Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 317

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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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317. Ghostly Voice (1)

Prince Willow was deeply enchanted by the Ghostly Voice. It was as if the Ghostly Voice had grabbed hold of a lifeline more terrifying than a leash around his neck.

If they fought the Ghostly Voice in this state, there was a high chance Prince’s soul would be extracted.

While the living would win the battle, the Ghostly Voice would take Prince Willow with it like a vengeful water ghost.

“We need to annihilate it in one strike without showing any signs of preparing for battle…”

Grey kicked the ground as if frustrated by the reality of his insufficient mana.

“What level of ‘not showing signs’ are we talking about?”

“Everything Willow sees and hears right now is being transmitted to the Ghostly Voice. If we pick up weapons, it’ll immediately extract his soul.”

“Damn.”

Serena clicked her tongue. Grey clicked his tongue as well.

“Lightning magic would be perfect, but you still can’t use it, right?”

Despite being unable to use magic himself due to his low mana reserves, Grey poked at Serena’s sore spot.

Serena reluctantly agreed while looking up at the ceiling.

‘You’d think it’s ridiculous that I can’t use magic just because there’s a ceiling. But imagine how frustrated I, the person involved, must feel.’

It wasn’t like Serena had been idle all this time. She had meditated and worked hard to change her mental imagery.

However, her perception of lightning was so firmly fixed that no matter how much she tried, she remained stuck in place.

“Can’t the Gura Giant shoot explosive arrows like last time?”

“That’s why it followed us – because we couldn’t kill it then. Spirits don’t have real bodies, so you need to hit them hard with magic.”

The magic users currently in the lobby were Serena, Grey, Count Randy, and Neet. A total of 4 people. Prince Willow was excluded since he was enchanted by the specter and usually only used oil generation magic anyway.

Count Randy had only learned basic magic, so he couldn’t deal magical damage to the specter either.

People’s gazes naturally turned to Countess Nex. Since she was even a royal mage, they hoped she might have some hidden trump card, but.

“Sorry. I specialize in support magic and enchantment…”

Countess Nex knew how to draw large-scale destructive or siege magic circles, but she didn’t know magic to focus-fire on specters. The magic circles would also require several mages of equal rank to actually operate once drawn.

Grey’s face, taut without a single wrinkle due to his youth, contorted.

“Damn. Can’t be helped. We’ll have to wait until morning and prepare our attack before the Ghostly Voice returns.”

“Everyone must not sleep! If anyone starts dozing, please wake them up!”

“The specter will bring cold and drowsiness – will that be alright? I’m not sure if Neet can endure it since she’s so young.”

“The cold should be fine since we have the campfire, and we’ll have to endure the drowsiness by forcibly waking each other up. Since there are many people, the power shouldn’t be that strong.”

“Cough. Um…”

People who suspected the Old Man’s identity gathered around Grey as the center to devise countermeasures against the Ghostly Voice.

Neet, who had no clue about Grey’s identity, interjected.

“Neet. You must be very sleepy, but you need to stay awake.”

“That’s not it. Cough. If it’s a Ghostly Voice, it’s someone who passed away, right?”

The necromancer, prophesied to become a Grand Mage someday, spoke in a small voice.

“Could I try talking to it? Cough.”

The impact of what the small necromancer said was tremendous. Grey asked the people gathered around him exactly what Neet had said.

“Would that be possible?”

“It’s not impossible, Grey. Stories of appeasing undead by listening to their grudges or requests and helping them find peace are passed down across the entire continent. If it’s Neet, who can communicate through magic, she might be able to persuade it with words.”

Countess Nex, who knew the most about necromancers, showed a favorable reaction. Her eyes sparkled as if it was an interesting topic for a mage.

“It seems too dangerous. Just because communication is possible doesn’t mean we’d let a child talk to a criminal.”

Count Alpha held a skeptical position. Low crossed his arms with his thick, muscular arms.

“Well. In my hometown too, there are legends passed down about persuading Ghostly Voices and sending them back. I’ve also heard stories that no Ghostly Voices appeared from the year a corpse was discovered. But like Sir Knight said, having that tiny child talk to a specter is a bit…”

“Bad for child’s education.”

Krom, an official undead, opposed dialogue with illegal undead. Count Randy carefully rubbed his chin.

“Even if we can’t achieve peace, I’d like to confirm if communication is possible. Considering Neet’s health, we should approach this carefully.”

“Cough. I think I’ll be okay!”

Neet spoke to the adults who kept worrying about her. Grey’s ashen eyes gleamed sharply.

“Neet. Is that your intuition as a mage?”

“Cough. Yes!”

Because Neet was young and the opponent was a powerful undead monster, Grey asked once more.

“Overconfidence is poison that kills mages. Is it really intuition that you’ll be okay, not arrogance?”

“Cough, I have a feeling. It’s as certain as when I thought I would definitely die.”

All living beings must die. If a child who remembered everything since birth and had always lived alongside death felt something as certain as a premonition of death, it was safe to trust.

“Then try it. If anything happens, stop immediately.”

“Huh? Is it really okay? That’s not a real specter but a fake specter.”

Olive expressed doubt while mimicking Sesi’s speech pattern. Ralph, the hope evangelist in charge of hope in the lobby, stepped forward with sparkling eyes.

“That’s not true! Even if it’s a fake specter, Neet will succeed! Look at Sesi! She tames fake monsters well too!”

“Does it work that way?”

Neet, backed by everyone’s expectations, especially the intellectual curiosity of the magic users, slowly walked toward the door.

“I wish to use the power permitted by the Heavens. I want to talk to the Ghostly Voice.”

Would the magic for communicating with the dead work on the Ghostly Voice too? At the moment when the magic users’ attention focused and tension rose.

Neet’s small head bent forward and returned to its original position. She had nodded.

People who were about to rush to the child in surprise returned to their positions.

“Yes, yes yes. Cough. I see. Cough. How about that? Cough. Ah, I understand.”

Lavenda’s voice trying to seduce the prince could no longer be heard from outside the door. The prince, who had been crawling earnestly while tied up, also stopped moving.

“She really seems to be talking to the Ghostly Voice!”

I hope it ends well through dialogue! The Young Knight’s chest swelled with dreams and hope.

“Cough. What you want is. Yes, I see.”

However, Neet’s atmosphere as she conversed with the specter grew increasingly dark.

As the conversation didn’t seem to be going as expected, adults poured advice disguised as interference onto the child.

“Ask if there’s a corpse in the snowy mountain! Ask if it will find peace if we find it!”

“Try to persuade it nicely to just release Willow from the enchantment!”

Amidst the pouring interference, Neet, who had been steadfastly continuing her conversation with the Ghostly Voice, stepped back and sighed.

“Phew. Cough cough.”

“Neet, are you alright?”

“Cough, yes.”

Neet had directly conversed with the Ghostly Voice but wasn’t enchanted. It was just as Neet had intuited.

However, as if the conversation hadn’t been worthwhile, Neet turned around and bowed her head to the expectant adults.

“I’m sorry. Cough. I can have a conversation, but it only says it must kill. Cough.”

The opponent was a fake monster placed to kill people who entered the labyrinth. The Ghostly Voice only repeated the same answer like a machine.

Kill the intruders in the labyrinth. That was the reason for existence of fake monsters within the labyrinth.

“I knew this would happen. How could you resolve a fake undead’s grudge? It’s different from taming monsters.”

Olive turned away with regret. The magic users considered even this a great harvest.

“Such information accumulates to become knowledge. Neet has made a great contribution.”

“That’s right, Neet. If it were a real Ghostly Voice outside the labyrinth, your attempt would have worked. This kind of challenging spirit is important for mages.”

Countess Nex stroked Neet’s head with her hand that was just bone attached to leather.

Neet obediently let her head rest in the Countess’s touch while moving her scab-covered lips visible between the bandages.

“Cough. But it says it can release Prince Willow.”

Serena and Grey, who had been slightly disappointed, perked up their ears. Grey, perhaps due to how urgent he felt, asked faster than Serena.

“Really?”

“Cough. Yes. But even if it releases him, it says it will seduce him again soon. It says that’s all it knows how to do. Cough.”

“That’s enough. That’s enough! Hahaha!”

At the words of the lobby’s youngest member, the lobby’s oldest member’s mouth opened wide with joy. Others also showed delight.

If the prince’s life wasn’t being held hostage, there were countless ways to deal with the Ghostly Voice.

“Is the prince already released now?”

“Cough. No. It will release him if we ask.”

“Good. Lavenda, when the prince is released, keep talking to him so he won’t be enchanted by the Ghostly Voice again. Krom, help Lavenda too. We’ll defeat the Ghostly Voice in the meantime.”

“Yes!”

The knight-maid, given a mission by the princess, nodded with a determined expression.

“Lady Serena, wait a moment!”

Countess Nex picked up the magic stone chalk used for drawing magic circles. She complained of joint pain throughout her entire body as she drew a magic circle on the lobby floor.

“Those who aren’t confident in their mental fortitude, come inside here.”

There was no need to order anyone to move the Prince into the magic circle. Countess Nex simply placed the Prince in the center and drew the magic circle around him.

“Hana. Stay in the magic circle with your siblings. Count Alpha and Ying. You two stay in the magic circle as well.”

Serena sent the Number Siblings, who had low mental defenses due to their unfortunate upbringing and young age, along with the knight and archer who had previously been enchanted by the Ghostly Voice, into the magic circle.

The Princess looked around for who to send in next.

‘Ralph? He’s optimistic so he could be easily enchanted, but at the same time, his optimism might protect him. Ugh, I don’t know. He can’t even fight spirits anyway, so I’ll tell him to go in.’

“Count Ralph. You should take shelter as well.”

“Me? I’m fine!”

“Still, just in case, please take shelter.”

“Yes.”

The Young Knight’s shoulders drooped as he started walking into the magic circle.

Ying, who was already inside the magic circle, grabbed the Young Knight’s body, turned him around, and pushed him back out.

“Fight and achieve victory, knight. The blessing of darkness has descended upon your shield.”

“I can fight too!”

The knight, delighted to be recognized by the Ying he admired, joyfully enlarged his new shield. Serena recalled that the Faithful Servant of Darkness had done something to the black shield.

‘Did he cast a blessing on it? If Ying says it’s fine, then it should be fine.’

Having Ralph handle defense would be reassuring.

Serena examined the faces of the remaining people.

‘Low should be fine since I’ve had him chase away the Ghostly Voice before. Olive should be fine too with her experience. Grey and Neet are fine, and Count Randy is fine too. And Philia is.’

The maid, whose eyes met with her one-eyed master, showed a dissatisfied expression but obediently entered the magic circle. She knew she would be a burden during combat with spirits.

Serena praised her friend with a smile while thinking.

‘Philia is surprisingly mentally strong. I don’t think she’ll be enchanted.’

No matter who the Ghostly Voice imitated, she was confident that Philia would never be enchanted as long as Serena held her hand. It was more a friend’s intuition than a mage’s intuition.

“Neet. Ask them to release Willow.”

“Cough. Yes. Heavenly….”

Neet cast the communication magic with the dead again. When she asked the Ghostly Voice to release the Prince, the Ghostly Voice very easily freed Prince Willow.

“Hmm? Did I doze off for a moment? Ah! L-L-Lady Lavenda? Did I perhaps hold your hand in my sleep? This absolutely wasn’t intentional!”

“Your Highness. Don’t look elsewhere and look at me. Feel my hands and listen only to my words.”

“Ah, I’m always doing that! My eyes and ears are always following you! Ugh, that hurts!”

“You must be tired from exercising lately. This area is very tense.”

The Mysterious Stranger took the opportunity of holding the Prince’s hand to stimulate pressure points good for his health.

“Aaaahhh!”

Serena exchanged glances with Grey and prepared to open the lobby door.

With Prince Willow’s screams as background music, the battle with the Ghostly Voice was about to begin.

“Wait!”

Just before Ralph opened the door, Serena shouted loudly and closed her left eye.

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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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