Episode 25: Labyrinth Escape RTA
Deep within the labyrinth dungeon, beyond countless descending layers, a vast expanse unfolded.
There, facing me, stood a colossal dragon with two heads. Its four eyes gleamed with malevolent light, glaring at me. This creature was none other than the boss of this labyrinth dungeon.
Subjugation Rank S, the Flame-Poison Twin-Headed Dragon, Curse Fafnir.
One head wielded flames, the other poison. Alternating between two types of breath attacks, this beast forced me into a back-and-forth struggle.
“GROOAR!”
The flame-wielding head roared, spewing searing hellfire from its maw. No sooner had I dodged it than the other head unleashed a toxic breath. Sharp claws followed, slashing toward me, intent on tearing me apart.
I couldn’t help but grimace.
“…As expected, this is boring.”
To give the enemy a moment to shine, I’d deliberately played along with this give-and-take battle, but it wasn’t the least bit entertaining.
“No choice, then… time to end it.”
The moment I muttered those words, both mouths of the Flame-Poison Twin-Headed Dragon, Curse Fafnir, gaped wide, unleashing their breaths simultaneously. I drew my sword, infusing it with magic. A shroud of jet-black mana enveloped the blade. And then… a single slash. The flames and poison were cleaved apart, and without losing momentum, the mana-charged blade bisected the dragon’s body clean in two.
“I held back, but it still couldn’t survive, huh? Well, no helping it.”
If this had at least been an evil dragon that spoke human tongue and took pleasure in tormenting humans, I could’ve played along a bit longer, giving it a proper villain’s spotlight.
Stepping past the severed remains of the Flame-Poison Twin-Headed Dragon, Curse Fafnir, I pressed forward. What awaited was… a small, confined chamber.
At its center stood a coffin, bound by layers of chains and sealed with intricate magical wards.
“As I thought… this is the core of the labyrinth dungeon.”
The core of a labyrinth dungeon is the source of its magical energy. It could be a crystallized mass of condensed mana, a creature imbued with immense magical power, or any number of forms. Regardless, the mana leaking from it shapes the dungeon itself.
Given that this labyrinth teemed with Subjugation Rank A and S monsters, the mana emanating from this coffin was, unsurprisingly, extraordinary.
“Well… I’ll deal with the seal later. For now, let’s get out of this dungeon.”
I considered retracing my steps but quickly deemed it a waste of time.
“Let’s take the shortest route.”
Grabbing the chains binding the coffin, I hoisted it up. Shouldering the coffin, I hurled it toward the ceiling with tremendous force. The coffin smashed through the ceiling of this layer, its momentum carrying it upward, piercing through several more floors above.
◇
“Haa… haa… I’m at my limit…!”
Leaning unsteadily against the labyrinth dungeon’s wall was Martina, a B-rank adventurer.
“I don’t even know where the exit is, and my strength… it’s gone…”
Martina had escaped mortal danger thanks to Siegfried von Kreving defeating the Miasma Serpent, Venom Serpent. However, the miasma she’d inhaled from the serpent’s breath had left her body severely weakened. Worse, having been caught in a collapse and fallen into the labyrinth dungeon, she had no idea where the entrance or exit was.
“Ugh… at this rate, I’ll die here without ever seeing that mysterious hunk again…”
Overwhelmed by exhaustion and despair, Martina’s legs buckled beneath her. That’s when it happened.
—ZUGAGAGA.
From far below, the sound of something breaking through echoed upward.
“W-What…?”
The next moment, the ground before her shattered, and a massive coffin burst forth with incredible force.
“Eek!? W-What!?”
The coffin rocketed past Martina, smashing through the ceiling above.
Then, from the hole the coffin had emerged from, a figure leaped out.
“Y-You…!”
A silver-haired, blue-eyed young man—the mysterious figure who had saved her earlier. Martina’s eyes sparkled involuntarily. But the youth didn’t so much as glance at her, soaring upward and out of sight.
“H-Hey, wait!”
Martina shouted, staring up at the hole the youth had vanished through. Then, she suddenly noticed something.
“Light…? Wait, the outside!”
Beyond the hole the coffin had torn through the ceiling, a blue sky stretched wide.
“Alright…! Ngh…!”
Using the rocky wall as footholds, Martina clambered toward the outside. Breathing in the fresh air for the first time in what felt like forever, she murmured.
“That silver-haired hunk… he saved me again…”
Naturally, Siegfried had no intention of saving her. But the joy of escaping a labyrinth she’d thought inescapable, combined with being dazzled by Siegfried’s striking appearance, had completely clouded Martina’s judgment.
“Thank you, Silver-Haired Hunk… I hope we meet again someday…!”
◆
Night.
In a secluded hilly region within the Kreving family’s territory.
“Hm… the moon’s out, just right. Let’s begin here.”
Siegfried placed a hand on the chains binding the coffin on the ground. As he moved to tear them apart, the sealing magic within the chains activated, sparking with crackling electricity. A normal human would have been killed instantly by the shock. But Siegfried, unfazed, ripped the chains apart.
Then, he opened the coffin’s lid.
“As expected.”
Inside the coffin, bathed in moonlight, lay a woman of unparalleled beauty—silver hair, translucent white skin, as if cloaked in the dew of the moon and the radiance of stars. Her captivating form was draped in a vivid red dress reminiscent of fresh blood, and she lay still, as though locked in eternal slumber.
This woman was one of the few hidden bosses in The Chronicles of the Bazelant Continent.
One of the Seven Great Calamities that once brought disaster upon the world—the mightiest vampire.
“Now, awaken.”
Siegfried slashed his left arm with his right hand, letting blood drip freely. The crimson drops fell into the coffin.
