These Demons Do it for Free-Chapter 81

"Preparation was key. Monsters from the third layer are, unfortunately, all biological. Not only are they hard to manage, but if we’d just packed them all in here, they’d disrupt the ecosystem, devouring each other until they eventually wiped themselves out."

The professor spoke as if he were truly remorseful.

Viola didn’t respond. She didn’t need to; the professor was the one at a disadvantage.

If this word mage wanted to keep wasting his breath, she’d let him.

Let him talk all he wants. Meanwhile, she’d take his head.

"And so I thought: what if I could simply make them non-biological? Ah, no, they’re not undead. That’s not my specialty. Besides, controlling things that have already passed is far from artistic."

*Shluck!*

A blow landed.

Viola could feel the unmistakable sensation of a successful strike.

Illusions and sensory distortions had no effect on her.

This sensation was real.

The professor had undoubtedly lost an arm.

Yet, even the pain seemed insufficient to suppress his exhilaration about his grand scheme as he continued to speak.

"I’ve been contemplating it endlessly. How could I extend the mercy of the saintess to those faithless fools, while also punishing them accordingly?"

And as he spoke, his entire demeanor changed.

His smile vanished, replaced by a frigid, corpse-like expression that tightened his previously relaxed aura.

The professor asked, "Do you know what causes the most excruciating death for living beings?"

His mouth twitched, drawing the light that would soon fill this place—the second layer of the Abyss—with him, he answered, voice trembling with euphoria.

"Death by burning."

Viola was an explorer who had reached the very limits of the Abyss.

There was no way she couldn’t see the professor’s plan after hearing him out.

She gasped in fury and disbelief.

"You maniac."

The professor’s thoughts ran over the final touches of his plan, the flames that would engulf the second layer.

The flames would be purifying.

This great labyrinth would become both an incinerator and a funeral pyre.

The thought made the professor unable to contain his laughter.

"Struggle all you want. Imagine your beloved students burning as you do."

A murderer who found pleasure in slaughter.

Once a professor of the Nifur Academy, he had earned a new title.

Murderous Professor.

---

We regrouped with Arthur’s party not far from the square.

Hernando and Arthur weren’t in great shape, and Deina had fainted entirely. It wasn’t long before we caught up.

"Arthur, you hanging in there?"

"I can… manage. Drank a potion, too. What about you?"

"We’re fine."

"Can’t keep up with your growth."

Arthur’s grumbling joke was oddly reassuring. If he had the energy for jokes, he was probably okay.

"Hey, weakling, pass her over here."

"Hernando, I’ll carry the load."

Ray slung Deina over her shoulder, while Leif took Hernando’s bag and hung it on her staff.

We looked like a band of refugees.

‘Not that different,’ I thought.

Viola and the professor.

The power between them was on another level. These were people who smashed through the walls of this maze, said to be nearly impossible even for skilled explorers, as if they were made of styrofoam. If we got caught up in the aftermath of their clash, there’d be no escape.

Like refugees fleeing from a natural disaster, we picked up the pace, distancing ourselves from the battle as much as possible.

But, of course, nothing ever goes that smoothly.

As we pushed forward, blasting monsters with mana bullets, we eventually came to a halt.

"Oh, crap…."

Ray cursed, something she rarely did.

Normally, I’d reprimand her, telling her to mind her language, but this wasn’t the time.

I wanted to curse as well.

Our path was blocked by fire, filling the entire corridor ahead.

This wasn’t just any fire; its intense heat and the magical resonance it emitted made it clear what we were facing.

"Blazing Dead…."

Like on the first layer, the second layer had various apex predators.

The Sentinel, classified as a golem and needing no sustenance, stood apart, while others formed the natural ecosystem of the second layer, engaging in reproductive activity. As for apex predators here, there were creatures we’d previously encountered, like the Shadow Stalker and the Eating Wall, a mimic-like predator camouflaged as part of the labyrinth’s walls.

But the most dangerous one? It had to be that creature.

Unlike the Sentinel, which stayed within its territory, this thing was different.

The Blazing Dead.

A walking inferno.

Amazingly, it wasn’t an elemental fire spirit but a parasite. The Blazing Dead clung to corpses, using them as fuel while searching for new hosts.

They weren’t usually much of a problem. Corpses rarely remained intact for long on the second layer, so these things usually inhabited weak hosts.

Even so, Blazing Deads were considered apex predators because of their deadly attack power and…

‘Because they grow stronger depending on their host.’

And the host now possessed by this Blazing Dead?

‘A monster from the third layer.’

Yes, there hadn’t been many of them. Monsters from the third layer.

I’d wondered who or what could have devoured so many of them. And it just had to be this creature?

This wasn’t a natural occurrence.

It was deliberate.

Someone had intentionally turned the monsters crossing from the third layer into hosts for Blazing Deads.

As I gazed into the malicious intent lurking behind this flaming monster, I finally understood the real crisis unfolding here.

Abyssal cultists.

More specifically, the cultists who wished for destruction outside the Abyss.

They were trying to turn this second layer into a burning hell.

Not only for us, but to wipe out the countless explorers scattered across the massive expanse of the second layer.

"They’re maniacs."

Who else would conceive of such a plan—to turn the entire maze into a sea of flames?

It was the kind of insane idea you’d expect from a northern dictator who loves threats. Only, unlike that dictator, these abyssal cultists had the madness to carry out their threat.

"Ahem! I believe it’s my turn to step in!"

Leif declared, stepping forward confidently.

Undine, already summoned, floated by her side. She pointed her staff forward, calling out.

"Undine! Extinguish it all!"

Bubbling sounds erupted from Undine as water began to gather in the air.

*Swoosh!*

A torrent of water blasted toward the Blazing Dead.

Ordinary water wouldn’t have been able to put out a Blazing Dead, but Leif’s water was infused with mana. As a high elf’s spirit, Undine’s water was more than capable of dousing the Blazing Dead.

The moment fire and water met, steam exploded out, obscuring our vision.

"Everyone, protect yourselves! You could get scalded!"

Hernando, ever the seasoned explorer, shouted immediately.

This level of steam would be manageable with autonomous mana defense.

The problem was Deina, who was still unconscious, but Ray extended her mana defense to cover her.

"Let’s move!"

Leif took charge, stepping forward decisively, as if to lead the way.

But her steps didn’t last long.

"Wait, again?"

More flames blocked the path.

This time, the heat was even stronger.

Whether it was a stronger host or multiple Blazing Deads grouped together—

‘Either way, this is bad.’

These flames would keep spreading across the second layer, consuming everything until there was nothing left to burn.

"...It’s impossible. Even if we break through a couple of times, we’ll be out of mana before long."

"If you’re going to complain, keep it to yourself. Roman, can’t you use that?"

I shook my head heavily.

My blink ability was near-invincible, but it had one fatal flaw.

‘I can’t dodge an area-wide attack.’

If the entire area I could blink to was on fire, it wouldn’t do me any good.

My blink range was vast, but if the flames spread across the entire second layer, even that wouldn’t be enough.

New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.

‘There’s no way out.’

Arthur and Hernando were barely holding on.

They’d been hit by that lunatic professor’s Power Word Kill, leaving internal injuries.

If Viola hadn’t shielded them, all three of them, including Deina

, would have died then and there.

In the end, we had to find our own solution…

‘Leif’s mana isn’t infinite, unlike mine. She can’t keep this up forever.’

Which meant it was up to me.

"Leif, just hold on for a bit longer."

"Huh? Are you waiting for Viola to come to us?"

"No."

As if the professor didn’t expect Viola to come?

That guy had stayed calm even after seeing her.

He probably had a way to hold her back, something he’d prepared ahead of time.

We had to do this ourselves.

"I’m going to make a deal with a demon here and now."

You heard that, didn’t you?

‘Recommend one who has the power to turn this situation around.’