Chapter 182: A Split-Second Gamble
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 182: A Split-Second Gamble
A total of 6 Action Points from the Hourglass.
I used 2 points to control one wand and one fountain pen.
Then, I spent another 2 points to cast the Tier 4 Binding Magic: Bloodsucking Magic Circle.
Of the remaining 2 AP, I used 1 to cast the Tier 2 Moisture-Absorbing Magic Circle, engraving it onto the Gourmet Whale's body.
And the last point.
I used it on Yernil.
Show me, Yernil.
She gets it done when it counts!
Yernil, the command tower!
Even the dullest person could see it—she was a veteran adventurer who had stared death in the face countless times.
In that split second, Yernil quickly assessed the situation.
A gaping hole was torn in the Gourmet Whale's jaw, and beyond it, a downpour of red.
That's the Bloodsucking Magic Circle!
Caleb had cast it. Just like he did when the Monster Wave clashed with the sentries.
And the blood was surging toward the Gourmet Whale, pouring in through the hole in its jaw.
Up to their calves.
“Hahahaha!”
It was then that the Labyrinth Master burst into maniacal laughter.
“Aaaaaargh!”
The Gourmet Whale's clone collapsed to the floor, screaming.
“Aimus!”
Caleb was giving Aimus an order.
“Create a tidal wave!”
“Master! Please save me!”
“I knew you'd have it, Caleb!”
Amidst the pandemonium, a brilliant idea struck Yernil.
The blood, now calf-deep, wasn't rising any higher. Yernil knew why. It was because of an air pocket. The Gourmet Whale's jaw was torn open, but the roof of its mouth had created an air pocket in the space it covered.
‘Then if I shatter the roof of its mouth!’
The air would escape all at once, and this whole space would be filled with blood.
“You are the only target for my final eruption! Turn-Based Wizard!”
Yernil pulled the safety pin on the bomb.
A critical crack already ran across the roof of the Gourmet Whale's mouth.
It was the mark left by a misfired Finger of Death, a result of the struggle between the Labyrinth Master and Caleb for control of the wand.
Of course, Yernil knew nothing about the spell's mechanics—that because the Gourmet Whale's morale was 'not low,' it hadn't been instantly killed. Instead, it had resisted the spell, taking frost damage, and the blood from its bleeding vessels had frozen, bursting them and cracking the roof of its mouth.
Yernil didn't know any of that, but she was certain of one thing.
‘Throw the bomb at the spot on the palate marked by the Finger of Death.’
She was carrying out Caleb's turn-based command as if it were her own will.
Click!
The moment she pressed the switch that had been held by the safety pin, a countdown message appeared on the bomb.
[5 seconds]
Yernil threw the bomb at the roof of the whale's mouth with all her might.
[5 seconds]
‘She'll use the Order Bomb.’
To the Labyrinth Master, it was all as clear as the palm of his hand.
It was a strategy he could have predicted from the moment the Finger of Death struck the whale's palate.
When the red rain poured down, hammering the whale's head; when the Moisture-Absorbing Magic Circle enveloped its entire body in blood, pressing down on it.
The Labyrinth Master had easily seen through his tactics.
‘Since he can't kill me, he's trying to kill the whale instead.’
The moment the whale died, the surface Labyrinth would disappear, and the Labyrinth Master would be exposed, defenseless, before the adventurers of the Deep Layer.
But it was surprising that the dazed-looking elf archer had switched her target from the Labyrinth Master to the whale's palate in that split second.
‘Turn-Based Wizard. Have you mastered mind control?’
An unprecedented thrill and excitement washed over the Labyrinth Master's cold heart.
He was enjoying this battle.
‘I'll accept your gamble.’
Whether Caleb dies first, or the whale dies first.
An either-or situation.
Against a normal enemy, the Labyrinth Master would have prioritized the Gourmet Whale, but given his opponent, he decided to focus all his power.
The Labyrinth Master wouldn't use magic to protect the whale.
To him, the whale was a well-positioned bishop or knight. It was a shame to lose it, but as long as he could take the king, it didn't matter.
And…
‘Even if the bomb goes off, I can escape to the Deep Layer before the Gourmet Whale dies.’
5 seconds remaining.
The number and amount of spells he could use would be limited.
‘I will pour all of it into killing you, Turn-Based Wizard.’
Magic erupted from the Labyrinth Master's wand.
Its speed was immense. So fast that not even an Archmage could react.
The reason was that it required no incantation.
The Labyrinth Master ignored the Order Bomb. It seemed he'd decided to focus on killing me instead of worrying about that.
Tier 9 Necromancy, ‘Reaper's Scythe’.
The magical blade flew in an instant, stopping right next to my carotid artery.
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 60 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■]
I'd acquired a Temporary Hourglass when the Monster Wave trampled the horde of sentries.
The Hourglass activated automatically just before my life was about to end.
I shifted my eyes to check on Yernil first.
Just as I'd ordered, she was in the middle of throwing the bomb at the ceiling.
I could see the countdown on the bomb, frozen just as it left her fingertips.
[3 seconds]
Next to Yernil was Back Attack. Next to him was me.
In front of us, Aimus.
He was currently creating a tidal wave. We would ride it to escape through the hole in the Gourmet Whale's jaw.
Aimus would rush through the sphere of blood like a navigator steering a tidal wave, and we would ride it to escape.
What were the chances of success?
Let's consider one thing.
If I ordered Back Attack to grab me and use Shadow Leap to escape, could I dodge the Reaper's Scythe?
Probably not.
Because the Labyrinth Master was also aware of Back Attack's position.
Right?
Labyrinth Master.
You and I have fought countless battles of wits, from Classic Difficulty to Turn-Based Master Difficulty.
And the higher the difficulty, the more you resorted to increasingly bizarre moves.
Moves that, when looked at individually, would make one wonder, 'Why on earth would he do that?'
But in hindsight, they were so brilliant they'd make you slap your knee in amazement.
The reason your tactical judgment gets more complex at higher difficulties is because you, too, have a high regard for the tactical judgment of high-difficulty players.
I'm the same. I know you won't fall for a simple trick.
If the one who cast Reaper's Scythe had been some Dagger Raptor scrub and not you, I would have just used Shadow Leap to get out.
But because my opponent is you, I won't choose that option.
You'll be waiting for the Shadow Leap, ready to attack the spot where Back Attack lands.
You even gave up on the Gourmet Whale to focus all your attention on me.
So…
“I'll let you kill me.”
It can't be helped.
As always in this game's final battles, the goal must be a party-level victory. The chances of everyone surviving are slim.
Especially when the party's overall level is this low, I can't win this fight by clinging to my own life when I'm your target.
Objectively, statistically, my death is probably inevitable.
But I trust my party.
“Yernil.”
I'm going to make full use of my 2 Action Points, so watch closely. This is the move I've chosen.
“When I die, take my corpse and the ossuary and head straight for the 1st floor of the Labyrinth.”
[It is your turn. Time remaining: 18 seconds]
[Action Points: ■□]
“And Back Attack. Snatch my Moisture Ring and fire it with a Void Torpedo.”
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[End Turn.]
And Labyrinth Master.
I trust you, too.
I trust your split-second judgment.
I believe you'll calculate things just as I have.
Caleb's neck was half-severed.
“Caleb!”
Aimus's face turned ashen.
In contrast, the Labyrinth Master's face was filled with ecstasy.
‘I was expecting a Shadow Leap.’
It ended with surprising ease.
A light glowed in one of the ossuaries.
It was Caleb's soul.
“Grrr…” The dying Gourmet Whale was groaning.
[2 seconds]
The Order Bomb hadn't gone off yet.
In 2 seconds, it would blow away everything from the roof of the whale's mouth to the crown of its head. I could save the whale even now, but I'll focus on Caleb instead.
It ended too easily. He must have left another move in play.
I have 2 seconds to find it.
And the whale's death is actually a failsafe. When it dies, the surface Labyrinth will vanish, and the ossuary, unable to maintain its form outside the Labyrinth, will be automatically destroyed.
Caleb will die.
Of course, the Labyrinth Master also wouldn't be able to use the power of the Abyss on the surface if the whale died.
‘I'll just escape before that happens…’
In that moment, an incomprehensible scene caught the Labyrinth Master's eye.
[1 second]
Just as the Order Bomb's countdown was about to finish, another bomb appeared.
It was cutting through the blood from beyond the Monk's tidal wave, heading straight for the Labyrinth Master.
[Void Torpedo]
The rogue had thrown it.
Caleb's party had defeated the Glutton on the 7th floor. They must have cut open its stomach and obtained a few items. This seemed to be one of them.
The speed of the torpedo swimming through the knee-deep blood was incredible, but the confusion the Labyrinth Master felt was even greater.
‘What is this?’
A Shadow Leap would have made sense. But the rogue in the rear threw a bomb instead of helping the wizard escape?
Why? Isn't it obvious that a bomb of this level can't kill me?
This was an order. The Turn-Based Wizard must have given the command before he died. Why would he give such an order?
‘Could it be?’
By the time he realized the volume of blood being pushed by the torpedo was different from the water level, it was too late.
The torpedo shot forward like an arrow and leaped toward the Labyrinth Master.
Its explosive power would be laughable, but…
[Moisture Ring]
The ring emerging from the torpedo's mouth drew in the surrounding water.
BOOM!
With the explosion, the boiling blood scattered in all directions, then converged on the Labyrinth Master all at once.
SWOOOOOSH!
The concentration of blood created by the Moisture-Absorbing Magic Circle, combined with the pulling force of the Moisture Ring within it, was like a spherical prison from an ethereal lake.
Just like when they drowned the Blowgun Nymph, just like when Dalstream trapped the White Lion.
The 'Suppressed' status, originating from the power of Wizus, constricted the Labyrinth Master's body.
[0 seconds]
The roof of the Gourmet Whale's mouth. The Order Bomb's countdown was finished.
‘There's no time to escape!’
The 'Suppressed' status had stolen the Labyrinth Master's turn.
He couldn't flee to the Deep Layer now. When the Order Bomb exploded, he would fall to the surface, defenseless, and stand before the adventurers of the Deep Layer.
“Let's go!”
The elf archer, having leaped with Sentry Redeployment, grabbed the ossuary.
‘Caleb. Was this your strategy for the turn?’
Using the Gourmet Whale as a medium to tie our lives together and threaten me?
If I don't protect the whale and give Caleb time to escape, then I won't have time to escape either.
It overlapped with his own image of threatening the Deep Layer adventurers with the Labyrinth's closure and the possessor's return, and a faint smile appeared on the Labyrinth Master's face.
Piiiiing!
Light poured out from the Order Bomb.
‘Ranged Wand Control.’
The Labyrinth Master took control of the Caretaker of Rest's staff and cast a spell.
‘Positional Distortion.’
The Labyrinth Master used Tier 9 Spatial Magic to teleport the Order Bomb. Its new location was far above the Gourmet Whale's head.
The Monk rode the tidal wave with everyone and leaped down below the jaw.
“You've been spared, Gourmet Whale.”
“Th... Thank you...”
“Let's return to the Abyss. I'm a bit tired.”
And Caleb.
I'll wait a little longer for you.
Come down to the Abyss.
KABOOM!
This time, a tremendous light exploded above the Gourmet Whale's head.
The light, an eruption of power the Consul had gathered for a long time, illuminated the entire sky like a sun.
The massive sphere of blood below it now looked like a sunset.
And beneath that.
POP!
Caleb's party was escaping on the tidal wave. Right below them was the Labyrinth Union. The Gourmet Whale hadn't moved far from the Labyrinth's entrance.
SWOOOOOSH!
As blood scattered in all directions, Aimus landed on the ground and swept Caleb's body into his arms.
“To the stairs! Back Attack!”
“I know!”
“Caleb! No!”
The three of them, faces pale, sprinted like mad and dove for the stairs.
Labyrinth, 1st Floor.
“Wait here, both of you!”
Yernil, her face red from crying, pulled the compass from Caleb's body.
“I'll be right back with it!”
“What if you step on a trap!” Back Attack shouted, grabbing her shoulder.
“But you can't hear the compass!”
“No. Still...”
“Go together!” Aimus yelled.
“Ah, okay!”
“Take good care of Caleb, Aimus!”
“Don't worry, just go!”
Yernil and Back Attack began to tear through the Labyrinth's darkness like wild horses.
‘Sentry Redeployment!’
‘Shadow Leap!’
Four goblins ahead.
‘Three-Point Shot!’
‘Leaping Ambush!’
A Goblin Shaman.
‘Dagger Throw!’
A Black Hornet.
‘Blowgun Breath!’
No monster could stop them, not even for a moment.
“Trap ahead!”
They'd both been through hell and back by now.
They were high-floor adventurers, too.
“Fork in the path ahead!”
“Right!”
Sprinting like a track star, it took Yernil eight minutes to find the treasure room.
She smashed open the treasure room's lid and took out a resurrection scroll.
“Haaah...”
My neck stings. The wound hasn't fully healed.
Yernil must have poured a ton of healing potion on me; my shirt is soaked.
No, wait, is this from the blood?
“I believed in you.”
All of you.
And the Labyrinth Master, too.
“Thank you.”
I survived again.
This time was a true taste of hell.
It really is dangerous outside the Labyrinth.