Slayers Special Volume 2: Little Princess - Chapter 3: Labyrinth

Credits

INCLUDE THIS SECTION UNALTERED IF YOU TRANSLATE THIS TO OTHER LANGUAGES

Sureiyasu Supesharu 2 – Ritoru Purinsesu by Hajime Kanzaka.

Illustrations by Rui Araizumi.

Originally published by Kadokawa on March 16, 1992.

This translation is based on the updated eBook version released on August 2, 2012.

 

English translation by H. Berry

 

Cleaned color illustrations by Arturo Songor (@artson593)

Chapter 3: Labyrinth

 

Originally published in the July 1991 issue of Monthly Dragon Magazine

 

The door opened with a nasty creak.

A black shadow stepped inside the restaurant, glanced around, and struck a pose.

“Ooooohohohoho! I found us a job, Lina!—huh? Why did you just dunk your face in the salad?”

“Ugh… Naga…” I sat up and wiped my face, glaring across the table at her.

She’s a beautiful woman with long black hair that, at least if you look her in the eye, appears as a smart person. Unfortunately, her clothes give the opposite impression.

The cape I’ll give her. But everything else? Her outfit shows way too much skin for no reason. She’s got a big skull pendant on her chest, and her black shoulder pads have spikes. She basically screams evil sorceress.

So when someone dressed like that kicks open the door of a restaurant and calls out your name, yeah, everyone stares.

“How do I put this… could you, I don’t know… try being normal for once?”

Her eyebrows shot up, “Normal? What do you mean? What’s abnormal about me?”

“Ahhhhhhh! You actually asked that out loud!?” I couldn’t handle the weight of all those eyes on me, so I jumped up from my chair, “Forget it. Let’s talk outside.”

Being noticed is one thing. Being exposed is another.

I paid the bill, left half my meal untouched, and bolted.

…Goodbye, beloved grilled meat.

 

“So?” I asked once we were on the street lined with food stalls, “What kind of job did you get us? It better be a good one.”

“Of course it is! It’s something that will benefit the entire world, and the pay is fantastic!”

The entire world? Ugh. Hearing her say that already gave me a bad feeling.

“What is it?”

“To put it simply, we’ll be saving lives.”

I froze, “…Naga, did you just say saving lives?”

“Yeah. What’s the problem?” She said it like she was discussing the weather.

I sighed, “…You know, there’s a phrase: know thyself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!?”

“That’s what I mean! Think about it! I hate to admit it, but there hasn’t been a single time we teamed up and things ended peacefully. The idea of us saving lives is so ridiculous even a zombie would laugh at it!”

I thought that was pretty convincing. (Depressing, too, but still convincing.)

She just smiled and wagged her finger, “Hmm… you don’t seem to know another phrase: who cares.”

…It hit me then, just how reckless she really is.

 

The air smelled of damp greenery.

We stood before a mossy gray ruin, half-buried in the mountains and choked with ivy.

Naga said a group of locals had dared each other to go inside days ago… and hadn’t come back.

Maybe they just got lost.

Well, there are rumours of strange monsters living here, so the villagers are too scared to enter.

And so, the village chief spotted the woman dressed as an evil sorceress and asked her to go in to save the group. And now here we are.

Apparently, the ruin had partially collapsed and merged with natural caves, creating a tangled maze.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea!” I clapped my hands.

“What?”

“What if I just blow the whole place up with a Dragon Slave, then we tell the villagers we couldn’t find anyone? Hehehehehe! Perfect plan, right? Easy payday!”

“What the hell is wrong with you!? That would bury those people alive!”

“But… going in sounds like such a hassle. It’s dark, damp, creepy…”

Looking at the warped mountainside, the buried outline of the ruins must be massive.

“Yes, it does look pretty big…” Even Naga sounded unsure.

“Right?”

“B-but, I heard there’s treasure inside too,” she said it like she was trying to convince herself.

Treasure?

“Hehehehe…” Sparks flew in my eyes. I whipped toward Naga, “Hehehehehe! Treasures! Not just gold or jewels, but grimoires, artifacts, magic items! Who knows what we’ll find! Hehehehehe!”

“Hey, are you… okay?” She edged back with a nervous look.

“It’s settled! We’re going in!”

“…You’re so greedy. No wonder people call you a materialist idiot.”

“Who calls me that!?”

“Me, of course!”

Bang!

While she was busy tossing her hair, I kicked her in the head.

 

The dungeon was even deeper than expected.

We’d walked forever, and still hadn’t reached the end. The light from outside was long gone, leaving only the glow of our Light spells and the occasional torch gripped by a weird stone gargoyle.

Every now and then, strange insects I’d never seen before skittered away from the light. The air was stale.

…I’m already regretting this.

My stamina, my willpower, even my soul felt drained.

“Naga, I’m tired. Let’s just go home.”

“Stop whining like a kid! You’re not planning to slack off just because you’ve got me here, are you?”

“No, listen. Rescuing people isn’t our thing. We don’t have the skills for emergencies. We never should’ve agreed to this job.”

“Well… that’s true, but—”

“See? Let’s just go home.”

“I agree with you, but that’s not going to work!”

“...ugh, you’re such a pain.”

In the end, the only option was to track them down quickly and finish the job.

“But there are so many halls. If we take one wrong turn, we won’t be able to get back,” I muttered, scraping a sharp mark on the wall with the chalk in my left hand.

Naga was about to fire back when she froze mid-step, hands on her hips, eyes scanning the shadows. I followed her lead.

“Voices,” she whispered.

She was right. Faint voices drifted from somewhere in the depths. Human voices, though I couldn’t make out what they were saying. Definitely a conversation.

If not some kind of creepy supernatural trick, then they had to be what we were looking for.

Or… another group in the dungeon by coincidence. But let’s be real, that’s extremely unlikely.

“Hey! Are you okaaaaaaay?!” I yelled.

Silence… then a sudden outburst of cheers from the other side, along with a metallic screech.

“They’re still alive,” I sighed in relief.

“Obviously. A corpse wouldn’t answer, dumbo,” Naga glared.

“…anyway, let’s move.”

 

We wandered, got turned around by the echoing voices a few times, but eventually reached a massive door carved with a dragon’s head. The banging was coming from the other side.

“Okay, okay! I’ll open it! Just quit making a fuss!” I pressed against the carving. Aha—mechanism in the eye. Click.

The door creaked open.

About a dozen people in plain villager clothes tumbled out, except they weren’t villagers anymore.

They were zombies.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Naga and I shrieked in unison, our screams rattling down the dark halls.

Zombies.

No need for an introduction, they’re one the most famous undead out there. Strong, tough, annoyingly hard to kill… but slow. A simple sorcerer or warrior with an enchanted weapon can defeat them with ease. So of course, they’re an easy opponent for us.

The real problem? Psychological shock.

When half-rotted villagers suddenly lunge at you (sorry, can’t describe more thanks to censorship), instinct takes over. Ours told us to run. So we did.

“…if you think about it,” Naga panted after we sprinted like maniacs, “there was no need to run. We could’ve just beaten them there.”

“Y-yeah…”

“But… were those really the missing people?” she muttered.

“Well, probably. Or just… unrelated zombies.”

Turns out the voices had been a supernatural lure. That really ticked me off.

“Naga, what now?”

“Huh?”

“We ran so fast we lost our path…”

“Oh, that’s why you’re worried?” She puffed her chest and tilted her head.

“You mean, you remember the way?!”

“Of course—!” She puffed harder. “—Not. No clue at all.”

…my skull nearly cracked.

“Why brag then?!”

“I want to show you how to keep your cool!”

…uuuh…

“You really don’t understand the situation at all!”

…uhhh…sob…sob….

“Understand what?”

Sob sob sob sob

“You little—!”

Sob sob sob!

We both turned. Down the corridor, faint sobbing echoed. A blurry figure emerged from the pitch-black tunnel. Then another. Then another. Soon, a group of ten ghostly shapes floated toward us.

“Ghosts!”

“Leave them to me!” Naga declared confidently.

I grimaced. Every time she shows off, things blow up.

“Naga, no flashy spells! If this place collapses, we’re screwed!”

“I knooow,” She clasped her hands and started chanting.

Oh no. I recognized the incantation instantly.

“Wait—that spell—!”

Too late. She threw up her hands dramatically, then crouched down, clutching her cheeks.

“…huh?”

I leaned closer. She was on the verge of tears.

“You… poked your cheeks with your shoulder spikes, didn’t you?”

“…hmph.” She nodded miserably.

Please. Don’t cry.

Guess it was on me. I extended my hand, chanting quietly, “Blam Blazer!”

A shockwave of blue light burst from my palm, rippling down the corridor. The ghosts let out ear-splitting shrieks and bolted.

The spell is harmless to the living, but agony for undead and mazoku. Perfect for indoors, zero collateral damage.

“Hmm. Not bad,” said a sudden voice behind me.

I whirled around, but there wasn’t even a shadow.

The voice probably came from one of those gargoyle torch-holders, like through a pipe or something.

“A very energetic sacrifice. Truly worthy of becoming my flesh and blood.”

…Sacrifice? Wait—

“Who are you?” Naga, already recovered.

“I am Steindorf. Master of this dungeon, descendant of noble dark blood—”

“A vampire!” I shouted.

Vampires, easily the most famous undead. Stronger than humans in every way, and some even wield magic.

“Heh. Pretty sharp indeed…”

“Of course! That pretentious tone, that cliché name, what else could you be? And only a vampire would call himself ‘descendant of dark blood’ with a straight face!”

Silence.

“…Y-you…!” His voice cracked with anger. Light flared deeper down the corridor. “Then come! Come and witness the power of a true descendant of dark blood!”

“…nah, let’s just leave him alone,” Naga said flatly.

“Why?” I frowned.

Naga looked skeptical, “This isn’t like you, fighting for no reason… did it make you mad or something?”

I shook my head. “No. Think carefully. An ancient ruin… with a vampire…”

Her eyes widened. “Oh!” She clapped her hands.

“There’s bound to be treasure!” we said in unison.

 

The path was pitch-black, but our headlamps lit the way.

“Naga,” I said as we walked.

“What is it?”

“We’ve been tricked. Cleverly, too.”

She tilted her head, “Huh?”

“The vampire called us a sacrifice, didn’t he?”

“…now that you mention it, yeah.”

“What are the odds there were never any missing villagers?”

Her blank stare told me she wasn’t connecting the dots.

“Think about it. Vampire takes over some ruins, and demands monthly sacrifices from the nearest village. But the villagers can’t afford that, right? So what do they do? They lure in outsiders. They tell adventurers someone’s missing, send them to ‘rescue,’ and, bam. Instant sacrifice. The chief totally bamboozled you.”

“W-what the—!?”

“Aaagh! W-w-why are you strangling me?!”

“I’m so angry!”

“Don’t take it out on me!”

“Anyway, if you’re right, then I’ll have to give that old man a piece of my mind when we get out of here…!” she began laughing, “But we need to defeat the vampire first. Let’s get that over with.”

 

Soon enough, another giant door loomed before us.

Seriously, why do dungeon masters always hide behind oversized doors? Is it so you don’t accidentally bump into them in the bathroom?

“Welcome…” A voice echoed as the doors creaked open.

A vast, dim chamber. At its center, a raised black coffin.

So cliché.

The lid creaked open.

“…what’s the point? It’s not like sunlight can reach down here.”

The hand emerging froze, then resumed, as if regaining dignity. Out stepped a tall man with slicked-back blond hair and a black cloak.

…yeah, he looked like some random guy.

“It is an honor. I am Steindorf, master of this dungeon,” he bowed deeply.

“Yeah, whatever,” I waved him off, “If we’re fighting, hurry up already.”

“W-what!?” His composure snapped, “Then I’ll rip your throat out!”

Gross.

I don’t want to fight, but…

Gwaa!

His body swelled, muscles contorting. Fur spread across his skin, ears stretched long, his mouth opened in a piercing shriek—

He turned into a giant bat!

Most people would panic. But I’m not most people.

He wobbled in the air.

“Take this!” Naga casually flicked a pebble. It smacked him square in the forehead.

He plummeted. Splat. Back to human form.

“Gah…you’ve done it now, even though you’re a mere human! I wasn’t expecting to get to this, but I’ll use my strongest spell to put an end to you!” he thrust both hands out in front of him as he began chanting.

That spell—?

“Flare Arrow!”

A glowing arrow of fire, about the size of a carrot, appeared.

“….”

“Go!”

The fiery carrot drifted forward, slower than a turtle.

“Ahahaha! You see? You’re frozen with fear!”

Not exactly.

Naga and I stared, wide-eyed, watching it creep toward us.

“All fools who wander here perish! Ahahaha!” Steindorf cackled.

Silence.

We stood there. Him, too. All of us just… watching the carrot.

Finally—

“Argh! I can’t stand it anymore!” The vampire stomped over, grabbed the carrot, and tossed it toward us himself.

That’s… actually impressive. Most people can’t handle their own spells like that.

Still, he was expecting a reaction. Couldn’t leave the guy hanging.

I drew my short sword and swatted the flaming carrot down with a thud.

…nothing happened.

“My Flare Arrow!” he wailed, scrambling to pick it up.

“Don’t touch that!” I kicked him in the ribs.

 

“…tch, I’m getting bored.” Talking like a villain, I leaned over the vampire tied up in magic rope. “Got anything else, Steiny?”

“S-Steiny…?”

“Steindorf is too long, and I don’t want to call you vampire. Anyway, are there more treasures?”

He shrieked, “S-sorry, that’s all I have!”

“I guess that’s that then.”

He finally caved in after a good beating, Naga was carrying a knapsack full of treasures (which doesn’t fit her at all.)

“I think he’s telling the truth. Let’s leave, Lina.”

“Yeah, fine,” I hefted my bag.

“But… how do we get back?” Naga muttered thoughtfully.

“Well, we just follow my chalk marks. Pain in the butt, but doable.”

“…ah.” Her face soured. “About that. Your doodles were awful, so I erased them.”

“…you what!?”

“They looked like graffiti!”

“They were GUIDES!”

“Then you should’ve said so!”

“There was no need for that! If you’ve thought for an instant, you would’ve figured it out!”

“I didn’t think about it at all!”

“Don’t admit it so proudly!” I was breathing heavily.

I was ready to explode. Then a thought struck me. I leaned toward Steiny.

“You said you have no more treasures, right? That’s fine, but I need you to show us the exit.”

“Hmph,” he smiled for a moment, “But first, I must tell you the story of the night I came here.”

“Nobody asked—”

“I claimed them, demanded sacrifices from the village each month, and—”

“—not listening—”

“…but the ruins were far too complex. To be honest, I have no idea how to leave.”

…something snapped in my head.

“So you’re lost,” Naga approached with a smile on her face.

“I guess you could say that. Seems some sacrifices have been delivered to me, but before they arrived they died on their own somewhere and were possessed by low level spirits, turning into zombies. To be honest, I’ve been having a lot of troubles lately, mainly when it comes to food, hahahaha!”

That laugh was the last straw.

“I’ll bury you, you stupid vampireeeeee!”

“Ahhhh! Stop her!”

“Lina! Calm down!”

 

It took us four days to escape.

I’m never taking another one of Naga’s jobs again.

Contents

Chapter 1: Dragon's Peak
Chapter 2: Little Princess 
Chapter 3: Labyrinth 
Chapter 4: The order to eliminate Lina (Read right now on Patreon or Ko-Fi !)
Chapter 5: The Child (Coming Soon!)
Chapter 6: Slayers EX - Little Princess 2 (Coming Soon!)
Afterword, Color ilustrations and Download Links (Coming Soon!)

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