Chapter 380: Regret and Longing (5)
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!
Were they, undeterred amidst the crumbling labyrinth fragments, rushing out from the Floating Island to surround them?
Jiel and Rapperd, Lens and Seon-myeong, alongside the red-eyed vampire and the blonde boy, led their respective Watchers, all 7-level Archmages, to the front.
Among them, Lapis, carefully supported by Grisha, slowly descended from the Floating Island and revealed herself.
“I apologize to everyone, but I intend to conclude the events of this labyrinth here.”
Lapis, stepping forward from Grisha, looked down at the three individuals with an expressionless face and spoke.
“Now that the Ascendant’s fate is sealed, it’s inevitable that the Hanghasa Labyrinth won’t last much longer. Instead of wasting energy in a chaotic, fruitless battle, I’ll take my leave first.”
Her transparent eyes silently scanned Ballak, the Grand Matron, and the bandaged man, one by one.
“Before that, I’d like to ask for your permission, sirs. Would that be acceptable?”
“My young friend, your words flow like a clear stream.”
Ballak gave a bitter smile.
“You make it sound nice, but if we don’t accept your proposal, you’ll probably get more aggressive, won’t you?”
Lapis didn’t reply. She merely looked down at Ballak quietly and smiled gently.
Instead, the Archmages surrounding her silently took a step forward.
Their attitude showed no fear, even knowing their opponent was an 8-level monster.
Perhaps they believed their chances weren’t bad, considering the turbulent environment, their reduced condition, and the balance of numbers.
Ballak quickly scanned the faces of the Watchers, then silently bent at the waist.
He lifted the corpse of the fallen warrior at his feet, and as he put a collar, taken from his pocket, around its neck, the body floated up behind Ballak.
In a similar fashion, he created five new corpses as suppressors. Straightening up, he let out a light sigh.
“Alright… I’ll pull out now.”
[The Vanguard. Are you planning to tuck tail and run now?]
At the bandaged man’s words, who was trailing black mist, Ballak laughed, patting his stomach.
“Then what should we do, you ghost? You want us to reveal our Domains, our Miniature Universes, everything, and fight to the death right here?”
[…….]
“No, no… that’s not the best option. I have no intention of emptying my reserves in a labyrinth like this. For the sake of The Vanguard, I need to preserve my strength for as long as possible.”
Ballak, who had roughly splinted his shattered left forearm with a discarded piece of wood, slightly bowed his head to Lapis and said,
“So, I would appreciate it if you would let us leave peacefully this time, Lighthouse Keeper. I swear by the name of The Vanguard… that I will repay this favor someday.”
Only then did the bandaged man realize the situation had become ambiguous, and he too sighed.
[Damn it… things are taking a strange turn.]
Not only Lennok, but also the three individuals who had been pressuring him here had not been fighting with their full power.
If they were to deploy their respective Domains and Miniature Universes, and unleash their Mind Imprints, it might be possible to gauge their chances of victory here.
However, that would likely turn into a meaningless war of attrition for others, and for the bandaged man himself.
Ballak, recognizing that the precarious balance had broken the moment Eyes of Blue appeared, chose to resolve the situation cleanly.
There was no need for long deliberation.
[Yorta’s Ghost Army. Find me in Yorta, the Military Command City, by mentioning this name.]
The bandaged man turned without hesitation and walked into the darkness.
[The unfinished business from the labyrinth, we shall discuss it again before our leader.]
Even as he watched with his own eyes, he couldn’t stop the sensation of his life signature vanishing.
An extremely advanced stealth technique that, despite being directly sensed and confirmed, gradually faded from his sensory range.
Lennok realized that it wasn’t just a skill for concealing one’s presence, but a type of spirit art that completely transmuted one’s very existence into something else.
Lapis, too, seemed to recognize its true value with her Watcher’s eyes, muttering with a slightly hardened expression.
“Yorta, the Military Command City… I heard it’s the only city where Jindun still has lingering grudges. So he was from there.”
“Those gloomy types, their origins are always obvious if you dig a little.”
Ballak replied indifferently.
“It seems he came to collect payment for the failure of the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts. Was he planning to kill those who coveted the labyrinth’s relics? For that, he returned more quietly than expected…”
Ballak O’Edon, muttering to himself, let out a loud burp.
“I suppose I shouldn’t be saying this, considering I abandoned the Ascension Gate project… but it doesn’t matter anyway. I’ll take my leave now.”
After saying that, he began to walk, tracing the exact direction in which Dein of the Kavahim Knights had disappeared.
Since he too had made a deal with Jawoon Audis just before reaching the final stage, he intended to at least move to find him.
With each step, ripples of gravity swirled as if he were walking on a lake.
The 8-level superhuman, transcending Hierarchy, disappeared from the labyrinth, crushing the collapsed boulders without lifting a finger.
Lapis, watching him leave, turned her head towards the Grand Matron, who was the last one remaining.
“Grand Matron, what about you?”
The Grand Matron, standing on the head of a squirming giant centipede, let out a small sigh.
“Child of the previous Lighthouse Keeper… you’ve grown so much since I last saw you. You were just a child when I saw you last.”
She turned her gaze towards the bronze-skinned sorcerer standing silently behind Lapis.
“Grisha. I never imagined you, who once wandered aimlessly, would settle there. Do you truly believe the answer that child speaks is correct?”
“No one can truly know the right answer, Nora.”
Grisha, who had draped her cloak over Lapis’s shoulders, replied.
Calling the Grand Matron by her name without hesitation, she looked at her with calm eyes.
“We can only decide where to stand. I’ve decided not to regret it.”
“…….”
The Grand Matron didn’t reply. She simply looked up at Grisha with an expressionless face, then quietly waved her hand.
At her gesture, the other two summoned creatures, excluding the centipede, faded as if disappearing beyond space.
A miraculous feat, manipulating the appearance and disappearance of summoned creatures comparable to Archmage-level superhumans with complete freedom.
Even with that simple wonder, it was clear that the Grand Matron’s power was second to none here, yet she too seemed to have made her own decision.
“I personally came to confirm the rumors that Jindun had tampered with his relics, but it seems not everything goes as one wishes.”
After saying that, she chuckled, looking at Grisha standing behind Lapis.
A rare, playful smile appeared on the old woman’s face, which had been stern until now.
“It’s enough that I’ve learned my old friend is accompanied by a wizard of such skill. I will bury what happened in this labyrinth here and retreat.”
“Thank you, Grand Matron.”
“Take care of yourself, Nora.”
Grisha’s words, accompanied by a bitter smile. The Grand Matron, who was turning to leave, paused.
Grisha looked up at the Grand Matron’s back and said.
“There aren’t many people left that you and I know anymore, are there?”
“…Grisha, you’re the strange one. Someone like me, who walks alongside time, is normal.”
The Grand Matron’s reply, as if she had forgotten her dignified tone. She looked back at Grisha and chuckled.
“Well, I suppose I can tell how much you cherish that wizard.”
“Nora…”
“I’ll tell my children not to bother the Watchers, if possible. Especially that wizard named Evan. Tell them to remember him well.”
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!
The giant centipede, which had been idly squirming beneath her feet, twisted its body once and then began digging through the crumbling labyrinth debris.
[Kieeeek!!]
The centipede, letting out a single shriek, burrowed directly into the ground, creating a massive tunnel, and disappeared.
Lapis, confirming that the Grand Matron’s presence was swiftly moving away, relaxed her cold, rigid expression and let out a deep sigh.
“Haa… I’m so, so relieved things worked out well…”
“You did well, Lapis.”
Grisha patted her shoulder.
Lapis tightly clutched the coat Grisha had draped over her and waved at the approaching Lennok.
“Evan!”
“…You arrived at a perfect time, almost as if you planned it.”
Lennok said, supporting Evelyn with difficulty, while giving a bitter smile.
“The moment you realized Jindun’s death, you rushed—”
“Story time later!!”
Grisha, cutting off their conversation sharply, unleashed her magical power.
“Unless you all want to be crushed to death by rocks, we’re escaping now…!!”
“Flying to the sky!”
“Captain Grisha, let’s go!”
Grisha, completely ignoring the Watchers’ untimely cheers, instantly poured immense magical power into the Floating Island, lifting it up again.
As dirt piles fell madly, blocking all sides of the crumbling labyrinth, the Floating Island shot high into the sky through that brief opening.
Whoosh!!
In contrast to the soaring Floating Island, the labyrinth relentlessly crumbled, on the verge of complete collapse.
The Floating Island, piercing fearlessly through endless piles of debris and ascending, suddenly burst into the open sky with a roar.
Crraaaash!!
Lennok silently turned his gaze and looked down at the rapidly receding landscape of the crumbling labyrinth.
“Phew…”
As soon as he escaped the hot, suffocating labyrinth, the cold, open outside air brushed past his cheeks.
The majestic white exterior walls of the labyrinth, which had maintained their grand form, continuously collapsed, falling into the underground fissures.
The ownerless Conceptual Realm crumbled, emitting shockwaves that filled the snowy plain.
Grisha, who had been looking down at the scene with Lennok for a moment, immediately shifted her magical power and moved the Floating Island.
Whoosh!!
The Floating Island, having escaped the influence of the Hanghasa Labyrinth, began to speed towards the edge of the snowy plain.
Only then did Lapis, sighing in relief, approach Lennok and say,
“I’m glad you’re safe, Evan. I was worried I might be too late…”
“No, you were much faster than I expected.”
Lennok shook his head with a faint smile.
“Anyway, I was planning to escape with Evelyn, even if it was just by myself.”
“I thought we needed to hurry as much as possible since time flows differently inside the labyrinth.”
Lapis nodded.
“I had no choice but to use a rather crude method…”
“Crude? This one used the exact same method when dealing with the drug lord in the autonomous region.”
Grisha, who was focused on manipulating the Floating Island’s direction, chided.
“The Floating Island is a residential area, not something to be used as a tactical weapon in an autonomous region.”
“No, it was excellent.”
Lennok, cutting off Grisha, nodded.
“To seize the initiative against an opponent, it’s always best to overwhelm them with sheer size. It seems you’ve learned well.”
“Hehe.”
“……”
The other Watchers looked down at Lapis, who was smiling with a slightly proud expression, with bewildered faces.
But Lennok wasn’t just being polite; he truly believed Lapis’s judgment had been incredibly sharp.
The dramatic decision to ram the Floating Island directly into the location and appear there.
A single move that stopped everyone gathered there with its overwhelming impact, and in the process, gathering other Watchers to maximize their forces.
Could Lapis, waiting outside the labyrinth, have chosen a better moment or made a better judgment?
The fact that she made her decision and moved the moment she perceived Jindun’s death was proof enough that her judgment was extremely swift and sharp.
A shocking entrance and unhesitating show of force.
One couldn’t say it had no effect on the 8-level peak-level ability user and the noble of the Military Command City retreating without further conflict.
“Is Evelyn alright?”
Jiel, who had followed the other Watchers onto the Floating Island, asked Lennok, holding him steady.
“She lost consciousness briefly from overexertion, but there are no major external injuries. I gave her a pill that helps with fatigue recovery, so she should regain consciousness soon.”
Lennok replied, then carefully laid Evelyn’s body on a tree stump at the edge of the Floating Island.
Her face was utterly serene, as if she were asleep.
Only the faint breaths escaping her nostrils indirectly indicated that Evelyn was safe.
Boom!!
A violent shockwave shattered the momentary peace. Everyone simultaneously turned their gaze at the impact, which felt like something hitting the underside of the Floating Island.
“Eyes of Blue are escaping!!”
“Catch them! With that size, they must have gotten their hands on the treasure!!”
“Shoot down those dirt piles!!”
Other factions, who had been waiting for an opportunity outside the labyrinth, immediately began to concentrate their attacks on them the moment they saw the Floating Island.
Lennok tried to stand immediately, but Lapis, who was standing behind him, held his shoulder.
“It’s alright, Evan. You’ve worked hard, so get some rest.”
“Lapis, but…”
“Because for this very moment, we intentionally divided the Watcher forces and assigned roles.”
Saying that, Lapis looked down at the ground with a calm expression.
“It wouldn’t be bad to show them how much power Eyes of Blue has gathered this time, would it?”
“……”
A cold voice that sent shivers down his spine.
As if to prove Lapis’s words were no idle boast, the Watchers who jumped from the Floating Island pressed forward, overwhelming the incoming attacks from all sides with sheer force.
Crraaaash!!
While protecting the island to maintain its form until they exited the snowy plain, they began to directly break through and open a path against the forces blocking their way.
The 7-level Archmages who had been seen in the labyrinth also lent their strength, rapidly projecting power onto the ground.
The Floating Island, now a moving aerial fortress, floated low over the snow and advanced rapidly.
Lennok silently watched the scene, then released Lapis’s hand and stood up.
“Evan?”
“A good idea just occurred to me. It would be better to test it out.”
Lennok looked down at the vast snowy landscape and slowly began to extend his hand towards the ground.
“I might not be as good as Jindun… but I think I can mimic an Ascendant a little, right here.”