[Succubus].

The owner of the footsteps was a female-type dream demon who boasted a deceptive and sensual body.

"Stop right there. Reveal your ident.i.ty. Otherwise, you will be regarded as an enemy.”

“Oh my, so scary. I am the Retired Mercenary. My name is Lutia.”

"You're the Retired Mercenary?"

Levian’s eyebrows raised and his gaze alternated between the beastwoman and Lutia.

The shocked beastwoman pointed at Lutia.

“D, don't lie to us! I'm the Retired Mercenary! You must be the Fanatic or the Wraith!”

“Hmm? Are you sure you’re not the one impersonating me? Everyone, be careful. That female cat seems to be up to something.”

The two women were claiming to be the Retired Mercenary.

One of them was definitely an enemy.

Woohyuk calmed down Lutia and the beastwoman who were about to fight, and then proceeded to interrogate them.

“Let’s start with you first. What’s your name?"

“… Lamia.”

“Okay, Lamia. Tell me what was written on the note you received.”

Woohyuk was the only one who knew exactly the mission the Retired Mercenary had received other than the mercenary himself.

As everyone's eyes focused on her, Lamia opened her mouth with a tense expression.

“It, it said it didn’t matter which side I decided to join. Since I’m neutral, all I have to do is to survive until the time limit... And…”

“Why did you stop talking? Are you losing confidence since you’re lying?”

Levian rebuked Lamia with a sharp glare.

She had considerably annoyed him earlier, so he wasn't planning on letting her off easily.

“That’s not it... I’m just reluctant to share the contents… Oh well, I'll just tell you. The Retired Mercenary doesn't have any special skills but instead has loot perks.”

If she killed the Wraith, it was the Wraith's Ebony Cloak.

If she killed the Fanatic, it was the Fanatic’s b.l.o.o.d.y Dagger.

If she killed the Priest, it was the Priest’s Crystal Staff.

If she killed the Devil Hunter, it was the Devil Hunter's Keel Longbow.

According to the note, these were all cla.s.s artifacts.

She could even acquire all of them if she killed them all.

At Lamia's explanation, Levian spoke with ridicule.

“Geez, then we shouldn’t consider the Retired Mercenary as an ally. She’ll betray us and attack us once we defeat the Wraith and the Fanatic.”

“Ththat’s not true! I just want to get out of here safely! I only came here because Lord Ivanov ordered me to!”

Lamia did not know that Ivanov had been killed by Woohyuk.

They were inside a dimension that was governed by an independent system, so the adventurer's watch and the unity ring were not functioning.

All the other communication artifacts were incapacitated by the dimension’s manager, the White Ghost King.

It was the perfect environment for Woohyuk to secretly infiltrate and a.s.sa.s.sinate people.

'Anyway, it's obvious that Lamia is the Retired Mercenary.'

Woohyuk never thought that the dying words of the Retired Mercenary from his previous life would help him out so much. He felt thankful.

Woohyuk calmed the quarreling Levian and Lamia and stared at Lutia.

“Then you must be the Wraith or the Fanatic. As you may know, both of them are my enemies, so a fight is inevitable.”

“Oh my, are you too trusting of what that female cat said? It's a little unfair.”

Lutia had joined the conversation late and wasn’t aware that Woohyuk was playing the Pitch-BlackLlabyrinth for the second time.

As she tried to come up with excuses, Levian pulled out his longsword.

“I don't even need to listen to you! The ident.i.ties of the three of us have already been proven!”

“Ha, this is hilarious. It’s become a witch hunt right after meeting me. Oh well, I can’t do anything about it now.”

Lutia chanted a summoning spell and wore a purple bra.s.s knuckle.

When he noticed the weapon, Levian flinched and looked surprised.

"Hm? Since you have an exclusive weapon, you must be fairly high ranked... Are you the va.s.sal of Andras?”

“Yes, I have come here under the orders of Lord Andras. It appears that we didn’t encounter each other until now because we entered the ruins at different moments in time.”

This had happened because demons were arbitrary by nature and served different monarchs.

If they were like an army of another race, they would have at least decided on a gathering point in advance and would’ve entered the ruins together.

Levian scratched his head as he thought to himself.

“Well, in any case, you’ll have to die here. Andras has a lower rank compared to Lord Orobas.”

“Don't be ridiculous. Orobas is only ranked 55th.”

Demons often clashed against each other in this manner, so this kind of conversation was frequent.

Woohyuk watched for a while, before pulling Grandia out of its sheath.

“If you’re done arguing, let’s get started.”

The remaining time was 40 minutes.

They had to deal with both the Fanatic and the Wraith, so they had to save time as much as possible.

Andras' va.s.sal, whom he was looking for, had finally appeared, so Woohyuk did not feel the need to talk anymore.

As Woohyuk walked toward Lutia, Levian and Lamia followed him.

“Don’t blame us for this 3-on-1. Life has always been unfair.”

“I'll get a hold of your soul, you succubus b.i.t.c.h! You tried to frame me!”

“… Ah, I wonder why this happened. And here I thought I was good at acting.”

Lutia stepped backwards as she frowned.

No matter how high-ranking she was, this kind of lynching would be difficult to survive.

It was safe to a.s.sume that they were all quite powerful as they had reached the fourth stage.

As Lutia struggled to come up with a plan, a series of system messages suddenly popped up before her eyes.

[The Wraith has taken over AreA of the labyrinth.]

[An ancient monster has been summoned in AreA.]

[The summoned monster will act according to the Wraith’s orders.]

[The Wraith can freely control all devices deployed in AreA.]

[If you find yourself backed in a corner, you may ask the Wraith for help.]

The Pitch-Black Labyrinth consisted of three zones: A, B, and C.

If they activated the purple magic crystals in each zone, it would be advantageous to the Wraith and Fanatic.

The number of areas conquered would determine the monster’s cla.s.s.

If one zone was conquered, it was an ancient D-cla.s.s monster.

C-cla.s.s for two zones, and B-cla.s.s for three.

However, the monster of the abyss had considerable power even at B-cla.s.s.

Even if they found themselves in an unfavorable situation, they could overturn the game.

As she finally saw the light of hope, Lutia shed tears of happiness.

“Oh, Lord Wraith! Please save me from this crisis!”

She had no idea where AreA was located.

However, she was trying to grab at straws.

She cried out for help to the Wraith.

After some time...

Boom!

Boom!

The ground shook, and heavy footsteps resounded from somewhere.

The ancient-grade monster had appeared.

“This is troublesome. We have to fight the monster even though we haven't found the Wraith yet.”

“If he occupies other areas, won’t this become disadvantageous for us? Shouldn't we quickly kill that b.i.t.c.h and stop the Wraith?”

Levian's and Lamia's complexions rapidly deteriorated.

Since Levian had the Priest role, he had to kill the Wraith and the Fanatic.

Meanwhile, even though she was neutral, Lamia still found it difficult to join forces with the Wraith as she had yet to see his face.

As the atmosphere quickly turned dark, Lutia used this opportunity and quickly began to run towards a corridor.

"Huh? That b.i.t.c.h is escaping!”

“Let’s kill the Fanatic first, my friends!”

Levian and Lamia eagerly pursued Lutia.

If she were to slip between their fingers like this, they would be extremely upset.

Nevertheless, Woohyuk stood behind on his own, and Lamia turned his head to rebuke him.

"What are you doing? This is a survival game we have to win!”

“I leave Lutia in your care. I’ll get rid of the Wraith.”

It would be inefficient to have all three of them chase after the Fanatic.

After watching Levian and Lamia leave, Woohyuk focused his attention on the footsteps that were getting closer.

'First, I’ll have to deal with that guy.'

If it was an ancient-grade monster, it would be enough to leave it to his undeads.

He wouldn’t have to get involved in the fight.

As Woohyuk summoned suitable undeads considering the s.p.a.ce available in the labyrinth,

“Kiyaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!”

With a bizarre cry, a huge beast popped out from the other side of the corridor.

It was a beast-type monster with the head of a hawk.

Its name was Hierakos.

“Get rid of that monster.”

When Woohyuk gave the order, the elite undead led his troops and rushed toward Hierakos.

In the midst of the battle, a shadow appeared from the pa.s.sage behind Woohyuk.

Woohyuk waited for the shadow to creep closer to him and then swung Grandia in a surprise attack.

Swooos.h.!.+

“Ugh!”

The other person groaned and instinctively twisted his body to avoid the blade.

However, Woohyuk's movements were a lot faster, so he suffered a fatal wound to his right shoulder.

“Attempting to a.s.sa.s.sinate me using the secret pa.s.sage wasn’t a bad idea. However, it’s foolish to attack your opponent without knowing his powers and skills.”

“… What the h.e.l.l are you? How do you know about the secret pa.s.sage?”

His opponent was a blond man wearing an adventurer's watch.

Since he had reached this stage, he was probably Ivanov's va.s.sal, just like Lamia.

Woohyuk decided to tell the truth to provoke him more.

“Me? For now, I’ll say that I’m the person who beheaded Dragonlord Ivanov in the first stage.

“...That’s impossible. Lord Ivanov couldn't have been defeated by someone like you.”

“Can't believe me? Then let me show you evidence.”

Woohyuk summoned Carnelian to his side.

The blond man’s eyes widened and he stood there flabbergasted.

“This can’t be…”

“Who is your owner now, Carnelian?”

“…It is Lord Asura.”

Carnelian bowed his head meekly.

She could be summoned as she was treated as a pet by the system.

Dragons that hatched from the eggs given by Adakar were bound to their owners.

It was difficult to use the word “tamed” in these cases, however.

The blond man knew this fact, so he tried to persuade Carnelian.

“Carnelian! It will do you no good to serve that man as your master! He's already being targeted by the demon kings! So help me take revenge for Lord Ivanov!”

“…No. I will not suffer by the hands of men like you any longer.”

Carnelian recalled everything she had been through.

Compared to Ivanov and his va.s.sals, Woohyuk was like an angel.

Although she felt reluctant as he held demonic energy, she was tired of being abused and needed someone to depend on.

When Carnelian hid behind Woohyuk’s back, the blond man made a desperate face.

“f.u.c.k… What am I supposed to do now...”

“Any last words, Wraith?”

Woohyuk unsummoned Carnelian and walked towards his opponent.

Afterwards, Grandia’s blade flashed brightly as it descended towards the blond head.