Chapter 46

A few minutes in the jeep driven by Lee Jisung, past several warning signs, and a barrier of overlapping blue mana stones came into view. The three passed through it and stopped before the gate.

Normally, a gate was a single entrance shaped like a blue-black hole, but this one had multiple entrances.

“…What is this?”

“Ah, all the gates in Wargod are like this. The goal isn’t subjugation but management. We need to extract resources along the optimal route.”

“This is practically a gate fish farm….”

“Not wrong. Anyway, if something goes wrong, take any of the exits. You looked over yesterday’s gate map, right?”

Lee Jisung stressed that their safety came first. Lude snorted in response.

“We have three S-ranks here. Running away would kill our pride.”

“Sounds like you just planted a guaranteed defeat flag.”

Lude waved a hand, checked his terminal for the map, and found the entrance leading straight to the boss stage. The three stood before it.

“Anyway, we’ll be quick.”

“We’ll be careful. Don’t worry too much.”

[We’ll contact you once it’s resolved, hyung.]

It was rare for three S-rank Hunters in their twenties to gather like this in Korea. Lee Jisung blinked once, thinking even their goodbyes were unlike anyone else’s, and chuckled.

“All right, go and come back safe.”

[Boss stage of Labyrinth of Crete has random entry points.]

Just before stepping inside, Jeong Suho recalled yesterday’s briefing on his terminal.

Random entry points within the same stage. They would have to fight through endlessly respawning monsters to reach the boss room. If three entered together, there was a good chance they would be separated.

[If you all fall together, I’ll guide you. If not, get to the boss room as quickly as possible, then wait and strike together.]

“Yes, we’ll do that.”

“Sure.”

They nodded and stepped inside. In an instant, sound vanished, and everything turned blue.

Lude felt the energy gently pushing him out of the gate. It was the gate’s instinct to repel the strong.

When he turned, Kang Ihyun and Jeong Suho were nowhere in sight. They must have gone through the same process.

Reality returned. A damp, mold-scented labyrinth, dark and sprawling.

Monster cries echoed in the distance. Lude looked around. No one else was there.

[As expected, you all dropped separately, the Lord of Chaos nods.]

“The boss monster’s a class-2. It must have some wits. If three strong ones entered at once, even I’d split them apart.”

[In any case, better hurry to the boss room, the Lord of Chaos says with a grave face.]

“Don’t worry about that.”

Scanning the area, Lude spotted a glowing blue mark on the wall. An arrow pointed forward.

“I just keep going forward until the next marker.”

Jeong Suho had painstakingly carved out routes after countless attempts, so no matter where you landed, you could reach the boss room quickly. It was a product of his relentless effort.

The monsters that respawned here, their types, their spawn points, the boss’s attack patterns, Lude had read through Jeong Suho’s near thesis-length report on this gate during the sleepless hours of dawn. He rotated his shoulder once.

From the shadows came a wet croaking sound. Pairs of eyes glowed in the dark, clustered close together.

“Jeong Suho said this area spawns a lot of monsters. Guess it’s time to show my skills.”

There was no one around to be influenced by his greatest weakness, his “evil alignment.” No witnesses, just pure destruction.

[Skills, or venting anger, the Lord of Chaos eyes you.]

“Same thing.”

Destructive spirit energy surged around him. Lude drew out the black half-scissors. The nightmare’s black half-scissors, paired with the golden half-scissors of Auspicious Dream, made solely to spread ruin and fear.

[Trait :: Natural Lucid Dreamer is activated!]

Crack, black spirit energy billowed behind him. Monsters emerged, drawn to it. Minotaurs, human bodies with bull heads.

“Let’s see… two pairs of eyes per body… ah, forget it. Too annoying to count.”

He dropped his hand. There was no feeling in his gaze.

“Well, I’ll just kill until nothing’s left in sight.”

He swung the half-scissors down. Spirit energy rose and clustered above, forming dozens of black spears. With a flick, the spears spun furiously, whining as they rotated. Lude’s eyes stayed dry as he watched the monsters advancing.

“I’m irritated and tired. I’ll end this in one blow, okay?”

Bang! Dozens of black spears fired at once. Dust exploded. Cracks, crunches, splatters. A mountain of corpses piled in seconds.

‘Were these resources supposed to be returned to Wargod?’

Lude flicked a finger, storing them in his inventory.

Bang! The last spear fired, smoke clearing. Lude walked steadily forward. He needed to find the next marker. Just as he thought that—

[Kwoooooo—!!!]

[The Minotaur’s first roar resounds!]

“Nari?”

Behind him came a voice he knew too well. Lude froze. The Lord of Chaos sent a warning, but he did not hear.

The Minotaur’s curse was cunning. It showed illusions so real they froze you in place and clawed open trauma.

That was why Jeong Suho had explained it was nearly unavoidable. They had prepared.

Abuse from the day Jeong Suho left. Torment from the media and others around.

Given his past and PMS, he was especially stressed. He prepared thoroughly to avoid losing control of his spirit energy.

But reality never went as planned.

A woman with long brown curls, green eyes, a small frame, and drooping eyes, calling Nari’s name with tenderness.

“Nari. What’s wrong? What happened?”

It made perfect sense. There was only one person who would forever remain etched in Nari’s mind, the one who gave her unforgettable trauma. Not reporters, not Jeong Suho.

Lude’s eyes shook violently. A faint sound left his lips.

“…Mom…?”

Kang Hana, Nari’s mother, long dead, stood there. Just as she had been in life. She approached him gently.

“My dear Nari, you’ve been suffering, haven’t you?”

A tender word. Lude let out a choking sob. Words he had always wanted to hear.

[Nari, this is fake. Your mother’s gone, the Lord of Chaos tells you firmly.]

The messages popped up, but he did not see them. He knew this was a curse. He knew falling into it meant ruin.

But Nari was an illusionist, and this was the one illusion she had always longed for, the one she could never create herself.

“It’s been so hard, hasn’t it? You’ve endured so much alone. But now you have friends, and you reunited with Jeong Suho too.”

“Yes, yes. Mom….”

[If this continues you’ll lose control of your spirit energy, and you know what happens then, the Lord of Chaos shouts!]

Even that warning could not reach him. Tears welled up as Lude nodded.

“I was so tired….”

“That’s right, my dear Nari. Come here. Let me hold you again.”

“...Yes, Mom. I’ll come. I’ll come to you.”

Clang. The black scissors dropped from his hand. The locks on his heart burst open. With tears in his eyes, he smiled brightly.

When Kang Hana’s illusion embraced him—

[Natural Lucid Dream is activated!]

[The user has lost control. Consciousness dives deeper into the subconscious.]

Ssshh, black spirit energy leaked from every part of Lude’s body. The power seeped into the labyrinth, coating its walls.

The environment warped rapidly. The lucid dream lost control, becoming a mere nightmare.

[Entering Nightmare.]

And Lude had been one who dreamed only nightmares, all his life.

* * *

“Kang Ihyun!!”

While Lude struggled in Kang Hana’s illusion, at the same time, Kang Ihyun jolted in another part of the maze. The voice that had tormented his ears for years came again. He turned.

An old man with snowy hair, still spry despite his age, leaning on a cane. Kang Ihyun’s grandfather.

He had complete immunity to evil-aligned mental attacks. But Minotaurs weren’t evil.

Besides, after traveling with Lude, who was unmatched in mental power, he had grown careless. He had stopped even considering that he could fall to such an attack.

“What are you doing here? Worthless child. How many times have I told you? Your character is rotten!”

“…So that’s how the curse works.”

Kang Ihyun’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the much smaller elder. He covered his ears. Here, unlike at home, no one would scold him for it.

Crack! The cane slammed against the floor again.

“You can’t even bring me information from Wargod, and instead you wander here?! Your parents never did such a thing! Your heart is filthy, that’s why. That’s why from the start you had such vile power…!”

“Hmm …I’ve been thinking.”

At the words “vile power,” Kang Ihyun suddenly reacted, striding forward. He drew a holy sword from his inventory.

Golden sacred force spun around him. Light dimmed in his eyes. Just like with Lude, his constellation sent a warning.

[Constellation, Staff of Purification, tells you to stop. If you go on, you’ll lose my power again.]

“Why? Why am I always the one who has to endure? Huh?”

His hand shook on the holy sword. The golden aura dimmed, his golden hair dulling toward yellow.

“See! You can’t even control your own feelings. You lose power so easily! Better I end my own life than watch you show such disgrace!”

“Why do I have to hear this? What did I do wrong?”

His energy quickly warped into something darker. The white armor turned to dust, vanishing, replaced by creeping black and yellow vestments.

“I never told lies. If you only hear what you want, you’ll ruin yourself. Take my words to heart. If you still have power after hearing this, then you’ll be worth something. Do you hear me, Kang Ihyun!”

“Why is it always me…!”

A silver dagger appeared in his hand. Unable to suppress his fury, black dust swarmed around and devoured the elder. His silhouette collapsed like clay and vanished.

“…What is this?!”

He realized the labyrinth was filled with sticky black spirit energy, clinging like tar.

There was only one person who could do this. Kang Ihyun’s eyes widened.

“Lude?!”

When he looked up, tens of thousands of cameras were aimed straight at him.