119. Can’t Help but Help, Right?

What exactly are the things we call the Three Evil Women?

“Those are ancient beings called the Roas.”

At Helena’s words, Rafnel, who had knowledge about the Roas, muttered under her breath.

“Roas. Aren’t they like ancient spirit gods?”

She recognized the Roas as spirit gods.

“They are spirit gods, but also something malevolent. Before established religions like the Goddess Church took root, they were the folk deities worshipped blindly by ignorant people-those are the beings called Roas.”

Incomprehensible entities. A type of natural phenomenon.

Divine beings that sometimes devoured humans, other times toyed with them. But they were far from being absolute gods. Not omnipotent deities, but minor divine beings from folk beliefs.

“Very few Roas possess personalities. It’s believed they vanished alongside the disappearance of mysticism from this land.”

“So that’s the true nature of the Three Evil Women?”

“Correct? Their origin is unknown, and their motives are unclear. But their power was immense. Or rather, it was immense-back when they were worshipped as deities. Frankly, now they’re little more than superstitions.”

To most people today, the Three Evil Women are seen as mere poltergeists or mischievous fairies.

After all, ordinary people can neither see nor sense them.

As far as I know, I’m the only one with Spirit Eyes who can perceive and directly communicate with the Three Evil Women.

That must be why they cling to me so desperately-even going as far as forming a near-curse-immunity contract with me.

“Right now, this child’s body is imbued-no, bound-by their power. It’s an intense binding. A chain so powerful that no other curse dares approach, shackled around this child’s heart.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Instead of Helena, Rafnel answered Moira’s question.

She had consulted with me about my relationship with the Roas before.

“I heard you made some kind of contract. One that required descending to the labyrinth’s depths…”

“Rafnel, you knew about this too?”

“We talked about it two weeks ago. I promised to accompany you down to the depths then.”

At Rafnel’s words, Moira let out a sigh.

Her head must have been throbbing at the thought of having to go all the way to the depths.

“I get the gist. The Evil Women are trying to send Shion to the depths?”

“It seems they intend to use Shion for their liberation.”

“Liberation? Are the Three Evil Women bound to the labyrinth?”

“Something like that. I suspect the key lies on the 8th Floor.”

Helena insisted that clues about the Roas could be found on the 8th Floor.

Though not definitive, it was a reasonable enough deduction.

“What is the 8th Floor? What kind of place is it?”

“From what I’ve gathered… the 8th Floor is the tomb of the Roas.”

Beneath Utopia.

And below that lies an abyss so deep it defies comprehension.

“Utopia is so vast it might as well be called another world. Exploring it is incredibly difficult-it’s practically a world of its own. Yet even the 7th Floor pales in comparison to the 8th. The 8th Floor’s depths are unfathomable.”

Helena shivered slightly.

What kind of abyss had she witnessed? What horrors had the greatest mage seen to be struck with such terror?

It couldn’t have been anything ordinary. The 8th Floor was beyond imagination.

“So the Roas who vanished in the past are buried there… Meaning we have to descend to the 8th Floor to break the binding on Shion.”

“That would be the case.”

At Helena’s words, Rafnel bit her lower lip and asked,

“If there’s a way to utilize them… could we borrow the Roas’ power?”

Moira frowned at Rafnel’s question. She had already labeled the Roas as hostile entities.

“What if the Roas are the root of all evil? They could be the masterminds behind everything.”

Moira had a point. These ancient beings of unknown origin were only ever recorded in legends as monsters that devoured humans.

Of course, suspicion and hostility were justified.

“Not all Roas are like that, though. Some of them wanted to disappear.”

“What?”

“Below the 8th Floor. There’s something even deeper. Something using the Roas as a power source… to expand the labyrinth.”

Moira rubbed her forehead as if refusing to believe it and muttered,

“The Labyrinth Master? This is insane. That legend is real?”

The Labyrinth Master. A being shrouded in complete mystery.

Even the Roas had some records, but the Labyrinth Master was nothing but rumors.

“Are you sure the Labyrinth Master is really on the 9th Floor?”

“No, I don’t know that much. I only saw the entrance to the 8th Floor. This is just speculation.”

“Then if the Labyrinth Master is on the 9th Floor… what the hell is on the 10th Floor, which is supposed to be the lowest level?”

“Nightmares, I suppose.”

“…Yeah, figures.”

“Having to go all the way to the 10th Floor to close the door… That’s insane.”

“If we don’t, we all die.”

“Will it explode before we die?”

“It will explode. And once it does, there’ll be no stopping it. The freed monsters will rampage across the world, slaughtering humans, elves, and Easterners alike. Our goal is to kill them before they awaken.”

“…Fuck. I can’t not swear at this.”

“Unfortunate as it is, we must accept it. And those materials written on the parchment-we need them, so secure them as soon as possible.”

Let Rafnel into the labyrinth, and gather the supplies listed on the parchment.

After finishing her explanation, Helena sent me a telepathic message.

–I’m reaching my limit.

‘Running out of energy?’

–Indeed. By now, those two should have a rough idea of the situation. Let’s switch back now. Borrowing someone else’s body for too long isn’t proper behavior.

If it were a case of extracting a soul with a Soul Chain and placing it into an empty vessel, that’d be different.

But prolonged possession of an already inhabited body seemed exhausting.

Cough. “I-I’m back.”

“Back, are you?”

“Helena was inside your body? Since when? You didn’t… see anything, did you?”

“No. I only met Helena during this labyrinth expedition.”

“I see… That’s a relief.”

Moira wiped cold sweat, likely worried Helena had witnessed our intimate moments.

Rafnel, never one to miss details, pounced on this.

“What do you mean ‘relief’? And why are you sweating? Was there something you didn’t want her to see? Hiding something?”

“What would I hide? It’s nothing.”

“No, this is suspicious. Earlier, you hugged this child like lovers and spun around. I let it slide because the situation was dire, but… your reaction is odd.”

“What nonsense are you spouting, you old hag?! What could possibly be going on between me and Shion?”

“It’s just… suspicious.”

“Picking fights over nothing. It’s nothing, so drop it. More importantly, now isn’t the time for this.”

“That much is true.”

Moira quickly changed the subject. She didn’t want Rafnel finding out about our relationship.

For various reasons, I’m sure.

“First, we need to clean up the remaining heretics in the underground city and proceed from there. Can you head back in next week? I know it’s a lot to ask.”

“I can. I ate the Giant’s Essence, so stamina won’t be an issue.”

“Giant’s Essence?”

“Yes. After killing a giant, I fed its blood to the bracelet, and it gave me the essence.”

“Ah, that bracelet.”

Moira nodded upon seeing the Bracelet of Growth.

“Then let’s prepare for the next expedition. First, we need to resolve Rafnel’s issue.”

Moira said she’d arrange a meeting as soon as possible.

The discussion about Rafnel’s labyrinth entry would likely happen within the week. If approved, we could immediately begin clearing the Garden Section with her.

Since I’d drastically reduced the Dungeon Troll population, summoning the Three Evil Women successfully would allow us to set up an alchemy workshop in the underground city.

Helena said Rafnel and Tower Master Mabel’s help was essential for summoning the Three Evil Women, so her entry had to happen.

“Then I’ll take my leave now.”

“Alright. The situation isn’t great, but… don’t give up.”

“Understood. Thanks for the encouragement, Moira.”

“Don’t mention it. Drop by when you have time.”

“Will do.”

Rafnel and I left the guild leader’s office.

Everyone had mountains of work, so we couldn’t afford to linger.

“I should secure lodging first. Mind holding onto my things for a while?”

“Sure. Contact the guild when you need them.”

“Got it. You’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, I’ll get to breathe the labyrinth air again.”

“Please don’t cause any accidents.”

“Not you too! What do you take me for?! I’m not a troublemaker! Everything I did was with good intentions. Ugh. Tch.”

Rafnel lamented how the world failed to appreciate her. Was the world truly at fault, or was she just a walking disaster?

“Haha… I’ll get going too.”

“Alright. Heading home?”

“No. I need to stop by the Magic Tower.”

“The Magic Tower? Be careful. Rumor has it the Tower Master hasn’t been herself lately.”

“Eh? Really?”

“Yeah. Heard some of her experiments went awry. Don’t provoke her. That woman is vicious.”

“Whoa. Got it.”

Rafnel headed toward the northern part of the city. Plenty of quiet, secluded inns there.

Should I skip the Magic Tower?

What to do? I needed to discuss the Ability Fixation Bracelet.

Plus, Helena said Tower Master Mabel’s help was necessary for summoning the Three Evil Women. I had to persuade her.

“Hm…? What are you doing there…?”

“Ah? Rien?”

“Long time no see… How’ve you been, Porter?”

While debating whether to go, I ran into Rien.

Where was the witch from the Young Lady’s Party headed?

“Me? On my way to the Magic Tower.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah… Taking lessons there lately.”

“Lessons?”

“Mhm. There’s a scroll artisan named Lord-nim… Learning scroll-making from him.”

“Wait, you already know how to make scrolls.”

“It’s different from what I learned outside… Labyrinth City scrolls are more effective…”

“Ah.”

“So, where are you headed…? Leia went to Yuria’s place earlier… Did you miss her?”

“No, I just saw her. Right now, I’m… debating whether to go to the Magic Tower.”

“Huh? Why debate…? Just go…?”

“Well. I heard the Tower Master’s acting strange. And I have to see her.”

“Oh…? Mabel-nim… hasn’t been well lately…”

“Gah!”

“But don’t worry too much… She’s just holed up in her room… She might even be happy to see you.?”

“Happy to see me?”

“Mhm… Two of the Tower Master’s recent test subjects… died. New subjects are always precious, you know…”

What the hell, I’m a test subject now?!

“Hehehe… Let’s go together…”

“Eek! No thanks! I don’t wanna be a test subject!”

“Aren’t you already half a test subject…?”

“Well…”

After not seeing her for a while, Rien had somehow become more hazardous. I ended up heading to the Magic Tower with her-or rather, being half-dragged there.

Though I was deeply concerned about the Tower Master’s state, I didn’t have time to waste.

I had to talk to her.

…She wouldn’t actually treat me as a test subject, right?