SML Ch 66

Chapter 66

Reynald carefully studied Volant’s expression. Because of the continuous series of unexpected situations, he wondered if the young man might be feeling uneasy.

He hesitated for a moment, trying to think of some words to reassure Volant, but what came out of Volant’s mouth was something entirely different.

“About what that guy said earlier—don’t mind it.”

“Hm? What on earth are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“That faceless fellow insulted you, my lord. Saying you had spilled too much blood just because you killed some monsters. So what, were you supposed to hold out your neck to the monsters and tell them to eat you alive instead?”

“Well, I did kill far more than an ordinary person, that much can’t be helped. But I don’t mind, so don’t concern yourself too much.”

Reynald shrugged lightly. He had no particular desire to be spoken of kindly by that… ambiguous being, whether it was monster or something else. After all, from the standpoint of the monsters, Reynald was nothing more than someone who, for the kingdom’s sake and by the king’s order, had raised the sword and bathed in blood.

But even so, there was no reason for him to suddenly feel ashamed of that fact. Reynald had no history of leisurely massacring monsters by overwhelming them with sheer numbers. He had always raised his own life as a banner at the foremost line and charged ahead, so that the lives of those who had fallen to monsters would not be wasted.

It was simply life clashing against life in order to survive. He had neither particular pride in it, nor guilt. That was merely how Reynald saw it, but Volant spoke again with a somewhat worried expression.

“Still, you didn’t go on killing monsters in place of ordinary people and yet feel nothing at all, did you?”

“…Hmm.”

“I know because I’ve killed monsters too—it isn’t an easy thing, and it’s not something a man can simply brush off. But that bastard made it sound like you, my lord, killed so many without a thought, just indiscriminately. I worried you might have been hurt by that.”

Although Reynald didn’t feel especially offended, he nevertheless appreciated the concern. He only shrugged again in reply.

“Even so, you’ve saved just as many people, Reynald. Isn’t that enough?”

Even Arun, speaking with a serious face and adding such words, clearly thought Reynald was brooding over the issue. But in truth, Reynald could not have cared less about such trivial matters—what he wanted was to resolve the present situation somehow.

Just then, a voice he had thought far away suddenly echoed right at Reynald’s ears, like a hallucination.

[Let me ask you once more. Do you truly have the capacity to be chosen? You who, throughout your life, have killed countless lives, yet by the same measure have saved countless others—gentle slaughterer.]

“…I’ll only know when I see it through to the end. For now, I’ll do my utmost.”

Reynald noticed that the other party’s tone was gentler than it had been before, so he answered that way, then once more searched the surroundings with his eyes. Since the way out was not to be found and the doll itself was not the solution, he had no choice but to seek a third option.

Just as they had searched for the drawings of children or traces of blood inside the labyrinth thus far, the answer to the current predicament was also likely to be found within. In that case—

‘I must study the maze itself more closely.’

Reynald turned his gaze from the outside and the sky above to the inner structures of the labyrinth. At first, he had thought it was nothing but endless walls repeating upon themselves. But narrowing his eyes and examining the place in more detail, he realized something new.

At the very center of the maze lay a large square space, shaped almost like a great chamber. As though deliberately constructed for some unknown purpose.

“Over that way, to the center of the maze!”

Reynald shouted, then immediately began to run. At first it looked so far he thought he would need to sprint endlessly. But once he committed himself, he found he reached it in no time at all. The unfamiliar surroundings had distorted his sense of distance—it turned out the center was not so far after all.

At the core of the maze stood a suspiciously pristine marble altar. All around, the walls and floor were dark, moss-ridden and damp, yet this altar alone gleamed pure white without a speck of dust.

At that moment, the doll that had only ever soared high in the air suddenly lowered its altitude and descended atop the altar. Kneeling down upon it in a posture of prayer, the doll bowed its head.

“This is our chance—we could catch it now!”

“But my lord, it’s too dangerous! All the statues have gathered here!”

Indeed, it was so. It seemed that all the statues placed throughout the maze had converged in this place, until there was not even enough room to set foot beside the altar for how many there were.

To break through all of them and reach the altar was, in practice, an impossible task. To do so without slaying a single one was even more unthinkable.

What could be done? Reynald even considered recklessly charging through, bearing the wounds if he must, but just then—

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, light burst out across the far side of the maze. At first, it was a faint glow, like an oil lamp placed somewhere. But then, as though in response to that glow, the very heavens opened. The leaves and branches forming the ceiling of the labyrinth shifted apart of their own accord to create a vast gap.

Through the open sky poured sunlight, illuminating precisely the space where the faint glow hovered.

Puzzled, watching as the light grew, Reynald saw the gleam begin to move. More accurately, it was someone carrying the glow, walking—and the sunlight tracked after them through the maze. Strangely, whoever it was seemed also to be ignorant of the maze’s structure, wandering in odd directions or backtracking when met with dead ends.

It did not take long, however, for Reynald to discern the identity of that light. Fortune was with them—it soon reached the center of the labyrinth.

“Sir Reynald!”

“My lord, are you safe?”

It was none other than Serna and Alex. Serna, holding a golden mirror in both hands, and Alex, brandishing what looked like a stone sword stripped from one of the statues, smiled in relief the moment they spotted Reynald’s group standing atop the wall.

Reynald froze, astonished. Why had these youths come here of all places? Glad as he was to see them, he was also alarmed—and called out quickly.

“Prince Serna, what on earth brings you here! Instead of following us into danger, you ought to have returned to the castle and summoned aid—!”

“I’m the one who brought him. Do you know how many hours it would’ve taken to go to the castle and back? Was I supposed to leave you, and Volant, and this prince too, just to die here?”

Alex’s voice, almost breaking into sobs, left Reynald speechless. Reckless though it was, the desperate reasoning he could understand.

Even Reynald would not have been able to abandon his comrades to imprisonment and run safely away. If only one of the two youths had come, it would have been dangerous all the same—thus perhaps it was better that they acted together. What’s more—

“…No helping it. You must have been truly worried.”

That expression in Alex’s eyes—surely it was the look of one who had once lost someone dear beyond recovery. At a glance, Reynald felt as though he had glimpsed the young man’s inner heart, and accepted it with gratitude.

And of course, their arrival changed everything. A moment ago, there had been no conceivable method to disable the statues. But now, matters were different.

“Serna! Shine the mirror upon the statues—we must reach the altar at the maze’s core!”

At Arun’s shout, Serna nodded without hesitation and quickly raised the mirror toward the statues. Brimmed with sunlight, its rim glowing white, the mirror’s radiance struck the statues—and they staggered, teetering until they collapsed to the ground.

“Now, my lord!”

Without delay, Reynald, Volant, and Arun leapt down from the wall and charged toward the altar.

Though intruders had arrived, the doll showed no reaction, maintaining its praying posture as though it had abandoned any thought of fleeing.

Thanks to this, Reynald was able to grasp it without hindrance.

“Got it!”

The doll was far heavier than he had expected. Outwardly, it seemed an ordinary cloth puppet, but within, it was packed with mechanisms rather than cotton. Likely, the key was the wind-up spring mounted to its back—for when turned, it must set the internal machinery in motion.

No sooner had Reynald seized it than the spring began to unwind with a sharp, ticking sound, as though eagerly shedding what magic remained unnecessary.

At the final unwind, a strange blue sigil engraved itself upon the empty surface of the marble altar. It resembled the bloodstained mark from earlier, but this time the pattern had fewer harsh spikes and more sweeping curves.

From the glowing mark at the altar’s center, the familiar voice resounded once again—the one that had been testing Reynald.

[Even if you borrowed strength from others midway, that matters not. At the critical moment, you chose to lean on your companions—indeed, you have ever been the one to bear blood in their stead.]

“……!”

[Therefore, you too have been chosen. Yet remember this well: so that you never dare to exceed your rightful capacity upon this land, this servant shall henceforth remain at your side, ever watching you….]

As the voice faded away completely, the sigil’s glow diminished, then vanished without trace. At once, Reynald sensed he would hear that voice no more.

Its master had no doubt gone into slumber—leaving behind only the enigmatic word “chosen” to these mortals, its meaning yet uncertain.

Footnotes

1. “영주님” (yeongju-nim) – A formal title used for a feudal lord, translated here as “my lord”.
2. “경” (gyeong) – An honorific addressing knights or respected men of high status, translated as “Sir” when referring to Reynald.
3. “선별되다” (seonbyeol-doeda) – Rendered here as “to be chosen”; it carries connotations of being “selected” or “set apart” after judgment or trial.
4. “Gentle slaughterer” – Literal rendering of 다정한 학살자, a paradoxical phrase intended to emphasize Reynald’s dual nature: merciless killer of monsters, yet one who fights precisely to save.
5. “하수인” (hasu-in) – More literally “minion” or “underling,” translated here as *“servant” or “subordinate being.” In this context, it implies a mystical agent watching Reynald.