Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 269

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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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269. Nightmare-like Aftermath

Just when it seemed the priests would resolve everything, it ended anticlimactically due to a priest’s betrayal.

What remained in the leader’s chamber were Serena, who had become a supporting character only to become the protagonist again, her confused party, and the severely injured patients.

Everyone’s gaze focused on the princess, telling her to somehow handle it. Even though there was someone more noble than Serena present, the responsibility and cleanup fell to her.

‘Richard, just die! No! Just suffer until you’re on the brink of death!’

Serena abandoned her curse resistance and hurled every curse and profanity she knew at her cousin.

“How are the patients’ conditions?”

“Fortunately, Miss Muffin seems to have only fainted.”

The alchemist who had been holding and shaking Muffin delivered good news. With three patients total, only two pieces of bad news remained.

“The High Priest’s injuries are severe, so I don’t have the capacity to tend to the knight as well. Please take care of Knight Marin.”

“I’ll handle it. Someone disinfect hands and bring the severed hand and foot!”

The alchemist pulled out potions and medicines at random from his spatial bag, spreading them around. Ying, who had been quietly standing by, disinfected her hands and picked up the hand and foot that had fallen to the floor. She still frowned as if her eyes were dazzled.

“Fortunately, the cut surfaces are smooth.”

Clean cut surfaces are easier to reattach. Count Randy, who was aligning the cut surfaces, groaned.

“Oh no…”

“Why why why why why? Don’t make us anxious like that.”

The guide, who had been tying off the area above Knight Marin’s cut surfaces to stop the bleeding, clicked his teeth.

“The cut surfaces are in poor condition, as if cut by a magic sword. To reattach them, I’ll need to make thin cuts on the affected areas.”

“Ahhhhhhh.”

Ralph made a sound like he was fainting. Similarly, Count Alpha, who had been applying pressure to High Priest Hazel’s wound, stood up abruptly.

“I’ll do it. Count Hanson, please apply pressure in my place.”

“Y-yes!”

Count Sirius applied disinfectant to his axe. Count Randy fed painkillers to the still-conscious Knight Marin and put a handkerchief in his mouth.

“Knight Marin, endure this.”

“Grgh.”

The Fire Knight showed his will through blue eyes that blazed like fire. Count Randy first positioned the ankle for the knight to cut easily.

Like an executioner’s axe, the Imperial Knight’s double-bladed axe fell downward. The alchemist and archer pressed down with their body weight on the knight’s body that surged upward.

“Olive!”

“Got it!”

Olive had pre-cut the cut surface of the fallen ankle. Olive immediately attached the ankle and poured a high-grade recovery potion on it.

Since the cut surface could fall off again if they weren’t careful, Ying diligently wrapped bandages. Count Randy positioned the wrist for easy cutting. Again, Count Alpha’s axe rose up and fell down.

“Grrrrrgh!”

The talkative knight’s groans were also loud. However, this time no one who heard the knight’s voice frowned or moved away. Instead, they encouraged him to make sounds.

“Knight of Fire, you look so cool not fainting and enduring! I think I’m falling for you!”

“Grrrrrgh!”

Though he thought he wouldn’t hear any surrounding sounds due to his injuries, Knight Marin scrunched up one side of his face. He had winked at Olive. Seeing this, Olive couldn’t handle the knight’s charm and shook her head vigorously.

“Such a charmer!”

“If you’re done with treatment, please help here!”

The High Priest of Effort, who had been pouring recovery magic on High Priest Hazel, requested help. Count Randy roughly wiped the cold sweat flowing down his entire body with a handkerchief and washed his hands with disinfectant.

High Priest Hazel’s injuries were the most serious of the three. The Sword Master’s sword energy had damaged not only muscles but also internal organs.

As they learned while treating Knight Marin’s injuries, the Sword Master’s sword energy interferes with wound recovery. Even with a 5-star priest giving his all in treatment, keeping him barely alive was the best they could do.

“Damn! I can’t scrape it all out!”

Knight Marin’s wounds were small(?), so they solved it by making additional cuts to match the cut surfaces, but High Priest Hazel, who was diagonally cut across his torso, couldn’t use that method.

“Bindo is doing his utmost, but there are limits. Quickly do something!”

The High Priest of Effort knelt and clasped his hands together, requesting power from the heavenly Effort. The High Priest of Effort was truly making maximum effort, and others were also trying their best, racking their brains, but there was no other clever solution.

“This medicine won’t work, and this won’t either.”

“How about if I thinly slice the flesh with a dagger?”

“Couldn’t we forcibly attach the affected area by using all the recovery potions?”

Serena also held her head and tried to devise methods, but truly nothing came to mind. Serena called to her sibling, who was standing blankly like someone who had lost their soul while everyone else was busy.

“Seraph. Don’t you have any good medicine among what you got from the labyrinth?”

“Huh? I, I don’t know. I only got ordinary potions.”

Seraph finally came to his senses upon hearing his sister’s call. The prince bit his lips and rummaged through his spatial bag like the alchemist. No particular breakthrough emerged.

‘Does Ying have no plan?’

Serena looked at the High Priest of Darkness, who had never once betrayed her trust except for hiding her power. Ying, who noticed the gaze that was half as much as others’, slowly shook her head.

‘Even Ying’s power won’t work? At this rate, High Priest Hazel will die!’

Serena’s mind became confused.

Just when she was keenly realizing that there are things that don’t work even when everyone tries their best, and was sensing High Priest Hazel’s death.

“…Necklace.”

The Fire Knight said something in a weak voice like a dying candle. Before others could ask what he said, the archer removed the sealing necklace from the knight’s neck.

Then the two transparent stars above Knight Marin’s head filled with bright, vivid yellow light. Knight Marin, who had voluntarily removed his seal, irreverently sought his deity while lying down.

“Fire! Please remove the evil energy that blocks recovery!”

The heavenly Fire responded to the knight’s request. Though weaker than what they saw on the 10th floor, a similarly warm and gentle fire bloomed on High Priest Hazel’s wound and then died down.

“Huff huff. Now’s the time.”

“Effort! I don’t want to give up yet! Please give your earthly servant another chance to try harder!”

The High Priest of Effort pressed his forehead to the floor and prayed earnestly. Count Randy poured the previously useless high-grade recovery potion.

Since the organ damage was severe, two knights held the flesh, muscles, and skin apart so they wouldn’t heal first.

“The organs seem fine now.”

When the alchemist gave permission, the two knights pulled and attached the wound, opposite to how they had been holding it open. The High Priest of Effort collapsed, having exhausted all his strength. When High Priest Hazel’s skin healed, the recovery potions both parties possessed were also depleted.

“Phew. We barely made it just right.”

“Is it okay now?”

Seraph, who had been caring for the unconscious Muffin, asked in a dejected voice. Count Randy shook his head while wiping sweat.

“Both have severe blood loss. The regeneration potions we have now aren’t enough either. Ah, I’ll have to use that.”

The alchemist’s gaze fell on the regeneration potion that Richard, the cause of this situation, had left behind. Even if it was from an enemy, the object itself was innocent.

Seraph also seemed to think human life was more important than pride and feelings, as he didn’t throw a fit about not being able to use what Richard had given.

Count Randy briefly checked the regeneration potion’s components and poured one-fifth into High Priest Hazel’s mouth. When he tried to give the rest to Knight Marin, the Fire Knight declined.

“I’m fine, ugh. Really.”

‘There’s no way you’re fine.’

Right after the holy fire treated High Priest Hazel, one of the yellow stars shining above Knight Marin’s head became a gray star. His rank had dropped from 5-star to 4-star.

‘It must be because he removed the sealing device given by his deity. How petty, watching the whole situation and still doing this.’

Knight Marin probably knew what penalty would be given to him for removing the sealing device. It was fortunate that the Fire deity was gentle, or he could have faced divine wrath.

Knowing this, the knight’s courage in stepping forward to save High Priest Hazel was dazzling.

‘Right. Because he’s someone who knows honor like this, Fire probably endures and cherishes his chatter.’

The archer, who probably understood the entire situation, silently put the sealing necklace back on the knight’s neck.

“They lack blood, so we need to give them blood-increasing medicine. I’ll have to request a trade with Gold.”

Count Randy moved to a place where blood hadn’t pooled and took out the golden scales.

While the alchemist traded for blood-increasing medicine ingredients, Serena created water to let them wash their blood-stained hands. She covered the patients with a heated mana field to raise their body temperature. This was all Serena could do.

‘What do you mean one person’s worth? I haven’t done anything.’

The princess bit her lips so hard that blood seeped out.

Her mind was confused. She wanted to just faint like this.

‘How nice would it be if this was all a dream?’

Actually, Serena knew a way to make this entire terrible situation into a dream. She could die.

If she died, High Priest Hazel and Knight Marin’s injuries would all become things that never happened, and Knight Marin’s rank would return to 5-star. Priest Rihua’s betrayal would also become something that never happened.

It would be regrettable for the sincere conversation with her sibling to disappear, but if she stayed alive, wouldn’t there come a time to have a similar conversation again someday?

‘Should I die?’

If she died, she could start over. It was a sweet temptation that was hard to refuse. The princess, who had been struggling intensely, looked at the High Priest of Effort, who had said something meaningful just before.

The High Priest of Effort was constantly moving his mouth, encouraging the patients. It was mere preaching without mystical power, having exhausted all his strength.

“Cheer up. You’re alive. You must try to live. That is the duty of living beings.”

If the previous life’s Serena had heard this, wouldn’t she have scoffed that it was thinking only those with strength to try could have? Serena simultaneously recalled another name for effort in this world.

‘Only those who truly try can truly give up?’

Serena thought of the coin of effort in her possession. If Serena flipped the coin right now, which would come – fortune or misfortune?

It would be nice if she could be confident that good luck would come. But Serena wasn’t sure.

The Princess gritted her teeth.

‘Let’s just try to survive for now. It’s regrettable that Priest Rihua left the party, but no one died.’

She didn’t know what scheme the Light of Heaven had, but the Light chose Richard instead of the Serena and Seraph siblings among Huaim’s children. Priest Rihua’s betrayal was predetermined.

If it was an unavoidable betrayal anyway, the sooner the better.

“It’s complete.”

Count Randy, who had crafted a blood enhancement potion with inadequate equipment, fed the potion to High Priest Hazel and Knight Marin. Color returned to the faces of the patients who had been pale from losing so much blood.

“They’re fine now. The crisis has passed, so you can rest assured.”

The Empire’s genius alchemist comforted the Prince of Heuji. Seraph, who had been staying by the fallen patients’ side with a gloomy face, seemed relieved by those words and vented his irritation.

“What the hell happened!”

“Yes, yes. What I was saying earlier~”

“I can understand Hazel, Muffin, and Knight Marin attacking Richard! But why is Rihua taking Richard’s side!”

The first thing the Prince did after barely regaining his composure was to explode in frustration. Everyone looked at Seraph with pity, understanding his feelings.

A terrible silence descended upon the Leader’s Chamber.

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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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