Arkys Great Labyrinth (3)
"The master who built this ruin, the puppeteer Arkys, was one of the heroes who shone during the Void Era using a unique technology she developed herself called puppetry in the war against the demon race. Though nowadays, that technology might as well be forgotten."
Eunhyeon walked calmly through the interior of the ruin, explaining about its creator.
"What's puppetry?"
"Just as the name suggests, it's the ability to create and control puppets. It's also called 'Marionette Control' in other words. It's the power to use puppets modeled after humans, reinforced with all sorts of spells and rituals, as the vanguard in battle. We have something similar even today, right? The 'golems' made by alchemists are a close equivalent."
"Is there a difference between 'puppets' and 'golems'...?"
"There's a difference in the crafting method. And in their purpose too. Alchemists create golems to supplement combat and labor, but the puppeteers made puppets for the creation of new life as close as possible to the form of 'humans'."
"Creation of new life...?"
"Hold up a second. There's a trap ahead."
Boom!
When he tossed a stone, the trap activated upon detecting the noise.
Dozens of iron spears rained down from the labyrinth's ceiling, slamming into the stone floor with dull thuds.
Elenoa gulped as she stared at the shattered stone floor pierced by the spears. She imagined what would have happened if she'd advanced without a thought—her body impaled, flesh exploding outward.
Even as he continued the conversation, Eunhyeon detected invisible traps with ghostly precision and dismantled them calmly.
"Can you pick up Lord Alex's mana signature again?"
"Yes. It's coming back now. It was completely gone until we entered the ruin... What happened?"
"This dungeon is an isolated space, cut off from the outside world by nature."
"Cut off...? An isolated space?"
Elenoa could only wear a puzzled expression at Eunhyeon's explanation, so he elaborated further.
"For example, imagine I have two books in my hands, each with a completely different story. The books can't influence each other at all. In that case, the worlds written in those two books could be seen as entirely independent realms, right?"
"Yes."
"But if, through some method, the 'protagonist' from one book crosses over into the 'world' of the other book, then traces of that 'protagonist' would remain in both this world and that one."
"So, our world and this dungeon are severed from each other, unable to interfere?"
"Exactly."
"But if that's true, how were we able to enter this dungeon? And there are cases of massive demonic beast outbreaks where hordes pour out into the outside world."
"They shouldn't be able to interfere originally. But some phenomenon created a passage between the dungeon and the world, allowing mutual interference through that channel."
This world—this Earth—originally had no such things as dungeons, demonic beasts, or magic.
Earth and the other world couldn't interfere with each other at first, but some cause led to their fusion, and that was the beginning.
Eunhyeon didn't know the exact reason why demons and beasts appeared on Earth, dooming its civilization.
Even when he became the apostle of the three Norn goddesses, he'd asked them why the demons invaded Earth, but they hadn't given a proper answer.
"I'm sorry... It was our fault for failing in our duty of oversight."
Verdandi had only apologized with a sorrowful face, so Eunhyeon had simply accepted it as fact.
"I see..."
New knowledge that neither the academy nor her family had properly taught her.
As Elenoa absorbed it, she felt a mix of fear and fascination toward this brutal space, distinctly different from any dungeon she'd entered before.
"But weren't dungeons originally created by demons? You said this Arkys who made the dungeon was a hero who drove them back during the war."
"Demons did create this dungeon, but Arkys killed that demon and seized it."
"Pardon...?"
"To be precise, Arkys is the one who renovated it into this form."
"So those iron spears falling from the ceiling, the pit traps in the floor, the poison gas from thin air... all of them are..."
Eunhyeon nodded, confirming her guess.
"All traps designed by Arkys."
"Why set such vicious traps against fellow humans?!"
"Well... even I don't know that much..."
Eunhyeon averted his gaze with a lame response, but in truth, he knew why Arkys had designed these traps.
'She probably thought anyone who couldn't pass trials like these wasn't worthy of inheriting her legacy. She didn't care about human lives anyway.'
Arkys had seized the dungeon, turned it into a labyrinth, and installed these malicious traps targeting humans to select a successor worthy of her knowledge and techniques.
Eunhyeon didn't explain her true motives to Elenoa. She was sure to give him suspicious looks, asking, "How do you know that?"
Having already rattled off obscure knowledge about ancient ruins and history, he didn't want to add more fuel to her suspicions.
"And don't tell anyone else about this ruin."
"Why not?"
"This place probably hasn't been discovered by the kingdom or the adventurer's guild yet. I don't know how the princess found it, but I have my personal reasons for not wanting it spread around. And no, don't ask why. I can't answer that."
This was Arkys's legacy, but also her tomb where she'd ended her life.
Whatever Princess Yuria's intentions, to Arkys, her party were no better than grave robbers after the treasures.
If Yuria had cleared all of Arkys's trials and been acknowledged as the puppeteer's successor, she wouldn't still be missing.
Moreover, with Alex's traces still inside but none of him leaving, Eunhyeon guessed they'd failed the trials and been stranded—or worse—in the labyrinth.
Eunhyeon preemptively shut down Elenoa's prying questions and got her reluctant agreement.
Thud!
A heavy noise rocked the labyrinth interior.
Elenoa stiffened, staring toward the approaching source of the sound and vibrations.
Thud!
With each step forward, the entire labyrinth shook.
As it drew nearer, its form emerged from the shadows, illuminated by the torches lining the walls, revealing its true nature.
"M-Minotaur..."
A bipedal bull, bulging with muscle, gripped a massive battle axe in one hand—a Minotaur.
Elenoa's hand trembled around her staff, her face drained of color in terror.
With a snort of hot breath, its savage red eyes locked onto the two humans.
Roooaaarrr!
The Minotaur bellowed at them upon discovery.
"Kyaaak!"
Elenoa clutched her ears and collapsed from the deafening roar.
Eunhyeon coolly assessed her dazed state, then summoned his longsword and charged the Minotaur.
Noticing him, the beast assumed a battle stance, and their weapons clashed head-on.
Claaang!
The brutal clash of metal sent shockwaves rippling through the labyrinth.
From that first impact, human and beast traded ferocious blows.
Each time Eunhyeon parried the battle axe swung by those log-thick arms brimming with immense strength, his sword bounced harmlessly away, cracks spiderwebbing across its blade.
The size difference gave the overwhelming power of the Minotaur the clear edge.
Yet Eunhyeon remained unshaken, gauging how long his failing weapon would hold as he fought on.
The Minotaur found it odd.
Clearly, it held the advantage; the human's weapon was on the verge of breaking.
Shatter that, and he'd never block its axe again.
Keep pressing, and the sword would snap, tipping the scales decisively.
That's what it thought.
But the human's face was utterly calm, as if he'd foreseen this entirely.
Was he plotting something?
No way to know.
So the Minotaur stuck to its method, relentlessly swinging to corner him.
Finally, Eunhyeon's longsword shattered under the relentless axe strikes.
The Minotaur grinned viciously, bringing its axe down on the now-defenseless silver-haired man's head.
Rooh?
It was sure it had cleaved him, smiling in triumph—but the sensation was wrong. Not flesh yielding, but empty air.
Before it could process, Eunhyeon slipped into its guard.
He'd twisted aside at the last instant, dodging the axe by a hair, flowing like water into the beast's embrace.
A single lapse, born of swift elegance and overconfident judgment.
Now inside, Eunhyeon planted his feet.
Time Acceleration
Centering his weight, anchoring his lower body, twisting his waist to load maximum power, mana swirling wildly—his fist thrust forward in under a second.
The Minotaur's eyes caught every motion, but it couldn't react.
It saw, understood—move, don't take that hit—its instincts screamed, but time's chains held it fast.
Sammae Bongkwon
(Three Meditations Collapsing Fist)
Eunhyeon's mana-charged iron fist slammed into the Minotaur's gut.
Roooaaarrr!
No time to react—the beast's abdomen exploded outward.
A gaping hole tore through its massive frame's center; entrails shredded beyond recognition scattered across the floor.
Blood gushed from the wound, painting everything crimson. Eunhyeon dodged back to avoid the spray.
Too late, unimaginable agony hit; the Minotaur wailed, but no one answered.
It dropped its battle axe, knees buckled, and collapsed sideways.
"Ah..."
Eunhyeon sighed softly, as if realizing something.
His face paled, teeth chattering—he knew he'd messed up big time.
Verdandi, watching, spoke in alarm at his sudden trembling.
"Oh, my child? What's wrong?"
"G-Goddess, it's just..."
"What happened? Did something go wrong? Is there a problem with your body...?"
Verdandi hurriedly checked his condition, but he was fine.
"I messed up..."
"Messed up?"
"I shouldn't have killed that bull guy like that... Should've summoned a sturdier sword and sliced it up instead..."
Eunhyeon stared regretfully at the Minotaur's pulverized flesh from his punch.
"Now the meat's ruined like that. Better to have cut it with a sword... Beef's so precious..."
"......"
Verdandi looked at him pitifully and sighed.