Lyclean (3): Immortal Serpent and Infinite Labyrinth
Lyclean had counted every single silver coin in Orcus's possession. With Orcus's recognition secured, he gained the merchant's patronage. Naturally, he also presented the large sum to his parents, greatly improving their household fortunes. The amount was so substantial that his family became even wealthier than before Lyclean was born.
Under Orcus's sponsorship thereafter, Lyclean repeatedly sought out rumors of powerful monsters, defeated them, and built his fame. Among the most renowned beasts felled by his hand was the Immortal Serpent.
The Immortal Serpent. A mighty monster said to have been born from a snake that stole and devoured an immortality elixir crafted by someone. Its scales were tougher than well-forged steel armor, and even if wounded by piercing them, it shed its skin once a week, regenerating and healing all injuries. Its body was as thick as a centuries-old giant tree, and the venom hidden in its fangs was so potent it could torment even gods with divine sanctity.
The serpent, feared by gods themselves, fell to Lyclean. Its steel-hard scales could block blades, but not the blunt impact of a club. No matter how deadly its poison, it posed no threat if the fangs never sank in.
Lyclean battered the Immortal Serpent relentlessly with his sturdy club for three days and nights straight. Realizing it could never win against him, the serpent fled in blind panic. It escaped far from Lyclean and hid in a deep cave to shed its skin and recover.
That was the moment Lyclean had been waiting for. Creatures are weakest immediately after molting. Even the Immortal Serpent, which healed all wounds by shedding, couldn't escape the vulnerability of that instant. As its steel-like scales sloughed off with the old skin, leaving it exposed, Lyclean's club smashed down on the serpent's crown—killing the unkillable beast.
Thus, Lyclean crafted armor from the Immortal Serpent's hide and extracted its venom for poison arrows.
Lyclean's fame soared even higher after slaying the Immortal Serpent, inevitably drawing envy from others. Among the jealous were the renowned Epona Cavalry of the era, who guarded Arcadia's coffin alongside the Sirius Temple.
As Lyclean's renown grew, they sent him a letter—an invitation that doubled as a challenge to duel. No one knows what the Epona Cavalry captain had in mind, but it led to a confrontation between them and Lyclean.
The duel began as a one-on-one between the Epona captain and Lyclean but escalated, eventually pitting the entire cavalry against him. In the end, after a razor-close battle, Lyclean emerged victorious.
Afterward, the Epona Cavalry set aside their jealousy, acknowledged Lyclean as a true hero, and declared they would serve as his strength if he wished. But Lyclean simply shook his head at their offer.
As his legend spread and he vanquished countless monsters, word of a new challenge reached Lyclean's ears—not a monster this time. A divine beast cherished by the god of the eternal sacred flame burning in the desert had escaped and was rampaging.
The massive lion with a mane of flames had broken free of the desert, wreaking havoc. But as a god's favored creature, no one dared act rashly. Procyon's mages had at least kept it from escaping the sands entirely—a small mercy.
Lyclean sought the wildly rampaging lion without drawing his club or bow, facing it bare-handed. The beast, with its ever-burning fiery mane and claws that rent boulders, charged fearlessly. Lyclean met it with his fists alone—snapping its limbs, hurling it by the waist, choking its throat until, exhausted, the lion collapsed.
Thus, Lyclean's fame reached new heights for capturing the flame god's divine beast alive.
"Captured a divine beast? That's no exaggeration?"
"It happened. Well, to be precise, it wasn't exactly a divine pet—just a lion the god had idly empowered a bit."
I was speechless at the Dragon Maiden's words. How could a human subdue a divine beast with bare hands? No, wait—was it not a divine beast after all? Just an empowered animal?
"Th-that's impossible…."
"Think of it as proof of his strength. Anyway, next."
Returning the captured divine beast to the flame god elevated Lyclean's renown skyward. He hunted monsters so relentlessly that even the rumors reaching him via Orcus grew scarce.
Growing idle, Lyclean thought, "If there are no monsters to smash, just explore dangerous places, right?"
His first destination: the forbidden land managed by the Life Temple's pilgrims. Brimming with deathly aura, none could enter—but leveraging his fame, Lyclean gained permission.
"A land thick with deathly energy… The dragon graveyard?"
"Yes. It was just called the forbidden land back then."
"And Lyclean was the first to explore it?"
The Dragon Maiden nodded slightly. "He was the first outsider from the Life Church to set foot there, where undead monsters kept emerging. Before that, only church affiliates managed it."
"I've never heard that."
"The Life Church kept it secret. They didn't want copycats flooding in and piling up corpses. They opened the entrance soon after, though."
"This could draw huge academic interest if published."
She chuckled at my words. "You can publish that part; no issue."
"But what about Baal…?"
"Baal's off-limits. Not yet."
Her firm tone left me silent. What exactly lay behind the name Baal?
Returning from the forbidden land, Lyclean brought back a massive dragon skull. He declared it uninhabitable for the living due to the death aura from decayed dragon corpses—no place for the alive—and shuddered as he presented the skull as proof.
Thus, the forbidden land became known as the Dragon Graveyard.
Afterward, Lyclean roamed the world, exploring and slaying monsters. Among the highlights: the deep-sea palace far across the ocean.
Beneath a ceaselessly swirling whirlpool in the ocean depths lay the palace crafted by the sea god, home to the mermaid queen. Even Lyclean needed mermaid aid to enter, where he met the beautiful queen—named like the sea goddess Thetis. She praised his bravery in reaching her abyssal domain and gifted him a fist-sized pearl orb. He boasted with it for years before returning it to the mermaids.
Having braved the death-choked forbidden land and the mermaid-exclusive deep palace, Lyclean set a new challenge: viewing the bottom of the endless labyrinth in Minoa. The Infinite Labyrinth.
As a child, under Minoa's king, he'd heard tales of the maze that reshuffled daily, delving ever deeper. No one had seen its end—or so the legend went. Conquering it was inevitable for Lyclean.
"The Infinite Labyrinth is widely known."
"Mm. Only Lyclean and his companion Asterios ever reached the bottom and returned."
I nodded at the Dragon Maiden's words. Cross-verified by multiple sources, Lyclean's conquest was undisputed—alongside his mentor, King Asterios.
"Of course, Asterios was past middle age then, but still a mighty warrior. Claiming he soloed it would strain belief."
"Yet only those two conquered and returned."
She nodded faintly. "The labyrinth had about 100 floors back then. Two history-making heroes combining forces could manage it."
"100 floors…?"
Its exact depth was never confirmed—how did she know? She spoke of his feats as if eyewitness, discerning fact from mere legend with precision….
What was this Dragon Maiden before me?
"Plus, Asterios lived in the labyrinth as a child, abandoned by his father. He knew better than anyone how to forage there. Without his help, Lyclean couldn't have soloed it."
I couldn't grasp it. What was she?
A flicker of suspicion rose, sending chills up my spine—like a warning not to dig deeper. My instincts screamed: probe too far, and it wouldn't end simply.
"Anyway, finally… we can't skip this. Lyclean's underworld adventure."
Ignoring my thoughts, the Dragon Maiden began his most famous tale: the great hero who journeyed to the underworld and returned alive.
