Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 107
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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107. Curses Are Not to Be Cast Carelessly (2)
The Prince wasn’t dragged away by an alligator from the very beginning.
After regressing, she had tried to leave the Prince behind, but he stubbornly insisted on joining the assault team.
Before collecting honey, they searched for any remaining monsters in the beehive and found and killed several Labyrinth Wasps. The Prince survived.
However, when they went to open an unopened treasure chest, he touched the locking mechanism wrong and died from electrocution.
Something seemed strange from this point, but since it could all be coincidence, Serena didn’t give up.
Next time, she headed to the 4th Layer instead of the 5th Floor. Carrying a magic lantern that illuminated the darkness of the labyrinth, they headed down the dark path.
“Kyaak!”
Prince Willow saw a goblin undead, got startled, and died of a heart attack.
Wondering if this was real, she even tried going to the 6th Floor.
The 21st Floor of the 6th Layer of Heuji’s Labyrinth was a sewer where garbage floated in stagnant sewage.
As they descended the stairs, the worsening stench made the assault team’s faces scrunch up, and with sewage reaching their ankles, everyone sighed in unison.
‘Damn, I don’t want to explore this!’
“We’ll need to bring boots.”
“Masks too. My nose is rotting, my lungs are rotting. Ugh.”
“I think we’ll get sick, so we should learn purification magic.”
“Ugh.”
How bad must it be for even the Taciturn Archer to dry heave?
Though no one said it, everyone turned around to go back to the 5th Floor. The 6th Floor was a layer that required full preparation to explore.
A few steps forward, a few steps back on the return path. Count Randy looked after Serena, then checked on the Prince.
“Are you alright, Lord Willow?”
“My boots have magic enchantments, so I’m fine. Ugh!”
Prince Willow, who had been showing off his clean boots with waterproof and contamination-prevention magic even in the sewage, screamed and fell over.
Crack!
Various filth floating in the stagnant water.
A Labyrinth Alligator that had hidden its nose and eyes among the filth and approached the group bit Prince Willow’s well-waterproofed boot.
“Ahhh! Ugh!”
As Prince Willow fell, he swallowed sewage water. The Prince tried to raise his head above the surface to survive, but.
“Lord Willow!”
The Labyrinth Alligator dragged the Prince underwater and disappeared.
‘Wow, this is really pitiful.’
Dying was already unfair, but the last thing he tasted in this world was sewer water?
Serena couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Prince Willow.
‘Anyway, this confirms one thing.’
Serena watched Count Randy trying to enter the sewage while crying, and the people stopping him, as she wracked her brain in frustration.
‘Why does he keep dying?’
Could death be trending among princes and royalty?
Previously, her younger brother Seraph had been dying at a pace that could make a death scene compilation, and now the Prince was adding his own highlights to it.
‘Royalty is incompetent in labyrinths. But even so, this is a bit much.’
Though it wasn’t really Serena’s place to think this, considering how often she died, Serena was confident.
Serena could regress, couldn’t she? Her deaths were strategic choices or leaps for a fresh start.
But the deaths of princes and royalty who couldn’t regress were just inexcusable endings.
‘Or maybe it’s just to wear down my patience.’
The Princess asked Ying to kill her again this time.
Serena rubbed her neck to erase the unpleasant pain that remained and grumbled.
“Why does he keep dying like this? It’s not like he’s cursed or anything.”
Serena continued grumbling without waiting for the Minotaur God to speak.
“Even if I say this, you’ll probably say he died because he was unlucky and incompetent. Yes, I know.”
“There is a reason, child.”
“What?”
At the unexpected response, Serena’s eyes widened. The Minotaur God smiled kindly.
“Didn’t you just say it yourself? How clever. You already know the reason.”
“How would I know why the Prince keeps dying? Unless he’s really cursed or some… A curse?”
Serena was surprised by her own words and gaped.
“Don’t tell me the Prince keeps dying because of a curse?”
The Minotaur God nodded. Serena gaped in surprise.
Could a person really keep dying like that because of a curse?
Of course it was possible. Where had Serena been reincarnated?
‘A fantasy world!’
It was a world where you could actually be cursed for spitting on someone else’s grave.
“Who on earth cursed the Prince? Can the curse be lifted?”
As an imperial prince, there must be more than a few people targeting him.
She was thinking that their overlapping curses might be killing the Prince indiscriminately when the Minotaur God pointed at Serena.
‘Me?’
Serena pointed at herself with her finger. The god nodded as if that was the right direction.
“Are you saying I cursed the Prince?”
Serena pursed her lips, feeling truly wronged.
‘Do I look like someone who curses other people?’
To defend herself as rationally and logically as possible, Serena put her brain into full operation.
Then she discovered something foreign and quickly stopped her mental factory.
“Ah, could it be?”
It was when Grey joined the party.
At that time, the Princess had misunderstood the relationship between the Prince and the child and cast what wasn’t quite a curse.
‘I told him to just die in the labyrinth. I think I thought that every time I saw Grey. Could that have been a curse?’
Though she knew what the curse was, Serena still felt wronged.
“But I canceled it?”
The Minotaur God gently reasoned with Serena.
“Curses cannot be canceled, child. They only weaken or run their course. That’s why you must be careful when cursing others. Those who curse others.”
“Yes. They either dig their own grave or must be prepared for the curse to return to them. I’ve seen it many times in books and old tales.”
“I wasn’t going to tell you such an obvious story, but that your curse resistance weakens. You are currently under a curse.”
At news more surprising than hearing the Prince was cursed, Serena’s ears perked up.
“What? What do you mean!”
But it was too late. Serena opened her eyes in front of the ugly statue.
To continue hearing the god’s precious words required paid subscription. The currency was Serena’s death.
‘Ugh. You should tell me important things like that in advance!’
Serena barely restrained herself from wanting to kick the ugly statue.
‘No matter how I think about it, it seems like he’s doing it on purpose.’
She could sense intent in how the Minotaur God would leave meaningful words or reveal shocking information just as the dream was ending.
‘Should I die? No. If he’s doing it on purpose, he won’t answer if I just die without trying to figure it out. That’s his personality.’
Serena combed through her hair with her fingers and secretly clicked her tongue.
‘So that guy dying is because of me.’
How many people in life wish for the miserable death of criminals?
Bad people should be punished.
The thoughts Serena had when wishing for Prince Willow’s death were exactly at this level.
‘If just that much counts as a curse, why were all the nobles I wished sudden death upon perfectly fine?’
After reincarnating, how many times had she overcome life-threatening situations since infancy?
Back then she cursed the culprits daily, but they all lived perfectly fine until Serena personally punished them.
‘And if curses work in this world, there should be ways to block them too.’
Look at Prince Willow over there who hasn’t died yet. Even his shoes had waterproof and contamination-prevention magic thanks to his Grand Mage grandfather’s influence.
Besides that, he had many magical tools and talismans. He was a walking palace.
‘It’s not like I’m some legendary curse master who can break through talismans.’
Serena wasn’t smart and hated using her brain. But this matter couldn’t be discussed with others, so she had to think alone and find the answer.
As a result of turning her lacking brain under the pretense of praying before the statue, Serena figured out why her curses worked so well.
‘This is a labyrinth.’
The place where the Princess and Prince stood was a labyrinth, and Serena, despite lacking self-awareness, held a position similar to a high priest of the Labyrinth God.
In the labyrinth, a high priest of the labyrinth cast a curse on someone trapped in the labyrinth?
‘The effect would be incredible.’
And indeed it was incredible. Prince Willow, who had given Serena 5 death coins, was living proof.
‘If I leave the Prince like this, he’ll definitely die before a day passes.’
After all, when they first met, hadn’t he been enchanted by the Dryad and nearly buried alive as fertilizer?
Though Serena and her companions had diverted the Dryad’s attention and escaped, if he hadn’t joined up with Serena, he would have died wandering the Labyrinth Garden.
Serena rubbed her temples hard.
‘How do I save him?’
According to the Labyrinth God, curses couldn’t be canceled and would only disappear when they weakened or fulfilled their role(?).
The problem was that the curse Prince Willow received was ‘a curse that only ends with death.’
Unless he left the labyrinth, all that awaited Prince Willow was a future of dying repeatedly.
‘Was the companion Richard mentioned the Prince? No wonder he gave up.’
Saving a sibling who died from pure 100% coincidence and misfortune was difficult and made her blood pressure rise.
Even Richard, who could regress like Serena, probably couldn’t have conquered the labyrinth while babysitting a Prince who kept dying from a real curse.
‘At least he’s a Sword Master. How am I supposed to keep that thing alive until we escape the labyrinth?’
Of course, from Serena’s perspective, it would be welcome if Prince Willow had an accident and naturally exited from her life.
But perhaps because the memory of Grey’s sorrowful crying remained, she wanted to hold onto Prince Willow’s lifeline if possible.
‘When you think about it, he’s dying because I cursed him.’
Though it felt somewhat unfair from Serena’s perspective, what could she do when “just die already” had actually become a real curse?
Shouldn’t she correct the mistake of forgetting her solemn position as an apostle of the Labyrinth God and carelessly deciding people’s life and death?
‘If more humans I want to kill appear in the future, would they die if I curse them? No, wait. The Labyrinth God explicitly told me not to curse recklessly. This time must be special.’
She wondered if it might be useful when scum like Lucas appeared in the future, but immediately changed her mind.
Since the god told her not to do it, following that would be right.
‘He said my curse defense dropped so I got cursed too. What curse did I get?’
One who curses others. In this world, curse resistance would naturally drop.
“Your prayers are quite long today.”
“Maybe she’s whining for advance notice when floors with forced separation mechanics appear? I’d actually like that~”
She wanted to quietly immerse herself in thought alone, but it was impossible with so many people around.
‘Could it be a curse that worsens gacha luck? No. Gacha is the god’s domain, so that can’t be touched.’
Actually, ever since collecting 10 death coins, she’d been wanting to do a 10-consecutive draw but was holding back.
‘There are already many people, and if more increase, I can’t handle it.’
She racked her brain this way and that, but couldn’t pinpoint any particular curse.
Serena was also royalty. There were plenty of people who would curse her.
Serena erased the faces of nobles that came to mind. The Labyrinth God wasn’t very interested in matters outside the labyrinth.
It was reasonable to think she’d been cursed while conquering the labyrinth.
‘Lucas? No. My curse defense was fine then. I cursed the Prince after that.’
After long contemplation, Serena reached a conclusion.
‘Thinking about things I don’t know will only prove how stupid I am. I should ask someone who knows.’
She was already very tired from conquering the 4th and 5th layers consecutively.
Serena decided to take a break from labyrinth conquest for a few days while filling in her lacking knowledge.
The Princess passed by the erudite alchemist and approached someone who stood at the pinnacle of a specific field.
“Grey.”
“Yes, Your Highness! What can I do for you?”
Grey smiled brightly. His effort to move his facial muscles to the maximum and smile innocently like a child was truly admirable.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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