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Chapter 160

Gritting his teeth, Ian focused all his strength on his waist and arms, completing the series of actions. The greatsword blade extended long to the other side.

"...."

Ian was still frowning. The recoil was much stronger than expected. If the sword had been weaker or if he had hesitated midway, he wouldn\'t have been able to cut through it all.

While thinking about how tough it was, the tilted vine wall completely fell back, scattering red sap from the cut surface.

Red sap splashed on Ian\'s face as he stood in front. The lower part of the wall also spouted red sap, drawing a long line under his chest.

It was indeed blood. The smell of various creatures\' blood mixed with the stench and assaulted his nose.

"Fuck...."

Ian wiped the blood from his face and thrust the greatsword into the ground. His annoyed gaze assessed the thickness of the wall. The cross-section was much thicker and more densely tangled than it appeared.

Finally, he understood why it had been so difficult to cut through. It was a wonder the blade hadn\'t gotten stuck in the middle.

In the game, it would have been an indestructible wall. I was trying to cut through something impossible, he thought.

Beyond the blood-splattered wall, another vine wall was visible. It was another passage. This kind of maze was likely layered multiple times. As Ian\'s gaze turned to the distant roof of the mansion, barely visible at the edge, something occurred.

Creak, creak—creak—

The bleeding from the severed cross-section subsided, and new vines began to sprout. The dark vines tangled more chaotically than before and rose. Ian, looking up at the vine wall that continued to grow and completely obscure his view, finally clicked his tongue briefly.

"There\'s no end to this."

He had no intention of using magic or continuing to cut.

The vines were likely resistant to magic as well. Although they couldn\'t grow back forever, his magic power, divine power, and stamina would deplete faster. He didn\'t know how many times he would have to repeat the same process.

Fuck, this really is a dungeon.

"We should just follow the open path. If the wall regrows like that while we\'re climbing over it, it won\'t end well." Mev added.

Ian nodded in agreement, sheathing the greatsword into his pocket dimension. It wasn\'t a suitable weapon for this maze garden. If it got caught in the vine wall while swinging, it would be disastrous. He might not even be able to retrieve it.

Philip, who had been alternately looking down both passages, muttered. "Which way is the right path? No, I wonder if there\'s a right path at all."

"Anyway, we should be able to get closer to the mansion," Ian replied indifferently, returning to the group with a leather canteen he had taken from his pocket dimension.

Charlotte added, offering the Broken Sword of Judgement that she was holding. "I don\'t think it matters which way we go. I have a feeling there will be things waiting for us on both sides. Maybe even... the adjudicators."

Ian handed the canteen to Mev and nodded, taking the Broken Sword of Judgement. He could feel the divine power within the sword. Although it wasn\'t leaking out thanks to the scabbard, it would scatter wildly once drawn.

While Ian returned the Broken Sword of Judgement into his pocket dimension, Mev drank the water and handed the canteen to Philip, continuing.

"If what we heard is true, the adjudicators are much stronger than those vampires from earlier."

"Of course. They exist to punish or control other vampires. I was prepared for them from the beginning, but they never appeared."

Charlotte\'s gaze turned to the sky.

"They\'ve been waiting here all along."

Ian and the others looked up at the purple night sky. From inside, the eye of the vortex looked much larger. Ian carefully scanned the boundary of the dark clouds.

Meanwhile, the others were looking at the large crescent moon in the middle of the purple night sky. The moon, enlarged as if zoomed in, was now half-stained red. It sent a chilling sensation, making it seem as if the blood in their veins had cooled.

Charlotte added in a low voice. "Perhaps it\'s strongest to fight inside here."

"Crescent moon...!" Philip, who had been drinking water, exclaimed and added.

"You remember what I told you. Indeed, it\'s not just a myth that vampires prefer the crescent moon."

Charlotte nodded, though she stuck her tongue out reluctantly. Philip, who handed her a canteen, gazed at the crescent moon with sunken eyes.

"...But no matter how I look at it, it doesn\'t seem to be a real moon. Nor does the night sky. If it were real, the Radiant Goddess wouldn\'t be able to unleash such divine power all at once. It\'s probably actually daytime."

"Is that still surprising to you, even though it\'s not your first time in the demonic realm?" Ian, snickering, tossed a new sword from his pocket dimension to Philip.

Philip, catching it awkwardly, nodded in gratitude. His sword was already chipped and dull.

"...It\'s ruined. I thought it would last at least a few more years." Philip, confirming the state of his shield, muttered with a gloomy face. His iron round shield was dented and torn in several places. It was the result of the fierce battle amidst the horde of monsters.

Of course, there didn\'t seem to be any problem with the shield performing its role, but compared to when it was cherished, it had become rather shabby.

While Philip clicked his tongue and replaced his sword,

"We\'ve had enough rest, so let\'s get moving. From now on, everyone, stay alert. We don\'t know what might jump out from where." Ian, taking a final drink from the canteen, started walking down the left passage. He drew his longsword, keeping the divine power within his tattoo.

Charlotte and Mev followed him, drawing their fang sword and fairy sword respectively.

"Why are we going this way? Isn\'t left an ominous direction?" Philip, quickly catching up, whispered.

Ian snorted. "Your mouth is more ominous. Stop talking nonsense and keep an eye out."

"Yes...."

The whole group entered the passage lined with rose vines on both sides. It was only a few steps before they heard a creaking sound from behind.

"...!" Philip\'s eyes widened as he turned around.

Vines were rising up, blocking the entrance to the passage they had just entered.

"No way? How...?" Philip stammered, watching the vines rapidly entangle and block the passage. The other three exchanged glances and shrugged before turning back around. Blinking in bewilderment, Philip quickly followed.

"The entrance is gone, but everyone seems so calm."

"Because it doesn\'t change anything. After all, we\'re here to find the exit, not the entrance."

Charlotte\'s calm reply made Philip chuckle and nod.

"We should be careful to maintain our spacing." Mev\'s indifferent voice followed.

"If something like that happens, we might get separated."

"Indeed. Being isolated here wouldn\'t end well."

The group continued, walking in pairs while maintaining a reasonable distance. The passage was wide enough for all four of them to walk side by side, but no one wanted to get too close to the vine walls.

It was understandable. The walls constantly whispered creaking sounds and the thorns protruding from the surface were dangerously sharp. The red roses blooming on the walls were equally sinister, occasionally dripping blood-like liquid from their petals.

At least it didn\'t seem like they would attack like carnivorous plants, but one could never be so sure. After all, these were mutated plants that fed on blood. There was no telling what kind of unexpected and bizarre occurrences might happen.

Before they realized how long they had progressed,

"This is...."

An open space appeared. Philip blinked and looked around. It was a square clearing, surrounded on all sides by vine-covered barriers. There was nothing else, and it was spacious enough for the entire party to move around freely.

It was another garden within the garden.

"It\'s a battlefield," Charlotte muttered, and Philip looked at her. Her orange eyes gleamed strangely as she added.

"They\'ve set up a battlefield."

"Ah...." As Philip sighed, Ian recalled his memories from the game.

Back then, while heading toward the mansion, he had passed through a withered maze garden with a similar clearing. However, it was smaller than this one, and he had been greeted by ghoul test subjects.

Of course, none were in sight now. That was only natural. They had all become nutrients for the garden.

Ian\'s gaze swept over the connecting passage. It was a fork in the path: straight ahead or to the right.

Without much hesitation, Ian turned to the right passage.

“You seem to have no hesitation... Do you have a knack for finding the way?”

This kid sure is curious about everything.

Ian frowned slightly as he glanced back at Philip.

Philip shrugged his shoulders and said, “In the worst case, we might get separated. If you have any tricks that only you know, it would be good for everyone to be aware of them...”

Surprisingly, it was a reasonable point.

Well, he had been around for a while now.

Turning his gaze forward again, Ian began to speak.

"I don\'t know the path either. I\'m just considering roughly three things as I move."

"Three things...?"

Ian raised his sword slightly and pointed at the sky.

"The boundary of the night sky. The garden is probably spread out as far as that night sky."

"...!" Philip, along with everyone else, looked up at the sky again.

Philip stammered. "This place... probably is much larger than I expected."

"The mansion is probably at or near the center. So, we use that to guide our direction. More importantly, it allows us to roughly gauge our position. And the second is...."

Ian extended his sword to the side, scraping it along the vine-covered wall as he walked.

"Follow one wall as a reference. Trying to find a way through a maze like this is pointless. It\'s impossible from the start. But if you keep following the wall you\'ve chosen in your mind...."

"Eventually, you\'ll reach an exit. Even if you hit a dead end, walls are still connected. It will take a long time, but it\'s the most reliable method." Mev added, sounding impressed.

However, Ian just shrugged as if it was nothing special. It wasn\'t even a method he had come up with. It was simply something he read in a book around when he was in elementary school.

I never thought I’d use it like this.

Ian kept moving even as Philip murmured about the night sky and the walls. After rounding a corner at a right angle and going further,

"And... What\'s the third thing? What\'s the third?" Philip, whose eyes were growing increasingly impatient, couldn\'t hold back any longer and asked.

Charlotte and Mev also glanced at Ian.

Ian shrugged. "What else? It\'s the enemy. I thought that was obvious."

Ian\'s gaze stopped, looking beyond the passage. Another open space was approaching.

Mev nodded as if she understood, while Philip, scratching his chin, spoke up. "Why would the enemy help us find the way? Sorry, I\'m a bit slow with these things."

"Enemies won\'t just wait at a dead end. They might be following us aimlessly, but the chances are higher that the path they\'re guarding is the right one."

"Ah...!" As Philip exclaimed, Ian entered the new clearing.

He stopped around the center and spoke.

"In that sense, it seems we\'ve found the right path this time."

"...?!"

Philip, tilting his head in confusion, quickly widened his eyes. A cold sensation spread from his back. Turning around, he hurriedly approached Mev, who was lowering her visor, and raised his sword and shield.

Rustle—

A shadow rose from the tall rose vines beside the passage they had passed. Soon, a middle-aged man with curly black hair and a slightly tired and irritable expression appeared, wearing a hood.

Under the black cloak draped over his shoulders, a hand grasping a staff was revealed. He was casually resting a black ebony staff up on the wall. The man, with somewhat melancholic eyes, watched the group maintain their distance from each other and spoke.

"Dammit... I prayed you wouldn\'t come this way first... And here I am, the one to face this monster first...."

"...?" Philip\'s eyebrow lifted slightly as he observed the vampire.

It was clear the vampire referred to Ian as the monster. Even from his tone and expression, he clearly had no desire to fight Ian.

"Maintain your dignity, Sir Nathan. Showing weakness before the enemy is unacceptable."

"...!" Philip\'s eyes widened as a calm voice followed from behind.

There was more than one?

His head quickly turned back. He saw Ian and Charlotte staring up at the wall, and then he noticed another vampire standing atop the wall.