19
Chapter 19
In the novel, there were always detailed descriptions of directions and paths whenever the characters moved.
When I was reading, I thought it was just filler to increase the word count, but seeing myself follow those paths now, I feel like they might have been written for my benefit.
And strangely, I remember the details vividly.
I don't think it was like this on the first day. Since when did I start remembering things in such detail?
"You're guiding us well without getting lost, aren't you?"
"Right? Even I didn't know I could find the way this well."
Perhaps this, too, was something the one who brought me here took care of.
And honestly, the reason it's so easy is largely because Estella shreds the Magic Beasts I can't handle, while letting me fight the ones I can under the guise of training.
I resumed the explanation that had been interrupted.
"First, the structure of the Ruins is similar to a maze. I don't know the exact paths, though. It's impossible to memorize them."
"Why? Just looking at the way you're guiding us, you seem to remember it pretty well."
I searched my memories and recalled the plot of the original story.
"The Rotating Maze. That's the name of the place we're headed. As the name suggests, the interior rotates. The paths aren't divided left and right like a normal maze; instead, there are numerous doors in one area, each leading to a different location."
"Even so, I don't think we should just waste time blindly wandering the maze."
"I don't plan to. Normally, to clear the Ruins, you have to reach the center of the maze, the only place that never changes position. But it resonates with Lumiere's star, and a specific condition was added based on that star."
"What was the name of the fallen star?"
"The Star of Proposal."
The story of how he stormed in alone to rescue his lover kidnapped by Majins, tore them all apart, and then proposed.
That legend was remembered by the people, and the Star of Proposal was placed in the sky.
"Now, if only two survivors remain in the Ruins for one hour, the path to the center opens automatically."
"Oh! Then, is the Artifact a pair?"
"No, just one. Only his star fell from the sky."
"The dead one's star still shines in the sky while the living one's fell to earth... that's kind of sad."
"Well, it is what it is."
"Alright, I think I get the plan. What does the Artifact actually do?"
"Charging and condensing light."
The light symbolizing Lumiere, a maze-like ruin where everyone is drawn to the center, and a characteristic where positions become entangled over time.
"Doesn't sound that useful."
"To be honest, it's not that useful for people like us."
But in the original, a comic-relief character—a human flashbang whose only ability was glowing—obtained that relic and saw his combat power skyrocket.
"Still, since the medium is light, it's versatile. You can light up dark areas, or even in a space with just a bit of light, you can condense it all to create a decent weapon. And because the light is concentrated, it generates high heat."
In reality, it's far more useful for me—someone who uses disposable weapons—than for Estella, who can turn almost any weapon into a masterwork just by applying mana. I didn't hide this fact either.
"Well, wasn't the whole point of coming here to get you something?"
"Yep, I'm just here for the carry."
"Your Noona will carry you, so just follow along comfortably."
"Yes, Noonim."
Of course, I'm two years older, but the one in the higher position is the one who becomes the Noona or Hyung.
And so, our procession continued.
Since there wasn't much left to explain, the rest of the time was spent on idle chatter and combat tips from Estella—which she actually made me test on Magic Beasts.
"I'm telling you! This person, whom I've never even met before, just casually drops these cringey lines about liking me and loving me while confessing over and over. Honestly, rejecting every single one of them is exhausting!"
"You're quite popular, aren't you?"
"Popular, my foot. They're all just coming for my prospects, my skill, or my family name."
"Ahem, if you put it like that, I don't even know what to say."
"Oh, isn't it over there?"
Estella pointed toward a certain spot with her index finger.
There, an entrance appeared that was strikingly unique—almost out of place.
Unlike the desolate surroundings, the entrance to the building looked as if it had been constructed recently.
"You're right. The Rotating Maze Ruins."
But as my hopes for an easy journey were always crushed, the doors there were already open.
"Still, the Ruins aren't unstable yet. That means it hasn't been cleared."
Hearing my words, Estella examined the traces near the entrance.
"It looks like about an hour has passed since they entered."
I honestly wonder how she can tell something like that.
"Alright, let's head in."
"Right. Estella, don't stray too far from me."
"What's that about? I'll be perfectly fine even without you."
"That's exactly why! I'm the problem here, so stay close."
I hid behind her back and gestured for her to lead the way.
"Fine. Just stay close and follow me well."
She looked at me as if I were pathetic, but she sighed and continued.
"Please drive safely."
The interior of the Ruins was far better than the outside.
"The air is so fresh. No rotten smell at all."
"True. It's my first time entering Ruins, so this is fascinating. It feels like we're completely cut off from the outside world."
At a glance, the interior of the Ruins didn't look like the inside of a typical building.
There were an absurd number of stairs and doors. Several doors were attached to the ceilings or floors, and some staircases were floating in mid-air.
"Go on, Estella! Track the traces!"
I spoke as I watched her examine the marks on the floor and walls.
"The trail ends behind this door. As you mentioned, the space must have rotated at least once already."
"Then let's try moving forward. I hope we're lucky enough to reach the center without fighting."
With that, we walked forward.
***
There was one thing we had overlooked.
This wretched ruin had a structure as chaotic as the absence of Magic Beasts or guardians, and another thing was that we weren't exactly great at finding our way.
"Ugh, where are those Majin bastards? I'd rather just slit their throats to clear this place. I feel like I've seen this same staircase eight times now. I'm starting to get attached to it!"
"Lost my way~ where should I go~ in these fragmented alleys split into twelve~"
"What are you talking about now?"
She doesn't know this song.
Frustrated, she tried to just blast through one direction (mostly in a physical sense), but she gave up on that method after seeing a half-destroyed wall instantly repair itself after a single slash. She claimed that moving this way would cost too much energy, which might be dangerous when we eventually clash with the Majins.
"Isn't it great that it's peaceful? I don't know why you're so angry."
As I smiled and said that, her expression shifted instantly.
"Shh."
She stepped closer and pressed her index finger against my lips.
"I can hear someone behind that door. At least five people."
My mouth really is my undoing.
In the suddenly silent room, the sound of a conversation gradually drifted toward us.
"Captain, are you sure about this? We've been trapped here for two days already."
"I saw it clearly. The shooting star from the sky headed this way. And who said you could question me?"
"I... no, I'm sorry!"
There were five sets of footsteps, but only two voices audible.
"I'll let it slide since you're a rookie, but there won't be a next time."
"Yes, sir! Thank you!"
Estella and I, already hidden behind a pillar and stairs, looked at each other and exchanged hand signals.
[What's the plan?]
[No other presence detected. One low-rank Knight, three mid-to-high rank Knights, and one Rook. When I give the signal, hit them hard.]
I nodded in understanding at her signal and gathered mana into my arrowhead.
She drew her sword and loosened her joints.
I notched an arrow on the bowstring.
As she activated her Star Radiance, the Majins sensed the anomaly and panicked.
In that brief window, I pulled the bowstring taut.
[Now.]
The moment I saw her signal, I released the string, aiming for the head of the one called the captain.
"Pathetic."
The captain effortlessly caught my mana-infused arrow, but that was exactly what we wanted.
The single arrow drew all attention toward me; meanwhile, Estella teleported into the center of the five Majins and unleashed a powerful blade wave, attempting to decapitate the leader.
Perhaps because he was a Rook-rank entity, he managed to dodge just in time to avoid total decapitation, but his neck was half-severed, leaving his head dangling in a sight straight out of a horror movie.
"Finally found you, you maggots."
"Captain!!!"
Estella easily deflected the subsequent attacks from the Knight-rank Majins, continuously landing critical hits in their openings.
"How dare you attack the Captain!"
The weakest Knight-rank Majin, finally grasping the situation, lunged at Estella in a rage, but she evaded him with ease.
"You're just playing around. You don't even realize you're being treated like a potion."
She grabbed the Majin by the head and hurled him toward the leader, who was still fighting with his head dangling.
"Ugh, what do you mean... we're as tight as a fam—"
He couldn't finish his sentence.
Only a scream of agony erupted from his throat.
"My arm...!"
Catching the body, the captain ruthlessly tore off one of the subordinate's arms and shoved it into his mouth, instantly healing his neck.
"Tsk, you idiots made such a fuss about fighting that you let the wound stay open. Didn't I tell you to step back when it's dangerous?"
"What...?"
"Foolish. To turn a battle we had already won back into this."
Ignoring the confusion of his subordinate, the Majin spoke toward Estella.
"No, looking at your specs, there's no way you can beat me. There are more of you here, right? How many squads came?"
"It's not ignorance; it's arrogance. We are the fifth squad."
"Hmm, at least four more groups? How annoying."
"You've become far too cocky just because I allowed one ambush. I assume you used something like stealth to get close, didn't you?"
"I think the 'ignorant and arrogant' one is actually you."
She vanished from the Majin's sight.
Appearing out of thin air, she decapitated one of his subordinates.
"So, how's that?"
The Majin's face hardened as he faced reality.
"I've run into a monster."
The Majin made his best move before his subordinates lost the will to fight.
"The scent of blood has already spread. If we hold out, backup from other squads will arrive. If I coordinate with the other squad leaders, we can overcome this."
In truth, he wasn't certain they could win even with cooperation, but if they lost their numerical advantage due to demoralization, there would be no hope left.
"Backs together! Block any attacks the moment she vanishes. We know her ability now. It's no longer an ambush."
In an instant, three Majins stood with their backs to one another.
Estella didn't bother using her special abilities. She used what they had forgotten.
She charged and swung her sword at one of them; the Majin barely managed to block it. For a moment, they locked blades in a contest of pure strength.
It only lasted a moment—not because the others joined in, nor because she simply overwhelmed him with power.
[Now.]
While she kept the Majins occupied, I channeled mana into another arrow and fired it exactly on the signal.
The arrow buried itself into the elbow of the Majin struggling to block the attack, causing his posture to collapse and his body to be sliced in two.
With only two left, they could block, but they couldn't help each other. The moment they tried, their backs would be exposed, and she would easily take another head.
Before long, the leader was the only one left, and eventually, the Rook-rank Majin's head fell from his body. Covered in blood, she walked toward me.
"Wow, are you a guillotine? How did you manage to take everyone's head except for one guy?"
"Cutting heads is just the easiest way. Based on the fight, he seemed like a low-rank. He sounded like a mid-boss, but he was so weak it was almost disappointing."
Leaving her pointless chatter behind, I looked around.
Watching something ooze from the severed necks, I felt a bit hungry, but that appetite vanished instantly as if it had never existed.
"Urgh."
"You're more squeamish than you look~"
"I'm not squeamish; you're just abnormally savage."
The corpses of beings that looked human were enough to trigger a psychological revulsion, but I had been prepared since I'd foreseen this long ago.
As I had just seen, cannibalism was natural for Majins, and some even created environments that were essentially human farms.
Some used humans as mediums for spells or ground them down to forge weapons.
That was likely why Majins weren't treated as humans.
"Oh! By the way, I saw something while we were fighting."
She pointed toward a staircase hanging upside down from the ceiling. It would probably be useful if the room flipped.
"There's a door on the side of those stairs. Let's try going that way this time."
Saying so, she hoisted me over her shoulder and activated her Star Radiance to deploy her Kingdom.
We were fools, and we were unlucky.
We were fools because we'd never tested if multiple people could teleport, so only she moved; we were unlucky because the space rotated at that exact moment, separating us.
"Oh, for fuck's sake."