Episode 547
As Arataso spoke, Asmodi’s face twisted with rage.
“You filthy traitor! What nonsense are you spewing now?”
A massive surge of energy erupted from Asmodi, far greater than before. As he extended his hand, the bone sword he wielded began to transform. It morphed into a long, sturdy spear with sharp protrusions along its blade.
Asmodi pointed the bone spear at Arataso. “Our lord made a noble sacrifice for all of us. I will not forgive anyone who dares to insult his selfless act!”
Asmodi, a fervent zealot of the arrogant savior, refused to believe Arataso’s words. Arataso clicked his tongue in response.
“Still blind to the truth, Asmodi? The arrogant savior abandoned us to seize the demon king’s soul in the mortal realm. He knew full well what would happen to his followers in his absence.”
The arrogant savior, who had once led the fallen constellations and was seen as a messiah to all demons, had gradually descended into delusions of grandeur. As his ideals became more distorted, other constellations turned their backs on him, leaving Babel isolated and crumbling from within.
Yet, the arrogant savior clung to his ideals, abandoning his followers to ascend to the mortal realm. In his absence, the constellations divided his territory among themselves, and powerful archdemons emerged, strengthened by absorbing the powers of others.
In this chaos, Morningstar, the savior’s most loyal follower, faced relentless attacks from rival factions. To prevent Morningstar’s annihilation, the leader, the Bright Green Wish, accepted an offer from Mephistopheles, the new ruler of Pandemonium.
Despite this, the 2nd Battalion of Morningstar remained loyal, guarding Babel until they were ultimately wiped out. Arataso could only shake his head at Asmodi’s blind devotion to the arrogant savior.
Asmodi, now even more enraged, prepared to throw the bone spear, his energy distorting the space around him.
With a mighty roar, Asmodi hurled the spear, charged with compressed energy, at Arataso. Arataso met the attack head-on, wielding his shield and lance.
“Haah!”
A green aura surged from Arataso, forming a massive shield. The energies of Arataso and Asmodi clashed violently.
A powerful shockwave erupted from the point of impact, spreading outward. The skeletal knights behind Arataso raised their shields to block the wave, but were still pushed back, their formation disrupted.
The intense clash created a temporary stalemate, with space warping and shimmering from the force of their energies. Nebilos, wielding a staff, summoned magic to defend against the shockwave, but the undead he had summoned shattered under the pressure.
As the dust settled, Arataso emerged from the chaos, his shield shattered and his armor cracked and broken. Asmodi sneered at his battered opponent.
“How pathetic, Arataso. Once the feared leader of the Green Knights, now reduced to this.”
Arataso, undeterred by Asmodi’s taunts, raised his lance and advanced, shaking his head with a hint of pity.
“Asmodi, you haven’t changed at all. You blindly follow, never seeing things through to the end.”
Asmodi scowled at Arataso’s words. “What nonsense are you—”
Suddenly, Asmodi sensed something amiss and quickly turned around. A tremendous noise erupted from behind.
Zeke was swinging Ascalon, radiating a golden aura, at the altar. The priest caught in the blade’s path exploded in a burst of radiant light.
A massive rumble shook the entire labyrinth.
“Phew. What a mess.”
Boris and his reconnaissance team, who had infiltrated the labyrinth, were on high alert. Unlike typical dungeons, Siemens’ labyrinth was teeming with monsters.
Boris had been tasked with meeting Shadia’s assassins to plant magic compression bombs throughout the labyrinth. The plan was to detonate them all at once upon Zeke’s signal, collapsing and burying the place.
As Boris and his team navigated the labyrinth, avoiding monsters and black knights, Hades’ detector picked up an unusual signal. Boris signaled his team to halt and sent a secure message using a telepathic artifact.
—There’s something strange up ahead.
Hades’ detector was designed to sense the power of constellations. Zeke’s orders to Boris were to erase all traces of constellations within the labyrinth. Thus, Boris was planting bombs wherever such traces were found.
Leading the way, Boris headed toward the source of the signal. The signal was strongest near a door adorned with strange patterns, guarded by knights resembling those of Siemens.
Shadia sent Boris a message. —Commander, the power emanating from there seems formidable. Are you sure you want to proceed?
If they encountered a power beyond their control, it could jeopardize the mission. Boris, contemplating the risk, replied after a moment.
—Adol, Zion. You’re with me. The rest, stay put and monitor the situation.
Boris, along with Adol, approached the door. Adol, with his ability to turn objects into sand, burrowed into the ground. Boris and Zion took a deep breath and followed Adol into the sand trap.
They bypassed the knights guarding the door and slipped inside.
Once inside, Boris used a periscope to survey the area. ‘Nothing unusual in sight.’
Seeing no guards, Boris emerged from the sand, followed by Zion and Adol. Boris focused his aura into his eyes, scanning the surroundings.
The room was constructed entirely of solid black stone, an unusual sight. ‘What is this place?’
It resembled a temple, with altar-like structures scattered throughout. Boris took out the detector again, searching for the source of the constellation’s power.
He soon realized the signal was strongest near an altar. Gesturing to Zion and Adol, the three cautiously approached.
On the altar lay a stone sarcophagus. As Boris raised the detector, it emitted a strong signal toward the sarcophagus. ‘Could it contain a relic of the constellations?’
Boris pondered whether to simply plant a bomb and leave or deal with the contents directly. The bomb was powerful, but it might not completely destroy whatever was inside the sarcophagus.
Handling it now could be the surest way, but it was risky. Boris hesitated, weighing his options.
Just then, the detector’s needle began to vibrate violently, emitting a strong pulse. Startled, Boris stepped back as Zion moved forward, ready to use telekinesis to shatter the sarcophagus if necessary.
Before Zion could act, cracks appeared on the sarcophagus, and it began to split open.
With a loud crack, the sarcophagus burst, and something inside started to swell and emerge. As debris flew, Zion used telekinesis to create a protective barrier.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
The debris bounced off the barrier. Inside the shattered sarcophagus, grotesque flesh began to swell and rise.
As the flesh emitted a strange noise, the sound of a door opening echoed through the room.
“Damn it! Another seal’s broken.”
“Quick, call the dark mages!”
Boris, Zion, and Adol quickly hid, suppressing their presence to avoid detection. Knights entered, wielding electrified rods to keep the emerging flesh at bay.
“Stay back!”
Crackling with electricity, the rods forced the flesh to retreat. Soon, dark mages arrived, swiftly channeling their magic.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
The magic circle near the altar reacted violently to the dark sorcerers’ power. Black mist rose from the ground, wrapping itself around the mass of flesh.
Meanwhile, other knights prepared a new sarcophagus. They pushed it forward with poles, inching closer to the writhing mass.
Despite the black mist’s grip, the flesh continued to swell and grow. Suddenly, a part of it stretched out like a rubber band, snatching one of the knights pushing the sarcophagus.
“Aaaagh!”
The knight was pulled into the mass, disappearing from sight. The other knights shouted in alarm.
“Damn it! Get it in there before it regains its full form! Hurry!”
As the knights pushed harder, the dark sorcerers chanted more fervently, manipulating the black mist to guide the flesh into the sarcophagus. Gradually, the mass shifted direction, crawling inside. Its size diminished until it was fully contained.
The knights quickly sealed the sarcophagus and placed it back on the altar.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Once the flesh was sealed, the vibrations ceased. The knights, finally able to breathe, exchanged weary glances.
“Damn it. That thing’s breaking out more often,” one knight muttered, catching his breath. He turned to the sorcerers, frustration boiling over. “Can’t you do something about that monstrosity? Whatever it is, it’s getting stronger by the day!”
A sorcerer with a pale face and dark lips shook his head. “We cannot. Orders from above are to guard it. Guard it we must,” he replied in a flat, emotionless voice.
The knight clenched his jaw, unable to argue further. He spat on the ground and gestured to his comrades. “Damn those orders… Let’s get back to our posts.”
Suppressing their discontent, the knights filed out of the room. Once they were gone, Boris and his group emerged from the shadows.
Boris eyed the newly placed sarcophagus, deep in thought. ‘An unidentified organism that attacks indiscriminately…’
Sion, standing behind him, sent a message. ―Captain, you’re not thinking of waking that thing up, are you?
Having seen countless dangerous experiments from the Nostra family, Sion wanted nothing to do with whatever was inside the sarcophagus. But Boris had a different perspective.
―I don’t know what it is, but it could be our chance to shake up the labyrinth.
Boris’s eyes gleamed with determination.
“Ha, damn it. Who would’ve thought my life would turn into such a mess?”
A knight from Siemens sat in a corner, savoring a cigarette and lamenting his fate. Most of the remaining Siemens knights in the underground labyrinth shared his sentiment.
After Ramon Siemens’s death, the dark sorcerers of the Abyss took over. The knights had two choices: cooperate or become test subjects.
Those who stayed chose cooperation, avoiding the fate of becoming experiments. Yet, they found themselves trapped in this wretched labyrinth, cleaning up after monsters.
They couldn’t help but reminisce about the days when they wielded power as Siemens knights, once rulers of Midland.
As they wallowed in their memories, a deep rumble began to echo through the labyrinth.