Chapter 92: The Labyrinth’s Helper

“Why is this acting up again?”

The Bracelet of Growth vibrated slightly, then soon bloomed a flower.

“A flower! Could it be..!”

The flower that grew from the bracelet had deep blue petals, and its color and appearance were like a cornflower.

As I was staring at it for a moment, enchanted by its beautiful and mysterious color, the stem attached to the bracelet snapped off and the flower fell to the labyrinth floor.

“Oops.”

I quickly picked up the fallen flower.

The Bracelet of Growth is an accessory that periodically produces plants that can become magic herbs or elixirs.

Moreover, it has a characteristic of being enhanced according to the number of floors descended. Since we’ve come to the underground city, it means it’s been enhanced 5 times.

Surely this isn’t just a simple flower. It must be some kind of magic herb with effects, right?

Of course, it wasn’t recorded in the Monster Dissection Manual. This book is full of records about monsters only. Such magic herbs weren’t recorded.

Probably to properly learn about this flower, I’d need to look at the magic herb records in the Alchemy Guild.

For now, there was no way to figure out the identity of this flower. I needed someone else to ask. I asked my companions about this flower.

The Saint didn’t know what this flower was, perhaps because she was only interested in killing heretics.

Rosie and Raphael were the same, and only Sasaro, who was older, noticed that it felt somewhat mysterious.

In the end, I took this flower to Paramel, the smartest in our party, and asked.

“Paramel-ssi. Do you know about this flower?”

“Hmm..? That’s.. well. It looks just like a happiness herb…”

“Happiness herb?”

“Yes.. If you brew and drink it, it makes you feel drowsy, reduces pain, and makes you have good dreams.. But if you overdose, you might die in your sleep…”

“Oh.”

“Ah. I can’t say for certain it’s a happiness herb… It’s not exact, just similar looking…”

“So it’s a different plant that just looks similar to a happiness herb?”

“Yes.. Probably.. Hmm. Looking closely, it’s not a happiness herb. I don’t know what it is.. What could this flower be?”

“That’s what I’m wondering.”

No one knew about this flower.

However, according to Olivia’s explanation, only things that are definitely helpful come out of the Bracelet of Growth, so if we just knew how to use it, we should be able to use it properly.

‘Should I take it to Raphanel and show him?’

Just as I was about to put the flower into my spatial pocket, a small whisper came to my ear.

-Chew and eat that flower.

“Hueek!!!”

Startled by the gloomy female voice, I jumped like I was having a seizure, and Paramel looked at me strangely.

“Are, are you alright? You suddenly had a fit…”

“Ah, I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“I see.. That’s good then.”

I almost caused an unnecessary misunderstanding.

But what was that voice just now?

Could it be…

‘Is it that witch who entered me?’

The witch who suppressed the wailing of the vengeful spirits in that critical moment.

It sounded like her voice.

‘But telling me to chew and eat this.’

Can I trust her?

‘Clearly her goal was to attach to me and go up to the surface.’

Her goal must be to escape the labyrinth and be liberated.

The problem is that I can’t read her thoughts or memories.

Unlike Shaka, she thoroughly hid her existence from me.

‘It’s different from Shaka’s time.’

Shaka had borrowed my body to deal with the High Orc Warlock. At that time, Shaka’s memories and remnants flowed into me as he borrowed my body.

But this time with the witch, the situation was different. She didn’t borrow my body, nor did she transfer her power to me.

She just suppressed the vengeful spirits of adventurers I had accepted from the upper floors. In the end, I had no idea who she was, what abilities she had, or what she was thinking.

‘I don’t even know her name.’

It’s hard to trust readily. Moreover, the witch said my spirit vision was a treasure when she saw it.

What if she’s aiming for my spirit vision and tries to take over my body…

-It’s impossible. Your body. Because it belongs to the villainesses.

“Ugh..!”

Again. The voice came again.

An eerie resonance. A ghost’s voice.

The witch spoke to me again.

-Chew and eat the homecoming herb. That way. I can speak. More easily.

So this flower’s name is homecoming herb. It seems I need to eat this to communicate more easily with the witch.

‘Is it right to eat it?’

I’m not sure.

I can’t trust this witch. I don’t know her identity. I don’t know what her intentions are.

However, I didn’t feel any hostility. I didn’t feel any malice either.

I only got the feeling that she was trying to help me.

Her voice is gloomy, that’s true, but somehow I felt like I could trust her.

It’s just a baseless feeling, but I’ve often benefited from following my intuition.

‘Let’s try eating it.’

I chewed the petals of the homecoming herb.

“Ugh..”

It’s bitter. It’s so incredibly bitter that I felt like my tongue was curling back into my throat.

“Cough. Cough..!”

I forcibly swallowed the flower by drinking water.

Then suddenly something squirmed inside me.

It was a bit different from the flow of mana I felt when using the spatial pocket.

This is the feeling I had when contracting with the three villainesses.

Yes, the feeling of something touching my soul.

‘Huh…?’

For a moment my vision spun and I saw a blurry figure.

‘This is.. crazy.’

It’s the witch. The witch who had entered me earlier was reflected in my spirit vision again.

She was looking down at me intently while holding a long pipe.

-Can you see me now?

“Yes.. cough. This is crazy.”

-There’s no need to answer out loud. You’ll arouse the inquisitors’ suspicion. Just think, and I’ll read it.

The witch seemed to have already grasped everything happening in the underground city through my body.

‘What exactly are you? What’s your identity?’

-I am…. one who died before.

‘One who died before?’

-Hmm. This might be easier to understand. I am Moira’s comrade, Mabel’s teacher, and Raphanel’s friend. And the Saint’s enemy.

“…..”

Could this woman be..

One of the 5-person expedition.

The member whose name wasn’t revealed.

Raphanel had told me about it before.

That in the past, five Platinum Badge holders had gathered to catch a dragon trying to regress from the 7th floor.

The current Magic Tower Master Mabel, Guild Master Moira, and the owner of the hole-in-the-wall shop Raphanel, and the crazy Saint Fria.

Lastly, one person who died without being known.

‘Is that… you?’

-That’s right. Part of your memories flowed into me. Not even a century has passed on the surface. Yet the labyrinth has already changed this much..

She seemed to be reminiscing about something while puffing out smoke.

Soon the witch finished her thoughts and looked straight into my eyes and said.

About the hell that’s about to unfold.

-The demon lords of the ideal realm are aiming for the 5th floor. The great cataclysm will begin again.

‘What???’

What kind of crazy talk is this now?

The difficulty is going to increase even more from here?

This is fucking insane. Even now, with that infamously powerful Saint in our party, we’ve nearly died several times.

If the difficulty increases even more from here, that’s just crazy. I’m going to die.

If there’s a Labyrinth Lord, please stop this insane misfortune right now. I didn’t know this mission would become this difficult.

‘Wait. Wait a moment. What do you mean the great cataclysm will happen again? What kind of crazy talk is that?’

-It means exactly what I said. The great cataclysm happens for various reasons. It’s mainly known to be caused by ‘that one’ in the deepest part, but. The monsters of the ideal realm can cause it too.

-And now it’s been confirmed by the giant being sent up. The monsters of the ideal realm are rapidly increasing the mana concentration of the 5th floor. They’re probably planning to send up something more using the heretics. Heretics are convenient tools after all.

‘No, no… What do you mean?’

Who is ‘that one’ in the deepest part? And what are the monsters of the ideal realm?

The mana concentration is increasing? What does that mean?

-What’s called the great cataclysm ultimately means that the labyrinth is becoming increasingly difficult. It also means that the nightmares that were sealed away are gradually awakening.

‘Sealed?’

-Yes. It seems you’ve heard part of the secrets of this world from a girl named Olivia.

‘…’

-I don’t know exactly what you mean by games or updates, but. That girl Olivia’s guess is wrong. The Labyrinth Lord isn’t manipulating the labyrinth.

‘Then…?’

-The Labyrinth Lord hasn’t properly awakened yet. The great cataclysm is just the beginning of labor.

I could only tilt my head at the witch’s words.

The Labyrinth Lord hasn’t awakened yet? What does that mean?

Wasn’t the existence of the Labyrinth Lord already a confirmed fact?

-The great cataclysm.. means the beginning of nightmares.

‘The beginning of nightmares, you say?’

-Yes. This labyrinth is a place where past mysteries and calamities are sealed. Originally, it was a tightly sealed box without even an entrance. However, as humans came in and out of this place, that hole gradually widened and multiplied.

‘That means..’

-Yes, adventurers are making holes in the labyrinth. As a result, nightmares gradually flowed out more and more.. and then they started to backflow. That manifested in the form of increased entrances, and led to the result of monsters becoming stronger. The floors of the labyrinth.. are a kind of wall or membrane. The thinner the membrane gets, the more things will awaken.

The entrances to the labyrinth that have appeared all over the country, along with the birth of variants.

It all happened because adventurers went in and out of the labyrinth. Moreover, the reason why the labyrinth is divided into floors is to prevent those below from coming up.

‘Bu-but…’

-There’s no way to seal the labyrinth again now. It’s already full of holes. Now nightmares will wake up on their own even if adventurers don’t come in. Once we failed to suppress it early, it became impossible to block the entrance again.

Then does that mean all the nightmares that were sealed in the box called the labyrinth will wake up and come up to the surface?

-Not immediately.. Not right away, but.. someday. Surely it will happen. Whether it’s 10 years later. 100 years later. Or maybe everything will disappear within a year. I don’t know.

‘…’

My head is getting complicated.

To be honest, if the labyrinth bursts after I die, I don’t care whether it bursts or not.

I’m not patriotic enough to care about future generations.

But what if the labyrinth bursts while I’m still alive? What should I do then?

Let’s think about monsters that even Platinum Badge adventurers who go in and out of the deep layers of the labyrinth have trouble dealing with coming up to the surface. There’s no way to stop them.

‘The world will be destroyed.’

-It’s not destruction. It’s returning.

‘What?’

-I mean it will return to ancient times. To the age of heroes and gods. Or to the age of chaos before that. However, there will be no place for humans there.

In the end, the labyrinth bursting meant nothing less than the end of human civilization.

Although it’s just a medieval civilization, it’s precious to me.

In a situation where there’s no way to return to Earth, if even this small civilization disappears, it means returning to the primitive age. No, if the monsters of the labyrinth crawl out, humans will fall to being slaves or livestock.

‘Wa-wait a moment. The scale is getting too big. Can I… believe everything you’re saying?’

-It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe. Anyway, the moment we go up to the surface, I’ll depart for the unknown realm called the afterlife. It’s not me who will remain in this land, but you. I’m just pouring out the information I know before I leave.

‘….’

-The reason I’m using my remaining strength to speak to you now, give you information, and try to help you is also an expression of gratitude. You could see it as payment for liberating me from this labyrinth.

The moment they go outside the labyrinth, the witch will completely disappear. That’s why she was passing on the information she had discovered before leaving.

“How… what should I do?”

-A method, huh. Fortunately in this misfortune, you have a very precious weapon.

‘A weapon…?’

-Yes. You have something others don’t.

The witch pointed to my eyes.

-It’s the spirit vision. Only that will guide you to the end of this labyrinth. If you go down to the end and seal the nightmares again, you might be able to stop the labyrinth’s rampage. And for that, I’ll do my best to help you until you leave the labyrinth.

The witch reached out her hand towards me.