"What are you spacing out for, Keith! Hurry over and take a look!"
Beside him, Elinalise slapped Keith hard on the shoulder and hurried over anxiously. She and Zenith were actually quite close, and she did not want anything to happen to her.
"Zenith! Zenith!"
Paul stared at Zenith inside the crystal, pressing himself against it as tears streamed down his face.
Rudeus watched from the side, his fists clenched, unable to contain his conflicting emotions.
We finally found Zenith, but Mom's condition...
"Cain, Zenith... my mother..."
Cain sighed as he looked at the desperate hope on Rudeus's face.
"Her life isn't in danger, but I can't say the same for her mind. Hopefully, the labyrinth hasn't been assimilating her for too long. Otherwise..."
Cain did not spell it out, but Rudeus more or less understood what he meant.
Zenith actually became the labyrinth's heart...?
Cain had heard from Roxy that labyrinths captured living people and turned them into their hearts to keep themselves running.
After prolonged assimilation by the labyrinth, most captives became unable to speak and mentally incapacitated, or ended up in a vegetative state...
Damn it...
Cain rubbed his brow and gently patted Rudeus on the shoulder. The light had gone out of his eyes.
"Don't worry. Magic in this world can do anything. There may be a way to solve this, and the people I hired are with the Adventurer Group outside. If she hasn't been trapped for too long, there may still be hope."
"Don't stop me! I'm going to split the magic stone open and get Zenith out!"
Having only just reassured Rudeus, Cain sighed when he heard that.
He walked over to Paul, who was being held back, snatched the sword from his hand, and slapped him hard across the face.
"Calm down...