Chapter 479 The Labyrinth and the Monster

“Prarlulu, do you know where this is?”

“Um…… I only know this is the path leading to the deepest layer. But why it looks like this, I cannot say for certain—places like this are always tied to the host’s personal experiences.”

“Experiences? A labyrinth like this……?”

Hulim Heyerar fell into thought.

She had a vague sense that this labyrinth held great significance.

“Run…… run away.”

A faint, unexpected voice spoke up among them.

“Huh???”

All eyes turned to Hena, still on Miko’s back.

“Hena??”

Miko asked in astonishment.

“Was that you speaking just now?”

But Hena gave no response to her question.

She only clutched tightly at Miko’s clothes, her young eyes filled with pure terror.

“It’s…… it’s coming. It’s coming……”

“? What’s coming——”

“Roar——!!!”

Before Miko could finish her sentence, a bloodcurdling roar exploded throughout the labyrinth.

Immediately after, heavy footsteps thundered from an unknown direction.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud……

Though they could not see its form, the group could clearly sense something rushing toward them at high speed.

“Aaaaaah——!”

Hena suddenly clamped her hands over her head and screamed in terror.

“Hena?!”

“What’s wrong?! Calm down, we’re here! We’ll protect you!”

“Aaaaaah……”

No matter how Miko tried to soothe her, Hena could not regain her composure.

“Hulim, what do we do now?!”

In desperation, Miko turned to Hulim for help.

“Stay calm. Do not panic. Let us first see what this thing is.”

Hulim said evenly, her gaze fixed steadily on one direction.

Beside her, Prarlulu also stared that way, her face taut with anxiety.

“Right.”

Miko nodded and glanced instinctively in the same direction.

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And then——

she saw it clearly.

Scrape!

A massive, pitch-black claw emerged from a crossroads, gripping the wall at the corner.

“Groar……”

Along with a guttural, unsettling growl, a hideous, terrifying head slowly poked out from behind the wall. A single enormous, scarlet eye locked onto them with a murderous glare.

“Eeeeeek——!”

Prarlulu shrieked at the top of her lungs on the spot.

At the sound of her scream,

the creature seemed to rouse into a frenzy, grinning maliciously as it stepped fully into view.

“Roar——!”

Its massive, fanged maw let out a roar thick with the stench of decay, spittle flying through the air.

Thud——!

In the next instant,

the pitch-black cyclops-like monstrosity, its body nearly filling the entire passage, stomped the ground hard and charged straight at the four girls.

“Wah! It—It’s coming——!!!” Prarlulu paled in terror.

Boom!

A flash of white light burst forth.

A huge white beam struck the monster dead-on, sending it flying backward.

“Huh?”

Prarlulu froze mid-scream.

“It was sent flying?”

Her gaze slowly shifted to Hulim.

Incredible……

To take down a monster like that in a single blow——

“No…… it hasn’t been defeated yet.” Hulim replied calmly.

“Huh? But it just——”

Prarlulu turned back in confusion, only to see the cyclops monstrosity climbing back to its feet completely unharmed. She stared in utter disbelief.

“No way! It didn’t take a single scratch! Why is a random corridor monster this powerful?!”

“This means……” Hulim glanced at Hena, who had been trembling uncontrollably on Miko’s back this entire time, “The memories tied to this part of her mind are etched with this level of deep, primal fear.”

But this was problematic.

Her last attack had been a Sixth-Tier spell, yet it had not dealt so much as a single wound.

Was this creature truly invincible?

Staring at the monster charging toward them once more, Hulim felt a flicker of difficulty.

No.

To find out if it was truly unbeatable, she would have to test that one move……

“Hulim, let’s run! We can’t fight something like this!”

“Prarlulu is right—we have to flee!”

Both Prarlulu and Miko urged retreat.

Yet Hulim stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.

She extended her right hand forward and said calmly to the other two:

“Step back. Keep your distance from me.”

The two did not understand what Hulim intended, but they obeyed without hesitation.

Buzz, buzz……

Crimson light flickered endlessly around Hulim.

“What…… is this?”

Miko watched, bewildered.

In the next moment,

Boom——!

A scarlet beam erupted from in front of Hulim,

striking the charging monster instantly.

The red light pierced through its body without resistance, leaving a gaping hole in its torso.

The light faded.

The monster froze in place, its scarlet eye wide with shock and confusion, as if unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Its body began to disintegrate rapidly, starting from the hole in its chest.

Within a few seconds,

the monster vanished completely.

“……”

What in the world was that???

Both Miko and Prarlulu stood rooted to the spot, the same question echoing in their minds.

Even Hena on Miko’s back stopped trembling, her unfocused eyes fixed on Hulim’s back.

“It seems to be dealt with……”

Hulim turned back to face the three.

“Next, we need to find the labyrinth’s exit.”

“O-Oh……”

Miko and Prarlulu nodded numbly, their voices strangely respectful.

“?”

“Why are you talking like that? It sounds odd.”

“Uh…… w-why indeed?” Miko’s eyes darted about, then she turned to Prarlulu. “Prarlulu, she’s asking you.”

“Huh?? Me?!” Prarlulu stared at Miko in shock, then at Hulim.

“……”

“I-I——”

“Never mind, you don’t have to answer.”

Hulim said with a faint sigh.

“Let’s leave here quickly. Prarlulu, can you find a way out?”

“I…… I can try. Um, this way?”

“Are you sure?”

“I think so? Maybe……?”

“……”

A long while later,

the group halted at a four-way intersection.

“……We’re lost.” (Hulim)

“……Yeah, we’re lost.” (Miko)

“We’re lost——”

(Stare——) x2

Two intense gazes fixed on her.

“……I’m sorry.”

Prarlulu covered her face and sank into a crouch.

“I’m so sorry for leading us astray when I didn’t even know the way! I really am a useless elf! Just leave me behind and go on without me!”

“Ahem…… It’s not your fault, Prarlulu. This labyrinth is simply far too complex. Besides, since it’s a manifestation of Hena’s memories, there must be some kind of clue here. Let’s look more carefully.”

Thud——!

A sudden tremor rumbled through the labyrinth.

“What now?” Miko lifted her head, her ears twitching constantly as she tried to locate the source of the sound.

Thud!

The sound came again,

much closer this time.

“It’s coming toward us?”

“Roar——!!!”

The roar drew nearer, echoing through the passages.

“That voice——”

Miko’s face paled, and she exclaimed in shock:

“It’s that same monster! But Hulim destroyed it, didn’t she?!”