What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Upon hearing that terrifying roar, everyone involuntarily felt their hearts seize, their legs even going a little weak.

Rena’s breathing suddenly became rapid.

This feeling of instinctive fear being abruptly stirred was extremely similar to when Leon released his Cursed Blood.

To achieve such an effect with nothing but a single roar—she could not imagine what kind of creature could have produced it.

The demonic wolves, including the pack alpha, began howling restlessly, their cries shrill and filled with undisguised fear.

Leon noticed the disturbance among the demonic wolves and, without the slightest hesitation, turned around and sprinted away.

“Retreat! Retreat!!” he shouted while running, waving his arms.

“Everyone evacuate the Labyrinth! Immediately!!”

To terrify the demonic wolves to this extent, the owner of that roar within the hall was absolutely no benign creature.

And now, that “brave” young man who had gone in first to investigate had already awakened its master!

If they did not flee now, when would they?

The mercenaries also reacted one after another and began swarming toward the tunnel entrance.

They had only taken a few steps when the hall’s gate suddenly erupted with a thunderous explosion.

A massive, scale-covered head smashed through the edge of the gate and burst out from within the hall—the breach on one side of the gate had clearly been created by this creature as well.

Leon ran while twisting his head to look back.

The creature that burst out of the temple had a head alone as large as a box truck, bearing obvious reptilian features, resembling either a giant serpent or a lizard, yet far more imposing than either.

Its face was covered in bony protrusions, its scales far thicker than those of a serpent and gleaming with a metallic luster.

Atop its head grew an umbrella-shaped crest with ridged patterns, from which extended three pairs of dragon horns of varying sizes.

Yet what best embodied its majesty was its pair of eyes—two dazzling golden eyes, brighter than a campfire, as if molten lava were churning within their sockets!

The instant one looked into those eyes, intense fear would be projected directly into the mind.

A dragon!

Although he had never seen one with his own eyes in this world, Leon understood the moment he saw it that this was a dragon-type creature ranked at the very apex of Labyrinth beings.

That roar and gaze capable of evoking instinctive terror were precisely its Dragon’s Might!

This dragon was clearly enraged.

The moment it burst out of the hall, it charged straight after the fleeing crowd.

Only after it rushed out did Leon realize that its body was not as massive as he had imagined.

Though it possessed four limbs, it had no wings, and a row of sharp spines ran along its back.

This was a Drake.

Like a Wyvern, it belonged to a subspecies of dragonkind.

Its size and strength could not compare to those of a true dragon, yet it still possessed power sufficient to crush an ordinary army—and even among fourth-level magical beasts, it ranked at the very top.

This damned Labyrinth actually harbored a fourth-level magical beast, a Drake!

Leon had no time left to complain about this.

He could only focus single-mindedly on escaping.

“Run! Faster!!” he shouted at Rena.

Rena had followed Leon’s instructions and remained near the tunnel entrance.

Upon seeing the Drake appear, she also turned and began to flee.

As soon as she formed that intention, all the demonic wolves synchronized with her, following her as they fled toward the tunnel exit.

However, Rena’s running speed ultimately could not match that of the others.

Not long after entering the tunnel, the mercenaries charging for their lives overtook her one after another.

Leon caught up from behind and suddenly noticed that the pack alpha had just rushed up from the rear.

He stepped forward and grabbed Rena, who was still running.

“Yah!” Rena cried out in surprise.

“Get up!” Leon hoisted Rena and shoved her onto the demonic wolf’s back, allowing her to lie prone on it.

“Hold on tight!”

Rena came to her senses and quickly adjusted her posture on the wolf’s back, simultaneously pouring her consciousness into the pack alpha.

Under her control, the wolf cooperated, stabilizing her position and bursting into a full sprint, soon carrying her forward to catch up with the others.

The tunnel was fairly wide, and there were two exits.

After the crowd split up and fled, escaping together with the wolf pack was not overly congested.

However, the Drake also plunged into the more crowded tunnel and slightly altered its form, drawing its limbs into its body and elongating itself like a gigantic serpent.

After all, Drakes were dragon subspecies specialized for subterranean environments.

Those at the rear tried firing their guns at the pursuing Drake, but the bullets merely sparked uselessly as they struck its scales.

It was said that dragon scales were incomparably tough, that even their eyelids were impervious to blades and firearms.

Now they knew that this claim was no exaggeration.

“Ah! Damn it!” Simon had just fired a shot and turned around when he tripped over a vine.

By the time he scrambled back up, he had fallen slightly behind.

Fortunately, the Drake was still some distance away.

He got back on his feet and resumed running.

Yet at that very moment, the Drake opened its mouth and unleashed the most terrifying weapon of dragonkind: breath.

Acidic mist spewed forth from its gaping maw, surging down the tunnel like ocean waves.

Wherever the acid fog touched rock, it sizzled and emitted white smoke as the stone began melting on the spot.

By the time that wave of acid mist reached Simon from behind, it had already thinned considerably.

Even so, when it seeped through the gaps in his leather armor, Simon still felt a searing pain, as if scalding oil had been poured all over him.

“Ugh—AAAH!!” He staggered a few steps and collapsed to the ground.

The torch in his hand fell beside him, and when he tried to get back up, the pain left his body unresponsive.

“Help! Help me!!” he cried out desperately to the receding crowd.

Behind him, the Drake was rapidly closing in.

Rena turned her head and, without thinking, focused her attention on the demonic wolf running at the very rear.

“Go!!”

Driven by her intense will at that moment, the demonic wolf wheeled around, charged back, clamped its jaws onto Simon’s collar, and dragged him along at a full sprint.

Though Simon kicked his legs in agony, it was still far better than becoming food for a dragon.

Even so, this delay allowed the Drake to close the distance.

Just as its throat began to writhe, brewing another breath attack, Leon suddenly thought of something and pulled out a second flask.

This was a backup blood sample.

Inside were one hundred milliliters of his blood mixed with an anticoagulant.

In addition, he had infused it with a small amount of Mana, greatly amplifying the power of his curse.

In their current state, those blood contents would be lethally corrosive even if merely splashed onto someone, let alone ingested.

He turned around and hurled the flask at the Drake like a grenade.

The Drake sensed it and suddenly snapped its jaws shut, biting the flask to pieces and swallowing it whole.

This was an unexpected boon for Leon.

He had only intended to splash the creature with his Cursed Blood.

Now that the Drake had willingly swallowed it, all the better.

He immediately activated his ability.

Purple smoke began seeping from the corners of the Drake’s mouth.

The Drake immediately broke into hoarse coughing, its pursuit stalling for a moment and allowing everyone to widen the gap.

Yet the next instant, it let out a furious roar filled with rage and resumed the chase.

The entire tunnel rumbled as its scales scraped against the stone.

Perhaps the dosage had been insufficient.

Perhaps the curse itself was not powerful enough.

Leon realized that his Cursed Blood could only cause this half-dragon pain—it was still far from killing it!

“The exit!” someone shouted in wild joy.

They had reached the vicinity of the exit and merged with companions who had fled through the other tunnel.

People and wolves alike surged out of the Labyrinth.

Even after leaving the mine, they did not stop, continuing to sprint along the mountain path toward the pass, for the Drake’s enraged roars had never ceased.

After running at full speed for another hundred meters or so, Leon looked back.

In the pitch-black mine entrance, the Drake’s lava-like eyes gleamed.

However, after chasing them to the mouth of the cave, the Drake suddenly stopped, as if it had abruptly awakened to something.

Leon could not help but slow down, carefully observing it.

The Drake let out a low, rumbling growl from its throat.

Moments later, it retreated and vanished into the depths of the mine.

“It went back!” Leon shouted loudly, signaling everyone to calm down.

Although magical beasts could not stray far from a Labyrinth, they could still operate within a certain range around it for a time.

For some reason, this Drake seemed unwilling to leave the Labyrinth.

Was it related to that hall? Leon pondered inwardly.

Simon, who had been dragged out by the demonic wolf, let out pained groans.

Rena quickly ordered the wolf to release him, and Simon’s subordinates rushed forward to administer aid.

Everyone else stood in place, shaken.

Some were immensely relieved, while others wore blank expressions.

Only after quite some time did Leon remove his Protective Mask and let out a long, helpless breath.

A Drake—there was actually such a troublesome fourth-level magical beast in this Labyrinth.

This was truly unbelievable!

Something like this could not be dealt with by merely recruiting a few dozen mercenaries.

He had never imagined that such a massive problem would surface at this final critical juncture!

The fact that the demonic wolves could move around the perimeter indicated that the Drake largely remained holed up inside the hall within the ruins, rarely venturing out—as if it were guarding that hall.

Leon was certain that there was something unusual within this Labyrinth.

But if that Drake was not dealt with, the Labyrinth could neither be explored nor operated.

Rena sat atop the wolf’s back, still shaken, her gaze tinged with worry as she looked toward Leon.

Leon glanced at Rena, then at the other mercenaries.

“Take care of the wounded. We’re withdrawing for now. I’ll pay everything as agreed. Let’s leave this place first!”

The next day, at the Inquisition, Director’s Office.

“There’s a Drake in the Labyrinth—” Bishop Beckett said after listening to Leon’s account, his expression grave as he tapped his knuckles against the desk.

“How did you end up encountering a fourth-level magical beast?”

“I suspect it may be related to the ruins within that Labyrinth,” Leon said.

“This isn’t archaeology. Heretical ruins are something Church scholars should be interested in. We only need a Labyrinth that can be operated,” Bishop Beckett replied.

“I understand. But if that Drake isn’t dealt with, the Labyrinth can’t be operated at all.” Leon stared at Bishop Beckett.

“Sir, surely the Earl doesn’t think this is something I should resolve on my own as well?”

Faced with such a major problem, Leon felt he had sufficient grounds to seek additional support from the Earl.

“Subspecies like half-dragons are not easy to handle. Even the Church would have to dispatch its most elite knights. And we cannot call upon Church forces. If Church forces are used to resolve a Labyrinth, it will be sealed and placed under supervision.

“Not to mention that the Labyrinth Church on Arend Island would almost certainly never approve such a sealing. If you ask for my advice, my advice is to switch to another Labyrinth,” Bishop Beckett said.

“Switching to another Labyrinth means spending time again, investing resources anew. And if something like this happens again—” Leon shook his head slightly.

“Sir, with the Earl’s power, is there truly no way at all to deal with a single Drake?”

Bishop Beckett pondered for a long while before replying, “There is a way. And the person capable of resolving this problem just happens to have been assigned by the Earl to River Valley County, in charge of business there.”

“Then—”

“But whether you can borrow his strength is another matter entirely,” Bishop Beckett interrupted.

“So he’s like Bar as well—someone who doesn’t want to see me succeed?” Leon asked.

“No. I think he belongs to the type who simply doesn’t care. This person has a very peculiar temperament. He basically only answers to the Earl’s direct orders. If it’s something he doesn’t like, he’ll refuse even the Earl. I myself have no real connection with him. I don’t think he would be interested in this matter. I advise you not to place too much hope in it,” Bishop Beckett warned.

Leon fell silent for a moment, then still spoke.

“Could you tell me more about this person in detail?”