## Chapter 68 – 68. Labyrinth’s Master (2)
#68. Labyrinth’s Master (2)
Crete, the island spanning the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas in southern Greece, was renowned as a tourist destination, attracting millions of foreign visitors each year.
Endless stretches of beautiful emerald beaches and the horizon beyond.
High mountain ranges running from east to west, and the Samaria Gorge, breathtaking just to behold.
In addition to such natural beauty, many were drawn to Crete by its picturesque urban landscapes.
That was until just 50 years ago.
[The Catastrophe of Crete]
August 14, 19xx.
The EU Joint Hunter Association received a report that a gate had appeared in the Crete region of southern Greece.
The association immediately dispatched inspectors, and it wasn’t long before the gate’s rank was determined.
A-rank.
The sudden appearance of a top-tier gate shook the entire European continent. Without an S-rank hunter or a mage of the 7th Circle or higher, it was an impossible task to raid.
And on that day of the announcement, the airports and ports of Crete, the epicenter of the incident, were thrown into chaos by 600,000 residents and 40,000 foreign tourists surging like angry waves.
Hundreds were crushed to death.
Amidst the chaos, a summit of the European Union was convened.
The topic: whether to dispatch an S-rank hunter from the EU Joint Hunter Association to Crete.
The transcripts of the meeting were never released, so no one knows exactly what was said, but it was clear that the outcome of that meeting would later lead to Greece’s withdrawal from the EU.
No S-rank hunter would come.
Greece had to contain the gate with its own hunters and a small number of mages.
The idea of entering the gate was not even up for discussion. With the desertion of the country’s hunters and mages already underway, it was obvious what would happen if such a suggestion were even mentioned.
August 19, 19xx.
Sooner than expected, on a sweltering day, the A-rank gate, Labyrinthos, which would later be called the Catastrophe of Crete, opened. From that day on, Greece lost dozens of high-ranking hunters and ten mages, and had to abandon everything on the island of Crete.
At the heart of that disaster was the boss of Labyrinthos, an A-rank magical beast.
“Minotaur…!”
-!!!!!
The Minotaur, the centerpiece of the event known as the Catastrophe of Crete, roared.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Kuh?!!”
An immense killing intent swept through my entire body, as if I were being sliced alive. This led to a loss of morale, but that wasn’t the only problem.
‘Fear…!’
A debuff that high-ranking magical beasts were known to emit.
Before I could even think that my body had stiffened with fear, the situation changed rapidly.
A predator would never miss the chance to devour prey that was too stiff with fear to escape.
The Minotaur, emitting another deafening roar that seemed to cloud my mind, raised its massive axe.
At that sight, my body moved faster than my mind.
Mana surged violently through my still-recovering mana circuits.
With a dizzying pain that made me feel like I was about to lose consciousness, my body, stiffened by fear, moved.
“Noel, get out of the way!”
Confirming that my body was moving, I immediately grabbed Noel and rolled to the side.
Immediately after, the massive axe slammed down where we had been.
Kwaaaang!!!!
A massive impact sent a cloud of dust billowing out.
Beyond the small crater, the Minotaur’s blood-red, eerie eyes were fixed on us.
The gruesome sight almost made my body freeze again for a moment.
“…Master, behind me.”
Whether it was because her body had loosened up while rolling on the ground, Noel, who had picked up the hammer lying on the ground, stood in front of me.
Keeping the mage behind was an excellent decision as a vanguard, but I could hear it clearly.
Noel’s voice was trembling faintly.
It was proof that she had calculated that she couldn’t face the Minotaur in her current state, not only restricted in power but also in poor physical condition.
“Noel, listen carefully.”
I placed my hand on Noel’s shoulder.
I knew as well as anyone that the Minotaur was a monster that I couldn’t even dare to confront, let alone defeat.
But was that really the Minotaur that was called the Catastrophe of Crete?
Just as I had mistaken the Skeleton Mage that appeared as the 2nd floor boss for a Lich, the World Tree wouldn’t have failed to give me a heads-up if such an absurd monster was going to appear as the boss on the 3rd floor.
“Just hold out for exactly one minute from now, like when you drew the golem’s attention.”
I handed Noel a bottle of holy water.
I knew it was impossible, but I couldn’t manipulate lightning like before without a one-minute warm-up period.
Of course, I wasn’t putting her forward without any insurance.
If Noel was in danger, I could just reverse summon her, and for me, it would be over once I returned to Earth.
In fact, if you thought about it that way, I could just retreat now, finish reorganizing, and come back here. I didn’t have to fight with my body in such a mess.
But could I really move on to the next level by fighting the way I wanted?
‘…No.’
The mana that was overflowing throughout my body, filling my circuits to the point of bursting, was telling me even now.
Break through the limits and move on to the next level.
What I needed now was a trigger.
“One minute is nothing. I can do ten minutes.”
Noel gave me her usual bright smile, drank the holy water, and then ran towards the Minotaur.
Her speed increased more and more, as if pushing beyond her limits.
Bang!
The ground caved in every time she kicked off.
She was moving her body to the limit that the power restriction allowed.
Thump! Noel, who had kicked off the ground in an instant and leaped, had jumped above the Minotaur’s head, and the hammer she was spinning became twice as big.
“Haaah!!!”
An enormous vortex of mana swirled around the hammer, and then struck the Minotaur’s head.
[Moon Breaker]
With a tremendous gust of wind, the Minotaur staggered and then fell to its knees.
I was surprised by the sight, but I couldn’t waste the precious time Noel had created.
As the hastily drunk holy water seeped into my body, the hand that had been trembling with pain calmed down a little.
Of course, that was only for a moment.
As the element of lightning raced through my mana circuits once again, along with a massive amount of mana, a dizzying pain rushed in.
My head felt like it was about to break, but this was no time to complain.
I felt like my body was in tatters, but it was a spell I had already cast once.
The first time is always the hardest.
The swirling storm of lightning gathered above my palm.
“Noel!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs as soon as the spell was completed. Hearing the shout, Noel reacted immediately and tried to retreat from the front line, but the Minotaur, unwilling to let go of Noel, who was dodging all of its attacks, continued its rapid and heavy offensive.
Bang! Bang!
Noel was too busy dodging attacks that could easily lead to serious injuries, let alone escaping.
But I couldn’t keep waiting, or Noel might get caught up in the magic.
I couldn’t wait any longer.
“Reverse Su-“
“Master!”
A violent mana was surging once again from Noel’s fingertips as she dodged or parried the Minotaur’s attacks.
At that sight, I did my best to control the magic.
To buy time until Noel returned to my side.
“Take this!!”
The hammer didn’t get as big as it did before, but the momentum I felt was on a different level.
[The restrictions imposed at the request of Noel Ronniela are weakened]
[Price: ???]
“I hate cows!!!”
[Sun Breaker]
An intense wave of light covered the hammer, and Noel plunged into the Minotaur’s chest at a speed that couldn’t be followed by the eye.
The defenseless abdomen was exposed, and the moment Noel’s hammer exploded, the sun rose in the dark dungeon.
Bang! Bang- Kwaang!
With a tremendous shockwave, the Minotaur was sent flying backwards and slammed into the wall of the dungeon.
The sight of the massive creature skipping through the air like a flat stone was hard to believe even with my own eyes.
Noel, who had squeezed out all of her strength, returned to my side with heavy steps and leaned into my arms as if collapsing.
Whether it was because she had no strength or mana left, I gently stroked Noel’s head as she fell asleep as if she had fainted.
“…Good job.”
I hugged Noel as hard as I could and deployed a barrier to protect us.
It would have been nice if the battle had ended with the previous strike, but unfortunately, the Minotaur was getting up from the rubble of the wall.
But just looking at the fact that it was covered in wounds and bleeding, I couldn’t deny that Noel’s attack had damaged it.
It was an opportunity that Noel had created, even at the cost of a price.
[Ball Lightning]
Once again, a thundercloud containing enormous mana and destructive lightning appeared.
The moment I gave up controlling the magic, along with the pain of my mana circuits burning, the unstable thundercloud began to expand rapidly.
‘?!’
Surprised by the unstable state of the magic, which far exceeded my expectations, I poured most of my remaining mana into the barrier.
────
Soon, a flash of light that turned the world white erupted from the thundercloud and filled the corridor.
Everything around me lost its shape and was destroyed by the devastating lightning.
Not only the tent that I had failed to secure, but also the walls of the dungeon were collapsing.
At that sight, I was convinced.
No matter how strong the Minotaur was, unless it was a boss-level entity, it wouldn’t be able to withstand this.
As the lightning storm, which felt like an instant, gradually subsided, the surrounding scenery came into view.
I could see at a glance the tremendous change in the terrain, with a small clearing created in the dungeon that had been like a maze.
I was surprised that I could use magic of this power myself.
But.
“…Bullshit.”
I didn’t expect to be able to kill the Minotaur with just one spell in the first place.
Nevertheless, I thought that at least the last strike, which contained all of Noel’s power, and the unintentionally strengthened power of the magic, would be enough to leave it in a near-death state.
But had I underestimated my opponent too much?
If I had the ability to peek at the monster’s status window, the Minotaur would definitely have this trait.
[Rapid Regeneration]
The flesh of the Minotaur, which was standing far away, half-dead, was rapidly filling in. Even the wounds that had been scorched and burned by the lightning were slowly recovering, leaving me speechless.
Looking at me, it raised the corners of its mouth as if mocking me.
