The Corpse Exhibition (4)
Sikan Bauer recalled what had happened just a few minutes ago.
"Pleasure to meet you all."
When they had first encountered the Lich.
Sikan Bauer had no choice but to freeze in his tracks.
And for good reason—he knew the identity of that immortal being better than anyone.
...Camilo von Taribas.
As an Inquisitor, there was no way he wouldn't recognize Camilo.
Back when he was young, training as an apprentice for the Midtemple Investigation Unit.
The records about Camilo he had read in the archives of Midtemple were engraved deep within his mind.
• Class 1 Target for Elimination
• A being who obtained eternal life through a contract with the First Apostle
• A mad mage who has committed horrific massacres for centuries
• Disappeared thirty years ago
"..."
How could he ever forget?
Camilo was the most infamous of the Five Nightmares that Midtemple kept watch against.
The records and illustrations of him reducing countless villages to ruins and subjecting their residents to horrific torture.
They had been more than enough to leave a deep trauma on the young Sikan Bauer.
To think this building was Camilo's dungeon.
Only then did all the puzzle pieces fall into place.
The reason why the barrier of Merirose had suddenly collapsed, and an unidentified building had appeared overnight the very next day.
And the reason why the investigation team couldn't enter the building no matter what methods they tried.
All these questions converged on a single answer: Camilo von Taribas.
But...
Sikan Bauer stared at Gaon with a dumbfounded expression.
"...What did you just say?"
Because what Gaon had just uttered was utterly absurd.
"I must have misheard you. You're going to kill him in an hour...? Mmph! Mmmph!"
"Sir Bauer!"
Right then.
Adelia gasped in shock and clamped her hand over Sikan's mouth.
"Watch your mouth! Have you already forgotten what Lord Gaon said earlier?"
"Mmmph, mmmph!"
"All the corpses here are connected to Camilo! What if he hears you...!"
Sikan Bauer struggled.
He could have easily broken free if he wanted to, but he couldn't bring himself to resist properly out of fear that Adelia might get hurt.
Fortunately, just before he was about to pass out from lack of air, Adelia loosened her grip.
It was thanks to Gaon grabbing her arm and shaking his head, signaling her to stop.
"It's fine, Adelia. That won't happen."
"Ah..."
"Their souls are connected, but that doesn't mean he shares the sensory perceptions of the corpses."
Gaon calmly explained.
Hearing this, Adelia bowed her head repeatedly, her face flushing red.
"I-I apologize, Sir Bauer."
"...It is fine."
Sikan, catching his breath with a disgruntled look, turned his gaze back to Gaon.
"Please finish answering my question."
"..."
"You're going to kill Camilo in an hour?"
Gaon replied in his usual indifferent tone.
"I cannot give you the details. However, let me make one thing clear."
Gaon turned around.
An unreadable emotion flickered in his eyes as he faced the space where countless corpses were displayed like slabs of meat.
After staring at them in silence for a moment, he muttered in a cold, low voice.
"I have never told a lie. You two should know this better than anyone."
Adelia and Sikan Bauer nodded silently.
They couldn't deny that. Gaon had never uttered an empty boast so far.
If anything, his words and actions had been terrifyingly precise.
"So there is no need to doubt me this time either."
Gaon took the lead.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the Special Gallery.
"Because I will make sure to end that immortal's life."
"..."
"..."
Silence fell.
It was a statement with no basis, no proof.
How on earth was he going to kill an immortal that Midtemple hadn't been able to touch even a hair of for hundreds of years?
Yet, hearing Gaon's declaration, Sikan Bauer could not bring himself to voice an objection.
He didn't know the exact reason, but the thought kept creeping in that if it was this man, it might actually be possible.
Just trust me and follow along, okay?
That was essentially the sum of what I had just said.
I didn't bother with tedious explanations or evidence. Even if I did, they wouldn't have believed me anyway.
But...
...It actually worked.
That alone was enough to steel the resolve of Adelia and Sikan Bauer.
Did my sincerity reach them?
Unlike before, there wasn't a shred of hesitation in the footsteps of the companions following behind me.
Anyway.
I looked around as I walked.
The stench of decay, the smell of rot, and the chilling cold drifted from every corner.
Not just humans, but the carcasses of cows, pigs, and various other animals hung closely together.
The concept of the first floor is a slaughterhouse.
Countless iron hooks lined the rails installed on the ceiling.
A complex pathway formed between the corpses hanging from those hooks.
If there were a maze made of flesh and bone, it would probably feel like this.
Right then, the rails on the ceiling began to move.
With a creaking sound, the corpses shifted back and forth, completely altering the layout of the pathways.
The structure of the maze was changing by the second, as if it were alive.
Ugh.
...A sudden shiver ran down my spine.
Because a corpse moving along the rail had brushed past the back of my neck.
The sheer unpleasantness of it was beyond words.
I could see Adelia and Sikan Bauer flinch, likely feeling the exact same disgust.
"Whew."
But I made sure not to show any sign of panic.
"...Follow me. This way."
Whenever the ceiling rails moved, I paused briefly, then set off again as soon as a new path opened up.
My steps were completely unhesitating, as if I could see through every single change in this maze.
"We're almost there."
How long had we been walking?
Finally, we escaped the cramped maze and arrived at a wide corridor.
The hallway, lit at regular intervals by cold blue lamps, was reminiscent of a hospital morgue.
Under the light, corpses covered in white sheets lay in neat rows, and reddish-brown blood splatters stained the walls on both sides.
"Haah, haah..."
"Ugh!"
Adelia and Sikan Bauer collapsed at the same time, panting heavily.
As they reached the open space, the suffocating tension they had been holding in finally broke, leaving them drained of strength.
And it was only natural.
The maze we were trapped in just moments ago was so narrow that a single person could barely squeeze through.
On top of that, with the horrific stench and constant visual torture? I could guarantee that enduring it was no easy feat.
[System: Mental Strength 'MAX' resists severe panic.]
...If not for the Soul of the Sword Master, I would never have made it out of here unscathed either.
Fortunately, we escaped without any major issues.
The first floor of the Special Gallery, the Slaughterhouse Labyrinth.
Originally, this was by no means a place you could escape so easily.
It required a long time to grasp the patterns of the maze, which shifted constantly.
You're supposed to solve the puzzle using the clues and marks left on some of the corpses.
What if you failed to escape the maze within the time limit?
Needless to say, your mind would shatter, leading to instant death.
Of course, that doesn't apply to me.
Having cleared the Corpse Exhibition dozens of times, I had long since memorized the patterns of this labyrinth.
Thanks to that, we were able to escape in less than thirty minutes.
"Haah, haah..."
Of course, just because they had escaped the labyrinth didn't mean anyone was letting their guard down.
Both Adelia and Sikan Bauer were scanning their surroundings with wary eyes.
They instinctively knew that the trial was not yet over.
Sharp as always.
Naturally, the Special Gallery wouldn't end here.
Just as Camilo had said, this dungeon consisted of four themes in total.
We had only just cleared the first stage.
...No, let me correct myself.
Strictly speaking, we hadn't even cleared the first stage yet.
At the end of that corridor, the mid-boss of the first stage was waiting for us, armed with all sorts of vicious patterns and gimmicks.
Still, there's nothing to worry about.
Beside me were the powerful forces of Adelia and Sikan Bauer.
On top of that, I knew all of the mid-boss's patterns and gimmicks inside out.
One hour.
The time I had promised Adelia and Sikan Bauer was drawing near.
Only thirty minutes remained.
Plenty of time.
To break through three more stages and defeat Camilo, this was more than enough time.
"Ah, how fascinating..."
Camilo sat quietly in the final room with his eyes closed.
Though he was an immortal who had lived for ages, this was the first time his heart had fluttered like this.
He still couldn't forget the sculpture he had seen in the courtyard.
It was truly a wondrous piece that had instantly satisfied his artistic cravings.
...It was a masterpiece that only a true artist could create.
But there was something even more surprising.
The reaction when he showed the ambitious piece he had intentionally placed on the first floor.
That sharp gaze that saw through all his intentions with a single glance.
It was certain. The man was a genius with the same... no, perhaps even greater artistic talent than himself.
A dog of Midtemple? A minion of the Elder? What did any of that matter?
For the first time in hundreds of years, someone who truly understood his art had appeared.
If it's him, he should be able to reach the final floor of the Special Gallery.
The Special Gallery was not a simple exhibition hall.
It was a space where the visitors themselves became part of the artwork to complete the art.
A sacred place where one realized the true value of art amidst the trials and tribulations of hovering between life and death.
An artist of his caliber would surely be able to reach the final room.
But the journey won't be easy.
At the very least, it would take half a day just to pass through the slaughterhouse on the first floor.
No matter how outstanding they were, reading the shifting patterns of the maze and finding the exit required that much time.
Even he, the creator of the labyrinth, would take at least an hour to pass through the first room, which said it all.
Not to mention, one of my masterpieces awaits at the very end...
Brute the Flesh Dissector.
It was a corpse chimera that Camilo von Taribas had poured his heart and soul into creating.
Breaking through a creature armed with all sorts of bizarre gimmicks to head to the next floor was by no means an easy task.
I wonder how long it will take?
Camilo chuckled at the thought.
"...Huh?"
At that very moment.
"This is impossible."
Camilo sprang to his feet.
...Because his connection with "Brute the Flesh Dissector," the masterpiece guarding the exit of the first floor, had been severed.
"How...?"
It had only been thirty minutes since they entered the Special Gallery.
So what on earth had happened in that short span of time?
Not only did they clear the labyrinth in thirty minutes, but they had also broken through the final gatekeeper, Brute the Flesh Dissector?
"What in the world is..."
Just then, with a deafening roar of a collapsing ceiling, the final floor of the Special Gallery shattered into pieces.
Debris and dust poured down like a waterfall.
Through the ruined ceiling, three figures descended.
The man standing at the forefront, his dark blue hair fluttering, flanked by a man and a woman on either side.
Witnessing this, Camilo's face stiffened. He couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"An hour."
At that moment, the man's indifferent voice echoed through the room.
"Even that felt like a waste of time, so we took a shortcut."
The dancing debris and dust slowly settled.
Soon, the man's sharp, golden eyes revealed themselves from the other side.
"What a pathetic gallery."