Chapter 480 The Suspicious Directions

Not long after,

the very same cyclops monstrosity from before appeared before the group at a corner.

“Miko, Prarlulu, step back.”

Buzz, buzz……

Crimson light flickered faintly around Hulim Heyerar once more.

“Right, got it!”

The two immediately moved away from Hulim with Hena in tow.

Boom——!

The crimson light beam blasted forth.

“Roar!”

At the moment the beam was about to strike, the monster leaped upward with all its strength.

Yet its legs were still grazed by the light.

The monster’s body then began to disintegrate from the lower half upward.

After a short while,

it vanished from the spot just as it had before……

Hulim lowered her right hand slowly, but a faint sense of unease welled up within her.

Its movement speed has increased?

This was far from a good sign.

“Miko, Prarlulu, we need to pick up the pace.”

The group set off again.

But before they had gone far,

Thud——!

The familiar tremor returned once more.

The group halted and looked toward the source of the vibration.

Hulim’s gaze gradually turned grave.

“The time between its appearances has shortened too……”

After two encounters, Hulim had already realized the truth: this creature was little more than a projection of one of Hena’s fears. Even if destroyed, it would reappear endlessly—so long as the root cause remained unaddressed, these projections would spawn infinitely, impossible to wipe out completely!

“There’s no use fighting it. Keep moving.”

Hulim abandoned further combat with the monster and began running through the labyrinth with Miko and the others.

Thud! Thud! Thud……

The heavy footsteps of the monster pursued closely behind them.

“It’s coming…… it’s going to catch up! Aaaaaah——” Hena reacted violently to the monster chasing them.

She clamped her hands over her ears, her eyes filled with terror, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“Scary, scary, scary……”

She repeated the word over and over in a mechanical tone.

“Don’t be afraid! We’ll protect you!” Miko shouted loudly.

But it was of little use—Hena only continued to repeat the same phrase.

“Roar——!”

The terrifying roar sounded from very close behind them.

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Hena’s expression twisted with even greater fear.

Hulim glanced back over her shoulder,

and a flicker of confusion crossed her mind.

Is this monster’s speed…… actually this slow?

Something was wrong……

Ever since they had stopped fighting and chosen to flee, the creature had been unable to catch up. It had not even reappeared around any labyrinth corners; they had only heard its roars.

As Hulim pondered this,

“Huh? What’s this?”

Miko suddenly let out a sound of surprise.

Hulim lifted her head and followed her gaze.

What she saw made her pause.

A large arrow had appeared on the labyrinth wall, pointing to the right.

“……”

All three fell silent.

“This…… must be a direction marker, right?” Prarlulu said hesitantly.

“It looks like it, but……” Miko trailed off.

“It’s far too suspicious.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking.”

“Roar——!”

As the group stood frozen, the monster behind them suddenly accelerated, closing the distance in an instant.

“It seems this is no time to stop and think. For now, let’s run in the opposite direction.” Hulim said at once.

“Right.”

With that, the group immediately fled in the direction opposite the arrow……

Several minutes later,

the group fell silent once more as they stared at the dead end before them.

“……”

“Should we have followed the directions after all……?”

“It certainly seems that way.”

Thud——!

Heavy footsteps sounded from behind them.

They turned around,

and the hideous form of the cyclops monstrosity appeared before their eyes once again.

Boom——!

Without hesitation, the crimson beam shot forth.

The monster attempted to repeat its earlier dodge, but to no avail—its massive size left it with only upward as an escape route.

This time, Hulim deliberately adjusted her attack angle much higher, and the leaping monster was struck head-on.

After a few seconds……

The monster vanished before their eyes yet again.

“Hulim, what do we do now?” Miko asked, uncertain.

“……” Hulim thought for a moment, then looked at the nearby wall. “Let me try another approach first.”

Buzz, buzz!

Boom!

A flash of red light slammed into the labyrinth wall.

The wall, which should have been indestructible, was blown open in an instant—but the sight beyond left the group speechless……

It was nothing but empty, pitch-black darkness.

It was abundantly clear:

this was no ordinary physical labyrinth. Forcing a way through by destroying walls was utterly futile.

“……It seems we have no choice but to turn back.”

Thud——!

A tremor rumbled from far away.

“It’s coming again. Hurry—let’s get back to that intersection before it does.”

The three began to run at full speed,

but the monster’s speed seemed to have increased even further.

Hulim estimated that the creature would almost certainly reach the intersection before them.

Would she have to destroy it one more time……?

Just as she thought this,

something suddenly appeared ahead, causing her steps to halt abruptly.

Miko and Prarlulu stopped almost simultaneously.

“Th-this…… was this here before?”

Miko asked doubtfully as she stared at the familiar arrow on the wall, and a new fork in the path where there had been none before.

“I’m certain it was not here earlier.”

Hulim replied with certainty.

“Then this……”

Miko did not finish speaking, but a flicker of unease crossed her eyes.

Something was deeply wrong.

All three realized it intuitively.

These directions were almost certainly not benign.

The overly convenient changes practically screamed “I am a trap.”

“We have no other choice. We must follow the directions and see where they lead.”

“Huh?! Isn’t that dangerous?!”

“Even if we keep going the opposite way, we’ll only end up in another dead end. We’ll make no progress that way.”

“Um, you’re right……”

And so, the three chose to follow the path indicated by the arrow.

……

“Roar!”

The monster’s roars drew closer and closer from behind,

yet just as before, it never quite caught up to them.

“Hulim, there’s another direction ahead!”

Miko called out in warning.

Looking up, the familiar directional arrow indeed appeared on the wall once more.

“This must be the twentieth time or so……” Prarlulu said anxiously.

“Twenty-four times. I don’t know what lies ahead, but we have no choice but to face it.”

Hulim chose to continue following the directions.

She had expected another marker to appear shortly after this one,

but instead, they entered an extremely narrow, straight corridor with no forks at all. The end of the path was shrouded in darkness, its contents hidden from view.

There was no doubt about it:

whatever awaited them was at the end of this passage.

“Keep moving.”

Without hesitation, Hulim ran toward the end of the corridor.

Thud!

Heavy footsteps sounded from behind.

The monster, which had never caught up to them before, finally revealed its form here.

“Roar——!”

It let out a roar and charged at incredible speed.

The straight corridor gave it a perfect advantage for running,

and the distance between the two sides closed visibly.

Still, the end of the passage remained out of sight.

Just as the monster was about to catch up,

a bright light suddenly shone from ahead.

Hulim and the others felt their feet give way, and they tumbled out of the passage without warning.

They fell downward, landing softly on a patch of grass……

“This place……”

Hulim surveyed her surroundings warily.

The area was warm and bright, lined with lush green trees, filled with the songs of birds and the scent of flowers—an idyllic, peaceful scene on the surface.

And yet……

In a place like this, the more normal everything appeared, the more unnatural it truly was.