Chapter 11 : Water source (11)

The corpses that densely form this hill of bodies do not feel like corpses at all.

Having lost all color and turned stark white, they are difficult to recognize in their original form, and even if they were recognizable, they seem unreal.

At best, one might liken them to well-crafted paper sculptures.

Naturally, no matter how much time passes, corpses would decay rather than undergo such an eerie transformation.

This was one of the reasons Hans suspected the artificiality of this space.

But even if they were nothing more than paper scraps—even if Hans had lived a life accustomed to blood and corpses—Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch.

Ripping through and pushing aside forms shaped like living beings without pause, he couldn’t help but feel an unsettling chill.

Someone’s hand, someone’s forepaw.

Things that no longer had the strength to grasp even a handful of dust fell apart upon his body like gently drifting snowflakes.

“………..!”

It was as if he were sinking to the very bottom of the deep sea—his ears felt muffled, and the voice of the shouting girl barely reached him.

More than the weight of the corpses, it was the corpse dust seeping into his ear canals that deafened him.

It was no different anywhere else.

His vision, clouded by the fine powder that kept invading his eyes, filled with involuntary tears.

His nostrils, clogged as though by medicine with the same white dust, left him unable to smell anything—not even stench or rot.

The only sensation left to him was the dry, bitter taste of time gnawing at his throat.

Hans let himself be swept along by the overwhelming tide.

His wrist, gripped tightly, throbbed as though it would be torn off.

“Go………da……”

Alje was still shouting something at him, but the words did not reach.

In hindsight, it was a strange thing.

Hans was entrusting his life to someone he had met only a short while ago.

They had ventured too deep, and if Alje let go of his hand now, he would be swallowed by the corpse pile and suffocate to death.

He had been holding his breath all this time, but it was already growing difficult.

And yet, strangely enough, Hans felt no fear.

Was it because this situation itself felt more surreal than a dream?

Or was it because his companion was not human that he could trust them?

How far had they descended?

The sheer power of the girl, infused with the strength of monsters, was terrifying.

The path they had forced their way through was collapsing behind them, leaving no way back—not even for Alje.

His wrist, held tightly the whole time, was now numb.

Without even looking, he knew it must be bruised blue or even fractured.

Perhaps the reason he couldn’t feel the pain properly was that he was running out of air, and his brain was crying out in distress.

Through his fading consciousness, the girl’s voice cut through with startling clarity.

“We’re here!”

After ceaselessly digging and pushing through the corpses, they had finally reached the bottom.

Now, he understood why Alje had struggled to explain what she had seen.

A boundary, a wall of symbols, a wavering in space—something that undeniably existed and could be perceived, yet defied description.

But Hans knew what it was.

It was a “door” leading to the next layer of the labyrinth.

Whether what lay beyond was an exit or something even more terrifying, he did not know.

But at the very least, it was a way out of this corpse-ridden hill.

That alone filled him with new strength.

Now, as Alje hesitated at the final step, this time, it was Hans who pulled her forward.

“……!”

He tried to speak, but the corpse dust he had inhaled choked his voice into silence.

Yet, as if no words were needed, Alje simply looked into his eyes and smiled before nodding.

Then, without hesitation, their hands clasped together, they stepped beyond the boundary.

*

The next moment, they were in the sky.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t the real sky, but an illusion—a projection of the world outside the labyrinth.

Phantasmal clouds and birds passed right through them, and the sunlight shining down held no warmth.

Caught in this illusionary void, they began to fall.

Fortunately, rather than hard ground, flowing water awaited them below.

Splash!

The cold water shocked his dazed mind back to clarity.

Having already been starved of oxygen, Hans kicked and flailed, forcing his body upward.

Though not clean, the water was refreshing enough to wash away the thick layer of grayish-white powder covering him.

Breaking through the surface, he gasped for air.

“Phuah!”

The air wasn’t fresh, but it was a relief to finally breathe again.

Only then did he realize—Alje’s hand was no longer holding his.

Panicked, Hans looked around frantically before plunging his head back underwater.

The girl was still beneath him.…….!

Whatever she was trying to say, her words were lost in the water, just as they had been in the corpse hill.

But as if she had heard him, Alje lifted her gaze.

In the dark depths, her eyes gleamed like an anglerfish’s lure, staring at him steadily.

Could she not swim?

But her posture was far too unnatural for that.

She was neither sinking nor floating—just standing upright in the water.

Hans sensed something was wrong.

The tendrils extending from both sides of Alje’s mouth had now grown to the length of an elephant’s tusks.

No—more than just growing, they were now writhing, as if about to break free.

“……”

“…..”

It was a feeling more sobering than the cold water.

As Hans instinctively recoiled, trying to back away, Alje’s unreadable expression shifted slightly, and she began to rise toward him.

Then—Brrrrrrr—The water trembled.

From the depths of the lake, a massive shadow was emerging.

Barely having escaped the hill of corpses, they now faced yet another imminent death.

But in the labyrinth, this was nothing more than an ordinary routine.

Being chased by packs of monsters, only to find another predator lurking in the cave they took refuge in.

Fighting their way out, collapsing in exhaustion, only for the scent of blood to invite yet another uninvited guest.

A relentless chain of horrific misfortunes.

Their gazes met briefly across the water, then Hans immediately turned his back and swam with all his might.

Fortunately, the spot where they had fallen wasn’t too bad—there was land nearby.

Desperately, Hans scrambled onto the muddy shore, not caring that his freshly washed body was getting filthy again.

He could see it now—the blurred sky cast in a false projection, and beneath it, the desolate landscape of the labyrinth that he had grown sick of seeing.

The lake, bubbling ominously.

And still—no sign of the girl.

‘No way…’

Hans strained his eyes, trying to see beyond the murky water, careful not to get too close to the lake’s edge.

He needed to figure out what was happening beneath the surface.

There was only one thing he knew for sure—if Alje had intended to swim up, she would have done so long ago.

She wasn’t drowning, nor was she exhausted.

Then why…?

No—Hans wasn’t a fool.

A coward, perhaps, but not stupid.

Monsters weren’t bound by the need to breathe.

Instead of surfacing, the girl had chosen to descend.

Grrrrr…

Deep below, the lake roiled.

Still on the brink of exhaustion, Hans took a moment to recover his strength before rising to his feet.

He didn’t move too close to the water, nor too far from it—just enough to keep a watchful eye on his surroundings.

The place was familiar.

They hadn’t just landed near the shore; they were also close to the only city within the labyrinth.

Of course, even within the city, there was no such thing as true safety in this place.

But it was still far better than the corpse hill, an unknown abyss with no clear way back.

And yet, for some reason—The words “We made it back.”

Wouldn’t come out so easily.

Hans sat by the lakeshore, waiting.

Waiting for the ripples to fade, for the tremors to subside.

This lake was one of the water sources that connected to the city.

If he remembered correctly, it had been abandoned long ago after a giant bipedal fish variant claimed it as its territory.

At least when he returned, he could indulge in the luxury of using as much water as he pleased.

He found himself idly thinking such things as he gazed into the water.

The lake’s eerie cry slowly died down.

Hans watched as, like a single drop of ink spreading through the water, a different color began to seep outward.

But for the entire lake to change color—just how much “ink” had been spilled?

Beneath the spreading hues, an enormous shadow sank into the depths like a chaotic doodle scribbled by a child.

And then,Fwoooosh!

With a towering pillar of water, the girl he had been waiting for finally burst out of the lake.

Even after being washed clean, her disheveled state remained unchanged.

Patches of murky white powder still clung to her, streaked with sickly blue blood.

And now, fresh, vivid red was smeared over it all.

But Hans hardly cared.

His own state wasn’t much better.

Without hesitation, he pulled Alje into an embrace.

Truthfully, even if she had emerged unscathed, he wouldn’t have hesitated either.

“We made it back.”

In what was a short time—perhaps not even that long—This monster girl had carved herself far deeper into his heart than he had expected.