Chapter 158 - The White Ghost King’s Sanctuary 3 (1/2)
The owner of the footsteps was a female-type dream demon who boasted a deceptive and sensual body.
”Stop right there. Reveal your identity. Otherwise, you will be regarded as an enemy.”
“Oh my, so scary. I am the Retired Mercenary. My name is Lutia.”
”You're the Retired Mercenary?”
Levian’s eyebrows raised and his gaze alternated between the beastwoman and Lutia.
The shocked beastwoman pointed at Lutia.
“D, don't lie to us! I'm the Retired Mercenary! You must be the Fanatic or the Wraith!”
“Hmm? Are you sure you’re not the one impersonating me? Everyone, be careful. That female cat seems to be up to something.”
The two women were claiming to be the Retired Mercenary.
One of them was definitely an enemy.
Woohyuk calmed down Lutia and the beastwoman who were about to fight, and then proceeded to interrogate them.
“Let’s start with you first. What’s your name?”
“… Lamia.”
“Okay, Lamia. Tell me what was written on the note you received.”
Woohyuk was the only one who knew exactly the mission the Retired Mercenary had received other than the mercenary himself.
As everyone's eyes focused on her, Lamia opened her mouth with a tense expression.
“It, it said it didn’t matter which side I decided to join. Since I’m neutral, all I have to do is to survive until the time limit... And…”
“Why did you stop talking? Are you losing confidence since you’re lying?”
Levian rebuked Lamia with a sharp glare.
She had considerably annoyed him earlier, so he wasn't planning on letting her off easily.
“That’s not it... I’m just reluctant to share the contents… Oh well, I'll just tell you. The Retired Mercenary doesn't have any special skills but instead has loot perks.”
If she killed the Wraith, it was the Wraith's Ebony Cloak.
If she killed the Fanatic, it was the Fanatic’s Bloody Dagger.
If she killed the Priest, it was the Priest’s Crystal Staff.
If she killed the Devil Hunter, it was the Devil Hunter's Keel Longbow.
According to the note, these were all A-class artifacts.
She could even acquire all of them if she killed them all.
At Lamia's explanation, Levian spoke with ridicule.
“Geez, then we shouldn’t consider the Retired Mercenary as an ally. She’ll betray us and attack us once we defeat the Wraith and the Fanatic.”
“Tha-that’s not true! I just want to get out of here safely! I only came here because Lord Ivanov ordered me to!”
Lamia did not know that Ivanov had been killed by Woohyuk.
They were inside a dimension that was governed by an independent system, so the adventurer's watch and the unity ring were not functioning.
All the other communication artifacts were incapacitated by the dimension’s manager, the White Ghost King.
'Anyway, it's obvious that Lamia is the Retired Mercenary.'
Woohyuk never thought that the dying words of the Retired Mercenary from his previous life would help him out so much. He felt thankful.
Woohyuk calmed the quarreling Levian and Lamia and stared at Lutia.
“Then you must be the Wraith or the Fanatic. As you may know, both of them are my enemies, so a fight is inevitable.”
“Oh my, are you too trusting of what that female cat said? It's a little unfair.”
Lutia had joined the conversation late and wasn’t aware that Woohyuk was playing the Pitch-BlackLlabyrinth for the second time.
As she tried to come up with excuses, Levian pulled out his longsword.
“I don't even need to listen to you! The identities of the three of us have already been proven!”
“Ha, this is hilarious. It’s become a witch hunt right after meeting me. Oh well, I can’t do anything about it now.”
Lutia chanted a summoning spell and wore a purple brass knuckle.
When he noticed the weapon, Levian flinched and looked surprised.
”Hm? Since you have an exclusive weapon, you must be fairly high ranked... Are you the vassal of Andras?”
“Yes, I have come here under the orders of Lord Andras. It appears that we didn’t encounter each other until now because we entered the ruins at different moments in time.”
This had happened because demons were arbitrary by nature and served different monarchs.
If they were like an army of another race, they would have at least decided on a gathering point in advance and would’ve entered the ruins together.
Levian scratched his head as he thought to himself.
“Well, in any case, you’ll have to die here. Andras has a lower rank compared to Lord Orobas.”
“Don't be ridiculous. Orobas is only ranked 55th.”
Demons often clashed against each other in this manner, so this kind of conversation was frequent.
Woohyuk watched for a while, before pulling Grandia out of its sheath.
“If you’re done arguing, let’s get started.”
The remaining time was 40 minutes.
They had to deal with both the Fanatic and the Wraith, so they had to save time as much as possible.
Andras' vassal, whom he was looking for, had finally appeared, so Woohyuk did not feel the need to talk anymore.
As Woohyuk walked toward Lutia, Levian and Lamia followed him.
“Don’t blame us for this 3-on-1. Life has always been unfair.”
“I'll get a hold of your soul, you succubus bitch! You tried to frame me!”
“… Ah, I wonder why this happened. And here I thought I was good at acting.”
Lutia stepped backwards as she frowned.
No matter how high-ranking she was, this kind of lynching would be difficult to survive.
It was safe to assume that they were all quite powerful as they had reached the fourth stage.
As Lutia struggled to come up with a plan, a series of system messages suddenly popped up before her eyes.
[The Wraith has taken over Area-A of the labyrinth.]
[An ancient monster has been summoned in Area-A.]
[The summoned monster will act according to the Wraith’s orders.]
[The Wraith can freely control all devices deployed in Area-A.]
[If you find yourself backed in a corner, you may ask the Wraith for help.]
The Pitch-Black Labyrinth consisted of three zones: A, B, and C.
If they activated the purple magic crystals in each zone, it would be advantageous to the Wraith and Fanatic.
The number of areas conquered would determine the monster’s class.