Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 148 : Giant Labyrinth Vinshad (1)

Giant Labyrinth Vinshad (1)

"Y-young master! We're way too high up!"

While on Mersaya's back, Monet was clutching my waist tightly, shrieking in fear.

Perhaps because she had never been this high up before in her life, she trembled all over every time she peeked down at the ground.

"I should have sat there instead..."

I gave a wry smile at the quiet mumble from Riya.

Unlike Monet, Riya didn't show even the slightest change in expression, no matter how high Mersaya soared.

Perhaps it was because she recognized that Mersaya was holding us tight with magic so we wouldn't fall.

Or, maybe she thought even if we did fall, it wouldn't be much of a problem.

'At any rate, I can finally see it now.'

We passed the coast near Linken, heading over the vast blue sea.

In the past, that spot would have shown nothing but calm ocean—now, a massive island had risen up.

==

〈Calamity of Labytrinth 'Vinshad'〉

The fifth calamity, 'Palace Calamity'.

It devours magic power and the life of nearby living beings for nourishment.

The nourishment taken in transforms the maze even further, endlessly spawning monsters to invade the ground.

The largest dungeon in history—and the worst of them all.

Fabian, with his companions, challenged this dungeon but was trapped, and Monet, worried for the missing Fabian, came later and, in the end, conquered it.

==

Unlike other calamities, no profile displaying character information appeared.

Instead, information typically shown when the subject wasn't a living being was present, letting me know in detail how it was tackled in the original story.

'As expected, they conquered it with Monet's help in the original, too.'

Really, it would have been all but impossible to tackle that giant labyrinth any other way.

Vinshad, which had surged up above the sea's surface, resembled the shell of a colossal turtle, shining with a faint blue light and slowly increasing in size.

"Clay, is that the Calamity of Labytrinth you mentioned?"

Staring at it, Maria asked with a tense tone.

"Yeah. That's the Calamity of Labytrinth: Vinshad."

"I can't even imagine it getting any bigger than that. It's already enormous..."

Just as Maria said, vinshad's size even now was overwhelming.

No wonder, since it was basically an 'island'.

"If we leave it alone, it'll keep growing without end. And it'll produce monsters endlessly, too."

The problem wasn't just that it turned into a gigantic dungeon.

If monsters started gushing out ceaselessly from within...

"It's surely a calamity. If we can't conquer the dungeon, we'd have to face an endless swarm of monsters, and the longer it takes, the more they'll multiply."

Riya seemed to be growing more aware of Vinshad's threat as well.

"Shall we head straight for the entrance?"

"No, wait a moment."

"Wouldn't it be better to go in quickly?"

"The demonkin are there."

As expected, even before Vinshad had fully emerged, a group of demonkin had taken up positions at the entrance.

It seemed they had gathered to conquer Vinshad, just as I expected.

I asked Mersaya to fly us higher into the sky, to avoid being spotted by the demonkin.

"Their numbers are impressive."

Looking at the demonkin gathered by the entrance, Riya commented.

"They must have come via the demonkin's corridor, so there'll probably be more gathering soon."

"Hmm."

Riya activated her Dragon Eyes, flashing a sly smile.

"Should I sweep them all away for you, Clay? I don't know about anything else, but exterminating a crowd is my specialty."

"Eek!"

Mersaya's body shuddered unnecessarily at Riya's lazy words.

She must have sensed the immense magic power emanating from Riya's body.

"There's no need for that. We just have to sneak in."

With the demonkin's corridor nearby, killing them would be pointless. More would just keep pouring in from the demon realm.

If anything, it would just alert them that someone was after the Guiding Sword.

"Then, do you have another plan?"

"Of course."

I drew Genova from my waist.

Genova's blade instantly gleamed with a rainbow of colors.

"As we get off of Mersaya's back, we'll hide ourselves in another dimension using the Sword of Boundary's power. After that, we'll just slip through the entrance."

"That sword's ability is completely game-breaking, isn't it."

Riya spoke with an exasperated tone.

I agreed inwardly. Among all the Seven Swords Under Heaven, the Sword of Boundary's power was probably the most versatile.

"... Um, young master. When you say we're getting off Mersaya's back...from where, exactly?"

"Right here, of course. We have to jump."

"...!"

Monet's face went instantly pale.

"Don't worry. Riya will protect us with magic the moment we fall. Right?"

"Of course."

At my words, Riya's lips curved into a gentle arc.

Maria shivered at that smile.

"Oh my, do you not trust me?"

"I—I do. I do, it's just..."

Maria wasn't the type to back down easily, but right now Riya held all the power.

Watching them, I let out a soft chuckle as I slowly moved into position to jump down.

"Okay, I'll count to three, and then we jump. Mersaya, as soon as we do, change into your human form and follow after us."

"Y-yes!"

I gripped Genova tightly and swung it wide, tearing open a massive rift in the air.

With a wave of my hand toward that space, I leaped in.

There might have been a sharp scream behind me, but maybe I was imagining it.

* * *

"Your Holiness, a massive island has appeared near Linken."

At Cardinal Kaedillen's report, pontiff Violette gazed out the window at the clear sky.

"Near the demonkin corridor, then."

"Yes, that's correct."

Violette stroked his white beard, lost in thought.

'So, that's why a corridor was built there?'

When the demonkin corridor was discovered, violette had made a proposal to the demonkin after hearing that Sehenz was heading there—

To eliminate the Seven Heroes' Sehenz together.

He didn't know why the demonkin had shown up, but Violette figured he could deal with that after handling Sehenz.

Everything had gotten tangled since then, and Violette remained suspicious of the demonkin's real motives, but now he thought he finally understood.

"Grancesia Atell's disciple..."

"Are you thinking about what those demonkin said?"

Violette nodded.

After apprehending the demonkin who had been about to leave for the demon realm and interrogating them, they claimed Grancesia Atell's disciple had appeared at the demonkin's corridor.

'It must be that man from back then.'

His name was Ray, if he recalled correctly.

If he could stand without fear before the power of God, he must surely be Grancesia Atell's disciple.

'It's been centuries since the Saintess died. Who would've thought a successor to Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art would remain.'

Even God Altair showed no sign of knowing about this.

'The demonkin too... there are too many things happening I didn't expect.'

He knew the demonkin were collecting the Seven Swords Under Heaven.

Altair said their actions were already straying from the predetermined path.

The Demon King, like God Altair, may have seen something as well.

"If the demonkin are there, then there's a high chance that one of the Seven Swords Under Heaven is on that massive island."

"I see."

"Are you just going to sit by and watch them?"

"Hmm."

For now, they were nominally allied, but this alliance could break at any moment.

After all, the Demon King's intentions and God Altair's were certainly not the same.

'Demon King Zard, what do you intend to do by gathering the swords?'

As some of the swords were already in the hands of the Swordmaster, access to the world of the gods was impossible.

So why keep gathering swords? Did he have another reason?

"How many Inquisitors have we newly appointed?"

"A little over twenty now."

"Send half of them to Linken."

Kaedillen looked puzzled at Violette's words.

"I doubt that's even remotely enough to stop the demonkin..."

"No, I'm not trying to hinder them. I actually plan to help them."

"Sorry?"

Helping the demonkin when their motives were unknown—

Kaedillen couldn't fathom Violette's intent.

"Are you aware that the Swordmaster's whereabouts are unknown?"

"Yes, he hasn't shown himself recently."

"If the Swordmaster is also searching for the swords, he'll surely show up there."

"Your Holiness, are you suggesting—"

"If we're lucky, we might be able to kill the Swordmaster. If not, at least we can help the demonkin obtain a sword."

"But, Your Holiness, if the demonkin get their hands on a sword, it may cause problems down the line."

Violette shook his head at Kaedillen's warning. Having only part of the Seven Swords Under Heaven was never an issue.

"Everything will be resolved when the tenth arrives."

When that time comes, even the Demon King will realize—

That everything he did was for nothing.

* * *

Just as I'd expected, the demonkin didn't notice us slipping into Vinshad using the power of the Sword of Boundary.

Inside Vinshad, I was greeted with a much brighter interior than I'd expected.

"I—I almost died. I almost died..."

After leaving the space created by the Sword of Boundary, Monet, her face so pale it was almost blue, kept mumbling the same thing over and over.

Jumping from that height must have traumatized her pretty badly.

Next to her, Maria was casting a cold, even gaze at Riya.

"Magic unraveled a few times on the way, but... since no harm was done, I'll let it slide."

"My, I have no idea what you mean."

Maria and the smiling Riya met each other's eyes, staring each other down.

Maria was expressionless, while Riya's lips smiled but her eyes did not, the two glares colliding in the air.

[Should we just leave those two alone?]

'They've been together at the domain all this time with no problems, right?'

[I guess so, but...]

Both Maria and Riya hated losing, which led to the occasional bit of friction. But since nothing serious had ever happened, I didn't worry.

"By the way, it would have been nice if we could just keep moving with the Sword of Boundary, but it seems it won't be that easy."

It wasn't impossible, but moving long distances seemed tough.

Maybe because of Vinshad's unique power, the inside of the dungeon felt unstable—you could easily get thrown out.

"Y-young master, um, so what am I supposed to do now? If this is a dungeon... I can't do anything..."

As a normal maid with no combat ability, Monet's question was completely natural. There was nothing for her to do in a dungeon like cooking or cleaning.

"Walk."

"... Excuse me?"

"Just walk at the front, Monet. We'll just follow you."

"M-me, in front?!"

"Don't worry. Nothing will happen."

"This feels like something, though..."

Monet still looked unconvinced, but in the end, she nodded. Clenching her small fists with a resolute face, she looked determined.

"F-fine! If it's your order, young master, there must be a reason!"

That's the spirit, my Monet!

Monet cautiously began walking forward.

Though her fear was unchanged, she didn't stop.

"By the way, Clay, does Monet have some ability too? Why bring her here specifically..."

Riya, observing Monet at last, whispered a question to me.

The others still didn't know why Monet was essential to conquering Vinshad.

"You'll see."

Monet's extreme fortune couldn't be explained with words.