But that choice could cost them their lives. In fact, that was the much likelier outcome. Which was why Tiana’s mind screamed for them to run. “Th-this is bad…! I can’t hold your consciousnesses together any longer…! Ngh…!” Bond said, his voice straining with anguish. Nick/Tiana then realized something—if their consciousnesses weren’t on the same wavelength, Union would come apart. Bond was trying to sacrifice himself to prevent that from happening. ““…Split,”” they chanted, ending Union. That released the Ice Age barrier, ending the extreme winter weather and inviting a lukewarm wind reminiscent of early summer. Nick turned toward Argus and glared at him empty-handed. “Ngh… Take Tiana and run,” he said to Bond. “Nick, you can’t… Grk…,” Bond tried to protest. “Just go! I’ll hold him here! Use that time to find help!” Nick yelled. Bond hesitated, but he saw he had no choice. Tiana had fallen unconscious, which meant she was in great danger. He couldn’t take his own exhaustion lightly, either, so he lifted Tiana and slowly hobbled away. “…Give me the mirror. Do that, and I’ll have no more business with you or your companions. Leave this city and find somewhere to live a quiet life,” Argus commanded. “I told you; I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about,” Nick told him. “Then it would be best for you to remember.” “What part of ‘I don’t know’ don’t you understand?!” Instead of answering, Argus only raised his sword. “…I don’t know what you want,” Nick said. “But I have realized one thing—you got close to me after I lost my family so you could steal something, didn’t you?” “…That’s right.” “Then you should’ve just killed me when you found me. Why raise me as an adventurer? Why form Combat Masters?” “I told you. It was camouflage.” “If that’s all it was, then your degree of commitment was absurd, Argus. You’re an even bigger piece of trash than the Sword of Tasuki.” Argus twitched. “…Callios clearly didn’t give a rat’s ass about me, but I heard enough to understand. He’s having fun. He’s doing exactly what he wants. But with you, it feels like you’re just reluctantly following him because you don’t think you’ve got any other choice. It’s plain to see,” Nick said with a quiet fury. He spoke like a man with nothing to lose; he had already angered a superior fighter and didn’t have long before his head would fly from his shoulders anyway. “You despised your skills and yourself, so you took in an orphan and raised him to distract yourself from how big of a scumbag you are. Hear this, Argus. You might think I’m disenchanted because I learned how cruel you really are, but I’m not. I’m just disappointed by how weak you are. You don’t have the courage to die or to kill. You’re pathetic. I can’t even stand to look at you. You’re a disgrace to adventurers everywhere.” “Shut up,” Argus growled. “Something happened between you and Olivia in the past… You probably didn’t really want to kill her. But the reason you’re alive right now is not because you defeated her. She let you live because she felt bad for you.” “…Winning and losing are determined by who lives and who dies. Nothing else matters.” “Even Garos understood he was the Sword of Tasuki’s slave. He didn’t try to act all evil and pretend to be something he wasn’t—like you’re doing. You’re a small man compared to him.” There was a man who hid from society and lived in the darkness of his own ignorance. His name was Argus. He was the leader of an adventurers’ party called Combat Masters, and the current master of a martial arts discipline of the same name. His elite skill as a martial artist set him apart from most adventurers who made a living by hunting monsters or stealing treasure from labyrinths like scavenging hyenas. He was strong enough to defeat powerful monsters without relying on mana or weapons, earning him the admiration of other men. It wasn’t just his strength and bravery that earned him respect—adventurers often shared the moving tale of how he adopted a boy whose parents were murdered by thieves and raised him to be a capable young man. That young man treasured the knife Argus gave him. He regarded the Combat Masters style as his philosophy for life. The taste of the meal Argus had treated him to after completing his first labyrinth was ingrained in his mind forever, as was the feel of the bandage Argus had wrapped around his sprained ankle, the weight of the scolding Argus had given when the young man carelessly endangered himself against a monster, the sight of Argus’s large back as he protected him from gang members, the burn of the booze Argus made him drink on his fifteenth birthday, and Argus’s large and kind arms that hugged him when he lost his parents. Argus was a man among men who embodied the perfect ideal of a father. The young man was afraid of disappointing him and trained hard to win his approval. Even after Argus kicked him out of Combat Masters, he remained devoted to his training, thinking their paths might cross again in the future. But it had all been an illusion. The man was nothing more than an assassin and a slave who couldn’t disobey his master. Nick realized that tears were streaming down his face. He pushed aside the old image of Argus and let his anger flare. “…You’d better kill me this time, or you’ll regret it,” he said. As Nick’s illusion shattered in his mind, the ground suddenly began to shake. He braced himself, thinking it was a magic spell, but there was an expression of annoyance on Argus’s face. Nick was relieved that this wasn’t an attack, but then he realized with shock that the ground wasn’t just shaking around them. The buildings around them were shaking, and possibly the entire city was, too. “Wh-what’s happening…?” Nick muttered. “It’s already started… Damn it,” Argus cursed, clicking his tongue in frustration. “…Whatever. Come to the bottom floor of the Colosseum of Carnage. The Sword of Tasuki and I will be there.” “The Colosseum of Carnage? Is that a labyrinth?” “You’ll know soon enough… This shaking means it’s coming.” Argus turned and walked off, unbothered by the tremors. Nick wanted to yell at him not to run away, but couldn’t bring himself to do so. “Dammit!” he cursed. His feet were heavy, but his frustration at Argus for leaving without a fight and the knowledge that he was still in mortal danger kept him moving. Just then, he heard a building collapse. The ground shook that night in Teran, the Labyrinth City. Uncertain rumors swirled as people wondered if monsters were attacking in a Stampede, if another country or demons were invading, or if it was an earthquake, a natural disaster that hadn’t occurred in millennia. However, an investigation by the Order of the Sun Knights and the Teran Department of Construction soon found the cause. A system of tunnels existed beneath Labyrinth City. They were mainly used for sewage and waste disposal, and there were also some emergency shelters. The tunnels were strictly managed so that only people who had reason to be there could enter. At least, that was supposed to be the case. There were many repaired buildings from ancient Teran in the underground tunnels that were currently in use. Unlike the ruins in Hyena Waste, however, an abundance of blueprints, administrative documents, and account books containing information on legal ownership and property values had been left behind, which led people to assume the underground tunnels had been managed by the city since ancient times. In truth, it was the Sun Knights who monitored the whole system. Yet Labyrinth City’s management did not extend to the area farther underground, and it was from there that a giant cylindrical building suddenly rose up with a violent shaking that reverberated through the tunnels to the rest of the city. That structure turned out to be the top part of a larger tower. There were windows on the outside and a large spiral staircase leading down from the top. Presumably, the rest of a much larger edifice was still hidden farther underground, though any details about it remained a mystery. It would be called the Colosseum of Carnage—the name of a legendary labyrinth that was said to have been constructed by the demon god’s side to launch assaults against Teran during the ancient war. It was also where the demon god created monsters, meaning it was essentially a monster farm. Until now, only researchers and experts had ever heard of the Colosseum of Carnage, and its very existence was doubted. However, the people of Labyrinth City came to know its terror firsthand, when the tower’s entrance opened and allowed a flood of monsters into the city. The monsters were as strong as those found in B- and A-rank labyrinths and included ogres, amalgam stags—a more powerful version of a silver stag—and unusual monsters such as cursed armor, a reanimated life-sapping suit of armor that was born from a dead knight’s deep-seated grudges. Fortunately, the Teran city council, the Sun Knights, and the Adventurers Guild were quickly able to put together a response team made up of advanced adventurers and Sun Knights. They exterminated the monsters before any citizens were harmed, but that was all they were able to accomplish; the labyrinth’s entrance had been closed from the inside. A temporary peace was established, but everyone knew monsters would once again surge into the city if the doors were reopened. To make matters worse, reports said massive numbers of goblins had been born in Goblin Forest when the Colosseum of Carnage appeared. They were a tough mutant breed that possessed unusual abilities, and they were mobilizing themselves into an army. Similar phenomena were occurring in other labyrinths around Labyrinth City. Both the birth of a new labyrinth and the mass spawning of mutants were clear signs of one thing—that a large-scale Stampede was occurring. The Adventurers Guild responded by demanding emergency assistance from every branch in the Holy Kingdom of Dineez. As the general public abandoned their homes and fled the city, adventurers from all over the country flocked toward it seeking honor, sizable rewards, or the simple thrill of risking their lives. There were also some who were already taking action after hearing information from sources other than the Adventurers Guild. “Long time no see, Havok. How is business faring?” “Couldn’t be better. My regulars are all doing very interesting work… And we’re about to have our most lucrative period ever.” On the western side of Labyrinth City, at the corner of a wealthy residential district that featured noble mansions, churches, and the Jewelry Production idol agency, was a magic item factory called Thunderbolt Corporation. A man and a woman were talking not in the neat, tidy reception room, but in a small workshop tucked away behind it that was cluttered with strange magic items. “Is that so? Sounds like Animator Havok is still in her prime,” the man said courteously. “Of course. I’m not slowing down anytime soon. I want to thank the gods for sending a Stampede before my retirement. I wouldn’t be able to seize the opportunity as a decrepit old lady,” replied the woman named Havok. She appeared around forty years old. Her chic purple dress was suitable for the affluent area, but her pirate-like eye patch and the sharp look in her uncovered eye gave her a dangerous flair that was conspicuous even in Labyrinth City. “What about you? I hope your skill hasn’t dulled in all that time surrounded by fledgling mages,” Havok said. “Never. My time there was quite stimulating. I was even blessed with an apprentice,” the man said. He had the skinny build of a mage. He lacked the obvious gaudiness of Havok, and his monocle, fine shirt, and navy blue jacket made him look like a baron. But there was something unsettling about the look in his mysterious green eyes. “It’s a school for stuck-up nobles, right? Hard to imagine you’d find an apprentice there you like or who’d care for your personality,” Havok said. “Ha-ha-ha. She was expelled from the academy, and she’s now working as a mage in Teran. I’ve heard rumors that she’s taken quite a liking to this place,” the man said. “Ha! Sounds like you corrupted her, Engineer Bellocchio.” “You wound me. I kept my teachings strictly professional… I am looking forward to seeing how much she has grown.” Bellocchio smiled mischievously. “You’re terrifying, you know that?” said Havok. “You could end up fighting this apprentice you care so much about. She’s an adventurer, right? Much more respectable than the likes of us, I’m sure. I feel bad for her.” “I wouldn’t be so quick to write her off. If she has gained experience and continued to train tirelessly, she could prove a match even for me… Hee-hee, I can hardly wait…”
Chapter 82
11 min read