Chapter 169

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The large canopy bed and ornate dressing table indicate that this was a woman’s private space.

I must have inadvertently entered Anaxia’s bedroom.

The current room owner was busy impersonating me, so I had some time to look around the room.

While the walls of the hallway were obsessively covered with mirrors, the mirrors in the bedroom were surprisingly sparse. One of the few that caught my eye was the mirror on the dressing table.

“......”

My eyes locked onto the surface and my feet were drawn closer of their own accord.

What the mirror reflected was a place that resembled a shrine floating in the night sky.

In the center of it all was Reed, buried in a chair with his eyelids tightly closed.

Is it because the screen was extremely static? It was like seeing the idol of chaotic evil being worshiped at the top of a King Demon Hall.

There was no need to glorify or deify it. A work of art sculpted by a craftsman who sold his soul to the devil and gave his all could not be more perfect than this.

<It’s the same as what we saw in the other mirror earlier.>

It was the mirror I saw before the structure of the castle changed suddenly. Only the color of the sky was different from the scene I saw there.

That means......

“This mirror seems to reflect reality, not fantasy.”

<A real Reed? Where is he?>

“Probably somewhere in the Castle of Mirrors. How else would Anaxia dare to sneak a peek at ‘Newborn Chaos and Evil’?”

<Oh, my God. Is Reed here?>

“Reed is the one who planned this royal kidnapping in the first place, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s somewhere in the Castle of Mirrors.”

I answered calmly, but it wasn’t the same for my heart.

For now, Reed showed no sign of making a move himself. He would only watch the world with dead eyes from behind a black curtain with his puppet, Anaxia Pelhemstein, in tow.

But what if I mess up his plan?

The original work does not have an answer to this question. This is the world of the original that has already been twisted beyond discretion.

The time I spent glaring at Reed through the mirror on the dressing table became longer.ÚpTodated novels on no(v)el()bin(.)com

<But Ellet.>

“Yes.”

<This mirror, you can see the other side from this side, right? Wouldn’t the other side be able to see us too?>

“Agnes, of course, only from this side......”

But I couldn’t finish my sentence.

Reed, who looked like a corrupted celestial statue, stirred.

His long black eyelashes fluttered and his eyelids rose slowly. The moment his blood-red eyes emerged from the darkness, I held a small gasp.

“......”

“......”

I felt like my gaze and his were connected across space. I forgot to breathe, forgot to blink, and could only hold his gaze.

“There’s a rat in the castle.”

“......!”

The voice from inside the mirror pierced my ears. At the same time, his hand reached out like a claw into my field of vision.

Stunned, I reflexively took a step back.

Kwasik. Kwazijic.

Sharp cracks began to spread across the mirror in the dressing table.

I knew it intuitively. The moment this mirror breaks, Reed will also be able to see me.

It was a situation in which I had already become painfully aware that neither of us could be persuaded or compromise with each other. A direct confrontation between me and Reed will only accelerate the catastrophe.

So for now.

‘Let’s not face each other.’

I put my hand on the shattering mirror, just as he put his hand on the glass between us.

“Holy darkness.”

I cast the skill I obtained after catching the Kraken in the Sea of Flood.

Shaaaa......

At that time, a party of six people made of members from the Kingdom’s Army and the Magic Army were also in an uproar after experiencing a sudden change in the structure of the castle.

Grurururu!

The wall that had suddenly come down split the group in half, three by three.

One side consisted of Morifis, Romina, and Odellit, and the other side consisted of Frintz, Raywin, and Hilde.

It was not enough to be separated by a partition wall, the two teams had to move vertically away from each other because the floor of one side dipped downward and the floor of the other rose upward, like a gondola suspended on either side of a pulley.

“Oh, my.”

“Ugh.”

“Aaaah!”

“Uh-oh!”

Most of them were trained knights, so they only let out restrained groans. The screams belonged to Hilde and Morifis.

The tail of screams grew increasingly distant letting them know that the distance between the two teams was rapidly increasing.

When the castle’s structural changes were completed, the two teams were separated by at least 10 floors and could not even hear each other’s voices.

It was a complete separation.

First, the situation on the side with Romina, Morifis, and Odellit was as follows.

“Oh, ouch, ouch......”

Morifis made a pained sound as he patted his buttocks. In fact, he was physically fine because he defended himself with an ultimate barrier magic.

However, there was a minor problem.

“Oh, my, it’s wet.”

“That’s right. There was water pooling at the bottom.”

Odellit helped her ancestors up from the shallow water.

“This place is......”

Romina, who landed beautifully, was already exploring the surroundings.

The place where they fell through because of the moving floor was a huge, octagon-shaped cavity.

There was no entrance and all sides were sealed with grates. The floor was filled with ankle-deep water as if it were in contact with an underground waterway.

“I don’t know what this place is for. But seems too big for a prison.”

“It looks like a prison for demonic beasts.”

As soon as Romina and Morifis said a word.

<Must be the new prisoner slaves. It’s been a while since I had anyone to educate.>

An eerie voice echoed from the ceiling.

The bronze relief of a man with a cow’s head, which was thought to be only a huge decoration, was talking.

Romina muttered as she loaded her sword with aura.

“It’s one unlucky fiend.”

Up until this point, everyone had been thinking the same thing.

That large minotaur bronze relief looked at best like an S-class boss.

As he faced a party with an Aura Master and an 8th Circle Archmage, his future was clear.

The three of them stood in combat formation without a hint of tension.

However, the minotaur bronze relief, who was both the Chief Jailer and the Slave Guard, laughed at them.

<There is no point in resisting. Your fate was decided the moment you set foot in this place.>

“......!”

Suddenly, a whirlpool began to swirl on the surface of the water that was reflecting the three people’s image.

Only then did Odellit, Morifis, and Romina realize the gravity of the situation.

Their bodies were being sucked into the world of the water’s surface.

Dungeon rules have a strong coercive power and in front of it, an Aura Master and an 8th Circle Archmage were helpless.

“Oh my, my body......!”

“It’s sinking!”

“Ancestor, please do something!”

The Minotaur grinned and decided on their course.

<I guess I can send the two strongest into the Mirror of the Labyrinth to break their spirits and send the weakest girl straight to the lumber yard! Now go to work! You shall be reborn as a slave of the great Anaxia!>

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