Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 68

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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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68. Shouting This Bastard from the Mountain Peak

“Because I have to kill Richard.”

People were shaken by the prince’s confession that he would chase after and kill his cousin.

“Richard—do you mean Duke Oren, whom the Princess told us is a Sword Master?”

“Duke? Don’t call that hideous beast by such a title!”

“I know there’s no blood or family ties when it comes to power struggles among nobles, but saying it so openly? Scary~”

Olive and Ralph, who had never met Richard and only knew the three-line summary Serena had given them in the lobby, were shocked.

The priests weren’t as surprised. Rather, they wore expressions showing they understood Seraph’s reaction.

“Your Highness, I understand your feelings, but this is the labyrinth. Since you’ve met the Princess, how about going up to the 1st floor to discuss future plans?”

High Priest Hazel of the Earth God stepped forward as representative to persuade Seraph. Seraph flared up as soon as he heard the persuasion.

“What are you saying! What if the traitor escapes even further while we’re doing that!”

“Since this is the labyrinth, Duke Oren also…”

“Traitor!”

“The traitor won’t be able to escape easily either. According to what Count Randy told us yesterday, we’re all trapped in the labyrinth. I understand Your Highness’s desire for revenge, but now is the time to prioritize Your Highness’s safety.”

High Priest Hazel’s voice was low and gentle, inspiring trust just from its tone. The content was also reasonable, so this should be enough to break his stubbornness, but the prince’s will remained unbroken.

“Isn’t the Princess here as well?”

When the high priest mentioned his sister, Seraph’s eyes wavered.

Should she add her words or not? While she pondered which would help persuade her stubborn brother, Seraph’s wavering gaze hardened. Perhaps because it had wavered then hardened again, it was firmer than before.

“The 1st floor has food and is safe, right? You wait there. I’m going to chase after and kill the traitor.”

“Seraph, don’t do that and come up with us.”

“No.”

“Why are you being so strangely stubborn? You don’t even know how dangerous the labyrinth is.”

“That bastard killed Grandfather!”

Serena, who had been trying to persuade her brother, was left speechless.

“That crazy bastard, that ungrateful patricide killed Grandfather. He dared—not with any other sword, but with Huaim’s treasured sword—he beheaded Grandfather!”

The kinslaying incident she had heard about from Count Randy. After meeting Richard, she had confirmed the perpetrator, but thinking only that her brother needed to survive, she hadn’t deduced the victim.

With this, the outline of the incident that occurred in Heuji Royal Palace before the earthquake was revealed.

After Duke Oren assassinated his grandfather Harold II, he strutted through the palace with sword in hand. If the earthquake hadn’t occurred immediately after, sweeping everyone into the labyrinth, a bloodbath would have erupted in the palace.

At the news that the king had actually died, Count Randy’s face went pale. Ralph and Olive, who had been unaware of the incident at the palace, cowered in fear. Ying maintained her expressionless face even upon hearing the king had died.

“If it’s Grandfather, that’s the King of Heuji. It really is treason, isn’t it? His Highness has good reason to be angry.”

“His, His, His Majesty was assassinated? By Duke Oren? Is that true?”

The priests nodded with somber expressions. The priests understood Seraph’s anger and stubbornness because they knew this fact.

Seraph ground his teeth, burning with rage.

“Grandfather cherished that bastard so much. The bastard who would have ascended to the throne anyway killed Grandfather ungratefully. Not Father, but Richard!”

The heir who was 4th in succession but could become 1st at any time had killed the grandfather who doted on him.

Not knowing the motive for the crime made Seraph even more furious. He was angrier because he had been jealous of the affection and attention his grandfather showered on his cousin.

“So don’t try to stop me. I’m going to kill Richard. This is my legitimate right and duty.”

Watching her brother hold back tears while filled with indignation, Serena sighed inwardly.

‘It would have been better if Father had died.’

Then it would have been easier to persuade Seraph.

Anyone who knew would criticize her for being heartless. That’s why she only thought it to herself. Serena’s interest and affection for family members other than her brother was exactly this much.

Isn’t the world about give and take? Since they hadn’t given love and attention, Serena had nothing to give back.

“Yes, that’s your right and duty. But…”

“I’m leaving now.”

“Listen to me for a moment. Richard is a Sword Master.”

“Right. They knew too. You told them, but they already knew? Did that bastard Richard ask you to keep it secret?”

“I didn’t know until I entered the labyrinth either.”

“Liar. Richard only likes you.”

Though they were both cousin siblings, Richard had particularly cherished Serena. Seraph, who thirsted for affection and attention from others, had known this for a long time.

“But that’s all lies. Don’t be fooled, Serena. That bastard Richard really tried to kill you. He said he’d kill you even before killing Grandfather. I saw it clearly.”

Seraph mocked Serena. But fear lingered in his amethyst eyes. His feelings of worry that his sister might abandon him and collude with their cousin were clearly revealed.

‘Why would I conspire in treason with Richard? He really has no faith in me.’

Was the problem a lack of trust, or her brother’s lack of self-esteem? Or both? Serena held back a sigh.

“I didn’t collude with Richard. What I want to say is that Richard is strong because he’s a Sword Master. Think realistically. You can’t kill Richard.”

Seraph, who had neglected sword training and become addicted to alcohol and gambling at a young age, couldn’t possibly face Richard. It would be fortunate if he didn’t become minced meat like the Labyrinth Deer had.

“How can you be so certain? This is the labyrinth. This strange space where you can get mysterious magical tools as rewards. They say if you wish strongly enough, it gives you power too. Here, even a magic sword capable of killing a Sword Master might appear.”

Seraph shook the subspace bag he had obtained from the treasure chest. Serena pressed her forehead.

“The fact that such precious treasures appear means it’s a labyrinth dangerous enough to warrant them. Are you planning to die miserably in the labyrinth before catching up to Richard?”

“Don’t force your lack of revenge on me too.”

“I’m not saying don’t take revenge, I’m saying let’s think about getting out of the labyrinth first. Since it’s certain Richard committed treason, if we get out of the labyrinth and gather the army…”

“You do that. I’m going.”

Seraph cut off Serena’s words and urged Count Randy to quickly bring out food and potions. Count Randy looked helplessly at the Princess. When Serena shook her head, the count clutched his bag to his chest.

The prince scrunched up his pretty face, then with unbelievable skill snatched the bags from nearby Serena and Ralph.

“Then give me yours at least!”

“Seraph!”

“Ah!”

Serena, who had been caught off guard and had her bag stolen, tried to grab her brother, but Seraph was quicker than expected. The prince stuffed the two stolen bags into his subspace bag, passed by the people who were still dumbfounded, and stomped the floor with his foot.

Then a door hidden in the floor was revealed. Seraph opened the door and fled.

“What just happened?”

“I don’t know either. It all happened so suddenly.”

Serena, who had her bag stolen with her eyes wide open, stood frozen, only blinking. After about 7 seconds, she let out a lion’s roar filled with anger accumulated from dying seven times.

“Hey, you bastard!”

At the angry cry that echoed thunderously throughout the entire 3rd layer, a monster’s cry came from nearby as if it wouldn’t be outdone.

Ooooooh!

Fear! The formidable enemy of the 3rd layer, the Labyrinth Deer, which had an effect that drained strength from parts of the body upon hearing it, cried out again while climbing the highest peak of the 3rd layer.

Aaaaaaaah!

I have the loudest voice on this layer! At the continuing cry as if boasting, Serena suddenly came to her senses.

‘Right. They said we didn’t catch the strong enemy.’

Since they had caused such a commotion at the highest central point of the 3rd layer, they had naturally drawn the strong enemy’s attention.

The Labyrinth Deer hadn’t reached the summit yet, as the sound came from slightly below rather than above.

“The strong enemy is coming! Yo!”

“Wh-what do we do, Princess?”

Olive urged people to prepare for battle, while Ralph looked only at Serena, not knowing what to do.

Ying had already assumed a fighting stance, and Count Randy, thinking it would be better to flee through the door Seraph had disappeared through rather than fight, pointed at the floor.

Hazel, the leader of the priest party, seemed to ponder for a moment, then opened the floor door.

“I will attend to His Highness.”

“What? You’re not going with the Princess?”

“Uh, then I’ll follow Lord Seraph too! See you later, Lady Serena!”

At Hazel’s declaration, Rihua hurriedly followed. Marine bowed silently like a cleric observing a vow of silence, and Muffin wavered back and forth before finally entering the door.

“All the priests disappeared.”

With the priests they had relied on gone, Olive felt deflated.

“Should we just run away too? Yo?”

“No. We’re catching it.”

If they left this damn Labyrinth Deer alone, it would definitely keep interfering with the party. Serena decided to catch the deer while they had encountered it.

“How? Yo?”

“Since it’s still climbing the cliff, I’ll use oil creation magic.”

“It would be nice if the priest made stairs so it could hold on even when slipping~”

“It probably can’t withstand a quantity offensive.”

“Quantity?”

Ying had already climbed up onto the nest and was shooting arrows. Serena climbed up onto the nest with Ying’s help, then applied oil to the footing of the chamois climbing up from below.

“I’m sick of your crying, you bastard!”

Having secured the high ground and not needing to move, she unleashed magic spells as much as her mana could support.

Serena had the qualities of a glass cannon. Since she hadn’t learned high-tier offensive magic yet, she was still closer to a glass machine gun.

The Labyrinth Deer became flustered as slippery oil was applied to everywhere it could step or land after jumping.

By appropriately mixing oil creation magic and mana bullets to drive the Labyrinth Deer into a frenzy, and having Ralph drop the logs that were nest materials when his hands were free, the Labyrinth Deer finally opened its mouth wide to show its anger.

Ooooooh!

“Shut up!”

Serena drove an ice spike into the chamois’s open mouth. Though unintended, she must have hit its uvula, as the Labyrinth Deer shook its massive upper body.

She applied oil again where the front legs that fell from the cliff would land. The Labyrinth Deer couldn’t hang onto the cliff and slid down smoothly.

Just as Olive had worried, it seemed like it might avoid falling by stepping on the stairs, but suddenly stone pillars jutted out from the cliff and pushed the Labyrinth Deer away.

“High Priest Hazel must be helping us!”

“Can you see outside from down there?”

“There were holes all over the cliff, so he could have seen through those.”

Aaaaaaaah-!

The Labyrinth Deer pushed from the stairs stretched out its legs, but unfortunately the length wasn’t enough. Having lost its balance while stretching its legs, the Labyrinth Deer screamed as it fell below.

Since it fell from a higher place than before, the notification appeared correspondingly later. Only after receiving the notification for defeating a strong enemy did Serena click her tongue.

“Annoying bastard.”

While the Princess was clicking her tongue, Count Randy finished storing the half-organized condor materials into his spatial bag.

Ralph, who unlike Serena couldn’t receive notifications about whether enemies were dead or alive and thus didn’t know the Labyrinth Deer’s fate, looked down below and cried out in surprise.

“This is terrible!”

“What’s wrong?”

“The stairs are disappearing!”

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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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