Chapter 30
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III.
[…We can use the decoy…]
Collette came to her senses at a pungent smell. Frowning as she opened her eyes, she saw moss. No wonder it smelled musty and watery. Since she was lying on her side, the fishy smell was right under her nose.
Wrinkling her face, Collette tried to sit up. But her body wouldn’t move. Something was binding her limbs.
“……?”
Rolling her eyes, Collette realized that faintly glowing vines were restraining her arms and legs. The identity of the glowing object was none other than vines.
Could this be… luminous clock-flower?
The vines with palm-shaped leaves were unmistakably luminous clock-flowers, found only in the Labyrinth. Collette’s green eyes sparkled at the sight of the faintly glowing leaves.
Then the ringing in her head began to grow clearer.
[Surely… they can’t know… the bait…]
A rumbling voice, as if someone was directly stuffing words into her mind.
[She needs to stay still.]
[Strange, strange!]
Can’t you see I’m stuck here smelling fish right now?
Frowning, Collette rolled her eyes to find the source of the voices. But no one was there. She could hear voices, but sensed no presence.
Rumble…
In that moment, a small vibration traveled through the ground. So faint she wouldn’t have felt it if she weren’t bound to the floor.
Thud—rumble—
But the vibrations grew shorter and stronger.
Rumble—
[…Ah! It hurts!]
[What? How did this happen? This can’t be!]
As the voices grew more agitated, they split into several in Collette’s mind.
[The decoy operation was a success. We separated the Slaughterer.]
[Then why is he raging? I clearly saw that human couldn’t move.]
[It hurts… It hurts…!]
“…Huk.”
Collette, who had been trying to escape the vines using the vibrations, whipped her head aside to dodge something falling beside her face.
Thwack!
“…Ugh?”
It shattered into fragments as it grazed her cheek—upon closer look, it was a Galaxy Stone. Lifting her head, Collette saw the light from the Galaxy Stones on the ceiling flickering.
[What if they don’t know we have that human?]
[Impossible! We took her right before his eyes!]
[Calm down. Even the Slaughterer must have weaknesses!]
Whenever the voices invading her mind grew chaotic, the Galaxy Stones’ light alternately dimmed and brightened. It looked as though they were resonating with the voices.
…No. This isn’t resonance…
The Galaxy Stones weren’t reacting to the voices. If the voices were “waves,” the Galaxy Stones were the “diaphragm.” Otherwise, there was no way the stones would react simultaneously to the vibrations and the voices in her head.
This meant the source of the voices was the Galaxy Stones themselves—and since the Galaxy Stones were the Labyrinth’s stalactites, the voices in her head were the Labyrinth speaking.
Impossible. Then the Labyrinth is a sentient being?
The Labyrinth, which had always been defined as an unknown space, was actually a living intelligence.
Rumble!
Collette held her breath in shock as the ground shook again. The vibration was strong enough to knock her over if she’d been standing. The voices screamed, and Galaxy Stones rained down.
“Ugh…”
Her head throbbed. The screams raging in her mind made her skull ring.
[What if we chose wrong? If that human is important to the Slaughterer, shouldn’t we calm down?!]
[Right! Instead of raging like this!]
[But we all saw it! The Slaughterer hovering around that human!]
From what she heard, “that human” those damned voices were talking about seemed to be her. Then “the Slaughterer” would be…
Is Valen the one attacking right now?
If Valerian had witnessed her being taken, of course he would be raging. He was more sensitive about her safety than anyone else. But the Labyrinth seemed unable to understand why he was in such a frenzy.
Collette’s head felt like it was splitting from the screams ringing in her skull. Unable to bear it any longer, she gritted her teeth and shouted.
“Stop screaming! Of course he’s raging!”
[…Huh?]
The voices responded to her scolding.
[She woke up! The human woke up!]
[Of course? Why is raging obvious?]
[The Slaughterer should be afraid! We have something important to the Slaughterer!]
Disjointed words erupted all at once. Collette paused. Her irritation rose to the tips of her hair, but she held it in.
First, I need to figure out where Valen is.
Judging by their manner of speech, the voices sounded like children pretending to know things. She had a feeling they’d fall for even a small provocation. Collette spoke in the most mocking tone she could manage.
“You took me hostage and expected him not to rage? You really don’t know him at all.”
[What don’t we know? We know everything.]
[We also know that you, human, are the Slaughterer’s weakness!]
[Right, human!]
“Ahaha!”
Collette deliberately laughed loudly. They claimed to know his weakness, yet thought he would stay calm.
“You’re really stupid.”
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