Labyrinth of Ark (3) — Threads of Ariadne

Scragk!

Baek Seo-ha's blade sheared clean through the chimera monster's body.

"Whew…."

She flicked her sword in one sweep, shaking off the blood and gore clinging to its edge.

Then Karin leapt and brought her war hammer crashing down on the remaining monster, flattening it into pulp.

KWAJIK!

Its skull burst in a single blow, spraying bone and brains.

"That clears out this whole area."

"Not bad as sparring partners."

Watching the two of them work in tandem, I let out a silent sigh of admiration.

They mesh better than I expected, huh?

It wasn't that I thought they disliked each other.

But the quality of a relationship and the way two fighters sync up in combat are entirely different matters. And by that measure, the two of them made an exceptional combination.

When a combined attack is clumsy, it grates on you like listening to an out-of-tune band.

Those two, though, moved like clockwork. Their attack timing came in seamless sequence, and whenever one of them left an opening, the other stepped in to cover it.

"Seriously… they really do go well together."

The murmur slipped out before I realized it.

Of course, an attack this polished didn't come from nowhere — both of them had grown by leaps and bounds in the meantime.

Seo-ha's progress especially has been enormous.

Maybe it was because she'd been teaching Karin swordsmanship and sparring with her on a regular basis, but her blade was far more stable and sharper than the last time I'd seen it.

I haven't been able to give her much attention lately.

But I could see the marks of all the worry and effort she'd put in on her own.

"Seo-ha."

"Hmm? What?"

"You're doing great."

"…Out of nowhere?"

Even as she said it, the corners of her mouth curved upward.

Karin, watching our exchange, wedged herself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠between us with an anxious look on her face.

"Wh-what about me, Tae-hyun-nim?!"

"I've always trusted you, Karin-ssi."

"Uuu… not that, I want to hear that I'm doing well too—"

"Don't whine too much, you're embarrassing him."

"Th-that's not—!"

Baek Seo-ha lifted one shoulder in a smirking shrug. Karin fired back, and another small war broke out between them.

I quietly slipped backward and took my place beside Diana.

"Your guild members… they're strong."

Having watched the two of them fight, she said this and lowered her head, looking faintly bitter.

"I didn't really do anything for them. They grew on their own."

"…I'm envious."

That single word carried a great deal of weight.

I didn't press for an answer, simply standing quietly at her side. At the same time, I extended my senses and swept the expanse of the labyrinth.

It's absurdly vast.

We'd been fighting monsters and pushing forward for hours already, but we hadn't come close to so much as guessing where this labyrinth — let alone the Ark — ended.

If we just wandered aimlessly in search of the Ark, we'd die of dehydration or starvation long before we found it.

Wiz.

After a moment's thought, I called for her.

It wasn't as if I had any other options.

I immediately activated Dragon Transformation, and then Magic Creation.

The magic formula took shape in reality, and the spell manifested.

Fwoosh!

My mana flushed red and drew out thin as thread, then wound itself into round balls like bundles of twine.

Four clews, made in an instant.

I pulled out one of the Ki-cheong pills and chewed on it as I listened to Wiz's explanation.

"Tae-hyun-nim, what is that?"

"More magic…."

I gathered the other three and explained.

"So the Ark lies in the direction this thread leads?"

"Only one of the four will be the real thing."

"That's incredible…! You truly are yourself, Tae-hyun-nim!"

"How does he even come up with magic like this…?"

Granted, only one of the four clews would point toward the real Ark.

But it was still faster and far more precise than wandering blindly forever.

There's just one problem.

If we got separated in a labyrinth like this, finding each other again would be a nightmare.

But I've got a fix for that, too.

I gazed down at my shadow and called a name.

"Rir."

"Woof!"

Rir, grown even stronger now, emerged boldly into view.

"That new skill you learned — can you use it for me?"

"Woof woof!"

At my request, Rir immediately prepared to use the skill.

Awooooo—!

Rir lifted his head and let out a long, mystifying howl. Then translucent shapes began to ripple into being around him.

"Woof!"

"Heck!"

"Kung!"

Before long, three spirit wolves had come into existence.

A new skill Rir had learned upon reaching level 30.

A summon-type skill that rallied additional spirit bodies, no less.

Considering that his original, 'Fenrir,' was also called the King of Wolves, it was a fitting power to have.

"If anything happens to any of us, these wolves will react instantly and guide the way to that person."

One spirit wolf each attached itself to Baek Seo-ha, Karin, and Diana.

"Kyaaaa! You are just the cutest little thing!"

"Heck heck… woof!"

The moment Karin laid eyes on her wolf, she broke into a beaming smile and stroked its fur.

"Everyone take one clew, too."

One clew and one spirit wolf per person. With this, our labyrinth search just got a lot more efficient.

"Then — let's all meet again in one piece."

And so, the four of us scattered into the labyrinth.

Following clews that unspooled without end.

That's what I said, but still.

I wanted to be the one to find the Ark, if I could help it.

The Advent Cult's intruders had raided the Magic Tower with exactly that goal in mind — which meant the odds of running into them near the Ark were high.

World Ranker class.

Whoever had entered this labyrinth was a powerhouse on that level.

Which meant they were, at minimum, stronger than a legion commander-class knight.

The Iron Blood Legion has someone like that?

One figure flashed through my mind.

Elpiros.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The woman who had barged into the guild war and retrieved the Knight of Heaven-Felling — the one who had turned Behemoth into her avatar. When I first faced her she hadn't seemed especially strong, but Behemoth, once it became her avatar, had radiated utterly overwhelming pressure.

Don't tell me it was her who attacked?

I entertained the thought for a moment before shaking my head. Even for her, launching an operation like this while her soul itself was damaged seemed too reckless.

Which meant —

The Advent Cult has more people at Elpiros's level.

Presumably holding the position of branch chief in each of the cult's regional branches. Japan's branch had belonged to Elpiros, so someone else would be presiding over the British branch.

The odds were high that this raid on the Magic Tower — and the massacre — was that person's doing.

Which also means…

If I could just take down this one.

I could effectively wipe out the Advent Cult's British branch. A parasite that loses its head can only slowly wither and die.

"Rir, let's pick up the pace."

"Woof woof!"

I had to find them as quickly as possible. Seo-ha had grown, yes, but I couldn't bring myself to believe she could beat a World Ranker-class opponent at this point.

Karin and Diana could hold out for a little while, maybe.

Even that wouldn't last long. Diana especially had fallen to a level that could never in a million years be called World Ranker-class anymore.

It has to be me.

Right now, the only force capable of taking on this intruder was me.

I raised a wind through Fenrir's authority ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠—

Muyeongbo (Shadowless Step).

— and rode it, setting my swift footwork into motion.

Pungsinbo (Wind God Step).

FWOOOOOOM!

The labyrinth's height and width were too limited for me to summon Moss or fly in my Dragon Transformation, but with the Wind God Step — the skill pushed through Resonance — I could move at a comparable speed.

TADADADAT!

The clew unspooled rapidly, guiding the path ahead of me. The ball had been the size of a soccer ball; now it was down to a fist, then soon to the size of a ping-pong ball.

"Krrraaargh!"

"Move."

The monsters that tried to block my way, I dispatched with a single sweep of my spear.

Yeomhonwoldo (Flame Soul Moon Blade).

Everything the crimson Karma Flame edge touched burned to ash.

I ran like that for a long while —

TARARAK!

— until at last the clew unraveled completely.

And there, at my destination, I saw it.

"…!"

A thin smile crossed my face as I swallowed dryly.

"…What even is this."

Baek Seo-ha narrowed her eyes at the mass of mana before her.

No matter how she looked at it, it wasn't the Ark — and it certainly wasn't the intruder who had attacked the Magic Tower, either.

"Looks like my clew was a 'fake'."

She let out a small sigh.

Privately, she'd wanted to be the one to find the real Ark. Because then, she'd be able to help Lee Tae-hyun.

"……."

Come to think of it — since when had her thoughts revolved around that man so completely?

Baek Seo-ha suddenly felt her face flush, and covered her mouth with her hand.

…We've been spending less time together lately.

In the meantime, Lee Tae-hyun's standing had soared, and the guild's weight class had ballooned overnight.

She understood that they were both too busy to meet. But still… every now and then, she missed the days when it had been just the two of them in the guild.

"I-I've lost my mind, honestly, Baek Seo-ha…!"

At those thoughts, she forced herself to shake her head.

Now was no time to be doing something ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this pathetic. She knew this place was a fake, so she should follow her wolf toward wherever the others were —

"Wh-ine! Whine!"

That was when it happened.

The spirit wolf assigned to her began to bark anxiously.

"What's wrong? What is it?"

"Kying…!"

The wolf looked up at Baek Seo-ha and pawed restlessly at the ground.

Back before the four of them had split up, Lee Tae-hyun had told her something.

'I taught the wolves a few simple hand signals for status reports. If a wolf paws the ground once, someone has fallen into minor danger. Twice means serious danger. And three times—'

The wolf raised its foreleg and struck the floor.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

'—it means someone is dead, or has taken a fatal wound that's about to kill them.'

Three times. Frantic, desperate.

"…Huh?"

Baek Seo-ha's mind went blank.

Which meant that right now, one of the three people besides her —

Lee Tae-hyun, Ayase Karin, or Diana —

"Is… dead…?"

Or had taken a fatal wound that could kill them at any moment.

Goosebumps crawled up her spine.

"Take me there, right now!"

"Woof!"

The wolf shot off as if it had been waiting for exactly that.

Baek Seo-ha hurried after it.

"Whoever you are — just hold on a little longer…!"

A vague fear surged up in her. If the place she reached at the end of this sprint held a comrade's corpse.

If it held Lee Tae-hyun, cold and lifeless.

Could she really keep her composure?

"…Kgh!"

KWA-AAAK!

She bit down on her lip so hard it bled.

Even if death awaited one of her precious people at the end of that road, her actions would not change. They must not change.

He had trusted her enough to bring her all the way here.

I have to do what I have to do.

That meant hunting down the slaughterer of the Magic Tower, and stopping the tower's destruction.

Nothing else.

Shring!

The Chamryong Sword slid free of its sheath with a cold, ringing cry.