Chapter 38: Ninth Floor, Hounds of the Labyrinth (7)
The hounds snarled viciously from behind the thick metal gates on each side of the iron door. Their growls were filled with hostility, almost as if they were daring us to even think about approaching. The sound felt like a warning, clear and threatening.
“Heh, bark all you want!"
Ho-Su taunted as he tapped his sword against the iron bars, riling up the already enraged hounds. The long, tedious defense had irritated him, and he used this opportunity to vent that frustration.
I turned my gaze back to the iron door.
Has Hee-Jeong’s wave of fire reached this far?
The door was shut tight, but Ha Hee-Jeong’s spell had only scratched it, leaving dark scorch marks across its width. Seeing the lack of damage from the spell made me realize how lucky we were to have gotten that key from the baby mimic. Without it, we would have been stuck at the entrance to the hidden room.
I wondered if anyone else had ever made a mimic cough up a key like that. Probably not. If other climbers had discovered the hidden staircase, they likely would have been overwhelmed by the hounds, not even reaching the door.
Or worse, the flood of hounds could have immediately killed them.
Even if they had retreated up the stairs, they wouldn’t have had time to shut the door behind them. And who knows if it would have stayed closed?