Chapter 21: Seraphina 1

The guildmaster’s office held the weight of many years.

The dusty bookshelves, yellowed maps, and the old hourglass on the window told the passage of time.

As I sat down, Bea stood next to me, her silver armor shining in the morning sunlight.

The snow-capped mountains of Sia Kalt outside the window shone dazzlingly, but we all knew the danger hidden in that beauty.

In the corner of the office, the sound of Lord Ronflow’s harp resonated quietly.

With the unique sense of an elf who had lived for over 200 years, he softened the mood, but the anxiety in my heart did not subside.

There was a tension I had never seen before in his eyes that contained many years.

Lady Chloe’s white ears moved sensitively, and Lord Gain stood leaning against the wall without letting down his guard.

His cold gaze constantly scanned the surroundings, as if a battle could break out at any moment.

“That flower… saved the village?”

Lady Marianne answered, clutching the holy symbol tightly.

I could see her hands trembling slightly.

“Yes… Under the red moonlight, a sweet scent spread, and all the monsters disappeared, following that scent.

It was just like a miracle of Michel.

However…”

Lien-sama cut her off coldly.

“That wasn’t a miracle. It was just the power of the monsters.”

The guild master’s voice was heavy.

“And then Prostia appeared.”

The air in the room froze at that name.

Chloe-sama’s white ears trembled, and Gain-sama’s hands gripped the spear handle even tighter.

Even Ronflow-sama’s harp sound stopped for a moment.

Oldin-sama spoke with a trembling voice.

“The sight of the giant ice dragon transforming into a silver-haired woman… I still can’t forget it.

The overwhelming presence at that moment… It was like a god had descended.”

“Michel-sama… What on earth was the vision I saw…”

Confusion rose in my heart.

Could the divine being I saw in my dreams every night be the subordinate of Prostia, the absolute ruler of the Great Labyrinth?

Hapel’s sharp words cut off my thoughts.

“I tried to save you, but I told you not to show up again.

Or I’d turn you into fertilizer. And I did it with a smile.”

Marianne carefully opened her mouth.

“But in that flower… there was definitely Michel’s divine power…”

“Quietly.”

Lien sharply stopped her.

Her eyes were filled with fear and caution.

“We agreed not to talk about that, right?”

Perhaps he had noticed my doubts.

Arthur looked out the window and explained in a low voice.

“That flower… wanted to learn language from us.

I taught it for two weeks.

But if this fact were to become known…”

“We could be accused of being followers of the evil spirit.”

Gain nodded.

A follower of the evil spirit is ridiculous.

More than that… You… learned language?”

My mind became even more confused.

The divine being I saw in my dreams every night, a subordinate of Prostia, learned language…

And how should I explain the divine power that Marianne felt?

“We all ate the flower’s honey.”

Everyone became tense at Oldin’s words.

“What I felt then…”

Hapel hesitated.

“It was as if our consciousness was expanding.

As if our hearts were connecting…”

The guild leader looked at Bea.

His wrinkled eyes contained his last hope.

However, Bea slowly shook her head.

“Prostia… With my own strength…”

At that moment, something surged within me.

Just like when I first received Michel’s revelation, my whole body trembled.

I stood up and said, “But there is hope.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to me.

The sound of Ronflow’s harp stopped for a moment, and Chloe’s ears perked up.

“The flower I saw in my dream… was definitely praying in Michel’s name.

And it was calling me… calling me.

This must be Michel’s will.”

A sigh escaped from Oldin’s beard.

“But, Saint, the monster…”

“I believe it.”

He said with a smile on his lips, but a corner of his heart ached.

I remembered when Bea had always worried about my stubbornness in the Knights when I was young.

Had I made such a reckless decision back then?

Bea put her hand on my shoulder.

“I won’t let you go alone.”

Her golden hair shone brightly in the sunlight.

Just like that day… the day I left as a saint, the day she had cried behind me.

At that time, she didn’t stop me from making my decision.

She just said she was sorry that she couldn’t stay with me until the end…

“I’ll go with you. This time…”

My eyes grew hot at her words.

The sound of Ronflow’s harp stopped for a moment, then soon changed into a more beautiful melody.

Chloe’s tail swayed gently, and Gain’s cold expression softened for a moment.

Outside the window, the snow-capped mountains of Sia Kalt shone dazzlingly.

In the distance, the great ice wall of the Great Labyrinth awaited us.

The true nature of the vision I had seen… and perhaps even greater horrors awaited there.

‘My Michel… I do not know whether this will be the beginning of disaster or the path to salvation.’

However… Bea’s hand gripped my shoulder more tightly.

“We… must find the truth.”

The cold wind of dawn scratched my face.

We walked through the snow that reached our knees, but our footprints were soon erased.

Every step was painful, but it wasn’t just physical pain.

‘Is this the right path…?”

Bea was sifting through the snow in front of me.

Her silver armor gleamed in the morning sunlight, and she looked like a shining lighthouse.

But I knew. The same anxiety was taking hold in her heart…

“Seraphina.”

Bea stopped walking.

“Do you… regret it?”

I shook my head.

“No. It’s just…”

I couldn’t finish.

Bea turned her head and looked at me.

Her golden eyes were filled with deep understanding.

“I know. I’m… afraid, too.”

My heart felt a little lighter at her honest confession.

When we finally arrived, there was nothing.

Only an endless white snowfield and the vast entrance to the Great Labyrinth in the distance.

Was everything I had seen in my dreams every night a lie?

“Is this the right place….?”

My voice was scattered in the wind.

Chloe pricked up her ears and said, “Maybe… people are all having the same hallucination…”

“No.”

My voice rang coldly.

“Mikel’s revelation… will never be in vain.”

Was it faith, or stubbornness?

But I couldn’t go back now.

Bea looked at the Great Labyrinth.

“If it’s Prostia’s property… it could be inside the Labyrinth.”

I looked in that direction too.

The huge ice cave was so deep that it was impossible to gauge its depth, and its grandeur took the breath away from those who saw it.

“I will go alone.”

Bea blocked my path.

“Come together.”

Her voice trembled.

“You guys go back to the village.

If we… can’t come back, let the Order of Light know.”

Ronflow’s harp rang mournfully.

This time, no one stopped him from playing.

The sad melody spread across the snowy mountains, as if it was mourning a farewell.

The guild master’s office held the weight of many years.

The dusty bookshelf, the yellowed map, and the old hourglass on the window told the passage of time.

Of the eight great labyrinths, Sia Kalt held the most questions.

The entrance to a gigantic ice cave awaited us in the darkness, and sharp icicles hung menacingly from the ceiling.

What could be there? A divine being, or something even more terrifying?

A wyvern was seen flying in the distance.

Even that avoided the labyrinth area.

It seemed to show how dangerous this place was.

“Mike… Please protect us!”

Under the clear sky, our footprints were erased one by one.

As if they wished this journey had never begun, or as if they foresaw what would happen in the future…

‘Um… I’m bored.’

My master has left, and I have nothing to do.

I want to show off to my master again!

Right now, the bugs are hunting monsters on their own, and all I have to do is heal them and drink their blood…

“Is this the automatic hunting I’ve only heard of?”

I looked around and checked the status of the bugs.

The average level of the bugs had already exceeded 100.

As expected, the final blow of the deep monster thrown by the master!

And then I…

[Licorice] Thanatos Crown LV182 3rd generation

[Ability]

HP: 1,864/1,864+ (793,152)

MP: 1,764/1,429

Attack Power: 1,864

Magic Power: 1,764

Defense Power: 1,764

Magic Resist: 1,764

Agility: 0

[Skills]
[Perception LV9]
[Crimson Apocalypse]
[Freeze Block LV8]
[Poison LV7]
[Black Muscle Protrusion LV4]
[Pollen Release LV8]
[Photosynthesis LV6]
[Temptation LV8]
[Pain Block LV4]
[Selflessness LV8]
[Pollen-Paralysis LV3]
[Pollen-Recovery LV8]
[Pollen-Corrosion LV1]
[Pollen-Decay LV2]
[Delicious Honey LV6]

[Characteristics]
[Inferno Stigma]
[Pollen-Bleeding LV3]
[Will LV8]
[Red Fog LV4]
[Red Moon Intimidation LV2]
[Mikel’s Cheer]
[Magic]
[Prostia’s Attachment Plant]
[Blood Cry]
[Mikel’s Flower]

‘Does this make sense?”

It’s only been about 3 weeks; is it normal for it to level up this quickly?

Is it because it ate the blood of the deep monsters?

Or… “Maybe it didn’t evolve for the first 3 years and was blocked from leveling up!?”

The more I thought about it, the more regrettable it became.

If it had stayed awake for 3 years, it would have been several times stronger by now!

As I spilled some nectar, a girl butterfly flew in.

Now, she looked more like a fairy than a butterfly.

‘I’m so wronged! I could have been much stronger!’

I conveyed my grievances filled with sweet nectar.

The butterfly nodded silently and stroked the flower petals with its small legs.

Gasp! Are you comforting me?

I sent it without expecting much, but I’m so touched…

“Thank you…”

The butterfly’s cheeks turned red and fluttered.

Hehe. This guy is weak to compliments, after all.

Hmm, then.

‘What’s the news, Master?

Jittery. It means not yet.

‘Hmm… You said you were going to find a polymorphic monster, but it’s taking a long time.”

I should just keep watching the bugs.

Just then, the Crystal Beetle flew in carrying the injured Hyperborean Ant on its back.

The wound of the ant that was hit by my pollen quickly healed.

‘Good job. What about the corpse?”

As the butterfly fluttered, the ant nodded and climbed up the ice wall.

It soon returned carrying the monster’s corpse.

“Automatic hunting is convenient after all.

This kind of life wasn’t so bad…

I felt like yawning.

“Master… When will you come…”

Cecilia sparkled between the flower petals.

My heart warmed as I looked at her beautiful appearance, like a small ruby.

Our hot pack…

‘I think it’s time for her to wake up too…