Chapter 102 – Labyrinth

When an unknown magic circle flashed and she opened her eyes, Stella found herself alone in the dark underground waterway.

What was happening?
It didn’t take long for her to understand.

Having studied Gevihenum, the Demon Realm, demons’ abilities, and the labyrinths known for claiming the most human lives, Stella quickly recognized what had occurred.

Teleportation magic.

A Teleportation Labyrinth.

The place where she and Eliarnes had been was a Teleportation Labyrinth.

What should she do now?
That question didn’t require much contemplation either.

There was no time to panic or freeze.
She needed to move.
Better to die searching for the labyrinth’s center than to die standing still.

If she was lucky enough to find Eliarnes or reach the labyrinth’s core, they might both escape alive.

Besides… Eliarnes would be fine without her.

With that thought, Stella pushed aside her dark thoughts and began moving.

Not even ten minutes had passed before she was ambushed.

When she regained consciousness and opened her eyes…

A woman who looked exactly like her mother—who had disappeared seven years ago—was gazing down at her.

She couldn’t comprehend the situation.
Where was she? Who was this woman before her?
Why was Pina suspended in midair? And why did this woman bear such a striking resemblance to her mother?

“…Who the hell are you…?”

“Curious?”

The voice, which made her mind foggy, was the same whispering voice her mother had used seven years ago.

But it wasn’t identical. It was different.
Just similar.

“My name is Samaela. Similar to Jenniela, isn’t it? Our faces are similar too.”

Like twins.

“T-then…”

“What should my little one call me?”

Samaela smiled seductively.
Even that smile resembled her mother Jenniela’s, causing Stella’s lips to tremble.

“Since I’m Jenniela’s younger sister, perhaps my little one should call me ‘aunt’? Pfft…”

That laugh sent chills down Stella’s spine.

“Oh my… then I shouldn’t call you ‘little one.’ I should call you my niece, shouldn’t I?”

“S-shut… shut up…”

Biting her lip hard, Stella forced her trembling body upright.

She needed to control her emotions. Clear her dizzy mind, prepare for battle, summon her mana, skip the incantation, calculate the magic formula, and direct a spell at that face—that face claiming to be her aunt—she needed to cast magic…

But she couldn’t.

“…W-why… why can’t I…?”

She couldn’t feel the mana within her body.
No, it was there, but it wouldn’t respond.

“As a precaution, I gave you a little poison. I wouldn’t want this aunt to accidentally harm her niece.”

I would harm you.
The strange implication in those words was lost on Stella, who had no capacity to analyze them at the moment.

“So, my dear niece… aren’t you curious about your mother? Don’t you miss her? I heard you two were extremely close. Or was that wrong?”

Samaela’s bare foot slid up Stella’s thigh. With her toes, she pushed aside the cloak Eliarnes had given Stella and prodded at her exposed stomach.

“You… do you know… where my mother is…?”

Samaela smiled brightly.

“Of course I do. I know very well.”

Stella’s face twisted in anguish.

Her mother, Jenniela Verheigen, had been falsely accused. She had been subjected to the Eustetia Knights’ unfair investigation and abandoned by her father, Marquis Galuor Verheigen.

Her execution had been decided.
But on the day she was to be executed, she disappeared.

Upon hearing of her mother’s disappearance, Stella had secretly fled her family home. She got lost in the back alleys of the capital.

There, she found a woman who claimed to have witnessed her mother’s final moments.

Stella had begged, offering everything she possessed, pleading for information.
Taking only half of what Stella offered and returning the rest, the woman told her what she had seen.

She had witnessed an unknown figure taking Jenniela away.
And that kidnapper… appeared to be a demonkin.

If it was a demonkin, there was only one place her mother could have been taken.

Gevihenum.

At that time, Stella was only ten years old.
She knew that at her age, with her small body, she couldn’t even leave the capital, let alone reach Gevihenum.

So, with the woman’s help, she returned to her family.

She intended to tell her father—who had been strict but nonetheless caring—what she had learned.

But her father…
refused to see her.

Her half-siblings, seeing that Stella’s belongings hadn’t been packed, didn’t believe her story.

After that, the Marquis Verheigen stopped teaching Stella magic.
Her half-siblings, who had once played with her cheerfully, pushed her away with excuses of being busy.

That was how Stella became isolated.

Why?
Was it because she had taken her mother’s side?
Were they afraid that if she grew stronger, she might seek revenge against the family that had rejected her mother?

Her mother had been falsely accused—why wouldn’t anyone acknowledge that?
Was it because she wasn’t their birth mother?

She couldn’t understand.

So Stella saved money, accumulated knowledge, and left home.

She had been searching for her mother for four years.

“…You’re lying.”

And now, she had met a woman who knew her mother.
Not just knew her, but resembled her.
A woman claiming to be her mother’s sister—her aunt.

She was a Black Magician.
A Black Magician who had created a labyrinth beneath the capital, kidnapped Pina, and piled Imperial Knights’ corpses like a mountain.

A horrific Black Magician.

How could Stella possibly believe her words?
That such a Black Magician was her mother’s sister.
That she knew where her mother was.

Didn’t this suggest that her mother had allied with demons?

But her mother had been falsely accused.
On that day, at that time, in that moment—she had been with Stella.
Her mother had never killed anyone, never flayed people’s skin, never performed strange rituals.

Then perhaps…
Could the woman before her be the true culprit?
Could she have framed her mother?

“No, dear.”

Though Stella had only thought this question, Samaela shook her head as if she had read her mind.

“I adore and love my sister dearly. Why would I ever cause her suffering?”

“How… how can I believe you?”

“It’s understandable that you can’t easily trust me. In your eyes, I’m just a Black Magician who kills without hesitation. So… would you at least listen to my story?”

Stella remained silent.
She felt she shouldn’t listen.

But it was also an offer she couldn’t refuse.

She was curious. She wanted to know.
What did Samaela know?
Where was her mother?
Was she healthy? Did she ever think about Stella?
If she was alive, why hadn’t she come looking for her?

“If you’d like to hear, come closer. There’s no need to sit on the floor when there’s a perfectly good chair available.”

Samaela smiled kindly, holding a piece of fruit that looked irresistibly sweet.

***

Crack—

Crunch—

Boom—

Splinter—

The protagonist continued to destroy the endless waves of monsters swarming toward her. Yet she never stopped moving forward.

This path had to be right. The way these monsters were frantically converging confirmed it.

But…

It was taking longer than expected.
How far had she come? Halfway? Not even that?

“These damn things. There’s no end to them.”

The monsters clung to her so persistently that she couldn’t even gauge her progress.

They weren’t particularly strong.
Strangely, there wasn’t a single powerful monster among them—just weaklings.

Low-level creatures whose heads exploded with a single punch or kick.

But there were so many of them. An appalling number.
They swarmed so thickly that she could hardly tell if they were the monsters or if she was.

If she continued at this pace while conserving her energy… she would be too late.
She didn’t know how they were opening the door, what they were doing to Pina, or what condition Stella was in, but one thing was certain—she would be too late.

She couldn’t afford to eliminate every monster. Even if it meant straining herself… she needed to break through.

“Tsk.”

Clicking her tongue, she stomped her foot. Boom— An unbelievable force from such a small foot shook the very foundations of the labyrinth. The ground flipped, creating distance between her and the monsters.

Beyond the upturned earth, the creatures still swarmed densely.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, she focused mana into her eyes.
The distance to Stella… if she ran at full speed, about two minutes away.

So if she forced her way through this horde as quickly as possible…

Five minutes?

Would they be able to open that door within that time?

No—that’s precisely why they were trying to slow her down.

“Haah…”

With an irritated sigh, she steadied her breathing.

Once she broke through here, how many more opponents would she face?

At least two were certain.
The master of this labyrinth—the snake—and Pied Haveron.

There was no way Pied was the labyrinth’s master.
Just by looking at his face—though she wasn’t even sure if that was his real face—he was clearly just the snake’s lackey.

So she would have to face at least two opponents.
If luck wasn’t on her side, she might have to confront both simultaneously.

Which meant she would inevitably need to use that.
And if Arisa, Luna, or Paulo saw her in that state, they would throw an absolute fit.

But what choice did she have?
It was far better than dying here.

Still, she secretly hoped that one of her enemies would come to her first.
Fighting one at a time was always preferable to facing two at once.

And if she was going to exert herself anyway, she might as well eliminate all these monsters in one go.

Just as she was loosening up, preparing herself—

“I was told Miss Pina never travels alone. It seems that was true.”

A familiar voice emerged from amidst the monsters.

“Or perhaps you’re simply here in search of treasure?”

Pied Haveron’s voice.
The moment his figure came into view—

“I came to kill you, you son of a bitch.”

She pushed off the ground and lunged forward.
She wasn’t foolish enough to waste such a perfect opportunity.