13. Hold Tight So It Doesn’t Collapse

“Multiple Killer Bugs ahead..!”

“Ughh!! They’re coming!!”

“Keeeek!”

Just as my thoughts were drifting deeper, Hachi alerted us to the monsters’ presence.

Immediately, Rohan swung his sword toward the approaching Killer Bugs, and those caught in the blade’s trajectory burst apart, spewing yellow fluid.

They didn’t just get sliced-they exploded.

Those damn bugs were more effective when popped, so Rohan had deliberately struck them with the flat of his blade.

As expected of a Silver-rank adventurer.

He knew all too well how to deal with upper-layer monsters.

If we moved quickly, we could get through without much trouble…

“Wh-what are those…?! G-gross! Ugh! Uwaaah!!”

“Ahh! Rien! Calm down! No, I mean, get a grip!”

Rien had a breakdown as giant bugs crawled out from all directions.

It was understandable to panic when grotesque-looking bugs swarmed out like that.

‘But now’s not the time.’

We needed to kill them quickly and leave, but Rien was panicking.

Her stress must have hit its limit. Even though I held her hand as we walked, the moment we entered the 3rd floor, cracks formed in her mental state.

The situation was deteriorating rapidly. Getting worse. Spiraling out of control.

There was nothing to be done now.

I hugged her tightly and hid behind Hachi.

I could only hope Rohan and Hachi would hold the line.

If those two couldn’t hold out until Rien regained her composure…

The party would fall apart.

“Hmm…!”

As I embraced Rien and took cover, Hachi immediately clasped his hands together and assumed the ‘Balgyeongche’ stance-a monk-exclusive posture.

Veteran monk that he was, he seemed to instantly grasp Rien’s condition.

To buy time for me to stabilize Rien’s mind, Hachi willingly took damage.

Soon, his hands hummed before releasing shockwaves toward the approaching Killer Bugs, causing their bodies to burst apart in an instant.

Though it was a stance that restricted movement to only counterattacks, it was devastatingly powerful.

He’ll hold. From what I’ve seen of him so far, he should be able to endure.

“H-Hiiieek…!”

“Rien. Rien!!”

“A-ahh…?”

“Rien, you can’t panic now. Get a hold of yourself.”

“Ah… Ugh… S-sorry… I’m sorry… Hic… No, I can’t. It’s too much… I can’t handle this…”

“Calm down. Hachi and Rohan will protect us. A Silver-rank adventurer wouldn’t lose to mere Killer Bugs, right? Breathe.”

“Uwaa… Ugh. Scared. So scared… Uwaaah…”

Rien gasped for breath and burrowed deeper into my arms.

I stroked her back, doing everything I could to help her regain her mental stability.

I couldn’t blame her. She had already been awake for over 24 hours, forced to dive into the labyrinth again and again without rest.

She wasn’t a veteran adventurer-yesterday had been her first labyrinth experience. Yet she had repeatedly entered, endured maso poisoning, gotten injured, faced death, and pushed herself beyond her limits-all for the sake of rescuing her comrades.

It would be stranger if she hadn’t cracked. Rien was operating far beyond her limits.

Her stress levels were already near max.

If she broke now, her mind would shatter.

If that happened, she’d start exhibiting all sorts of symptoms-

Hearing voices.

Running madly into the darkness.

Or even attacking her allies.

I had to stop it.

If the guide lost it, we were done for.

The priestess and knight were waiting for us.

To save them, I had to stabilize Rien’s mind-no matter what.

“Khh…!”

Hachi was pushing himself too.

Rohan was already buried under a swarm of bugs, no longer visible.

Rien’s pupils still trembled, unable to focus on anything around her.

If this continued, it was over.

Three more corpses would be added to the Sewer’s 3rd floor.

No.

I absolutely cannot die here.

Which meant Rien, Rohan, and Hachi couldn’t die here either.

No matter what, we will escape this godforsaken labyrinth.

“Rien. Rien.”

“Uwaa… Ugh?”

“Rien, is there anything you like?”

“L-like…? I… I like… s-sweets… candy… the ones Mom gave me… candy… candy…”

“I see.”

Her response was almost childlike regression.

Honestly, it was a relief she hadn’t completely lost it.

A sliver of her rationality remained.

There was hope. A chance to bring her back.

“Here, some candy. Take it, Rien.”

“C-candy…?”

“Yeah. Once we get out, let’s go eat dessert together. I know a good place. We’ll eat as much as you want and laugh. Got it, Rien? We’re all going together. You and me. And the Lady… Rika and Erika too.”

I gave her certainty.

The absolute conviction that we would make it out.

That we would survive.

That would bring her back.

“T-together… together… Hic… I… I want to go together… Uwaaah… I want to get out… alive…”

“Right. We’ll all go together. So, Rien. You need to pull yourself together now. Don’t let fear take over. Rika and Erika are waiting for us. We have to save them. Right?”

“Y-yeah… We came to save them… So we have to…”

“Exactly. Now, get up. Rohan and Hachi are struggling. It’s time we helped them too. Show them the power of a witch.”

“Mm…!”

Light returned to Rien’s eyes.

Thank god.

Thank god.

My blood ran cold.

It felt like the labyrinth’s malice had been squeezing my throat.

But Rien overcame it.

She stood back up.

Refusing to yield to fear.

Soon, she fired a beam of light at the Killer Bugs swarming Rohan.

“Fire Ball.”

KABOOM-!

The bugs covering Rohan exploded.

Even while buried under the swarm, Rohan had kept swinging his sword. Now, he finally managed to leap free.

“Kuh-COUGH!!”

He vomited blood.

Hachi immediately rushed over and threw Rohan toward us before firing both hands at the charging bugs.

BOOM-!

A vibration filled the air as an intense light flooded the labyrinth’s passageway.

A branch of holy blessings.

The effect was likely similar to a flashbang.

The charging bugs froze.

Blinded by the light.

All their senses seemed to short-circuit, leaving them motionless.

Now was our chance.

“Move out!”

Hachi hoisted the fallen Rohan onto his back and ran.

Rien and I followed close behind.

I gripped Rien’s hand tightly as we sprinted, putting as much distance between us and the bugs as possible.

---

“Rohan…! Open your eyes!”

“Hold on! I’ll administer the antidote right away!”

Killer Bugs were insect-type monsters that appeared from the Sewer’s 3rd floor onward.

They swarmed toward adventurers’ torches, and killing one would trigger dozens more to go berserk-truly vile creatures.

Their stingers carried paralyzing venom, and though their bodies were fragile, getting poisoned would complicate things immensely.

“Guh…!”

Rohan had taken the brunt of the Killer Bug swarm at the frontlines, getting stung all over his body.

Veins bulged, and the sting sites turned purple.

He’d been stung too many times.

If left untreated, he’d soon convulse and die.

The only reason he was still standing was his purification-type ability and his sturdy warrior physique. An average adventurer would’ve collapsed instantly as the venom spread.

We had to act fast.

Our party currently had no healer, so I had to fill that role.

Hachi was a monk, but he’d said he could only use combat-type blessings.

“Rohan, Rohan! Are you with us?!”

“Cough… COUGH! Fuck… damn bug bastards… hack…”

I injected three syringes of antidote into Rohan’s body, and soon he jolted upright, spewing blood and curses in equal measure.

His toughness put even barbarian warriors to shame.

“You… you… Tomorrow… no matter what… we save our comrades… Got it… If you try to weasel out of going to the underground city… I’ll kill you…”

Rohan glared at me with bloodshot eyes, his words broken but his threat clear.

Even after pushing himself this far to help rescue my allies, he was warning me-if I backed out, he’d kill me.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected these two to go this far for us.

Rohan and Hachi had upheld their duty. If I betrayed that, I’d deserve whatever came my way.

“I won’t lie. Tomorrow, I’ll follow you to the underground city… and bring all your comrades back.”

“Cough… That’s a promise… A blood oath…”

Rohan extended his bloodstained hand, and I clasped it firmly.

Soon, he got up and spoke to Hachi.

“By the way, there are too many monsters in the sewers. I’ve been feeling it since earlier.”

“Indeed. From the 1st to the 3rd floor. An excessive number of monsters.”

“Must be the Great Cataclysm. Ptooey.”

It was true-even in the breeding grounds, the monster numbers had been excessive.

Boparabbit, which normally didn’t form groups, had swarmed out in packs. Hoding Rabbits had emerged by the dozens.

“Let’s keep moving… We don’t have time to waste.”

Rohan, the most injured, urged us to hurry.

He probably wanted to finish the rescue quickly and rest up for tomorrow.

Without even bothering to loot the dead Killer Bugs, we pressed on in the direction Rien indicated.

These damn bugs had an annoyingly bug-like habit of swarming toward light, so we had to get away fast.

We didn’t have time to hunt leisurely. Especially not now, with their numbers inflated.

“There! A transfer stone ahead!”

Before long, we found the third transfer stone.

Following Rien’s guidance, we arrived at its location.

This meant the rescue targets were further below.

The knight and priestess were on the 4th floor.

The worst-case scenario had arrived.

“They’re not on the 3rd floor either… We have to go down to the 4th…”

We’d already wasted a considerable amount of time getting this far.

We’d done our best to descend quickly, but…

The chances of those two still being alive were slim.

Had she realized that?

Rien’s expression grew even stiffer.

Now she looked like she was on the verge of tears.

‘Her hands and legs are trembling too…’

The stamina tonic’s effects were also wearing off.

Would Rien even last on the 4th floor?

Worse, she’d only undergone maso adaptation once.

It was already impressive she’d made it this far, but in this state, descending to the 4th floor…

She might die too.

Standing before the transfer stone, I asked her.

Her hands, gripping mine, shook violently.

“Rien. Can you hold on?”

It’d be a waste to give up after coming this far.

But I couldn’t force her to endure.

Forcing her would be the worst option.

She had to find the will to descend on her own.

“Th-that is…”

Rien’s pupils wavered.

She couldn’t answer immediately.

I knew it was hard.

Her face said it all.

But she wouldn’t be able to give up.

She’d gained the perfect ability for tracking missing persons-Search Tracking.

If she abandoned her comrades just because it was difficult, the guilt would crush her.

I decided to leverage that guilt.

It was cruel, but we had to go down.

Call me heartless if you want.

But understand this:

In this labyrinth city, failure meant death.

After all the suffering to get this far, we couldn’t return empty-handed.

To make this descent worth it, we had to retrieve the knight and priestess-even if they were corpses.

“Rien. It’s okay to give up. Don’t feel guilty. Forcing yourself because of your ability might just get you killed. Tell me honestly-can you keep going?”

I gripped her trembling shoulders and met her eyes directly.

If she truly couldn’t go on, she should quit here.

But if she chose to descend, half-hearted resolve wouldn’t cut it.

By offering her the choice to quit before she could voice it herself, I emphasized the weight of continuing.

“I can go down. I can still move. I’ll be fine. I won’t panic again. I’ll save everyone… and we’ll go eat dessert together.”

Her eyes no longer wavered.

I sensed firm determination.

She’d steeled herself completely.

Thank god. She hadn’t given up.

“Understood.”

Rien seemed to have finished preparing herself.

Her once-shaking eyes now burned with fighting spirit.

Rohan and Hachi also checked their conditions before descending to the 4th floor.

“Hachi. Enough divine power left?”

“Enough. Even if the White Crocodile appears… I can handle it.”

“The White Crocodile… Let’s hope it doesn’t. But caution never hurts. Hey, you two.”

Rohan turned to me and Rien in front of the transfer stone leading to the 4th floor.

“The 4th floor’s owner is likely down there. Be ready to fight.”

The Sewer’s owner.

The 4th floor’s boss monster.

The White Crocodile.

A massive white man-eating alligator.

Its size was absurd, and its hide was ridiculously tough.

Unlike the other monsters in the Sewer, which were relatively easy to handle, the White Crocodile was in a league of its own.

With luck, the rescue team might’ve already killed it before descending to the underground city.

But assuming the worst-the Great Cataclysm might’ve messed with spawn rates, causing another White Crocodile to appear on the 4th floor.

Especially now, with monster numbers exploding.

‘This is why I hoped we wouldn’t have to go down to the 4th floor.’

Could those two handle the White Crocodile?

They were Silver-rank adventurers.

They should manage.

But both were severely exhausted from the descent.

They’d entered the labyrinth almost immediately after escaping, so their condition wasn’t great to begin with.

“Rien.”

“Yeah…”

“How many more spells can you cast?”

“Maybe… five times…?”

“Got it. Here, take this club.”

“A club…?”

“Yes. Even without training, you can just swing it. If monsters swarm you, bash their heads in. A solid hit should take most of them down.”

“A mage with a club… Ugh…! I’ll try…!”

I drew my sling and sword.

A fight was coming.

Until now, Rohan and Hachi had handled most monsters, but from here on, Rien and I would have to fight too.

The Sewer’s 4th floor.

A place teeming with Ratmen, Slimes, and Killer Bugs.

Worse, the 4th floor likely had layer separation.

If we rescued the knight and priestess, we’d have to descend through the separated layers to get back up.

There was no telling what would happen then.

The labyrinth always delivered the worst-case scenario.

So we had to assume the worst.

“Let’s go. Down we go.”

Preparations complete, we stepped through the transfer stone and entered the 4th floor.

At last, the end of this rescue operation was in sight.