Chapter 65: The Dragon God’s Gambit and the Labyrinth’s Unraveling

Boom, boom, boom!

High above, Promen relentlessly shattered the alchemy-etched stone slabs that hurtled toward him.

These were sealing slabs, conjured by Samuel with her alchemical arts. Once all six converged to trap Promen, she was confident he would be like a fish out of water, flopping helplessly for a few final moments.

Multicolored magic continuously bloomed around Promen, each spell imbued with a negative effect, all designed to force him closer to the encroaching slabs.

With his divine power significantly depleted, Promen found himself completely suppressed by Samuel.

****

Samuel had not anticipated Promen’s ability to struggle to such an extent. After all, he had been severely weakened, yet the potency of his divine power far exceeded her initial estimations.

Nevertheless, this was his limit.

Barring any unforeseen complications, she was poised to win this round.

However, harboring such thoughts often proved to be the most perilous.

Promen seemed to have been pushed to his breaking point.

With an unstoppable momentum, he suddenly charged directly at Samuel.

‘A desperate gamble?’ Samuel murmured to herself. Confident in her victory, she had no desire to engage Promen in a fight to the death.

Yet, just as she prepared to retreat, Promen, having closed a certain distance between himself, Larkin, and her, self-detonated.

The resulting explosion produced immense turbulent energy. However, Samuel simply raised a hand, deflecting the blast’s force behind an alchemically generated wall.

‘This move is useless against her…’ Samuel had intended to use the perfect moment of Promen’s re-aggregation to seal him. But her movements suddenly froze for a split second, as a powerful force, she knew not when, had entered her body.

This power felt incredibly familiar, seemingly the divine energy she had yearned for. Yet, why was it now being absorbed into her at this precise moment?

It was Promen’s earlier explosion!

Could forcibly using alchemy while divine power was abundant lead to divine power entering her body?

****

The overwhelming offensive halted abruptly. Promen, having reformed, sensed the chaotic aura emanating from Samuel. He realized his gamble had paid off.

Divine arts were simply not something current humans could wield. While he was unsure what bizarre method that woman had used, it undoubtedly meant the stability of such divine arts was extremely low.

The divine power turbulence triggered by his self-detonation could momentarily incapacitate Samuel.

Even so, Promen knew he couldn’t kill Samuel. His objective remained singular: Theodore.

‘Prepare to die!’

Lola immediately cast a barrier and unleashed a barrage of attacks. However, Promen transformed half his body into fragments, coating himself in an armor of rapidly rotating shards.

These divine-power-infused fragments effortlessly tore through the barrier.

Though Lola’s subsequent offensive spells shattered the shards one after another, Promen only needed to ensure he reached Theodore.

He merely needed one more self-detonation. Even if its power wasn’t immense, it would be fatal enough for Theodore in his current state.

“Theodore! Move, quickly!” Theresia urged, her voice strained. She struggled to move her body, desperate to stand, but even a black dragon’s recovery capabilities were insufficient to support such an action now.

Aesop drew his twin blades, and Alicia stepped forward, ready to intercept Promen with her own body.

However, Promen had gathered all his divine power into his sharp claws and surrounded himself with a rapidly rotating armor of fragments. Anyone could see that a collision would be utterly devastating.

Theodore, with an air of profound confidence, stopped everyone’s actions.

“Don’t panic,” he declared. “Let me handle this.”

“You?” Theresia eyed Theodore with suspicion, as if questioning his sanity. “Are you sure you won’t drop dead if you take one more breath?”

“No need to worry, there’s no need for a fight,” Theodore said. Though speaking was a struggle for him, he still managed to shout in a booming voice, “Promen, if I call your name, do you dare to answer?”

Promen’s face contorted into a snarl as he bellowed, “Your Lord Promen is here! Today, you are dead, or I’ll take your name!”

At that moment, Theodore roared, “Kneel!”

Then, under the dumbfounded gazes of Theresia and the others, Promen’s eyes widened. The rapidly spinning fragments quickly coalesced into the shape of legs, which then dropped into a kneeling position, ploughing through the ground under the force of his momentum until he stopped directly in front of Theodore.

“No!!!”

After a brief moment of shock, Promen understood the reason for this turn of events, but it was too late.

“Lord Saxon, I am defiled!”

The massive demon wailed, tears the size of goose eggs streaming down his face as he repeatedly slammed his fists into the ground.

“Hmph…” Theodore let out a heavy sigh of relief. Indeed, the Dragon God’s contract was finally beginning to exert its normal effects.

It seemed this contract was genuine, after all. But why had it been so slow to take effect?

‘Was it because of that divine power?’

‘Hmph, I’ll ask the Old Patriarch once we get out.’

Acquiring Promen, such a powerful combatant, was truly an unexpected boon. With him, the little black dragon was completely in his grasp!

Larkin and the others, witnessing this scene, unconsciously curled their lips into smiles. That demon, Promen, was about to become their punching bag, ready to vent the anger of being chased earlier.

Meanwhile, Theresia, the entire black dragon, turned into a white dragon.

Promen’s subjugation was cause for celebration, and Theodore’s survival was also cause for celebration. Yet, when these two joyous events merged, the reaction produced something utterly despairing for Theresia.

With Promen’s help, wouldn’t Theodore effortlessly suppress her now?

The thought of Theodore’s unwavering declaration to ‘marry’ her earlier made terrifying words and images—dungeons, big bellies, hatching dragon eggs—flood her mind.

The most obvious option of quickly eliminating Theodore did not even cross Theresia’s mind.

‘No choice. I must temporarily halt the labyrinth exploration. Run, I have to run! As long as I escape, there will surely be a way!’

****

Meanwhile, as Promen wallowed in despair, he suddenly discovered he still had a trace of divine power he could use, unimpeded by Theodore’s command.

An idea simultaneously flashed in his mind.

The labyrinth’s space was unlike external space; it was highly unstable, with anomalous spatial flows appearing intermittently.

If divine power surges were unleashed at these flowing spatial nodes, spatial black holes would form, destroying the regions with abnormal spatial flow.

Coincidentally, Promen realized that their current area happened to be experiencing anomalous spatial turbulence.

Though this coincidence was astonishing, he had no other option now. He had to detonate!

Even if the spatial black hole would cause him to drift endlessly in an alien dimension until his demise, his loyalty belonged only to the great Lord Saxon!

“Lord Saxon, your loyal servant comes to meet you!” Promen roared. Theodore sensed something was amiss and was about to stop Promen’s actions, but it was too late.

Promen unleashed his remaining divine power, and a massive spatial black hole unfolded before them.

The immense, irresistible gravitational pull sucked them in without resistance.

Before they were swallowed by the black hole, translucent blue bubbles enveloped each of them, connecting them together.

But this did not prevent them from being devoured by the black hole.

The colossal spatial black hole did not last for long. Although this labyrinth space was unstable, it would correct itself immediately when overly intense spatial fluctuations occurred.

After the spatial black hole vanished, a figure appeared at the position Theresia and the others had previously occupied.

That person was Samuel, who had just expelled the divine power from her body.

“Under normal circumstances, such a large spatial black hole shouldn’t have formed, right?” Samuel muttered to herself. She couldn’t shake the feeling that some things were far too coincidental.

‘No, this isn’t the time to think about such things. Those people are lost because of me. What do I do?!’

Though she had implemented emergency defensive measures for Theresia and the others at the critical moment, ensuring they wouldn’t be trapped forever in the spatial rifts and would be expelled within a short time.

However, Samuel herself had no idea where in this world they would emerge after being spat out of the spatial rifts, as it was entirely random! Given this, should she have aimed for complete destruction when dealing with that divine puppet?

‘No, there’s a problem here.’

Samuel’s head ached; she had no idea what to do. The Elf Queen would demand an explanation, saying she had truly lost her daughter right under her nose.

Though Samuel felt the primary responsibility didn’t lie with her, the key point was that she had specifically sought out the Elf Queen to discuss ‘training’ and ‘experience’ for Lola, and the arrangements for this trip into the labyrinth.

She had even solemnly promised to return Lola to her exactly as she was after the ‘training.’

Who could have predicted such a thing would happen?

Considering the Elf’s difficult personality, Samuel shivered. She decided to move house overnight upon her return and not show her face again until Lola was found.

‘Time to make a run for it.’

****

At the same time, on Dragon Island.

Old Patriarch was discussing the upcoming matters concerning the Mine Adjudication Center with Eisenhower, the dragon diplomat who had just returned from the Human Empire.

The Old Patriarch chuckled softly. “Heh, an institution that brings together four races, yet it’s not located in the Imperial Capital. You know, that’s where its influence on the Alara Kingdom would be greatest.”

Eisenhower nodded. “The advantages you, Old Patriarch, have already given him are enough to make him burst. How could he dare to place the Mine Adjudication Center in the Imperial Capital? If he did that, he would completely lose all allies among humans. Although the Alara Kingdom is currently the most powerful among humans, it cannot withstand being universally opposed. Especially with the Holy Alliance already making moves.”

The Holy Alliance was a military alliance led by the Church of Light, comprising over a dozen religious nations. These nations all worshipped the Church of Light’s main deity, the God of Light, Zimmerman.

While the Church generally did not interfere in the affairs of these religious nations, this did not mean it couldn’t rally them to its cause.

After all, eighty percent of the citizens of these religious nations were their followers, and even required the Pope to crown their rulers, otherwise their rule would be deemed illegitimate.

The relationship between the Holy Alliance and the Alara Kingdom was quite poor, for a simple reason: the Alara Empire overtly and covertly suppressed the Church of Light’s missionary work within the empire. They wished for their citizens to obey and believe only in their king’s commands, rather than having their loyalties divided by the Church.

Promen understood that the fervor and spread of faith, once unleashed, could not be contained.

Although the Holy Alliance and the Alara Empire had not yet openly clashed, military conflicts were already brewing behind the scenes.

Promen was not blinded by ambition. He knew the three races, even if they acknowledged him, would not intervene to help him in internal human struggles.

Once the Holy Alliance took the lead, the Alara Empire would face attacks from all four sides.

To ensure his two allied nations would share his struggles before he could break through with his own strength, Promen painstakingly managed to get the three races to agree to establish a new city at the border where the three human kingdoms converged.

Of course, this new city would still be within Alara Empire territory, merely very close to the two allied nations.

This was essentially a declaration of shared fate, with absolutely no intention of annexing them. As for whether the two allied nations believed it, that depended on the skill of the Alara Empire’s diplomats.

Old Patriarch was not overly concerned with this; as long as it secured sufficient benefits, that was enough. He mused, “Hmm, what do you think about assigning Theresia to the Adjudication Center as well? It would signify our dragon race’s last black dragon.”

Eisenhower pondered for a moment. “Theresia? Hmm, after all, the reputation of black dragons among humans isn’t exactly good. But Theresia’s leadership is unquestionable, hahaha, especially since black dragons are…”

“Oh, right. That one who merged with dragon blood, Theodore, wasn’t it? How’s his progress? Can he succeed? Theresia is very strong, and that labyrinth is quite troublesome.”

The Old Patriarch displayed a confident smile. “It’s almost a sure thing. After all, I personally trained him. What could possibly go wrong in that broken labyrinth?”

Beep, beep, beep!

No sooner had he spoken than the emergency communication in his office rang.

The Old Patriarch’s eyelid twitched. ‘It couldn’t be such a coincidence, could it?’

He immediately answered the call.

“Patriarch, it’s bad! Something happened in the labyrinth below! Theresia and Theodore are both missing!”

Old Patriarch: “…”

He silently slapped himself twice across the face, then checked Theresia’s life crystal, which was still glowing brightly.

“Find… find them before that black dragon causes more trouble!”

****

At the same time, the Elf Queen also learned of the major incident in the Labyrinth City, but she wasn’t overly worried.

After all, her good friend was still there, one of the world’s top experts.

But Lola was her precious daughter, so even if she was a troublemaker, she still had to inquire. Otherwise, she’d be a heartless mother.

Also, she planned to have Lola represent her at the Adjudication Center.

‘This rebellious daughter should be thoroughly exploited, made to work hard for her mother to compensate for all the explosive art she’s created on Elf Island over the years, and the emotional and financial damage it has caused.’

‘She truly doesn’t understand the value of daily necessities!’

The Elf Queen thought indignantly, then dialed her good friend’s communication channel.

First attempt, no connection.

Second attempt, no connection.

Third attempt, no connection.

Elf Queen: “…”

‘This is bad.’

Knowing her best friend’s personality all too well, the Elf Queen calmly cast a remote projection spell, appearing directly in her friend’s alchemy workshop in the Labyrinth City.

She then saw a mostly cleared-out, dilapidated shack, with a magic letter resting on the central table.

Opening it, the image of a sheepishly grinning Samuel appeared.

[Little Lola was accidentally lost. I’m going to look for her. I’ll contact you once I find her. Don’t worry.]

Elf Queen: “…”

‘It’s over, my daughter is lost.’

****

“Something happened in the labyrinth?”

Promen, naturally, had also stationed his own people in the Labyrinth City. After Theresia disappeared, Samuel returned to the surface with the exploration team.

The remaining personnel hadn’t found Larkin and the others. However, inquiries revealed they were simply lost due to the labyrinth’s guardian monsters, their current whereabouts unknown.

A woman named Samuel had vehemently guaranteed that there was absolutely no danger to their lives.

However, that woman named Samuel disappeared the very next day, her home…

‘Should I say it’s truly fitting for the tenth? She always manages to bring some surprises into his monotonous life, even when he’s swamped with work.’

“Find them alive, or find their bodies.”

Suddenly, the Dragon, Human, and Elf races were abuzz with activity, their spies as restless as boiling water.

This left Rigardu, the Dwarf King, who felt completely left out, utterly perplexed.

“What’s strange?!”

“Master, look, I’ve always told you to curb your short temper and learn to be peaceful. The world isn’t a piece of iron for you to constantly hammer. See, they don’t even invite you to their mischief.”

A irritating voice drifted over, causing the Dwarf King’s mouth to twitch.

“Shut up! If they don’t invite me, I wouldn’t bother playing anyway… forget it. For the safety of the dwarf race, I suppose I should inquire.”

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