Chapter 93
Chapter 93: Collection (2)
'How did things get so twisted?'
Thomas was going crazy.
Under the judgment of the major shareholder, they'd made an extreme decision to jump into the abyss of the Demon Realm.
How much had been lost in that process?
'The treasures gathered on the first floor of headquarters…….'
Capsules made by mixing the Labyrinth's terrain features with Black Magic Power.
The material costs weren't that high, but it took more than ten days just to make a single one.
Hundreds of those things.
'The losses are devastating.'
His head was throbbing just thinking about processing the accounting ledgers.
"T-The Slayer!"
The Black Mages standing watch cried out in sudden panic.
"Director Kim, what are you talking about?"
"A-A Slayer has appeared over there!"
The Slayer, Luke, was an existence that had been obstructing the Black Mage Group's deep exploration of the Labyrinth.
Why in the world was that bastard here of all places?
"Activate quarantine!"
"This one is in an immune state!"
The desperate cries of the Black Mages rang out.
'When it rains, it pours…….'
There's no paradise in the place you've escaped to.
It was a saying that rang all too true.
'On the outside, those crazy cultists are stabbing us with spears, and in this sealed Labyrinth, there's a Slayer…….'
It felt like the entire world was oppressing the Black Mage Group.
Thomas tightened his necktie.
"I'll go."
Makia's lower body hadn't regenerated yet.
Moreover, the Vice-Director-tier Possessors were putting all their effort into generating [Gates].
'The skills are working as the major shareholder said, but…….'
The casting time was quite long.
Still, dealing with just one Slayer was something he could handle well enough.
Thomas was a [Death Knight], having completed his third class change in the Knight class.
Moreover, his physical body was a 6-Circle Black Mage.
Just like Janson, Thomas had also honed the strength of his flesh.
Thud!
Thomas pulled a shield from his [Inventory].
[Shield of Death – Legend Tier]
An exclusive weapon for Death Knights.
It came with an option that reduced the user's HP by 1% per second, but instead increased attack power by ×5 times the amount of damage defended.
"Darkness wraps around me."
Sssshhh!
Black Magic Power engulfed Thomas.
With this, the penalty of the weapon was also nullified.
Still, Thomas's face was heavily creased.
'I didn't want to use Black Magic Power…….'
He looked like he'd been buried under muddy sludge.
Unlike the Possessors, the local Black Mages had dirty implementations and forms of magic.
Still…….
'There's no helping it if I'm going to face that crazy murderer.'
A killer who indiscriminately slaughters every existence that approaches, regardless of nationality or status.
That's what a Slayer is.
'Let me try to learn his identity at this point.'
There were theories that he was a Possessor, and rumors that he was a monster consumed by the Labyrinth.
Since conversation had never been possible, there were even theories that he was a random boss that appeared in human form.
Crackle!
A man covered in a crimson aura was massacring the Black Mages as he approached.
Thomas narrowed his eyes.
He carefully observed the Slayer, Luke.
'The wounds are deep.'
A Slayer covered in wounds.
His entire body was burned red as if he'd suffered severe burns.
His sword was covered with blood streaming from multiple injuries.
"Blood Festival."
At that moment, the Slayer quietly recited a few words.
A crimson Sword Light flashed over his blade.
'Skill motion.'
He showed precise and disciplined posture in specific movements.
Thomas recognized it exactly.
Though he wielded a crimson aura, the power the bastard unleashed was a [Skill].
The Slayer faced the Black Mage Group's subordinates with a Skill-wrapped sword.
They were all composed of Swordsmen Possessors, yet none of them could match him.
'He uses strange swordsmanship.'
It was very crude and lacked system.
Which made it all the more dangerous.
"Damn it, technique won't work!"
"Ouroboros, descend upon this place-!!!"
A 5-Circle Possessor Black Mage activated Manifestation.
It was a demon from Greek mythology—"the snake that devours death."
A massive serpent-shaped demon rushed at the Slayer.
Crunch!
In an instant, the Slayer's shoulder was bitten.
"Krraaaaaaaa!!!"
In the twisted darkness of the Labyrinth, the red man let out a monstrous scream.
After the scream ended, a red aura rippling around his entire body flared up.
"Kuh. Die!"
Whoosh!
The Slayer began hacking the serpent to pieces with his crude sword.
With no defense, he was focused solely on attacking.
The Slayer was also taking hits.
He didn't care and continued swinging his sword.
Each time he did, his wounds recovered.
'Blood Knight Class.'
Having made his assessment up to that point, Thomas stepped forward with his shield raised, approaching the Slayer.
"Why are you attacking another Possessor?"
He attempted conversation first.
"Do you really think of yourself as an Earthling even though you have six lines below your eyes?"
As the Slayer knocked off the serpent's head, he shouted.
It was a tone of displeasure.
At that, Thomas smiled.
'Unlike the rumors, conversation is possible.'
A murder machine that kills without question—or so he'd heard.
But this one was different.
He moved while thinking, and conversed while fighting.
Thomas drew his next card.
"On the outside, there are nothing but cannibalistic natives who think of us as food."
"What insanity-."
"Moreover, those so-called clergy don't even think of us as food—they think of us as kindling to be burned."
The Slayer, Luke, was about to shout back in anger when he closed his mouth at those last words.
'Kindling, he says.'
The Slayer, Luke, paused for a moment.
Thinking back on what happened to Riferoze, what was said wasn't entirely wrong.
But…….
'Even if you combine all those bastards, they can't beat that crazy religious fanatic.'
Though he'd lived without reason in the Labyrinth, he remembered everything.
Even his actions without reason were influenced by his own subconscious, weren't they?
His goal was singular.
'I'm going to go home.'
So.
He couldn't associate with those bastards.
"I don't trust anything you bastards say-."
The Slayer was about to firmly retort to Thomas when—
Baaaaang!!!
A Platinum Divine Power swept through the darkness of the Labyrinth, driving out all the shadows.
***
Thud! Thud!
Light rising from the abyss.
This was the signal that Erik and Riferoze had established.
"It's supposed to mean 'help'……."
"What is that Riferoze asking for help with?"
The Pope tilted his head as he looked at Erik.
"I'm not entirely sure either."
It didn't make sense.
Erik had created a signal system based on Morse code.
In his childhood, on the battlefield of conflict zones, they needed signals to recognize each other.
'I usually used it.'
Mostly, it was used for Erik to send distress signals in dangerous situations.
"Normally you should be able to handle most communication with that……."
Everything from minor things like being hungry to major things like Black Mages appearing in a certain kingdom direction.
Didn't they create such a complex signal system?
As he pondered, Ruelle approached.
"Erik, is it possible that you only remember this one signal?"
"Oh……."
It was indeed a reasonable point.
"After ten years, you'd have forgotten everything."
Given Riferoze's personality, she tended to forget minor details quickly.
"Erik, the world is simple. You only need to remember who to kill and who to protect."
Wasn't that an extremely simplistic way of thinking?
"Could it mean come find me?"
The Pope asked with a worried expression.
Erik shook his head firmly.
"Once you go in there, you might be transported to a different location."
"Hm……."
The Labyrinth is in the middle of a Reset.
It would be experiencing massive changes to match the Great Cataclysm Patch.
There's nothing as reliable as a [Gate] or [Portal], so you can't enter recklessly.
'Perhaps…….'
Erik thought of the Labyrinth in the game.
In the game, there were no such abysses, but there were many kinds of wall-clipping bugs.
Like creating shortcuts to the boss room.
Or moving characters beyond walls when in danger—such gameplay was possible.
'That's what I did at the end too.'
65th Floor Ant Tunnels.
There, Park Ji-hun had passed his Paladin character through a narrow corridor to face the approaching users and NPCs.
'Is it a similar space?'
The inside of the abyss is the Labyrinth, but it's not an officially designated area.
In other words, it means complete darkness with zero visibility.
"Hmph, so the Possessors used the Labyrinth like that?"
When Erik shared this deduction with the Pope, the latter looked at Park Chang-ho with considerable surprise.
"T-That's…… Th-Thank you."
Park Chang-ho received praise for something he hadn't even said.
He tried to tell the truth, but the sharp glare from Erik made him simply bow his head.
"Sh-Shameful."
Nishida envied Park Chang-ho in that way.
"Wow, older brother Chang-ho!"
Kang Pung-ho offered praise.
Park Chang-ho's mouth trembled slightly.
Erik, watching them, shook his head.
'These guys are a headache.'
He ran his hand through his hair and shifted his gaze toward the Pope.
"In such places, you need something similar to a torch."
The theme of Labyrinth Floor 40 is darkness.
Bug terrain in the game had the "darkness" field effect applied to it.
A terrain where even Sacred Light and Magical Light are quickly consumed by darkness.
When that happens, you need an item like a torch.
'It should be similar.'
Moreover, Erik had an item to overcome this.
A remarkable item that Jang Du-sik had pulled out.
[Sacred Relic – Bonfire]
Despite its brilliant grade, its appearance was a woodpile without kindling.
If its purpose was similar to a torch, then this would definitely be something that resists the darkness effect.
"Hm, isn't this a Sacred Relic of antiquity?"
As expected.
Seeing the object Erik pulled from his [Inventory], the Pope showed interest.
"Such sublime Divine Power……. And yet the effect is simply to emit light and drive away darkness?"
Erik glanced at Park Chang-ho again and added an explanation.
It was saying that the darkness of the Labyrinth's 40th Floor and the divine arrangement to overcome it might not be unrelated.
"Truly so! The yellow Possessor has surely been called by the Father!"
Whoosh!
The Pope said so and imbued the bonfire that Erik had handed him with Divine Power.
Flames flickered on the woodpile placed on the circular plate.
Pure white, almost snow-white firelight.
Like a fluorescent light.
Whoosh!
The Pope hurled it into the abyss.
And prayed.
A moment of silence followed.
***
One hour after the bonfire fell.
Since you can't just play around, Erik moved busily.
"B-Brother, did you see this?"
He thoroughly searched the interior of the Black Tower.
As a result, he discovered an enormous amount of treasure.
It goes without saying, but Black Mages also spend Gold to live.
Seeing the stacks of money, Erik smiled contentedly.
'Just like those North Korean bastards obsessed with dollars.'
Like a communist leader driving an armored Mercedes-Benz.
Or a terrorist leader collecting hundreds of millions of won in luxury bags and watches.
People were the same everywhere.
"This should be about 30 billion Gold."
Whether they'd really moved their actual headquarters here, roughly 300 billion won in cash was stacked up.
Jang Du-sik grinned widely.
"Looking at them stacking all their wealth and then running away, those bastards must be pretty scared!"
Unlike Du-sik laughing heartily, Erik tilted his head.
A slightly different thought came to him.
'Given their scale, there might be more…….'
The descendants of the First Demon King.
That's what the Black Mages were.
Though the name changed from Black Society to Black Mage Group, weren't they fundamentally an armed terrorist organization spanning thousands of years?
There's no way all the capital such beings possessed was just 30 billion Gold.
'Since a Possessor's Inventory capacity isn't infinite either.'
Unlike him, the Possessors' Inventory capacity was on the same level as the game.
'These bastards probably hid stuff here and there.'
There are plenty of Demon Realms scattered about.
Doesn't the no-man's-land have a Labyrinth entrance inside the Demon Realm?
'I should thoroughly search through all the Demon Realms slowly.'
Things to do kept increasing.
From Erik's perspective, that was actually a good thing.
'A peaceful world.'
Rest would be plenty after death.
As Erik contentedly looked at all the supplies that Jang Du-sik and the Holy War Knights were stacking up, he narrowed his eyes.
'Is my master coming?'
An uneasy feeling suddenly struck him.
From the abyss, no more pillars of light were rising.
The lack of any response made him even more anxious.
Erik began to seriously prepare to welcome his master.
"Nishida Ryo, come over here."
***
"S-Something's coming!"
Around the time the Black Tower's treasures were being organized.
Changes occurred in the abyss.
Along with a bright white light, a thunderous roar echoed.
Boom! Thud!
The sound of something being struck and a wall being stepped on.
And then.
"Crraaaaaaaaaack!!!"
A man's scream.
A truly horrific shriek.
"A-A person!"
A man covered in a red barrier was held in the hand of a small woman, holding the [Bonfire].
He looked like a living Holy Fire Torch.
Sizzzzle!
Holy Light burned the man in real-time.
Whenever the man screamed, the white girl brought her hand to the tip of his sword.
Then the wounds recovered.
Seeing that, Erik's eyes widened.
'It's the Blood Knight Class.'
The fact that Riferoze had entered the Labyrinth was already known.
And he'd heard the objective too.
'The first Possessor, they said…….'
Honestly, he hadn't believed it.
But didn't he have living proof right before his eyes?
"T-That's a Blood Knight!"
Attention was being drawn to the Blood Knight rather than to Riferoze.
'……Master is still small, as always.'
Her appearance was that of a girl.
Her height was around 165cm?
She was quite small compared to Erik.
'Yet she possesses such tremendous power.'
Her stature meant that she had transcended humanity.
In other words, Riferoze had crossed the wall at around fifteen years old.
A being who had lived for over a hundred years since then could only become an indescribable monster……
Boom! Thud!
Slender hands gripped the large man's ankles as she climbed out of the abyss of the Demon Realm.
"T-What is this!"
It was a bizarre sight.
Yet the Pope's mouth gradually formed a smile as he watched.
"Thank goodness."
Five years in a state of complete disappearance.
It was the first time.
So her safe return was nothing but welcome.
"Saint Erik, is master's return not a pleasant thing?"
But seeing Erik with a deeply furrowed brow, the Pope felt puzzled.
Wasn't she the only disciple the woman had ever created in over a hundred years?
Moreover, it was Erik to whom she had even transferred her position.
And yet this disciple was heavily frowning……
"Your Majesty, my master will likely ask about my increased strength and then immediately challenge me with a blade."
"Hm. That would certainly be the case……."
The Pope looked at Erik sympathetically.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh!
The red man was hurled from below the abyss.
"Krraaaack!"
The first Possessor holding the [Bonfire] rolled across the ground.
With the red effect applied, he really did look like a human Holy Fire Torch.
A few seconds later.
Whoosh!
A pure white afterimage shot up from the abyss.
White Sacred Robes and a massive greatsword.
And long white hair.
"Sacred robes……."
But Riferoze's clothes were blackened with soot.
How had a being who wipes away all filth with sanctity come to be dressed like that?
"Hahahaha!!!"
Landing with a thud, Riferoze's eyes swept the surroundings.
Holy War Knights were visible, as were the Pope and the Holy War Knight Commander.
"What made you all come out to greet me like this?"
She pulled a heart from her Sacred Robes' chest.
And approached the Pope.
Her small frame made her steps seem hurried, but her movements were impossibly fast.
"Pope, this is a gift for you."
Riferoze handed over a pulsating, pitch-black heart.
"His name was Thomas, I believe? The Black Society's director? Some title like that."
Riferoze's pupils shifted toward the figure beside the Pope.
A magnificent being.
Dazzling appearance.
"Oh……. Erik, you've grown tremendously."
Her tone was warmly pleased.
The white-haired woman's eyes curved in a smile.
She licked her lips and drew the greatsword hanging at her waist.
Whoosh!
"That one is a gift for you, Erik."
And then pointed the blade's tip at the Slayer, Luke.
After that, she asked Erik,
"You're not just tall now, are you?"
Riferoze laughed deeply.
At that, Erik, who had maintained silence throughout, bowed his head respectfully.
"It has been a long time, Master."
His voice was a heavy baritone.
Riferoze's lips curved into a refreshing smile.
Then Erik added,
"If you're thinking of sparring, would you consider applying the Three-Second Rule method?"
"Three seconds?"
"It's a law of Possessors that I mentioned before, like respect for hierarchy."
Erik simply explained the rule of yielding three attacks.
"When a master or senior addresses a junior, they should yield three attacks from them—the meaning is thus."
"Oh, how intriguing. That would be a law from the Eastern Courtesy Nation, wouldn't it?"
There were no "how have you been?" conversations.
No "anything new happen?" inquiries.
Such small talk was completely absent.
"Could it be something you made up yourself?"
"That couldn't possibly be the case."
The conversation between a master and disciple they hadn't seen in five years was utterly fierce.
"Nishida Ryo, a Possessor from a small island nation next to the Eastern Courtesy Nation."
Erik pointed to Nishida beside him.
Nishida Ryo couldn't even lift his head, his body trembling.
The conversation between the two was savage.
The aura felt was ferocious.
Sharp blades could be felt within affectionate words.
"Can you defend yourself?"
"You need only take three attacks from me without defending."
"Three-second rule, you say. That sounds quite entertaining."
Riferoze stepped back to create distance.
A composition formed where the snow-white woman and golden man faced each other beside the abyss of the Demon Realm.
Erik activated a [Skill].
"Hmm. So you've ripped yourself apart and painstakingly rebuilt it."
Whoosh!
He pulled out his wings.
And soared high into the sky.
"Oh, that resembles Saint Astia's characteristics somewhat."
Thud!
And concentrated his power.
"Tedious."
Investing 60 million Gold to activate the [Judgment] Skill.
Crackle!!!
With a rough roar, an overwhelmingly massive greatsword rose into the sky.
At that sight, not only the Holy War Knights but the Possessors and even the captured Black Mages gasped in shock.
"Insane."
Meeting his master after years.
And launching such an attack?
Whoosh!
A greatsword dozens of meters tall pierced down toward the white woman.