Chapter 127

Chapter 127

“One day, I was so exhausted from this never-ending penance that I struck my own head. I distinctly remember doing so.”

What kind of ridiculous statement was that?

It looked like Toki was confused as well.

Toki, who had been acting normal this entire time, spoke about strange things after waking up from his nightmare.

“I was sure everything ended after that, but... the next day began as if nothing had happened. So, I struck my head again on that day too. Yet once again, the next day began.”

“Did you... continue to kill yourself like that?”

“I wasn’t sure whether I thought I was dead or if I was really dead. But one day... I had a dream. Someone who had turned their back on me was scolding me.”

Toki began mimicking someone.

- You fool, you stupid fool!

“When I heard that, I shouted out in anger. Why?! Why did I have to come to a place like this?! Why?! Why must I endure a life more difficult than others?! I... I... I can’t hold on anymore.”

Toki murmured to himself.

"Oh God, the pain is unbearable. But then, that guy responded to me like this.”

- One day, you will understand the reason behind all of this. The reason it had to be you. The reason you must endure this painful, never-ending trial.

Seol gritted his teeth.

Right now, it didn’t matter who it was that appeared in Toki’s dream.

It could simply be a hallucination born from Toki's pain, or it might truly be a divine god.

‘...It’s me. The person who left him here... is me. I...’

But one thing was certain, Seol was his god.

Toki’s god was Seol.

‘I am his god, and the cruel fate he condemned.’

And for that reason, Seol had to simply shoulder his guilt.

Seol was filled with an emotion that he couldn’t describe.

Toki continued talking.

“I held on... believing those words. And I still do now.”

“Then, Toki, are you... one of the ghosts of the labyrinth?”

“You know about them?”

“I’ve run into them before.”

"They are fugitives of the labyrinth. As the labyrinth eats away at you, you come to understand that it is, in fact, alive. After utterly shattering the mind of the flagellant, the labyrinth reaps them. These fugitives elude the labyrinth's eyes because they wish to avoid such a fate."

“Then how are you...”

"I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I died, and my mind broke down. Even if I want to see the end... for some reason, I can’t anymore."

With that, Toki finished.

Even though this was supposed to be a time to spill one’s heart, this time only served to prove how exhausted they were from the penance and the labyrinth.

It felt as if their search would only continue, never-ending, filling their hearts with tension, much like standing on a shaky bridge.

However, change can always come suddenly. An incident occurred that turned their tiresome journey on its head.

* * *

It had been a few days since that talk. The two of them were wandering through the desert.

Sniff... Sniff...

“Huh? Chubs? What’s wrong?”

Snort!

Chubs began hopping around, squealing with fear. Toki, upon seeing what had shocked Chubs, joined in with a shout.

“Damn it...”

Fwoooooosh...

“It’s a sandstorm! Run, Chubs!”

Snort! Snort, snort!

While searching for the door, Seol and Toki had run into a sandstorm. The swirling sands approached them relentlessly, and as the storm closed in, the pair was enveloped by despair.

‘We can’t avoid this!’

Fwooooooooooosh!

The sandstorm, faster than a human could run, swept everything up and sliced through the desert.

Of course, it had also swept up Seol and Toki.

* * *

Seol felt the gritty sand in his mouth.

He felt the thirst he had been holding back.

Seol looked around, still covered in sand.

“......”

Nothing. There was nothing.

Nothing but sand.

What happened to Toki?

Negative thoughts rushed to Seol's head. The dark, awful thoughts in his heart began creeping up.

‘Did... Did you die, Toki?’

Seol’s Mental Contamination rapidly increased.

“Haaah... Haaaah...”

He couldn’t even breathe properly.

[Your Mental Contamination has reached 75.]

No, he didn’t want to be alone.

“Is... Is there anyone out there?”

[Your Mental Contamination has reached 78.]

Please don’t leave me alone in this desert.

“Toki! Toki! Nooooo!”

[Your Mental Contamination has reached 82.]

Seol sprinted through the desert like mad.

However, Seol was now beginning to experience hallucinations as well, so even he was uncertain whether he was currently sprinting through the desert.U//ppTodated fr/o/m nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)\/m

“Am I... alone now...”

[Your Mental Contamination has reached 85.]

[The labyrinth senses your Mental Contamination.]

I can’t do anything alone.

Did I fail?

“I can’t do it... I know... that I can never do it on my own...”

[Your Mental Contamination has reached 90.]

Yeah, let’s... let’s just give up.

Seol accepted his failure. He made a decision that he would never do originally.

The labyrinth was on the verge of breaking down his mind to the point of no return.

But then, Seol felt something wrap around his body. It pulled him out of the sand.

Grab.

“Krgh...”

“Wake up!”

“Kghh... Krg...”

“Breathe! Breathe, you bastard!”

“Haaah... Haaah... Who...”

“Haah... Haah... Didn’t you say you wouldn’t lose to the labyrinth? Look at me! Do you recognize me?”

Seol’s dull gaze lazily focused in.

He saw Toki, smiling like always.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

Seol’s Mental Contamination stopped climbing up after seeing his smile.

“Toki...”

“It seems like the labyrinth has contaminated your mind a lot. The labyrinth was about to swallow you up, y’know? You need to hurry up and get out of here.”

“But there’s no door...”

Seol really did love Toki dearly.

Creaaaaak...

Thud!

The door closed.

* * *

Translator - goguma

Proofreader - Karane

* * *

“Haaah... Haaah...”

“Hyung... I was just trying to help you... Hyung...”

“Krgh... Krah...”

The labyrinth’s final gate.

No one was seated in their chairs, but that didn't necessarily mean everyone was standing up, either.

Changsik looked down at Jaeho, who had Changsik’s sword embedded in his stomach.

As Seol was going through the difficult trial in the desert, they too were faced with a difficult trial.

“Why... did you do that to Taegyu...”

Taegyu was far from average after making it through the Penance of Pain. He was gasping for air with his chest caved in. It didn't take long for him to breathe his last breath.

“Hahaha... It’s because... he was trying to stab m—”

Jaeho, who made it through the Penance of Doubts, also breathed his last.

Changsik was concerned when Jaeho hesitated to disclose his Mental Contamination value, but he never expected Jaeho to strike a fellow party member.

“Urgh...”

What does it feel like to take the life of a close friend?

If there was a devil, he would have surely asked Changsik that question.

“Arghhh!”

[Your Mental Contamination has reached 77.]

Changsik writhed in pain, grabbing his head with both of his hands. It was clear that if his Mental Contamination increased any further from here, he would also meet a similar fate.

But then... a loud sound came from the door behind him.

“Guaaaaaargh!”

Thuuuud!

Something had slipped out from the door.

‘Did we fail?’

Fwirl!

Changsik cried as the soul was sucked into the statue’s lamp.

“What... What am I supposed to do now...? Wh-what am I supposed to do alone...”

Changsik was in a panic, thinking that the soul had belonged to Seol.

However, there was something that Changsik had missed.

“Cough...”

“...Huh?”

“Krgh... Krg...”

Seol heaved after he made it through the door, unable to recover from the shock.

“D-Did you succeed?!”

Seol then saw a few messages.

[You have overcome Patience.]

[Patience disappears from the Labyrinth of Penance.]

[Mental Contamination: 91/100]

Changsik quickly ran toward Seol and supported him.

“Is it finally over? Can we... Can we escape this hell?”

Seol sat down in the chair and slowly lifted his head.

“No... not yet.”

“...What?”

“We still have the final Gate left...”

Seol gathered his breath and looked around him.

‘A fight waits for you at the end of the labyrinth.’

It was a fight with a strange wooden doll.

When he cleared this Gate as the Blood Saint, he cleared it without much difficulty.

In fact, it was the easiest Gate for Seol to clear.

And then...

Hum....!

The statues began to quiver.

Their eyes began to glow red as they spat out some yarn-like thing.

[You begin the Final Penance.]

“...What is that? A doll?”

The mysterious energy began to create something, resembling a doll.

The creation had an appearance akin to a wooden doll, with distinctly unnatural joints.

The doll, which had formed in the square space between Seol and the statues, stood still as if it had no soul.

Everything up to this point was exactly as Seol remembered it. This also meant that Seol had practically cleared the labyrinth already.

However... nothing had ever gone the way Seol planned.

[The division of pain begins.]

[You must defeat the pain recorded within the labyrinth.]

Fwooosh...

Something slipped out from the statues’ eyes.

It slowly, carefully moved forward before falling onto the doll.

Click.

The doll began moving. Rattling as it began to stand up.

Seol knew many secrets about the Labyrinth of Penance, but there were still things that even he did not know.

What happens to you after your soul is harvested? What is the labyrinth’s purpose? Why did the Penance of Pain feel different from the other Penances?

Seol then began recalling a conversation he had with Toki.

- Do you perhaps... know anything about the Penance of Pain?

Toki hesitated for a moment before telling Seol this.

- You’ll learn it naturally once you reach the end of the labyrinth. Nothing good will happen from learning about it right now. Rather, you’ll just... break down.

Seol now perfectly understood why Toki had told him that.

“Why... Why did it have to be...”

[Defeat Record of Pain: Finn Modria.]

[Record of Pain: Finn Modria maintains only 20% of its original strength.]

The labyrinth, through the Penance of Pain, recorded the flagellant’s strength. All in order to face the next flagellants.

Creak...

The soul doll creaked its neck.

A red light shone from its body.

Shiiiiine!

Fwooosh...

[Record of Pain: Finn Modria used Vigorous Flow.]

[The weakening effect is greatly reduced.]

[Record of Pain: Finn Modria maintains only 25% of its original strength.]

Seol looked at the soul doll.

Finn Modria.

He was one of Seol’s pieces who challenged Ascension.

“...Why did it have to be you?”

At the end of the labyrinth, Seol confronted the prints left behind by the Blood Saint.