When I was a kid, I used to catch bugs with my bare hands.
I’d smack them against the wall with my palm, twist to finish them off, then run to the bathroom, flush the bug down the toilet, and wash my hands.
Later on, I started using tissue because it felt a little gross...
But the thod hasn’t really changed.
I’m just using a shield instead of tissue this ti.
Crunch.
Apply pressure.
“Urgh...!”
Then twist and crush.
Crack—
The key is getting the twist-crush part right.
If you ss that up, the bug might escape.
Sllrp.
As I slowly lowered the shield pressed tight against the wall, a half-flattened woman slumped to the ground.
“Good. She’s not dead.”
I muttered while looking down at her, and Raven, who ca trotting over, added:
“She probably will be if we leave her like that.”
“Parab! Co heal her.”
No need to waste money on a potion, so I called over our clan’s only cleric to cast so healing spells.
Of course, we triple-bound her even during treatnt, just in case she tried to escape.
Stripped her of all equipnt, tied up her arms and legs, laid her on her stomach, and gently pressed my foot down on her back to keep her pinned—
“......”
Not exactly a good look, but what can you do.
Barbarians pursue true gender equality.
Actually, not just barbarians—this whole world does.
Whether man or woman, if you do dirty work, you pay for it.
“Awake already.”
As I muttered while watching her lie there like she was unconscious, the woman responded imdiately.
Well, calling it a “response” might be a stretch.
“...Kill . I acted alone.”
That surprised .
Didn’t expect her to say that right after waking up.
Kaislan scoffed.
“Does she think she’s so kind of Rose Knight?”
Totally unexpected.
She wasn’t so royal soldier brainwashed through high-intensity training—just a regular clan mber.
“What makes you so loyal to Gold-Ear?”
“...Like I said, I acted alone.”
“Sigh, this one’s a pain.”
I let out a long sigh and tried again.
“What’s Gold-Ear’s goal?”
“As I said—”
“Then what was your goal?”
“...Just kill .”
“What, did he take your family hostage or sothing?”
At that, her shoulder twitched slightly.
'Seriously? That was a random guess...'
Gold-Ear, what the hell are you doing behind the scenes?
I couldn’t say for sure, but this woman was clearly different from those brainwashed royal soldiers.
Which ant... she could be swayed.
“You reacted to ‘family,’ so you must owe a debt, huh? If you die, they’ll co after your family for it. And then what, they can’t pay taxes and end up dead too?”
She twitched again.
That made it easier.
“I swear on my honor and na as a warrior—if you speak the truth, I’ll do everything I can to help you.”
“.......”
“The mont we return to the city, we’ll protect your family. If you want, I’ll even take them as our vassals.”
She went silent for a long ti, and I patiently gave her ti to think.
But...
“...Kill .”
The sa reply.
Again.
It made no sense.
With the weight my na carries, no matter what Gold-Ear threatened her with, wouldn’t it be more rational to switch sides?
'What the hell did that bastard do to make her like this?'
At least she wasn’t good at lying.
Her thoughts were written all over her face.
Then again, managing your expression when death is staring you down isn’t exactly easy.
“Is Gold-Ear still on this island?”
Twitch.
“Did he send you here to kill us?”
No response.
“Hmm, if that’s not it, then... maybe just to observe.”
Twitch.
“So he must’ve thought we weren’t here just to hunt the Skull King.”
Twitch.
“If he caught on, it was probably then...”
“......”
“When he offered us early access in exchange for handing over Avman Urikfrit. That’s when he probably realized we weren’t after the Skull King. Guess he got curious what we were really after.”
At that, she flinched as if stung, then closed her eyes in surrender.
She’d shut off all communication herself—
“Raven.”
“Yes?”
“Block her hearing. We need to talk.”
“Give a second.”
Raven cast a spell to cut off her ability to hear, and our discussion began.
“Speak freely,” I said. Misha spoke first.
“I don’t think she ant to harm us. Probably just trying to figure out what we’re hiding.”
I agreed.
Killing a noble is a huge cri, and there were 90 witnesses. No way to cover it up.
Even if they did manage to kill us all, Gold-Ear would be left with a massive ticking ti bomb around his neck.
“Cunning bastard.”
“No hard evidence. Even if we reported him back in the city, nothing would happen to him.”
“So what about her? She clearly has her reasons, but the labyrinth isn’t exactly a place for rcy, is it?”
Yeah, true.
I had no intention of just letting her go.
Whatever her reasons, she tried to harm us—and from that mont, we owed her nothing. Not even moral restraint.
Right. So...
“Lend that.”
I borrowed Alia’s dagger and drove it into her heart in one clean motion.
Shhk—!
No sound, no sight. Just a swift, silent death.
“...You can release the voice seal now.”
That’s the only rcy the labyrinth allows.
***
“So what now?”
That question gave pause.
“Obviously we should confront them! Secretly tailing other explorers in a labyrinth is grounds for imdiate execution!”
“And you think he’ll admit it?”
“If not, we’ll make him!”
Elwen, uncharacteristically aggressive, raised her voice. Misha cautiously countered.
“Still... shouldn’t we focus on our own objective first? We can deal with them later, once we’re back in the city...”
“...Why?”
“There’s ninety of them. Handling it ourselves is way too risky.”
The Guildmaster agreed.
“There are rumors about Gold-Ear—that he controls his mbers by holding their weaknesses hostage. If even half of that is true, this is nothing like the clan we t on the fifth floor. They’ll fight to the death.”
He’s probably right.
Just look at this woman.
Even after I offered her multiple outs, she chose to stay silent.
'Sa with Bear-Old-Man...'
I never learned his circumstances, but he also refused to ask for help.
And now imagine fighting a whole clan of people like that?
There’d definitely be casualties—big or small.
But...
'Still, it bothers to just ignore it and keep moving until we’re back in the city...'
As I wrestled with the thought, Alia spoke up.
“I’ll stay behind and keep watch.”
“Huh?”
“They don’t know we captured this woman. They’ll still be waiting. I’ll monitor them while the rest of you continue deeper.”
“...It might be dangerous.”
“It’s fine. I’ve got this.”
She grabbed one of the looted items.
'No. 16 – Ebony Emblem.'
When # Nоvеlight # equipped, it massively boosts stealth skills.
That’s how they avoided the detection spell at the entrance—and even Beleg didn’t sense a rat tailing us.
'Yeah, if Alia’s wearing that, she’ll be nearly undetectable...'
Still, I hesitated. Alia walked up to .
Then—
“I’ll admit, it’s kinda nice being worried about.”
She clasped my hand.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
“...Okay.”
And before I could say another word, she let go and vanished from sight.
I didn’t hear her footsteps—but I knew.
She was already sprinting toward the cave entrance.
“Phew...”
As I sighed and looked down the opposite corridor, I felt eyes on .
“...Why are you all staring?”
Kaislan answered for the group.
“You seriously don’t know?”
“......”
“Whatever. Just don’t do that kind of thing in front of us. Do it when you’re alone with her. I’m getting goosebumps.”
“Goosebumps?”
“...Forget it.”
Totally unfair.
'...I didn’t even do anything.'
I just value my comrades.
***
After Alia left to observe the Golden Tree Clan, we resud our interrupted exploration.
We’d wandered off course to trap a rat, but...
The entrance was actually nearby.
“...This is the entrance? Looks the sa as the rest.”
After a short hallway past the fork, we arrived at a dead end.
But there was a difference.
'Looks the sa? The torches on the wall number exactly forty-four.'
Like the Crystal Caves on the first floor, the structure of the Skull Island cave changes slightly each run—except for one constant.
Wherever there are forty-four wall-mounted torches, that’s where the next stage entrance lies.
You still have to et specific conditions to open it, though.
Anyway.
“Adnus. Touch the wall.”
The Guildmaster, who’s been fulfilling a very important role this whole dungeon, approached the wall. A faint tremor followed, and the wall slid open.
At the sa ti—
「The Cursed One has discovered a mory of the End.」
「A fragnt of a long story has been completed.」
A portal shimred into view.
Unlike the usual blue Dinsional Monoliths, this one was blood-red—like it was dyed in actual blood.
Whooooooom—!
I looked at it and took a deep breath.
'So it’s finally co to this.'
Even with all the planning and prep, stepping through still gave pause.
But...
'Well, what choice do I have.'
Gotta go in.
Three graduation Essences await in there—ones I could give to my teammates.
「Character has entered the mory of the End.」
How many will I get?
No way to know—but sothing suddenly popped into my mind.
“Adnus, what’s that Gold-Ear guy’s real na?”
“...You didn’t know?”
“Would I ask if I did?”
“Didn’t he introduce himself back then? Bill Ironred.”
Oh, right.
If I forgot that easily, it must not have been that na.
I probably asked for no reason—
—or so I thought.
“But, if I rember right, I heard he changed his na once.”
What?
“...............What was it before?”
“Hmm, that I don’t know. It was before he got famous. He said everything started going his way after the na change.”
“...Really?”
“Yeah. He said the old na was too common—that’s why he changed it.”
And that’s when my heart started pounding.
Not in a good way.
“‘Too common’...?”
Just those two words made my chest tighten.
“...So what? Is sothing wrong?”
Please... tell this is nothing.
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