Watching Louis's back as he slipped through the door and disappeared inside, Iota muttered anxiously.

"Will he be okay? It could be dangerous if he runs into someone like Epsilon…"

Beta, however, didn't share that fear. Her voice was calm—almost certain.

"He'll be fine. He's the one Lady Eve personally chose."

For them, those words carried weight. They had waited a full century for the moment when someone worthy would finally arrive. And if Lady Eve had chosen him at the very end of their long, long wait… then perhaps he truly didn't need their protection.

"More importantly, Iota," Beta added quietly.

"Hm? Krung?" Iota blinked.

"We have something to do."

"What is it?"

Beta turned her gaze toward the dim corridor Louis had walked through, her expression softer than usual.

"Before Lady Eve is finally freed… before we meet her again… there's something we must finish."

Iota fell silent, immediately sensing the heaviness behind her words.

"It's time," Beta said, almost whispering, "to bring our story to a close."

After one hundred long years, the tale of the two chimeras was finally preparing to end.

----

As soon as I opened the door and stepped through, a strange discomfort washed over me.

It felt like I had pushed through an invisible curtain—something cold and unpleasant brushing against my skin.

The space beyond was nothing like what I expected.

A long, narrow corridor stretched into the darkness, swallowed by shadows so deep they seemed alive. The air was heavy, quiet, and suffocating, as if sound itself had been devoured by the gloom.

The moment my foot touched the floor, I activated my invisibility spell.

Since my goal was to find Lisa and bring her back safely, the last thing I needed was a confrontation with starving Chimeras that had been awake for a hundred years.

Silently, I moved forward, hugging the wall.

There was nothing particularly special about the structure itself—just an endless hallway.

Step after quiet step, I kept walking, keeping my breathing steady and my mana controlled.

Then—

Rustle, rustle—

"…!"

The faint sound crawled along my spine like a cold finger.

I quickly turned my head, and my breath hitched.

A grotesque spider skittered past my side.

And calling it "large" would've been an understatement—its body alone was easily bigger than my palm, with legs that twitched and scraped against the floor like brittle twigs.

For a moment, my fingers tingled with the urge to release a burst of electricity.

Anything to get that thing away from me.

But I stopped myself with sheer will.

If I made even the smallest noise…

If I disturbed even one thing in this place…

The Chimeras who might be lurking nearby—I did not want them coming toward me.

The spider continued crawling forward, completely unaware of my existence. I exhaled softly and forced my heartbeat to settle. Then, determined, I picked up my pace and continued down the dark corridor.

But I didn't get far before I froze again.

"What is this now?"

What stretched out before me was a massive spread of web—white threads layered thickly over one another.

Countless spider webs stretched from wall to wall, blocking the path like a barricade.

I stepped closer to examine them, but the closer I got, the clearer it became that the webs were woven so densely that squeezing through was impossible.

Even cutting them down with a sword would take too long, and looking at just how far the webs extended into the darkness…

I hesitated before even trying.

It felt like I had no choice but to turn back.

While looking around for another way, something small caught my attention.

A hole—barely noticeable—sat low on one of the walls, leading to some passage beyond.

…Was it large enough for someone to pass through?

I crouched, measuring it with my eyes.

Yes.

It looked cramped, but definitely big enough for an adult man like me to crawl through.

After glancing inside for a moment, I took a quiet breath, lowered my head, and slipped in.

Stale, unmoving air brushed against my face.

Pitch-black darkness wrapped around me, making me consider turning back for a split second.

But then—

a faint glow leaked in from somewhere deeper.

…Light?

I pushed forward, inch by inch, following that sliver of brightness.

Emerging from the hole, I stepped into a completely different space.

It felt like a maze—an enormous, twisted labyrinth made of overlapping stone walls that stretched far above my head.

The walls were thick, uneven, and arranged in a way that made it impossible to tell where one path ended and another began.

And everywhere—trailing from wall to wall, sagging from the ceiling, stretching across corners—

were spider webs.

Thick ones.

Some as wide as blankets.

Some trembling ever so slightly, as if something had just scurried across them.

Fortunately, it didn't seem as hopelessly tangled as the place I'd been trapped in before.

At the very least, there were open paths where I could walk without brushing against the webs.

I took a cautious step forward, then another, moving deeper into the labyrinth.

Each turn led to another narrow corridor,

each corridor split into two—or three—more.

The deeper I went, the more it felt like the maze was closing in around me, funneling me somewhere.

But whether that "somewhere" was safety or danger, I had no idea.

Rustle, rustle.

I froze.

Not far ahead, something small skittered across the path.

Another spider.

This one was about the size of my fist—small compared to the monsters I'd encountered earlier, but still disgusting enough to make my skin crawl.

I should have ignored it.

I really, really should have.

But the moment I saw it sprint across the ground, something in me snapped.

Maybe it was the accumulated stress.

Maybe it was simple disgust.

Or maybe it was because I was still shaken from earlier encounters.

Whatever the reason—

before I realized it, my foot had already come down.

Squish.

A sickening, wet crunch echoed beneath my boot.

Bits of the spider's body spread out like a burst fruit.

I grimaced.

Not at the mess—

but at the feeling that hit me a second later.

KIEEEEEEEK!!

A shrill, bone-piercing scream tore through the maze.

It sounded less like a cry and more like a furious warning.

A message.

An alarm.

I flinched and looked around wildly.

The sound reverberated off the walls, making it impossible to tell where it came from.

And then—

Thud.

…Thud.

...Thud.

Heavy.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Each step trembled through the floor, as if something massive was dragging its weight toward me.

The air changed.

Thicker.

Heavier.

Like something enormous had entered the maze and the space itself was reacting to its presence.

My breath caught in my throat.

Every instinct screamed at me to run—

to sprint as far and as fast as I could.

But I knew immediately:

…No.

It was too late.

The footsteps were already too close.

Running would only make noise, only reveal my exact position.

And something told me—

whatever was coming could already sense me.

I slowly reached for my weapon, swallowing hard.

"…Great," I muttered under my breath.

"Just what I needed."

The sound that had seemed distant at first was now all around me.

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