Chapter 17《Madness》- (1)
(I)
“Whew…”
As I stepped out of the labyrinth, the dawn greeted me with the slowly rising sun. I inhaled the fresh air, a sensation I hadn’t experienced in a thousand years.
The invigorating energy spread through every part of my body, awakening my mind and heart. Even though my seal had been lifted, I had spent quite some time in the stuffy depths of the labyrinth, making this cool breeze all the more refreshing and a reminder that I was finally free.
“Let’s never meet again.”
I bid farewell to the entrance of the labyrinth.
The labyrinth, standing majestically, remained quiet and dark as ever. Even after my departure, this sinister place would continue to stand still for eternity.
There may come a day when I return, but it certainly wouldn’t be anytime soon. After being trapped here for a thousand years, I had no intention of coming near it for at least another millennium.
“…Let’s move on.”
I turned my back on the labyrinth without any lingering attachment and spoke to Tina and Alfred, who were following me. Tina fiddled with the map of the continent in her hand and asked.
“Master, are we heading straight to Ermaile?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Our first destination was the large city of Ermaile.
Ermaile was the nearest human settlement from the Labyrinth’s Deepest Chamber, and to reach the royal capital where Lilianel Greenfield would be, we needed to use the Teleportation Herb located in the city.
The Teleportation Herb was a device that allowed instant travel to preset coordinates. It had played a crucial role in the game, and surely after a thousand years, its function would still remain intact somewhere in Ermaile.
Using the herb would get us to the capital in less than a minute.
“Hmm…”
…However, the problem was whether or not I would be able to use it.
Considering the fact that an extermination squad had been dispatched to the labyrinth, it was clear that Ermaile was already aware of my unsealing.
In such a situation, the likelihood of them allowing a suspicious wanderer—especially a vampire—to use the Teleportation Herb was very low.
Similarly, entering the city itself could be difficult. Given the state of emergency, it was obvious that they would be conducting thorough identity checks at the gates.
Even with a disguise, unless I removed my fangs and dyed my hair, getting past the guards without revealing my identity was virtually impossible.
“…”
There was the option of sneaking in, but since I had other matters to investigate in Ermaile besides using the Teleportation Herb, achieving my objectives while hiding from everyone’s eyes seemed inconvenient and carried a low probability of success.
…That left me with only one option—a frontal assault.
“Alright.”
There was no need to overthink it. If I simply took over the city by force, everything would be resolved—whether it was gathering information or using the Teleportation Herb.
Besides, they had already sent an extermination squad after me, effectively declaring war. It was time for me to return the favor.
“Tina, Alfred.”
I called for my servants. The faithful zombie maid and vampire butler immediately bowed their heads when their names were spoken.
“Yes, Master.”
“At your service, my lady.”
Smiling at them, I spoke.
“…We’ll probably be quite busy the moment we arrive in the city. Be ready.”
(II)
“It’s big…”
After leaving the labyrinth, we arrived in the large city of Ermaile just as the golden hues of dusk colored the plains. It was evening, a time when the day’s work was ending, and the city’s gate was crowded with people.
Adventurers, merchants, farmers.
People of various occupations were lined up for different reasons, all waiting to enter the city.
The line at the checkpoint reminded me of waiting for a popular amusement park ride. Judging by the length, it would probably take over an hour to get inside the city.
It was bound to be a tiresome wait.
“…”
Seeing the length of the line made me sigh, but I had no intention of queuing up for a checkpoint that I wouldn’t pass through anyway.
“…Let’s go.”
Ignoring the checkpoint line completely, I led Tina and Alfred straight toward the city gate.
—”What the…?”
—”Is she cutting in line?”
—”Hey, lady! Get in line properly!”
…As expected, our actions, which were akin to cutting in line, drew complaints from those waiting. But I didn’t care about the reactions around me and didn’t stop walking.
Skipping hours of waiting to enter the city was bound to attract attention. Naturally, many eyes were drawn to us, and one among the crowd scrutinized our appearance before shouting.
—”Wait a minute, is that… a monster?”
—”A monster? What are you talking about? That’s just a person.”
—”No, look! That girl and that old man—they have fangs sticking out! And that maid has blue skin.”
Like vampires and the undead.
—”Oh, you’re right.”
—”See, I told you.”
—”…Wait.”
—”Hold on, don’t tell me, that’s really…”
…A wave of murmurs swept through the crowd. Then, the screams of those who had figured out our identities filled the air.
—”It’s a-a monster!!”
—”It’s a vampire and an undead!!”
—”Everyone, run!!”
For ordinary NPCs, the presence of vampires and undead was nothing short of a disaster. Being defenseless, encountering such creatures meant certain death.
—”Run! Get out of here!”
—”Forget the goods, just run! Anywhere!”
As soon as they realized who we were, people scattered in every direction, fleeing. The orderly line at the checkpoint disintegrated in an instant, and valuable goods and carts were abandoned on the ground.
—”A vampire and an undead? Do they even know where they are?”
—”Bad luck for them, running into us here.”
—”Huh…?”
However, unlike the merchants and farmers who ran for their lives, a few men were approaching us eagerly instead of fleeing.
—”A mere young vampire? This should be easy.”
—”Looks like she’s fresh—this will be fun.”
“….”
…Some of the adventurers in the crowd, licking their lips and brandishing their weapons, approached us as if they had found some delicious prey.
“Hmph…”
I widened my eyes and stared at them.
If a vampire were to appear in this city now, there should be no one else besides me, the one called the “Progenitor Vampire.” Could it be that these adventurers hadn’t heard the news about me?
Or perhaps they hadn’t been told what I looked like, so they were boldly attacking without realizing who I was?
Or maybe they assumed the extermination squad had already dealt with me, dismissing the possibility of my appearance altogether?
“…Doesn’t matter.”
Several hypotheses crossed my mind, but it didn’t really matter. Whatever they were thinking, it wouldn’t change the outcome they were about to face.
—”Capture them! Aim for their legs!”
—”You handle the undead behind the vampire!”
—”Got it!”
“….”
The adventurers, moving in unison, attacked us. Judging by their coordination, they appeared to be long-time comrades.
From a rough estimate, they seemed to be about B-rank adventurers. Their skills were good enough to handle regular vampires and undead without much trouble.
However, what they failed to realize was that we were far from being considered “regular.”
“Step aside, I’m busy.”
I swung my hand towards the adventurers rushing at me from all sides. Instantly, crimson blades materialized in the air and slashed across the adventurers’ necks, beheading them all at once.
—”Gugh!”
—”Aargh!”
The adventurers, caught mid-charge, fell to the ground with a single scream, their heads rolling across the dirt as they detached from their bodies.
“So bothersome….”
It wasn’t even a skill; a mere casual attack had rendered them all helpless. It was abundantly clear to me that people of this era had grown significantly weaker compared to the past.
—”Aah! Aahhhhh!!”
—”M-monsters killed the adventurers!!”
“….”
Screams pierced the air once again as merchants and farmers who had been cheering for the adventurers witnessed the gruesome scene. They must have been hoping the adventurers would rid them of the monster that was me, but unfortunately, that wasn’t how things played out.
—”No way! She killed over ten adventurers in a single strike…?”
—”How is that even possible? Wait, no… could that girl be the ‘Progenitor Vampire’?!”
“….”
Receiving their terrified stares, I continued to walk toward the city gates. Six soldiers stood guard at the checkpoint ahead, nervously pointing their long spears at us.
—”Get back, foul creatures! This is human territory!”
—”You wretches must have a death wish!”
—”Do you long to feel the sting of our spears?!”
The soldiers, trembling despite their attempts to appear brave, tried to block our entry into the city. They were putting on a bold front, but their shaking hands betrayed their true feelings.
They must have realized who I was.
“Tina.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Instead of stepping forward myself, I simply gestured to Tina. In response, she unsheathed the massive sword slung over her back.
Slowly, she began approaching the soldiers.
—”W-what are you doing?!”
—”S-stay back!”
“…Scram, humans.”
With a single swing of her sword, Tina cleaved through both the soldiers and their spears, slicing them in half. Crimson blood splattered, staining the walls of the checkpoint.
“Good job, Tina.”
I praised her.
Now, nothing stood in our way of entering ‘Ermaile.’ Though the signal flare had been sent and more soldiers would likely swarm toward us soon, I wasn’t concerned.
“…They should’ve made better choices.”
Sending an extermination squad after me was a mistake they’d come to regret.
Anyone who attacks should be prepared to face retaliation, but Ermaile’s lack of readiness had left them vulnerable.
“….”
With Tina and Alfred by my side, I stepped through the gates without a care in the world. In the distance, I could see soldiers rushing toward us, alerted by the commotion.
—”There! The monsters are invading!”
—”Stop them!”
“….”
I stretched out my hand toward the oncoming soldiers and clenched my fist. In an instant, their heads exploded, blood spurting from their helmets as their skulls burst open.
—”Gugh…Aargh!!”
—”Ack!!”
Before they could even get close to us, the soldiers crumpled to the ground, lifeless. The citizens who had been watching from the streets turned pale at the sight.
—”A m-monster!”
—”The monster killed the soldiers!!”
Terrified, the citizens screamed as if the sky were falling and fled in every direction.
“…How disappointing.”
With the soldiers dead and the citizens gone, we were the only ones left near the city gates.
Though there had been a brief clash, we had successfully entered ‘Ermaile.’ Now, all that was left was to gather information and use the ‘Teleportation Herb’ to reach the royal capital.
“Alfred?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Find the ‘Teleportaion Herb’ immediately. Guard it until I arrive.”
I instructed Alfred to locate and secure the ‘Teleportaion Herb’ hidden somewhere in Ermaile.
If the soldiers tampered with it to prevent us from using it, that would cause all sorts of trouble.
“Leave it to me.”
After bowing to me, Alfred transformed into a bat and soared into the sky.
There was no one in this city who could defeat him, so I trusted him fully.
Now, it was just Tina and me left.
“Shall we head to the library?”
With Alfred securing the Teleportaion Herb, it meant I would soon have unrestricted access to it.
With the most pressing issue out of the way, I decided it was time to head to the library with Tina and conduct some research.
There was no better place to reclaim the lost knowledge of the past millennium than among ancient books.
“Let’s go, Tina.”
“Yes!”
In search of the forgotten knowledge of the past thousand years, I took my first steps toward the public library likely located in the center of the territory.
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
-> MAKE ACCOUNT AND GET [50] COINS FREE!!
Rate/Review This Series on NOVEL UPDATES and Help us Grow!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click Here – DISCORD
Comment