Wandering the Cursed Labyrinth
To start with the conclusion... I am currently separated from Cheshire, Aila, and Aram. I have no idea what kind of trap it was, but a wall that suddenly erupted from the ground split us apart. While we were trying to break through the walls from both sides... Cheshire’s group was discovered by the Underground Guards. I couldn't hear the details because of the wall, but Cheshire told us to wait and not drink the honey mead yet, as she would come to find us. Given her flustered appearance, it seemed even Cheshire hadn't anticipated the team would be scattered from the very first floor. Above all, she must have told us to wait because it would be a waste to consume the honey mead on just the first floor.
Anyway, even though Cheshire told us to wait quietly, I couldn't just sit there. So, I took Kesia and Kekere and began moving in the direction indicated by the Necklace of Conjugal Bedding. The other half of the necklace, which should be over there, is being worn by Aram. I had given it to her before entering the underground floor, just in case. It was meant as an insurance policy, but who knew it would be this helpful? Since we can clearly track each other's direction, I figured if we kept moving, we would meet eventually. Of course, that’s assuming nothing else goes wrong...
“Kesia, don’t look at the floor. Damn it, I said don’t look. There’s nothing on the floor.”
“Ah... yes...”
I warned Kesia, who kept glancing at the floor and trying to bow her head. She had been spouting nonsense about how some strange, worm-like letters written on the floor were following her. But from what I could see, there was nothing there. That’s when Cheshire’s warning crossed my mind. She had warned us that if we saw anything strange on the walls, ceilings, or floors of the first basement level, we should pretend not to see it and ignore it as much as possible.
She explained that the entire first floor was inscribed with countless Curses. These curses were created when several demons illegally occupied the black market's underground floor, and other demons who visited later left them like guestbook entries. In my opinion, it was like those malicious foreign tourists who carve their names into famous landmarks or natural scenery—the demons did it collectively, as demons would, and as a result, the names and letters they left behind remained as curses, attacking visitors.
Anyway, according to Cheshire, the curses here vary greatly in type and intensity. They range from extreme curses that, once triggered, drag you to a strange place without any recourse or make you vomit blood and die on the spot, to relatively mild ones like feeling someone’s gaze or having your body shake violently. In short, you never know what kind of curse you might get hit with. Sometimes, you might trigger a curse, and the person next to you has to deal with the consequences. For example, when this crazy toad Kekere, trusting in her Slaughter Beast, couldn't suppress the impulse to see a curse and ended up triggering one... causing my arm to turn into a strange lump of metal.
I thought I was going to lose my mind. When my entire left arm went numb and started turning into red metal, I wanted to jump up and down and scream right there. I couldn't understand why I had to deal with the aftermath when that damn toad was the one who triggered it. True to their demonic nature, they had planted malicious curses that screwed over random people the moment they were activated. Well, since it wasn't a very strong curse, Kekere performed all sorts of bizarre purification rituals and my arm returned to normal... but my shoulder still felt a bit stiff.
“Hey, Kekere. Don’t look at the ceiling. I think I’ve told you five times already not to look at the ceiling, so why do you keep lifting your head? Are you crazy? Are you so desperate to feed the Slaughter Beast a curse? Or are you trying to screw me over? Is this murder by proxy? Do you want to die? Should I just kill you?”
“Th-that is... it just looked like something was... wriggling... I am sorry...”
Kekere tried to glance up at the ceiling again, so I smacked the back of her head. Kekere croaked in a shrinking voice, looking incredibly apologetic. It felt like Kekere had already been hit by at least ten curses on her own. She couldn't suppress her intellectual curiosity, so she kept ignoring my orders to observe the curses. Thanks to that, the Slaughter Beast had already been slaughtered once. When the eighth curse piled up, Kekere vomited out the Slaughter Beast, cut off its head, sliced open its belly, and pulled out its offspring. Seeing a toad perform such bizarre actions so casually was truly shocking.
“Phew... I’ll say it again, there’s nothing on the ceiling. There is nothing on the ceiling. It’s all just the petty tricks of stupid demons. Just close your eyes. You said you can feel it with your skin even if you close your eyes, right?”
“Ah... that is... there is too much Magi in the air... so skin respiration is a bit difficult... If I can’t breathe through my skin... I can’t properly grasp my surroundings...”
“Ugh. Why doesn't the Slaughter Beast eat the Magi? Why? What on earth is the criteria?”
“Th-that is... it is difficult for this one to answer, as even I do not know the beast well...”
Looking at our conversation, it might seem like a relaxed and peaceful atmosphere... but that’s only because the Underground Guards' aggro was drawn to Cheshire and Aila. In fact, the sounds of explosions and the screams of monsters have been echoing from somewhere far away for a while now. We are gradually getting closer to the source of that noise, following the direction indicated by the Necklace of Conjugal Bedding.
“It’s... around here. Everyone, be careful. Over there... it’s the Underground Guards.”
“Croak...”
“Gulp...”
As we got closer to Cheshire’s group, the noise of battle grew louder. It seemed they were fighting a life-or-death struggle. They must have been surrounded a long time ago. We need to help them quickly. We have to save them before they get hurt...
Just then, Underground Guards began to appear near us as well.
White hair, terrible and cruel wounds with yellowish blood flowing down. Furthermore, the unclean and ominous patterns and various demonic sigils carved all over their bodies. Moreover, the black eye patches covering their eyes and the large, dirty, and obscene maws that couldn't be closed because their lips had been torn off were revolting, and the iron stakes embedded in their bodies to induce pain and the chains that had come loose as if they had failed to bind them showed just how ferocious they were.
“KIIIIAAAA!!!!”
Some of the Underground Guards running toward Cheshire sensed us. They shrieked and took a deep breath. Then, red smoke erupted from the pipe tubes on their backs. I didn't know what that was when I saw it last time... but now I realized that was the act of emitting Magi. Every time those things took a deep breath, the concentration of Magi in the air increased. They were the main culprits of environmental destruction.
“Hoo... let’s go.”
Since we’ve already been spotted, we have to break through them quickly and join Cheshire’s group. If we hesitate even a little, they will swarm us from all sides, and the moment we are surrounded, we will surely be annihilated.
“Ugh!!!”
Kesia, who had surged forward at high speed, lunged ahead with her spear. Kesia, whose spear skills had increased dramatically due to the effect of the Impulse That Never Ends, pierced the neck of one of the Underground Guards standing in front and flicked the spear shaft to separate its head. The movement was very concise, and it took barely 10 seconds for one guard to die. It was tremendous speed. This must also be the effect of the Talent Growth Potion.
“Om...”
Kekere didn't just watch idly either. As the blood of the Underground Guards splattered and the curses on their bodies were activated, Kekere immediately clasped her hands together and used sorcery to cover Kesia. She neutralized the Underground Guards' blood in real-time, and as the patterns carved into their bodies were destroyed, she dispelled the transferred curses. I, for my part, caught and killed the hairless beasts the guards had unleashed. Fortunately, they hadn't swarmed us too heavily yet. We need to push forward faster.
However, as we ran toward where Cheshire was, the number of guards increased geometrically, and the number grew to the point where the three of us couldn't handle it alone.
“Ahead!! There are so many!!!”
“I know that!! Damn it!! Cheshire!!! It’s me!!!! Aram!!! Aila!!!!”
The Necklace of Conjugal Bedding is vibrating wildly. Cheshire, Aila, and Aram are beyond those monsters. The monsters didn't pay attention to us. They were fascinated by the light erupting from beyond, focusing all their attention there. For some reason, I got the impression from that sight that they were being herded. Perhaps that much would be simple for Cheshire and Aila’s capabilities. However...
“KIIIIAAAA!!!!”
“KIIEEEEEEEEE!!!”
The problem is that we don't have the ability to break through that many Underground Guards...
“JOJUN!!!!!”
Just then, Aila’s voice rang out from beyond the wall of monsters, as if she were using a megaphone.
“I’ll open a path!!! Run here!!! Here!!! There’s a passage to the floor below!!!! What, Cheshire?!! Damn it!!! Just get down for now!!!”
“What!? Sh-shit!!! Everyone, get down!!!!”
Soon, blue light began to erupt from the direction her voice had come from. Instinctively feeling a threat to my life, I flattened myself against the floor. Kesia and Kekere also buried their heads into the ground at my command, and that was the right judgment.
-PYUUNG!!!! KWA-GWANG!!!!!
Even though I was flattened against the floor, a beam of immense firepower, hot enough to make my back burn, was fired, crushing hundreds, thousands of Underground Guards.
“Kesia!! Kekere!! Get up!!! Run!!! Now is the time!!!!”
“Uwaaaaaa!!!!!”
The path was opened. The walls and ceiling of the labyrinth were glowing red and melting. I couldn't even guess what she had fired. However, Cheshire looked exhausted, panting as if she had released all her power in that last attack. And behind her stood Aila, who was maintaining a barrier with trembling arms, and Aram, who was leaning on her hammer, covered in blood.
“We did it!! Jump down right now!!!”
The moment we entered the barrier, Aila shouted. At her cry, we threw our bodies into the large hole. That was when I saw it. Something pitch-black was jumping down after us.