Chapter 482 The Endless Labyrinth

The walls were familiar,

yet their shade had darkened even further.

The whole atmosphere of the labyrinth grew more oppressive by the moment.

“Um…… Hulim, thank you for catching me. B-But you can put me down now.”

Prarlulu said, her face flustered and covered by her hands.

“Very well.”

Hulim Heyerar, keeping her guard up all around, set Prarlulu down from her arms.

She then said:

“Do not linger here. We must leave at onc——”

Before she could finish,

Hulim’s pupils constricted violently.

“Look out!”

She swept Prarlulu into her arms and darted to the side in an instant.

Bang!

A dark shadow blazed through the spot where they had stood, slamming into the wall not far away.

“It’s here so soon this time?”

Hulim stared at the shadow with a grave expression, and set Prarlulu down quickly.

“Get behind me.”

“Ah, r-right!”

Prarlulu scurried behind Hulim at once, and Miko—still carrying Hena on her back—did the same.

“Gurgluh~!”

After its failed attack,

the shadow did not charge again immediately.

Its head, covered in scarlet eyes, twisted and stared fixedly at the group.

Hulim studied it carefully.

Its shape was not so different from the previous monster, but……

its body had shrunk again.

It was now roughly the size of an ordinary human.

And its speed had grown swifter still.

This meant the creature had become even more troublesome to deal with.

“……”

The difficulty of the fight has risen again……

But I have no choice but to eliminate it first.

Hulim’s body flickered with crimson light, ready to attack at any moment.

At that exact instant,

something caught the corner of her eye that sent a jolt through her heart.

Scrape.

A pitch-black claw, no bigger than a human palm, poked out from a nearby corner and dug into the labyrinth wall.

Then, a dark head studded with scarlet eyes slowly peeked out from behind it.

“……A second one.”

Hulim’s heart sank sharply.

The worst-case scenario.

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The enemy had found her weakness.

Namely, that she could not unleash her Annihilation Divine Light multiple times in rapid succession……

“Roar!”

The two monsters launched their assault at Hulim simultaneously.

That was right.

They completely ignored the three girls behind her, targeting Hulim and Hulim alone.

Hum~!

A dazzling barrier of light burst outward.

Caught off guard, both monsters were sent flying.

“It works.”

Hulim breathed a small sigh of relief.

By abandoning their massive size, they had gained speed to counter her—but they had also lost the raw physical advantage of their former forms.

Buzz, buzz!

Boom!

A beam of red light shot out, striking the first monster mid-air, where it had no leverage to dodge.

“Roar!”

The second monster let out an enraged shriek. It swung its claw, tearing through the light barrier in an instant, and charged straight for Hulim.

Just as it was about to reach her,

Boom!

A second crimson beam erupted……

“Hulim…… are you alright?”

Miko had seen just how close the fight had been, and asked with a worried look.

“I’m fine.”

Hulim shook her head.

“More importantly, we move. Now.”

“We’re still following the signs……?”

“Yes. No matter what happens next, we do not stop. We keep running.”

……

Some time later,

the group once again reached the endless, straight corridor.

They broke into a sprint without hesitation,

and leaped through the rift the very moment the two monsters closed in behind them.

Upon the grassy field,

Hulim did not glance up at the monsters this time.

Instead, she checked on Hena.

Hena had been muttering something nonstop, but her words were now completely unintelligible.

She had not responded to the outside world for a very long time.

Or rather……

she was gradually losing all instinct as a living person, becoming little more than a lifeless puppet.

This only strengthened Hulim’s suspicion.

Crack.

The ground shattered once again……

Hum——!

Before they even hit the floor,

Hulim unleashed a wide-range, powerful repulsion spell. Then, mid-air, she grabbed Prarlulu and Miko by the scruffs of their necks.

“Move——!”

Shua!

Her figure blurred,

and she shot straight forward.

The pack of small multi-eyed monsters that had lain in wait to ambush them all slammed into the walls, staring blankly at one another.

Two seconds later,

they finally reacted.

“Roar!”

“Roar!”

“Roar……”

They let out a chorus of snarls and gave chase after Hulim……

In the end, inside the long straight corridor, the monsters “finally” caught up to the girls.

Only to watch the group escape the labyrinth at the very last second.

Crack.

The ground shattered again.

They returned to the labyrinth, its light dimmer still.

Hum——!

A blinding white light erupted suddenly.

“Roar!”

This time, the monsters tore through the initial shockwave.

But they had not expected a second layer to follow.

Once more, they were slammed flat against the walls……

And then,

the familiar straight corridor.

Once again, the girls vanished from sight the moment they were about to be caught.

Crack.

The ground shattered.

The endless loop began anew……

Crack.

Crack.

Crack……

No one knew how much time had passed.

No one knew how many cycles they had endured.

Hulim only remembered that she had completely given up fighting the monsters roughly ten loops ago.

“Roar!” “Roar!” “Roar……”

A chorus of dense, bloodcurdling snarls echoed behind them.

The monsters were now no bigger than a baby’s fist.

But their numbers and agility had reached a horrifying level!

Fighting them was no longer an option at all.

Thud!

After leaping out of the labyrinth’s exit,

Hulim even heard the sound of something slamming into a wall high in the air.

She looked up,

and saw it.

Countless tiny multi-eyed monsters packed the entire exit, blocking it off completely.

Their innumerable scarlet eyes stared daggers at the group.

“……”

The short while they spent on the grassy field was the only chance they had to rest.

Hulim took the moment to relax her body as much as she could.

At the same time, she looked at Hena, who had gone completely still.

That was right—Hena had stopped speaking entirely, with no reaction left at all. She was no different from a doll.

Hulim had a faint feeling.

This endless labyrinth was finally approaching its end……

Crack!

The ground shattered once more.

All she could see was pitch-black darkness, without a single glimmer of light.

It felt as though they were still falling through the dark.

But Hulim knew: they had returned to the labyrinth’s starting point.

What she had not expected was that there was not even a sliver of light left!

All she could hear were countless skittering sounds in the dark, closing in fast……

Hum——!!!

In an instant,

Hulim unleashed her full power once more.

Layer upon layer of dazzling light barriers exploded outward in all directions.

Countless tiny black multi-eyed monsters were blown away by the impact.

Yet many barriers were gnawed to shreds in the blink of an eye.

But Hulim did not care about the barriers breaking.

She only needed to clear a path they could pass through.

Shua——!

Once again, her feet did not even touch the ground.

Hulim grabbed the other three and darted off in a random direction.

After so many cycles,

Hulim had learned one truth: until the signs appeared, any path was meaningless—and any path would not lead to a dead end.

This window of time was for her to shake off the pursuing horde.

Under the glare of her bright magic,

a faint, blurry arrow appeared on the wall.

If the wall had held any carvings or decorations at all, the sign would have been nearly impossible to spot.

Hulim followed the faint marks forward,

until at last, she reached the straight corridor once more.