Old People Don’t Hold Hands - Chapter 153



Only Krnovel

Episode 153, The Lost Child (2)

The pocket tore and the contents inside poured out.

Because the colorful branches I had collected in the labyrinth and purchased at the shops I visited were scattered on the floor.

After capturing the boss here, the cradle’s nanny, I was slowly picking up the things that had fallen on the floor…

I stopped my hands and stared at one spot.

It was because of a branch right under my feet.

An eerie red-tinged branch that resembles the worldline it was obtained from.

This was definitely a branch that could be obtained from the Red Thorn Swamp on the second floor of the Labyrinth.

So, to be more specific… … .

The boss of the Red Thorn Swamp on the 2nd floor, the branch of the Bloody Cradle.

“Bloody cradle… … .”

The bloody cradle in my hand.

The name of the world line I am currently in, Empty Cradle.

After picking up the branch of the bloody cradle, I turned my gaze and looked at one point.

The cradle located in the center of the boss room, where the nanny died and the baby’s cries can no longer be heard.

Since the empty cradle was a world line filled with pitch-black darkness, the cradle placed here was also covered entirely in pitch-black color.

Like the cradle’s nurse and the screaming figure, the skeleton was long and slender.

After looking back and forth between the branches of the cradle and the bloody cradle, I realized something and immediately grabbed the branch tightly.

… … Now that I think about it, why didn’t I think of this?

There were only two locations in EndWorld where a boss appeared with a name that included the word “cradle.”

One of them was the boss of the Red Thorn Swamp on the second floor, ‘Bloody Cradle’.

The other one was the boss of the empty cradle on the 4th floor, ‘The Cradle’s Nanny’.

And coincidentally, the name of this world line was also ‘Empty Cradle’… … .

As the name suggests, the cradle located in the center of the boss room was currently empty.

Looking at it this way, it seemed like there was a correlation between the two world lines.

When I first played EndWorld, I didn’t understand this.

Why is the boss of the Red Thorn Swamp on the 2nd floor named Bloody Cradle?

Originally, it was supposed to be a two-phase, and I thought it was named that way because it resembles a baby as it grows.

……if?

“Mr. Declen, are you okay?”

Instead of picking up the fallen items, let’s stop and grab the branch of the bloody cradle.

Diana came to me and asked with concern.

“……no.”

This correlation is still just a hypothesis, and nothing has changed.

Since ancient times, in order to find hidden elements in games, you have to break down even the seemingly useless walls.

In the first place, the thorns of the bloody cradle were not so expensive that they had to be spared.

And if you try to save it, you can go to the labyrinth and get it again without much difficulty.

Above all… … .

This area was turning black because we had just defeated the boss here, the Cradle’s Nanny.

If anything, you could say that they prepared an escape route in advance so that you could escape when problems arise.

If there’s a problem, you’ll be swallowed up in this area within 5 minutes and thrown out of the labyrinth.

No matter how much I thought about it, there was only one conclusion.

There is no reason not to try it.

“Miss Diana.”

“……yes?”

“Let’s gather everyone else together.”

“… … Right now, huh?”

“Yes. As soon as possible.”

Diana looked puzzled, but nodded and started moving.

***

He called all three of the people who were gathering branches with Diana.

Although about two minutes had passed during this process, there was still time.

Of course, it’s a labyrinth where noticeable changes can occur in just three minutes, but at least not now.

“D, DeClen. What’s going on? There shouldn’t have been any problems during the battle… … .”

“Oh, that’s right, sir. What are you doing all of a sudden when I was planning to go back anyway?”

Leaving people asking with a puzzled look on their faces.

I quietly stroked the branch of the bloody cradle I was holding in my hand.

If I had enough time, I would have explained it in detail, but I didn’t have the time.

“There’s something I’d like to try.”

“… … A test, you say?”

Diana, who had helped gather people in a hurry but still had questions, asked again.

Instead of answering that, I got up.

And he handed the branch he was holding to Nowen.

“Mr. Nowen.”

“T, why is this… … .”

“You used the zero gravity enchantment, right?”

“That, that’s right, it was thanks to you that too… … .”

“Greetings are done.”

I handed the branch of the bloody cradle to Nowen, who answered with a bewildered expression.

Nowen tightened his grip so that he could hold it tightly.

“Can you please throw this thing into the cradle?”

“… … This, you mean?”

“Yes. I need to check something so I think you need to do it right now.”

As I say this, I look at the floor which is turning black.

Nowen followed my gaze and looked there, then nodded.

“… … I don’t know what it is, but I get it.”

With these words, Nowen bent his knees.

It popped up in an instant.

It may be because his basic physical abilities are outstanding.

Nowen was soaring high that one could almost say he was flying thanks to the weightlessness enchantment.

Nowen, who had risen so high, threw the branch with all his might towards the cradle in the air.

I watched the scene quietly.

Diana and Biella looked a little nervous at my sudden instructions.

“Hmm… … ?”

Inogen simply watched with interest.

“… … .”

Nowen returned, throwing a branch into the cradle, but the cradle was silent.

Time passed and there were only about two minutes left to stay in this world line.

… … To be exact, it was 30 seconds after the branch was thrown into the cradle.

“Whew, I threw it straight in, but it doesn’t seem to have changed much.”

“… … Then, are you sure there was nothing in the cradle?”

“Oh, that’s right. It’s empty… … .”

At that moment, I felt regretful as if I had misunderstood Nowen’s answer.

Du, duduk, dududu, thuduk, dam, dam.

Strange noises began to be heard from within the cradle.

A grotesque and cruel noise continued, as if flesh was being tangled and bones were being broken.

At the end of it.

Ugh, euaaa …

… … The baby’s cries were heard again.

As soon as I heard that sound, I looked inside the cradle.

Nowen, who had been talking with his back to the cradle, turned around in an instant and looked.

From the cradle that looked like that… … .

It was wriggling little by little, and the flesh was rising.

It looks like a living pillar, with eyes scattered here and there.

… … just like a tower of corpses.

However, it was a little different from the corpse tower.

Rather than being more like a sculpture, like a corpse tower… … , it’s more like a real living creature.

I wondered if he had any sense of self, because he was looking around, rolling his eyes here and there.

The guy, who seemed to be looking around for a while, made eye contact with me.

Likewise, he began to move his lips, which were embedded in various parts of his flesh, clumsily.

The voices coming from dozens of lips were all different, mixing together to form a strange noise.

Above all, the pronunciation was all slurred, making it difficult to even understand.

Still, I wonder if there is something they are trying to convey.

The guy kept staring straight at me and smirking.

“Je, eh, crow, woo… … , seu.”

I just sat there and watched him talk.

The flesh was long and tangled like a tree trunk, and it seemed as if it could not move except for its eyes and lips.

It didn’t seem like it could attack or threaten us other than wriggling around, so we just watched quietly… … .

Just in case, I placed my hand on the sword.

So that it can be cut down quickly if necessary.

Regardless, the guy just kept looking at me and opening his mouth.

“Ah, no, no, this, this, daa… … . Geu, run, de, why, your nome, eee, are you, having us, … … right?”

……for a moment.

“Did you just say roots?”

I took another step closer to him, still holding my sword.

The guy just said clearly, it’s a root.

Even Nana, who has played this game for a long time, or Inogen, who has lived for a long time, don’t know.

The Frost Queen noticed.

Even the roots that I said I had.

But the bastard only mentioned the root and mumbled to himself as if he couldn’t hear what I said.

He started twisting his whole body.

“Why, why do you have that! It’s all mine! It’s mine, mine, mine, mine!”

Then he shouted loudly, almost to the point of roaring.

“Ugh, ugh… … !”

Those around him collapsed in an instant.

… … Inogen, who had mental powers that were several times stronger than those of humans, also fell.

I was the only one here who didn’t fall down.

The way he’s acting right now, it’s like he’s the boss here.

It was very similar to the attack pattern of the cradle’s wet nurse.

It’s the thing that makes a loud noise and makes people faint.

… … But you’re saying that it makes a loud noise that can even overcome the spirit of the demon dragon?

Even though everyone except me has fallen, the guy still remains angry.

He kept twisting his body back and forth.

Then, the flesh that couldn’t escape from the cradle began to come out.

The creature flailed its strangely twisted limbs.

A head piled extremely high and limbs twisted in bizarre ways.

… … The body of the guy who came completely out of the cradle was very large.

In fact, this is about the size of the gods you will encounter in the upper floors of the EndWorld labyrinth.

… … Its size is so large that it cannot be compared to any monster I’ve ever seen.

“Ugh, ugh, give it to me, give it to me, ah, ah… … !”

He slowly walked towards me

I guess I’m getting more and more used to moving my body.

He began to approach me, waving his arms and legs even faster.

“… … Chew!”

The bastard quickly approached and I looked around at the fallen people for a moment.

Diana, Biella, Nowen, and Inogen were all unconscious and half-submerged in the blackened floor.

And this was the signal that it was being released from the labyrinth.

“That, that, that’s mine, mine aaaa …

Avoid the guy who speaks awkwardly with all kinds of voices mixed together.

I too surrendered myself to the blackened floor.

The guy stretched out his hand as if he wouldn’t let go of the day he fell to the ground.

My vision completely blacked out just before I was caught in the bastard’s hands.

“… … Look! Hey!”

After wandering in the endless darkness, I opened my eyes again.

“Hey! Open your eyes!”

… … There was Nowen looking down at me, occasionally hitting my cheek and trying to check my consciousness.

That means.

He managed to avoid the guy and escape from the labyrinth.

… … As soon as I regained consciousness, I immediately remembered the appearance of the thing I had just seen in the labyrinth.

Without thinking too much,

I definitely.

I’ve seen that guy before.