"Stop Hazer, Bell Cranel!"
"!!"
"This type of curse breaks once the caster is defeated. Lyd and the others will regain their senses then!"
Ssh—!
"[Valsa]! You're with me. We hold off the Icelos Familia and the Xenos!"
"On it!"
At Fels's command, Bell immediately lunged toward Dix. The Xenos and the Icelos Familia fodder attempting to intercept him were held back by Fels's magic and Ardee's support.
"Ho? So you're the one facing me, not [Valsa]?"
A twisted grin spread across his face.
"I'm a Level 5, you know?"
Bell faltered for a moment, his footsteps stuttering, but Fels's voice cut through the air.
"Curses are powerful, but they demand a price! Hazer has undoubtedly paid his!"
Boom—!!!
"So stop Hazer, Bell Cranel!"
"Kikiki, just gonna expose everything like that?"
Dix adjusted his grip on his spear, confirming Fels's deduction. Bell, bolstered by the information, charged again, swinging his dagger with lethal intent.
Clang—!!!
Ching—!!!!!!!
"Oi, oi, are you for real?"
'Even with a status down... his speed isn't at the level of a mere Level 3!'
"Hyaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!"
Clang—!!!!
Kaa-ng—!!!!!!!
Even in this state, Dix parried or deflected every one of Bell's strikes. He pushed Bell back effortlessly to create distance, casually explaining his condition.
"What that sorcerer said is true."
Tap! Tap!
"In exchange for casting my curse, my status drops significantly."
'And the reality of a status drop is more complex than just numbers.'
"Right now, my body feels so sluggish I can hardly stand it."
A massive fluctuation in status wasn't just about the magnitude of strength or speed. A warrior naturally attunes their mind and body to their current power; thus, Bell was only able to maintain this exchange because Dix was currently out of sync with his own weakened state.
"However,"
Dix gripped his spear tight.
"I'm still going to run you through."
To Dix, the technicalities didn't matter.
Swoosh—!!!!!!!
"!!"
'F-Fast...!'
Ching—!!!!!!!
Clang—!!!!!!
Clash-clash-clang—!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bell struggled to block the fierce, rapid-fire thrusts, looking for an opening. However, he could not bridge the fundamental gap in weaponry and experience. Dix eventually kicked him squarely in the stomach, breaking his stance. Bell rolled across the floor, a fresh gash opening on his cheek.
Thwack—!!!!!!!!
"Cough!?"
'My stance...'
Throb—
"It burns....!?"
Blood poured from the cut on his cheek far more violently than the wound's size suggested. Bell panicked as an unbearable pain flared through his face. Dix laughed at the sight.
"Be careful, yeah? This spear is also imbued with a curse."
"!!"
"That wound won't heal with potions or magic."
Dix leveled his spear.
"Don't die too easily. Entertain me!"
At that same moment, in the Great Tree Ocean, the Xenos who had been acting as a diversion under Ray's lead were nearly all suppressed.
"Ilta, what about the other monsters?"
"Captures are almost complete. Only that one remains."
"Good. They gave us quite a bit of trouble, but it's finally time to wrap this up."
Ray panted heavily, exhausted, staring at the Ganesha Familia subjugation force before her. However, her eyes seemed to be searching for something else—waiting for something.
"Once we secure this one, we pursue the ones that fled to the east of the forest."
'They won't be in a state for dialogue, so there will be more fighting...'
"Have them regroup with Medaka and the others who went to the village."
"It's Madaka, not Medaka."
"Regrettably, it is neither."
Just as the Ganesha Familia members failed to read Ray's gaze and Shakti prepared to regroup with the village team...
Whish—!
"""!?"""
'An Al-Miraj... riding a wolf?'
"What is th—"
CRACK—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A massive fist sent Shakti flying, knocking her unconscious instantly. Everyone present froze in shock.
Thump—!!!!!!
"...."
Standing before them was an armored Minotaur, characterized by its colossal frame.
—'I'm going to fight now. If you're coming, then come.'
"Battle....!"
Asterios gripped his weapon tight.
"GROOOOAAAAAR!!!!!!!!!!!"
Recalling the message from Akumo passed on by his kin, Asterios let out a roar as he began searching for the hidden door.
Slam—!!!!!!!
"Ugh....!!"
Bell was being driven back by Dix, forced to brace himself against the ground.
"Hey, [Little Rookie]."
"Haah... haah..."
"Do you know why the lineage of Daedalus has followed the insane will of a mad ancestor for generations?"
Dix laughed, finally bringing up the story of his bloodline that he hadn't finished earlier.
"The blood made us do it."
"....Blood?"
"The blood of Daedalus whispers incessantly in our ears!!"
He grinned wildly.
"Finish this Labyrinth!!"
Dix's voice rose to a fever pitch. He clapped a hand over his left eye and broke into a manic laugh.
"It throbs!!"
"Deep in my eye! Inside my head! Knossos! The blueprints drawn in the journals!"
"No matter how much we try to run, it drags us back in until we lose our damn minds!!!"
Bell couldn't tell if that laugh was born of a sense of victory or the sheer absurdity of his ancestor's curse.
"No one can escape!!!! Not from this curse of blood!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"A curse... of blood....?"
Dix's expression darkened.
"I loathe this Labyrinth. I think this piece of shit should just vanish!"
'In the first place.... in the first place!!!'
"The only one allowed to give me orders is me!!!!!!"
Dix's eyes locked onto Bell again.
"Don't you agree?"
"But I couldn't destroy it."
"No, far from destroying it, the blood of Daedalus commands me to complete the masterpiece!"
Dix's manic laughter faded, replaced by a mask of pure hatred and rage. His words vibrated with the raw resentment he felt for his kin and his destiny.
"Bell!!!"
"It's enough to make my stomach turn!!!"
Slash—!
"Ugh...!?"
'Damn it...! I can't get close because of that curse...!!'
Ardee attempted to strike, but Dix swung his cursed spear, forcing her to retreat.
"I go into the Dungeon, I kill monsters, but it's never enough. It never fills the void....."
"And then, I found them!"
He smirked.
"The monsters that talk....!!"
To him, the Xenos—monsters born with the destiny to seek coexistence with humanity and reach the surface—were the perfect prey.
"Those things are different from normal monsters."
"They scream and beg for their lives!"
"Those monster brats born from the very Dungeon that drove Daedalus mad!!"
"Hahat!!! Isn't it wonderful!?"
He funneled all his hatred for the Dungeon that cursed his blood, his hatred for his ancestors, and the whispers in his left eye into the Xenos.
"Shaming those monsters, making them wail, driving them to despair, treating them like the trash they are!"
"Finally, I feel whole!!!"
"I can finally soothe the hunger in my blood!!!!!!!"
He, whose life had been cast into despair by the Dungeon, had found salvation through the suffering of the Xenos born from it.
"I even feel pleasure!!!!"
"Surpassing this blood means surpassing myself!!!!!!"
"It's a high that neither booze nor drugs can match!!"
"I won't give this up...! This is my choice!!!"
"Hahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Kyahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bell's expression hardened at the mad laughter, his eyes burning with fury.
"Just because of something like that—"
Whish—!
"Something like that?"
"!!"
Ching—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"You bastard!!!"
Clang—!!!!!!!!!!!
"How could you possibly know!!!!!!!!!"
Boom—!!!!!!!!!!!!
"The agony of the brand I was marked with the moment I was born!!!!!!!!!!"
Dix unleashed his sincere rage upon Bell, swinging his spear violently to tear apart the being who dared to negate his way of life.
"It feels like the inside of my eye is on fire!"
Clang—!!!!!!
"I can't help it!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ching—!!!!!!!!!
"To hell with the Labyrinth!!!"
"I do it because I want to! Because it's the only time I feel alive!!!!!!!!!!"
His scream-like shout echoed through the cavern.
Thump—!!
"You are...!"
"Kyuu! Kyuu!!!"
'Was he on his way back from his warrior's pilgrimage...?'
Let, who had been waiting for his comrades at the entrance of Knossos, was startled to see the massive Minotaur Xenos, Asterios, approaching.
"Akumo-san just went inside."
"!!"
Thump—!! Thump—!! Thump—!!
"Some very fierce people have gone in.... I can finally rest easy."
Watching Asterios enter Knossos with heavy, earth-shaking steps, Let recalled Akumo, who had calmly walked through the open door just moments before. The anxiety he had been harboring finally began to dissipate.
—'Let, who's inside?'
—'....Two humans, Fels, and our kin led by Lyd and Gros are fighting.'
—'Understood. When Ray and the others arrive, let them in.'
—'Yes!'
Soon, Ray's group, freed from the adventurers with Asterios's help, joined Let. Now, they only had to wait for the battle inside Knossos to conclude.
Step, step—
".....It's about time I stepped in."
The massive cavern was in chaos.
The Xenos were pointing weapons at each other, and Bell was being overwhelmed by Dix.
"[O my experiences, O my adventures, bloom according to my will.]"
The voice of a man walking through the man-made labyrinth resonated through the air.
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