Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 75: Labyrinth Exploration

Chapter 75: Labyrinth Exploration

As soon as the next day arrived, marking the fifth day since his arrival in the Shadow Realm, Klaus equipped with his backpack, moved close to the edges of the structure and looked outward toward the hill that the demoness, Briar, had described using his binoculars.

According to Briar, there had been a sudden flare of light from that hill, perhaps seven kilometers away. Many ideas came to his mind as he reviewed the situation more thoroughly.

After a bit of thinking, two important questions arose.

To begin with — would they be able to navigate the labyrinth and cover that distance before nightfall? Furthermore, should they even attempt to do so? All things considered, there was no indication that the source of the mysterious light was something beneficial rather than horrifying and deadly.

Given their circumstances and the nature of this strange, sunless void, they couldn’t afford to waste time on any fruitless journey. If they encountered other humans, Briar would have to use her [Disguise] trait to alter her appearance. Unlike her Mysticism Ability [Mind Control], which consumed energy, [Disguise] allowed her to maintain a human form indefinitely. However, the real concern wasn’t her ability to blend in, but the intentions of those so-called humans residing there.

Contrary to popular belief, not all humans in the Shadow Realm could be trusted. Some were driven by selfish desires and insatiable greed. In desperate situations, they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice their own teammates to save themselves. People like that were called ’Geckos.’

As the old saying goes, a gecko wouldn’t hesitate to cut off its own tail to preserve its life.

Of course, this was just the possibility that the source of the mysterious light was human. What if it was a trap set by an unknown abomination? In a situation where they couldn’t determine the rank of such a dwelling Creature, rushing in without careful thought would be nothing short of foolish. How could they explore the sunless void when they’re dead?

Whatever the case, they didn’t have the necessary information to make a choice. Reaching this conclusion, Klaus sighed and lowered his binoculars. Seizing the opportunity, he made sure to use the binoculars to examine the surrounding terrain.

Truth be told, there was no real reason for them to leave this mountain-like structure. They were safe here, and the Blackmane Stalker that Briar had tamed could easily hunt down one or two Chitinous Scavengers, which they could then dissect and use as food.

So why would they want to head somewhere else?

There was a simple answer to this. Their current living situation might be stable for now, but that could change at any moment if they were suddenly discovered or caught off guard. To prevent that ominous possibility, they needed to leave their comfort zone and find a more secure location that could accommodate both of them.

However, finding such a place would take an unnecessary amount of time, especially when they had no clear destination. Therefore, Klaus had to do some scouting, mapping out the terrain and identifying the kind of creatures that roamed the dry lands below.

’Huh... What is that?’

Noticing something at the other end of the binoculars, Klaus squinted his eyes and focused his gaze.

There, the corpse of a massive creature came into view. But something was strange. Normally, in the dry lands of Earth, land animals would be abundant. This was simply common sense, and that same logic should apply to this sunless void. However, this creature lacked the characteristics of a land dweller. No, no, no... that wasn’t the case at all.

It bore the features of a giant sea creature. To be more specific, it was a towering whale’s carcass.

Confused, he rubbed his eyes, thinking it was an illusion. But the creature was truly there. What the hell? What was a whale-like being doing on dry land?

Glancing around, he confirmed there was no body of water in sight. There was no way it could have been carried here by water currents. So he wondered how that creature could have gotten there. Could it have fallen from the sky?

No, that was just stupid. He had already seen that ’movie’. Additionally, that dead creature resembled a demonic whale, not a shark.

Shaking off that ridiculous thought, he refocused his attention on the creature. It lay on its side, with its massive body crushing the surrounding coral pillars, leaving them shattered and broken.

The monstrous sea creature’s abdomen had been torn wide open, its grotesque innards spilling out from the gaping wound, stretching far into the distance like a trail of ruin. A gruesome display of carnage, as if something had feasted upon its insides and left only the remnants to rot in the barren landscape.

Still looking there, he began to see multiple small creatures gathering around the slain beast, tearing away and devouring its flesh bit by bit. They were a massive group of Chitinous Scavengers who had seized the opportunity to devour another predator’s leftover.

That was like when vultures swarmed over a lion’s abandoned kill and stripped the carcass down to the bone. The same was happening there.

At the moment, they were all using their massive pincers to rip chunks of flesh from the decaying corpse, greedily stuffing the meat into their mandibles. Every now and then, a fight would break out over an especially desirable piece of meat, resulting in a few unlucky scavengers being torn apart only to be swiftly consumed by their own brethen.

To Klaus, this made no sense. The dead, demonic-like sea creature was at least thirty meters long. If those little guys gathered around and ate from different parts, then the creature would have enough meat to satisfy of them.

Only a little bit of patience could have solved their pointless scuffle. But was he really expecting Shadow Creatures to be orderly and say "Excuse me please!"

It was ridiculous. No, even more ridiculous that a creature of that size should have been at the top of the food chain, yet something had not only killed it but also eviscerated it in such a brutal fashion. No. If something could take down a monster of this size, then it meant that whatever did this was still out there.

Klaus swallowed.

’Heh. That’s definitely something to think about. As expected, my luck is trash.’

Was this effect of his divine name [Soulless]? Thinking about it, wouldn’t it be called [Fateless] if that was the case?

In any case, he had shitty luck.

’Guess I don’t have to question why the labyrinth is so empty. All the inhabitants are busy gorging each other.’

Moments later, after informing Briar about the current situation, they decided to take advantage of the opportunity and explore the labyrinth firsthand.

Thus, they began their descent the next morning. They waited for the right moment, observing as the ravenous creatures returned to the carcass, with a few lingering stragglers trailing behind.

Following that, the Blackmane stalker climbed down the mountain, while Briar carried him and glided downward with her bat-like wings. Apparently, having a demoness as a partner meant you could ’fly.’ Well, not exactly, since she was the one doing all the work. Given her naturally weak physique, even carrying him proved to be a struggle.

He couldn’t help but wonder how she had managed to haul him around for four days while searching for a safe spot in the sunless void.

As soon as their feet finally touched the ground, they wasted no time and started moving.

The mud below was thick enough to hinder his movements but not as much as he had initially feared. Once he adjusted to its dense, sticky texture, Klaus managed to move across it without making any squelching noises. Briar, on the other hand, was unwilling to set foot on the ground and opted to ride on the Blackmane Stalker’s back instead.

Actually, that was a pretty good idea. Why didn’t he think of that?

Feeling a pang of jealousy, Klaus grumbled under his breath and clicked his tongue before continuing his careful strode with the Stalker and Briar lagging close behind.

Heading straight, they entered the starting point of the black labyrinth. Immediately, the obsidian walls loomed over then, with their uneven surfaces absorbing what little light existed in this realm. The narrow pathways twisted and turned unpredictably, as if deliberately designed to disorient any intruder.

’Well, the entire place seems endless. Is that really the case?’ he thought, becoming observant.

Logically, if there was a starting point, then there had to be an end. Or at least some destination hidden within the countless winding paths. With that thought in mind, he began to closely examine the labyrinth’s interior, take note of every detail and map the layout.

In doing so, he noticed the composition of the terrain and the unsettling number of unidentifiable bones buried within the mud. From the sensation beneath his foot alone, it was clear these remains belonged to unknown creatures that had perished in this labyrinth of a dead world.

Inadvertently, Klaus recalled the corpse of the demonic, whale-like creature. In a land-dominated environment, the presence of such a sea-dwelling beast was far more strange and troubling than he had initially imagined.

How had it ended up on dry land? More importantly, what kind of entity had the power to slay such a monstrous being? He already had a suspicion, and he didn’t like it one bit.

Swallowing dryly, he tightened his grip on the broken sword and pressed forward, suppressing the uneasy feeling creeping up his chest.

As far as exploration went, it could be said that they were moving at a steady pace, he supposed. This was like this because they still had to backtrack a considerable distance once or twice, either ending up at a dead end or following a path that led them in the wrong direction.

Despite that, their progress was relatively smooth.

Truthfully speaking, taking those wrong paths had actually helped Klaus significantly in his goal to map out the labyrinth’s layout. In other words, if they had to explore the black labyrinth again, they wouldn’t make the same mistakes twice.

Time ticked by. Hours passed.

Glancing upward, he noticed the gray sky darkening and frowned. It was an unmistakable sign that night was about to fall. But that was odd. They should have had more time before nightfall.

’That’s strange. I guess we have to head back.’

Fortunately, he had made considerable progress in mapping the labyrinth. If they repeated this process two or more times, and compared it with the drawing he made on top the mountain, he would have a solid map.

Satisfied with his progress, Klaus glanced back at Briar, who was still perched on the Blackmane Stalker’s back.

"We’re done for the day. Let’s head back."

"Is that so? Then let’s hunt something for lunch. One of those Chitinous Scavengers will suffice."

"You have really taken a liking to those things, huh?"

"What? It’s not that there’s anything else to eat."

"Of course, I understand that much. I’m also feeling a bit hungry too. Let’s head this way and see."

With that, Klaus and Briar, accompanied by the Awakened Ghoul, navigated the labyrinth in search of their so-called ’lunch.’ Before long, they found their target.

A short distance ahead, past a few winding turns, the coral walls opened into a small clearing. At its center, a lone Chitinous Scavenger limped through the mud, its body marred by gruesome injuries.

Was ’gruesome’ the appropriate word here? The monster was in a pretty bad state; for one, the demonic crab-like creature was missing one of its enormous pincers, which seemed to have been eaten off from the shoulder.

More than that, deep gashes marred its tough exoskeleton, oozing a thick, black substance that mixed with the damp earth beneath it. One of its remaining legs twitched sporadically and struggled to keep the creature upright as it dragged itself forward, leaving a slick trail of ichor in its wake.

No matter how he looked at it, the creature was on the brink of death. Even so, despite its ghastly wounds, it clung to life with stubborn persistence.

Klaus narrowed his eyes, watching the scavenger’s sluggish movements.

"That thing is barely holding on."

"Which makes it easy prey," saying so, Briar licked her lips with hungry eyes. She hopped off the Blackmane Stalker’s back and stretched her small bat wings before cracking her knuckles.

"Shall we?"

Klaus didn’t answer right away. Something about this felt... off.

His eyes scanned the creature more thoroughly. Upon closer inspection, the wounds on the scavenger looked quite fresh. Meaning, it had just been involved with a battle recently, perhaps a few minutes ago.

But what had done this to it? The answer came moments later.

In an instant, accompanied by the swift squelch of footsteps against the mud, two figures lunged forward. Before the half-dead Scavenger could react, its remaining pincer was severed by a spear, while a silver blade sliced clean through its legs, cutting off any chance of escape.

A final, crushing blow struck its head, silencing it instantly. The creature’s body twitched for a few seconds before going completely still.

Just like that, the monstrosity was slain in five seconds.

Klaus blinked.

The first thing that entered his vision was pale skin on both sides; one belonging to a tall, lithe girl wielding a silver longsword, the other to a dirty-blond boy gripping a spear. Both were wearing the same advanced combat suit he had worn earlier, identifying them as Striders. More importantly, they were familiar.

Not just familiar, he had seen them before. He even considered one of them a close friend.

They were none other than the Ascension Academy’s top-ranked aspirants: Seraphim, from the traitorous Luminous Clan, and Adrian, from the Lei Feng Clan.

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