Little Pink Starfish

It was a grotesque puppet made from a combination of wood and metal—too large to be called “small,” larger even than a child. The wrinkle between Nyne’s brows deepened.

“How is that a small puppet?”

“We beg your pardon, Sha. That is the smallest puppet we can control with magic.”

Half disappointed already, Nyne gestured silently. The magicians lifted a small machine the size of two books stacked together. After fiddling with it for a while, the puppet creaked and took a step forward. It collapsed after a few steps, prompting the divine priests to rush in and set it upright again. It staggered in a small circle, then stopped moving. The priests quickly shoved in a pile of mana stones. Seinca Hoan, watching their fumbling with a cold expression, twisted his scarred lips into a crooked smile.

“Sha, may I speak freely?”

Usually so silent that even the air around him felt heavy, Seinca Hoan had spoken up unprompted—a rare occasion. Nyne, who had been snorting at the fallen puppet, allowed it.

“Speak.”

“This servant has some shallow knowledge of magic. From what I can see, that is not a puppet—it’s a golem, Sha.”

“Moving puppets are classified as golems too, Sha.”

“This golem appears to be poorly made, Sha.”

“That is because we made it in puppet form, Sha!”

Though it wasn’t particularly hot that day, the divine priests were sweating like rain. If they stayed any longer, they looked ready to burst into tears.

The final test was to steal an item without being detected by the senses of a battle priest. At the large hall entrance, Iu stood with arms crossed, catching every attempt the magicians made using various tools to sneak in. After the trials ended, Nyne looked down at the bruised and swollen magicians with arms crossed, thoroughly defeated and dispirited.

“Are you the most skilled among the magicians?”

“In Trastasa, yes, Sha.”

A divine priest replied weakly, wiping his soaked forehead with a damp handkerchief. Comparing Lan Gwen to the magicians before him again, Nyne asked,

“What about outside Trastasa?”

The divine priest hesitated, then bowed deeply and answered,

“Outside Trastasa, there is a place called the Labyrinth, and the magicians there are said to be exceptional.”

“Labyrinth? Tell me more.”

Nyne had heard of the Labyrinth. In Trastasa, it was regarded as a blasphemous place. Though they maintained trade and didn’t openly oppose each other, it was not a name spoken casually. Nyne had only known that it “supposedly” existed.

“The Labyrinth is an underground city where magicians gather. Most enter it at a young age and either leave midway or live their whole lives there.”

“Then have you also been to the Labyrinth?”

The divine priests all said yes, then added with a shuddering tone,

“Yes, Sha. The magicians there are indeed talented. But the Labyrinth is a vile, heretical, and horrifying place beyond words.”

“Wails and screams echo every day. Monsters and demons crawl everywhere—it’s like hell itself, Sha. We hesitate even to mention it before you.”

“Magicians of the Labyrinth gain power at the cost of ethics and morality, Sha.”

The divine priests all expressed their horror in unison. After hearing a little, Nyne, seeing how the priests were near collapse from sweating, sent them away. Though they could’ve left it to slaves, they insisted on lugging their tools themselves as they staggered off, just as they had arrived.

“What a strange sight that was, Nyne-nim.”

Luga fanned himself quickly, slightly flushed with excitement. Unlike Nyne, who was disappointed by the low level of magic, the attendants, including Luga, seemed to have enjoyed the show.

Biting into a date, Nyne asked Seinca Hoan,

“Are you a magician as well?”

“Forgive me, Sha. I can summon wind or throw daggers—just that level of skill.”

Though Seinca Hoan answered modestly, Nyne looked at him with slight surprise. He could now understand why Hoan served as captain of the guards at Amon’s sanctuary. Summoning wind or hurling blades could be crucial in battle.

“Then did you go to the Labyrinth when you were young?”

“I have never stepped foot in such a blasphemous place, Sha.”

Seinca Hoan’s already grim face turned even more terrifying. The priests had their reasons for calling it unholy, and Hoan clearly had no desire to speak more on the subject. When Nyne looked to Iu, the latter opened his mouth as if waiting for the moment. Hoan gave him a sharp look but bowed his head quietly.

“I once encountered a Labyrinth magician while out hunting a magical beast, Sha. They were truly strange.”

Even Luga, who disliked Iu, slowed his fanning to listen.

“They had come on a nearby lord’s request and controlled a metal golem as tall as a palm tree. Ah, a golem is something like this.”

Iu picked up a few stones, tied them together with string, and made a clumsy doll. It was hard to imagine something that crude standing as tall as a palm tree. A few of the attendants widened their eyes in interest, and realizing he had their attention, Iu eagerly continued.

“The magician sat on top of the golem’s head. The metal golem, made of gold and silver, crushed magical beasts like mud with every swing of its fist. When the beasts were wiped out, the golem swept the ground with its hand, and mana stones clung to it like dust. I don’t know how it worked—it must’ve been magic. Since they rarely leave the Labyrinth, sightings are rare, but every time they do appear, they cause such scenes that rumors spread far and wide.”

Iu, claiming to have traveled all over and heard reliable tales about the Labyrinth magicians, went on.

“One lord reportedly insulted a Labyrinth magician and ended up crawling like a beast, his limbs twisted backward. Another magician supposedly travels with dozens of attendants who all look exactly like their master. There’s also one who rides a massive bird that may be a magical beast or monster, leaving behind rain like red blood wherever they go.”

It was hard to believe any of Iu’s stories. Nyne frowned and shook his head.

“How could a mere human possibly do such things?”

“Haha, I also assume they’re mostly exaggerated rumors, Sha.”

Because Seinca Hoan was silently pressuring Iu to stop speaking about such blasphemous topics before Sha, Iu wisely closed his mouth. Nyne tossed his finished date on the ground and asked,

“Are there Labyrinth magicians in the Great Temple?”

“Labyrinth magicians may enter Trastasa, but not the Great Temple. Only divine priests recognized by the temple may enter, Sha.”

Seinca Hoan answered firmly. Considering how the Labyrinth was viewed, of course such magicians wouldn’t be allowed in the sacred temple. That meant Lan Gwen had entered the temple while hiding the fact he was a magician—and he was likely a magician from the Labyrinth.

Nyne glanced sideways at Seinca Hoan. If the strict man—who looked like not even a needle could slip past him—found out a magician had infiltrated the temple, he would surely charge toward the Yeonhwa Hall with dozens of battle priests. Especially if the intruder was a magician skilled enough to evade a battle priest’s senses and enter Nyne’s bedchamber…

Yet even knowing how dangerous Lan Gwen might be, Nyne still had no intention of speaking of him. Once again, he chose silence over sharing anything with Seinca Hoan or Iu. Instead, he stood and ordered the priests,

“Call for the palanquin. I’m going to Yeonhwa Hall.”

The priests of Yeonhwa Hall, usually overlooked by Nyne, were now tense due to his recent frequent visits. As he stepped down from the palanquin and looked around the hall, only the gatekeeping priests greeted him, flustered by the sudden appearance.

“A devout servant greets Sha Nyne.”

As the priests carefully rose at Nyne’s gesture, they asked nervously and politely,

“Is there something we can assist you with, Sha?”

“No, I’m just here to see Lan Gwen.”