Chapter 250: Walpurgis Night (8)

Carl dashed through the labyrinth at high speed with Delphir slung over his shoulder.

‘I didn’t think they’d make such a bold move right from the start.’

He had expected them to make a move after the Walpurgis Night Festival began, not intervene from the very beginning.

‘So it wasn’t the interior that was the goal, but the process itself was intentional.’

Walpurgis Night.

Its origin lay in ancient philosophers gathering to discuss the state of the year and their research.

That tradition had continued to modern academies and evolved into this kind of event.

Though he didn’t know exactly what their goal was, it seemed they intended to use the festival of Walpurgis Night itself as part of some kind of ritual.

“…Ahead!”

Delphir, who had been dangling from Carl’s side, shouted sharply.

A suspicious mass exuding ominous demonic energy was moving in the distance.

Swish!

Carl drew the Heavenly Thunder Sword in a flash and sliced the creature cleanly in two, not slowing his pace in the slightest.

Shhh, swish! Slash.

It was the same when he encountered other monsters in succession.

He never once stopped his stride and tore through the labyrinth like a storm.

“…You’re not an ordinary cadet, are you?”

Delphir, who had been readying his mana just in case he needed to assist, lowered his hand and asked stiffly.

Carl let out a soft chuckle as he cut down yet another monster hiding beside the wall with a surprise strike.

“Don’t people often say you lack awareness?”

“Wha—how did you—?”

“I’ve heard that I’m quick-witted, you see.”

The path split into three directions.

Carl came to a halt and narrowed his eyes, staring ahead.

He intended to spread out his senses and locate an escape route from the labyrinth.

“……”

Then suddenly, he sensed that the presence of Darius, who had been following behind him, had vanished.

Clicking his tongue lightly, Carl set Delphir down from his side.

‘Not that I’m one to talk.’

Even if Darius was skilled, with the forces of the Demon Realm and heretics now actively involved, he wasn’t that different from the other cadets.

It was obvious what would happen if he left him alone, so Carl redirected his senses to the rear.

“…Come to think of it, Cadet Darius—”

“Seems we got separated. Let’s find him first, then escape.”

There were still other cadets left in the dormitory, so he couldn’t afford to waste too much time.

Carl exhaled softly and released the internal energy he had been suppressing.

“……”

Delphir flinched and widened his eyes at the sudden shift in Carl’s presence.

As a mage, he had a keen sensitivity to the flow of mana.

And he could vaguely sense the extraordinary force surging from within Carl.

‘What is he, a dragon or something…?’

Could a human even possess mana of this magnitude?

If it had been him, his body would have burst long ago.

Delphir’s suspicious gaze shifted into one of shock, and soon settled into a respectful demeanor.

“What should I do?”

The man before him was no ordinary cadet.

He should be grateful that Carl hadn’t abandoned him under these circumstances.

So he asked, hoping to be at least somewhat useful.

“Do you know anything about what’s happening right now?”

“Hmm.”

It was a difficult question.

The cadets had arrived later than scheduled, which was already unexpected.

Then suddenly, the office had transformed into this magic labyrinth, and all his colleagues had been killed.

Right now, he was only pretending to stay calm to survive—there was no way he actually knew anything.

“…It must be a long-prepared terrorist attack. Maybe even the organizers—or perhaps the organizers are in league with them. For them to install such a massive spell formation without the Magic Tower noticing…”

Still, he couldn’t just say he knew nothing.

So he wracked his brain and came up with the most plausible answer he could manage.

“Is it possible that there’s a traitor in the Blue Magic Tower?”

“It can’t be ruled out. There are a lot of lunatics there.”

That included himself, but he had no intention of denying it.

After all, being a mage meant having a screw loose somewhere.

“Let’s find my brother first.”

“Oh, you’re siblings? I thought there was a similar atmosphere about you—”

CRACK.

With a flash of Sonic Burst, the wall beside them collapsed in an instant.

Delphir’s body stiffened as if struck with a paralysis poison.

Had he just said something offensive?

Before he could think more, a monster, its body split in half, leapt out from the rubble and charged at them.

RUMBLE!

A bolt of lightning struck with an eardrum-tearing roar.

A blue lightning bolt tinged with jade green obliterated the monster in a single blow.

Delphir’s eyes widened at the vivid aftermath.

“Di…vine power?”

He had assumed Carl was simply a powerful swordsman, but was he actually a paladin—at the level of the Church’s elite?

“Let’s go. If we stay still, we’ll be surrounded.”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Delphir hurried after Carl, who had already started walking.

“……”

Carl spread his senses wide and clicked his tongue inwardly.

The number of monsters roaming the labyrinth had more than doubled.

The problem was that among them, several had overwhelming auras that were impossible to ignore.

On the other hand, Darius’s presence had vanished completely.

‘He’s not dead, though.’

Click.

Carl checked the color of the pendant tucked into his chest.

It was an artifact that indicated the condition of his parents, eldest brother Carius, and second brother Darius.

All four glowed with a yellow light tinged with blue.

They were under some stress, but still safe.

His parents and Carius were likely worried after hearing about the situation here.

As for Darius…

“It’s also possible he managed to get out of here first.”

“You mean Cadet Darius?”

“It’s an unidentified dungeon. It wouldn’t be strange if the escape trigger was hidden in an unexpected place.”

Just as suddenly as he had entered, he had exited.

Since it didn’t seem to be an urgent situation at the moment, he decided to retrace the path they had come.

“You can protect yourself, right?”

“I’m good at running away. I won’t get in the way.”

Delphir nodded firmly with a determined expression.

Becoming a burden in a place where dangerous monsters could appear at any moment meant death.

Carl didn’t seem like the kind of person who would risk his life for someone he had just met today.

‘…And besides.’

Though he hadn’t shown it, it was obvious he was suspicious of him.

Not only had the Walpurgis Night Festival turned into a mess, but all the mages from the Blue Magic Tower had been killed, and now this kind of labyrinthine barrier had emerged.

He probably thought Delphir was either the culprit or an accomplice.

‘I really didn’t do anything, though.’

He was just a low-ranking mage who had been lucky enough to avoid the disaster.

If the cadets hadn’t activated the Teleport Gate and gone to fetch him, he would’ve died sitting in his chair, just like the others.

“……”

Meanwhile, Carl, who was cautiously moving forward while scanning his surroundings, felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Not from the labyrinth itself, but from the monsters that kept appearing.

‘I feel like I’ve faced these things before…’

Maybe it was because he had gone through so much since coming to this world—his memory was foggy.

The most recent case had been the humanoid monster unit hiding around the outskirts of the city.

The human shape was the same, but the aura felt fundamentally different.

If the other case involved turning entire humans into a new monster species, this one felt more like body parts stitched together from usable bits.

Since it was all vague, it must have happened quite a while ago—and he couldn’t afford to obsess over memories that wouldn’t surface.

“…This is the place.”

Following the path back, Carl confirmed the spot where Darius’s traces had vanished.

From the middle of this corridor, his presence had completely disappeared.

“Hmm, I don’t see anything. How did he manage that?”

Delphir looked around at the labyrinth’s walls and floor, trying to read Carl’s expression.

No matter how close they were, it felt wrong to suggest that something bad had happened to Carl’s younger brother.

“I’ll check with a detection spell.”

Shhh.

Clasping his hands together to activate the spell, he closed his eyes and began scanning the surroundings thoroughly.

Wherever a person moved, they left traces.

Especially those who had reached a certain level would inevitably leave remnants of mana.

Tracking those remnants backward wasn’t too difficult…

“…Senior?”

Delphir’s eyes flew open.

He had sensed familiar mana residue from above.

Carl narrowed his eyes sharply and grabbed Delphir by the scruff of the neck.

“Seems it was drawn to your mana.”

“Kh—cough?!”

BOOOOM!!

At the same time, a massive weight crashed down onto the spot they had just vacated.

Dangling in mid-air, pulled up by Carl once more, Delphir coughed harshly but couldn’t hide his shock at the scene before him.

“Wh-what is that…?!”

Bodies were haphazardly mixed together.

Dozens of arms squirmed from a massive body, each reaching in a different direction.

From the faces embedded all over its body, black tears streamed as they silently screamed in agony.

“……”

He could only stare blankly.

Because every face embedded in that body belonged to someone he recognized.

“Sliced up.”

“You recognize them.”

Carl nodded with a furrowed brow.

While he hadn’t seen anything this grotesquely mixed together, he had seen similar stitched-together forms before.

It must have been the monster they encountered in the forest during the Bavarian practical training.

‘They called it a Puppeteer.’

According to NOX’s later investigation, the creature had been a mercenary known within some unknown organization.

The alias was Puppeteer, and he was known for modifying and sewing together others’ bodies to create monsters like this.

They said he was quite notorious in the underworld of the continent…

“Never thought he’d be a heretic.”

Carl’s lips curled into a sneer as he sensed clear divine power from the joints of the creature’s body.

He had thought those who worshipped demigods were at least more rational than the Demon Realm forces—but in the end, they were all the same.

“I wondered if there was a reason to form an alliance, but I’ll withdraw that idea.”

FSSHHH!

Divine power surged from the Heavenly Thunder Sword, forming a distinct shape as it radiated even more brilliantly.

It was a clear warning directed at the one who was surely watching them from somewhere.

“Only lunatics wherever you go. This world’s no better than the Central Plains.”

Carl muttered bitterly and unleashed a lightning-like final strike, piercing straight through the center of the monster’s body.

CRACK.

Rather than the sound of tearing flesh, a sharp ripping noise rang out.

Soon, the monster’s stitched joints tore apart, and it collapsed into a meaningless pile of limbs and flesh.

“Urgh, uuueeegh!”

Even Delphir, a mage from the Magic Tower with a stronger stomach than most, couldn’t endure the horrific sight.

Carl gave his sword a light swing, incinerating all the scraps of flesh, then looked up.

“There’s a hole in the ceiling. Seems he got sucked up through there.”

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