Chapter 111: The Solemn One

Whoosh— *smack*.

*Splurt*.

Under that tremendous force, the dark elf, hurled like a cannonball, didn't even manage a scream before being smashed flat against the dragon's face into a smear of meat paste.

Dead on the spot!

"Hm!?"

The dragon too was thrown into a daze by the "Madman's" sudden outburst, blinking stupidly, its pupils straining downward as it tried to look at the corner of its own mouth.

What the hell just hit my mouth?

What the heck is that…

"Madman," seizing the moment while the dragon was stunned, unleashed every ounce of his strength.

"Ha!"

He drew a deep breath, then slammed his fists against his chest.

*Thump! *

Berserk.

His body visibly swelled by a size, bloodshot veins filling his eyes, muscles bulging and twitching, even the short hair on his head standing on end.

But it was still far from over.

At this life-or-death moment, he would hold absolutely nothing back!

*Thump! *

Bloodthirsty Frenzy!

*Thump! *

Undying Berserk!

*Thump! *

Legendary Frenzy!

"Rooooar!!!"

After stacking several berserk abilities, the "Madman" had now swelled from his original two-meter hulk into a five-meter-tall, five-meter-wide small giant.

"Madman" no longer looked anything like his original self; his overly small head looked utterly out of proportion with his body.

Black-purple all over, muscles knotted and bulging, the heart in his chest thudding like thunder, crimson blood mingled with chunks of organs drooling from the corner of his mouth.

This state couldn't be maintained for long—before long his body would collapse under the strain.

But in this moment, "Madman" was immensely powerful.

At the cost of burning his own life, he had gained unprecedented strength.

He even felt it—he could strangle a dragon to death!

Inspired by this mad will, he moved.

He charged at the dragon.

I am strong.

I will not die!

I can survive!

So long as I kill it, I can live!

Right.

Just like every time he faced a life-or-death crisis.

My path of legend is forged by this very thing!

Kill it, and I'm the winner!

The small giant thundered forward, his chest heaving, and let out a mad roar that echoed through the entire Endless Maze.

"Go! Die!"

And at that very moment, the stunned dragon finally realized what had happened.

"Bleeeh!"

"You damned bastard!!!"

The dragon, in a very human-like manner, swiped a paw across its face in disgust and let out a dry heave: "What the hell did you just do!?"

"Bleeeh!"

*Whoosh—*

With a powerful flap of the wings on its back, the dragon took straight to the air; the gale from the wingbeats blasted "Madman" two meters backward!

Charge!

Charge!

The tremendous impact jolted "Madman" back to his senses for an instant, and he suddenly realized exactly what kind of monster he was facing.

"N-no, that's not right!"

But coming to his senses now was, admittedly, a little too late.

Because his actions just now had thoroughly enraged a beast that had been deliberately holding itself back.

*Rooooar—*

"I'm going to kill you!!!"

The tyrannical, frenzied dragon had originally planned to just go through the motions—put in a token effort, get a bit of exercise with a little fight, no need to actually kill anyone…

But now it seemed someone simply didn't appreciate the favor.

Not only refusing to flee, but daring to deliberately provoke her!

She fell into an extreme rage.

And so.

The blazing sun descended.

Endless raging fire filled the entire space.

The berserk warrior naively tried to block the flames with his arms, but in the end blocked nothing at all.

Roaring within the fire, wailing, begging for mercy…

Until finally turning into a pile of ash upon the ground.

……

【Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

Learnt too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.】

……

"Although I don't know what happened, I'm afraid we've already arrived at the Prison of No Light."

The old woman called "Zula" frowned tightly, rubbed her staff with her fingers, and asked the people beside her in a solemn voice: "Can you confirm our current position?"

"My lord, I'm afraid not… we didn't enter according to the original plan."

That person hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice: "According to the message that came back, as long as we enter here, Lord Swani should also be able to sense us."

Zula nodded slowly.

"Then wait a moment, don't act rashly."

Although they were in darkness, the ten dark elves all appeared very calm.

They were a race that lived in shadowy lands; nearly every one of them possessed a certain degree of night vision, and didn't find this sort of environment problematic at all.

As long as we wait a little longer, the nine of us will be able to find Swani.

Once we do, even if we don't run into anyone else, eight people will be enough to break out with her; if those people can't keep up, then they can stay behind and draw fire for the seven of us.

Even if only six of us remain, that's still enough to gather the others…

"……"

Suddenly, an uneasy whisper emerged from the darkness.

"Are we… missing someone?"

After the number of people had gradually dwindled by half, someone finally realized something was wrong.

She shook her head violently, crying out in agony:

"I—we only had four people to begin with!!? Wasn't it five?"

"No, that's not right, I saw it! We originally…"

Halfway through speaking, she suddenly went mad and ran off into the distance, vanishing in an instant.

"What's wrong with her!"

"Lord Zula, should we go after her!?"

"The three of us can't split up any further… no, that's wrong!"

At this moment, Zula finally reacted as well, realizing that the consciousness of their group was likely compromised.

The "Serious One" suddenly flung open her eyes; her aged, wrinkled skin all smoothed out at this moment, and her spirit jolted violently.

No… that's not right!

What her eyes saw might not necessarily be real.

Could it be that all of them had been Trapped in Illusion?

Had they actually never left?

Realizing this, the "Serious One's" spirit thunderously shook, and from her mouth came a screech like a night owl's.

"WAKE UP!!!"

The piercing sound stabbed into the ears of the only two remaining like a sharp sword, making them let out a howl of agony.

"Ah!"

But just as blood flowed from their ears, the scene before their eyes shifted.

The Illusion shattered!

They still stood within the lightless space, but before their eyes now appeared a massive black iron coffin, and… seven or eight withered corpses collapsed in front of it.

They saw a head.

That beautiful head poking out from the coffin slowly opened its eyes, licked the fresh blood remaining on its lips, and flashed them a smile that was enchanting yet tinged with madness.

"Oh, you actually woke up? Sigh, why bother?"

"If you'd waited just a little longer, you could have ended it painlessly. You really are unlucky, insisting on waking up now."

"But it doesn't matter that you've woken up—I can still let you sleep a little longer."

The vampire prince, who had at long last enjoyed a hearty meal, was in a very pleasant mood. He nodded contentedly at the few solemn, uneasy figures before him and smiled:

"Alright, I'll only say this once."

"Give me your blood."

……

【Serious men, near death, see with dazzling sight,

Blind eyes can blaze like meteors and beam with joy,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.】

(End of chapter)