Chapter 237: 237: Mortal Dilemma

When I awoke, it was to the sound of several dings. 

〚Skill Aptitude Increase:『Appraisal:LV6』has become 『Appraisal:LV7』〛

〚Skill Aptitude Increase:『Faint Resistance:LV8』has become 『Faint Resistance:LV9』〛

I was at the bottom of the steps, having rolled down in my unconscious state, and I scowled. This was getting too much!

Why was such a small box so dangerous, that I passed out just trying to appraise it?

And if so, why wasn't I crystallised as well? 

But then.

〚Skill Aptitude Increase:『Petrification Resistance:LV3』has become 『Petrification Resistance:LV4』〛

Huh? Wait, when did I get this skill?

Holy snakes!

I immediately blinked to the top of the stairs in terror.

After that ding, waiting around was just asking for death.

But I stopped at the entrance where I noticed the bone scythe sticking out from under the debris.

With the shadow creature dead, no more Abyssal monsters would be made. Yet, if I left now, with things as they were, the valley would remain a death-trap, shrouded in much thicker darkness.

Looking back, I saw copious amounts of dark mist pouring out through the trap door, and with the mechanism destroyed, there was no way of closing it now.

I calmly collected the scythe into [Dimensional Box] as I realized I'd just made things worse by meddling. 

"What exactly is that thing?" I wondered aloud.

It seemed far-fetched for Sensei to know, since [Appraisal] couldn't identify it, but I thought I'd ask all the same.

«It seems to be a cursed object.» Sensei replied. «An ancient relic containing the physical remnants of a god. The one down there probably belongs to the Dark God, but there have been several others recorded in history. With the sheer amount of power it contains, it can easily trigger a catastrophe that could destroy this Labyrinth – and so much worse if it gets into the wrong hands.» 

Woah.

«Because of the greed to possess their power, several wars have been waged that have pushed several races into extinction. They are immensely dangerous and…»

I listened to Sensei's explanation with awe and interest.

Yet, all I could think was…how could a box be part of a god?

I suppose a plain object like that would never arouse suspicion, especially if there were people actively searching for it. 

Hehe, what a rare find for a little snake like me to casually stumble upon it!

«Did you listen to anything I said?» Sensei grumbled.

"Uh huh…yes!" I nodded.

«Then why are you going down there again?» Sensei snapped. «That thing could kill you in a million different ways!»

"Not if I can contain it first." I replied. "I won't stay long!"

«Aurelia!» he shouted, genuinely anxious.

I tuned him out, held my breath and rushed through the dense mist to approach the circle again.

Upon reaching the elder elf in the center, I peered over the shoulder of the crystal statue to stare at the contents of the box. Inside was a jewel the size of a fist.

It had an unusual golden colour with cyan flecks that glimmered brilliantly from within the box, and I stopped short to look at it.

When Sensei said a physical remnant, I was expecting something…different. 

An eye, a finger, some skin? Something small that fit nicely inside a box, that I could easily devour, not a jewel. 

I sighed in disappointment. Perhaps I was getting too hungry for my own good?

«You've seen it, now go back.» Sensei said. «And don't even think of eating it. It will kill you the moment you touch it.»

"I wasn't really going to." I laughed. "It was only a stray thought. Does this mean it can't be destroyed?"

«Not by you. You're barely resisting its petrification curse. What makes you think you'll survive swallowing it whole?»

"I said I wasn't going to!" I huffed.

If I couldn't destroy it…perhaps it was possible to take it away?

Such a dangerous artefact... someone needs to guard over it, right? Hehe 

An idea popped into my head, and I slowly slithered over to one of the crystal statues, before clasping it with my pronged tail. I then tugged on it so that it fell towards the elder elf standing by the open box.

I heard Sensei shouting in my head, but it was already too late. The crystal statue fell towards the elder elf, shattering both statues with a loud bang. The pieces then fell over the box, and one piece knocked its lid shut with a soft clasp.

In an instant, the thick dark mist filling the room immediately dispersed, and the heaviness of ether hanging in the air returned to normal levels, as the dark air became crystal clear.

I was stunned, yet relieved, as I watched over the box in the middle of the shattered crystals, admiring my genius.

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"Calamity averted, am I right?" 

However, Sensei was less than amused. «That was unbelievably reckless and irresponsible. What were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that was?»

"I was careful not to touch it though." I replied with a pout. Couldn't he praise my smart idea?

I had the suspicion, the plain box was immune to the relic's petrification, due to its good condition – but I still didn't dare to touch it directly, just as extra precaution.

Yet even with my carefulness, I was met with complaints.

"What did you expect me to do, leave it alone?"

«Yes!» Sensei fumed. «You gain nothing by meddling with things that already are.»

I didn't want to argue with him, so I remained quiet.

Didn't he realise that without this relic, the valley would be safer. It was what attracted the shadow creature here and led to all those miserable deaths.

«What are you planning to do with it?» Sensei asked.

I couldn't exactly leave it here, so I took it into my [Dimensional Box]. I could almost feel Sensei wilting away with worry as I did this, perhaps I'd stressed him out enough for one day.

"Don't worry, I won't keep it. I'll hide it somewhere safe once I leave here."

Somewhere in the deepest, darkest part of the Labyrinth perhaps.

«Dispose of it as soon as possible.» Sensei reminded, and I nodded in agreement. It was better if something like this never saw the light of day again.

Leaving the room, I returned to the upper dungeon where several Abyssal monsters waited for me ever so patiently. They were all different kinds, and seeing them all cower before me, I gained the courage to try another insane idea.

Due to [Glossary of Aeon] I now had the shadow creature's guttural tongue listed as a language. So I decided to give them an order with it – just like it would have done.

My request was fairly simple – they were to locate the hunting party of elves and mortals, if they were still in the valley.

And if they were still alive, they were not to attack them, but return and let me know their whereabouts. 

I thought the Abyssal monsters would find my orders confusing, but to my relief, they all left the lair at once.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to move so many monsters at once. In the future, I doubted they would continue following my commands. Eventually, it would be better if they realise I was nothing like them and leave on their own.

When I looked past the walls with [Mind's Eye], the dark mist completely disappeared, and the valley looked a lot less ominous than before. In the distance, I saw several of the Abyssal monsters leaving the chasm like a great flock.

For now, perhaps it was fine to leave them be. 

With all the monsters gone, I was left alone, and in the quiet of the dungeon, I was forced to face the aftermath of my mistake. 

The cells I destroyed and the creatures I killed were a constant reminder that I let myself get out of control. I'd rendered their efforts to stay alive completely fruitless, and I was annoyed with myself. 

How was I any different from the shadow creature who tortured them, if their lives ended up becoming my nourishment? 

Perhaps if I wasn't so hasty to evolve, some of the creatures here would have survived. I couldn't let such a thing happen again.

Yet, at the same time, there was a noticeable vacuum in the emotions I should have been feeling. I should have been wrecked with guilt, but I merely knew from my knowledge that my actions were wrong, not necessarily that I regretted them.

It was quite a surreal, uncomfortable feeling, like something was changing within me, without my knowledge. 

To pass the time until the Abyssal monsters returned from their search, I decided to search the dungeons for any other survivors. There were three floors, each with so many cells crammed closely together - surely I couldn't have eaten them all, right?

Although I moved quickly, my search lasted for what felt like hours. Every cell I came across was torn open in a similar way, leaving a bloody mess inside. Until I came across an isolated row that was mostly untouched.

As soon as the shadow creature died, the rods piercing the creatures had dispersed, but they were still too weak to escape on their own. Seeing some survivors made me immediately cheer up, and I started cutting open the cells to release them.

But when I reached the end of the row, I came upon an unusual sight. 

While all the other cells were filled with monsters, this one contained a mortal male. He was not one of the faces I'd seen with the elves. Rather, his clothes were filthy, his nails long, with an unkept beard like he'd been inside the cell for years. 

He didn't even flinch at the appearance of a monster, rather he remained bent over on his knees, eyes wrinkled in pain as he clutched the many bleeding wounds the rods left behind. 

Thinking he was afraid, I backed away from the open cell, giving him the chance to escape. But instead of moving, the man raised his head, and I caught a flash of red pupils set in the middle of brown eyes.

I was stunned. Why did this mortal have the same eyes as me?

He seemed to be in a lot of pain, and from the amount of blood lost - he should've died a long time ago.

Was he actually a mortal, and not some kind of shape-shifting monster?

My first thought was to scan his body with [Mind's Eye], and when I did, I grew even more confused. 

The man had two cores inside of him, a larger main core that was blood red in colour, and another smaller core, rotating on an axis around it. This one was pitchblack.

Both cores were shades I'd never seen before, yet they reminded me so much of mine and Sensei's.

I stared stupidly as the man opened his mouth with difficulty, a few audible words came out and I quickly grasped their meaning, but I was taken aback. 

He was asking to die.

|[K-Kill...me]|

No, rather, he was pleading for me to kill him.

As I stared in disbelief, the black core inside him suddenly exploded, and the burst of darkness spread over to envelop the red core. And as the two merged, the joint core swelled to double its size, like it too was dangerously close to exploding.

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