Gods.
Omniscient and omnipotent beings who transcended humanity.
Normally, the word “god” brought to mind an image of benevolence.
After all, they were absolute beings who had created the world itself.
‘Well, I suppose that doesn’t apply to the gods here.’
Every god in Deep Dungeon had a distinct personality.
The Inferno God was fiery and passionate, while the Ice God was merciless and cold.
Having a personality meant having emotions.
And as the saying went, everyone favored their own. The beings called gods cherished their followers considerably.
[The Evil God ‘Apsilon’ forgives the character’s sin.]
[Damage taken from Darkness School magic is reduced by half.]
[The power of Darkness School magic is doubled.]
[The character’s mana capacity increases.]
Even after I destroyed his statue, he had forgiven my sin and bestowed blessings like these upon me.
‘My mana has almost doubled.’
What had once been no more than a tiny puddle had expanded dramatically all at once.
That alone was enough to tempt someone into joining the faith of an evil god, but his blessings toward his followers did not end there.
『Black Body』
The darkness that had once been only the size of my thumb had grown to the size of a small ball.
Darkness School magic was extremely powerful, but that also made it difficult to use.
The problem was not its technical difficulty, but how society viewed it.
Only Black Mages or followers of evil gods used Darkness School magic.
If anyone happened to see me using it, I might end up being hunted down.
That made it difficult to use casually, but as a hidden trump card, there was hardly anything better.
It still was not developed enough for practical combat, but once my mana increased further, it would truly begin to shine.
My resistance to Darkness School magic had also increased substantially.
‘Eleven altars left.’
I had already obtained Word Magic from the Altar of the Twin Gods and the Last God, Om.
Since I possessed magic corresponding to each god’s respective school, I should be able to claim the other Hidden Pieces as well.
Finding them would not be easy, though.
“Whew….”
I calmed the excitement rising within me.
Nothing had actually been resolved yet.
I did not have the luxury of relaxing.
Figuring enough time had passed, I entered the room farther inside.
‘It really does look like an interrogation room.’
The men stood lined up before Claire.
In truth, it was not much different from one.
There were things we needed to learn from them.
They all seemed to have recovered their senses, and Claire was already questioning them.
“Why in the world did you do something like this?”
Her battered expression held a sense of emptiness.
Just looking at her was enough to evoke sympathy.
Apparently unconcerned with that, Blondie pointed toward Buzz Cut and began making excuses.
“This was all Rivalt’s idea. He confessed his feelings to you before, didn’t he? Apparently, he held a grudge over being rejected and suggested taking revenge.”
“What are you talking about?! Sir Parian was the one who suggested it first!”
“I have no idea what you mean. When exactly did I say that?”
“So you’re saying this was all my fault? If we’re being precise, Sir Benedict said he needed money, so—!”
They started arguing over whose fault it was.
‘These are… knights?’
Their pathetic behavior was so absurd that I almost could not believe it.
Fortunately, they seemed to have recovered from their panic, so I approached to begin the interrogation.
“…….”
The moment they noticed me, all three fell silent.
The men who had been making such a racket became quiet instantly.
I had cut off an ear without hesitation, so they probably understood by now that being nobles would not make me go easy on them.
Before I could even ask anything, Blondie spoke.
“C-Calm down… I’m sure we can settle this through conversation.”
“Conversation? Fine. From now on, answer every question I ask without lying.”
For the sake of a smooth conversation, I summoned a Wind Scythe.
Their gazes immediately turned toward the scythe hovering in the air.
The fear in their eyes suggested communication would not be difficult.
“Which one of you had connections with the Slave Trader? One-Ear, was it you?”
Blondie glanced back and forth between Glasses and Buzz Cut before lowering his head.
“He was merely a merchant I occasionally dealt with.”
“What was his name?”
“I don’t really remember….”
Oh, really?
Well, that could not be helped.
I would just have to help him remember.
WHOOSH!
I sent the hovering blade flying.
SWISH!
The wind blade clipped the upper edge of Blondie’s remaining ear.
“Hahk!!”
Blondie sank down and grabbed at his ear.
The injury itself was minor.
But the fear left from losing his other ear was clearly still fresh.
“You should remember quickly. Unless you want to lose the other one too.”
As I warned him quietly, Claire spoke from behind me.
“Young Master Allen. I can cut it.”
“Hm?”
“His ear. There is no need for you to waste mana. I can cut it for you.”
“…….”
Well, I appreciated the thought.
But having her personality change so suddenly was a little unsettling.
The three men stared wide-eyed at Claire’s greatsword.
As though his pain had suddenly disappeared, Blondie hurriedly shouted.
“I-I think I remember!”
“That’s good. What was his name?”
“Marok… Maroko… something like that!”
“…You don’t mean Marco, do you?”
“That’s it! Marco!”
Fuck.
Of all people, it had to be Marco the “Leech.”
He was also a member of White Night, the very organization I had been worried about.
Claire noticed my expression and cautiously asked,
“Is it a name you know?”
“Of course I know it. He’s insane.”
Apparently sensing the tension in my voice, Claire’s expression stiffened as well.
“Is he strong?”
“Not so much strong as dangerous.”
His nickname, the “Leech,” came from the fact that once he chose his prey, he never let go.
The Skills associated with his profession specialized in tracking.
As a result, Marco’s own combat ability was almost negligible….
‘The problem is his slaves.’
The slaves under Marco’s command, especially his Combat Slaves, were another matter.
There was one particularly notorious man among them.
Garbo.
He was a former Rank 7 Adventurer and a criminal who had murdered twelve commoners in the middle of the capital.
He had even killed five members of the Military Police Corps while escaping.
There was no question that he was dangerous.
‘For now….’
“You have a crystal orb, don’t you?”
“Hm?”
“You must have a crystal orb connected to the Slave Trader. Take it out and contact him. Tell him you’ve already left the Labyrinth.”
A crystal orb.
It was a type of Artifact that allowed people to communicate over long distances.
“Understood… I’ll contact him now.”
Blondie took a crystal orb from his bag and operated it.
I watched him closely from only a few steps away in case he tried anything foolish.
“Ah… is that you? Unfortunately, we’ve already left the Labyrinth. For now—”
Once Blondie finished the call, another problem presented itself.
The three men were looking at me with completely different expressions.
Blondie looked servile yet hateful, Buzz Cut was gripped by fear, and Glasses was visibly thinking of any possible way to survive.
I had a decision to make.
Should I kill them, or hand them over to the Military Police Corps?
“Claire. Under Imperial law, what is the punishment for human trafficking?”
“Ordinarily, the punishment is the loss of one hand. But if the offender is a noble… they merely receive a fine.”
“A fine….”
Just as I remembered.
The severity of punishment differed between commoners and nobles.
There was hardly a better country in the world if you happened to be a noble.
And whatever fine they received probably would not be large enough to matter to them.
“Don’t worry. If you simply allow me to leave the Labyrinth safely, I will forget everything that happened here as well.”
Blondie tried to coax me.
Relief had already spread across his face.
He clearly did not believe I would actually kill him.
I stared at him for a moment before making my decision.
“No. I don’t think that’ll work. Killing you would be better.”
Yes.
That would probably be better.
Letting people like these live would only create more victims.
Nobles like them did not repent.
No matter what they did, they were never properly punished.
So they simply repeated the same crimes.
“W-Wait! Hold on! I regret what I did! Everything—to Miss Claire and dragging you into this as well! So please forgive me just this once… If you show mercy, I swear I’ll repay you once we leave the Labyrinth!”
“I feel the same! Please give me just one chance! I will never again act beyond my station—”
SHING!
A sword was drawn behind me.
Before I could even turn around, Claire struck.
Buzz Cut collapsed, dead.
“AAAAAGH!!”
Blondie and Glasses screamed in terror.
Claire paid them no attention and immediately prepared her next strike.
I had not expected her to act first.
And certainly not that quickly.
When I stared at her in silence, Claire spoke in a cold voice.
“Young Master Allen is right. All three of them need to die. They are all sons of baronial houses. If they leave the Labyrinth alive, they will never allow either you or me to live.”
She was absolutely right.
The moment Blondie and Glasses heard her, they began frantically protesting.
“No, that’s not true! I wouldn’t even dream of revenge! I’m the one who was wrong, so why would I?! Please, just spare me….”
“…I will finish this.”
Claire swung her sword again.
Glasses fell silent for good.
Seeing that, Blondie began shouting at the top of his lungs.
“You bastards!! Do you really think you’ll get away with this!? My family already knows that I entered the Labyrinth with that woman!”
His voice rose desperately.
“I’ll say this one last time! Take me out of the Labyrinth right now. If you do that—!”
THUNK!
The wind blade I controlled struck Blondie before he could finish.
“Ghk….”
His eyes fluttered for several seconds before his body went still.
Silence descended over the safehouse.
“…….”
I had killed someone.
It was different from when I killed Garen the Marauder.
This had not been an urgent battle.
It had been a decision made from a mixture of emotion and calculation.
For a moment, I considered what consequences that decision might bring.
“Claire. Does anyone else know you entered the Labyrinth with these men?”
“No. I don’t think so. All three of them repeatedly insisted that no one should be told.”
So it had been a premeditated crime after all.
‘His family knows?’
I had no way of knowing whether Blondie had been telling the truth.
Still, there was no harm in being careful.
“Claire. You said you were going to take the Knight Examination for the Kalsburg Family, right?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes!”
“Once you leave the Labyrinth, head north without delay. Go to the Kalsburg Family and find Allen Kalsburg. Tell him an Adventurer named Allen sent you.”
“Allen… Kalsburg?”
“That’s right.”
That should take care of things for now.
Quite a bit of time had already passed.
By now, the pursuers should have left the Labyrinth.
We could not remain holed up here forever.
“Let’s go.”
When we reached the door, Claire asked,
“How do we open this?”
“From this side, all you have to do is place your hand on the door.”
Claire touched it.
RUMBLE!
A faint sliver of light slipped through the widening gap as the door opened.
Now all that remained was to leave the Labyrinth.
If we took the shortest route, it would only take—
THUD!
“Ugh…!”
Suddenly, Claire was hurled backward.
What happened?
A voice came from the open doorway.
“So this is where you were all hiding….”
A man stepped into view through the light.
His hair hung in damp-looking locks.
Dark circles covered nearly half his face.
He looked exactly like the Slave Trader Marco I had only ever seen through a monitor.
Had he really been waiting here this entire time?
“I thought I’d die waiting….”
My gaze did not remain on him.
It moved to the man standing behind him.
His appearance barely seemed human.
If a wolf were somehow given a man’s body, it might look something like that.
‘Damn it.’
He was the one who had sent Claire flying.
A Werewolf, one of the races blessed with exceptionally powerful physical abilities.
A Rank 7 Adventurer and vicious criminal.
Garbo stood before us.