The process of marking the last set of branching paths went smoothly.
No new "escapees" appeared, nor did anything strange happen.
The entire Labyrinth had returned to how it was at the beginning—silent and still, as though Haike were the only living creature left.
At first, Haike was somewhat puzzled.
After all, he had suffered setbacks several times before. With things suddenly going so smoothly, it was only natural to be suspicious.
But after keeping his nerves taut and cautiously exploring for a while, he found that nothing really happened, and Haike gradually let down his guard.
As the blood in the corpse slowly drained away, the unexplored portions of the Labyrinth rapidly shrank as well.
Before Haike, only the final three unmarked forks remained.
By then, the corpse in Haike's hands had completely run out of blood, becoming a marker pen with no "ink" left.
Without much hesitation, Haike tossed it into the fork in the middle.
After pausing briefly, he strode forward.
Even then, he deliberately pricked up his ears, remaining completely alert and on high guard.
It was to prevent another sudden incident like the ones before.
Yet not a single sound reached his ears.
The only thing echoing through the Labyrinth was a string of footsteps—Haike's own faint footsteps.
And this middle path had no branches at all.
Though it twisted and turned beyond sight, it was a "single route."
There was no need for any markers. He only had to keep his head down and walk forward.
The farther he went, the more Haike felt the fogginess in his mind gradually receding.
The clarity returning to his mind lifted his spirits, making his steps lighter and quicker.
A feeling suddenly rose within him.
Of the final three possible paths, the one he had chosen might