episode_0321

29th floor.

At the place where the shell of an unknown god sleeps.

Jeong Yushin stared at Altair Landishier.

He realized for the first time

that the Landishier family served the owner of the old Labyrinth City.

Now some things made sense.

Why Mion and Cain exuded such nobility.

He realized why the city’s residents treated the two siblings with a certain degree of respect.

But the two siblings had never told him.

Was it a shameful and humiliating past?

Or do they really not know?

Whatever the case, he resolved to ask them about it if they ever got out of here.

Anyway.

She said she served the head of the Labyrinth City, so she must be quite old.

She might even be a woman who is an ancestor of Mion, but she’s so young. It was amazing.

“May I ask you something?”

Altair looked at the blue gem Jeong Yushin was holding and nodded.

“What are you curious about?”

“Is the strange phenomenon occurring in the Underwater Cave area right now, that is, the situation where people attacked by monsters turn into fishmen, due to the power of that nameless fish god?”

The term ‘fish god’ seemed to please her, as Altair chuckled softly.

“That’s right. I don’t know why, but it is clear that divinity is leaking out, transcending the stratum. It’s also ignoring Ezdrath’s seal. How strange. Surely the time has not yet come, so why is master-less power fluctuating…?”

The last words were too soft to hear.

If so.

The strange things happening in the Labyrinth City. For example, the continuous rain, or the exponential increase in the amount of fish caught.

It seemed that divine power might be affecting the outside of the labyrinth.

‘I’m starting to get a sense of it now.’

Of course, he couldn’t completely trust Altair’s words, and there were shortcomings in the details, but overall he could see the big picture.

But one question remained.

Why now?

This happened not long after ‘I’, who came from another dimension, gathered in one place.

Is this a case of the crow flying and the pear falling?

He tried to ask more, but Altair shook her head.

“Questions end here. Now prepare yourself.”

“…”

Jeong Yushin looked at Altair’s face and swallowed a sigh.

‘Is she really going to kill me?’

He felt a great reluctance because she had a face and voice similar to Mion.

At that moment.

The wolf guy took the lead.

“Kid, step back.”

“Yes?”

“The opponent is strong. Maybe even stronger than me.”

A sense of tension filled the face of Wolf Sca.

Altair observed the wolf guy’s face carefully, then chuckled.

“Behemoth engraving? Gate opening is… currently at level 3. To have reached that level at such a young age, I must say you have great talent. But that level of ability is not enough to face me.”

“You’ll have to try to know. Dietrich, prepare yourself.”

“…”

Dietrich remained silent.

“Dietrich?”

Dietrich turned his head and looked at Altair.

“…Is it true that this power has no owner?”

“That’s right.”

“Is there a way to obtain that power?”

“If you have the proper preparations.”

“What kind of preparation is that?”

“A sacrifice. You will have to offer the most precious thing. Think of it as a ritual in the sense of emptying your mind and filling it with divinity.”

At that moment.

Wolf Sca’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“Shut up!!!”

Bang!!!

Wolf Sca’s figure disappeared.

Clanggggg!!!

A shockwave and wind swept through like a storm.

Wolf Sca’s fist strike stopped in front of Altair.

[Dark Protection]

To be precise, it was blocked by the black barrier Altair had created.

Creak!!!

Wolf Sca gritted his teeth, and Altair twisted the corners of her mouth.

“You’re being annoying. You are already dead. Hey, mixed-blood Barbaroi kid, hand over the Lucid Stone. I’ll spare you.”

Jeong Yushin shook his head.

“I refuse.”

The subordinate of the head of the family, who revealed her identity herself, is going to spare me?

Just because of one Lucid Stone?

Of course, it’s a lie.

Besides, seeing her ask for the Lucid Stone, he realized that there was something more hidden in this gem.

“Die!!!”

Wolf Sca threw a punch at an invisible speed.

Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!! Bang!!!

However, the wolf guy’s fist could not penetrate the black barrier.

Altair twisted her lips.

“How insignificant.”

Jeong Yushin quickly scanned the surroundings.

Pink-haired Rain hesitated, not knowing what to do with her party members.

Dietrich was still staring blankly at the fishman mummy.

So the only two people who could fight were.

The wolf and I.

Jeong Yushin quickly gathered his resolve and raised his greatsword.

“I’ll join you.”

He rushed in and swung his sword at the barrier that Altair had deployed.

Clanggggg!!!

‘Crazy!’

Is this what it feels like to cut a stone with a knife?

His knuckles were tingling.

Altair raised a finger and pointed it at Jeong Yushin.

“How amusing.”

[Night Ray]

As the tip of Altair’s finger sparkled, Jeong Yushin instinctively turned his head.

Kiiing!!!

A black ray of light flew by at an invisible speed, grazing his head.

‘What is this?!’

A chill ran down his spine.

Magic he had never heard of or seen before. He almost lost his head in an instant.

Wolf Sca rushed over and stood next to Jeong Yushin.

“Kid! Assist me!”

“Got it!”

The two men, who quickly decided on their battle formation, wielded their respective weapons.

When the wolf guy threw a punch, Jeong Yushin swung his greatsword greatly to assist.

When Jeong Yushin stabbed with his greatsword, Wolf Sca delivered a strong blow.

Kwaaaaaang!!!

The floor caved in and dust swirled.

It wasn’t an easy fight.

Altair deployed a barrier in real time and fired black rays of light indiscriminately.

Jeong Yushin and the wolf beast moved their bodies and narrowly dodged the rapidly flying rays of death.

How much time had passed?

Altair, who had been enjoying the battle leisurely, widened her eyes, then immediately raised her head.

Her gaze was directed at the mummy-like god.

“Oh, why now…? No, it’s better this way. I don’t even have to step forward.”

After saying that, Altair’s figure disappeared from sight.

“Stop right there!”

The moment Wolf Sca gritted his teeth and took a step.

Pssst.

Thud.

A strange sound rang out from behind.

Jeong Yushin immediately turned his eyes.

“Shit.”

The fishman mummy, which should have remained dead, turned its withered head and looked down at him with empty eyes.

[When the song of homecoming echoes, we will finally become one.]

A voice that resonated with the soul.

The three men and one woman immediately knelt down at the words that were like a peremptory command.

His head throbbed, beyond the point of throbbing, it felt like it was about to explode.

As he felt a pressure that seemed to constrict his body, his heart began to beat irregularly.

He instinctively realized.

Just like the explorers who had turned into fishmen had lost their minds and shouted strange words.

The will of the god, who was only a shell, was suppressing the individual consciousness and trying to unify them into one.

Jeong Yushin, Wolf Sca, Dietrich, and Rain were receiving that will directly.

[We shall become one.]

As the words containing powerful divinity struck his mind, Jeong Yushin lost consciousness.

And in his hazy consciousness, someone’s memories flashed through his head.

Whose memory is this?

There was doubt for a moment. He was soon able to recognize the owner of the memories.

Dietrich, the leader of the White Nights Mercenary Group.

Dietrich, a 13-year-old boy, spent a happy childhood with his sister and mother in a small village.

Dietrich’s face was full of smiles as he made small flower crowns and put them on his mother and sister.

However.

In less than 4 years.

The happy family was shattered.

While taking a walk with his sister, he was forcibly led by adults to evacuate to another village. He heard there had been a monster attack?

What the two siblings faced upon their return.

Was the face of their mother, smashed and thrown into a pile of excrement.

The face of their mother, with only her neck remaining, was horribly distorted as if she had suffered until her death.

However.

The tragedy did not end there.

‘Why don’t you work as a servant in our family? I’ll pay you well.’

The lord who came to the ruined territory picked only Dietrich’s sister and took her to his territory.

Young Dietrich was lonely, but he thought it was fortunate.

Anyway, his sister wouldn’t starve in the ruined village.

But his sister returned exactly 3 years later, as a corpse. She was stuffed into an old blanket.

Her beautiful face, which resembled her mother, was twisted in pain, and her decaying, emaciated body was covered with terrible torture marks.

The lord’s chief servant threw a few coins in front of Dietrich, who was in despair and kneeling down, and disappeared without a word.

‘Ah.’

His mother was killed by monsters.

His sister was killed by people.

The indescribable tragedy shattered Dietrich’s mind.

Dietrich shed tears of blood and vowed revenge.

He took up a sword and joined a mercenary group to subjugate monsters.

After becoming the leader, he participated in territorial wars and secretly assassinated the lord.

He had finished his revenge, but he thought it was not enough.

Because he had traveled the world to gain power and witnessed countless tragedies and evils.

Surely.

He had heard that Ezdrath had gathered all the evil of the world and sealed it in the labyrinth.

Was that a lie?

If only I could become a god.

I would be able to restore order.

For that, he would not hesitate to give everything he had.

And Dietrich’s memories ended there.

Next was Wolf Sca.

He fell into another world and met Dietrich.

He belonged to the White Nights Mercenary Group and wandered around the Eastern Union.

He subjugated monsters, captured and killed evildoers.

He won wars that he could not win.

The emotion that the wolf guy had for Dietrich was special.

What should he say?

Comparing it to his current self.

There was a mixture of affection for Darmong and admiration and respect for his master, Ashur.

How many years had passed like that?

One day, Dietrich, who had returned from the labyrinth alone, became strange. He spoke less, and he often looked up at the sky.

The tragedy occurred exactly one year later.

One evening, when a cool spring breeze was blowing.

Dietrich gathered all the mercenaries under the shining moonlight, then took out a red gem and torches.

At the same time, the entire mercenary group moved somewhere.

The mercenaries who had fallen down under the mountains they had never heard of were confused and looked around for their leader.

The leader was easy to find. Dietrich was shouting while looking at the black moon.

‘I will give you everything!!! Give me strength!!!’

At that moment.

The mercenaries were crushed and crumpled in their armor and became a huge mass of flesh.

Leaving only Wolf Sca behind.

At the terribly unrealistic sight.

Saliva dripped from the wolf Sca’s mouth.

I can’t believe it.

His comrades, who had been laughing and drinking just a moment ago, had suddenly become a mass of flesh with blood dripping from it.

That’s right.

This is a nightmare.

He must be having a terrible dream because he drank a lot of strong liquor and got drunk.

But he soon realized it wasn’t a dream.

Because Dietrich’s eyes were looking at him.

Sad but relieved brown eyes tore Wolf Sca’s mind apart.

‘I will go to the Great Labyrinth.’

Dietrich, who had said something out of the blue, turned his body.

‘Dietrich!!! Why!!! Why did you spare me?!!! Answer me!!!’

Wolf Sca howled and rushed at him with all his might, but Dietrich deflected all of Wolf Sca’s attacks without answering and knocked him down.

Only the wolf guy was left alone in the place where Dietrich had left.

From then on, the wolf guy began to wander around the labyrinth.

Carrying the death of his comrades, who had been torn apart and crumpled into a mass of flesh, in his heart.

He became a miserable labyrinth wanderer walking in the darkness, sharpening the blade of revenge.

His memories went back to recent times.

The Scas gathered, except for himself.

The mystic guy opened his mouth.

‘This world is distorted.’

‘Wasn’t the world distorted from the beginning?’

At the boob’s answer, the mystic shook his head.

‘That’s not it. You’ve all noticed it to some extent, right? The crises we’ve experienced are gathering around the kid faster and stronger than we thought.’

‘…’

‘It’s only been a year since the kid fell into this world. But crises are approaching every moment. So there’s only one conclusion. This crisis isn’t originally his. It’s originally ours.’

‘…’

‘We have to leave as soon as possible. Don’t tell the kid and keep it a secret. He’ll get depressed again. Keep your senses sharp. Stay in Labyrinth City as much as possible.’

The wolf guy’s memory ended there.

Jeong Yushin opened his eyes.

I see.

The current ‘crisis’ was not his destiny.

It was related to the fate of another Sca.

He felt like he knew why the mystic guy had said he would twist fate.

But.

Is it that easy to twist fate?

People are beings that are hard to change, even if they die and come back to life.

Jeong Yushin looked down at the fallen Wolf Sca and Dietrich.

Both were unconscious, sweating and crying, and their bodies were shaking.

He understands.

Although they may be stronger than him physically, they were both already at their mental limits.

Looking at the collapsed figures of the poor virgin guys who had never had sex, he felt sorry for them.

Their bodies were on the ground.

But their hearts were wandering in the abyss.

Jeong Yushin slowly got up from his seat.

“You poor bastards.”

He decided.

For these pathetic guys.

It’s okay to die once.

For the person whose heart is trapped in darkness.

To rewrite your destinies.

‘I will once again cross the threshold of death.’

He raised his head and glared at the nameless fish god.

[We shall become one.]

The command that fell down once again. It was nothing short of a mental attack.

Creak.

Jeong Yushin gritted his teeth.

[Revenger]

As the irregularly beating heart slowly began to slow down, blue ghostly flames blazed in Jeong Yushin’s eyes.

That’s right. Mental attack.

Jeong Yushin stared at the mummy without moving.

His slowly beating heart soon stopped moving.

Deeeeng!!!

Jeong Yushin tasted death once again. This time, it was a heart attack due to mental shock.

[Dance of Death]

As he entered the threshold of death, the engraving link activated and his magic power increased explosively.

‘Good.’

He decided.

He will create a Sacred Weapon right now.

There is no worry. He has more than enough inspiration.

He peeked into the memories of the two pathetic men.

In his mind, Dietrich and the wolf guy were sitting around the moon with the mercenaries, having a festival in the past.

The happy memories were broken, and the wolf guy felt like he was being crushed by a bleak destiny whenever he thought of the moon.

Dietrich’s thoughts were similar to the wolf guy’s.

He repeatedly thought about his dead sister and mother while looking up at the night sky.

If they thought of the moon and sky as fate, and thought of it as an insurmountable ceiling.

‘I’ll shatter it.’

The aura blade that Dietrich showed him.

And the wolf guy’s signature technique that he saw in his memories. A skill that he was determined to teach the kid someday.

Wind Breaker.

A technique that gathers magic power in the body and releases it in the form of a sphere.

It feels like his head is splitting.

Still, he has to make it. In his own way.

The vast magic power swirled for a moment.

A golden arming sword was created in Jeong Yushin’s hand.

‘Give it a name.’

A voice heard in his mind.

Good.

[Sacred Weapon]

Grant characteristic.

[Fate Breaker]

A sword strike that simultaneously grants extreme cutting power and divine power.

He will cut off the two men’s destined fate and open a new path for them.

Jeong Yushin took a stance and swung his sword.

“Haaaaaaat!!!”

Flash!!!

The golden sword brightly illuminated the dark cavity.

Swish!!!

The powerful flash of light that bloomed from the arming sword cut through the darkness and cut off half of the massive fishman mummy’s face.

Thud!!!

The severed face fell to the floor.

At the same time, the pressure that had been suppressing his body and mind disappeared.

The mummy that had been looking at him slowly returned to its original place.

Jeong Yushin looked at the arming sword that was scattering in particle form and let out a deep sigh.

“Hoo. Shit.”

He survived another day of bullshit.

Let’s wait a moment.

“K…Kid.”

“M, Mr. Sca?”

The two men, who had regained consciousness, looked up with blank faces.

Jeong Yushin looked down at the two men, then turned his head and looked at Altair, who had appeared before he knew it. She was looking at him with slightly widened eyes.

He had a lot to say, but there was one last thing to do.

‘This doesn’t seem to have an answer.’

How to escape from Altair, who was only full of thoughts of killing him.

“…If you hand over that Lucid Stone, I will spare you, but instead, I will erase your memories.”

Altair said quietly.

‘Should I believe this?’

The guardian of the labyrinth is going to spare him after seeing this threatening appearance?

He wanted to throw a yin-infused punch as the mystic had said, but.

Considering Altair’s skills, it didn’t seem like it would work.

He didn’t want to kill her either.

Was there no way?

‘Ah!’

He remembered.

Jeong Yushin took out the blue gem from his pocket and held it in his hand.

“If I give you only this, will you really spare me?”

“That’s right. You can trust me.”

Jeong Yushin closed his eyes for a moment and pondered, then threw the blue gem.

“Please, keep your promise.”

Altair caught the blue gem and chuckled softly.

“Hehe. You’re such a naive child. I’m really going to spare you…Ugh?!”

At that time.

A small and cute moan came out of Miss Mion’s mouth.

A deep smile hung on Jeong Yushin’s lips.

Altair blushed and bent over.

“Y…you?! What the hell did you do to this gem…?!”

Jeong Yushin scratched his head.

“Um…have you ever heard of remote sow corruption?”

A quiet cavity.

The people who had escaped from the shock once again opened their mouths wide.