Chapter 4: Harpies
...The world changed, and the scenery of a strange forest burst into Dante’s view.
While the trees were spaced reasonably apart, what made them strange was that they all had red and white leaves.
The ground itself was carpeted in these fallen leaves, and beneath the glow of the setting sun, the entire landscape took on an eerie, surreal beauty.
Dry leaves crunched beneath Dante’s boots as he took a step forward, before quickly turning around to inspect what was behind him.
Unsurprisingly, rather than an obelisk, what he saw was a massive tree so tall that one could see it towering far above the canopy. It was larger and more imposing than the other trees in this forest. And unlike the rest, which had both red and white leaves, the leaves on this tree were only white.
’This tree is likely the door that leads out of this labyrinth,’ Dante thought.
From what he knew, doors in labyrinths weren’t actually doors but anomalies in the environment that acted as spatial gateways.
While he was still musing over this, Thalia began to groan.
"Urgh! My back is literally breaking! Why am I the only one hauling all this gear?!"
Currently, she was carrying both Dante’s and Lucian’s luggage on her back, and she looked like she was one step away from collapsing under the weight of it all.
Dante smiled and leaned in to tease. "Do you want me, ’the young master,’ to carry them in your stead?" He reached out his hand. "Give it to me then. I don’t mind."
Thalia glared at him.
Of course, she knew he was only asking to mock her, and that he wouldn’t actually lift a finger.
After biting her lip in frustration, she huffed and began stomping away while cursing under her breath.
"Hmph!"
Dante could definitely hear stuff like: "May you trip on your own leg and fall!" and "I should have just stayed back at the estate!"
He chuckled. ’I can see fumes rising from her head. Poor Thalia.’
He shook his head and made his way to Lucian, who was studying a map in his hands. Apparently, before coming here, the knight had bought maps of this labyrinth. The map he was holding at the moment only seemed to contain information about the floor they were currently on.
After reaching him, Dante asked, "Have you been to this Labyrinth before?"
Lucian looked at him, then nodded and replied politely, "Yes, Signore. I have indeed been here a few times, though that was long ago. I think... twenty years ago, to be precise."
’Twenty years?’ Dante was shocked. ’You look to be in your twenties. How is that possible?’
Oblivious to his internal confusion, Lucian continued smoothly. "Back then, this Labyrinth was rated Purple. I can still recall that even the first floor had some really troublesome inhabitants."
He turned to see Dante’s expression, and he misunderstood the boy’s bewilderment for fear, so he quickly added, "Oh, you don’t need to worry. That was a long time ago and most of those creatures have been wiped out by Purgers and Apostles. As the High Priest said, even if we were to come across any creatures within the three floors we are exploring, they’d probably be low-Grade creatures like the wolf monkeys. Nothing I can’t handle. I’ll keep you safe. I promise."
’Sure you will.’ Dante nodded with a smile and tapped his chest.
They continued walking on while admiring the truly beautiful scenery. After a few minutes, Thalia even began thanking the Goddess because this place was warm, unlike the cold winter weather of the outside world that they had come from.
Several meters ahead of them, the group of Purgers was also talking and laughing among themselves.
Things seemed to be going smoothly, until... all of a sudden, the high-pitched scream of a woman yelling for help suddenly sounded from the east.
The voice kept repeating the same desperate plea. However, something about it was strange. Whoever it was kept calling for help, yet their voice kept drawing nearer to the group with impossible speed, almost as if they were running on the wind itself.
Instead of going to check it out, everyone tensed and immediately armed themselves. Even Lucian stepped forward and unsheathed his sword.
Seeing that, Dante took out his sword too. Not like he was any good with it, but holding it was better than nothing.
At that moment, one of the Purgers scouted the tree line. "It’s definitely the Harpies."
Another Purger, a woman who had an arrow already notched on her bow, asked, "How do you know?"
"The voice seems to be coming from the air," the man replied, pointing his spear upward.
When he said that, another man holding a staff in one hand and an open book in the other, chuckled lightly and added, "Listen. Can’t you hear laughter mixed with that plea for help?"
...Indeed, just as he had said, the closer the voices got, the more eerie they sounded.
It didn’t take long for five harpies to came into view, after which they descended toward the group.
They were about half the size of grown men. Their upper torsos were humanoid, though they had large, ragged feathers instead of hands, and below the waist, they possessed the lower bodies of vultures.
Upon seeing them, the woman with the arrow aimed and let go of her string. The arrow whistled through the air and buried itself deep into the neck of the leading harpy, causing its corpse to drop to the ground.
When that happened, two of the harpies paused and stopped approaching. But then, one suddenly turned toward Thalia and began to fly toward her.
"Why me?!" Thalia cried as she took a few steps back, preparing to run.
In fact, she actually began running when it got really close. "Why not Dante?! Go to Dante! Please Goddess, help me!"
Meanwhile, Lucian lunged and immediately closed the distance, leaping into the air. He swung his sword, cleanly taking off the head of a harpy.
At the same time, another descending harpy was struck through the chest by one of the Purgers holding a spear. Seeing their companions slaughtered so easily, the remaining two harpies immediately turned to flee, but right at that moment, the Purger with the staff finished chanting a few words from his book.
Several blue magic circles the size of dinner plates appeared around him, and from them, balls of flame flickered to life. They shot forward toward the two harpies, engulfing them even as they tried to fly away.
They didn’t even make it far before crashing down onto the ground.
After this happened, Dante, who was just standing with his sword gripped in both hands, heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the Goddess that it was over.
He reached up and adjusted his square-rimmed glasses, then he turned and shot Thalia a deadpan look. "Really? Go to Dante?"
Thalia scratched her head with a finger and looked away in embarrassment. "Heh heh. Come on, you know I didn’t mean it." She looked at him and offered a sheepish smile. "I would never sell you out. I swear."
Dante clicked his tongue with a look of utter disbelief before turning and stepping closer to Lucian, who was currently prying open the chest of the headless monster.
"Why was it only chasing after me?" Thalia asked as she too walked over.
Without looking at her, Lucian replied smoothly. "You are carrying our bags. Harpies are thieves and love shiny things, and they will always try to rob those they come across."
"..." Thalia bobbed her head in understanding, while involuntarily making an O shape with her lips.
Then, she suddenly turned to Dante and asked, "Did you know about this? Is this why you had me carry the bags?"
Dante shook his head. "No, I didn’t."
Thalia narrowed her eyes, studying him suspiciously, before finally looking away.
’Actually, I knew. But let’s not say that.’ Dante wiped the sweat from his head.
He had done his research before coming here, so of course he knew that!
"It’s unnerving how human their faces look," Thalia blurted casually after casting a glance at the severed head on the ground.
"Yeah," Dante agreed smoothly. "That particular head reminds me of a certain woman."
Thalia looked at him and arched a brow in confusion.
But Dante only added in his heart, ’It really looks like you, dear Caterina.’
Meanwhile, after about a minute of careful dissection, Lucian successfully harvested what looked like a small, green crystal from the chest of the corpse.
He raised it up to get a better look at it. Once he was satisfied, he wiped it on a piece of cloth he took out of his pocket, before handing it over to Thalia, who then stuffed it into one of the bags she was carrying.
Lucian then looked at Dante and offered a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry. The scent of the blood of the harpies will serve as a warning, so none of them will come near this group in the meantime. They are cowards who only attack those they think they can win against."
He then turned and continued walking.
Dante, on the other hand, sheathed his sword and followed after him.
***
Fortunately for Dante and Thalia at least, the rest of the exploration was rather uneventful. The two groups did not encounter any other monsters.
They hopped across stepping stones to cross a shallow stream, and after a bit more walking, they came to a stop in front of a massive tree. It was just like the first tree Dante had seen that served as the gateway out of this labyrinth. But unlike that one which had only white leaves, this tree had only red leaves.
"This is the gate leading to the second floor," Lucian said, turning to look at Dante and his maid.
Of course, that fact was already obvious, seeing as the group of Purgers was walking into the tree one by one. The sight was similar to how they had all walked into the obelisk outside.
"All you have to do is approach the tree while holding the key you were given," Lucian added, though this time, he was addressing Thalia.
He turned back to the tree. "I’ll go first. Both of you can come in after counting from one to ten."
Both Thalia and Dante nodded, though a small, almost imperceptible smile crossed Dante’s lips.
...Just like he had said, Lucian went first. His body passed through the rippling surface of the tree, vanishing behind it.
It was silent afterward, until Thalia spoke, "...ten. Alright. Let’s head in."
She turned to see Dante crouched down. He was tying the laces of his boots.
"Yeah, go in. I’ll be there in a few seconds."
When he said that, Thalia arched a brow. But she didn’t question him, and just shrugged before turning and walking into the tree.
It was then that Dante stood upright. He adjusted his glasses before taking a few steps toward the tree.
Then, he reached into his pocket and took out an envelope that he had prepared beforehand. He then dropped it on the ground in front of the tree.
After that, he took out a gold pocket watch and snapped it open.
’If all goes well, I should be back in less than thirty minutes.’
He closed the latch and returned it to the small bag on his hip. Then he moved to enter the door. But just before he stepped through it, he muttered under his breath, "Take me to the ninth floor."