Edgar 3

A sweet scent ticked my nose.

It was so sweet that it almost made me nauseous.

I remembered the smell from a southern noble’s funeral I had attended before.

It was the same sweetness then.

A strong scent to mask the smell of death.

My fists tightened.

The knuckles of my sword hand turned white.

Every cell in my body screamed in protest.

I should retreat now.

But my feet wouldn’t stop.

The scent was calling us.

The corridor ended, revealing a vast cavern.

For a moment, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“This…”

The floor was entirely covered in small red flowers.

Like a carpet soaked in blood.

And above…

Something shimmered in the dark.

At first, I thought it was an ice crystal.

But it moved.

A transparent-winged butterfly fluttered faintly, like a reflection in a mirror.

Then more creatures emerged.

Spiders, moths, worms, beetles, ants… There must have been at least ten species.

“Like an army…”

Hundreds of insect monsters.

But they didn’t attack us.

Like trained archers with bows drawn, waiting for the command, they simply stared coldly.

And in the center of the cavern-

I saw it.

My heart felt like it would burst.

I couldn’t breathe.

It was the same as the small flowers on the floor but large enough to reach my chest.

The red petals shimmered like rubies, and the black stem radiated a faint glow.

The long, crimson stamens swayed like threads in the air, and the black roots squirmed like living things.

The flower from the rumors.

But this… was too powerful.

The presence emanating from the flower overwhelmed us all.

Like mice before a dragon, we felt insignificant.

Then Rowen’s breathing became ragged.

“Found it…”

His voice was filled with madness.

Forgetful of his noble pride and knight’s honor.

Only greed filled his eyes.

The flower lifted a root slightly, as if greeting us.

But the movement sent shivers down my spine.

“Capture the flower! Kill the insects!”

Rowen’s shout echoed through the cavern.

It sounded like the ravings of a madman.

How could we capture such an overwhelming presence?

The same thought crossed the faces of the other knights.

But then-

A red energy burst from Rowen’s body.

It enveloped us all in an instant.

This was…!

My entire body burned.

As if lava flowed through my veins.

My vision turned red.

Fear vanished.

Terror faded.

Only a maddening bloodlust remained.

A scream echoed, but it was distant.

My mind melted away, leaving only the urge to kill.

Like being possessed by a demon, my body moved without my control.

The flower began to carve something with its roots.

《Hello!》

The letters appeared.

But my mind was already drenched in blood.

Only the urge to kill remained.

I had to kill that flower.

No, I had to capture it.

Kill those insects.

Yes, kill all the insects.

Rowen raised his sword.

The red energy wrapped around the blade, turning into flames.

“Charge!”

I moved without thinking.

Rushed forward.

But the flame attack Rowen unleashed was completely absorbed by a single red butterfly.

Like a small spark in a storm, his attack was powerless.

Strange.

Something was wrong.

But my body wouldn’t stop.

My head burned too much.

Then-

An overwhelming pressure surged from the flower.

I couldn’t breathe.

Every bone in my body felt like it would shatter.

For an instant, my mind cleared.

Rowen’s red energy dissipated, and my senses returned.

This was… black magic.

Rowen was a cultist of the Evil God.

“Cough!”

In that moment-

A black root pierced Rowen’s neck.

It happened in an instant.

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

Not a fountain, but-

The blood froze in mid-air, turning into a red mist that enveloped us.

And the insects attacked.

The fluttering of moth wings was the first sign.

When hundreds of wings moved at once, a storm of ice shards erupted.

The knights’ bodies froze instantly.

Someone’s arm shattered like ice.

“Ahh!”

“Save me!”

“Run!”

The cries of my comrades filled the air.

Beyond the blood mist, the shadows of the insects loomed.

The spiders were next.

Ice threads glistened as they shot out.

The threads pierced armor and flesh alike.

Knights caught in the web struggled like trapped beasts.

The wasp stingers were even more lethal.

The blue venom injected into the knights turned them into ice sculptures in an instant.

Starting from their toes, their bodies froze until they were completely petrified.

They remained with terrified expressions, frozen in place.

‘That’s why… my brother…’

My brother’s words came to mind.

“Sometimes, charging forward isn’t the best option.”

I didn’t understand back then.

But now, faced with such an overwhelming power difference…

The beetles burrowed into the ground, attacking the knights’ ankles.

Their jewel-like mandibles tore through armor like paper.

Fallen knights became prey for the other insects.

My legs trembled.

With my senses returned, fear overwhelmed me.

I forgot my noble pride and knight’s honor.

All that remained was the instinct to survive.

“We have to escape!”

I unleashed a gust of wind with my sword.

As I cut through the blood mist, I ran without looking back.

The pain surged all at once.

But I couldn’t stop.

The buzzing sounds behind me.

Glowing blue eyes in the dark.

I ran, unsure if they were real or illusions.

Toward the exit…

The sound of footsteps followed.

One knight was following me.

We ran with all our might.

Our breath came in ragged gasps, but we couldn’t stop.

Occasionally, something shimmered in the dark.

An ice worm’s eyes? A grasshopper’s wings?

Each time, my heart felt like it would stop, but I dared not look back.

The corridor seemed endless.

My palms brushing against the icy walls stung.

My knees wobbled, and my lungs burned.

But I couldn’t stop.

…

Finally, we reached the upper layer.

We leaned against the wall, clutching our knees and panting heavily.

Our bodies trembled.

Surviving felt like a miracle.

“Haa… haa…”

A faint breathing sound came from beside me.

The knight who had escaped with me was also clutching his knees, gasping for breath.

It was Claus.

His pale face scanned the surroundings.

After a while, he spoke in a trembling voice.

“What we just saw… that was the King of Insects.”

I nodded in agreement.

Yes, the King of Insects.

The term was fitting.

With hundreds of insects under its control, and such overwhelming power…

My body still trembled.

What had just happened felt like a dream.

The blood mist, the rotting pain, the endless screams…

Escaping alive was a miracle.

“But the bigger problem is…”

Claus’s voice dropped lower.

“The captain… the captain was a cultist of the Evil God.”

I clenched my fists.

Given Rowen’s position and influence, he couldn’t have acted alone.

“There must be others among the nobles connected to him. This must be told carefully, only to those we trust.”

Claus nodded, his face grimacing in pain.

His armor was corroding.

“We need to take this off…”

We helped each other remove the corroded armor.

Our numbed limbs still didn’t move well.

Claus had a deep wound on his shoulder.

“You’re bleeding a lot…”

“It’s fine. Luckily, it missed the vital spots.”

He forced a smile.

“Sir Edgar, can we just run away like this? What about the other knights?”

His words were unfinished, but I understood.

I felt the same way.

Guilt gnawed at my chest for abandoning my comrades.

Suddenly, my brother’s face came to mind.

That day, how did he feel when he left the family?

Now, I could finally understand.

Retreating from a fight you can’t win.

Sometimes, it requires greater courage.

And a true knight…

Isn’t blind loyalty, but the resolve to do what’s right.

“We must survive to reveal the truth.”

Just then, a crashing sound came from afar.

We both jumped to our feet.

Our hearts pounded.

“We need to get out of here.”

We leaned on each other and moved forward.

Every step was painful.

Forgetful of noble pride and knightly honor, we groped the walls and walked.

All that mattered was escaping this hell.

Fortunately, we weren’t pursued.

The King of Insects seemed to let us go.

…

Finally, the entrance of the labyrinth came into view.

A cold wind brushed against my face.

“We… made it.”

Claus said with a trembling voice.

But the relief was short-lived.

Whoosh!

A cold gust of wind and a massive shadow covered the sky.

It was coming from outside the labyrinth, slowly descending from the mountains.

I instinctively raised my sword.

But soon, a freezing pressure overwhelmed me.

‘A wasp…?’

The countless insects I saw in the deep layers flashed through my mind.

From the small ones to those the size of my palm, the ones I encountered throughout the labyrinth.

But this one was… different.

Its size was enormous for an insect.

If the wasps in the labyrinth were grains of sand, this was a mountain.

Bigger than any insect I’d ever seen, it was overwhelming.

Not just a living creature, but a force of nature.

The cold emanating from its massive body froze the surrounding air.

With each flap of its transparent wings, a white snowstorm raged.

The rocks around the entrance began to freeze.

‘This… we can’t handle this.’

I knew it instinctively.

The cold energy from its stinger pulsed with hunger.

The intense aura of a predator enveloped me.

In that moment, the wasp’s red eyes locked onto us.

Eyes burning with hunger.

I immediately turned to Claus.

“Claus, listen.”

My voice was low and firm.

If we stayed, we’d both die.

“Go to Duke Crosby. He’s still trustworthy.”

“But…”

“Hurry. About this expedition…”

I poured my last bit of mana into the sword.

The swordsmanship of the Hind family, mastering the wind.

The techniques I’d spent my life learning might buy some time.

My brother’s face appeared in my mind.

The last thing he said when he left to become an adventurer finally made sense.

For a moment, his final appearance flashed before me.

Like back then, was I wrong this time too?

But this time… I hoped my choice was right.

“Escape. I’ll buy you time.”

The wind wrapped around my sword.

With the last embers, I unleashed all my remaining mana.