Role Change
by Afuhfuihgs
As Kane climbed the stairs to the 10th floor, he felt that these stairs were slightly different from the others. The air and atmosphere were different, as if to tell the person climbing the stairs that this was the end of the tower. Kane, giving strength to his tired legs from the roar coming from below, climbed the stairs even harder and was finally able to reach the 10th floor.
“Is this… inside a castle?”
Gray bricks and burning torches, portraits of unknown people hanging on the walls, a wide passage and a long corridor reminded him of the inside of a huge castle no matter how he thought about it. Ellie checked on Ross’s condition on Kane’s back and said to Kane and Aria.
“There’s only one way. If we head to the end of the hallway, something will come out. Our goal is to get Ross out of the labyrinth. If we can escape without fighting, we should prioritize that. If there are many enemies…”
Ellie gripped her staff and said firmly.
“I’ll stay behind and buy time, so you guys get out of the labyrinth and go straight to the academy and find the headmaster.”
“…Okay.”
Kane, knowing that the situation was not good, reflexively wanted to say that he couldn’t leave Ellie alone, but he forced himself to swallow it. If it was the tower he had experienced so far, it was obvious that the top floor, the 10th floor, could not be reached without someone’s sacrifice. To Kane, Ross, who was a more precious friend than Ellie, a fellow student at the same academy, and who had saved his life, was more important.
The three silently passed through the long corridor and stopped in front of a huge door. As if to announce their arrival, the huge door opened with an ear-splitting noise, probably because it hadn’t been oiled.
“Wow…”
Aria exclaimed without realizing it.
Beyond the door was a large space that could accommodate many people, a carpet as red as blood, decorations made of gold and silver, and a luxurious throne located in a high position where it could look down on everything from above.
“Welcome.”
The silver-haired man sitting on the throne greeted the three. His outstanding appearance and unique presence, visible even from a distance, instinctively aroused a strong sense of vigilance in the three.
“I am the master of the 10th floor, who is in charge of the balance and management of the tower, the last draconian, Silian.”
Silian’s transparent eyes looked at the three as if observing them. Ellie, stepping forward, leaving the hesitant Kane and Aria behind, opened her mouth.
“If we want to go to the 6th floor of the labyrinth.”
Ellie said that.
“Of course, we have to defeat the manager who protects the tower, right?”
Silian, who was sitting on the throne, nodded obediently with a smile.
“I can feel the energy of a dragon that you miss. You must have some kind of connection with the only dragon left in this world. But that doesn’t interfere with my role. If you go up to the 6th floor of the labyrinth, the tower’s resources will decrease and the mana concentration on each floor will become thinner. The person who manages the tower cannot be swayed by personal feelings.”
Everyone has their own circumstances. Ellie glanced at Kane over her shoulder, then turned her head back and pointed her staff at Silian. Ellie said with a blank face.
“Then there’s no need to talk anymore.”
Before she could finish speaking, magic was already flowing from the end of Ellie’s staff. A terrifying magic power completed the huge spell in an instant, as if it had suddenly appeared. At the same time as Ellie’s composite magic and Silian’s magic collided and a huge roar erupted, Kane, carrying Ross on his back, ran to find the door that would lead to the 6th floor of the labyrinth.
“Kane, be careful!”
At Aria’s shout, Kane, who was running, quickly turned his body to avoid the attack of Silian’s minion who suddenly appeared from behind the wall. Thanks to Aria’s warning, Aria barely managed to pull out her body and confronted the minion with magic instead of Kane. While Aria was driving the minion away with magic, Kane urgently warned Aria.
“It’s not just one!”
There was only one draconian, Silian, but there were countless minions managing this huge castle. As the number of minions continued to increase, Kane tried hard to find the door to the 6th floor of the labyrinth, but he couldn’t see anything that looked like a door anywhere.
“Ugh…!”
“Aria!”
When Aria, whose back of her hand was cut by the minion’s sharp claws, almost dropped her staff, Kane finally gave up looking for the door and decided to help Aria. Based on his alchemy knowledge that had reached the truth, Kane quickly manufactured a mixed potion and threw it to create a wall of poisonous smoke, preventing the minions from approaching Aria any further.
“Did you find the door?”
“I can’t see it at all!”
At Kane’s answer, Aria stomped her feet and was about to step forward to find it herself, when the Vice-Leader, who was emitting a chaotic aura along with a huge wave, appeared. He discovered Ellie confronting Silian and turned his gaze to look at Kane and Aria.
“Did you think you could dare to run away from me?”
The Vice-Leader, stretching the corners of his mouth, said.
“Put the Apostle down in that spot. Then I’ll spare your lives.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Kane took out a magic stone bomb from his potion bag and threw it at the Vice-Leader with all his might. A huge explosion occurred right in front of the Vice-Leader, but the Vice-Leader, who used the power of chaos to block the power of the explosion, frowned at Kane’s clear refusal and vented his anger.
“You’re just a piece of trash who does alchemy!”
The magic that the Vice-Leader fired flew towards Kane, but Aria, who had quickly intervened, blocked the Vice-Leader’s magic. The Vice-Leader, confirming the face of Aria who had blocked his magic, suddenly twisted one corner of his mouth.
“How dare the Order’s homunculus block the Vice-Leader, have I ever seen such an impudent bitch?”
“What…?”
Aria, who didn’t understand the Vice-Leader’s words, stupidly asked back, but the Vice-Leader activated the self-destruct spell inscribed on the homunculus’s body using magic instead of answering.
“Get lost, tool!”
The Vice-Leader shouted confidently while looking at Aria, but nothing happened. Aria had already had the imprint left on her body erased with the help of the Tuner. Kane smiled faintly at the Vice-Leader’s embarrassed expression, knowing that Aria was safe.
But the situation was very bad. The draconian’s minions were temporarily held back by pouring potions, but the appearance of the Vice-Leader was a major variable. Kane was sharing his life with Aria through alchemy so that the homunculus Aria could continue to live. Even if Kane left the 10th floor with Ross alone, if Aria died here, Kane, who was sharing her life, would die as well.
Kane and Aria had to be together. Then Kane realized that the only way to save Ross was for himself and Aria to sacrifice themselves on the 10th floor, not Ellie. Before he could even explain it, Aria asked Kane first.
“Kane… why does that person call me the Order’s homunculus?”
Kane, who had been keeping the fact that Aria was a homunculus a secret until now, was at a loss for words. Kane, wondering how to answer, had his opportunity stolen by the Vice-Leader.
“You didn’t know? You’re a homunculus created by the Order!”
Aria’s eyes widened. As if something had come to her mind at the Vice-Leader’s words, she said to Kane with tearful eyes as if she was about to burst into tears.
“So Ross killed our parents? Because I’m the Order’s homunculus…? Because Lily has to kill the enemy?”
Kane, clenching his fist at Aria’s choked voice, threw a potion at the Vice-Leader and then approached Aria and grabbed her shoulders. The situation and timing weren’t good, but Kane was also intuitively aware that it was time to tell the truth.
“Actually, Aria’s parents…”
Kane explained what he had heard from Ross. Everything, including the fact that he was sharing his lifespan with Aria, which he had kept secret from Aria. Aria, who had heard all of that, was struggling as if she was about to faint at any moment. In the end, Aria couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.
“Ross was also very upset knowing that fact. But you know that he still thinks of you as a precious friend.”
Kane, seeing his beloved Aria struggling, wanted to comfort her with warm words right away, but he realized that there was no more time and said.
“If we want to save Ross, we have to buy time. While we’re dealing with the Vice-Leader and Silian, Ellie, carrying Ross on her back, has to find the door to the 6th floor of the labyrinth. We can’t be separated because we’re sharing our lifespans.”
Aria’s eyes widened. Round tears fell down her cheeks. Aria, realizing what Kane meant, couldn’t hold back any longer and hugged Kane tightly into her arms.
“You, you idiot. Why did you like me so much!”
Kane smiled bitterly at her lovely grumbling and said.
“Sorry, it would take a week to explain that to you in detail.”
Aria met Kane’s eyes. Aria, looking at Kane with affectionate eyes full of tears, finally smiled.
“You’re going to be with me until the end.”
At those words, Kane nodded vigorously.
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