Chapter 91

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 91

Chapter Title: Investigation Halted

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Feeling some strange, pleasant elation, I opened my eyes.

The moment I did, what came into view wasn't some unfamiliar ceiling... but upon closer inspection, it was the tent we used for camping inside the Labyrinth.

"Urghhh..."

Groaning from my mouth, I pushed my heavy body upright.

What the hell? I remember jumping into that portal... so why am I in a tent?

My clothes and gear were all stripped off, and bandages were wrapped around my body.......

-Rustle.

"Sounds from inside.... Ian?"

"Hiss?"

A noise came from outside the tent, and Hiss slipped inside—bandages wrapped around her body in much the same places as mine.

"You're awake! You were out cold for a full day straight. I was so worried."

"A full day?! Wait, then where are we right n—urk."

"Rest first. I scouted the area while you were unconscious. We're on the 11th floor. Luckily, no undead showed up here like on the 12th."

...No undead appeared?

...That 'voice' I heard back then definitely felt like it was targeting me... did it really give up just because I escaped one floor up?

Pain throbbed through my body first and foremost, along with a brutal hunger, so I pulled a potion and some food from my inventory.

"Huh?"

"What's up?"

The inventory had been exposed inevitably during that brutal fight, so I didn't expect her to be surprised.

"No... I tried pulling stuff out of it myself, but I couldn't get anything. Is it some kind of owner-imprinted magic tool?"

"...Owner imprint?"

What? It has a function like that? News to me. No wonder they used bandages instead of feeding me potions... but at least my wounds didn't get worse thanks to it.

"Thanks. Scouting the area alone and nursing me while I was out cold..."

"Oh, no! You saved my life on the 12th ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠floor to begin with."

I thanked Hiss, then pulled potions and holy water from my inventory and handed some to her. I downed one myself.

"Um... by the way, any other weird stuff going on with your body?"

"Huh? Just the injuries.... Oh, if you're worried about a curse, no need to—"

"No, it's... when I was nursing you, your dick was massively swollen."

"Guh! *Cough*... *Cough*...! What did you say?"

I spat out half the potion I was drinking without thinking. What the hell did she just say?

"I kept rubbing it and some white fluid came out, and after repeating that a few times, the swelling went down. I was worried if I did it right or if I made things worse..."

".........Hold on a sec, Hiss."

No way, but...

"Do you happen to know what an 'erection' is?"

"Huh? Erec... what? What's that?"

"Dear god. Okay, wait. Do you know how babies are born...? Like, how pregnancy happens?"

"Blood. Rena asked the same thing. Man's and woman's genitals meet, and you put semen? into the woman, and a baby gets made."

"........."

Okay, so she knows about sex... but not erections?

"Did I do something unnecessary?"

Hiss's eyes looked strangely guilty, and I couldn't meet them head-on, so I turned away as I spoke.

"..........No, you did great."

Screw it. No need to tell her the truth. Saying it now would just make things super awkward.

"Right?! The more I did it, the more relaxed your face got! Your complexion improved too... so I kept going. Glad I did the right thing."

"...Kept going?"

"Yeah. It took like three times for the swelling to go away."

"......"

No wonder I felt so drained this morning.

After potions, holy water, and a light meal to recover some strength, Hiss and I stepped out of the tent.

"You said no undead?"

"Yeah. I heard undead have been showing up in the forest layers lately, but I didn't see a single one the whole day. Think it's connected to what happened on the 12th?"

"Hm......"

If that 'voice' I heard belonged to whoever controlled all those undead across the forest, then probably. The weird part is why it didn't do the same on the 11th... Did something else come up?

Oh, and we decided to drop the formal speech with Hiss. She kept insisting I speak casually since I saved her life... so we agreed to treat each other like equals.

"Ian, you sure you're okay without resting more? Your recovery speed is insane... but pushing it before you're fully healed seems risky, no?"

"Nah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let's head back. Can't relax completely yet."

Who knows. Better to get topside a day sooner than stay in the Labyrinth. That 'voice' could echo again anytime.

"Hiss, did you hear any 'voice' on the 12th?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the lesser lich? It was made of bones, but it did talk."

Sure enough, Hiss didn't hear that 'voice.' I haven't asked Tesca's party yet, but my gut says they didn't either.

"Let's return."

"Yeah. The Labyrinth Guild's probably in an uproar by now, huh? After what happened on the 12th."

"Probably. Besides our party and Tesca's, other parties might've been on the 12th, or adventurers returning from deeper floors could've seen it."

Whatever that 'voice' was, the Labyrinth Guild would handle the investigation.

"...Investigation halted?"

"Yes. We heard testimony from the first returnees, 'Tesca's party,' and sent investigators to the 12th floor... but they found no traces at all."

"Any testimony from other parties besides ours and Tesca's?"

"Well, the other parties that were on the 12th at the time, aside from Tesca's and Ian's... are all missing."

"......What?"

Not all dead, but missing?

"...Shouldn't you investigate even more thoroughly then? If anything, you'd think something's definitely there."

Something felt off, so I pressed the receptionist, but she looked just as clueless.

"I'm not in charge of investigations... Word is the order to halt came down from higher up. Someone high in the Guild might know, but... I'm just a receptionist."

"What the... Fine. Got it."

No point pushing her further—she clearly had no more info—so I sighed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and left the Labyrinth Guild.

What? After all that on the 12th, and they halt the investigation?

Something's fishy. Common sense says you'd dig deeper, unless... they're hiding something. Wait, Guild-related? Then maybe Alensia knows?

I sent Hiss to the temple for treatment and turned toward the mansion.

Alensia would know something, surely.

"Ian! I thought you went to the swordsmanship guild—why the hell did you go into the Labyrinth?!"

"Ah."

Oh right, forgot to mention that.

While Ian lay unconscious on the 11th floor, someone set foot in the Labyrinth's 12th.

The once-lush forest was gone—who knew where—replaced by countless rotting trees, the ground stained black, skeletons shambling in place of the usual monsters.

"Fuuuck... those bastards. Late to one meeting and they dump cleanup on me..."

A man with two horns sprouting from his head spat curses at someone as he strolled casually through the 12th floor like it was a walk in the park.

-Crack. Crack.

The undead, sensing a living being, lurched toward him... but shattered into broken bones before they could even close in.

The man who kept walking arrived at a space no longer worthy of the name 'lake'—filled not with water, but 'black sludge.'

"What, for real? Thought it was just some bullshit cleanup duty... 「Death」 is actually here? What're you doing on just the 12th?"

"What? Who's whose lackey?"

The eerie 'voice' rising from the lake bottom made the horned man grumble even as he slowly released control over his demonic energy.

"Dunno why you crawled up to the 12th... but stay dead like a corpse. Quit creeping up."

"Insolent my ass."

Grinning ferociously like a beast, three pairs of wings sprouted from the man's back. Black-membraned wings rose, his horns elongating above his head.

At the same time, pitch-black energy—fundamentally different from the undead's death aura—billowed out, devouring the energy permeating the entire 12th floor.

In response, undead across the 12th floor converged on the lake, hurling themselves into the black sludge one by one.

Bones submerged in the black water melted away, the sludge surging up to take on a giant's form.

Eventually, every undead on the 12th merged into one, the black energy coalescing—when a giant of pure white bone opened its eyes. Bristling with insanely dense death aura, it radiated a mighty curse simply by existing.

Faced with the giant, the man didn't tremble in fear—he sneered.

"What? Weaker than I thought. Where'd you leak your power?"

"Tch... disappointing. Thought I'd get a real fight for once."

His face genuinely crestfallen, the man clenched his fist—the swirling demonic energy around him compressing into it.

"Let's end this quick. Got a date."

The white-boned giant clashed with the three-winged demon—one of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Supreme Council's ten seats, Demon King Diabolo.