Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Sisters
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“......”
I looked ahead.
Clara.
Unlike Veronica, who bore the title of Acting Saintess.
She was a figure secretly revered as the true Saintess within the church.
‘......Is it really secret within the church.’
From the moment Diago learned that information, it felt like low-quality intel.
But perhaps very few people knew it.
‘The one who told me was Ermé.’
It was only natural that others might not know.
I looked ahead.
Clara was gazing at Veronica with trembling eyes.
Veronica stared back at her with cold eyes.
‘And behind her.’
Knight attire.
Figures clad head to toe in full plate mail armor came into view.
And behind them.
Another priest was visible.
“Greetings, brothers and sisters.”
A man smiling slyly.
He wore priestly robes.
“Who are you?”
“We serve the Goddess of Light. Normally, adventurers in the Labyrinth follow the unwritten rule of avoiding each other...... but that's really just for the lower levels.”
Was there such a rule?
Thinking back, we had usually avoided encounters.
There were those who tried to sic monsters on us or lure us into traps.
‘......’
-You really lead a tumultuous life.
I had no words for the holy sword's admiration.
But.
‘Why are these guys here?’
I nodded and glanced over.
I didn't recall seeing priests entering. When had they slipped in?
“Anyway, color me impressed. We're a promising adventurer team ourselves, but we've never taken down a boss.”
The man looked at us with what seemed like genuine admiration.
“As expected of the clan currently drawing the most attention in [Cradle].”
“What of it? What's the church doing here?”
Ermé stepped forward with a beaming smile and cut to the chase.
“Haha, nothing major. We just happened to spot our Saintess while passing through......”
The man trailed off upon mentioning Veronica. She was glaring at him with fierce eyes.
‘He knows better than to poke a mad dog.’
I slightly upgraded my assessment of the man.
“It must be this dangerous time of year making the Saintess a bit on edge.”
A bit?
‘She's primed to kill someone.’
But I kept my mouth shut.
I wasn't leader material by nature, but a leader had to project gravity.
“......”
“......”
Clara and Veronica continued staring at each other.
One side sharp and aggressive.
The other hiding something.
‘......Twin Unity, was it?’
Twins become one law.
A truly cruel name. One dies, the other inherits their power.
Once you learn that, even without outright hostility.
The relationship inevitably turns awkward.
“You've exchanged greetings, so just move along.”
“Yes, the lower levels are dangerous anyway. We'll head that way.”
Conveniently, our destinations differed.
In the Grassland Field, unlike other labyrinths, you could go straight ahead and find the door to the next floor.
‘The problem is how damn huge it is.’
Word was, even the 10th floor rivaled the size of [Cradle].
For reference, Cradle was a massive city.
In terms of my past life's Korea.
‘Roughly the size of a metropolitan city.’
An absurd scale.
Even accounting for the medieval era, for a single city to be this developed.
Anyway, given the size, we wouldn't run into them again anytime soon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ After parting ways with the church group.
We focused on hunting.
“Teresa, to the front. Veronica and Rozenta, get ready.”
It had been hectic days since entering the Labyrinth.
New field starting from the 6th floor.
The Grassland Field was tougher than expected.
‘What kind of monsters are these.’
Every monster we'd faced so far attacked at once.
Not just in groups of dozens at minimum.
‘The intervals between fights are too short.’
We'd just ended one battle, and already monsters were visible 1km out.
“Can you identify them accurately from that range?”
“Yes.”
Thanks to the bow master correcting our vision, distinguishing enemies was easy.
The problem was.
‘......Too many enemies.’
A total of about 100.
Honestly, not a huge issue on its own. Ground monsters and aerial ones mixed in.
-Kieeeeek!
The new addition: harpies.
They floated in the air, unleashing sonic attacks that numbed our senses.
Their diving charges from above were annoying even for me at times.
I sighed at the approaching monsters.
“Really annoying.”
“Still, this is prime condition. Monsters swarming like this, and we've got this much breathing room.”
Ermé spoke with a bright smile.
“......?”
This was a swarm?
The reason for all the chaos?
“Definitely odd. Monsters grouping up like this.”
“Hah, was trying to conserve energy.”
Words from Hansen and Veronica, who'd been to the lower floors before.
“......”
Was this really all because of me?
Hard to believe.
However.
It was a reasonable suspicion.
Every time I entered a labyrinth, incidents kept piling up.
-Normally, monsters don't swarm like this. You've got some weird jinx going on.
“......Focus on the fight for now.”
-Not all bad, though? You can repel monsters even while resting anyway.
‘True.’
Couldn't maintain it more than eight hours a day.
I fell back a little.
Teresa stepped forward, looking fatigued.
Thud.
She slammed her shield into the ground.
And at the same moment.
Flash!
The golden barrier conjured by Rozenta and Veronica expanded widely.
The others readied themselves too.
The monsters charged.
Boom!
A sound like an explosion rang out as Teresa was pushed back slightly.
I dashed forward immediately. The golden barrier held firm, but Teresa was the one bearing it.
Had to ease her burden even a little.
-Left flank and above.
I swung my sword.
A half-troll's arm flew off.
The follow-up orthodox hero swordsmanship came crashing down.
Three slashes severed one leg.
I kicked away the hop goblin lunging from the left.
Using Shadow Reaper, I seized the harpy diving at me from above by the throat.
Countless monsters straight ahead.
‘Hoo.’
I drew a breath.
Released my fighting spirit. The surging aura halted the monsters for a moment.
In that gap, Viola's magic finished casting and rained down on them.
‘Starting to feel the strain?’
Not enough to impact my combat power yet.
Stamina was dipping, but with Rozenta and Viola healing nonstop, it felt manageable.
By the time half the monsters remained.
Hyuncheon.
Roooar!
Darkness soared nobly into the sky.
It bound and crushed the surrounding monsters. The weakest goblins and hop goblins dissolved into black smoke.
“Impressive no matter how many times I see it.”
Glasses pushed up his lenses as he spoke.
When Glasses said that, the fight was basically over.
“Phew.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“So, how's it feel joining a subjugation as clan leader?”
“......Really sucks.”
“Most people crave this. You're different, as expected.”
Glasses smiled, looking somewhat relieved.
This guy had a backstory too, probably.
‘Not the point right now.’
Ermé and the others began mopping up the stragglers.
And.
‘The door's coming into view.’
About 2km away at our pace.
Door to the lower floor.
‘......11th floor.’
If 6th through 10th were the Grassland Field.
From the 11th, it fixed to one area.
Like a cave.
Dubbed the Tomb.
Ceiling over 100m high, so aerial monsters too.
But the trickiest part.
‘Undead show up.’
Unlike those eternal soldiers, these dropped decent loot.
The monsters they possessed usually only yielded mana stones.
But down there, you got special materials and mana stones.
“What do we do?”
Ermé asked me.
Go down or not.
I felt the party's gazes on me.
“Everyone's thoughts first?”
“I say we go down.”
Glasses first.
“Warriors might hate it, but with our clan's mages and attribute swordsmen, we should be fine.”
“True, only Pin and Teresa lack attribute attacks right now.”
“Above all, we've got a saintess.”
“Hmm, not bad insight for Glasses.”
“......My name's Marcel.”
“Sure, Glasses.”
“......Whatever.”
Even Glasses found facing the mad dog too much?
He let it slide smoothly.
‘Summing it up.’
Heading to the 11th?
I stared at the door. Nothing seemed off.
“Rest up one day first.”
“Sounds good.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ I looked up at the sky.
A golden protective barrier enveloped the surroundings.
A power usable only by believers of the Goddess of Light.
It kept monsters at bay.
‘That's why the Church of the Goddess of Light holds such sway.’
Seeing it in action, it made sense.
I turned my gaze to watch the party preparing.
Ever since treating them to that meal before.
I'd mostly sat out the chores. Night watch, unrolling sleeping bags, pitching tents, that sort of thing.
While resting soundly.
Someone approached me.
“So, how about it?”
Veronica, grinning.
Wanted to wipe that smirk off her face.
But.
Her abilities were genuinely exceptional.
‘Without her.’
We couldn't have reached here so smoothly.
Had to give credit where due.
The issue was her mad-dog nature, impossible to rein in.
“Don't wanna recruit this body? You've gotta be feeling it by now.”
“More hassle than it's worth.”
Really.
Veronica would be a boon to the clan.
But it meant antagonizing that genius slayer or whatever.
‘And high chance of clashing with the church and Clara.’
So I didn't want her joining.
“You're misunderstanding something. The church isn't all infighting.”
“......What?”
I was genuinely surprised.
A faction backing Veronica with her personality? People who could stomach her antics?
‘Ah, so it is a church.’
Thinking about it, churches gathered the faithful......
The faithful?
Seemed not.
I spotted Rozenta cracking open a wine bottle, whining about tough fights, and blowing across the top.
Was the Light Church okay with this?
“No, what's with that reaction?”
“No, so there's a faction?”
“Obviously. What'd you take me for?”
Mad dog.
I picked different words.
“Figure most think you're a crazy bitch anyway.”
“Spot on.”
“......Pass on that. No point arguing, just tires me out.”
Veronica looked at me after that.
With slightly shadowed eyes.
“What choice will you make?”
“......”
Choice.
A weighty topic.
-If—just if—the whole world turned against your sister, what would you do?
Clara's question resurfaced.
I'd answered that I'd oppose her.
-But... can't you, just once, extend a hand—even slightly—to your sister?
Clara's lingering words.
Suddenly.
Very suddenly, the devil from my dream.
‘Was it Veronica?’
Such a thought struck me.
“Quick to decide other times, but wishy-washy here.”
Veronica chuckled at that.
“Think it over by the end of this expedition. I'll stay or go based on your call.”
With that, Veronica headed off elsewhere.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next day.
We headed to the 11th floor.
Unlike the 10th, the 11th was serene.
No monsters.
-This is weird. No monsters at all.
The holy sword spoke as if it spelled danger.
‘As expected.’
Even I knew the swarms were abnormal.
Had to chalk it up to the jinx being lifted......
“......”
A thick stench of blood hit me.
At the wall's end, a person lay.
Limbs torn in all directions.
Face grotesquely contorted.
“Th-that's......”
“......The man we met yesterday. His corpse.”
I felt the entire clan stir in unease.
And.
Quietly.
Viola's anger building.
I'd felt this sensation before.
The necro horse.
When it killed Nation.
The situations mirrored each other.
-Looks like the jinx wasn't lifted after all.
The holy sword let out a hollow chuckle.
I quietly readied for battle.