252 – The Returner Wanders (6)
A white goblin holding a spear. This is the first creature I met in this maze, and the first enemy that died to me.
“Come here.”
“Rarrrr!”
I instantly broke that guy’s spear in half, suppressed both of his hands, and brought him here. I thought this was the final key to victory.
“So, hand over the throne to this pale goblin. Right away.”
What I paid attention to was the part where you have to kill the ‘King of the Maze’. Isn’t that middle-aged man over there the king of the maze? That’s my goal. Making it no longer.
〈25th floor〉
– Defeat the ‘King of the Maze’ and escape.
-Poison is spreading inside the 25th floor. You may not notice any major problems at first, but as time goes by, movement will become more difficult. For the general public, about an hour. Climbers die within 2 to 3 hours. Please be careful.
Sang Tae-chang said to kill the ‘King of the Maze’. Of course, there are minor obstacles such as the king of the maze is immortal, poison is spread here, you have to go around the maze to kill him, and the minotaur chases after you over time, but anyway, if you kill the king of the maze, it’s over.
Judging by the use of the word ‘treatment’, it seems that the tower does not consider the King of the Maze to be a human, but that’s okay.
That man cannot be easily killed. He can only be killed if he goes through due process. It is currently impossible for me.
Then… What if we made that man not the ‘King of the Maze’? Rulers often say that the title of king was given by heaven, but in reality, it was just a powerful person who became king. Due to the whim of the king, the youngest son may become king instead of the eldest son, so it is complete bullshit to say that it was granted by heaven.
But if the youngest son can become king instead of the eldest son, then shouldn’t this white goblin here also be king? It is said that only royal families can be cursed to become goblins. Is there anything he can’t do as a king? There is no separate seed for the Queen Mother, and it is even the king’s seed.
In addition, this white goblin friend did not have the slightest drawback of ‘immortality’, so he was a very suitable person to be appointed as the next king.
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I don’t know if it will work or not. However, when I thought about it logically, I thought it was right and it seemed like it would work, so I gave it a try. It’s never too late to try it and regret it.
There is only one problem here. No, two.
First. Will the King of the Maze meekly hand over his throne to a goblin?
This he was a little confident about. The king of the maze is trapped here. He even ruined the world, either because of the tower or because of God. There is hatred towards God and the Archangel, but it is not a favorable position.
The concept that the enemy of one’s enemy is one’s friend is common in all cultures. Perhaps for revenge, the King of the Maze will cooperate.
The real problem is second. Even if I killed the goblin who took over the throne, will it be treated as if I killed the ‘King of the Maze’?
“… “
“… “
I didn’t show it on the outside, but on the inside I was nervous and looked at the King of the Maze. He is sitting on the old throne, calmly looking into my eyes.
No, it’s not the same. There is a difference.
The eyes of the guy who always sees… It was deep. It is not a depth of positive meaning. It is the negative depth when looking into the abyss under the sea. It is the depth of someone who despairs, despairs, and despairs again and has let go of everything.
But now, little by little, the light is coming back. The piece of the opposite sex that was lying on the floor is gradually coming back to its feet.
“… It’s the throne.”
So says the king of the maze.
“He never wanted to be king,” He said. He only became king because he had a hard time.”
I elegantly drank the red wine that had been placed on the table for decoration.
“To protect freedom, we must become strong and gather forces… In the end, the responsibilities piled up and I became unable to be free. Don’t you think it’s ironic?”
“… “
“If someone became king instead of me… I often imagined this. “That’s fun.”
I let go of the white goblin’s arms. Instead of turning around and running towards me, he began to walk hesitantly forward. This is the direction where the king of the maze is standing.
“Keruk… “
A white goblin writhing helplessly. The king of the maze calmly strokes the guy’s head.
“… I don’t know if you did it knowingly. “This guy is my son.”
“… “
“This is a guy who had a lot of worries because he had a father who was immortal. He is the one who planned to imprison me and ascend to the throne himself.”
Although he was speaking calmly, I felt something deep down inside.
“Crrrr rrrr “
“My son tried to kill me… I failed… While imprisoned… The world… It happened like this. Well, that’s the story.”
What if it were like this? There was no if, such as what would have happened if it had been like that. He just strokes the white goblin’s head.
“Crrrr rrrr “
But suddenly, a white goblin ran into the arms of the king of the maze. I didn’t set his fingernails. He didn’t even show his teeth. Just like a child snuggling into his parents’ arms his his… I just buried his face his and hugged the body of the king of the maze.
“… !”
The king of the maze opens his eyes wide. His mouth opens slightly, tries to say something, stops, then closes again. There was no need for verbal expression. He just gently strokes the white goblin’s wrinkled back.
“Strange climber. “What is your purpose?”
The King of the Maze, who was stroking the goblin’s back, turned his gaze to me. This is a question that contains a lot of things. How did you know that goblins were originally humans? What is the reason for doing this now?
Of course, my purpose was and still is only one.
“To see the end of this tower without going crazy.”
“… I guess so.”
The King of the Maze takes off the crown from his own head and carefully places it on the head of the white goblin. No… The man who was the king of the maze.
“I don’t know if it will work or not. I will cooperate.”
He bit his finger, drawing blood, then placed it on the goblin’s forehead and began drawing a geometric pattern. When the strange pattern was completed, I covered it with my palm.
Closing eyes. Touch forehead to forehead with the goblin.
“… It was done.”
“Yes?”
“It has been the succession to the throne. I didn’t know I could either. “This is my first experience like this.”
A white goblin snarling. The King of the Maze took out a small dagger from his arms and gently thrust the blade into the nape of the goblin’s neck.
“Keruk… “
The white goblin flinched for a moment and stopped moving. As the King of the Maze is held in his arms his, his body his his becomes limp.
-Defeated the King of the Maze.
-A portal through which you can escape will be created somewhere inside the maze.
A message window immediately pops up. I ignored the message window and focused on the man.
“What would it have been like if he had passed the throne to his son? I used to think. I had the idea, but I didn’t have the will to execute it. “I regretted that fact, regretted it, and regretted it again.”
“… “
“Go back to where you started. There’s probably a way out there.”
He lay on the floor sideways, holding the goblin in his arms. From a distance, he seemed to see his father holding a sleeping child. If it weren’t for the green blood flowing from the nape of his neck, it would seem like a peaceful nap time.
“… Thank you.”
“Me too.”
I immediately opened the wooden door and left. The King of the Labyrinth used to say that he always longed for death. Now I understand. He was not long for death.
He actually has a past… I wanted to change it. He desperately hoped to be given a chance to correct his mistakes.
Right now, I wanted to respect their time. Even if a returner who could turn back time sympathized with their pity, it was nothing more than a deception and a sham.
How many mistakes do we make and regret in our lives?
Everyone who has made the worst mistake longs for a return, but not everyone is given the ability to do so.
**
“It’s true.”
When I returned to the starting point, there was a really blue portal pulsing around. How did the King of the Maze know this? Did I just realize it instinctively?
Anyway… This is the escape. The past time passes like a panorama.
Choi Ji-won suffered to give me a chance. Navigating this maze. An encounter with the King of the Maze. He did various things to escape. Minotaur. In the words of one cursed by God. The words of someone who has been defeated by God.
I shook it off with a long exhalation and threw myself into the portal.
-Cleared the 25th floor.
-I cleared it incredibly quickly! Additional rewards are provided.
**
“… Are you here?”
“… Uh. “I’m here.”
As soon as I returned to my room, I immediately made eye contact with Choi Ji-won. She was waiting for me here. I was looking at the place where I disappeared like a stone.
Likewise, no words were needed. We shared a deep hug. That was enough. We completely understood each other’s feelings.
As for real time…
This happened only 13 minutes after entering the 25th floor.