Chapter 5: Evil Goddess
The doors of Labyrinths could only take a person down or up a single floor. One could not simply jump several floors at once. However, there was a singular exception to this rule, and that was if the person using the gateway was a High Priest.
This class of people could move several floors at a time without repercussions.
As for Dante, his goal and the main reason for even coming on this dangerous expedition were located on the ninth floor. So, instead of joining his group on the second, he secretly requested to be taken to the ninth instead.
When he got to the tree and passed through it, a stone tunnel leading to a massive pit cave opened up before him.
’Heh. I have to admit, being a High Priest sure has its perks,’ he thought with a bit of excitement in his heart as he looked around to ensure that he was alone.
’I really am on the ninth floor. Though I must say it’s, uh... it’s quite creepy.’
He swallowed, and his initial excitement began to dull as he turned to look around him.
The sound of water ahead echoed through the darkness, and when he turned behind him, he could see the massive statue of what looked like a muscular humanoid creature sitting on the floor with crossed legs. However, rather than a normal head, the head of a goat with horns rested atop the neck of the statue.
Behind it was a surrounding wall that led to nowhere, which signified that this tunnel was some kind of dead end.
’Seeing as I am in front of this statue, it must be the door leading to the eighth floor,’ Dante pondered, though he didn’t spend much time lingering on it. He reached into the brown, square leather bag hanging on his hip and took out a small notebook.
This was his secret notebook. He had written down most of the knowledge from the game that he could remember the moment he reached the age when he could write.
He did this because he knew he had a bad memory, and seventeen years were enough time to forget so many important things.
Without wasting any time, he flipped through the pages.
’I can recall that while playing the game, I didn’t visit this particular Labyrinth even once, as it was not a labyrinth that was relevant to the story path I was playing. So I have no idea how dangerous this place is. Since this is the ninth floor, I need to be even more careful. I don’t want to die. I need to hurry and find that hidden temple, then get the fuck out of here!’
He stopped flipping the pages when he got to the entry he was looking for.
"...Marco, while running from a group of wicked Purgers, stumbled into the ninth floor to avoid his pursuers. To mislead them, he decided to remain hidden in the pit cave and ended up discovering the entrance to the temple of an unknown evil Goddess."
Dante frowned slightly.
’Honestly, this is not much to go on. Why couldn’t they be specific and say exactly what the entrance looks like?!’
He shut the book and looked ahead of him. The short tunnel he was in was dimly lit by the light that flowed in from the open pit cave ahead.
As he began to slowly and cautiously make his way there, he put away the book and unsheathed his sword. After a few steps, he stepped out into the bright, massive pit cave.
The sunlight from above poured down from the open ceiling, illuminating the colossal cavern. The walls leading up were high, but as Dante looked around, he could see spiraling stairs embedded into the stone walls that led up and out of this pit cave and into the rest of the ninth floor.
Looking down, Dante could see that in the center of this cavern, a few meters away, was a round, deep pool of dark water.
’There’s no need to climb out of this cavern,’ he thought as he looked at the stairs leading up and out. ’It was implied that Marco never left this cavern. And besides, going up there will just leave me exposed to whatever monstrosities are on this floor.’
Having made up his mind, he decided to look for the entrance to the temple here in the pit cave.
He walked around, looking at the stone walls for what might be an entrance. Ten minutes later, he still had not found a single thing. The walls were completely seamless, offering nothing but solid rock and damp moss.
’There’s nothing here. This is bad. I can’t stay here too long. Lucian and Thalia... no, Lucian must be worried sick.’
He paused to think.
’The information I have says Marco, while running from a group of wicked Purgers, stumbled into the ninth floor to avoid his pursuers. To mislead them, he decided to remain hidden in the pit cave and ended up discovering the entrance to the temple.’ He looked over at the entrance to the tunnel where the gateway statue was. ’Let’s say he came out of there, running into this pit cave. The next obvious thing to do would be to run up the stairs, but he didn’t and chose to hide here instead.’
He scanned the open cavern again. ’But there’s nowhere here to hide. Except...’
His eyes fell on the pool of water in the center, and when they did, they widened. ’...except this pool of water right here.’
The corners of Dante’s lips pulled upward. ’Could this be the entrance?’
He stepped closer to the water to study it. It looked dark and bottomless, and nothing about it screamed: "Jump into me."
This caused him to shiver.
’I have no choice. I have to get in there. But wait, what if I’m wrong and what’s inside is one very scary monstrosity waiting for me?’
He swallowed and began to ponder if this was really worth the gamble. After a moment, he consoled and hyped himself. ’Life is all about risks. Take this risk, Dante. You can do this! You can do this! You are a transmigrator! Transmigrators don’t die!’
He took off his glasses and carefully tucked them into the bag on his hip. He could still see a fair bit without them. The only time he really needed them was when he wanted to read.
With that aside, he sheathed his sword, then took several deep breaths to prepare himself. And then...
’One, two...’
He jumped into the water with a splash. Once inside, he began to look around. Surprisingly, it was not too dark, and he could actually see a fair bit.
Down below, he could see what looked like a round opening. He began to swim toward it, and when he passed through the narrow breach, to his surprise, his head broke out of the water.
’What?’ He began to take in deep breaths of air as he looked around. It was as if he had come up to the surface of the pool. All around him was a cavern that looked similar to the one he had just left. Except, this was not a pit cave. There was no opening above to let the sun in, and this place was illuminated by shining crystals on the walls.
’Strange...’
Dante began to swim to the rocky edge, then he pulled himself out. It took a few seconds for him to gather himself, and when he did, he took out his sword again.
There was a tunnel stretching out before him.
After a bit of hesitation, he gulped and made his way to the end of the corridor. It looked somewhat similar to the one where the gateway was on the other side.
However, instead of a goat-headed man, there was a statue of a headless woman here, sitting cross-legged in silent repose.
There were many old candles around the statue, their wax melted into ancient pools, and the ground in front of her had writings etched deep into the stone.
Dante smiled.
’This really is the temple of the evil Goddess.’
Without further hesitation, Dante took out his glasses from his bag and put them on.
’Marco was a High Priest like me, so communicating with her should be easy. I don’t know much about this Goddess as information about her was not public, but I do know that Marco was a menace with powers that had to do with blood. So she likely has control over that source.’
Unlike the other classes, High Priests were more attuned to the divine and were even able to communicate with the Gods directly.
And while in the temple of any God, through the deity’s lingering presence, they could instinctually tell what they needed to do in order to reach out to them.
...Dante crouched low to read the writings on the floor.
Of course, they were not in the official tongue of the Holy Empire, yet he could understand them very well. They read:
"All Hail Evelyn, Mother of the Heart, Blood, Carnal Desires, and Horror."