Volume 1 Chapter 46 Quest：Obsidian To Roses I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The atmosphere of the ‘Labyrinth of Roses’ changed at that moment.
”…Hmm…”
Kian stood up from Rosen and looked at the distant Roses Wall.
A strong wind blew into the rain-soaked labyrinth, scattering the black rose petals into the sky.
Thump, thump──.
The ground, the garden of roses, swayed as if it were pulsing.
Kian swung his wooden sword, blood dripping, and calmly focused on the distant Roses Wall.
’Hehe…’
Suddenly, a seductive woman’s laughter echoed.
Glasses.
Kian squinted.
(What’s so funny?)
’Kian, send some magic power to this one.’
”…What did you say?”
’Send it.’
”Are we going treasure hunting or something?”
’No. It’s to charm the thing that will appear and make it a servant. Just pour all your magic power into this one.’
”All of it? Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way I’m doing that.”
Kian felt something unsettling about the word ‘glasses’ and said so.
’Glasses’ clicked her tongue.
”Why not? Don’t you want power?”
”I want power, but I don’t trust you. In fact, I think you’re suspicious. What do you plan to do with my magic power? Really──”
Kian looked around at the ground.
The stems of Roses were stretching out toward the bodies of the slain adventurers, wrapping around them and pulling them into the wall.
The blood that flowed out seemed to seep into the ground as if the labyrinth was drinking it.
Thump──.
The Roses’ Wall pulsed again.
The far Wall twisted and swirled.
Something with long hair slowly crawled out from there.
No doubt about it.
That was the master of this labyrinth.
It must be the Evil spirit in question.
Kian felt raindrops pooling on his brow trickle down his cheek.
”──Are you really going to use it just to subjugate that thing?”
’Hmph, you do not believe me? How sad. I have always been on your side until now…’
”That’s exactly why I can’t trust you.”
’There is nothing I can do about that. Go ahead and face it as you like. And if you get in trouble, offer your magic power to me. Then things will go smoothly.’
”…I’ll ask questions later. ‘Glasses,’ once you calm down, answer my questions. For now, focus on that thing.”
With that, Kian stepped into the center of the square surrounded by Roses.
The bodies of the scattered adventurers were gone.
The body of Funnelwing had just vanished into Roses’ Wall as well.
(Had it become bait?)
Kian thought this while listening to the sound of the Funnelwing body being chewed up by the labyrinth.
(However, it would be a hassle to stay hidden deep in the labyrinth. If this brings them out, it would be a stroke of luck.)
Unexpectedly, Funnelwing and the others had become bait.
At the very least, he would be able to see the form of the unknown evil spirit in the labyrinth.
Kian kept his gaze alert, scanning left and right.
”…ah…, ugh…”
A hoarse voice echoed.
It reached his ears clearly, even in the rain.
From the distortion in the space ahead, a white figure hung down and dropped with a thud.
Long brown hair.
Slim shoulders.
It was a woman.
Her body was incredibly voluptuous and disturbingly beautiful.
If he hadn’t seen Aliona’s body, he might have found himself aroused.
”Who are you? Can you speak?”
Kian held his wooden sword low and asked briefly.
”────, ────”
The woman did not answer.
She let her long brown hair fall to the ground and swayed as she stood up.
When her brown eyes peeked through her hair, Kian felt a shiver run down his spine.
(What is this distorted presence…?)
The woman herself radiated strong magic power, but more than that, a black mist like poisonous fog drifted around her.
The mist emitted an aura that instilled a biological disgust in Kian.
”…”
He slowly walked sideways while keeping his eyes on her.
That was something dangerous──his warrior instincts told him so.
It wasn’t pure strength like a Griffin; it possessed something grotesque──an evil power.
(Crow)
He sent a command, but the familiar birds had already been drawn into Roses’ Wall along with the adventurer’s corpse.
The only ones safe in this place were the living Rosen, Franciska, and Kian.
Kian wondered if breaking the wall behind him would allow him to escape.
But if it didn’t work, it would create a significant vulnerability.
He wanted to find a way to contact Serena and Ms. Aliona.
’Kian, give me your magic power. I will not do anything bad. You will gain great status and power.’
”Shut up for a moment.”
With that, Kian turned his attention back to the brown-haired woman.
”You’re the master of this labyrinth, right?”
”────────”
The woman didn’t respond.
She just stared at Kian with her brown eyes.
But eventually, she gently parted her pink lips.
”…No…”
”Not… the master of the labyrinth?”
”You… you’re wrong… Give it back… That… child… Give them back.”
”────”
Kian clicked his tongue in frustration.
He couldn’t grasp the meaning well because her voice was hoarse.
”If you’re going to confront me, then I have no choice. I will subdue you.”
”Ah, ah, ahhh, A, AAAAAAA!!!!!”
The woman spread her arms wide and glared at the sky, raising her voice.
It was a scream filled with resentment, as if cursing every living creature in the world.
Though her voice was hoarse, it certainly sounded like a song.
”────tch.”
Kian narrowed his eyes.
In response to her voice, a green phosphorescence lit up the surrounding walls of roses.
(Rain Wraith, huh?)
Kian pointed the tip of his wooden sword at the woman and looked around at the ghosts wrapped in tattered white cloth crawling out from the darkness behind him.
”HISSSSS!!!”
The monsters, glowing with a green phosphorescence, opened their jaws and twisted their decaying tongues.
They danced, fluttering their rags as they rose into the rain.
(There are more than 50 of them. And they keep coming. Fighting solo is dangerous.)
Now, the ghosts crowded the dueling space of the Roses garden.
Kian measured the distance to the ghosts while searching for an escape route.
(It’ll expose me, but I can use ‘Shot’ to break the Roses’ Wall. If that doesn’t work, I’ll blow up some explosives to create an opening.)
It was risky, but there was no time to hesitate.
Kian quickly crouched and jumped backward while reaching for the pouch at his waist.
In front of him, a brown-haired woman’s evil spirit howled.
It was a scream that felt otherworldly.
She pulled out a rusty sword, the same as the ones the ghosts had, and glided toward Kian.
(Tch, I can’t believe this is a Rank 7 Quest. The Guild’s judgment is full of holes…!)
Cursing inwardly, he readied his wooden sword.
The rusty sword had substance, so it should be blockable.
If the boss charged at him, he might have to take a gamble and use ‘Absorb Essence’──.
(If I get touched, my life force will be drained. For someone like me with few tachyonian cells, that would be a fatal attack. As for magic power… I don’t know if I can hold up against this many. But──)
I can get through this──! Kian already had oil in his mouth.
He pulled out a clump of mushrooms containing fire seeds from his waist pouch and blew on it.
Flames erupted.
He felt his skin burn, but Kian swung the clump of mushrooms left and right without flinching.
The ghosts seemed to hesitate and moved away from Kian.
The brown-haired woman’s movements, however, did not stop, so he infused magic power into his wooden sword and deflected the rusty blade.
Just as he was about to jump back again, the space around his right hand distorted once more.
(A new enemy…!?)
However, this time there was no horrifying presence like when the Evil spirit woman appeared.
A pure life force.
Kian knew who the master of this magic power was.
”Ms. Aliona…!?”
”Kiannn!”
Sure enough, the one who jumped out from the distortion in space was a silver-haired girl swordsman──Serena.
She tightened her gloved hand and, as she leaped out of the distortion, she slashed at the ghosts surrounding Kian.
”Haaa!”
The large dagger borrowed from Aliona sliced through the dark night.
With a single swing, she sent the green-glowing ghosts flying as if they were mere pieces of paper.
The ghosts, with holes burned through their bodies like scorched paper, screamed as they scattered into the void.
Serena landed in front of Kian and waved her white branch, unleashing a dazzling flash of light toward the brown-haired woman.
”────!”
The woman distorted the space and vanished.
She had teleported.
The Evil spirit woman reappeared at the back of the square──near the Roses’ Wall.
Right in front of Kian, Serena’s legs, wrapped in thigh-high boots, made a creaking sound.
”Heh.”
As Kian squinted, Serena disappeared, leaving deep footprints in the mud.
Without using teleportation, she appeared above the Evil spirit in a single leap, as if she had teleported.
(Fast…! Truly not something a human could do)
A strange voice cried out, “Hooo──”.
The Evil spirit woman’s brown hair stood on end in the rain.
Serena, who had slashed down from above, cracked the woman’s forehead.
The woman staggered back, spewing dark blood.
Serena thrust her white staff, crossing it with her knife, and released a flash of light.
”────.”
Shoulders, chest, waist, right thigh, left ankle.
The woman’s body was pierced by the light at an incredible speed.
She fell backward, her hair disheveled.
Then she seemed to dissolve into the darkness.
Kian shouted.
”Serena, behind you!”
”────!”
The woman was not an Evil spirit.
She had summoned countless ghosts.
The spirits floated in the air, rushing towards Serena as if seeking revenge for the evil spirit she had banished.
Just after landing, Serena found herself unable to escape and was buried among dozens of ghosts.
”Chh.”
Kian rushed forward, albeit a bit late.
He pulled explosives from his pouch.
He had to do something; otherwise, Serena would have her life force drained──.
”──────, Haaah!”
But before Kian could reach her, cracks appeared in the 0ghosts surrounding Serena.
The ghosts flared up with a bright green phosphorescence.
In the next instant, they began to collapse from within, disintegrating into dust one after another.
Kian gasped at the sight of the vanishing ghosts.
(This woman… I underestimated her power just as much as the ghosts did.)
’Hmph, those ghosts cannot drain that girl’s life force. They overindulged like fish that do not know moderation, and now they are breaking apart from the inside.”
Blasting away the countless ghosts like trash──Kian’s eyes behind his glasses narrowed as Serena stepped forward with grace.
It seemed she was activating the tachyonian cells within her body, causing her to glow and emit white steam from her shoulders and head.
She turned her sharp light blue eyes towards him.
”Kian, are you okay?”
”…Yeah.”
”Good.”
Serena said this and then shifted her gaze to Franciska and Rosen, who were embracing at the back of the square.
”What happened? They both seem completely devoid of resistance. More like…”
”Reconciliation.”
”──────. I see.”
Serena said this briefly and returned her knife to its holster.
She pointed to the distortion of the space she had emerged from.
”The teleportation gate is being maintained by Ms. Aliona. That evil spirit is still alive. I have a feeling it will revive in a few minutes, so let’s get out of here quickly.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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