"Do you feel that, Joel?"
"Yea… I do."
What we felt as soon as we stepped foot inside this area was an intense bloodlust like no other. It was years… no… centuries of suppressed rage and fury. It made my skin crawl as if millions of spiders were scuttling around the surface of my body. The problem though is that we cannot identify where this 'thing' was hiding.
Should we leave and find another route? Or do we stay and fight?
Tap Tap…
"…!"
Chen Ling briskly walked toward the center, studying the area carefully.
"Chen Ling!" I hissed. "Do you really want to fight whatever is in here?"
He gave me a thumbs up and proceeded to walk further away from me, scanning his surroundings. I could only stare at him in awe. I know that whatever is in here is not weak in the slightest, and Chen Ling knows that too, yet here he is confronting the challenge. Since I'm such a nice person, I cannot leave anyone behind, or else it'll weigh heavily on my mind.
BROOOOM!
From behind, the stone doors that were previously open were now shut. Our only way out of here was now sealed. Knowing it was of no use to pry the doors open, I could only follow Chen Ling. The room wasn't that dark because of my [Night Vision] and the lit-up braziers hung on the pillars. There was mold growing on visibly huge cracks and the floor was patterned with stone, the pattern being that of a zigzag. As I was inspecting the ground, I found myself bumping into something solid.
"Oh, sorry about that Chen-"
When I went on to apologize, it wasn't Chen Ling who I bumped into, but a stone statue.
"What the…"
It was just your run-of-the-mill statue alright, but what freaked me out was the pose it assumed. It was posed in a way of a person holding their arms up as if to defend solely their face, an expression of pure terror engraved. The weirdest part of all is that it wasn't the only one. As I looked around the room, there were many more, taking different poses. Some were running away, and others crawling. In the mix were humanoid features, but animals and monsters too. It truly was a garden of statues. And as a person familiar with Greek mythology due to its popularity, there was only one culprit who could've done this…
As I was deep in thought, a hissing similar to the snakes in the pit was heard up above. My brain was shouting at me to look up, but I knew deep down if I were to crane my neck up, that would only be the death of me. Following my instincts, I jumped away from where I stood as fast as humanely possible. I cast my gaze directly at the ground and heard something soft landing in front of me.
"Well... You aren't dumb like the rest of them," the creature remarked. My gaze was still fixated on the floor, but slowly but surely, I could see the bottom half of its body, and just like the myths described, it was a green snake body. I worked my way up and stopped to the point where I could only see below its neck. The torso was definitely human, and its skin color was pale white, the chest covered with some raggedy fabric. My sneaking suspicion was all but confirmed.
"…Medusa." I murmured. At the sound of her name being called, the hissing noises I've been hearing have gotten even louder, similar to a flock of chirping birds at dawn.
"Ah, quiet down my children. No need to get so worked up…" It cooed. While I can't see her face, I can accurately guess that she's referring to her snake hair. Also, where the hell is Chen Ling? I don't want to take my eyes off Medusa, but not seeing Chen Ling is worrying me.
"Listen here human. I don't know what age it is right now, but for you to know of me, the legend of Medusa must still spread far and wide…"
"…"
Medusa… One of the three Gorgons of Greek mythology. She wasn't always like this though. She used to be a human just like the rest of us… until she incurred the wrath of Athena by sleeping with the god Poseidon in one of Athena's temples. The goddess cursed Medusa into this horrible state, a human-snake hybrid with snakes for hair. What's terrifying aside from her features though, is her ability to turn those who gaze into her eyes to stone. Just like these statues.
"That bitch of a goddess Athena reduced me to this state just because I was flirting with Poseidon in one of her temples… No wonder gods and mortals aren't fond of her… Way too stuck-up…" Medusa hissed with contempt.
"…"
Hold on… Why is Medusa talking about her situation as if it actually happened in real life? I can understand her existence being real since she's right here in the flesh, but…
The sudden realization dawned on me like I'd been hit by a baseball reaching the speeds of a fighter jet. Could gods like Poseidon and Athena actually be real? Medusa and the Minotaur, which are supposed to be made-up stories, aren't a figment of our imaginations… Would that apply to the gods too? Also, why stop there? Gods and creatures in other mythologies could be real too!
My mind was racing at this new revelation of information to the point where a headache was forming. I was so deep into my thoughts that I wasn't paying attention to the foe that was slithering before me.
Medusa held up one of her hands with nails that were like talons and brung it down toward my face. In my peripheral vision, I finally noticed she was right in front of my face, so I backed away just in time.
"You have fast reflexes for a mortal… Interesting indeed… Are you perhaps a demigod?"
"Nope. I'm just a regular human," I answered. Medusa raised one of her eyebrows at me as if she didn't believe me.
"There's no need to lie. You move way too quickly for a regular human. You must have some divinity in your blood…"
Hmm… it might be because she's an old fossil that she believes I'm a demigod. There's no use in telling her that she's obviously wrong. To pass, all I have to do is kill her.
I got into a defensive position while holding my double-bladed axe out.
"…You know who I am, and yet you still want to fight? Alright then, human. I'll indulge you for a while…" The talons doubled in length as Medusa slowly slithered my way.
Gripping my axe tightly, I rushed at the monstrosity, my head hung low. When running, I noticed a shadow sprinting directly at Medusa while her back was turned. The monster still hasn't figured out that there was someone behind her. However, one of her snakes coincidentally looked behind her shoulder and let out a troubled hiss, which alerted Medusa.
"Hm?" She asked, bewildered at why one of her children was making a racket. As she turned her head to see what the commotion was, it was already too late. In one swift and clean strike, Medusa's head was cut off with such precision. Her body wobbled and fell onto the floor with a heavy thud.
"That was surprisingly easy!" Chen Ling hummed with excitement. He was holding the head of Medusa by the hair, a look of shock frozen permanently on her face. Now that I can get a good look at her, she indeed is beautiful. She had thin lips and attractive jade-like eyes that could hypnotize any man. I can see why Poseidon was attracted to her.
"Sorry. Did I steal your kill?" Chen Ling asked thoughtfully.
"No… I don't care about that kind of stuff. As long as they're dead, it doesn't matter who killed it."
"Hm…" Chen Ling stared at me long and hard. It was kind of awkward, so I shot him a question that's been eating at me.
"Where were you all this time? I couldn't see you anywhere at all."
"Oh, that? I was searching the area using [Phantom Steps]. When using this mastery, my entire presence is masked, and my agility Stat is raised when it's activated."
[Phantom Steps] masks your presence? No wonder I couldn't see him. Medusa herself also didn't sense him when he was approaching too. Just how did he attain such a good mastery?
"When searching around, I found the exit to this place. It wouldn't budge open though no matter how hard I hit it. I assume it's because of this thing," he held up the Medusa head while rocking it, "was still alive. The passage should be opened now."
Chen Ling tossed the Medusa head my way. I reluctantly grabbed it by the hair, grossed out.
[Mythical Item Acquired: Gorgons Head]
Hm? Mythical acquired? That's a new one…
"You don't want this, Chen Ling? You killed it."
"Nope," he answered quickly, walking away.
Well, I guess that's the end of it.
Shrugging my shoulders at his unusual goodwill, I pocketed the Gorgon's head inside my Dimensional Pouch, an item given to every member of The Six Hunters.
"Hey, Joel. The exits opened." Chen Ling motioned for me to hurry up. I jogged my way over to him to see a set of stone doors similar to the last one. As he said, it was indeed opened, revealing another long corridor.
More exploration of The Labyrinth… Whoopee.
"No need to be so glum. Think of it as two buds hanging out in a Dungeon!"
Bud? Since when have we become friends?
"Yea yea… I'll take the lead."
"Be my guest." Chen Ling stepped aside and issued me another smile. Once again, I can't tell if this guy is genuinely a nice guy, or if he's faking it.
If it's the latter… then he is the greatest actor I have ever seen. Guess I'll find out as we head deeper inside The Labyrinth.