Episode 154. A gloomy and huge cemetery located somewhere on the
Living Labyrinth continent.
Aslan Blue, the manager of the cemetery, was having a meeting with his acquaintances at his residence.
bang!
“This is nonsense! Why have we helped Master all this time? To open your eyes and cut your nose like this… ….”
Moghul Gulan, one of Morn’s disciples and the third, slammed the table and vomited.
The flesh trembled from his face, like a steamed bun.
Despite his rude behavior, those present did not stop him.
That’s because they were facing a reality that was hard for them to accept.
The second student, Quenton Brook, ignored Mogul’s resentment and calmly asked Aslan.
“Hyung-nim, hyung-nim must have participated in this rally and watched it. Do you really think that Adrias Cromwell can handle a faction?”
“Second brother! Is that a problem now? Now I have both eyes open and my nose cut! To think that a guy I’ve never seen before would take only the fruit by overtaking us who have been supporting the faction for so long. Does that make sense?”
“Then what are you going to do? This is what Master said. If you thought it was unreasonable, you should have said it in the presence of Master.”
“profit…!”
Their teacher, Morn, was not easygoing.
Necromancer is a job that can become an all-weather battle mage depending on the undead you create.
However, it took much more time and effort than other wizards to reach there.
Currently, the position of black magicians on the continent is not very good.
In such a situation, a brutal character was indispensable in order to reign supreme like Morne.
To Adrias and Luna, he looked like a warmer grandfather than anyone else, but his essence was a crouching king.
“There is no way you can say that, can you? I don’t want to be undead.”
“Did I scold you because I didn’t know that? It reminded me of Master’s fear once again.”
“They are both so hot. Calm down a little.”
Aslan, who had become the chief disciple after many of Morn’s disciples had died over the years, spoke quietly.
Then the other two disciples were silent.
“Both of them fully understood what I was talking about. I understand Mogul’s resentment and Quenton’s misery. Would it be different from the country? No one else, I am Master’s chief disciple. If I had to judge the unfairness, I would be the most unfair.”
At Aslan’s words, the other two disciples drool.
Aslan looked at the two and continued.
“The reason I called the two today is to discuss a solution.”
“solution…you mean?”
Quenton muttered in a skeptical tone.
Seeing Quenton like that, Mogul shouted again.
“I have to do something! Are you going to lose the faction like this?”
“It is not. Well, there is still a year left, so I guess I can think of a way.”
However, Aslan shook his head at Quenton’s words.
“It is too late to relax. Over there are Master and Luna Pendragon. No matter how much you don’t like Adrias Cromwell, the mere fact that these two exist has a big ripple effect. Enough cannibalize the faction’s personnel. Even if it takes half a year, all power will be taken away.”
“Does your brother have a method in mind?”
Quenton asked cautiously.
Mogul also stared at Aslan’s face.
“This is the news I received a while ago. I heard that students from Rodlen Academy, where Adrias Cromwell belongs to, will be visiting ‘Monet’s Labyrinth’ soon.”
“Monet’s labyrinth? ah! Is it because of the evaluation?”
“Yes.”
After hearing the conversation between Aslan and Quenton, Mogul got up from his seat with a look of excitement.
“Good opportunity! Let’s break it down there! Come to think of it, it was a problem without Adrias Cromwell!”
“okay. aiming for that Of course, if you kill Adrias Cromwell, you won’t be able to escape Master’s suspicions, but you won’t be able to appoint a person who has already died as your successor.”
At that time, Quenton, who had only been listening, narrowed his eyes and said.
“Wouldn’t it be dangerous to touch him directly? Salem will not stand still. Besides, there has been an exchange with Maximin Cronell recently.”
“So you’re saying there’s a better way?”
“It’s not….”
“Your second brother is too cautious! Salem must have forgotten the protection of Adrias Cromwell already! Would he care about all that?”
In the end, Quenton, unable to find another way, sighed.
“sorry. I can’t think of anything either.”
“There is no need to apologize. I fully understand your concerns. But I want you to know that we are now at the edge of a cliff. Salem is something to be resolved then, and we must get our legitimate rights back right now.”
“You are right!”
In the end, the three of them decided to deal with Adrias in Monet’s maze and started discussing ways.
“It is dangerous if we are directly exposed. At Laudelen Academy, the warlock against warlocks has already reached its peak.”
“Big brother! How about that?”
said the mogul with an ugly grin.
“Isn’t there a jar of grievances that our faction had?”
“It’s just a pity…. Are you saying that?”
“That would allow us to deal with it without having to use our hands. You can kill all of Rodlen’s current students. Isn’t that just fine?”
“surely….”
Quenton, guessing the true identity of ‘it’ Mogul was talking about, opened his mouth cautiously.
“It could make things worse. Then you might get caught by the tail.”
“You can’t do anything if you pay attention to those things. Every choice has an opportunity cost, and I only chose one of them.”
“Why does my second brother object when I say something? My eldest brother must have thought about that as well.”
“hmm….”
Quenton, persuaded in the end, quietly opened his mouth.
“Then, in the end, our plan is to just bring ‘it’ to Monet’s labyrinth.”
“yes.”
“Then I will do it. I have a lot of worries, so I think I will be satisfied with doing it myself.”
At Quenton’s words that he would willingly step forward, Aslan nodded his head rather happily.
“If you go out, you can rest assured. But it would be safer to have someone do it than to do it yourself, right?”
“I have something in mind.”
“Can you tell me?”
“I’m thinking of using the fade.”
When the name of one of the four factions’ heads came up, Aslan and the Moghul exclaimed.
Fade was famous as a big hand in the dark world, but unlike his fame, it was difficult to tie a string to him.
“Not bad. Through him, I will be able to hire a special mercenary.”
“I already had a deal with him before, but I’ll use it this time.”
“Isn’t it worth it?”
“As hyung-nim said, we are not in a position to cover up right now. If this increases the success rate and ensures safety, I will use it.”
“Thank you.”
A rough plan was drawn up and the meeting was over.
Since I decided to entrust this task to Quenton, I agreed to receive a report only on the results in order not to leave evidence.
The mogul, who left Aslan’s residence and came out with Quenton, broke the silence after walking for a long time.
“older brother.”
“hmm?”
“Are you really going to help me?”
Unlike during the meeting, Quenton smiled at the mogul, who spoke the opposite way.
“Haha Mogul. Don’t worry too much.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Anyway, I decided to delegate all of this work to me. Aslan won’t know what I’m up to.”
“What about Adrias Cromwell?”
“What are you doing? Of course you have to kill it. And it’s enough for Aslan to be pointed out as the culprit. After that, it’s a piece of cake.”
“Hmm. All right. For now, I will return to my place of residence.”
“okay. Look carefully.”
As soon as the mogul left, Quenton’s smiling face suddenly turned expressionless.
He, who had always looked timid, became ruthless in an instant.
“It’s been fun, Mogul.”
The figure of Quenton, who muttered something meaningful, slowly disappeared.
* * *
Diene stepped out toward the raucous students.
“Let’s get out of the beauty for now.”
There was a moment of confusion, but the students quickly calmed down.
It was certainly surprising that there were six members of the crew, but it did not pose a threat to their personal safety.
“Will there be an impact on the score if there are six people?”
“But wouldn’t this be okay? The starting point is literally set at random, but we didn’t deliberately form a group of six people.”
“okay. Let’s go through the maze for now. The professors will understand.”
Monet’s labyrinth was already a well-known site, so there were almost no students who didn’t know about it.
It was originally a characteristic of wizards who like to explore and study something.
“Perhaps there are riddles or other traps blocking the way. I have memorized everything, so let’s escape first.”
“As expected, Diane! I believed in you!”
After making a decision, I decided to move quickly.
They started walking down a long, dark brown aisle in one piece.
Unlike ordinary buildings, the maze had a hard-to-see appearance.
‘If you look closely, it seems to be moving.’
It felt like moving the walls of a maze little by little.
In fact, an analysis came out that Monet’s labyrinth, which was encountered through various literatures, actually moves.
That’s why Monet’s labyrinth was nicknamed an animated labyrinth.
I didn’t know if he was actually alive.
“It is standard to go in only one direction in a maze. Even if I have to go back a little, I will go in a safe way.”
“We’ll just do what Diane says.”
Soon after, the students, who began to slowly move forward, felt their tension gradually ease.
“Come to think of it, it’s an insignificant evaluation. Monet’s labyrinth is not a very dangerous ruin.”
“The problem will be running into another group.”
“well. Will we ever meet? I know this place is much wider than I thought.”
Monet’s labyrinth was also famous for its large scale, so it was impossible to get out of it in one day.
Instead, there were native plants throughout the maze, so water and food could be replenished.
“But I mean.”
While walking for a while, someone opened their mouth.
“Don’t you think we’ve been circling the same place ever since?”
“huh?”
“yes?”
Everyone stopped walking at someone’s question.
And after looking around for a moment, they nodded.
“This is the same scenery all along….”
“Honestly, are you confused? Are you really in place?”
“surely. It is said that mana abnormalities often occur inside Monet’s maze. And the type is different every time, so it is impossible to guess.”
“Then shall we walk while making signs?”
“I will.”
Since there was magic, there were many ways to leave traces.
They started walking again after marking with mana and installing alarm magic at the same time.
But after a while, Diene felt strange and had to stop.
“for a moment…Hold on.”
“what’s the matter?”
Diene looked at the crew with confused eyes.
And slowly started counting.
“one two three four….”
Finally, Diene pointed at herself and said.
“five.”
“uh…?”
“Why are there only five people? Who is gone?”
No one could answer her question.
