Chapter 98: Elite Ninjas

My Master began to glide down into the giant pit, folding her wings.

At first, a cool wind brushed against my face, but as we descended, the air grew damp and heavy.

Judging by the speed at which the black rocks around us were passing, we seemed to be descending quite fast, yet it was so deep that the bottom was nowhere in sight.

‘Wow…’

‘It’s really endless.’

As we spiraled down along the path, strange carvings on the walls began to catch my eye.

Skulls and bones decorated the walls, and the occasional magic circles all seemed to be related to death.

‘It seems they tried to make it obvious this was the Great Labyrinth of Death, but it didn’t look very scary.’

“Master, Nis! What happens if the ruler of this place dies?”

A sudden curiosity prompted me to ask.

‘If we go down and fight the ruler, isn’t its death guaranteed?’

Nis gracefully swept her hair back and answered.

“A core of the Great Labyrinth, containing immense mana, emerges. The one who takes it becomes the new ruler.”

“A core?”

“It’s like a jewel with the condensed magical power that moves the entire Great Labyrinth. Absorbing it not only grants immense power but also allows you to reshape the labyrinth itself.”

“Wow…”

“Why? Do you want to become the ruler?”

My Master asked, turning her long neck.

I could see a flicker of curiosity in her white eyes.

“No!”

I shook my head vigorously.

“I’m going to live with you, Master, so I don’t need it! Sia Kalt, where you are, is the best!”

I truly meant it.

Even if I became the ruler of the Great Labyrinth, I hated the thought of being here alone without my Master.

The loneliness of being alone for three years resurfaced, and my body instinctively shrank.

My Master gave a pleased smile.

Just seeing that smile made my heart feel warm.

“Huhu. Still, Ricoris, Nis and I will defeat the ruler of this place for you, so you can become the ruler.”

“Huh?”

“You can just leave the management to your bugs, can’t you? Just absorb the core and roughly leave it be.”

“Hmph, are you not going to ask for my opinion? Well, I suppose I’ll help…”

Nis, acting tsundere, also said she would join in.

‘Uh…’

‘Really…?’

‘I’m going to become the strongest in the world already…?’

My head grew hot, and my heart began to pound.

I, who am my Master’s subordinate, a friend to Nis, an Apostle of Mikel, a disciple of Bellona, and even have a connection with Abraxas!

And now, the ruler of a Great Labyrinth as well!

‘My, my…’

‘Can this flower’s life really be this easy?’

“Um… But, Master and Nis, don’t you need the core of mana? With such immense magical power, it seems like it would be helpful to you, Master…”

“Puhuhu.”

Nis let out a chuckle and continued.

“Ricoris, in the past, a demon who was called the Demon King swallowed two cores of a Great Labyrinth and his body exploded, killing him.”

‘…?’

‘Wait, what did she say?’

‘The Demon King died like that?’

My mind grew complicated.

‘Seraphina definitely said the first hero defeated the Demon King…?’

‘And in the game, the Demon King was perfectly fine and possessed two Great Labyrinths, right?’

‘Isn’t this that second labyrinth?’

“Nis, by any chance, is this the place where the Demon King ate the second core?”

“Oh my! How did you know?”

Nis’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘Gasp…’

‘So it’s true!’

“Just… a feeling?”

I couldn’t exactly say that the Demon King from the game owned this place too…

“A feeling…?”

Nis tilted her head, then continued.

“The Demon King… it was a tragedy born of greed. The ‘Bang!’ of the explosion was so loud it echoed across the entire continent.”

“Heeek…”

Since Nis was a living witness, it must be true.

‘Then is the history that Seraphina knows distorted?’

“Something like that happened…?”

My Master asked, sounding intrigued.

“Well… Lady Frostia, you were probably sleeping, I’m sure. Wait, so you didn’t even know that you can’t have two cores?”

“Of course I didn’t.”

‘Eh…’

‘My Master didn’t know the danger of two cores, and yet she was going to yield it to me?’

“Huuung… Master…”

I flopped down and rubbed my cheek against her affectionately.

‘I’ll become as strong as my Master and protect her!’

As my Master continued her descent, the corpses of monsters and demons, scattered everywhere, began to come into view.

The shattered stone statue of a giant gargoyle, a charred cockatrice, a frozen minotaur…

Seeing the scattered corpses, I could roughly guess the path the party had taken.

Traces of Cecilia’s flames, Glecia’s ice, Rote’s piercing wounds, Leivi’s arrows, Ryandel’s magic circles…

But something was strange.

Every time I saw a corpse, I felt a little better.

An unknown excitement? A sense of elation?

“Hmm… The smell of Ricoris is…”

Nis suddenly commented.

‘Huh…?’

“Do I smell…?”

Startled, I brought the back of my hand to my nose and sniffed.

But there was only the scent of flowers.

A sweet and fresh fragrance.

‘It seems fine…?’

“No, the smell of the evil god has gotten stronger.”

‘Huh?’

‘The smell of the evil god?’

“Indeed, the sticky energy has intensified.”

My Master added.

Her white eyes examined me closely.

“Uh…?”

‘Ah, could this be… because of a skill?’

I quickly checked my status window.

[ ★ 【Ricoris】 Dominant Thanatos Crown LV384 6 years old ♀

【Stats】

HP : 4,284/4,284 + (1,300,274)
MP : 4,032/4,184

Attack Power: 4,284

Magic Power: 4,184

Defense Power: 4,184

Magic Resistance: 4,184

Agility: 444 (Polymorph)

【Skills】
「Domain Control LV7」

「Crimson Apocalypse」

「Freeze Immunity」

「Photosynthesis LV8」

「Toxin of Annihilation」

「Dance of the Dark Roots」

「Full Bloom Pollen LV9」

「Pollen-Seduction(True) LV7」

「Pain Resistance LV4」

「Selfless Action LV8」

「Pollen-Paralysis(True) LV7」

「Pollen-Recovery(Extreme)」

「Pollen-Bleeding(True) LV4」

「Pollen-Corrosion LV6」

「Pollen-Decay(True) LV5」

「Elysian Essence Honey」

「Nectar-Will(True) LV4」

「Blood Realm」

「Red Moon」

「Intimidation LV7」

「Radiance LV7」

「Poison Resistance LV7」

「Overwhelm LV3」

「Polymorph」

「Authority – Divine Radiance」

「Authority – Sanctus Judicium」

「Authority – Lux Purificatio」

「Authority – Oculus Veritas」

「Authority – Hemomancy」

「Authority – Deathmark」

「The Aesthetics of Murder」

「Pollen-Plantification LV3」

【Traits】

[Inferno Stigma]

[Mikel’s Support]

[Demonic Nature]

[Frostia’s Beloved Plant]

[Bloodfall]

[Mikel’s Flower]

[Automatic Outfit (Default – Black Dress Set)-Polymorph]

[Polymorph Effect-Black＆Red Smoke] [Flawless] [Noble’s Dignity] [Noble Lady’s Etiquette] [Guardian of Sia Kalt] [Mana Collector] [Apostle of Mikel] [Bellona’s Favorite Disciple] [Art of Death] ]

‘What!’

‘When did my level get so high?’

‘Was it thanks to the demons that Mikel spread?’

‘Did their experience points come to me!?’

‘Ah, no, that’s not what’s important right now.’

[ [Art of Death]

– You realize the beauty of death. You acquire a certain amount of Demonic Power whenever death is detected nearby. ]

‘A certain amount of Demonic Power whenever death is detected nearby…’

‘Is it because this place is littered with corpses!’

When I focused, I could really feel my Demonic Power accumulating bit by bit.

It was the exact same sensation Lady Bellona had taught me.

‘But I wonder if I can see how much Demonic and Divine Power I have…’

[ 【Stats】

HP : 4,284/4,284 + (1,300,274)

MP : 4,032/4,184

Divine Power: 22,075 (Sealed)

Demonic Power: 6,816

Attack Power: 4,284

Magic Power: 4,184

Defense Power: 4,184

Magic Resistance: 4,184

Agility: 444 (Polymorph) ]

‘Status window! You little rascal!’

‘You could do this all along and you hid it from me!’

“Grrr!”

“Hm? Ricoris?”

My Master said, sounding flustered.

Ugh…

‘How embarrassing…’

“Ah… I think it’s because of a power I got from the Demon Realm…”

I said cautiously.

‘What if my Master dislikes it?’

Flap, flap!

Just then, Miel flew above me and started pulling at my hair.

Ouch!

‘This little brat, again!’

[Ricoris is being weird again! T.T]

Miel wrote in the air with a high-level skill.

‘How does it even know how to write T.T!’

“I’m telling you I’m fine! I’m perfectly alright!”

I swatted my hand towards Miel, but it had already flown up high.

“Well, it doesn’t seem to be a problem.”

The tension melted away, and my mind grew calm.

“Besides, once you become the ruler and about three thousand years pass, you’ll be above the evil god anyway.”

“Thr… Three thousand years?”

‘Three thousand years…’

‘Isn’t that from the middle of the Gojoseon period to the modern day…?’

Ugh…

My head started to spin.

“That’s fast, Ricoris. Three thousand years will pass in an instant.”

“That’s right. That’s just how time flows.”

Nis also agreed.

Just then, the wide pit began to narrow.

The walls drew closer, and a faint light became visible from below.

And finally, the bottom was revealed.

“Oh…”

An incredible number of corpses were piled up here.

I could see the bodies of powerful monsters over level 200, and the remains of 5-star demons.

‘The ninja party defeated all of this…?’

‘Without a single scratch?’

‘Did they get that much stronger while I was away…?’

As I looked around the unbelievable scene, I discovered numerous small tunnels dug into the walls.

Each tunnel seemed to have an endless depth, and this Great Labyrinth looked like a giant ant colony.

It was so intricately connected like a maze that I had no idea which way to go.

My Master was enveloped in a silvery light and slowly returned to her human form.

Watching her transform was always a beautiful sight.

I took out the brooch and checked it; it was still pointing downwards.

The light also seemed brighter than before.

“Which tunnel should we take…?”

There were too many tunnels.

Even at a rough count, there seemed to be dozens…

“Let’s just break through the ground.”

Nis said, all too naturally.

“Huh?”

“Just because it’s a Great Labyrinth doesn’t mean it’s anything special. Just breaking through is…”

It was at that moment.

Krrrrrrrrrrumble!

The ground suddenly began to shake violently.

The entire Great Labyrinth vibrated as if a massive earthquake had struck.

“Ugh!”

I lost my balance and staggered, but my Master quickly caught me.

“What is happeni…”

But at the same time, I began to feel a strange change.

The air… was getting hotter.

At first, it was just warm, but as time passed, it grew hotter and hotter.

It felt like being inside a giant furnace.

“Ricoris, step back…”

It was just as I heard my Master’s voice.

Suddenly, the floor cracked open, and a tremendous pillar of fire shot up.

The long column of flame soared towards the sky, illuminating the entire space.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

A scream tore from my throat without me realizing.

‘I hate fire!’

Although the flames didn’t touch me, just seeing that massive fire made my whole body feel like it was burning.

In an instant, a freezing cold energy enveloped me.

“Ah…”

My Master had instantly created a huge ice barrier.

A transparent wall of ice surrounded us in a dome, completely protecting us from the flames.

“Hoo… hoo…”

I leaned against the ice wall, panting.

The cold touch of the ice soothed my startled heart.

“It’s okay, Ricoris.”

My Master patted my back.

“Is this… Did something happen to the Great Labyrinth?”

Nis said, observing the situation outside.

Outside, the immense flames were still raging, and the entire Great Labyrinth continued to vibrate.

It was as if some fundamental and colossal change had begun.