At the same time, candles on the walls ignited at intervals, brightening the dark church interior enough to see around.
The villain-wannabe stood on the altar. A middle-aged man in black priest robes, bald as a cue ball with a pale face. He held a Bible in one hand and a gleaming silver candlestick in the other. Behind him hung a massive frame with a blank canvas. It should've had the priest's portrait—another evil spirit from the painting.
"In the name of God, I shall judge these two heretics. Foolish lambs who dared enter this castle without fear. Any last words?"
"God coming out of an evil spirit's mouth? End times for sure."
"Kekeke! The world isn't ruled only by benevolent gods. We serve the evil gods! Join us as comrades!"
Flames lit his silver candlestick. Instantly, the wall of candles shot flames at us. I'd seen it coming—no surprise attack, just a light hit.
"Master!"
"Don't worry. Water Wall."
I blocked the attack easily with a water barrier. My target was the cursed cross around the priest's neck.
"Sera. I'll block the flames—destroy that priest's necklace."
"Got it! Leave it to me~!"
Sera leaped toward the wall. Ignoring gravity, she ran up the church wall. The evil spirit priest raised the silver candlestick higher.
"Baptism of fire for the heretic!"
"No chance. Jet Stream!"
I summoned two massive water jets. The flickering flames heading for Sera lost their light under the cool water cannon barrage. Nothing stood in Sera's way now.
Reaching the evil spirit priest, Sera kicked off the wall and launched herself.
"Rapid Claw!"
Sera's frenzied slashes raked the evil spirit priest. He hastily turned transparent. But the cursed necklace around his neck didn't vanish with the transparency. As the curse anchor binding him to the castle, it wasn't affected by his powers.
Sera's claws shredded the cursed necklace to rags. A twisted scream erupted from the evil spirit priest.
"Gaaaaah! No! Impossible!"
His hazy form crumbled to dust. With the curse anchor destroyed, he'd lost his shape. The evil spirit priest vanished completely amid wails.
"We won!"
Sera pumped her fist triumphantly. Our world shifted again. This time, a bountiful rural village full of wheat. Unlike before, no one harvested wheat at the entrance. It was nighttime with a full moon high in the sky.
Full moon nights belonged to werewolves.
"Whoa! Look over there."
Sera pointed at the village entrance. Werewolf-transformed villagers swarmed toward us in a pack, faces twisted in rage.
"We meet again! Village's nemesis! I'll chew your bones and flesh raw..."
"Darkness Arrow."
I shot an arrow into the blabbering village chief's gut. A small hole punched in his belly, he keeled over dead. Fitting end for trash.
The easy way through the second werewolf village was to evade until dawn. But I saw no need. No point wasting time on these weaklings.
"Sera."
"Yes~!"
We went on a rampage together. Even full-moon lycanthropes shredded under Sera's claws. After the second massacre, we moved to the next stage.