The Resurrected Immortal - Chapter 36: Arkys Great Labyrinth (4)
Samadhi Collapse Fist
That was one of the techniques belonging to Juhyeonseong, a man who had fought against the demon race in ancient times as one of the heroes.
A man who had awakened mana in his Earthling body and fused it with the martial art style known as the Extreme Origin Flow.
He was the one who had endured the onslaughts of demons with his bare body, tearing apart demonic beasts and devils single-handedly—and one of the masters who had taught Eunhyeon the basics of combat.
Eunhyeon, who had no talent whatsoever for martial arts and showed no progress despite being taught, had devoted himself solely to perfecting the fundamentals over a long period. In that process, he practiced straight punches every single night.
Solely to survive, harboring a desperate desire deep in his heart to protect his life in a mad world, Eunhyeon repeated that one motion over and over. Each repetition allowed him to feel the subtle differences, correct his mistakes, refine them, and repeat again. With every cycle, the motion's perfection only grew.
And the technique he awakened upon reaching the pinnacle was none other than the Samadhi Collapse Fist.
A technique born from Eunhyeon's utter focus, discarding all stray thoughts to concentrate on one thing alone.
It was a new technique created together by Eunhyeon, who lacked talent, and Juhyeonseong, who had reached the apex of martial arts.
The result of repeating a single motion for years, it was a technique born from Eunhyeon's blood, sweat, and obsessive madness. But for Elenoa, who knew nothing of martial arts, grasping the effort and time poured into its creation was impossible.
She simply couldn't close her mouth at the fact that a bare fist had possessed enough overwhelming power to burst open a minotaur's abdomen.
What... what the hell is he?
This was the most alien version of Eunhyeon she had ever seen.
Even when he confronted the black mage's shadow.
Even when he toyed with people through words and presented negotiations bordering on vicious threats.
Even when he effortlessly subdued the kobold pack.
Elenoa had been shocked each time, but she never thought it impossible.
At least, she believed it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.
She figured there could be other men with that level of martial prowess, even if not him.
But what was this scene before her now?
A minotaur was a mid-grade demonic beast, qualitatively different from a pack of low-grade kobolds.
Even if its individual abilities and combat power were superior, when weighing the danger of a group-acting kobold horde against a lone rampaging minotaur, most adventurers would pick the latter without hesitation.
From the perspective of seasoned adventurers, a large number of low-combat-power kobolds could be subdued without much depletion if one put in the effort.
But a minotaur was different.
Its sturdy body could withstand attacks from experienced adventurers, and the overwhelming muscular strength that swung its enormous weapon tore surrounding enemies to shreds, sending chills down the spines of many.
No matter how experienced or strong the adventurers, getting hit once by that weapon wielded by terrifying arm muscles would burst their torsos open.
Did anyone in the world even exist who could fell such a minotaur with a single bare-handed strike?
Perhaps such a person did.
But Elenoa had never seen such a brutish man in all her life.
She was certain that even Riod, the kingdom's strongest knight, or her father Abros—who had risen to military minister through countless feats of arms—couldn't replicate that insane feat.
Father said that man's serpentine tongue and unpredictable actions were the most frightening. But no.
What one needed to be most wary of in Eunhyeon was that bottomless martial power of unknown limits.
What the hell is he doing?
Eunhyeon, who had just shown that astonishing sight, suddenly dropped to his knees, wore a heartbroken expression, and sighed.
"Meat... my beef..."
Elenoa, unable to understand his muttering, cautiously rose from where she had crouched and approached him carefully.
My child! Pull yourself together!
G-Goddess?
Hearing Verdandi's voice, Eunhyeon jolted in surprise, shoulders shaking as he called out to the goddess floating in the air.
Aren't there more pressing matters right now? I know the child is quite regretful, but you must snap out of it.
"R-Right... yeah."
Eunhyeon nodded, rising from his knelt position and pulling himself together.
"Was there a problem?"
"No, nothing like that."
He glanced at the minotaur's corpse, clearly still unable to let go of his lingering attachment.
There are plenty more of those beasts in this labyrinth anyway. Surely others exist. Don't be disheartened.
"Yeah... probably."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing."
Perhaps his regret was too strong; Eunhyeon had unwittingly let his inner thoughts slip out as spoken words.
After brushing off Elenoa's question, he shook his head, resolving to let go of his attachment to the minotaur's corpse.
Right. No way there's only one in this massive labyrinth. There have to be others. No mistakes next time.
"Let's resume the search. From here on, expect frequent combats, so stay sharp."
Elenoa nodded tensely at Eunhyeon's warning.
"Grrgh!"
Alex swallowed the scream that threatened to burst out, grinding his teeth.
He had nearly blacked out from the impact of slamming into the wall, but an even more excruciating pain was ravaging his body.
The bullboar's tusk-like fang, protruding like an awl, had pierced straight through his left abdomen, hoisting his body up before slamming it into the labyrinth wall.
Rumble
The bullboar, snorting roughly, withdrew its tusk from Alex's gut and backed away, creating distance.
As the bullboar retreated, Alex collapsed to the floor. He roughly clamped his hand over the hole in his left side, from which blood poured, and gasped for breath.
Rumble!
Too weak to stand, Alex leaned against the wall and grimaced at the bullboar roaring once more. Its feral eyes and menacing aura suggested it had lost half its reason; scraping the ground violently, it seemed poised to charge again after securing leap distance.
"Damn it..."
Alex instinctively knew this moment was his end.
In that instant, as he pondered how to strike the bullboar at the cost of his life and draw it away from Princess Yuria and the others—
Hiss!
A potion vial rolled across the floor, spewing white smoke that began enveloping Alex and the bullboar.
"This is..."
An alchemist priest's tear gas vial.
The white smoke from the vial infiltrated the respiratory systems of any breathing creature, inducing vomiting, sneezing, and other status ailments.
It affected friend and foe alike for any being with lungs, but Alex swiftly covered his mouth and nose with his right arm, minimizing inhalation.
The bullboar, however, was the opposite.
With its habit of deep, heaving breaths, it sucked in massive quantities of the pure white smoke—and the effect was potent.
Grrrrr!
The bullboar writhed in agony, crashing into the labyrinth walls in a frenzy.
Drooling saliva as it rampaged, its actions shook the labyrinth with powerful reverberations. So violent was its thrashing that cracks formed in walls that hadn't shattered from Alex's impact, eventually allowing it to smash through them entirely.
"Don't just stand there—move, quick!"
A woman with a bow slung over her shoulder, her nose and mouth covered by white cloth, rushed to Alex and shouted urgently.
"Use this opening to fall back! Hurry!"
Hearing the archer Aisha Vendelgard's urging, Alex forced himself to rise at the sound of her voice.
"Urgh!"
As he tried to put strength into his legs, unspeakable agony from his pierced abdomen overwhelmed him. He could only grit his teeth and endure.
Staying put meant death anyway, so Alex clamped his left hand over the wound and struggled to his feet, leaning on the labyrinth wall.
"I'll support you. Let's go."
Aisha draped Alex's right arm over her shoulder, helping him hobble slowly toward where Princess Yuria and Merdin waited.
Alex nodded as he walked, his mind racing to assess the situation.
It was dire.
Of the four team members, the two vanguards were combat-incapable from injuries. Only one mage and one archer remained.
Fighting while carrying wounded was impossible.
They couldn't pinpoint their exact location.
Escaping the labyrinth without encountering any beasts was equally impossible.
No clear solution came to mind, and Alex couldn't hide his frustration—a gloom that spread to the others upon seeing his expression.
"I've led you all to death."
Yuria muttered, clenching her fists tightly as she saw Alex's hardened face.
"No, Your Highness! It's my fault for failing to command properly!"
Alex felt immense responsibility for how badly things had gone.
Though Princess Yuria, the highest-ranking royal, was technically the leader, Alex was the oldest and most experienced in dungeon exploration and expeditions.
Thus, he had taken command of the party.
He blamed his own lack of ability for the dire turn.
"No, it's my fault. I thought too lightly of it. I hadn't heard of beasts like that in the labyrinth—I figured clearing the trial simply would solve everything..."
"Your Highness, this is absolutely not your fault."
Merdin tried to comfort the grim-faced, guilt-ridden Yuria, but she offered no reply.
"For now, let's move. Find somewhere safer and treat the seniors' wounds first, right?"
As they only blamed themselves and comforted each other without deciding on action, Aisha spoke up with a concrete plan.
It was originally Alex's role, but he was too preoccupied consoling the guilt-stricken princess.
"Mm."
"Agreed for now."
In the Gracia Knight Order, formed to protect the royal family, Aisha was the youngest of three members, but neither Alex nor Merdin objected to her suggestion.
Yuria helped Merdin to his feet, and he wore an apologetic expression.
Originally, as a royal guard knight, he should protect the princess—but their positions were reversed, leaving him with complicated feelings.
"Senior, what the hell are we gonna do?"
Aisha, supporting Alex, whispered to him.
She glanced at Yuria, furrowed her brow, and continued.
"That flower-brained princess is gonna get us all killed!"
"Watch your mouth. No matter how much you dislike her, she's this kingdom's princess."
"Who cares about that?! We're about to get our guts ripped by that damn boar!"
Alex gave a wry smile at Aisha's words, laced with resentment but delivered carefully to avoid Yuria's notice.
He had brought Aisha into the princess's party precisely because he knew her skills.
She swore loyalty to the royal family, but that didn't mean she liked all royals.
Especially those whose careless thinking harmed others—she despised them utterly.
Even if they were royal.
She escorted Yuria out of duty and obligation, but her dislike was real.
Yuria had formed this small party to keep their entry secret and likely thought her judgment sound.
But from the knights' view, it was anything but.
They'd encountered malicious traps of unknown origin and an unanticipated beast like the bullboar—clearly, she lacked detailed info on the dungeon.
She wouldn't even reveal her intel source.
They knew she had some purpose for entering, but she hadn't shared it properly.
For the knights escorting her, it was maddening.
And now, two royal guards were too gravely injured to continue fighting.
Aisha clicked her tongue at the sheer nuisance.
If not for her respected senior Alex's request, she wouldn't have accepted even ten gold coins to guard the princess.
"Hope they make it in time..."
"They? Who's coming? Into this crazy dungeon?"
Aisha's eyes widened at Alex's quiet mutter.
"There's insurance I prepared just in case. But whether they'll come... who knows."
"What is it?"
Aisha sighed at Alex's awkward, uncertain wry smile.
Will we even make it out alive...?