The face in those memories matched the one before him now.
Not only that, the holy aura emanating from her was undoubtedly that of Seia, the Holy Maiden.
He had met her in a place and at a time he never expected.
"Who dares to defy Her Majesty!"
"Die!"
Isaac and Isabella also began their battle with the barbarians.
Still, I couldn't move.
It had been a long time since I experienced such a shock.
'How is she alive?'
Did she survive that curse and collapse?
But why is she alone in the labyrinth?
I shook my head.
I realized that how she survived wasn't the important question.
'Why is she alive?'
Why?
Who, and for what purpose?
In the situation I remember from the final stages of the Great Expedition, there was only one being who could have saved Seia, the Holy Maiden.
'The Demon King.'
Perhaps the Demon King was involved.
Could he have placed her in this labyrinth with some intention?
"Ugh......"
At that moment, Seia, the Holy Maiden, groaned softly and was trying to wake up.
I extended my hand.
Thud!
Seia, the Holy Maiden, fainted again.
*
I was curious about Greed's combat abilities.
Though his level is high, if his stats are heavily skewed towards gambling, his actual combat power might be disappointing.
However, Greed easily subdued the Desert Queen, defying my expectations.
He seemed to understand the meaning of 'subdue' and didn't kill her.
He had torn off her wing-like skin and was pressing her body with his knee while holding her by the nape of her neck. It was a perfect subjugation.
'Excellent.'
Even a mackerel has its day.
Greed, being a ruler of the Abyss, made me reflect on my past doubts about his combat abilities.
I turned my head to look at Isabella.
"Isabella. You kill her."
I gave her the power over the Desert Queen's life and death.
Unlike before, her body no longer trembled with fear.
-Please, spare me. My dear child, I truly love you.
"......It's fine. I'm no longer afraid of the Queen."
Isabella shook her head.
She wasn't going to finish the job for me.
However, the Desert Queen was Isabella's eternal trauma.
I intended to have her remove it herself, but it seemed she had already overcome it.
Instead, Isabella's gaze on me became more intense.
Since she said it was fine, I couldn't force her.
I shrugged and took out Shatiros' bow.
Whizz!
Thud!
-Ah!
A short scream accompanied by the fear effect.
Her random stats must have been reduced by 10.
Whizz!
Thud!
I continued to shoot arrows.
Each time she was hit, her random stats were reduced.
-Stop! Please stop! Please! Ah!
It was truly a terrifying experience.
To realize you are weakening and dying.
To bleed and tremble in the face of an inescapable death.
After shooting dozens of arrows, the Desert Queen could no longer scream.
All her stats had been reduced to 0.
In a limp state, unable to even open her mouth, the Desert Queen met her end.
《You have made a decisive contribution to the elimination of the ‘Desert Queen’!》
《You have obtained the achievement ‘Challenger who defeated a superior enemy’.》
《Your reputation has increased by 200.》
《You have obtained the ‘Essence of the Bloodline’.》
《You have obtained 226h of the Broken Golden Rule fragment.》
《1,000 points have been added to your score.》
1,000 points.
Now, 2,350 points.
It was a bit short, but I wasn't worried.
"I need to clean up the remaining barbarians."
There were still many to deal with.
*
The users of Player Talk expressed their despair on the bulletin board.
-It seems almost everyone has logged out.
-Weaklings have no place here...
-What is Gracia doing? Does anyone know?
-Will they reorganize and try again?
-What happens if the labyrinth isn't cleared?
-The erosion speed seems to be accelerating.
-Crazy. It's already 13%?
-It increased by 1% in just one day???
As the clearance of the labyrinth was delayed, the erosion speed of Pangea began to accelerate.
More precisely, after 'Sword Saint Ralil' entered Phase 4, the erosion speed accelerated.
It had increased from 12% to 13% in just one day.
At this rate, it would reach 20% in 7 days.
-There seems to be a relationship between the unsealing of Ralil and the erosion speed?
-When it reaches 20%, the second invasion will begin, right?
-A second invasion in a week? That's too fast.
-While the first invasion was stopped by Randolph, this one might not be.
-What is the Master doing? He just pretends to be strong every day.
-He's busy managing the interdimensional community lol.
-But he should have warned us about the increased erosion speed. Then we wouldn't have logged out.
-What would change if you didn't log out, you idiot?
Many players viewed the dimensional erosion seriously.
But their concerns were buried by those who saw it as an opportunity.
-Can someone post on the interdimensional community that the erosion speed has increased?
-They will be banned.
-Why delete it?
-Gracia must have failed, so they don't want to try again lol.
-What about the other heroes?
-They must have all left the labyrinth.
-Darkstar saw the Four Kings and ran.
-Is this reputation without responsibility? What a pain.
-Why don't they work together? Why do they act separately?
-My opinionzzzz
-How to enter the underground labyrinth: Buy a labyrinth ticket from the labyrinth merchant, break through the wall, and a staircase leading to the underground will appear.
-What's the point of saying that now? They've all left.
Some players had tried multiple times, but now they had stopped.
They were convinced that challenging the labyrinth further would only waste fragments.
Moreover, the remaining fragments were in poor condition.
Telling them how to enter the underground labyrinth now would be useless.
-Can someone tell the Four Kings how to enter the underground labyrinth?
-I might as well jump off the roof.
-If you get hit by a dump truck, you can go to the other world. Why go to the Four Kings to commit suicide?
-A friend told me that Gracia's official announcement has been posted. They will try again.
-Really? Wow, that's a relief. The Master is in a different class!
-That's just a joke. Do you believe it here? lol
At that moment.
-What? Is this real?
-What? Mint Chocolate has appeared!!!
A sudden message appeared before everyone.
'Mint Chocolate is delicious' was challenging the Sword Saint.
The bulletin board was instantly flooded with discussions about it.
-Wow, Mint Chocolate really exists.
-Heroes always appear at the end.
-Go, Mint Chocolate!
-To be honest, I think Mint Chocolate is stronger than Gracia.
-Not really.
-I hope he succeeds.
-If he succeeds, I'll join the Mint Chocolate team from today.
-I'm already a Mint Chocolate fan in Vera lol.
-I also ordered mint chocolate pork belly.
-It's up again!
-What is it this time?
But that wasn't all.
Another message appeared!
-Unique grade crafting?
-A unique grade equipment has been crafted?
-Who crafted it?
-...‘Radiant Unique Grade Equipment’?
Sword Saint vs. Randolph
Gracia, who had reconnected, looked around.
Not in the labyrinth, but on the continent.
In front of the warp.
He had been forcibly ejected.
'What a mess.'
The thought of starting over from the beginning made him frown.
But there was no choice.
Sword Saint Ralil.
He was just too much.
At first, it was easy.
He could deal enough damage to break the three seals.
The problem was Phase 4.
The moment the three shackles were released.
'He changed.'
Sword Saint Ralil changed every time the shackles were released.
He became faster, stronger, and more resilient, gradually freeing himself from the influence of the Thousand Swords.
But the biggest problem was the change that occurred in Phase 4.
A dramatic change. A completely different appearance.
'That appearance was definitely......'
He clenched and unclenched his hand.
Just thinking about it made him tense.
It was an unexpected variable.
One thing was certain.
'He can't be defeated without preparation.'
Preparation was needed.
He had underestimated it.
He thought he would win easily.
Of course, this confidence was based on the thorough pre-investigation of Sword Saint Ralil.
Over a hundred experts delved deeply into Ralil's legends and myths in the Grand Library. They thoroughly searched all the content related to Ralil.
After the investigation, they recreated the scenarios and mastered Ralil's sword techniques and habits. They created an environment where victory was inevitable before challenging him.
With the 'Blue Radiance' in hand, he was confident.
But a variable appeared.
A powerful variable that forced him to log out.
'The Empire's involvement was unexpected, but even they must have been surprised by Ralil's appearance in Phase 4.'
The Empire's Three Swords.
A name he had never heard before, but almost everything about the Empire was shrouded in mystery.
And if it was the Empire, they must know more about Sword Saint Ralil.
But the Empire's Three Swords also retreated immediately upon entering.
Why?
Because the dramatic change in Sword Saint Ralil was something even the Empire hadn't anticipated.
《'Mint Chocolate is delicious' is challenging ‘Sword Saint Ralil’.》
《Phase 4 is in progress.》
The words that suddenly appeared before his eyes.
...Seeing the name of the challenger who was challenging Sword Saint Ralil, Gracia's expression hardened.
'Where were you hiding... You were challenging the labyrinth.'
Mint Chocolate is delicious.
A hidden high-ranker.
Famous for never showing his face in public.
So, he thought he wouldn't challenge the Abyss Labyrinth.
The Abyss Labyrinth was the perfect place for his true identity to be exposed.
But he appeared.
He appeared and added his own touch to the Phase 4 he had already progressed.
'Can you break what I couldn't?'
It was absurd.
Ridiculous.
Gracia knew Mint Chocolate is delicious.
He knew he was a top-tier necromancer who controlled corpses.
To be precise, he controlled 'golems.'
Those who move corpses with talismans are called 'spirit summoners.'
Honestly, Gracia didn't know the difference between golem techniques and undead, but...
Phase 4 of Sword Saint Ralil was not something that could be handled by mere golems.
He would log out soon, just like the Empire's Three Swords.
At that moment.
《A new ‘Unique Grade Equipment’ has been crafted!》
What is this?
"...Unique grade crafting?"
A world announcement suddenly appeared, adding to his headache.
World announcements are only used for events that cause a seismic shift in the world or the appearance of something significant.
The creation of a new unique grade equipment was no exception.
This meant one thing.
'Some player has crafted a unique grade equipment.'
The entity that completed the crafting was a player.
If a Pangean had crafted a unique grade equipment, there would be no world announcement.
But who?
Knowing who owns the unique grade equipment is also very important. Unique grade equipment, though used by individuals, can exert the power of an army.
Moreover.
'A new unique grade. It means it wasn't made using the materials dropped by the previous Wilhelm.'
The materials dropped by Wilhelm after his death in the Great Expedition.
Some players had bought and used these materials from the Golden Rule shop to create unique grade equipment.