Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 123

Walm regulated his ragged breathing to avoid detection and kept his eyes on the assailants, sharpening his hearing. The footsteps echoed—four people. Their gait showed no signs of urgency or disorder. The fact that they hadn’t launched an attack upon entering suggested that it might’ve been an unrelated third parties, but Walm couldn’t be sure. The possibility that they were a reserve force, or an alternate group acting as sentries, couldn’t be dismissed. He had to assume the worst.

While part of Walm’s mind was occupied with the new visitors, Faust’s actions were straightforward.

“Merrill of the ‘Three Magic Attack’? Be careful of this guy!! He attacked us out of nowhere!”

For an impromptu act, it was quite a performance. Under the current circumstances, it was the best statement to frame someone else. Walm lacked social credibility. He was seen as an weird individual who had drifted from a distant foreign land and challenged the labyrinth alone. Spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, Walm tried to explain himself but was interrupted by the ‘Three Magic Attack’.

“From what I hear Faust, you and your team were suddenly attacked by that person. …Yet it seems strange. One of the two deaths was caused by an arrow that pierced the brain through the eye, and the other by severe burns on the neck. Moreover, it was five against one, fully armed during combat. If he was such an expert in killing, he should have at least killed one person in a surprise attack. That halberd of his doesn’t seem to be just for show.”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t Walm who was under suspicion, but Faust. Unable to grasp the situation, Walm continued to listen intently.

“Have you gone mad, Merrill!? Do you trust that wanderer over us, who have supported the guild for years?”

“Well, I don’t intend to take sides. I’ll help settle this in the guild if necessary. But if I let my thoughts slip a bit, I’d say that in the current situation where higher-level explorers aren’t properly developing, Faust, who has survived for many years, is more suspicious to me.”

Aiming to push further, Walm agreed with a watery voice.

“If those actors aren’t attacking anymore, then I’ll follow you.”

Merrill waited for Faust’s response, but none came. Instead, he returned to his indifferent expression as if the situation around him didn’t matter at all.

“…Faust, what should we do?”

“Regardless of appearances, their eyes are sharp. They’ve been suspicious for a while. We can’t deceive them.”

“What about the corpses and equipment?”

“We were prepared for this. Leave them.”

Failing to frame Walm, Faust brazenly discussed their plans post-slaughter. Amidst the strange standoff, the movement of the archer who had been overlapping with the shield-bearer wavered for a moment.

Despite responding to the conversation, Walm never let his guard down against the highly dangerous archer. In an almost acrobatic move, Walm struck down the quickly fired arrow with the butt of his weapon. The arrow clattered noisily, slid across the floor, and stopped at the feet of the ‘Three Magic Attack’.

“You have quite the bad habit.”

“Riro, give it up. It’s a failure.”

Ignoring Walm’s reprimand for their atrocity, Faust cautioned the archer against wasting another arrow. As the odd tension continued, it was the ‘Three Magic Attack’ party that broke the silence.

“So Faust’s party was indeed involved in human hunting?”

“The background was too clean, which made it suspicious. Besides that, look at him. He got two people killed in a five-on-one fight. If we hadn’t arrived, all of them might’ve been gone.”

The voice was strangely cheerful for a place that had seen such bloodshed.

“You’re overthinking it. He looks like a ragged mop.”

The woman with a staff, standing in the back, harshly criticized Walm. She wasn’t far off. Walm, in his current state, looked worse than a stray dog.

“So, are you going to fight us too, Faust?”

“My business is only with him.”

“Come on, with those nasty eyes, you must have been targeting us as well, right?”

Despite the casual tone of the ‘Three Magic Attack’ party, they had drawn their weapons.

“Even if that’s true, would you risk fighting us?”

“I don’t feel like losing, but I’m not fond of those glaring eyes. Where did your usual gentle face go?”

“People have many faces. Judging someone by just one side is a flaw of youth.”

“I’ve learned something today. So, what’s the answer?”

“I’m busy as it is. You young people should deepen the bonds with each other. I’ll take my leave now.”

The probing and tension came to an end as Faust’s party vanished into the transfer room, dissolving the peculiar triangle relationship. At last, Walm’s attention was focused on a single target.

“So, what will you do now, Merrill?”

“I don’t think they’ll set up an ambush with guards around. Let’s wait a bit. By the way, you’re quite skeptical, aren’t you?”

Maintaining a certain distance, Merrill spread his hands and addressed Walm, who was still on guard.

“You know, I helped you out. The least you could do is say thanks.”

The woman with the staff frowned in irritation.

“…Ah, yes. Thank you. I’ve just been a bit wary since someone I spoke with casually tried to slit my throat.”

“Hmm… a backup plan for a stalemate or a failed kill, is that how we seem?”

“It’s not an impossible scenario.”

The warrior monk-like man nodded in agreement with the party leader’s possibility.

“Hari, whose side are you on?!”

“Don’t be so angry, Mariante.”

“You’re older by a decade, yet you lack consideration. You need more mental training than labyrinth training.”

“Indeed, I will try.”

“Well, well, I wouldn’t do something so tedious. If I were Faust’s ally, we would’ve crushed you with nine people.”

Such a clear declaration. Yet it was logical. Walm struggled even against five people. If both parties that operated on the 30th floor teamed up, Walm without his Demon Fire would’ve likely been overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“So, what do you plan to do with him?”

“Do you need help?”

“…The bleeding is contained with a magic barrier. If I can get back to a treatment center on the surface, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“See? Quite a twisted personality.”

“Good to see you’re lively enough to talk. We’ll take the bodies back to the surface. Corpses and belongings in safe rooms get swallowed up without people. We’ll drag them out.”

“Hey, Yuna. Grab the legs.”

“I hate heavy lifting. Let Hari carry both.”

The archer who had stayed out of it refused to share the burden.

“If Hari carries two corpses, they’ll get dragged and scraped up before we hand them over to the guild staff. Come on, don’t slack off.”

The corpses were carried by the warrior monk named Hari and two people, the archer Yuna and the staff-wielder Mariante.

“Aren’t you going to carry anything?”

“I’m the guard.”

“More like an observer.”

Despite his light tone, Walm knew Merrill had been monitoring him since he entered. Those vividly colored eyes never left Walm, always keeping a position and distance that allowed him to respond to any surprise attack. The same was true for the members of the ‘Three Magic Attack’ carrying the corpses.

“Oh, you noticed. As expected, having driven off Faust’s party. I wanted to see the fight to the death.”

Merrill continued with a mischievous smile like a child caught in a prank.

“The exit of the transfer room is paired with the entrance. Since you seem to come from the low-level floor entrance, you shouldn’t run into Faust. But come a bit later. We’ll arrange for guild staff to send you a healing mage.”

“Thank you. That helps.”

“See? You can say thanks once you calm down. See you on the surface.”

The ‘Three Magic Attack’ party carrying the corpses vanished into the black whirlpool. Watching them return to the surface, Walm exhaled, reducing his tension slightly.

“Those guys really did a number on me.”

Although he had fought back and killed two, the price Walm paid against experienced adventurers was not cheap. Checking the state of the deeply wounded neck, Walm wrapped it with bandages. A few millimeters off, and it would have severed an artery.

Even though the broken ribs hadn’t pierced the lungs, they loudly proclaimed their pain. Numerous other lacerations and bruises weighed heavily on his mind when considering the time needed for rest. Regardless, he had to return to the surface. The multitude of wounds was too deep and numerous to heal naturally. After counting the three hundred seconds patiently, Walm followed the other party into the vortex.

Translator – Lyxxna