Chapter 410

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 410: Black Finger (2)

“Now!”

The moment Veronica shouted sharply, Fran was already moving.

Shwaaaaaak!

With the sound of air being torn apart, the whip smashed the goblin’s head to pieces.

“Huu, haah.”

Gasping heavily, Fran barely managed to speak.

“Again. I’ve never even heard of a goblin like this existing.”

“That alchemist or whatever probably made it. He’s the kind of bastard who conducts all sorts of experiments.”

Veronica replied while examining the goblin’s corpse.

“It looked grotesque to begin with. A goblin with dozens of eyes…… Disgusting.”

Generally, cave goblins were dexterous and agile.

Because of that, they normally hunted prey through ambushes, but their one weakness was their poor eyesight.

It was so bad that they could not pursue a target once it moved even slightly farther away.

However, this creature, which had countless tiny eyes plastered all over it like a spider, was different.

“I never want to encounter another one.”

Its eyesight was so good that it could even see behind itself.

Had Veronica not landed 『Aerial Restraint』 five times, it would have become a troublesome fight.

Wiping away the sweat running down his face, Fran stared into the dark corridor.

“Was this the third one?”

“That’s right.”

There had been no problem when they encountered the members of Black Finger.

Those bastards had been weak despite their large numbers.

But at some point, modified monsters had begun to appear.

“Every single one of them is quite threatening.”

“It’s even more irritating because they’re blatantly trying to wear us down.”

It was frustrating that they had no choice but to fall for it despite knowing what the enemy intended.

Veronica looked back.

“We can’t turn around and go back the way we came now…….”

“Yeah. That might cause trouble for the others.”

Oscar and Killian were probably dealing with similar creatures.

If they withdrew because things were difficult on their side, the monsters would end up flocking toward the others.

They could not do something that would merely hold the others back.

“But don’t you think something is a little strange?”

Fran asked while looking around.

“I know the temple is large, but even taking that into consideration, isn’t this corridor far too long?”

“Hmm.”

Veronica, who had already been harboring a similar suspicion, nodded.

“That part is strange, actually. And do you remember what happened when the goblin ambushed us a little while ago?”

“Of course I remember. I got lucky.”

The goblin, which had concealed its presence and hidden itself, had swung a dagger at them from behind.

Fortunately, Wind Lord had activated and elementalized his neck, causing the attack to cut through empty air.

Had the goblin targeted Veronica first, a horrifying situation would have unfolded.

“But what about it?”

“The goblin appeared behind us. Isn’t that strange?”

“Uh, now that you mention it, definitely…….”

Fran looked down the corridor they had already passed through.

“There was only one path.”

“That’s right. If the goblin appeared behind us, there are only two possibilities. The first is that it entered from outside the temple.”

The possibility she mentioned was unlikely.

“Hmm, that’s strange. That lizard named Seiro and Ms. Edna are guarding the outside, aren’t they?”

“That’s right. Of course, they might simply have missed it, but we agreed that they would send us a signal if something happened.”

The fact that there had been no signal meant that, from the outside, there had been no problem.

The two silently stared down the corridor they had walked through.

If a hidden passage or door existed somewhere along it.

For now, that possibility was overwhelmingly more likely.

“Should we go back the way we came and inspect every corner?”

“But what if that’s what the enemy wants? It might place an additional burden on Killian or Oscar’s group.”

After pondering for a moment, Veronica spoke.

“It can’t be helped. Let’s push forward. We’ll increase our speed instead.”

“What if an enemy jumps out from behind us again like before?”

“To prepare for that possibility, you take the rear.”

“Eek. You’re openly telling me to become a meat shield?”

“You won’t die anyway because you have Wind Lord.”

“Urgh.”

Fran scratched his head roughly before nodding.

In their current situation, that was their best option.

Besides, it was not as though Veronica’s role would be easy.

She would have to bear the full brunt of any attacks or traps that came from the front.

“Fine.”

“Let’s move immediately. We’ve stayed in one place for too long.”

They began moving and walked for quite some time.

As they continued down the corridor illuminated by flickering, dim magical lights, it began to feel as though something was going wrong with their minds.

[Something is strange.]

“What’s strange?”

[We have been circling the same place continuously.]

“That’s…… Don’t you just feel that way because it’s a straight corridor?”

“Why? What is the spirit saying?”

When Fran relayed Mu’s words to Veronica, who lacked spirit affinity, she shrugged.

“If you suspect that, we can just leave a mark.”

Krrrrk!

The blade of wind she created gouged a large X into the stone wall.

“There’s no way we’ll fail to recognize something this obvious, right?”

“Definitely. It’s also directly beneath a magical light, so we’ll see it immediately.”

[I agree.]

A little over ten minutes after leaving the mark and continuing onward.

What awaited the group was a place where a rough X had been carved into the wall.

“Veronica, this.”

“……It isn’t fake. That’s my mana.”

After running her hand across the wall, Veronica replied in a grave voice.

The mana that had carved this mark was unmistakably hers.

Flustered, Fran denied the reality before him.

“B-But that doesn’t make any sense, does it? This is a corridor with only one path, and we’ve only been walking forward.”

A place that defied common sense.

And that very morning, the two had already witnessed a method capable of doing such a thing.

An art of the Yan Kingdom that twisted space to construct an independent domain.

“A formation. What if one has been installed inside the temple as well?”

“…….”

Fran gulped and spoke to Mu.

“Mu, fly back along the path we came from. Once you reach the entrance, come back.”

[Understood.]

Mu flew down the path they had walked and returned from the front a little over ten minutes later.

[I see.]

Mu nodded.

[It appears that we are trapped.]

* * *

Oscar suddenly stopped walking.

It was because he could sense his own mana.

‘Does it make people circle the same place continuously……?’

It was a formation.

He had never imagined that they would have installed one inside the temple as well.

It must have activated the moment it determined that intruders had entered.

‘This is troublesome.’

Oscar stroked his chin as he considered the situation.

In truth, this formation was not particularly effective against him.

He could simply slice through space itself and continue onward.

But it was different for the others.

‘Edna might manage somehow, but Veronica and Fran, as well as Killian and the Mad Fiend, won’t be able to do anything about this.’

The only solution was for him to personally wander around and rescue them one by one.

What troubled him now was the Fingers.

‘They’re openly trying to stall for time. What is their reason?’

Logically speaking, there was a high possibility that they were trying to escape.

He had only looked around briefly, but the temple’s level of defense was insufficient to handle their group.

To be honest, bringing the Mad Fiend alone would have been enough to clear the place out.

‘Letting them escape…… would be troublesome.’

The most important thing right now was finding the traitor within the imperial family.

Unless that came first, no matter what they did, they would merely be dancing in the enemy’s palm.

“…….”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

However, his stiffened legs refused to move easily.

Oscar bit his lip as he deliberated.

‘Is this truly a rational judgment?’

He had thought the same thing that day, when he attempted to kill the Great Emperor instead of returning to the White Tower.

That he was more rational than he had ever been.

That this choice was right.

“……Huu.”

Oscar released a faint breath.

His heartbeat, which had begun to quicken, regained its usual rhythm.

‘I’m glad I met that bastard.’

Had he not met Magiro not long ago, he would have fallen into a fairly severe panic.

He would have doubted himself again and again, wondering whether abandoning his companions and going after Black Finger was truly the right choice.

‘But now I know.’

He knew that choice was the best one.

More than anything, he trusted that they would not lose to something as trivial as a formation.

He had watched them grow countless times.

‘If it’s them as they are now.’

They would overcome even this situation on their own.

Therefore, there was only one thing he needed to do now.

“Split apart.”

Slash!

A sharp blade of space sliced through the corridor.

What was revealed beyond it was a staircase leading downward.

“…….”

Without looking back, Oscar descended the stairs.

When he opened the door, an enormous space appeared before him.

Hundreds of bunk beds had been placed throughout the area, which was divided into several sections.

At a glance, the atmosphere resembled military barracks where soldiers lived.

‘In reality, it isn’t much different. This must be where the members of Black Finger live.’

As proof, the warmth of people could still be felt throughout the area.

Of course, most of the bastards who had been here until a short while ago had probably become cold corpses by now.

Or perhaps they had been reduced to scorching charcoal.

“…….”

Oscar strode forward without hesitation.

There was only one living creature on this floor.

“Ugh, uugh…….”

A man whose entire body was wrapped in bandages lay groaning on a bed.

When Oscar lightly kicked the bed, the man opened his eyes.

“Hm? Who…….”

The member’s pupils trembled rapidly when he saw the man with an extraordinary aura.

Hadn’t they been told that distinguished guests would be arriving from outside today?

Gulping, he forgot his pain and abruptly sat upright.

“A-Are you perhaps one of the people who were supposed to arrive today?”

“…….”

Oscar replied in a dry voice.

“Where is the alchemist?”

“I-I will guide you there immediately!”

Using crutches, the man limped along as he guided him.

“P-Please come this way.”

The place the man led him to contained an elevator that looked like something one would see at a construction site.

When they boarded it and headed downward, the scenery slowly changed.

‘An armory, a training ground, a dining hall…….’

It felt as though he were looking at a small magic tower.

When Oscar unconsciously let out a hollow laugh, the man awkwardly laughed along with him.

Kwoooong!

The place where the elevator stopped had a completely different atmosphere.

Rather than an ancient temple, it felt like the clean laboratory of a corporation.

“Beyond this point, my authority does not permit me to proceed.”

“You’ve done well.”

“Th-Thank you! My name is…….”

Slash!

He painlessly sent off the bastard, who had been saluting with an excited expression.

When Oscar approached the door, a mechanical voice rang out.

[You do not have authorization.]

Slash!

When he sliced through the door with a blade of wind, kwoooong!

A heavy sound reverberated through the space.

“Hmm.”

The interior was one enormous laboratory.

First, large glass tubes stood lined up in rows, their interiors filled with green liquid and all kinds of monsters.

‘Rather than a headquarters, is the temple itself the alchemist’s laboratory?’

Then again, he had found it strange when he heard that Black Finger possessed a headquarters.

Weren’t they difficult to eradicate precisely because they operated through thoroughly compartmentalized cells?

As he passed between the glass tubes, the distinctive smell of chemicals stung his nose.

“You’re an interesting one.”

Oscar stopped and turned his head toward the voice that had suddenly come from behind him.

Until a moment ago, he had not sensed even the slightest trace of mana from that location.

“You’re a guest I never invited. Don’t you think you’re acting far too boldly?”

“…….”

His opponent’s slender body was covered in black bandages.

Oscar’s gaze swiftly swept over his opponent before settling at his feet.

‘He has no shadow.’

At the unnatural sight, Oscar raised his head.

“You’re the Hound.”

“Keuk, you’re quick-witted. Most people don’t think to examine their opponent’s shadow.”

“You should take better care of it.”

With those words, Oscar reached a hand behind himself.

Crack!

Within the mana-coated breeze, the bastard’s shadow was seized as though it were a piece of clothing.

“You shouldn’t carelessly leave your belongings lying around.”

“Hmm. You certainly aren’t bad.”

Nodding, the Hound pulled a control device from inside his clothes and pressed it.

“However, there is a proper order to everything.”

Crash! Shatter!

The glass tubes shattered in every direction, and the green liquid that had filled them poured out.

At the same time, the monsters began to rise.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]