The moment he came to his senses, Shan knew everything before he even opened his eyes.
The damp air, the dark underground, the faint howls of animals, and the sense of human presence. But Elze was not there.
When he realized that fact, his eyes opened wide. Shan got up in a hurry and looked around. However, no matter how hard he looked, Elze was nowhere to be found.
“...”
In the brief silence, all sorts of curses were mixed together. Shan barely managed to swallow the curses that were about to spill out of his mouth. Elze was gone, but there was someone else left next to Shan.
“Are you awake...? It’s later than I thought...”
He was Ilwooz, whispering in a hazy voice. In the distance, the torches hanging in the hallway faintly illuminated the surroundings, and Shan and Ilwooz were trapped alone in a corner of an unknown underground space.
Shan clenched his teeth. Of all the people, he had to be alone with that guy... He really thought, how could he be so unlucky?
Ilwooz just smiled as if he had guessed Shan's silent intentions. He straightened his sleeves and looked at Shan.
“That’s the price of pride... Putting the Savior in danger...”
“...”
Shan couldn't say anything because it was all true. Ilwooz's words stabbed into his heart like a chilling knife. Blood poured out from the wound he had cut.
This whole situation was Shan's fault.
He acted so confidently that he would protect her, but instead of protecting her, he couldn't even take care of herself. Could there be anything more shameful than that? When he thought about it, it was such a foolish thing that he couldn't help but laugh.
He wanted to see Elze. What good was all this when he didn't know where she was or what was happening to her? Even Ilwooz had no meaning.
If I just kill and destroy them all, won't I be able to see her?
The impulse that suddenly occurred to him was very attractive. It was the fastest and simplest way. Really easy, and simple... It could be done in an instant. That was when Shan thought about it.
“Shan Cirxus.”
A distinct voice was heard. Shan slowly looked at Ilwooz. He was placing his hand on the string that bound his eyes.
“It would be good for your health if you kept your composure.”
A splendid light leaked out through the slightly pulled string. The string was a kind of seal that held Ilwooz's divine power in check. Ilwooz looked straight at Shan and continued speaking, ready to release his divine power at any moment.
“Without the Savior by your side, you are nothing but a devil.”
The energy flowing from him engulfed Shan.
“Please stop thinking about running wild.”
“...”
Shan and Ilwooz looked at each other. The devil and the pope were polar opposites. Without Elze to mediate and block their relationship, it wouldn't have been strange for them to collide at any time.
It was fortunate that it ended with a collision. To put it more bluntly, Shan felt a murderous intent toward Ilwooz. His fingers twitched. The murderous intent boiling from deep inside was so impulsive that it was hard to hold back.
The moment he twisted Ilwooz's neck here, there would be a huge ripple and chaos. He knew that for sure. However, in front of the murderous intent that was surging like a tidal wave, even that seemed impossible. The thought of killing him made his eyes turn red.
It was a tense situation. Ilwooz was tightly shutting his mouth in tension. Shan let out a long breath and roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“...Phew.”
Shan's aura, which had been growing rough, gradually calmed down. Ilwooz could be seen internally breathing a sigh of relief.
Even now, Shan's desire to kill him still remained unchanged. He wanted to see blood right away. Nevertheless, Shan endured it.
It was all thanks to Elze that he could endure. If Shan were to cry here, it wasn't just him who was involved. It was a problem that Elze was also involved in. So Shan endured and endured.
Seeing Shan gradually regaining his composure, Ilwooz straightened the string that had tied his eyes again. Slowly adjusting the knot, Ilwooz muttered softly.
“Please don’t let me use my divine powers...”
"Ha!"
Shan let out a short laugh. Then he looked at Ilwooz crookedly and said.
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
Ilwooz smiled silently. It was a smile that meant that he didn't trust him, but that he would watch him for the time being. If he were to fail like this, he would immediately release the string and pour out all the divine power he had.
Anyway, there was no reason to continue wrestling with this guy here unless he was going to kill him. Shan looked around and spoke to Ilwooz.
“Shouldn’t we get out of here first? Are you going to cooperate or not?”
Ilwooz answered gently.
“As long as you keep the line... of course, as much as you want...”
Shan frowned once at Ilwooz's answer, then slowly got up. Then he took a deep breath and looked around at the energy.
The place where the two were trapped was a complex underground maze. Shan and Ilwooz were not the only ones inside the maze. They could sense the presence of hungry beasts.
It was a structure where people were locked in a maze and animals were released so that they would wander around and be eaten. It seemed like he liked playing in a very classic way.
Shan checked his weapons. The long sword he had on his waist was gone, but the dagger he had hidden in his bosom was still there. This was enough. Shan drew his dagger and took a step forward.
“Let’s go out.”
Ilwooz looked a little surprised at Shan's attitude, which was almost carefree. Shan answered him with an expression asking how he was going to get out of here.
“The maze isn’t as big as I thought. It feels like a cage for animals. It shouldn’t be hard to find your way around.”
“What are you going to do about the beasts...”
Ilwooz seemed to find it hard to believe that one could kill wild beasts with a short dagger. Shan added calmly.
“Why worry about that? It would be more ridiculous if the devil lost to the beast.”
Shan said with a crooked smile.
“Anyway, I don’t know what kind of person the owner of the mansion is...”
His eyes flashed with an increasingly menacing glare.
“I will kill this son of a bitch. I am sure that Lord Ilwooz will allow it.”
Although his appearance was so full of murderous intent that he seemed almost like a demon at first glance, Ilwooz did not stop him. Instead, he smiled faintly and responded to Shan’s words.
“It’s for the sake of the Savior... That much is fine...”
Although they are two people with opposing views who would never be able to get along, they are a perfect match when it comes to the problem of Elze.
Tarkun thrust his fist out vigorously. His fist struck the center of the beast's body. With a dull thud, the beast fell to the ground with a strange sound.
Rapine landed lightly on top of the fallen beast. The dagger swung with a flash, and the beast’s vital point was cleanly cut off. A red stream of blood gushed out. Rapine slightly tilted her upper body back to avoid the stream of blood.
“Oh, these guys are endless.”
Tarkun grumbled. Rapine nodded to him and said.
“Still, there are some traps here and there, and it’s fun to break them. It’s a bit of a shame, though, because if Ivanna had been there, I would have found the path much faster.”
Tarkun responded with a laugh to Rapine's endlessly positive words.
“That's right.”
When they came to, Tarkun and Rapine found themselves in an unknown underground space. The underground space was a complex maze filled with traps and beasts, but there was something strange about the beasts.
Their appearance was clearly that of beasts, but their behavior was closer to that of monsters. They did not feel pain when wounded, and they did not retreat. They did not have the fear that normal creatures should have.
It was the instinct of all living beings to shrink when they were in pain. The attacks that poured out beyond that instinct were abnormal. It was clear that they had been made to not feel pain and to focus all their attention on the attacks due to some chemical drug.
After finishing his thoughts, Rapine drew his dagger and wiped away the blood. Tarkun muttered instead of saying anything to Rapine.
“It’s unfamiliar...”
Rapine looked back at him and tilted his head. Then Tarkhun pointed to the dagger in Rapine's hand and said.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you holding something other than a bow.”
"Ah."
Rapine shrugged and said.
“I guess it’s like having gums without teeth. It’s a bit unfamiliar to me, but not to the point where it’s unusable.”
Rapine said, briefly checking the dagger's edge to make sure it wasn't damaged.
“During a melee, there were often instances where I lost my bow.”
“I see.”
Tarkun sighed deeply as he spoke about the dagger.
“I have no idea where the captain and Ivanna are.”
“They're probably with that alchemist named Teslaon. He seems to know Ivanna and to the captain...”
Rapine hesitated for a moment and then continued.
“Because it seemed like he was showing rational interest.”
“...”
The two were silent for a moment. Ever since the Hundred Years' War, Elze had been caught up in unnecessary trouble because of her pretty face. Even back then, Elze had a completely dirty appearance.
But these days, Elze is the mistress of Targayel and is also taking care of her appearance. It was only natural that so many flies would flock to Elze. Tarkun said with a tired face.
“I wish we had found Shan Cirxus before he ran wild. He was already dangerous, but these days, he’s evolved into a madman who’ll do anything for the captain.”
“I think so too.”
Rapine seriously agreed with Tarkun's words. Tarkun, who imagined Cirxus running wild for a moment, shook his head and said.
“Yes, let’s get out of here quickly.”
As the two began to walk again, Rapine spoke in a clear voice.
“But Tarkun. Since we’re alone here, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Do you like Ivanna?”
“...Wow!!”
Tarkun was so shocked by the attack that came from a completely unexpected place that he almost fainted. Tarkun looked at Rapine while pressing his pounding heart with his hand. Tarkun’s face was already red.
“Uh, uh, how did you know...? Did you learn mind reading without me knowing?”
Tarkun was looking at Rapine with suspicious eyes, even stammering his words. Rapine crossed his arms and spoke in a pitiful tone.
“Isn’t it obvious to anyone who isn’t an idiot?”
“I see...”
Tarkun hesitated for a moment and then asked Rapine cautiously.
“Does Ivanna know...?”
“She's so smart, I don’t know.”
Rapine nodded to Tarkun and gave him some advice.
“I don’t think she hates it either. She secretly relies on Tarkun.”
"Yes?"
“How about confessing it? Like a man.”
“A confession!”
Tarkun jumped up. Rapine smiled at him as he jumped up and down, saying that was nonsense.
“Once we get out of here.”
Rapine, who was walking ahead, gestured to Tarkun and spoke.
“Let’s go quickly so we can help out too. Before the captain and Ivanna kill that alchemist named Teslaon.”
Tarkun answered in a small voice with a flushed face.
"...Yes."
Then, all of a sudden, he suddenly ran ahead.
“Hey, let’s go quickly!!”
Rapine laughed behind Tarkun, who was talking loudly for no reason, his ears reddening.
The hole Elze fell into was deeper and wider than she had thought. The entrance was narrow at first, but it gradually widened as she fell further down.
The sound of the fierce wind pounded in her ears. The height of the fall was quite high, so the impact seemed considerable. As Elze prepared to take the fall, she saw eyes flashing in the darkness. Along with the large eyes, she heard the sound of a mouth opening wide, and the stench of a rotting corpse rose up.
Elze twisted slightly in the air. Elze's body landed with a thud on the fluffy fur. She quickly rolled to the side and landed on the floor.
“Ugh...”
The unidentified beast was soft and cushioned, so it absorbed a lot of the shock. Still, her whole body ached. However, she didn't have time to even briefly check her body condition.
A booming sound was heard. It was the sound of front feet striking Elze. For a moment, a sharp claw flashed.
Elze rolled over once more to avoid the slamming front paw. The claws sank into the ground, sending up a spurt of stone. Then Elze raised her head and met the beast’s eyes.
“Ugh!”
Elze screamed without realizing it. It was no wonder because the beast had such a strange appearance.
It looked like a huge lion, a bear, or a goat. It had horns on its head, and somewhere between its bushy mane a snake hissed and flicked its tongue.
The sight of several beasts mixed together was something out of a nightmare. It was clearly one beast, but it was no longer a beast, but a monster.
“Duke Seraph!”
The blue-eyed prostitutes brought from the basement of the Duke Seraph's mansion were sitting there like dolls, looking just like this. Elze muttered blankly.
“Could it be that the sponsor of Teslaon is Duke Seraph...”
Looking back, Duke Seraph's skills in handling drugs were uncanny. Starting with giving Iarin the Mazehag flower, the hunting dog incident, etc.
Elze thought he simply had an aide with extensive pharmaceutical knowledge, but if Duke Seraph was Teslaon's sponsor, then all the odds were in order.
Given the wealth of Duke Seraph, it would have been ridiculous to give up even a village on the outskirts. And he would have received various medicines from Teslaon, hoping to create a philosopher's stone as well.
Elze's mouth was wide open at this incredible combination. They say that like-minded people stick together, and it seems that crazy people really do stick together.
Elze shook her head and looked around. There was a large lock on the cage. It would be nice if there was a key, but it wouldn’t be easy to open. No matter how hard she searched, there were only strange test tubes, tubes, and stills, and no key.
“...?”
Elze, who had been searching diligently, found a small door instead of a key. It was made of solid iron, but it was flimsy and had no separate lock.
The small door that required bending down to enter was the only exit she had found so far. She didn't know where it led, but they had to open it anyway. Elze was about to grab the doorknob at that moment.
The doorknob rattled and the door opened wide. Elze opened her eyes wide at the person who appeared.
His bronze muscles twitched. His black hair swayed as he leaped forward, and his purple eyes sparkled. Behind the long silver lines, a beastly howl erupted.
The beast's body fell to the ground with a heavy sound, and Shan landed lightly. The beast, whose neck had been cut with a short dagger, vomited blood. Shan looked back at the beast he had dealt with and sighed.
"Ha..."
He couldn't count how many he had already caught. More beasts were roaming around the maze than he had thought. And there were a lot of different types. It was like a zoo, with all kinds of wild beasts roaming around.
The thick smell of blood flowed everywhere. Ilwooz's face turned slightly pale from the continuous killings. The Pope, being the Pope, couldn't just watch life being killed and laugh. But he couldn't show mercy to the beast either. If he did, his life would be lost.
Shan and Ilwooz silently killed the beasts as they advanced through the maze. Ilwooz seemed to be hoping that the killing would end soon, but unfortunately, the beasts became more and more bizarre as they got closer to the center of the maze.
It wasn't just that they were becoming more ferocious. For three days, they were as hungry as if they were starving. The beasts were so aggressive that they were reaching the peak of their aggression, and they were attacking with venom.
At first, Shan simply thought that the beasts were ferocious, but as the beasts became more and more vicious and even attacked him without caring about hurting themself, he began to feel something strange.
Shan often saw soldiers on the battlefield who were high on drugs, lost their fear, and threw their lives away like moths to the wind.
The beasts looked exactly like that now. They attacked Shan and Ilwooz even though their arms and legs were cut off, like soldiers under the influence of drugs. It was as if they didn't feel any pain.
“...”
It was definitely a tough fight. He was wielding a dagger and not being alone, and he didn't have enough hands to protect Ilwooz.
Just as Shan was beginning to feel the urge to abandon Ilwooz, the two arrived at the center of the maze. And there, even Ilwooz, who had a thousand years of memory, saw something he had never seen before.
“Ahh... Ines...”
Ilwooz let out a sigh behind Shan. However, Shan didn’t have time to look back at Ilwooz who was sighing. Shan was also busy examining something he had never seen before.
The creature before his eyes was close to a monster. It was a mixture of different types of beasts, such as a lion, a goat, and a snake, all attached to each other as if they were one body.
“Keeeeeek!”
The monster opened its eyes wide and lunged forward, roaring. Shan pushed away Ilwooz, who was standing there dumbly behind him. As Ilwooz fell backward, Shan leaped forward.
It seemed as if he was going to collide with the monster, but Shan didn't hit it. He twisted slightly to the side and escaped, making a large diagonal cut across the monster's body. The monster twisted its body with an abnormally agile speed.
“... !”
Shan read the brief gesture as an attempt to cover the joint where different beasts were connected.
That's the weak point.
And there was no stopping it. Shan's next attack was aimed squarely at the joint and cut it down. Shan's blow caused the monster to squirm in pain.
“Keeeek, keeek...”
Eventually, the monster let out a final scream and rolled on the ground. The monster squirmed for a moment before becoming quiet.
Shan felt the hot blood soaking his clothes. Disgust rose. Ilwooz alone was enough to deal with creatures beyond common sense. Meeting monsters like this was never a pleasant thing.
"Ah..."
Unlike Shan, who was very angry, Ilwooz looked at the dead monster with a dumbfounded face. He looked down at it for a moment and then knelt down. His priest's robes touched the dirty floor with blood and dirt, but he didn't care.
Ilwooz placed his hand on the still-warm body of the beast and recited a prayer. The prayer was short, but his heartfelt voice was warm. After finishing the short prayer, he sighed and whispered one last word.
“May the life that went against providence rest in peace...”
A soft voice resonated calmly in the blood-soaked maze. The air that had been hot just a moment ago felt like it was cooling down.
“...”
Shan glanced at Ilwooz and then turned his gaze away again. At times like this, he thought, “That guy is really the Pope.”
Actually, he felt a little curious. His perspective was completely different. If for Shan, the beast was an enemy to be defeated, for Ilwooz, it was a pitiful creature that had lost itself.
Shan was surprised at the sincere sympathy that Ilwooz showed. It was because he had never felt sympathy for anyone before. The only criteria for judgment was whether they were friends or enemies, and enemies were not objects of sympathy. Strictly speaking, he had never known the emotion of sympathy in the first place.
But Ilwooz did not think of things as being divided into two equal parts like Shan. He tried to embrace everything gently. Except for the issue of the devil.
Shan thought that if he had done half as much to that monster as he did to himself, their relationship would have been much smoother, and he started to find his way back in silence. Ilwooz followed Shan quietly.
Fortunately, that was the end of the monster. The ones that came after that were all just beasts. After killing a few more, Shan was finally able to find the door.
“There is a door over here.”
When Shan gestured to Ilwooz, he walked towards him, dragging his clothes. There was a small door where Shan pointed. The door was made of solid iron, and it was so small that the beasts in the maze could not pass through it. Even a grown man would have to bend down to get through it.
“I’ve finally escaped from this damn maze.”
Shan muttered as he opened the door wide. However, the sight that appeared was completely different from what Shan and Ilwooz had expected.
“...”
The night sky was twinkling with stars. The night wind blew wildly around the two of them. After a moment of silence, Ilwooz spoke.
“We finally got out of the maze...”
That was really the problem, though. Shan coughed to hide his embarrassment.
Ilwooz did not miss this good opportunity. He hung on to Shan’s wounds with an infinitely thin voice.
“I need to go to the Savior, but I’m outside the maze... I wonder where the Savior is... I’m worried about whether she’s safe, so I can’t move my feet...”
“...”
Anyway, this bastard Ilwooz was kind to everyone except Shan. Shan looked outside once more for no reason as he was being poked at for his mistakes. However, he couldn't see the way up to the mansion. Only the stars in the night sky twinkled.
Shan, who had been confident that this was the way to Elze until he opened the door, muttered with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“It would be too exhausting to go back into the maze and wander around, so it would be faster to go into the mansion’s entrance.”
“Is that so...”
There was a hint of disapproval in Ilwooz's words, but Shan pretended not to notice and continued talking.
“But rather than just the two of us going back...”
Shan said, narrowing his eyes and checking the lights twinkling outside the village.
“I would suggest you join the knights at the campsite.”
The damp air, the dark underground, the faint howls of animals, and the sense of human presence. But Elze was not there.
When he realized that fact, his eyes opened wide. Shan got up in a hurry and looked around. However, no matter how hard he looked, Elze was nowhere to be found.
“...”
In the brief silence, all sorts of curses were mixed together. Shan barely managed to swallow the curses that were about to spill out of his mouth. Elze was gone, but there was someone else left next to Shan.
“Are you awake...? It’s later than I thought...”
He was Ilwooz, whispering in a hazy voice. In the distance, the torches hanging in the hallway faintly illuminated the surroundings, and Shan and Ilwooz were trapped alone in a corner of an unknown underground space.
Shan clenched his teeth. Of all the people, he had to be alone with that guy... He really thought, how could he be so unlucky?
Ilwooz just smiled as if he had guessed Shan's silent intentions. He straightened his sleeves and looked at Shan.
“That’s the price of pride... Putting the Savior in danger...”
“...”
Shan couldn't say anything because it was all true. Ilwooz's words stabbed into his heart like a chilling knife. Blood poured out from the wound he had cut.
This whole situation was Shan's fault.
He acted so confidently that he would protect her, but instead of protecting her, he couldn't even take care of herself. Could there be anything more shameful than that? When he thought about it, it was such a foolish thing that he couldn't help but laugh.
He wanted to see Elze. What good was all this when he didn't know where she was or what was happening to her? Even Ilwooz had no meaning.
If I just kill and destroy them all, won't I be able to see her?
The impulse that suddenly occurred to him was very attractive. It was the fastest and simplest way. Really easy, and simple... It could be done in an instant. That was when Shan thought about it.
“Shan Cirxus.”
A distinct voice was heard. Shan slowly looked at Ilwooz. He was placing his hand on the string that bound his eyes.
“It would be good for your health if you kept your composure.”
A splendid light leaked out through the slightly pulled string. The string was a kind of seal that held Ilwooz's divine power in check. Ilwooz looked straight at Shan and continued speaking, ready to release his divine power at any moment.
“Without the Savior by your side, you are nothing but a devil.”
The energy flowing from him engulfed Shan.
“Please stop thinking about running wild.”
“...”
Shan and Ilwooz looked at each other. The devil and the pope were polar opposites. Without Elze to mediate and block their relationship, it wouldn't have been strange for them to collide at any time.
It was fortunate that it ended with a collision. To put it more bluntly, Shan felt a murderous intent toward Ilwooz. His fingers twitched. The murderous intent boiling from deep inside was so impulsive that it was hard to hold back.
The moment he twisted Ilwooz's neck here, there would be a huge ripple and chaos. He knew that for sure. However, in front of the murderous intent that was surging like a tidal wave, even that seemed impossible. The thought of killing him made his eyes turn red.
It was a tense situation. Ilwooz was tightly shutting his mouth in tension. Shan let out a long breath and roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“...Phew.”
Shan's aura, which had been growing rough, gradually calmed down. Ilwooz could be seen internally breathing a sigh of relief.
Even now, Shan's desire to kill him still remained unchanged. He wanted to see blood right away. Nevertheless, Shan endured it.
It was all thanks to Elze that he could endure. If Shan were to cry here, it wasn't just him who was involved. It was a problem that Elze was also involved in. So Shan endured and endured.
Seeing Shan gradually regaining his composure, Ilwooz straightened the string that had tied his eyes again. Slowly adjusting the knot, Ilwooz muttered softly.
“Please don’t let me use my divine powers...”
"Ha!"
Shan let out a short laugh. Then he looked at Ilwooz crookedly and said.
“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”
Ilwooz smiled silently. It was a smile that meant that he didn't trust him, but that he would watch him for the time being. If he were to fail like this, he would immediately release the string and pour out all the divine power he had.
Anyway, there was no reason to continue wrestling with this guy here unless he was going to kill him. Shan looked around and spoke to Ilwooz.
“Shouldn’t we get out of here first? Are you going to cooperate or not?”
Ilwooz answered gently.
“As long as you keep the line... of course, as much as you want...”
Shan frowned once at Ilwooz's answer, then slowly got up. Then he took a deep breath and looked around at the energy.
The place where the two were trapped was a complex underground maze. Shan and Ilwooz were not the only ones inside the maze. They could sense the presence of hungry beasts.
It was a structure where people were locked in a maze and animals were released so that they would wander around and be eaten. It seemed like he liked playing in a very classic way.
Shan checked his weapons. The long sword he had on his waist was gone, but the dagger he had hidden in his bosom was still there. This was enough. Shan drew his dagger and took a step forward.
“Let’s go out.”
Ilwooz looked a little surprised at Shan's attitude, which was almost carefree. Shan answered him with an expression asking how he was going to get out of here.
“The maze isn’t as big as I thought. It feels like a cage for animals. It shouldn’t be hard to find your way around.”
“What are you going to do about the beasts...”
Ilwooz seemed to find it hard to believe that one could kill wild beasts with a short dagger. Shan added calmly.
“Why worry about that? It would be more ridiculous if the devil lost to the beast.”
Shan said with a crooked smile.
“Anyway, I don’t know what kind of person the owner of the mansion is...”
His eyes flashed with an increasingly menacing glare.
“I will kill this son of a bitch. I am sure that Lord Ilwooz will allow it.”
Although his appearance was so full of murderous intent that he seemed almost like a demon at first glance, Ilwooz did not stop him. Instead, he smiled faintly and responded to Shan’s words.
“It’s for the sake of the Savior... That much is fine...”
Although they are two people with opposing views who would never be able to get along, they are a perfect match when it comes to the problem of Elze.
***
Tarkun thrust his fist out vigorously. His fist struck the center of the beast's body. With a dull thud, the beast fell to the ground with a strange sound.
Rapine landed lightly on top of the fallen beast. The dagger swung with a flash, and the beast’s vital point was cleanly cut off. A red stream of blood gushed out. Rapine slightly tilted her upper body back to avoid the stream of blood.
“Oh, these guys are endless.”
Tarkun grumbled. Rapine nodded to him and said.
“Still, there are some traps here and there, and it’s fun to break them. It’s a bit of a shame, though, because if Ivanna had been there, I would have found the path much faster.”
Tarkun responded with a laugh to Rapine's endlessly positive words.
“That's right.”
When they came to, Tarkun and Rapine found themselves in an unknown underground space. The underground space was a complex maze filled with traps and beasts, but there was something strange about the beasts.
Their appearance was clearly that of beasts, but their behavior was closer to that of monsters. They did not feel pain when wounded, and they did not retreat. They did not have the fear that normal creatures should have.
It was the instinct of all living beings to shrink when they were in pain. The attacks that poured out beyond that instinct were abnormal. It was clear that they had been made to not feel pain and to focus all their attention on the attacks due to some chemical drug.
After finishing his thoughts, Rapine drew his dagger and wiped away the blood. Tarkun muttered instead of saying anything to Rapine.
“It’s unfamiliar...”
Rapine looked back at him and tilted his head. Then Tarkhun pointed to the dagger in Rapine's hand and said.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you holding something other than a bow.”
"Ah."
Rapine shrugged and said.
“I guess it’s like having gums without teeth. It’s a bit unfamiliar to me, but not to the point where it’s unusable.”
Rapine said, briefly checking the dagger's edge to make sure it wasn't damaged.
“During a melee, there were often instances where I lost my bow.”
“I see.”
Tarkun sighed deeply as he spoke about the dagger.
“I have no idea where the captain and Ivanna are.”
“They're probably with that alchemist named Teslaon. He seems to know Ivanna and to the captain...”
Rapine hesitated for a moment and then continued.
“Because it seemed like he was showing rational interest.”
“...”
The two were silent for a moment. Ever since the Hundred Years' War, Elze had been caught up in unnecessary trouble because of her pretty face. Even back then, Elze had a completely dirty appearance.
But these days, Elze is the mistress of Targayel and is also taking care of her appearance. It was only natural that so many flies would flock to Elze. Tarkun said with a tired face.
“I wish we had found Shan Cirxus before he ran wild. He was already dangerous, but these days, he’s evolved into a madman who’ll do anything for the captain.”
“I think so too.”
Rapine seriously agreed with Tarkun's words. Tarkun, who imagined Cirxus running wild for a moment, shook his head and said.
“Yes, let’s get out of here quickly.”
As the two began to walk again, Rapine spoke in a clear voice.
“But Tarkun. Since we’re alone here, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Do you like Ivanna?”
“...Wow!!”
Tarkun was so shocked by the attack that came from a completely unexpected place that he almost fainted. Tarkun looked at Rapine while pressing his pounding heart with his hand. Tarkun’s face was already red.
“Uh, uh, how did you know...? Did you learn mind reading without me knowing?”
Tarkun was looking at Rapine with suspicious eyes, even stammering his words. Rapine crossed his arms and spoke in a pitiful tone.
“Isn’t it obvious to anyone who isn’t an idiot?”
“I see...”
Tarkun hesitated for a moment and then asked Rapine cautiously.
“Does Ivanna know...?”
“She's so smart, I don’t know.”
Rapine nodded to Tarkun and gave him some advice.
“I don’t think she hates it either. She secretly relies on Tarkun.”
"Yes?"
“How about confessing it? Like a man.”
“A confession!”
Tarkun jumped up. Rapine smiled at him as he jumped up and down, saying that was nonsense.
“Once we get out of here.”
Rapine, who was walking ahead, gestured to Tarkun and spoke.
“Let’s go quickly so we can help out too. Before the captain and Ivanna kill that alchemist named Teslaon.”
Tarkun answered in a small voice with a flushed face.
"...Yes."
Then, all of a sudden, he suddenly ran ahead.
“Hey, let’s go quickly!!”
Rapine laughed behind Tarkun, who was talking loudly for no reason, his ears reddening.
***
The hole Elze fell into was deeper and wider than she had thought. The entrance was narrow at first, but it gradually widened as she fell further down.
The sound of the fierce wind pounded in her ears. The height of the fall was quite high, so the impact seemed considerable. As Elze prepared to take the fall, she saw eyes flashing in the darkness. Along with the large eyes, she heard the sound of a mouth opening wide, and the stench of a rotting corpse rose up.
Elze twisted slightly in the air. Elze's body landed with a thud on the fluffy fur. She quickly rolled to the side and landed on the floor.
“Ugh...”
The unidentified beast was soft and cushioned, so it absorbed a lot of the shock. Still, her whole body ached. However, she didn't have time to even briefly check her body condition.
A booming sound was heard. It was the sound of front feet striking Elze. For a moment, a sharp claw flashed.
Elze rolled over once more to avoid the slamming front paw. The claws sank into the ground, sending up a spurt of stone. Then Elze raised her head and met the beast’s eyes.
“Ugh!”
Elze screamed without realizing it. It was no wonder because the beast had such a strange appearance.
It looked like a huge lion, a bear, or a goat. It had horns on its head, and somewhere between its bushy mane a snake hissed and flicked its tongue.
The sight of several beasts mixed together was something out of a nightmare. It was clearly one beast, but it was no longer a beast, but a monster.
Her stomach lurched. She wondered what kind of experiments they were conducting in this remote village. In any case, he was definitely a threat. Elze quickly took stock of the situation, pulling out the dagger she had hidden in her bosom.
It was not a normal beast. It was difficult to deal with it with just a dagger. The monster, which was made up of several beasts, had been hiding the joints between the beasts behind it without revealing them.
The joint where the lion's mane and the snake's body connected seemed to be a weak point. It was horrible to have to touch it with her hand, but there was nothing she could do. Elze took a deep breath and took a deep breath. Elze's body flew through the air.
Elze, who had settled on the beast's back, grabbed the snake that had sprouted between its manes. Without hesitation, she pulled it out and stabbed the joint with her dagger. She grabbed the snake and pulled it out as if tearing it off, then threw it away and jumped down to the other side.
“Keeeeeek!!”
It happened in an instant. The beast belatedly let out a roar and twisted its entire body. It was foaming at the mouth, so it must have hit a vital point.
The glowing beast shook its head violently from side to side before banging its head against the wall. A thud echoed throughout the area, and then the beast fell to the ground.
“Whew...”
Elze wiped the sweat from her forehead. She didn't know if it was dead, but it seemed like it wouldn't wake up for a while. There was no time to look at the beast. She had to find a way to escape first.
However, the structure was not as easy to escape as she thought. At first, she didn't know it would be this deep, and even if it was a little deep, she thought she could just climb up the wall again. However, the wall was much more slippery than she thought, and there was no place to grab onto it.
“You boasted that you’d be up and running in 5 minutes, but it’s going to take over an hour. It’s going to be a mess...”
Elze brushed back her hair in a fit of shame and started looking for a way up again. Elze muttered to herself as she searched for the way.
“You shouldn’t do anything useless to Ivanna while I’m away.”
Anyway, she thought there were some really strange people in the world. She couldn't believe that such a stupid, stupid fool was smarter than Ivanna. She thought he must have lied or something. Ivanna actually said the same thing.
“The Philosopher’s Stone...”
It's so great that Teslaon was able to create the great thing that is the dream of all alchemists and the culmination of alchemy. Isn't it too unfair that the world is so prosperous for villains?
If Teslaon had really succeeded in making the Philosopher's Stone, it would have been okay to steal the method, give it to Ivanna, and kill Teslaon. Elze, who thought that the world where villains prospered was unfair, had thoughts that were no less than those of a villain.
Elze searched the wide open space diligently, thinking about this and that. After searching thoroughly for a while, she was able to find a door in a corner.
When she opened the door, she saw a long hallway that stretched straight out. Elze picked up a rock rolling on the floor and threw it, but all she could hear was the sound of the rock rolling down the floor, and there was no response.
Elze stepped carefully and thoughtfully, but it was quiet. It seemed as if the intruder had no intention of fighting off the beast, and no defensive measures had been put in place.
After walking for a while, Elze saw a huge iron door at the end of the hallway. She turned the doorknob and found that there was no separate lock. She opened the iron door with a scraping sound and an endless row of glass rooms unfolded before her.
The place Elze found was Teslaon's laboratory.
“Ugh...”
As soon as she saw the laboratory scene, Elze instinctively frowned at the pottery that was coming up. The laboratory was not just a place that was cruel and disgusting, it was a place that felt immoral.
All sorts of animals were cut in half and locked in glass tubes filled with colorful liquids. Their internal organs were clearly visible, but their hearts were still beating fast. Elze couldn't stand the sight of their organs moving around, neither alive nor dead, and she tightly closed her eyes.
Elze moved her feet, trying her best not to look to either side. Since she seemed to have found the right path, she quickly planned to find the door that would lead her upstairs.
The lab became more and more spectacular the deeper she went into it. The glass chambers that started out as small animals gradually grew larger, and by the end, they contained things as large as the beasts Elze had killed.
At this point, Elze was starting to feel uneasy, thinking that there might be a person inside the glass case. She reached the innermost part of the laboratory, a dead end.
“...!”
There was a huge cage there. Inside the cage, young boys and girls were sitting in rows, leaning against the iron bars.
At the sight of the human, Elze quickly ran to the iron bars and clung to them. As she held onto the iron bars, a loud clanging sound rang out. However, there was no response. Even though their eyes were clearly open. Elze calmed down her startled mind and began to look at the children again.
With their gaze blank and absentminded, their appearance clean and pretty... Elze quickly remembered where she had seen this sight.
It was not a normal beast. It was difficult to deal with it with just a dagger. The monster, which was made up of several beasts, had been hiding the joints between the beasts behind it without revealing them.
The joint where the lion's mane and the snake's body connected seemed to be a weak point. It was horrible to have to touch it with her hand, but there was nothing she could do. Elze took a deep breath and took a deep breath. Elze's body flew through the air.
Elze, who had settled on the beast's back, grabbed the snake that had sprouted between its manes. Without hesitation, she pulled it out and stabbed the joint with her dagger. She grabbed the snake and pulled it out as if tearing it off, then threw it away and jumped down to the other side.
“Keeeeeek!!”
It happened in an instant. The beast belatedly let out a roar and twisted its entire body. It was foaming at the mouth, so it must have hit a vital point.
The glowing beast shook its head violently from side to side before banging its head against the wall. A thud echoed throughout the area, and then the beast fell to the ground.
“Whew...”
Elze wiped the sweat from her forehead. She didn't know if it was dead, but it seemed like it wouldn't wake up for a while. There was no time to look at the beast. She had to find a way to escape first.
However, the structure was not as easy to escape as she thought. At first, she didn't know it would be this deep, and even if it was a little deep, she thought she could just climb up the wall again. However, the wall was much more slippery than she thought, and there was no place to grab onto it.
“You boasted that you’d be up and running in 5 minutes, but it’s going to take over an hour. It’s going to be a mess...”
Elze brushed back her hair in a fit of shame and started looking for a way up again. Elze muttered to herself as she searched for the way.
“You shouldn’t do anything useless to Ivanna while I’m away.”
Anyway, she thought there were some really strange people in the world. She couldn't believe that such a stupid, stupid fool was smarter than Ivanna. She thought he must have lied or something. Ivanna actually said the same thing.
“The Philosopher’s Stone...”
It's so great that Teslaon was able to create the great thing that is the dream of all alchemists and the culmination of alchemy. Isn't it too unfair that the world is so prosperous for villains?
If Teslaon had really succeeded in making the Philosopher's Stone, it would have been okay to steal the method, give it to Ivanna, and kill Teslaon. Elze, who thought that the world where villains prospered was unfair, had thoughts that were no less than those of a villain.
Elze searched the wide open space diligently, thinking about this and that. After searching thoroughly for a while, she was able to find a door in a corner.
When she opened the door, she saw a long hallway that stretched straight out. Elze picked up a rock rolling on the floor and threw it, but all she could hear was the sound of the rock rolling down the floor, and there was no response.
Elze stepped carefully and thoughtfully, but it was quiet. It seemed as if the intruder had no intention of fighting off the beast, and no defensive measures had been put in place.
After walking for a while, Elze saw a huge iron door at the end of the hallway. She turned the doorknob and found that there was no separate lock. She opened the iron door with a scraping sound and an endless row of glass rooms unfolded before her.
The place Elze found was Teslaon's laboratory.
“Ugh...”
As soon as she saw the laboratory scene, Elze instinctively frowned at the pottery that was coming up. The laboratory was not just a place that was cruel and disgusting, it was a place that felt immoral.
All sorts of animals were cut in half and locked in glass tubes filled with colorful liquids. Their internal organs were clearly visible, but their hearts were still beating fast. Elze couldn't stand the sight of their organs moving around, neither alive nor dead, and she tightly closed her eyes.
Elze moved her feet, trying her best not to look to either side. Since she seemed to have found the right path, she quickly planned to find the door that would lead her upstairs.
The lab became more and more spectacular the deeper she went into it. The glass chambers that started out as small animals gradually grew larger, and by the end, they contained things as large as the beasts Elze had killed.
At this point, Elze was starting to feel uneasy, thinking that there might be a person inside the glass case. She reached the innermost part of the laboratory, a dead end.
“...!”
There was a huge cage there. Inside the cage, young boys and girls were sitting in rows, leaning against the iron bars.
At the sight of the human, Elze quickly ran to the iron bars and clung to them. As she held onto the iron bars, a loud clanging sound rang out. However, there was no response. Even though their eyes were clearly open. Elze calmed down her startled mind and began to look at the children again.
With their gaze blank and absentminded, their appearance clean and pretty... Elze quickly remembered where she had seen this sight.
“Duke Seraph!”
The blue-eyed prostitutes brought from the basement of the Duke Seraph's mansion were sitting there like dolls, looking just like this. Elze muttered blankly.
“Could it be that the sponsor of Teslaon is Duke Seraph...”
Looking back, Duke Seraph's skills in handling drugs were uncanny. Starting with giving Iarin the Mazehag flower, the hunting dog incident, etc.
Elze thought he simply had an aide with extensive pharmaceutical knowledge, but if Duke Seraph was Teslaon's sponsor, then all the odds were in order.
Given the wealth of Duke Seraph, it would have been ridiculous to give up even a village on the outskirts. And he would have received various medicines from Teslaon, hoping to create a philosopher's stone as well.
Elze's mouth was wide open at this incredible combination. They say that like-minded people stick together, and it seems that crazy people really do stick together.
Elze shook her head and looked around. There was a large lock on the cage. It would be nice if there was a key, but it wouldn’t be easy to open. No matter how hard she searched, there were only strange test tubes, tubes, and stills, and no key.
“...?”
Elze, who had been searching diligently, found a small door instead of a key. It was made of solid iron, but it was flimsy and had no separate lock.
The small door that required bending down to enter was the only exit she had found so far. She didn't know where it led, but they had to open it anyway. Elze was about to grab the doorknob at that moment.
The doorknob rattled and the door opened wide. Elze opened her eyes wide at the person who appeared.
***
His bronze muscles twitched. His black hair swayed as he leaped forward, and his purple eyes sparkled. Behind the long silver lines, a beastly howl erupted.
The beast's body fell to the ground with a heavy sound, and Shan landed lightly. The beast, whose neck had been cut with a short dagger, vomited blood. Shan looked back at the beast he had dealt with and sighed.
"Ha..."
He couldn't count how many he had already caught. More beasts were roaming around the maze than he had thought. And there were a lot of different types. It was like a zoo, with all kinds of wild beasts roaming around.
The thick smell of blood flowed everywhere. Ilwooz's face turned slightly pale from the continuous killings. The Pope, being the Pope, couldn't just watch life being killed and laugh. But he couldn't show mercy to the beast either. If he did, his life would be lost.
Shan and Ilwooz silently killed the beasts as they advanced through the maze. Ilwooz seemed to be hoping that the killing would end soon, but unfortunately, the beasts became more and more bizarre as they got closer to the center of the maze.
It wasn't just that they were becoming more ferocious. For three days, they were as hungry as if they were starving. The beasts were so aggressive that they were reaching the peak of their aggression, and they were attacking with venom.
At first, Shan simply thought that the beasts were ferocious, but as the beasts became more and more vicious and even attacked him without caring about hurting themself, he began to feel something strange.
Shan often saw soldiers on the battlefield who were high on drugs, lost their fear, and threw their lives away like moths to the wind.
The beasts looked exactly like that now. They attacked Shan and Ilwooz even though their arms and legs were cut off, like soldiers under the influence of drugs. It was as if they didn't feel any pain.
“...”
It was definitely a tough fight. He was wielding a dagger and not being alone, and he didn't have enough hands to protect Ilwooz.
Just as Shan was beginning to feel the urge to abandon Ilwooz, the two arrived at the center of the maze. And there, even Ilwooz, who had a thousand years of memory, saw something he had never seen before.
“Ahh... Ines...”
Ilwooz let out a sigh behind Shan. However, Shan didn’t have time to look back at Ilwooz who was sighing. Shan was also busy examining something he had never seen before.
The creature before his eyes was close to a monster. It was a mixture of different types of beasts, such as a lion, a goat, and a snake, all attached to each other as if they were one body.
“Keeeeeek!”
The monster opened its eyes wide and lunged forward, roaring. Shan pushed away Ilwooz, who was standing there dumbly behind him. As Ilwooz fell backward, Shan leaped forward.
It seemed as if he was going to collide with the monster, but Shan didn't hit it. He twisted slightly to the side and escaped, making a large diagonal cut across the monster's body. The monster twisted its body with an abnormally agile speed.
“... !”
Shan read the brief gesture as an attempt to cover the joint where different beasts were connected.
That's the weak point.
And there was no stopping it. Shan's next attack was aimed squarely at the joint and cut it down. Shan's blow caused the monster to squirm in pain.
“Keeeek, keeek...”
Eventually, the monster let out a final scream and rolled on the ground. The monster squirmed for a moment before becoming quiet.
Shan felt the hot blood soaking his clothes. Disgust rose. Ilwooz alone was enough to deal with creatures beyond common sense. Meeting monsters like this was never a pleasant thing.
"Ah..."
Unlike Shan, who was very angry, Ilwooz looked at the dead monster with a dumbfounded face. He looked down at it for a moment and then knelt down. His priest's robes touched the dirty floor with blood and dirt, but he didn't care.
Ilwooz placed his hand on the still-warm body of the beast and recited a prayer. The prayer was short, but his heartfelt voice was warm. After finishing the short prayer, he sighed and whispered one last word.
“May the life that went against providence rest in peace...”
A soft voice resonated calmly in the blood-soaked maze. The air that had been hot just a moment ago felt like it was cooling down.
“...”
Shan glanced at Ilwooz and then turned his gaze away again. At times like this, he thought, “That guy is really the Pope.”
Actually, he felt a little curious. His perspective was completely different. If for Shan, the beast was an enemy to be defeated, for Ilwooz, it was a pitiful creature that had lost itself.
Shan was surprised at the sincere sympathy that Ilwooz showed. It was because he had never felt sympathy for anyone before. The only criteria for judgment was whether they were friends or enemies, and enemies were not objects of sympathy. Strictly speaking, he had never known the emotion of sympathy in the first place.
But Ilwooz did not think of things as being divided into two equal parts like Shan. He tried to embrace everything gently. Except for the issue of the devil.
Shan thought that if he had done half as much to that monster as he did to himself, their relationship would have been much smoother, and he started to find his way back in silence. Ilwooz followed Shan quietly.
Fortunately, that was the end of the monster. The ones that came after that were all just beasts. After killing a few more, Shan was finally able to find the door.
“There is a door over here.”
When Shan gestured to Ilwooz, he walked towards him, dragging his clothes. There was a small door where Shan pointed. The door was made of solid iron, and it was so small that the beasts in the maze could not pass through it. Even a grown man would have to bend down to get through it.
“I’ve finally escaped from this damn maze.”
Shan muttered as he opened the door wide. However, the sight that appeared was completely different from what Shan and Ilwooz had expected.
“...”
The night sky was twinkling with stars. The night wind blew wildly around the two of them. After a moment of silence, Ilwooz spoke.
“We finally got out of the maze...”
That was really the problem, though. Shan coughed to hide his embarrassment.
Ilwooz did not miss this good opportunity. He hung on to Shan’s wounds with an infinitely thin voice.
“I need to go to the Savior, but I’m outside the maze... I wonder where the Savior is... I’m worried about whether she’s safe, so I can’t move my feet...”
“...”
Anyway, this bastard Ilwooz was kind to everyone except Shan. Shan looked outside once more for no reason as he was being poked at for his mistakes. However, he couldn't see the way up to the mansion. Only the stars in the night sky twinkled.
Shan, who had been confident that this was the way to Elze until he opened the door, muttered with a slightly embarrassed expression.
“It would be too exhausting to go back into the maze and wander around, so it would be faster to go into the mansion’s entrance.”
“Is that so...”
There was a hint of disapproval in Ilwooz's words, but Shan pretended not to notice and continued talking.
“But rather than just the two of us going back...”
Shan said, narrowing his eyes and checking the lights twinkling outside the village.
“I would suggest you join the knights at the campsite.”
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