The 9th Class Swordmaster: Blade of Truth C.131: The Minotaur’s Dungeon (2)

“It’s so hot in here...” Viola muttered in a low voice, not even bothering to wipe the sweat dripping down her chin.

“Greys, how long have we been in the labyrinth?”

“Well... I suppose we’ve been in here for more than half a day, right?” Greys replied with a low sigh. He felt like tossing off his armor right away.

“No, it hasn’t been that long since we entered this place.”

“...What? I could’ve sworn we’ve been here for at least that long...”

When Beikan refuted Greys’ assumption, Viola looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.

“It feels like that because we’ve been seeing the same scenery,” Kinu Mukari explained as he handed them his flask.

“How can you be so sure ?”

“It’s simple. You count your steps to estimate the time. Master also marks the path at regular intervals.”

“An experienced hunter would check with their breathing, but I’m not quite at that level yet.”

“...”

Although Kinu and Beikan spoke about it casually, constantly counting one’s steps to keep track of time wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.

“Honestly, this is nothing. What’s most surprising is the fact that nothing has happened since we entered the labyrinth. That’s probably why you two have lost track of time.”

With that, everyone glanced at Karyl up ahead. Although this dungeon was as complex as a maze, Karyl confidently pushed forward with no hesitation. There hadn’t been any operating mechanisms or triggered traps thus far, and they hadn’t encountered a single monster either. All they had done was follow Karyl deeper into the dungeon.

“The surprising thing is that barbarians like you and us from the continent are working together to clear a dungeon.”

At Viola’s words, the others smiled bitterly. They had seen each other fight in the field of the Twin Armor after clearing three dungeons. Beikan, Kinu, and Greys recognized each other as warriors, even after leaving their tribes.

“It’s best to drink lots of water. Unlike with Gray Orcs or Lizardmen, the air in an S-rank dungeon is thick with potent mana, so even the act of walking will quickly wear you down.”

“In that aspect, barbarians have an advantage.”

"That might be one of the reasons they are such excellent hunters. Ironically, the empire calls it heresy."

“...”

“Watch your step.”

Karyl pointed to the marble floor ahead, and Viola instantly stopped moving.

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“That’ll activate a trap.”

Like someone who had navigated through dozens of labyrinths, Karyl had passed the final trap with ease before finally coming to a stop.

“Is this... where the final monster is?” Viola asked in a low voice before throwing an empty flask on the ground.

Reaching the end of the labyrinth, the group came across a massive statue that looked like it had been waiting for them.

“Is that a person...?”

It was a statue of a man sitting on a throne like a king. He was gripping a thick bastard sword embedded into the ground, his head crooked as he gazed down. The statue was so intricate that it almost seemed alive.

“He’s also a demi-human. The master of the dungeon and the King of Monsters, Minos.”

Karyl pointed to the two beast statues standing beside the throne.

“This monster with a hawk’s head on a human body is Aeacus of the East. And this monster, a wyvern, a subspecies of dragons, is Rhadamanthos of the West.”

At his explanation, everyone looked at the statues with tense expressions. The massive monsters, seemingly ready to pounce, were terrifying even to look at.

“They’re the ones we’ll need to defeat.”

Rumble...

As if answering his words, a mysterious roar came from deep within the labyrinth.

“Beikan, Kinu, remove the chains from the statues. The rest of you, step back.”

Karyl pointed to the gold and silver treasures scattered around the throne.

“The statues react to mana. They’ll come to life when someone tries to take the jewels.”

“Huh... Tempting adventurers with jewels. Rather petty for an S-rank dungeon, if you ask me,” Viola commented as she slowly got behind Greys.

“Petty tricks often work well. Not all renowned adventurers venture into such dungeons because of a sense of duty.

“Hmm...” Viola nodded at Karyl’s words.

Swish... Swish...

Thud!

Beikan and Kinu climbed onto the statues, unwrapping the chains from the monsters' necks. The chains slipped into Minos’ hand before falling to the ground with a loud clatter.

“Hup...!”

The chains were thicker than Beikan’s arms. As he slung them over his shoulder, his sturdy legs wobbled under the weight.

“What do you plan to do with that?”

“There’s a strategy for every dungeon. For lower-rank dungeons, simply defeating the boss is enough, but those of higher ranks are different.”

Beikan nodded at Karyl’s words. He had already experienced this when hunting the Lord of the Rolling Hills. The Sand Serpent, too, was considered an S-rank monster alongside the Water King and the Sea King. Even a Sword Master would struggle to defeat such creatures with just brute force.

Karyl had known the serpent’s weakness, which was the reverse scale, and targeted it perfectly. Beikan and Kinu didn’t follow his orders without question just because he was their master.

Master always has a reason for what he does.

The results speak for themselves.

From the Rolling Hills to the Abyssal Rock—everything Karyl had accomplished defied common sense.

“We’re going in,” Karyl said in a low voice after making sure that Kinu and Beikan had the chains ready.

Swish... Swish...

The sound of the chains being dragged against the cobblestones echoed through the silent labyrinth.

***

“Ugh...?!”

As soon as the door opened, Viola instantly covered her nose and held her breath. If the parts they had explored so far were relatively tidy, beyond this door lay a complete mess. This underground space, seemingly endless, was filled with shattered debris and a foul stench of blood.

“What on earth is this smell?”

“Rotting corpses. This place is certainly different from what we’ve encountered so far.”

“It’s awful. This must have been here for quite some time.”

Viola, who had only laid eyes on relatively fresh corpses, and that from recent events, was naturally appalled by the stench corpses that had been decomposing for a long time.

“...Is this what you consider awful?”

Beikan and Kinu were being nonchalant about this, which made Viola shake her head.

Squish...

As she walked, Viola stepped in something cold and wet, causing her to recoil.

“Ugh...”

She couldn’t see clearly through the pitch-black darkness, but it felt like she had stepped in a puddle.

“There are no torches here. Greys, light the way with your mana.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Well, it might not be a good idea to use mana here.”

Karyl stopped Greys from casting the spell.

“Why not? Is there a trap that reacts to mana, like with the statues?”

“No, not exactly, but it won’t be a pleasant sight.”

Greys hesitated, which prompted Viola to speak up, feigning confidence.

“It’s too dark to see where we’re going. I’ve seen enough battlefields by now. I can handle it.”

With that, Greys focused mana into his palm once again.

“Light.”

Two spheres of light formed above his hand. As they floated, light quickly spread throughout the underground space.

“...”

But then, Viola froze up at the horrifying sight revealed by the light. She physically couldn’t get any words out.

The walls were plastered with chunks of flesh and torn organs, while shattered bones lay scattered everywhere.

“Ugh...!”

Moreover, she now saw that the puddle she had stepped in earlier was actually putrid, brown blood, causing her to retch.

“What in the world is this...?”

To make matters worse, it looked like the door to this underground tunnel couldn’t be opened from the inside, which made escape impossible.

What on earth had happened inside here?

“Beyond this point lies the area where Minos’s monsters dwell. This is their feeding ground.”

“Feeding ground? No matter how I look at it...”

Viola glanced at the half-destroyed skull rolling on the floor.

“Yeah... These are humans.”

“What the hell...”

Despite being royalty, Viola couldn’t help cursing as she imagined those poor people being eaten alive by monsters.

“They fed on humans? The master of this labyrinth is...”

“Well, humans kill other humans too. From a monster’s perspective, dwarves, elves, and humans are all just prey.”

“But... This is different, isn’t it?” Greys retorted, knowing what Karyl was implying.

“Well, the empire seems more ruthless to me, slaughtering tens of thousands under the guise of eliminating heresy,” Beikan shot back.

“Th-That’s...” Greys was at a loss for words.

“Don’t think the empire’s Extermination Decree of Heresy represents the will of all kingdoms!” Viola retorted, unable to contain her frustration. “The Three Kingdoms of Istria have always coexisted with the southern barbarians. We don’t hold any particular prejudice against you.”

“If we thought like the emperor, we would’ve refused to accept you the moment we found out the master of Tatur was with the southern barbarians.”

“What do you mean, refuse to accept us...?” Kinu growled.

“We would have informed the empire,” Viola responded calmly, shrugging lightly at Kinu’s hostile reaction.

“But you didn’t.”

“Of course. We’re not anyone’s puppets, even though we’re a small country.

“I think the same. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have left my troops at Twin Armor. Sir Marze and Sir Aben can distinguish between friends and foes.”

“Hmm... The Fenria Kingdom thinks the same,” Viola replied with a somewhat sullen expression.

Thud—! Crunch! Thud—!

Following their tense exchange, Karyl led the way through the grotesque path of corpses, eventually arriving at their destination, blocked by iron bars.

“Sir Greys, I cannot forgive the empire’s crimes, but I understand where you’re coming from.”

Finishing his sentence, Karyl turned his palms upward and extended his arms toward Beikan and Kinu.

Clang! Clang!

The two of them unhooked the chains from their shoulders and handed the ends to Karyl.

“I’ve seen countless corpses, but this scene is nauseating even to me.”

Clutching the thick chains tightly, Karyl walked forward.

“Grrrrr...!”

Low growls resounded from behind the iron bars.

“These corpses are unidentifiable. Some of the remains could very well be from the old empire two hundred and fifty years ago, or even from the Magical Era a thousand years ago. Nobody has managed to conquer this ancient dungeon.”

The wyvern’s red eyes focused on Karyl.

“Although these monsters are formidable, we can’t just let it be, and not because of some grand sense of duty.”

The two monsters bared their sharp fangs, wary of Karyl approaching them with chains like a tamer.

Locking eyes with them, Karyl prompted, “So first, let’s put a leash on these damn things to keep their mouths shut.”