"That is…?"
Eugene, who had been staring at the Templars through the darkness from afar, narrowed his eyes.
"Did you see something?"
"The Templars all swallowed something like a magic stone. But as soon as they ate it, their condition changed somewhat strangely."
As Eugene explained the Templars' changed appearance, Romary sighed and said.
"It seems like I ate an anti-magic stone."
"Half-magic stone? Ahhh...."
I've heard of it.
The anti-magic stone was a type of drug that was secretly manufactured by some churches and magicians, and was made by adding a special process to a purified magic stone.
It quickly restores the user's stamina and brings out potential that is not normally used?
However, because the side effects were so severe, most churches banned it, and both the manufacturer and the user were severely punished.
"I've always felt something was off since the three knights said they were going to hunt down a Minotaur. They really came in with a purpose."
"Yes. It won't be a hundred-on-one, but for a couple of hours, you'll be much stronger than usual. You might even be able to take down the Minotaur."
"Well, I don't think so."
"yes?"
"I just have a feeling. Anyway, did you find any traces?"
"Oh, just a moment."
Roma Li, who had been searching inside his robe, took out a red pouch and put his hand inside.
".... .... .... ...."
She muttered something in an unknown language and waved her hand, scattering red sand into the air.
Ssssss!
The red sands moved to one place as if they were alive, and Romary followed them, taking Eugene with her.
The sand soon flowed into the passage through which the Templars had disappeared moments before.
"The red sand isn't scattering, but is moving in one direction. That means Sir Galfredik and his team also went that way. Otherwise, the sand would have split in two."
"I think the raccoon eye thing is right. There's a lot of water energy on that side."
"That's amazing."
Romary looked pleased at what he had said to both the wizard and the spirit.
"Thank you. If I may speak to our Shadow School, we can teach various magics…."
"Okay. Let's go."
"…yes."
The soon-to-be sullen Roma followed Eugene's side.
* * *
The trail of red sand was long.
Although some of the sand was sometimes dispersed into other, more complex passages, the main stream headed towards the direction where the metal energy was strongest.
Thanks to this, Eugene and his group were able to track down the missing Templars without difficulty.
After moving for about 20 minutes and escaping the complex maze, a space as wide as the plaza that had been used as a garrison appeared.
The oval-shaped space, with fireballs that looked like no ordinary torch at first glance lined the walls, looked like an arena for monsters.
"In the name of God!"
"These evil bastards!"
"Kuaaaaap!"
As the Templars fought a bloody battle surrounded by countless monsters, a muscular monster with a bull's head sat on a huge stone throne, looking down on the battle as if it were the master of the place.
But Eugene's gaze was not directed at the Minotaur.
"You, Sir Eugene...!"
"Your Majesty! That…!"
Next to the stone throne were people covered in blood and hanging tightly in chains, one of whom was Galfredic.
* * *
"...?"
The Minotaur, who had reigned as one of the masters of this labyrinth for a long time, suddenly felt a strange sensation.
The young Cyclops, who had been arrogantly provoking him in other areas of the labyrinth for years, averted his eyes with a sharp look.
In the darkness beyond the arena, a pair of small but intense red lights appeared.
The small human next to him was also bothering him, but the Minotaur felt uneasy about the intruder with the red eyes.
No being, not even the other high-level monsters who ruled this labyrinth with him, dared look at him with such eyes.
Wow! Wow!
The enraged Minotaur roared.
Kyaaaaah! Kekekeke!
The monsters that responded to him rushed at the Templars with even greater ferocity, ignoring death.
"Ugh!"
"You damned seeds!"
The Templars, who had been fighting bravely, relying on the forbidden power of the Half-Magic Stone, were quickly pushed back.
Even though I killed so many, there were still several times more monsters left.
Moreover, the Minotaur they had targeted was just watching their fight as if it were a joke.
Soon, anger and despair, even greater than faith, came over him, and as his mental strength weakened, the effects of the anti-magic stone also gradually diminished.
"Kuaaaah!"
One of the Templars dropped his sword and screamed.
"Robin, you idiot!"
"Inno-omd!"
The two Templars roared at the sight of their comrades, who were like brothers, being torn to pieces by dozens of monsters.
However, they too had no choice but to face death from the monsters that rushed in like waves.
Kyaaaaah! Kekekeke!
The moment the monsters were about to burst out in joy at their victory.
Tutututututu!
The arena floor cracked open as if the Templar god had responded belatedly.
Kyaaaaak!? Kiek!
While about 20 monsters were struggling in the gap, a vampire, stripped of all his armor and armed with only a weapon, ran out.
* * *
"Heh, heh."
Romary, who had unleashed the most powerful earth magic he could muster, hid in a dark place near the entrance to the arena as Eugene had commanded.
The most vulnerable moments for a wizard are when he is preparing his magic and immediately after he casts it.
That's why wizards rarely travel alone.
But Romary has always been alone.
This was because it was possible to control the minds of three or four opponents, whether human or monster, for a short period of time.
But now that she was using the unfamiliar earth magic, she was helpless.
Now, the only thing left to rely on is the Origin Vampire, who, for some unknown reason, pretends to be a knight.
'Please, please. Even if I die, I must die after completing the chimera!'
Hiding in the darkness, Romary crouched, breathing heavily and staring at the arena.
"...!"
Then, for a moment, I was so surprised that I stopped breathing.
Eugene's spear-throwing and sword-swinging movements weren't as refined as those of other knights. They conveyed only the wildness and instinct of a beast.
Instead, all of his attacks were very lethal.
The pitch-black claws, which had grown to nearly a meter long, tore through the monsters' hide and bones, crushing them.
"Kyaaaaah!"
And Eugene's eyes, which were enjoying the fountain of blood shooting up into the air, burned like torches.
Blood and death raged like a storm.
The monsters' screams and roars, mixed with the red blood, turned the arena into a hellish place.
A moment later, only the two of them were standing in the oval arena.
Wow!
Kyaaaaah!
The Minotaur, the lord of the labyrinth, and the True Vampire Knight rushed towards each other.
* * *
Shhh!
The Minotaur swung a mace two meters long.
bang!
Eugene narrowly avoided the mace and jumped, stepping on the head of the mace stuck in the ground.
At that moment, Eugene's figure disappeared without a trace.
Kwok!?
Even in his rage, the confused Minotaur opened his pier.
The man who had long reigned as one of the rulers of the labyrinth was convinced that the opponent who suddenly disappeared would react to Pier.
However, the Minotaur, who was born in a labyrinth and spent his entire life in a labyrinth, had no idea what kind of being the intruder was.
I also didn't know that powerful vampires with Origin or similar powers were not shaken by the Fear of higher-level monsters.
'You can do it!'
Eugene, who had applied transparency to his black scales and unleashed all his abilities to their limits, overcame the Minotaur's fear and plunged his sword into its shoulder.
Kwajik!
The famous sword, imbued with the tenacity of an unknown dwarf blacksmith, dug into the Minotaur's tough hide and solid muscles like cheese, aided by the vampire's monstrous strength.
Wow! Wow!
The Minotaur howled in agony as his flesh was torn and his bones were severed.
Even the highest level monsters were not immune to pain and fear.
Besides, this was the first time the Minotaur in the Labyrinth had experienced something like this.
Kwok! Kwowowow!
The guy was going crazy with pain and confusion.
I swung my mace as my developed sense of smell and instincts suggested, but I hit nothing.
The mace's power shattered the solid floor into dozens of pieces that scattered in all directions.
Kwok!?
Then, at that moment, the superior monster's sixth sense sensed a very small but sharp danger.
The Minotaur swung his mace behind his back with all his might.
Snap!
I felt the sensation of the mace brushing against something.
But before he could rejoice, the Minotaur felt something thin and sharp digging into his neck.
Kwajik!
Eugene, who had sunk his fangs into the Minotaur's thick neck, used all his might to wrap both arms around its neck.
The panicked Minotaur rolled its huge body onto the ground.
Crunch! Crunch!
The weight of this monster, heavier than any he had ever faced, mercilessly trampled on Eugene's body.
Even though he could feel one thigh being crushed and a broken rib tearing through his intestines, Eugene didn't stop sucking blood.
The blood of the superior monster continued to heal the vampire's body, which was turning into a rag.
No matter how big a monster is, the blood in its body is limited.
Eventually, in less than a minute, the Minotaur, having lost more than half of its blood, began to lose strength.
Wow… … .
The giant bull-headed monster that had been shaking intermittently suddenly stopped moving.
And after a while, Eugene, who was less than half the size of the guy, stood up unsteadily.
He was covered in monster blood and bodily fluids on his pitch-black scales, a horrifying sight that was too horrible to bear.
"Krrrr!"
Eugene, whose entire eyeball turned red beyond his pupils, spread his arms.
It wasn't something that someone told me, it was my vampire instinct.
Then the blood that filled the arena reacted to Eugene.
Saaaaa… … .
The blood of the monsters that had been pooling all over the arena floor boiled up like lava, and soon turned into a red fog and rose to the surface.
Then, a swirling, crimson blood mist seeped into Eugene's entire body.
Wood crack!
Broken and misaligned bones and muscles quickly returned to their original shape.
The somewhat dim light in his eyes began to glow with a deep red light, and a solid, well-proportioned body reappeared.
"Ku ...
The awakened vampire roared in victory once again.
There are only two witnesses.
"Long live Lord Eugene! Bloody Count? Dark Count? No! Now it's time to aim for the Demon King! Kkieeeeet!"
"Master Velopa. This inadequate disciple saw the true shadow of blood today."
There were only wizards who inherited magic that originated from lower-level water spirits and origin vampires.
* * *
The sight of the arena, with all the blood gone and only the corpses of the monsters remaining, was grotesque.
Meanwhile, Romary collected the magic stone with eyes that sparkled like a rotten fish.
Eugene put his armor back on and took down Galfredic and the mercenaries who were hanging in chains, then examined them.
"Big bear died? Hehe!"
Eugene shook his head as Mirian pouted.
"All the others are dead, but Galfredic is still breathing."
Whether it was his tenacious will to live or his foolishness for life, Galfredick miraculously survived.
But looking at the condition, it didn't seem like it would last long.
"Romari, come this way."
"Yes! Sir Eugene!"
Romary came running quickly.
"Can we save it? What if we feed it something like a magic stone?"
"wait a minute."
As a school of magicians that dealt with monsters, Romary, who also had some knowledge of medicine, examined Galfredic's body from side to side.
"I'm sorry, but this knight is hopeless. Even feeding him the highest-grade magic stone won't do."
"hmm."
It wasn't a thrilling feeling like friendship or anything.
But to Eugene, Galfredic was a very impressive figure who changed his concept of knighthood.
Maybe that's why I felt a bit sorry and uncomfortable about leaving him to die like this.
"Excuse me… I know it may be presumptuous of me to say something."
"What is it?"
Romary looked down at Galfredic and answered cautiously.
"Not much is known about Origin, but I've heard that even the recently deceased can be taken as vassals."
(To be continued in the next episode)