Chapter 78

Naturally, I frowned.

...It can't be.

"Hmm."

...Seah, the Saintess.

No doubt about it.

The memories inherited from Wilhelm, the Star.

The face in those memories matched the one before me now.

Not only that, the holy aura I sensed from her was undoubtedly that of Seah, the Saintess.

I had never expected to meet her again in such an unexpected place and at such an unexpected time.

"Bold, to defy Her Majesty!"

"Die!"

Isaac and Isabella also began their battle with the barbarians.

Still, I couldn't move.

It had been a long time since I had experienced such a shock.

'How is she still alive?'

Survived that curse and collapse?

But why is she alone in the labyrinth?

I shook my head.

I realized that how she survived wasn't the important part.

'Why is she still alive?'

Why?

Who, and for what purpose?

In the situation I remember from the final stages of the Great Expedition, there was only one being who could have saved Seah, the Saintess.

'The Demon King.'

Perhaps the Demon King was involved.

Perhaps he placed her here in the labyrinth with some intention.

"Ugh..."

At that moment, Seah, the Saintess, was groaning and trying to wake up.

I extended my hand.

Thud!

Seah, the Saintess, fainted again.

*

I was curious about Greed's combat abilities.

Even though his level is high, if his stats are concentrated in gambling, his actual combat power might be disappointing.

But Greed defied my expectations and easily subdued the Desert Queen.

He seemed to understand the meaning of 'subdue' and didn't kill her.

He had torn off the wing-like skin and was holding her by the nape of the neck, pinning her down with his knee. It was a perfect subjugation.

'Excellent.'

Even a rotten mackerel is still a mackerel.

Greed, being a ruler of the Abyss, made me reflect on my past doubts about his combat abilities.

I turned my head to look at Isabella.

"Isabella. You kill her."

I gave her the power over the Desert Queen's life and death.

Unlike before, her body no longer trembled with fear.

-Please, spare me. My dear child, I truly love you.

"......It's fine. I'm no longer afraid of the Queen."

Isabella shook her head.

She wasn't going to just finish the job for me.

However, the Desert Queen was Isabella's eternal trauma.

I intended to have her remove it herself, but it seemed she had already overcome it.

Instead, Isabella's gaze on me became more intense.

Since she said it was fine, I couldn't force her.

Shrugging, I took out Shatiros' bow.

Whizz!

Thud!

-Ah!

A short scream, and the fear effect was engraved.

Her random stats must have been reduced by 10.

Whizz!

Thud!

I continued to shoot arrows.

Each time she was hit, her random stats were reduced.

-Stop! Please stop! Please! Ah!

It was truly a terrifying experience.

To die while realizing you are weakening.

To bleed and tremble in the face of an inescapable death.

After shooting dozens of arrows, the Desert Queen could no longer scream.

All her stats had dropped to 0.

Limp and unable to even open her mouth, the Desert Queen finally met her end.

《You have made a decisive contribution to the elimination of the 'Desert Queen'!》

《You have obtained the achievement 'Challenger who killed a superior enemy'.》

《Your honor has increased by 200.》

《You have obtained the 'Essence of the Bloodline'.》

《You have obtained Fragment 226h of the Broken Golden Rule.》

《1,000 points have been added to your score.》

1,000 points.

Now 2,350 points.

It was a bit short, but I wasn't worried.

"I need to clean up the remaining barbarians."

There were still many left to deal with.

*

The users of Player Talk expressed their despair on the bulletin board.

-It seems almost everyone has logged out.

-Weaklings have no place here...

-What's Gracia doing? Does anyone know?

-Will they reorganize and try again?

-What happens if the labyrinth isn't cleared?

-The erosion speed seems to be accelerating.

-Crazy. It's really 13% already?

-It increased by 1% in just one day???

As the clearance of the labyrinth was delayed, the erosion speed of Pangea began to accelerate.

More precisely, after 'Sword Saint Riley' entered Phase 4, the erosion speed accelerated.

It had increased from 12% to 13% in just one day.

At this rate, it would reach 20% in 7 days.

-There seems to be a relationship between the unsealing of Riley and the erosion speed?

-When it reaches 20%, the second invasion will start, right?

-Second invasion in a week? That's too fast.

-While Randolph stopped the first invasion, this one might not be stoppable.

-What is the Master doing? He just pretends to be strong every day.

-He's busy managing the interdimensional community lol.

-But he should have warned us about the increased erosion speed. Then we wouldn't have logged out.

-What would have changed if you didn't log out, idiot?

Many players took the dimensional erosion seriously.

They were just being buried by those who saw it as an opportunity.

-Can someone post on the interdimensional community that the erosion speed has increased?

-They got banned.

-Why did you delete it?

-Gracia must have failed, so they don't want to try again lol.

-What about the other heroes?

-They must have all left the labyrinth.

-Darkstar saw the Four Kings and ran.

-Is this just a matter of honor? What a pain.

-Why don't they work together? Why do they act separately?

-My wordzzzz

-How to enter the underground labyrinth: Buy a labyrinth ticket from the labyrinth merchant, break through the wall, and you'll find a staircase leading down.

-What's the point of saying that now? They've all left.

Some players had tried multiple times, but now even that had stopped.

They were convinced that challenging the labyrinth further would only waste fragments.

Moreover, the remaining fragments were in poor condition.

Telling them how to enter the underground labyrinth now would be useless.

-Can someone tell the Four Kings how to enter the underground labyrinth?

-I might as well jump off the roof.

-If you get hit by a dump truck, you can go to the other world. Why go to the Four Kings to commit suicide?

-A friend told me that Gracia's official announcement is out. They're going to try again.

-Really? Well, that's a relief. As expected, they're in a different class from the Master!

-That's just a joke. Do you really believe that here? lol.

Then it happened.

-What? Is this real?

-What? Mint Chocolate has appeared!!!

A sudden message appeared before everyone.

'Mint Chocolate is delicious' was challenging the Sword Saint.

The bulletin board was instantly flooded with discussions about it.

-Wow, Mint Chocolate really exists.

-Heroes always appear at the end.

-Go, Mint Chocolate!

-To be honest, I think Mint Chocolate is stronger than Gracia.

-Not really.

-Please, I hope they succeed.

-If they succeed, I'll join the Mint Chocolate team from today.

-I already made Mint Chocolate in Vera lol.

-I also ordered Mint Chocolate pork belly.

-It's up again!

-What now?

But that wasn't all.

Another message appeared!

-Unique-grade crafting?

-A unique-grade equipment has been crafted?

-Who crafted it?

-... 'Brilliant Unique-grade Equipment'?

Sword Saint vs. Randolph

Gracia, who had reconnected, looked around.

Not in the labyrinth, but on the continent.

In front of the warp.

They had been forcibly ejected.

'What a mess.'

The thought of starting over from the beginning made him frown.

But there was no choice.

Sword Saint Riley.

He was just too much.

At first, it was easy.

He could deal enough damage to break the three seals.

The problem was Phase 4.

The moment the three shackles were released.

'He changed.'

Sword Saint Riley changed every time a shackle was released.

He became faster, stronger, and more resilient, gradually freeing himself from the influence of the Thousand Swords.

But the biggest problem was the change that occurred in Phase 4.

A dramatic change. A completely different appearance.

'That appearance was definitely... ...'

He clenched and unclenched his fist.

Just thinking about it made him tense.

It was an unexpected variable.

One thing was certain.

'He can't be defeated without preparation.'

Preparation was needed.

He had underestimated it.

He thought he would win easily.

Of course, such confidence was based on the thorough pre-investigation of Sword Saint Riley.

Over a hundred experts delved deeply into Riley's legends and myths in the Grand Library. They thoroughly searched for all the content related to Riley.

After the investigation, they recreated the content and mastered Riley's sword techniques and his usual habits. They created an environment where they couldn't lose and then challenged him.

With the 'Blue Radiance,' he was confident.

But a variable appeared.

A powerful variable that forced him to log out.

'While the Empire's involvement was unexpected, they too must have been surprised by the appearance in Phase 4.'

The Empire's Three Swords.

A name he had never heard before, but almost everything about the Empire was shrouded in mystery.

And if it was the Empire, they must know more about Sword Saint Riley.

But the Empire's Three Swords also retreated immediately upon entering.

Why?

Because the dramatic change in Sword Saint Riley was something even the Empire hadn't anticipated.

《'Mint Chocolate is delicious' is challenging 'Sword Saint Riley'.》

《Phase 4 is in progress.》

The sudden appearance of the text in front of his eyes.

...Seeing the name of the challenger who was challenging Sword Saint Riley, Gracia's expression hardened.

'Thought you were hiding... but you were challenging the labyrinth.'

Mint Chocolate is delicious.

A hidden high-ranker.

Famous for never showing his face in public.

So, he thought Mint Chocolate wouldn't challenge the Abyss Labyrinth.

The Abyss Labyrinth was the perfect environment for his identity to be exposed.

But he appeared.

He appeared and added his own touch to the Phase 4 he had already progressed.

'Can you break what I couldn't?'

It was absurd.

Ridiculous.

Gracia knew Mint Chocolate.

He knew he was a top-tier necromancer who controlled corpses.

To be precise, he controlled 'zombies.'

Those who move corpses with talismans are called 'Spirit Summoners.'

Honestly, Gracia didn't know the difference between zombie techniques and undead, but...

Phase 4 of Sword Saint Riley was not something that could be handled by mere zombies.

Mint Chocolate would log out soon, just like the Empire's Three Swords.

At that moment.

《A new 'Unique-grade Equipment' has been crafted!》

What is this?

"...Unique-grade crafting?"

A sudden world announcement in an already headache-inducing situation.

World announcements are only used for events or appearances that can cause a paradigm shift in the world.

The same goes for the creation of a new unique-grade equipment.

This means one thing.

'Some player has crafted a unique-grade equipment.'

The one who completed the crafting is a player.

If a Pangean had crafted a unique-grade equipment, there would be no world announcement.

But, who?

It's also very important to know who owns the unique-grade equipment. Unique-grade equipment, though used by individuals, can exert the power of an army.

Moreover.

'A new unique-grade. It means it wasn't made using the materials dropped by the original Wilhelm.'

The materials dropped by Wilhelm after his death in the Great Expedition.

Some players bought and used these materials from the Golden Rule shop to create unique-grade equipment.

But they weren't new.