Chapter 270
The Silent Moon’s Lament (8)
[That creature… no, it’s a dark god.]
The ancient dragon spoke, its face swollen and bruised.
“A dark god?”
[Yes, a dark god. I know what you’re thinking. Normally, the five dark gods can’t influence the labyrinth. But this one is different.]
“Explain.”
Dalen spun his blood-stained scabbard in a circle. The dragon flinched slightly before slowly opening its mouth. Unhealed wounds split open, and black blood dripped down.
[It first appeared in the Abyss. No one knows where or how it was created. But it flaunted all sorts of dark arts and martial prowess, and soon began to draw power from this world itself.]
Sizzle.
Where the blood fell, dark smoke rose. The same smoke seeped from the dragon’s torn mouth—a testament to the toxicity and regenerative power of dragon blood.
[In a way, it is the god of this labyrinth.]
The god of the labyrinth.
It was an unfamiliar term.
As far as Dalen knew, no ruler had ever governed the labyrinth. Unlike hell or other realms, the labyrinth wasn’t a landscape shaped by someone’s mind.
[That’s nonsense, Dalen. The labyrinth is a chaotic intersection, straddling the boundary between the world of illusions and reality. It’s a swirling vortex of constrained physical laws and infinite possibilities, skirting the edges of the world.]
The red spear, which had been listening quietly, couldn’t hold back any longer and interjected. Dalen nodded silently.
The ancient dragon, unable to hear the spear’s words beyond the realm of thought, mistook the nod as directed at itself. Its violet eyes gleamed as it continued.
[Yes, it was the dark god of the labyrinth. That’s why, when it invaded our home, the Sulfur Sea, we couldn’t put up a proper resistance. The gates couldn’t stop it. The unquenchable fires of the Sulfur Sea couldn’t burn it.]
The dragon’s speech was occasionally slurred, likely due to its injuries. Dalen raised an eyebrow at the unclear pronunciation but didn’t interrupt. After all, the information was valuable.
[Before long, it conquered the Abyss and claimed the Sulfur Sea. It slaughtered a third of us and cursed the survivors.]
“A curse?”
[Yes. A curse to ascend to the surface and kill all humans.]
Dalen stroked his chin. Judging by its actions, it certainly seemed like a dark god.
But a dark god wasn’t some petty thug that popped up at the street corner for kicks.
Unlike those small-time crooks who extorted money from street vendors under the guise of protection fees, dark gods were ancient rulers of the great hells, predating human history.
They were, quite literally, the final bosses. In countless cycles, dark gods had been defeated, but never had a new one emerged.
And from his experience in this cycle, there was only one reason for such an unprecedented event.
[…Dalen, did you perhaps descend into the Abyss without my knowledge?]
‘What nonsense is that?’
[Be honest. Unless you did something, there’s no reason for talk of a new dark god. Of course, that creature seems out of its mind, but it’s not entirely making things up.]
The red spear spoke with suspicion. Dalen shook his head.
He had his own theories, of course. If something had changed in the Abyss due to his influence, there was really only one possibility.
[…I, too, was swept up and followed the others to the surface, only to come to my senses in a bottomless swamp and hide. That’s why I was surprised to see you.]
The ancient dragon mumbled with its now less swollen mouth. Not just its mouth, but the other wounds on its body had nearly healed.
[At first, I thought it was a simple mistake, but now it’s clear. The essence flowing from your soul… it feels similar to that of the labyrinth’s dark god.]
“Is that so?”
[Yes. There must be some connection. That’s enough. I have a way to exact revenge. If I kill you here, it will surely harm that creature as well…!]
Before it could finish, the dragon’s mouth gaped open, and flames flickered within.
Its wings spread wide, sweeping away the mist clinging to the mountainside. The massive body rose tens of meters, casting a long shadow.
The dragon’s silhouette, rising above the sea of mist, looked like a legendary beast poised to devour the world.
The dark maw of the dragon exhaled its breath, a result of the incantations hidden within its tale.
━━━━━!
Watching the violet beam shoot straight at him, Dalen couldn’t help but think that time had stretched a little.
His sense of time had been steadily sharpening, and recently, he could count the bubbles in falling raindrops even outside of battle.
But this was the first time his abilities had increased without absorbing stats or using skills.
Why was that? Was it the insight gained from fighting the dragon god? The training to master his power? Or was it simply because he was closer to the world of illusions?
As the concentrated breath neared, Dalen recalled the time he hunted it as a necromancer.
That breath had the attribute of nullity. He’d lost about three hundred death knights to its unfamiliar attack pattern.
Such trivial thoughts faded as he swung his sword.
An invisible line cleaved the violet breath in two.
[Ugh…!]
The ancient dragon let out a final cry. It was too small to be a scream, too loud to be a groan.
With a splatter of blood, its skull split in half, along with its contents. Its body followed, splitting vertically.
The massive carcass thudded to the ground, shaking the earth. Dalen watched the guardian’s body roll down the mountainside and opened his status window.
The experience bar had risen slightly. Just a little.
Having slain the dragon, Dalen set off immediately.
He had two tasks at hand.
First, to find his companions wandering somewhere in the Silent Moon’s Lament and descend to the fifth floor of the labyrinth, the Sulfur Sea, to reach the gate.
And then, to find this new dark god, uncover its identity, and stop its current dark deeds.
After hearing the ancient dragon’s account, Dalen was already half-convinced of the new dark god’s identity. What intrigued him was the reason behind its rampage.
Did it have a grudge against humans? If anything, it should have been targeting other dark gods, not the humans on the surface who were minding their own business.
‘It’s a mystery.’
Who would have thought the blacksmith Dallukahim would forge tens of thousands of weapons, or that the necromancer Delum Jive would erect memorials for his victims?
To solve this mystery, he needed to meet the labyrinth’s dark god in person.
But first, he had to find his companions and escape the Silent Moon’s Lament together.
Perhaps he might encounter the dark god before descending further. According to the ancient dragon, it had already conquered the fifth and sixth floors, so it might be eyeing the Silent Moon’s Lament as well.
‘Huh, huh…’
‘Even so, a son…!’
‘Manager…’
How long had he walked? Dalen stopped at the sound of faint whispers from somewhere.
While lost in thought, the surroundings had changed considerably. The light mist clinging to the treetops remained.
But a denser fog had risen to his ankles. The whispers originated from within that mist.
The dampness covering his ankles and the tree roots. The thick mist climbing and wrapping around the trunks looked like snakes or tentacles.
Whoosh…
Suddenly, a breeze stirred the tentacles, and the whispers grew to shouts.
“Why are you so unambitious, brother? You weren’t like this before!”
“Son. Please call. Your mother is very sick.”
“Mr. Lee, if you keep this up, the whole department will suffer because of you!”
Voices he hadn’t heard in a long time. Faces from Earth that were fading even in his dreams.
Every time the misty tentacles swayed, someone shouted. Some were angry, some cried.
While the voices distracted him, the trees beyond the mist moved silently. Paths along the mountainside subtly shifted in angle and width, and rocks that could serve as landmarks slowly rolled away.
Dalen watched it all with a blank expression. It wasn’t much, just fascinating.
By design, the Silent Moon’s Lament was such a place. It dredged up painful memories of those who entered, while the mountain itself moved to create a treacherous maze.
In the game, characters would be burdened with debuffs based on their past and actions. For explorers descending into the labyrinth, it was the perfect trap.
No explorer had ever not killed, and even if they hadn’t, the mental stress from the first floor to here would have accumulated relentlessly.
“Hey, buddy, I’m telling you this as a friend. You really need to cut down on that game…”
“Over there.”
Dalen let the voice drift past him as he turned his head. He could sense one of his companions nearby.
“…cut down on the game…”
“Is that Bjorn?”
”…”
After a few steps, Dalen reunited with two of his companions: Bjorn and Sienna.
“Dalen… We get out of the water only to find ourselves in a forest? What kind of hell is this… cough ahem!”
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere. What were you thinking, disappearing like that?”
Sienna was patting the back of the dwarf, who looked pale from his fear of the forest. Dalen watched the pair, then rested his hand on his hip.
Sienna’s eyes flashed at the sight. The witch swiftly drew her sword.
But just as the blade was halfway out, a short stick appeared on her head. It was an axe.
“D-Dalen! What are you doing…?”
“Doppelgänger.”
The witch collapsed next to the trembling dwarf, her hand still gripping the half-drawn sword. Bjorn clamped his mouth shut at the sight.
He instinctively aimed his shotgun at the witch, stepping back cautiously.
Dalen tilted his head, observing the scene. He spoke.
“Strange. The doppelgängers of the Shadow Moon Spirit are supposed to be mere illusions.”
”…I-illusions?”
“This could be dangerous.”
Crack.
At that moment, Sienna’s head twisted halfway around.
Her body lay on the ground, but her face, with an axe embedded in her forehead, stared at Dalen at an unnatural angle.
“Dangerous?”
Sienna grinned.
The mist on the mountainside began to laugh along with her.