Chapter 161: That Day 12 Years Ago (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 161: That Day 12 Years Ago (2)
July 3rd to 4th.
Henry holed up in his home.
July 5th.
In the morning, Henry bought a baguette from the Rice and Wheat bakery.
July 6th to 10th.
Henry holed up in his home.
Though it was never recorded in the university's future research materials, someone did, in fact, visit Henry during this time.
Brillin.
She couldn't understand why her lover had suddenly vanished after submitting his application to the university.
"We need to talk! Come on out!"
But Henry, paralyzed by extreme anxiety and fear, didn't move an inch.
July 11th.
Henry's Labyrinth party member, the fighter Cleo, came to see him, but Henry refused to come out.
Those who meet the Labyrinth Master go mad. They are seized by insanity.
In the Labyrinth City of Sohen, that saying was like an axiom.
And just as the saying went...
Henry felt like he was going insane.
He was as confused as the protagonist of The Truman Show.
Everything was suspect.
Brillin, Chihuahua, even the broccoli.
All the Possessor professors.
Could it be that all of them, gathered around the Magic University, had been subcontracted by the Labyrinth Master to recruit him?
The Dean was a subordinate of the Labyrinth Master.
The university had already fallen to the Labyrinth.
Why haven't they come to kill me?
It would be a simple matter to track Henry's identity using psychometric magic.
It wouldn't have been strange if the Dean had come to murder him long ago.
There had to be a reason he hadn't.
That reason was probably…
Because I have to enter the Labyrinth anyway?
It would soon be two full weeks.
If he didn't enter the Labyrinth, he was a dead man. And he wouldn't die alone; he would inflict massive damage on the entire city.
But.
Even if I enter the Labyrinth, can I make it out alive?
Inside the Labyrinth, a place already teeming with all sorts of predators and criminals, it was common for someone to disappear without a trace.
Perhaps the Dean was waiting for Henry to enter the Labyrinth.
He wasn't some dim-witted beast that used all its strength to catch a rabbit.
No one would believe Henry anyway if he ran around claiming the Dean was a monster or that he'd seen the Labyrinth Master.
Killing him would be simple, so rather than making a move in the middle of Sohen, it was better to wait for him to enter the Labyrinth and do it slowly.
Wasn't that it?
On July 12th, Henry remained holed up at home, terrified.
But on July 13th.
While searching for a way to sneak into the Labyrinth without being seen, he found himself loitering near the Labyrinth Union.
Chihuahua!
The Possessor professors were standing in the lobby like sentinels, chatting as they glanced toward the entrance of the Union building.
As if they were looking for Henry.
"Isn't that Henry?"
The moment Robert at the counter recognized him, Henry bolted.
"Henry!"
His heart sank as a voice called out from behind him.
"Henry, wait! Hold on!"
A halfling's legs were much shorter than a human's, and an old man's stamina was lower, but overwhelming magical power allowed him to give chase.
Meldini, having caught up to Henry with a swift-step spell, grabbed his arm.
"What in the world is wrong with you?"
"..."
"I heard you cut off all contact with my daughter after you applied to the university."
"That's..."
"She cries every day."
Meldini ground his teeth.
"My daughter has been crying every single day since you disappeared. It's tearing my heart apart!"
"..."
"Were you just using my daughter to get to me for the admission? If so, I will never forgive you, you bastard..."
"No."
Henry finally burst into tears.
"No. It's not like that..."
He sobbed, collapsing to the ground. Two and a half years in the Labyrinth City.
He had done well so far, but he was still just a teenager.
"I'm sorry."
He needed a guardian.
Like this powerful wizard professor who protected Brillin.
Henry needed a trustworthy adult.
"What the..."
The professor's brow furrowed.
Meldini immediately noticed that the young student's demeanor was different from usual.
"Why are you so anxious?"
"..."
"Did something happen?"
"Well..."
"Tell me. If it's something you can't handle on your own, tell me!"
"The truth is..."
Henry carefully opened his mouth but couldn't explain a thing.
The reason was that, over the halfling professor's shoulder, he could see people walking from the direction of the Labyrinth Union.
It was Chihuahua.
She was walking with the other Possessor professors, her eyes fixed on Henry.
"N-No. It's nothing."
Henry ran straight home, forcing himself to ignore the professor shouting behind him.
*
In the end, the person Henry went to was Blackdog.
Although even Blackdog wasn't someone he could completely trust.
Henry prayed as he asked for his help.
And so, Blackdog became the only person to hear the full story of the Labyrinth Eruption from 12 years ago directly from Henry.
"The Dean is a servant of the Labyrinth Master. And you saw the Labyrinth Master..."
Blackdog mulled over his statement.
"Anyway, I get the situation. There's a guy who runs a makeshift elevator business outside the city walls. Go talk to him."
Blackdog connected him with Lilweed.
Even when the sky falls, there's a way out.
Henry found his way to the Foggy Hills through Lilweed and, with Lilweed's "service," managed to clear the first floor of the Labyrinth and get out.
He had been tense, thinking some kind of conspiracy or trap might swallow him whole, but nothing happened.
He returned home safely.
Brillin was standing in front of his house.
Her face was a mess from crying.
"You... You suddenly... went outside Sohen by yourself... I heard..."
Worried about the strange behavior of her ghosting boyfriend, she had spent three whole days and nights scouring the city, asking around for him.
"I'm sorry."
In the end, Henry had overreacted.
The Possessor professors might be one thing, but Brillin would never have deceived him.
"I'm so sorry."
The two of them hugged and cried their eyes out.
Henry told her what he had seen.
Brillin was just as scared as Henry.
Henry told her about the makeshift elevator.
Brillin was just as happy as Henry.
Henry went inside and put oil in a frying pan. He made a tomato salad.
Behind him, Brillin was writing a note.
"I'm letting my dad know."
Meldini had also been terribly worried about his daughter.
[Dad. I'm at Henry's place. We're together. I'll be home after dinner.]
"Message sent."
Brillin giggled, her face still streaked with tears.
"Then I'll send a message too."
Henry sent a note to Blackdog.
[Thanks to you, I made it back from the Labyrinth safely. Thank you so much. Brillin is at my place, and we're making dinner together now.]
It was around the time he sent that message.
Henry realized something was terribly wrong.
Thud, thud-thud.
The ground was shaking.
The dining table they were setting was trembling violently.
It was the kind of tremor caused by a large-scale military force on the march.
He could hear something like screams from outside.
CRACK!
The front door shattered like a cookie under the brute force of monsters.
The Black Iron Knights were classic Deep Layer monsters.
"The Labyrinth... it's erupting..."
Henry evacuated Brillin through the back door.
"No... I don't want to go..."
"Go! Go get the professor!"
He forced Brillin out and resisted with his pathetic magic.
"Ice Bolt!"
Of course, that wasn't even enough to buy time.
A greatsword flew at him, severing his arm completely.
Henry crawled on the floor and left a message on the wall with his blood.
*
"To all Possessors. Beware the Magic University."
Blackdog, the person who knew the most about that day, told me everything.
"..."
My mind was a mess.
The part about the Labyrinth Master roaming inside the university was particularly shocking.
Judging from the conversation, it seemed that even the Labyrinth Master incurred various penalties for venturing outside the Labyrinth.
"Was the Assembly really bought by the White Lion back then?"
Henry had assumed so and had been terrified of the Magic University.
"Fifty-fifty," Blackdog said.
"The White Lion only revealed his identity to Chihuahua. He probably told her that if she cooperated with the Labyrinth, he would conquer the Ethereal Galaxy and send them home. But Chihuahua didn't take his hand. Not until 12 years ago."
I see.
I could guess what happened.
Chihuahua and the other Possessors knew of the White Lion's existence but were agonizing over what to do, unable to make a decision.
And what the White Lion chose to do to end their indecision was...
"A Labyrinth Eruption."
Its devastating power instantly crushed the will to resist in Chihuahua and the other members.
It was both an example and a warning. The White Lion needed to show off the Labyrinth's power, and he did so in the most efficient way possible.
Henry, his location marked, was turned into something like a red paste within hours.
Not even a fragment of his corpse could be properly identified.
The Labyrinth cannot be defied.
Its power is like a natural disaster.
When a tsunami hits, do you fight the surging water?
When a volcano erupts, do you battle the ash?
A Labyrinth Eruption is something to be fled from, not fought against.
"Chihuahua told me. Asked me to come over to the White Lion's side. Said if I was one of the first ten, I could go home."
"..."
"I refused."
"Why did you refuse?"
"It looked shady as hell."
A sneer played on Blackdog's lips.
"But the Assembly bastards went under the White Lion. They cooperated with the Labyrinth under his protection. It's true we were on friendly terms 12 years ago, but now, they're my clear enemies."
This was a crucial choice for the Assembly as well.
If they moved to rescue the White Lion, they wouldn't just be cooperating with the Labyrinth; they would be evacuating into it and becoming a part of it.
"If those bastards make a move to rescue the White Lion, we'll have to move too. You knew that, which is why you came to me, right? To ask for my cooperation."
Blackdog was a sharp man.
"This battle is a little different from the ones you're used to in the Labyrinth."
He didn't elaborate, but I knew what he meant.
The opponents weren't marauders.
They weren't monsters.
They weren't even people of this world.
Beyond the Ethereal Galaxy, they were civil servants buried in complaints, stay-at-home parents raising kids.
"I can kill the mages of the Assembly without hesitation."
Blackdog was a man who had survived by navigating the harsh world of cartels.
"Can you?"
"..."
"I've asked before, but let me confirm one last time."
Blackdog asked.
"Are you really not a Possessor?"
I understood.
This fight was a war between Sohen and the Possessors.
The devastating Labyrinth Eruption that Dalstream had foreseen would happen soon, and it would destroy Sohen.
The Possessors trying to rescue the White Lion supported that.
They didn't care if Sohen was destroyed. Why should they give a damn what happens to this world?
They just didn't want to end up like Henry. They wanted to cooperate with the White Lion and escape beyond the Ethereal Galaxy. They wanted to cross over with the Labyrinth Master after the Labyrinth finished building its tower and return to their reality.
And the heroes of Sohen were trying to stop them.
*
In the end, I told Blackdog I wasn't a Possessor.
At this point, even I'm confused about my own position.
Honestly, I'm in the same boat of not giving a damn whether this shitty game goes down in flames or not.
But cooperating with the Labyrinth... that doesn't sit right with me either.
Letting the people of this world, including Yernil, Back Attack, and Aimus, get devoured by the Labyrinth... that's also a bit...
"Caleb! I borrowed the book you were looking at and read it. I'm returning it."
Yernil brought the book over. It was about the Sohen Labyrinth Eruption from 12 years ago, with a particularly detailed account of Meldini.
"That professor... it was so sad."
He lost not only Brillin but his entire family.
No matter how skilled he was, the distance from the Magic University to Henry's house was considerable.
Even if he had rushed at full speed, it would have been difficult to save his daughter...
"No."
The story Yernil read was more brutal.
"Professor Meldini never left the university."
Surprisingly, when the Labyrinth Eruption occurred, he remained at the university.
His wife of a lifetime, his eldest son, his daughter-in-law, and his granddaughter. And his daughter, Brillin, who was at Henry's house.
Even after receiving the message that she was at Henry's, Meldini rallied the mages, commanded them, and held his ground at the university.
While his entire family was dying, Meldini didn't go to save them.
The eruption that day was on a different level from the recent one, so he, more than anyone, would have known that "shelters" were meaningless.
"He said it was because a professor must protect his students..."
The professor abandoned his own family.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
It was Isel.
Why is her face such a mess again?
"The people trying to protect Sohen... they're all desperate."
Isel hid her face with a bitter smile.
*
"It's raining."
A steady drizzle fell outside the window.
Meldini sat in the Dean's office.
"You called for me?"
The one who had come to his office was University Professor Elaine.
"Professor Elaine."
Meldini didn't have an informant like Isel. Nor did he have one like Enver.
He didn't have a Turn-Based Hourglass either.
But...
"I am no fool."
Instead, he had decades of experience.
"I abandoned my entire family to sit in this chair. If there is any threat that could endanger this university, I will destroy it with all my might."
Meldini took out his wand.
"The Labyrinth opens at dawn."
"..."
"What will you do?"
*
"The Labyrinth will open soon, Consul."
Magistrate Delphin relayed the time she had confirmed earlier with the Labyrinth Union.
"Good."
Consul Peterson's murderous gaze shot toward the main gate of the Public Security Headquarters.
He had no intention of failing this operation.
He wouldn't even leave room for the possibility of failure.
"That bastard's role is over."
It was a shame they couldn't extract any more information, but they would eliminate the possibility of a rescue attempt beforehand.
"Execute the White Lion."
Dagger Raptor.
The mages of the Assembly. The Possessors.
You will come to retrieve a corpse. And here, you will be wiped out in one fell swoop.
I will cut you down in a single strike.
The veins on the back of the Consul's hand bulged as he gripped his sword.