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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Total Annihilation (1)
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"The stairs are steep. Be careful."
Serena gripped her long skirt with one hand and the wall with the other as she descended the sharply inclined stairs.
If there were traps on the walls or stairs, it'd be a perfect setup for getting killed.
'In games, stairs without traps are the standard. But in movies, it's standard for a boulder to come rolling down from above or for the stairs to suddenly flatten out.'
Which one would be the standard in this harsh reality!
Thud thud thud. Her heart raced until she stepped onto the final stair—no traps appeared. Serena let out a sigh of relief.
At the bottom of the stairs was a passageway right away. A winding single path stretched out, with no lobby-like space like on the first floor.
"The atmosphere's changed a bit."
"It's dimmer."
The second floor of the Hwaji Labyrinth was darker than the first. It was almost like a night illuminated only by hazy moonlight.
"This here's some pricey stone."
It looked like the interior of a stone building just like the first floor, but unlike the rough stones piled up there, the stones on the second floor were white and smoothly polished.
"It might be slippery, so be careful."
"Yes, Lady Serena."
She hadn't pointed out anyone specifically, but fortunately, the one who needed to hear it responded.
The group alternated glances between the stairs and the corridor before cautiously advancing into the corridor. They'd gone through the trouble of coming down the stairs, and it felt wasteful to head back up empty-handed.
"What I desire is a bright light."
Serena chanted the spell, summoning a light that floated along beside her. The darkness receded, revealing corners and the ground at their feet in clear detail.
"What's that?"
"What's there? My eyes are too dim to see it well."
The white stones made it easy to overlook, but thin, transparent threads were strung across corners and patches of the floor like a web waiting to ensnare prey.
Recognizing the distinctive pattern, Serena identified them immediately.
"Spiderwebs."
Those versed in spiders could supposedly identify the species from the web alone, but no arachnid experts were in the group.
Ralph swept at a spiderweb in the corner with his wooden sword. He touched it, then jumped in surprise.
"It's incredibly sticky. Stepping on it would be dangerous."
"Even spiderwebs are like that?"
Ralph showed his thumb and index finger to the group, stuck together and refusing to come apart. When he pulled harder, they separated, but sticky strands stretched between them like glue.
"Does that mean spiders are around here?"
"Poisonous ones, maybe?"
Spiders that caught prey with webs supposedly didn't have venom—or so the saying went. The fact that it ended with "or so they say" made it clear it was baseless hearsay.
'I've seen spider documentaries, but I don't remember anything.'
Besides, this was a different world, so spider habits might differ. Above all, what emerged from the labyrinth wasn't ordinary arachnids but monsters.
"Let's go just a little farther."
Serena and the group proceeded carefully, avoiding the spiderwebs on the floor. If they accidentally stepped on one, Serena and Philia's shoes would come right off.
Ralph wore sturdy boots, Chrome had her boots, and Lavenda's sandals had straps, so only the two women's shoes flew off easily.
Walking slowly was fine, but losing a shoe mid-run could lead to a fall. Navigating the second floor would require some adjustments.
"We can tie 'em with string. I'll do it when we head back to the first floor."
"While we're at it, I should hem my skirt too. It's too long and getting in the way."
Using a dining knife or carving knife, she could shorten it.
They'd fled the palace in haste and dressed simply enough to move around on the first floor, but if they'd worn their usual outfits, they'd have been in real trouble.
Dainty little slippers, flowing ornate dresses, dazzling jeweled accessories that caught the eye.
A princess's standard gear was optimized for the palace and utterly unsuited for labyrinth exploration.
"The passages are a bit wider than on the first floor."
If the first-floor corridors were wide enough for four adults abreast, the second floor could easily fit seven or eight.
"But the path feels kinda weird, don't it?"
Rather than stretching straight and wide, it twisted diagonally with corners, random protruding walls, and oddly placed pillars everywhere.
These walls and pillars blocked their view and cast shadows by obstructing the light from Serena's orb.
It was the perfect setup for something to leap out from behind a wall or pillar in ambush. And sure enough.
Screee!
"Gah!"
Ralph, leading the way, came under dive-attack from a black mass. Fortunately, he reacted faster than his scream, swatting the assailant away with his wooden sword.
Squish.
The black mass that had attempted the dive was a massive spider. Its chirp-like cry was weirdly cute, making it all the creepier.
Similar in size to a labyrinth rat—in other words, about the size of a small dog—it crouched on the floor, repeatedly contracting and extending the joints of its eight fuzzy legs.
Then suddenly, it splayed all eight legs out and died. Philia staggered at the sight.
"Lavenda, support Countess Landry."
Thanks to Serena's prior instructions, Philia didn't smash her head on the floor.
"Tougher than a labyrinth rat, but not by much."
Ralph examined the labyrinth spider's corpse and pointed to the spot he'd struck with his wooden sword. The head was crushed—it had died in one blow.
Thanks to Ralph's consideration, Serena ended up locking eyes with the dead spider. Its freshly deceased eyes, still gleaming, were huge and clear.
Serena felt like fainting herself. As a reincarnator, she endured with commoner-level mental fortitude.
"Poisonous spider?"
"I don't know. I heard big spiders don't have venom, but..."
This too trailed off with "but...," lacking even a proper conclusion. Pure hearsay.
'Tarantulas have venom, and they're huge.'
Whether tarantulas existed in this world was unknown, but caution was best regardless.
"If it's venomous, it'd be in the fangs, and the spider's fangs are over here..."
"If we don't know, don't touch it. You might get pricked."
"Understood."
As Serena, Ralph, and Chrome murmured over the spider corpse, Philia—who had fainted and come to—furrowed her brow.
"We don't have to eat the spider, do we?"
Philia's pearl-white face grew even paler. Clasping her hands, she pleaded desperately.
"I really hate spiders! I like rats! Let me eat rats! Please let me eat rats!"
Falling into a labyrinth and eating rat meat was horrific enough, but to think there was an even deeper abyss!
Having glimpsed that abyss, Philia's mental strength plummeted. Serena gestured for them to return to the first floor.
They'd identified the monsters lurking on the second floor—that was one gain. And as Philia said, they couldn't eat spiders, so they needed to hunt rats for food.
'Just check what's ahead first.'
Serena sent her light orb forward. She just wanted to see what lay further along the path.
But then.
"What's that!"
"A door!"
It was some distance away and shrouded in shadow, but there was definitely a door. Whether it resembled the one with the boss labyrinth rat or not, it was carved with decorations.
"Looks like the door from the first floor, right?"
"My eyes are too blurry to see well."
"I'll go check."
"I can't send the light that far. I'll have to go too."
If Serena went, Philia would follow, and Ralph couldn't guard them alone, so someone else had to go as well. In the end, they all decided to approach near the door.
"Seems small-scale."
"It might look open, but the path could loop around."
As they walked, the passage widened into a large space. Poor lighting prevented taking it all in at once, but the walls curved gradually.
'Circular?'
Passages opened sporadically along the walls, and in the center stood another massive stone structure. The door was attached to that central structure. Odd pillars were scattered here too.
"Paths everywhere."
"Let's check the door first."
If this door led to the boss room or stairs, there was no need to scout the other paths.
Serena approached the door. Like the boss room door on the first floor, it was engraved with something in relief.
'Kinda similar, kinda different.'
Still crude, it wasn't clear what shape it was meant to depict.
'A rubbing would make it clearer.'
"Think there's a floor boss here too?"
"A boss spider?"
"If it's the boss, it'll be a poisonous one. For sure."
"What should we do, Lady Serena?"
If they were fighting a floor boss, they should prepare first.
"Let's head back for..."
Rumble.
As Serena started to say they should head back, the sound of stones grinding together echoed—from right nearby.
The door the party had been intently observing slid open. It wasn't a push or pull door. It descended downward.
"Who touched the door?"
"No one did!"
"Then why'd it open!"
As the door lowered, the floor boss they'd been curious about revealed itself. Because it opened downward, their eyes met before its full body emerged.
Peekaboo.
The cow played peekaboo. Not with the innocent eyes of a friendly yellow calf. Bloodshot eyes, whites and pupils alike enormous, glared at Serena.
A monster with a cow's head. The group thought of one thing.
"It's a Minotaur!"
"Run!"
Minotaur. Far too powerful for the current party to face, even in death.
The party panicked and bolted, turning tail without a word.
For a brief moment, Serena hoped—like in games—that monsters couldn't leave the boss room.
Snort.
As the door fully lowered, the monster pawed the ground with its hind legs, snorted, and prepared to charge—as if mocking her gaming delusions.
The group sprinted toward the stairs back to the first floor. From here to the stairs was a straight path without corners. A charging Minotaur would bowl them over like pins.
"Scatter! We need to scatter and run!"
The startled party's ears weren't hearing Serena. In the chaos, she grabbed Philia—who was lagging behind slowest—and ran in another direction.
Huff!
'Damn it.'
Scattering raised the party's survival odds, but it also spiked the death chance for whoever got caught.
Once the door was fully open, the cow-headed monster pawed the ground a few times, bellowed, and shot forward like an arrow.
Its target: the nearest ones, Serena and Philia. In a desperate bid for at least one to survive, Serena shoved Philia away.
"Run that way!"
Thankfully, Philia understood Serena's intent and fled in the pushed direction. Maybe she'd even tried to play bait herself, being the slowest.
"Ugh!"
But in her haste, Serena missed a spiderweb on the floor. Her shoe came off, her skirt and bare foot snagged, throwing off her stride. She lost balance and fell.
"Lady Serena!"
Philia, who'd been fleeing another way, rushed back to her.
"You idiot! Run!"
On the ground, vibrations she'd ignored while running grew closer, followed by excruciating pain surging from her lower body.
Impaled by the Minotaur's horn.
Her thigh was pierced, then her belly torn open. The pain was too intense for screams. No—her lungs were punctured, stealing her voice.
'Am I dying like this?'
The vibrations faded. The Minotaur was off chasing other prey. Philia, who'd been close, lay collapsed nearby—horned at some point.
Her dreamlike silver hair stained red with blood. The pale maid sunk in a pool of crimson, eyes closed, was beautifully painterly.
'After all that. Reborn as a princess. Didn't even live much. Dying like this?'
It was heartbreaking, but her consciousness faded. The sorrow, resentment, rage, grief—if they vanished with death, it was too tragic.
With death looming, fear gripped her.
She'd experienced it once, remembered it, yet it was still death. What all mortals dread, avoid, revere, despise, but ultimately embrace.
'What will I be reborn as next? A princess again would be nice.'
No. Princesses had too many duties unexpectedly. Better as a rich merchant's daughter. She could spend freely—even if the family wasn't harmonious.
'Anyway... harmonious family... I wouldn't know...'
Serena closed her eyes.
