Chapter 68: Unexpected Rescue

Renki chuckled at Hay’s words. The pain in their arm, however, quickly stifled their laughter.

From behind, Hay noticed a sheen of cold sweat on Renki’s nape. Despite the prior treatment, the injury was clearly still excruciating.

‘They need proper healing, and soon,’ Hay thought, a sense of urgency rising within him.

“Will Master greet us?”

“Whether he does or not, I’m definitely going to punch him once.”

“Master is much larger than you, my lord.”

“Doesn’t matter. He won’t be expecting a punch from me. If I strike him out of nowhere, how could he possibly dodge it?”

“That’s true. My lord, you know how to use your fists?”

“How many years have I spent as a mercenary? When circumstances demand it, I don’t shy away from close combat.”

“I’ve just never seen you use your fists before.”

Renki shrugged, glancing at the compass before relaying the direction to Nora once more.

Hay gazed intently at the compass Renki held. Renki, however, wasn’t looking at the compass itself, but at its reflection in a mirror.

“I recall Stan warning us not to let our faces be reflected in mirrors like this.”

“To be precise, he said not to make eye contact with your own reflection,” Renki clarified. “And strangely enough, this mirror only reflects the compass. Isn’t that fascinating?”

Renki extended the compass backward, showing it to Hay. Just as they said, the mirror reflected only the compass, not a single trace of Hay’s face.

While the actual compass needle spun ceaselessly, the reflection in the mirror pointed steadily in one direction. It shifted subtly, guiding them with each change in course.

‘This isn’t a compass; it’s more like a navigation system,’ Hay mused.

Hay coughed softly, continuously scraping the flame stick to provide light for Renki to examine the compass.

“My lord, may I ask you something?”

“What is it?”

“What were those guardians earlier? Were they spellblades? And why were you fighting them, my lord?”

[“I hate them! I hate all of them in here!”]

Nora suddenly shrieked.

Sylph, as if in agreement, flapped its wings beside them and wailed. Ignoring the two spirits, Hay responded.

“I summoned them to find the exit.”

“You seek the exit from a spellblade?”

“Yes. I heard a story from the old geezer when I was young. He claimed that when he navigated the Mirror Labyrinth, there were no guides. Since he wasn’t a mage, he couldn’t use compass magic either. So, whenever he needed to find an exit, he summoned that spellblade, who apparently knows the way out.”

“Did the old man fight the spellblade to learn the exit?”

“So he said.”

“And that’s why you, my lord, fought that spellblade to find the exit?”

“It was the only way I could think of to escape this place.”

“If I had known, I would have told you immediately, my lord. When I remembered this after seeing Master’s compass magic.”

“Even if you had told me, I would have summoned the guardian anyway if I were alone, just like before. And it was wise not to mention the compass back then.”

“Wise, you say?”

Hay recalled Philly’s words. Philly had explicitly stated that all physical compasses had been discarded. If that were true, showing the compass to Stan would have been a grave mistake.

“Renki, if we make it out of here safely, you must hide that compass. Never let Stan or any mages from Arcavia discover it.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it might also be stolen goods.”

‘Just like the Crimson Jade,’ Hay thought, though he didn’t voice the last part.

“Stolen goods?”

“There are things like that.”

Hay clenched his jaw, feeling a metallic taste and a lump of blood rise in his throat. He swallowed hard, forcing the clot back down, and squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

Sylph, as if asking if he was alright, let out a faint, worried chirp beside him.

Hay nodded slightly, enduring the pain.

Renki continued to speak, growing anxious whenever Hay fell silent.

“Master said only three people have encountered magical beasts in the last hundred years,” Renki observed. “Yet, we’ve seen three just today.”

Understanding Renki’s unease, Hay swallowed his pain and forced a reply.

“Indeed.”

“The female mage you summoned last, was she also a guardian?”

“Yes.”

“They say that mage destroyed the Magic Kingdom.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“They didn’t seem human.”

Renki murmured, recalling the youthful-looking girl.

“They aren’t human.”

“They’re not human?”

“They’re a doll. Created by ancient mages.”

Hay swallowed the bloody saliva pooling in his mouth, then continued.

“I heard they were a doll modeled after the First Magic Queen’s name and appearance. The old geezer claimed they were crafted from processed dragon heart, bones, and scales. Whether that’s true or not, to destroy a Magic Kingdom, they must have been on the level of a dragon or a sage.”

“What an incredible guardian. What about the other two, then? Do you know?”

“The other two?”

“Master said there were five magical beasts in the Mirror Labyrinth, didn’t he? I’m just curious.”

“Ah, that. I don’t know if Stan was mistaken or what, but as far as I know, there aren’t five, but six.”

[“There are six of those creepy things?!”]

Nora expressed her displeasure.

“Rock Lizard, a thousand Glass Birds, Sky Orca, Golem, the Doll, and the Spellblade. Why? Do you want to see the other guardians? Shall I summon them?”

Renki shuddered at Hay’s jest, and Nora reacted similarly.

“I’m curious, but I certainly don’t want to see them.”

“To be honest, neither do I.”

“Could such terrifying beings exist outside the labyrinth?”

“I hope not.”

Hay frowned, speaking with genuine sincerity.

Even from a brief encounter, the guardians’ power was overwhelming.

If such entities existed outside, he never wanted to face them again.

Hay looked down at his hand gripping the dagger, recalling his brief confrontation with Philly.

In front of Philly, he had felt like an ant. An ant that could be easily crushed with a finger.

“They probably don’t, right? The ancient mages’ technology vanished long ago. I once read in a book as a child that ancient mages could create dolls that perfectly resembled humans. Some would craft dolls in the image of loved ones they’d lost, while others made dolls to serve them. Of course, these dolls couldn’t feel emotions like humans and could only follow orders. But I read that one country even created an army composed entirely of dolls. Perhaps that doll guardian was also created for combat purposes?”

Hay offered no reply.

He knew little about ancient history. However, a peculiar detail in Renki’s words caught his attention.

‘I once read in a book as a child.’

Hay also recalled Stan’s comment from a month prior: “Renki doesn’t misspell even difficult words that adults often get wrong.” At the time, he had simply dismissed it as Renki being exceptionally intelligent, but now he realized that wasn’t the case. Renki had known how to read long before learning from Briana Lamperche. ‘Why would they deliberately conceal their literacy?’ Hay wondered.

“Is that so? Ancient times must have boasted incredible technology then.”

Hay could no longer hold himself upright. Even speaking became an effort, and a pained groan involuntarily escaped his lips. He felt Renki’s body flinch beside him.

Thump, thud—

The rumbling sound of the earth grew faint, as if echoing from a great distance. Just then, Hay’s spirit power reached its limit.

They could no longer remain underground. If they stayed, they would be trapped and perish before even finding the exit.

The moment Hay was about to speak, Renki gasped.

“Nora, just a little back.”

[“Huh? Back?”]

Nora stepped backward at Renki’s instruction.

“Ah, stop. One step forward.”

[“Like this?”]

“Yes, right there. Perfect.”

The flame stick’s light flickered out.

Hay raised a trembling hand and scraped the stick with his dagger. Renki, relying on the brief flare of light, peered at the compass.

The compass needle reflected in the mirror spun rapidly. In contrast, the physical needle, which had been rotating erratically as if broken, had stopped.

“My lord, I think we need to go up now. The exit should be above us.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

Hay spoke with genuine relief. There was no need to give Nora any specific instructions.

The ground beneath them began to rise, and the earth in the ceiling split and parted to either side. He felt them ascend, a sensation akin to riding a subterranean elevator.

“Sylph, you can return now.”

Hay dismissed Sylph.

If they didn’t escape the underground in time, they would suffer from lack of oxygen, but there was no alternative. Nora’s summoning was also about to expire, so he needed to conserve even the mana used to keep Sylph summoned.

Fortunately, Nora’s summoning didn’t break until they emerged above ground.

[“We’re out! Hay! We’re out! We’re—”]

Nora’s excited shout abruptly cut off, and the black wolf’s body crumbled downward.

The summoning had ended. Renki sprang to their feet, landing upright, but Hay collapsed onto the ground, utterly devoid of strength.

“My lord!”

Renki cried out in alarm. They tried to help the bloodied Hay to his feet, but were unable to.

“Ack!”

At Renki’s shriek, Hay lifted his head.

Lana del Rond stood with the ruined cityscape at their back, gripping Renki by the nape of their neck.

In their other hand, Philly was held like a discarded sack, her body twisted at unnatural angles. Hay gasped, a cold dread seizing him.

[“Ma-ge.”]

Lana del Rond uttered, the word drawn out.

It was not a human voice. Perhaps damaged during the fight with Philly, Lana del Rond’s beautiful porcelain face was now crisscrossed with spiderweb-like cracks.

Lana del Rond tossed Philly to the ground and raised an arm. To Hay’s astonishment, the arm, crafted from dragon scales, transformed into a sharp blade.

Renki was utterly paralyzed in Lana del Rond’s grasp, frozen by terror.

Hay braced himself on the ground, attempting to rise to his knees. He clutched his staff, trying to gather spirit power to do something, anything, but his vessel was utterly empty. A dizzying emptiness washed over his mind.

He had summoned Lana del Rond, yet he had overlooked one crucial detail. Lana del Rond considered all mages targets for annihilation. And Renki, despite not even completing their first class, was still, undeniably, a mage.

“Ren—”

Just as Hay managed to open his mouth, Lana del Rond’s blade lunged for Renki’s neck.

*Sizzle—*

However, just before the blade connected, it was abruptly stopped by a crimson barrier. The next instant, scarlet lightning flashed from the barrier.

*CRASH!*

Lana del Rond’s body was flung backward with terrifying speed.

“Almost had to deal with another corpse,” a voice grumbled.

A voice laced with annoyance reached them.

Hay exhaled sharply. Renki collapsed onto the ground. Both turned toward the source of the voice.

It was Stan, clad in a uniform of crimson and black.

Six mages in black robes followed behind him. Each of them formed hand signs, chanting incantations under their breath.

“Took us long enough to find you, you lost children. And why are you in tatters?”

Stan stopped, addressing Hay. Seemingly not waiting for an answer, he immediately gestured to the mages behind him.

“Guardians, prepare to attack.”

A colossal magic circle unfurled before Hay and Renki, like a shield.

It wasn’t just one magic circle. Layer upon layer, no less than six of them materialized.

“Master.”

Renki called out to Stan in a weak voice. Stan merely grinned, then formed another hand sign.

“This time, neither of you is to stray from my side.”

Above the existing magic circles, yet another one formed. This one was wreathed in crimson lightning.

“Attack preparations complete. Judges, await command.”

“Command!”

Illiyan spoke, and Jiwena Rerickton echoed their words.

Lana del Rond, who had been flung far away and embedded in the ground, rose once more. Recognizing the mages, the doll conjured potent magic in both hands and charged, shattering the earth beneath their feet.

“Strike.”

Stan commanded.

The seven layers of magic circles erupted with light. Crimson lightning, imbued with fire, tore through the sky and earth. Soon, the backdraft engulfed them.