Chapter 1143 (1/2)

Rejt fiddled with the small device that Wendy had given him with his overly large fingers. “...and you are sure that this will assist against the miasma?”

“Yes, of that I am at least sure,” Wendy grumbled. The two were standing at the edge of the allied base for the exploration of the Hell Labyrinth, looking down at the vast stairs that led down to the next level. As they were on the 20th floor, there was a small platform down the vast unadorned stairs, a safe space to rest before proceeding. “I only wish that Randidly Ghosthound would have provided more warning… if he had told me that this would happen-”

“It is wrong to think of Randidly Ghosthound as a godlike being,” Rejt scolded. He put his hands on his hips and peered down at the Spriggit woman. “Remember, he is just as mortal as the rest of us, even if he was once our Progenitor. In fact, the rumors that I taught him many of the tricks that he has-”

“If he was once our Progenitor, he is still our Progenitor,” Wendy pointed out sourly. Then she shook her head. “Just be careful, alright? It won’t completely block the effects, just reduce them.”

“He is just a man, Wendy,” Rejt said softly. He wondered at what point in his life he had grown from the wild warrior to an elder comforting a young and anxious woman, but here he was. “If you let every small event fluctuate your faith, it will be a long and difficult ride.”

“This entire world is his body,” Wendy's mouth twisted. “Yet you claim he is just a man? And his power…”

“He has his own concerns. Did you not also have other issues you needed to set aside when the Miasma came? Sometimes it is difficult to pivot quickly to address the current threats.”

“Bah, I just wish we didn’t have to do this without him… this is basically his fault, after all… ugh, then I start thinking that this might just be his gas-”

Rejt chuckled and spoke before she could continue further. “Do we have any choice? The miasma will slowly strangle the entire world if we let it. While our children still yet live… we must use this technology that the Ghosthound provided for us and reach the core of this issue.”

Wendy’s expression tightened but Rejt didn’t need her to speak in order to understand her thoughts.

If Randidly Ghosthound cared so much us surviving this, where was he? Why didn’t he provide more of a warning?

Which was a fair question. But it was one that Rejt couldn’t answer. So Rejt looked away from Wendy’s face and instead inspected the chasm below and the ten-meter long and wide steps that led deeper into the abyss below.

Around two weeks ago, a huge earthquake had shaken the vast mountain range that split the two larger political entities inside of Randidly Ghosthound’s Soulskill, the Armgrast Empire and the Kelley Kingdom. Several mountains collapsed from the force of the tectonic grinding. In the wake of that terrible natural disaster, the air began to fill with the dreadful miasma, which seemed to eat away at the life force of every individual who came into contact with it.

Those with a high Level could rely on their superior Stats to resist the effects, but children and the elderly soon fell ill under the influence of the miasma. Although rapid investigations were able to discover the source, the newly appeared Hell Labyrinth, the effects were progressing far too quickly for the countries to cope with them. Only two days had passed and the surrounding ten kilometers of the mountain range was impossible to survive for anyone under Level 25.

And every day the miasma around the Hell Labyrinth grew denser. That ten-kilometer distance became fifteen and then twenty.

Luckily, on the fourth day, it was announced that a pioneering Spriggit researcher, Wendy, had developed a material that could shield against the influence of the miasma. It was relatively expensive and time-consuming to produce, but it was not resource intensive. It quickly became apparent that it was possible to create whole cities lined with this material in order to mitigate the effects of the miasma.

So the world powers convened on the fifth day and faced a grim choice; invest all of their resources in creating ‘safe’ cities where their people could live while slowly addressing the problem of the Hell Labyrinth, or instead outfit an elite group to proceed into the Labyrinth and find the source of the miasma to stop it before it spread too far.

Due solely to the red-eyed vehemence of Lazareth Armgrast, the Armgrast Empire and the Shelley Kingdom agreed to go with the more aggressive plan. Although they would each throw up several refugee shelters to which it was possible to evacuate the populace, the genius researcher herself would join the strongest warriors of both sides in order to plumb the depths of the Hell Labyrinth to develop increasingly capable armor to deal with the rising threat.

Naturally, when the Shelley Kingdom requested that the Monster Prince send their strongest warriors to assist, Rejt volunteered. And despite the fact that the Shelley Kingdom was largely wary of the newcomers, they couldn’t deny Rejt’s personal strength.

Which is why they had agreed to one of his requests earlier today.

Besides even the growing threat to the world, there was another reason that Rejt couldn’t afford to miss out on this mission. Something personal.

Rejt’s gaze turned sharp as he focused on those large steps that led down to the 21st level of the Hell Labyrinth. Even from this distance, a trail of crimson footsteps led gracefully down those steps with almost flagrant boldness. They glowed faintly when Rejt activated his Class Skill.

He was following a trail. And although Rejt wasn’t sure of what was the exact name of the Class that she had obtained, there was only one individual that Rejt knew that could move so much faster than everyone else, cutting to the heart of the problem even before the Hell Labyrinth had erupted.

Azriel Blanche.

“How are the preparations on your side coming for our dead weight?” Rejt asked casually as he turned back from the ominous stairs and the extremely small trail leading ever deeper.