Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 91

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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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91. Labyrinth Garden (2)

“Light!”

The person behind the corner immediately cast magic without warning.

Thanks to being on guard for whoever might appear, Serena barely managed to close her eyes before the light burst.

“Princess?”

Blinding the opponent with intense light while confirming their identity was a reasonable judgment.

A flustered voice was heard, as if they had realized the identity of their ‘opponent.’

Serena confirmed the intense light had faded and carefully opened her eyes. It was as she expected when she heard the “Light!” spell.

A small, delicate figure with pale skin and hair as if drained of all color. It was Rihua, a priest of the God of Light.

‘Of all people.’

There were two 5-star priests, and even a holy knight who was currently 3-star but could become 5-star at any time.

Yet she had to encounter the priest whose limit was 3-star. Serena was careful not to show her disappointment.

Fortunately, Rihua seemed flustered about casting light magic on the princess without warning and couldn’t look at Serena properly, focusing on apologizing instead.

“I’m sorry. I thought you might be a monster… Are your eyes alright?”

“I’m fine. That was the correct response in a labyrinth.”

“Did you also become separated right after coming down the stairs, Princess?”

“That’s right. You too, Priest Rihua?”

“Yes. I came down with the prince and other priests, but we all got scattered.”

It wasn’t just Serena’s group – Rihua and Seraph’s party were also scattered as soon as they reached this floor. Forced party dissolution was a characteristic of this layer.

Though she was the weakest member of Seraph’s party, having one more person was reassuring. Rihua seemed to feel the same way, as her expression brightened when looking at Serena.

“Is Seraph safe?”

“Yes, the prince is healthy. I heard his screams a few times which made me anxious, but he’s good at running away so he should be fine.”

The two stopped moving and decided to exchange information.

***

After parting with Serena’s group and following Seraph, Rihua and the priests proceeded through the 4th layer.

“At first it was so dark that even the power bestowed by the Light didn’t work, and undead appeared which worried us. Fortunately, areas filled with light appeared which was reassuring. Monsters that were easy to eat also appeared, reducing our food concerns.”

Rihua’s group conserved the preserved food in Serena and Ralph’s bags, making labyrinth chicken meat their main sustenance while conquering the 4th layer.

Just hearing about the protein-heavy diet and endless battles made Serena’s stomach feel queasy.

“High Priest Hazel and Knight Marin had experience conquering labyrinths, so they were of great help. Miss Muffin was also very helpful, always cheerful and never losing her smile. As for the prince…”

Rihua was praising each party member when she stopped at Seraph’s part.

The pure white priest glanced at Serena, then hesitantly continued.

“The prince was truly knowledgeable about trap detection and disarmament. I don’t mean to insult royalty, but he really had keen insight and sharp senses – High Priest Hazel said he possessed the qualities of a first-rate treasure hunter…”

“I’m aware. Trap creation and disarmament are hobby activities encouraged in our family.”

“So it was true! The prince said the same thing, but it seemed a bit strange…”

Priest Rihua seemed to have found Seraph’s words unreliable, but was relieved after hearing Serena’s confirmation.

With two 5-star priests, Rihua’s party’s labyrinth conquest went smoothly despite getting a bit lost. Until they reached the 5th floor and the party scattered.

“I was scared being separated alone. I’m so glad to meet you, Princess. It’s all thanks to the Light’s guidance.”

“I’m also happy to meet you, Priest Rihua. There’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”

“Yes. I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge.”

“From what I can see, you priests and Seraph were together just before being swallowed by the labyrinth. What happened?”

“Ah… that’s…”

Rustle.

As Rihua couldn’t answer easily, the sound of grass rustling was heard.

Rihua immediately cast magic in the direction of the sound.

“Light!”

“Wait! Give a warning first! Ugh!”

The light bomb exploded, not just blinding but actually painful to the eyes. Serena covered her right eye and staggered.

In the fading light, Priest Rihua frantically supported the princess.

“Ah, aah. I’m sorry! I’ve been running away like this the whole time and didn’t think of the princess. And Knight Marin too. It would have been better if you had spoken first. You choose to observe your vow of silence at times like this. I’m truly sorry.”

“…!”

Marin, who took a direct hit from the light bomb, groaned while covering her face with both hands.

Rihua’s delicate apologies didn’t stop until both their vision recovered.

***

After the princess and holy knight’s vision recovered, Serena greeted Marin.

The blue-haired holy knight was still wearing the necklace for her vow of silence, but…

“Are you really conquering the labyrinth? The Huji royalty are truly proactive.”

Unable to contain herself upon seeing Serena, she changed the practice period from “1 day 2 hours” to 0 minutes.

‘Is she really observing a vow of silence?’

If she was going to waste a day’s practice like this, why didn’t she speak when she found Rihua? Then she wouldn’t have been hit by the light bomb.

Wouldn’t it be better to stop the practice until escaping the labyrinth since it’s a dangerous place anyway?

Whether Serena was dissatisfied or not, Marin closed her mouth again.

“Knight Marin is safe too. What a relief.”

Rihua showed genuine relief, happy that a more reliable holy knight had joined rather than just the princess.

Serena was equally glad to see Marin.

A priest and a mage – having two rear-guard classes together and then meeting a holy knight was incredibly reassuring.

Marin enthusiastically pointed her finger in a specific direction.

‘If you just started the vow of silence, just speak.’

While finding it absurd, Serena managed her expression and tried to understand Marin’s gestures.

“Over there. Someone. Is there?”

Marin nodded vigorously. This time she brought her hand to her ear.

“You heard. A sound?”

The holy knight nodded enthusiastically. Serena and Rihua followed Marin.

The 5th floor had the vicious gimmick of forcibly dissolving parties, but in exchange had a low monster appearance rate.

They had moved enough to encounter monsters or traps, yet hadn’t come across any.

‘Meeting that grass wolf at the beginning was just bad luck.’

The one grass wolf they happened to encounter ended when Marin split the wolf’s head with her axe.

The flames erupting from the fire holy knight’s axe were very effective against the plant monsters of the 5th floor.

Deciding to leave combat comfortably to Marin, Serena continued her unfinished conversation with Rihua.

“About the conversation that was interrupted earlier.”

“Yes, I’ll answer you. Actually, after the evil traitor Duke Oren assassinated His Majesty Harold II, the prince came to where the priests were gathered in meeting. To ask for treatment of His Majesty the King.”

“Was grandfather still breathing?”

“No.”

Rihua squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

“It’s devastating to say, but with his head and neck separated, he would have died instantly. But the prince was so shocked and panicked that he couldn’t think of that. Well, of course. Witnessing his cousin murder his grandfather right before his eyes…”

A severed neck cannot be reattached, and even if reattached, wouldn’t come back to life.

Seraph, who witnessed Richard’s grandfather’s murder at the scene, was too shocked to think rationally.

Serena pressed her forehead.

‘He had to be there at that moment.’

“Really. How pitiful it was.”

Seraph’s condition at the time must have been terrible, as Rihua kept repeating how pitiful it was.

“My heart felt like it was breaking just watching.”

Marin also couldn’t contain herself and interrupted, turning a few minutes to 0 minutes.

‘So this is why the distinguished priests who came as envoys were dragged around by Seraph’s stubbornness.’

A 16-year-old boy who witnessed his cousin murder his grandfather right before his eyes.

Seeing the young prince terrified, panicked, and not in his right mind, they couldn’t firmly refuse out of worry and pity.

“We were attending to the prince to understand the situation when the palace shook, and when I opened my eyes, we were in the labyrinth.”

“Where was your starting point?”

“The 3rd Layer. High Priest Hazel immediately realized it was a labyrinth and we were discussing what to do when suddenly the traitor Duke Oren appeared. The prince became excited as soon as he saw Duke Oren…”

What followed was as Serena already knew.

‘So it’s possible to start from the 3rd Layer.’

Olive and Ying had also come up from the 2nd Layer. It was only a one-floor difference so she hadn’t really felt it, but hearing they started from the 3rd Layer was somewhat chilling.

‘I’m fortunate I fell to the 1st Floor.’

If she had fallen to the deep layers of the labyrinth, she might not have been able to withstand the labyrinth’s difficulty and headed straight to the golden path upon death.

Even if she had decided to conquer it, she might have given up and escaped, unable to bear watching party members die.

‘Even starting from the 1st Floor, people die like this, so if I started from a deep layer, I would have quickly given up for my mental health.’

Serena thought about whether there was more information to dig up, then returned to how the priests met Seraph.

“The fact that the priests gathered for a meeting before the earthquake happened. What was that about?”

All the priests from various sects who were in Heuji Royal Palace were envoys who came to celebrate the thousandth anniversary of the kingdom’s founding. In other words, they were guests.

Since priests from various sects had gathered, it was natural for them as people in the same profession to hold meetings and have conversations.

But they didn’t just have simple conversations—they held a meeting?

“That is…”

The priest of light seemed to have difficulty answering the princess’s question and trailed off.

Rihua’s rabbit-like red eyes glanced furtively at Marine walking ahead.

Sensing the gaze, Marine stopped walking and turned around.

The deep blue eyes of the paladin, who was taller than Serena, gazed intently at the princess.

“An oracle was delivered.”

“May I speak?”

Serena was momentarily confused whether Rihua’s question was ‘May I speak while under a vow of silence?’ or ‘May I tell the princess the truth?’

Of course, the answer was the latter.

The paladin, who wore the vow of silence necklace as mere decoration, continued with a shocking statement.

“Most of the priests and paladins gathered in Hujihen received oracles.”

‘Wasn’t it a disaster situation alert?’

Perhaps the gods knew a labyrinth would be created and warned the priests in advance?

Serena thought that for a moment, then immediately changed her mind.

Since the priests gathered for a meeting instead of immediately fleeing from Hujihen upon receiving the oracle, it couldn’t have been an evacuation warning.

“May I ask about the content of the oracle?”

“The words that the great ones residing in heaven bestowed upon their humble servants were all different. The oracle I received from the Blazing Flame was this:”

High-temperature flames danced gracefully within Marine’s blue eyes.

“Help the child of Huaim.”

“The revelation I received from the Brilliant Light was similar. I was told to help the royal family of Heuji.”

“What an amazing story.”

Both the fact that oracles came down and their content were surprising.

Serena anxiously organized the shocking information.

The fantasy world she was reincarnated into had gods that actually existed and granted power to humans, but they didn’t interfere in human society.

The reason was simple. Gods had nothing to gain or lose by meddling with humans.

Does water in the world increase because humans work hard? Does land disappear from this world because humans work hard? Does gravity suddenly increase because humans work hard?

None of that happens.

The reason gods bestowed blessings on humans was mostly because they found them admirable.

It was similar to sprinkling sugar because ants writing one’s name in sand and dancing was cute and admirable.

Of course, there were exceptions. Gods of small streams or small hills, whose power could increase or decrease through human strength, actively tried to increase priests and believers. Of course, since the blessings they could give were mediocre, their religious expansion was minimal.

But look at the gods served by the priests traveling with Seraph. Light, fire, earth, and even decay, though slightly lacking.

‘All those gods sent down oracles?’

Especially the Earth God was a god who, uniquely among the powerful gods, had great interest in humans.

The god was popular among civilians for granting priests healing magic and blessings helpful for farming and civil engineering. In some kingdoms, the religion was so strong it was designated as the state religion.

“Did High Priest Hazel also receive an oracle?”

“Yes. The High Priest proposed the meeting.”

‘Why did the gods send down oracles?’

If they simply pitied those caught up in the labyrinth, warning them to evacuate in advance would have been enough.

Instead, they specifically mentioned House Huaim and told them to help?

‘I’ll have more questions when I die.’

Serena realized there was another reason why all the priests followed Seraph.

They were receiving oracles and in a meeting when the prince in desperate condition requested help, so the priests must have thought this was the gods’ will.

‘Wasn’t it just getting caught up in the labyrinth? This headache is killing me.’

This was all Richard’s fault.

Serena cursed her unlucky cousin while massaging her temples.

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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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