Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Qualification (2)
Countless competitors were likely racing toward the deepest part of the labyrinth, but just as Aiden had predicted, there were some among them who stood out in particular.
And—
The First Prince was certainly one of those people.
Alester Fansheus Craven let out a sigh and wiped the sweat that was trickling down.
Nearby, the remains of artificial lifeforms—crafted by mixing various special materials to resemble real beasts—were strewn about.
They were part of the ‘traps’ encountered along the way in the labyrinth. Having defeated them all, his score was sure to rise significantly.
‘Tiring.’
If he had been able to freely wield the holy power available to him, putting on a display like this wouldn't have been so difficult. But in a situation where the total amount of supernatural power he could use was this restricted, even this much was immensely taxing.
…In truth, just the fact that he had pulled this off under such conditions showed that there was little left to criticize.
These beasts in the labyrinth weren’t designed to be slaughtered outright like this. They were placed with the intent that one should either avoid them or cleverly distract them while proceeding forward.
In other words, armed with nothing more than the level of holy power an apprentice paladin might have, he had taken down beasts that would normally require a dozen paladins to defeat—relying solely on his own ability.
With the amount of supernatural power restricted, what remained was the user’s pure capabilities. This was proof that, in terms of combat ability, he had already reached the pinnacle.
It was a level of skill befitting the word ‘perfect,’ just as people around Alester often described him.
He wasn’t a monster at the forefront of the succession race for nothing.
If not for the fact that all of this era’s pontiff candidates were such peculiar figures, anyone would have predicted Alester to be the victor of the succession ceremony.
And the voice that soon followed served as a clear example of the many variables involved in this succession.
“You’re a real monster. If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to pull that off under such limited supernatural power.”
Alester flinched and raised his sword toward the direction of the voice.
‘—I didn’t even sense his presence?’
Among his many strengths, Alester was considered unmatched in combat abilities among the royal generation. For someone to sneak past his senses—
“It’s been a while, brother.”
—such a person did exist.
Seeing the figure emerge from the shadows, Alester wore a look of understanding.
“Julius.”
“When was the last time we saw each other? Hasn’t it been since the Demon Sealing Ritual?”
Julius spoke in a languid, familiar tone, and Alester looked him up and down.
‘…I still can’t read him.’
That had always made their relationship difficult.
As unreadable as ever, Julius always exuded a mysterious air about his abilities. This moment was no exception.
The speed at which he was traversing the labyrinth—Alester could say with certainty—was the fastest among everyone currently inside.
Alester wasn’t an arrogant person by nature, but even he had a hard time imagining anyone other than himself being able to demonstrate such performance while making their way through the labyrinth.
And yet—
This man had reached this point, at the exact same pace as him, without batting an eye.
…And even more baffling, despite having caught up, he didn’t have a single bead of sweat on him.
For Alester himself, reaching this far had been a process of pushing himself to his very limits, testing the full extent of his abilities.
“Well, I simply followed the path you cleared, brother. Even if we started from different points, the roads all converge here, don’t they?”
…Lies.
So blatantly disingenuous it was almost laughable.
The fact that they started from different points meant that each had to find their own way to get here. Julius had reached this point by using his own strengths, at a speed comparable to Alester’s.
“More importantly, brother.”
And just like that, the man who had no intention of revealing his true hand slowly opened his mouth.
“Why don’t we have a little chat?”
“A chat?”
“We’ve got a bit of time left anyway, and it’s going to be a while before the others catch up. Besides, the organizers can’t eavesdrop on spoken conversations.”
Julius twirled his finger beside his ear and added,
“A rare opportunity to talk without any of those annoying people around, wouldn’t you say?”
Both of them held unrivaled positions even among royalty. They were always surrounded by people, busy at every turn.
“……”
Alester silently watched Julius for a moment, then eventually gave a quiet nod.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Have you ever stopped to think about why we’re even doing all this in the first place, brother?”
“…Hm?”
Alester let out a short, incredulous laugh at the unexpectedly weighty question.
Julius, unfazed, continued speaking in his usual languid tone.
“To be honest, isn’t His Holiness far too vigorous to already be considering retirement? It’s no exaggeration to say he’s not just healthy, but in the prime of his life.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying—maybe this isn’t just about stepping down and choosing a successor. Maybe he’s drawing a slightly different picture altogether.”
As he said that, Julius curved his lips into a faint smile.
Of course—
For all that smiling, his eyes held not a shred of amusement.
“Doesn’t seem like he’s planning just some ordinary little scheme.”
“That’s blasphemy, Julius.”
Alester immediately shot back with a firm tone, but once again, the reply came with nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders.
“Just a personal word of advice, brother. That’s all.”
The weight of what he was saying remained heavy as ever.
“This succession ceremony... it might be best not to participate too eagerly. Something about it stinks. There are rumors going around.”
“……”
It would be reasonable to dismiss it as a cheap trick to throw off a competitor.
But when someone says it so bluntly, it’s hard to see it as just a ploy.
There was a chance—however small—that it really was sincere advice.
“…Thanks for the warning.”
There was no way to know for sure right now. So Alester chose to accept it mildly and turned away.
Still, one thing was certain.
“But for someone who’s supposedly not participating eagerly, didn’t you also get here ridiculously fast?”
“……”
“Hard to see that as a sincere warning.”
“…Well, I do have a few things I’m hoping to get out of this ceremony too. It wouldn’t look right if my performance didn’t back me up.”
Julius diverted the topic with that remark, then whistled as he turned to look ahead.
“Still, that thing up there… doesn’t look like something the two of us can handle alone.”
Indeed, the massive curtain-like barrier before them was emanating an overwhelming energy—so powerful that even they, who had made it this far with incredible speed, felt it was beyond their ability to overcome.
It was likely an obstacle installed to block progress until a sufficient number of qualified individuals had gathered.
The labyrinth shifted and transformed based on the user’s method of progression and capabilities. This was likely a mechanism meant to reconfigure the latter stages according to the traits and strengths of those who’d reached this point.
Well, scoring would still be based on the order and method of arrival anyway, so it probably didn’t matter.
“Unless His Holiness the Pontiff comes down to deactivate it himself, we’re not getting past that. Even without restrictions on supernatural power, I don’t think we could break through it.”
“Yeah. It feels like it was built to be structurally impassable.”
As they exchanged those words, Alester and Julius stood still, staring at the barrier.
“Well then, should we just wait? To proceed to the next phase, we’ll probably need to wait for a certain number of people to gather—”
Julius’s sentence abruptly cut off.
Alester’s expression had twisted into something strange as well.
Proof that they had both sensed the same thing at the same time.
“…Brother.”
“…Yeah.”
“…I’m not the only one hearing this, right?”
“……”
Alester silently nodded.
Something was rumbling.
An explosion, maybe. Or the sound of something collapsing. They couldn’t quite tell what it was.
But it kept echoing.
Louder and louder. To the point that it seemed to shake the entire structure.
—!!!
This time, the sound was closer. Like a bomb going off.
The aftershock grew stronger. The entire building shook, and dust poured from every crevice.
It was unmistakably a massive roar. It felt like a war had broken out nearby.
The instinct was undeniable.
…This was the sound of something immensely powerful. Something so terrifyingly strong that you wouldn’t even want to face it.
“You think this is something the organizers prepared?”
“Hard to say. But pulling out something that powerful right from the start seems a bit—”
And while they were having that conversation—
—!!
Someone burst through the wall beside them.
A man with weary eyes, who immediately began glancing around, as if searching for the way forward.
“…?”
Julius and Alester both went blank at the same time.
No.
‘Did he just come through the wall?’
Even the two of them—clearly among the top scorers of the current participants—had at least followed a ‘path’ to get here.
But that wall? Wasn’t that a several-meters-thick slab of solid rock?
…Even with supernatural powers, it would’ve been unimaginable to blow through something like that and come bursting out.
“……”
“……”
As if coordinated, both of them looked past the man who had broken through.
…A series of holes had been punched cleanly through, in a straight line, as if he had reached this point by continuing in that exact same manner.
“……”
“……”
Alester and Julius fell silent, looking like their souls had left their bodies.
‘What the hell is this guy…?’
Anyone who had strained themselves to their limits navigating the labyrinth would think the same upon seeing this.
Wasn’t he supposed to have his supernatural abilities restricted too?
Why was everyone else participating in a labyrinth trial while he seemed to be filming a completely different genre?
“What are you two doing here?”
The man who had broken through the wall tilted his head and asked.
“Which way’s the next destination? I’d be in trouble if I took a wrong turn.”
“…It’s past that.”
Julius chuckled hollowly and pointed at the barrier.
Even if the man had just smashed his way through walls, breaking that would be impossible. He likely meant the guy should wait here until more people arrived.
“Is that so?”
The man tilted his head again and, just like that—
Charged straight into the barrier with the exact same momentum he’d had when breaking through the walls.
“Wait, what are you—?!”
Alester, alarmed, tried to stop him, but the words died in his throat the next moment.
“-?!”
The barrier—one they had said would need the Pontiff himself to deactivate—
Split wide open where the man had slammed into it, leaving a gaping hole.
“Then, I’ll go on ahead.”
“……”
“Take your time catching up.”
“……”
Leaving only those words behind, the man disappeared.
Alester and Julius stared blankly after him.
They were probably sharing the exact same thought.
‘…What the hell is that guy?’
Moments later, Alester let out a hollow breath as he stared at the hole.
“Julius.”
“…Yes, brother?”
“Maybe we don’t need to try that hard after all.”
“……”
“Thinking about having to compete against monsters like that makes it hard not to feel discouraged.”
“……”
…Sadly.
Julius couldn’t disagree with that.