In a corner of the Heiligh palace was a salon that had been opened up for the exclusive use of the summoned students. Each of them had been assigned their own butler as well, and the moment it looked as if they needed anything at all in that salon, their butler was by their side. Whether it was food they wanted, or drink, they merely had to ask and their servant would be off with a flourish.
They each had their own personal servant to take care of them in their rooms as well, but as they grew lonely cooped up alone, most students spent their free time hanging out in the salon.
Of course, they hadn't been summoned here to lounge around. They were the human side's main force in their battle against their sworn enemy, the demons.
So why was it that most of them spent their days idling around in the salon just killing time? Well, simply put, most of them had been traumatized. They had come face to face with death just a few months ago, after all. Down in the depths of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, where the light of the sun never reached, they'd stared down monsters that would have killed them without mercy. Many of them had been convinced they would die there, and one
member of their group had actually been defeated, vanishing into the gaping maw of that ravine.
—A fantasy adventure with swords and magic. They had had that kind of lighthearted idea about what they were in for, but harsh reality had crushed those hopes and dreams rather quickly. On the battlefield, people died. It was obvious when stated, but the incident in the labyrinth had that carved that fact into their souls.
At first they had happily practiced honing their skills, improving the talents their jobs had given them, and looked forward to mowing down waves of monsters. But now, there wasn't an iota of that positive attitude anywhere. People died when they were killed. When that reality had been thrust into their faces, many of the students had lost their nerve. Not only could they no longer fight, they feared even stepping out of the capital.
The king and high ranking members of the Holy Church naturally tried to convince the students to fight again, but they didn't go so far as to force them. In the end, it was all just attempts at persuasion. But the students, who had been weighed down by their fear, only felt more cornered at their words. They were worried that if they didn't comply, maybe they would be chased out of the castle. Then, they'd have no one to protect them as they were thrown out into this harsh world where people died at the drop of a hat.
It was then that the one who possessed a rare and invaluable job, the only adult to have been summoned, the teacher Aiko Hatayama returned from her expedition to solve the kingdom's food problems.
When she heard about the boy who'd failed to make it back alive, she'd been visibly shaken. But when she saw how much worse it had affected the students, she quickly pulled herself together. With renewed determination, she headed to the king and other nobles to convince them to stop pestering the students to return to the war front. She even used herself and her rare job as a bargaining chip.
As a result, she succeeded and the students were all put under Aiko's protection. It was for that reason that they could spend their days idly chattering away in the salon.
"Hey, did you hear? Amanogawa's party made it all the way to the seventieth floor."
"Seriously? Weren't they just setting foot in the sixty-sixth floor a few days ago?"
"I guess that's just how good the hero's party is. He's on a completely different level from average kids like us." The male student who said that, Atsushi Tamai, shrugged his shoulders, an odd expression on his face. He was jealous of them. He was jealous of Kouki and the others, who continued challenging the unknown even after their near brush with death. At the same time, however, he was embarrassed at how pathetic he was, and at the fact that he averted his eyes from the truth. But every time he thought back to that day, he started trembling in fear.
Not just Atsushi either, most of the students who chose to stay behind felt the same. All they wanted was to go home back to Japan. But in order to do that, they would need to win the war against the demons, and ask the Holy Church's god, Ehit, to send them back. Still, they couldn't bring themselves to fight. Fear, dark as the abyss they witnessed, snuffed out their wills.
"Yeah. You'd have to be as amazing as Kaori-chan or Shizuku-chan to keep up with that guy."
"I know, right? Shizuku's so cool, isn't she? I'm totally falling for her."
"Ahaha, seriously? But I thought you liked Suzu, Yuri!"
"Wait, Suzu-chan's like that, really!?"
"Nah, she's just a perverted old man inside, so she doesn't count."
Like the boys, the girls also acted cheerful and joked around, but on the inside they felt jealous and guilty for not being there for their friends. They talked for a while, exchanging hollow, empty words. As if they were afraid of letting silence settle in.
While the servants posted to the salon never looked directly at any of the students, they still stole furtive glances at them. Not only had they been chosen by Ehit, their comrades were still out there fighting. And yet, they wasted their time chattering pointlessly in this luxurious room. However, at the same time the servants saw the fear that lived in the students' hearts, and sympathized with their plight. They were stuck here, unable to go home, and it was the people of this world that had driven them to such actions. Thus, they gazed on expressionlessly. The nobles and clergymen who knew the situation held similar feelings as well, as they'd seen the students' dilemma firsthand. Naturally, it varied from person to person.
The students had realized how those around them looked at them too. To avoid dwelling on it, the students turned once more to hollow conversation in an attempt to lick their own wounds.
One of the students mumbled something.
"...Even Shizuku's just a normal girl..." It had been barely a whisper, not something meant to be heard by others. But there had happened to be a lull in the conversation just then, and so those whispered words reached everyone in the salon.
They all turned to look at the person who'd muttered that. It was Nia, Shizuku's personal maid. She realized she'd misspoke and quickly bowed her head to apologize, but—
"What? Got a problem with us?" Atsushi furrowed his brows and growled at Nia. Despite his tone, he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. He knew his anger was misdirected.
"No. Not at all. I'm truly sorry for my poor choice of words." Nia bowed to everyone again. But her honest attitude only aggravated Atsushi further, so he continued pestering her.
"No one asked you to apologize! Do you think we're all idiots!? You trying to say that because Yaegashi-san didn't change... because she's still going anyway, we're all pathetic for calling it quits here!? Why not just say it to our faces then, huh!?"
"H-Hey Atsushi... give it a rest."
"What good's hitting a maid going to do?"
Atsushi's friends, Noboru Aikawa and Akito Nimura, tried to calm him down. He was throwing a tantrum like a child.
"Shut up! I just... I just... Dammit..."
"Atsushi..."
"Tamai-kun..."
Gloomy feelings whirled around him, and Atsushi let out a frustrated yell. Akito and Aikawa looked away, unable to say anything else. Some of the girls opened their mouths, thinking to say something to him. After all, everyone understood those feelings he couldn't explain that wrapped around him like an inescapable spider's web.
Atsushi hung his head, and Nia took a step toward him.
"Atsushi-sama, I'm terribly sorry I offended you. But I did not mean to imply that any of you are cowards. Please try and believe me..."
"Nia-san... No, umm, I'm the one who... Sorry..."
In the face of her sincerity, Atsushi could only look away awkwardly. He apologized as well, having calmed down a little. Not only had he thrown a temper tantrum, he was the one being apologized to. There could be nothing more humiliating.
Nia smiled gently, then went on to explain the true meaning behind her words.
"Allow me to apologize to the rest of you as well. I did not mean to cause offense. But as Shizuku-sama's maid, and as her friend, this is what I think. That she too, deserves to be protected, to rely on someone else, to let herself be spoiled, just like any other girl."
"...But she's so strong. Everyone goes to her for help... I can't imagine her ever needing to rely on someone else."
"Yeah..." The girl who spoke was Nana Miyazaki. There was a bitter smile on her face as she said that. Her friend, Taeko Sugawara voiced her agreement.
"It's true that in my time serving Shizuku-sama, she has never once shown any such weakness before me. However, I do not believe a perfect person like that exists. Shizuku-sama is also just a teenage girl who was a student only months ago. She may still look fine for now, but... I'm sure not being able to rest even when she returns to the palace, and having everyone around her say things like 'It's obvious that Shizuku-sama can do something like that' must be a huge burden on her."
"Nia-san..."
It was obvious Nia spent a lot of time thinking about Shizuku, so her words shook the students.
Nia was actually from a family of knights. From a young age, she'd learned swordplay from her father and brothers. She must have felt a kinship with Shizuku, who had been born and raised in similar circumstances. At first, she had been nervous serving someone the priests had called Ehit's messenger, but she'd eventually come to see Shizuku as a friend. She was worried for her friend, who was bravely challenging uncharted floors. That was why it had bothered her when everyone had treated Shizuku like some kind of special being. She was worried their exaggerated expectations would wear her down.
One of the girls who had so far remained silent in a corner of the salon opened her mouth.
"Everyone's... still the same, huh?"
"Yuka? What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"W-Wow, I haven't heard Yukacchi speak in ages... You okay?"
Nana and Taeko looked over in surprise and worry at their friend, Yuka Sonobe. Their reaction was warranted. Ever since their near brush with death, it had looked like Yuka's soul had been sucked out of her. She acted completely lifeless. Originally, she had been a very spirited girl, one that stood out in her class, for better or worse. But after their excursion into the labyrinth, she barely ever spoke, and unless her friends dragged her out she'd spend the whole day just sitting in her room, staring blankly out the window. She was the one who had been most traumatized by that experience, so it was only natural everyone was surprised to hear her speak without being asked a question.
Still, she ignored her two friends and kept talking, empty eyes staring off into the distance.
"That's right. It's not just Shizuku. Kaori-chan and Sakagami-kun and Nagayama-kun and Hiyama-kun, and even Amanogawa-kun... haven't changed. At the very least, he was normal... No, he was even weaker than normal. But... more than anyone... And yet, I... Even though we're all... If I..."
Her words had ceased making sense. She was no longer trying to convey a message, but simply letting her mouth speak whatever came to mind. Something had begun stirring within Yuka's heart.
Her two friends looked at her worriedly, but as she continued spouting nonsense, Yuka's empty eyes began to glow with a faint light once more. Taeko and Nana looked at each other. The other students all exchanged confused glances as well.
"Nia-san, when is Ai-chan-sensei leaving again?"
"Aiko-sama? I believe she's scheduled to depart tomorrow morning. They're heading to the lake town of Ur, so she won't return for at least two to three weeks."
"Whoa, tomorrow, huh...? No, actually, that's good. It'll only get worse if we wait too long."
Yuka smiled wryly at that and stood up vigorously. Taeko and Nana's jaws dropped in surprise when they saw that. Their friend had never been so lively before. Nana timidly opened her mouth.
"U-Umm, Yukacchi? What's wrong? I have no idea what you're saying."
"I'm fine. I just can't stand sitting still any longer. Guys, I'm going to join Ai-chan on her expedition tomorrow."
The rest of the students looked on in awe. Their shock was expected. Yuka had been hit hardest by that experience. All she'd done since returning from the labyrinth was gaze blankly at nothing, sometimes tremble in terror... But now she'd suddenly recovered in the span of a few seconds.
"W-Wait, Sonobe. Seriously, what's going on? You're not acting normal. Calm down." Having finally returned to his senses, Atsushi tried to talk her out of it. However...
"I am calm, Tamai-kun. And this isn't sudden. I've been thinking for a long time now that I can't keep living like this. Ever since he died, I've been scared and confused... but I need to do something. Aren't you all thinking the same thing, deep down?"
"..." Atsushi held his breath. He then closed his mouth, like he'd thought better of what he was about to say. The other students looked away awkwardly.
Yuka didn't say anything. Instead, she simply shrugged her shoulders and headed for the salon's door. She understood their feelings very well.
"W-Wait, Sonobe! You're really going to go!? You might die for real this time, you know!? This isn't a manga or a movie! There won't be any convenient act of god to save your life! That's why... That's why he died! Even though he was weak, he still tried to act like a hero, and then he died just like that! I-I don't want to end up like that loser... Sonobe, don't be stupid." Though he started off shouting, his voice gradually petered off, until finally he was hanging his head sadly. Yuka didn't even turn around.
"But that worthless, weak boy saved my life. No, he saved all our lives."
"But—"
"I'm not asking you to come with me, Tamai-kun. I just don't want to let his death be in vain. That's all. Of course, if you want to come with me, I'd be glad to have you." She finally looked back at that moment. She looked nervous, but she still smiled resolutely at the others. Atsushi could only flop his mouth like a dying fish before collapsing into his chair. Yuka left the room.
Taeko and Nana were still in shock, but they left the other despairing students and hurriedly followed after Yuka. When they finally caught up to her in the hallway, they couldn't hide their confusion.
"Hey, Yuka. Are you really going to go with Ai-chan-sensei? He was right, you might die."
"I know. Still, I can't just sit around any longer. I don't have the courage to follow Amanogawa-kun and the others, but I can at least be Ai-chan's guard." When they saw the determination in her eyes, Nana and Taeko exchanged worried glances. Timidly, Nana opened her mouth.
"Yukacchi... did you, umm, maybe like Nagumo..."
"Don't be silly. There's no way I'd be doing this for such a simple reason."
"Really?"
"Obviously. Besides, after seeing the hellish training Kaori-chan's putting herself through just because she still believes he's alive, you'd have to be braver than a hero to try and take him from her. If I had that kind of guts I wouldn't have stayed behind in the first place."
"Well, I guess..." Yuka Sonobe was none other than the girl Hajime Nagumo had saved from Traum Soldiers back in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. That was why Nana had come to that conclusion, but one look at Yuka's face told her she obviously didn't think of Hajime in any sort of romantic sense. Though, she did appear to have some other complicated feelings regarding him. Even Nana, who was usually bursting with curiosity, fell silent.
There hadn't been any lie in what Yuka had said. She really just didn't want his sacrifice to go to waste. She didn't want the life he'd risked to save to rot in a castle. When she'd said everyone was still the same, that had included Hajime as well. He'd saved her despite being the same weak person as before, and she felt it would be betraying his memory to just sit around and wallow in misery while others continued to fight.
Her friends realized this, and after exchanging an awkward glance, nodded to each other. Then they both told Yuka that they were going with her.
"Are you sure? You don't have to force yourself, you know?"
"Just like how you don't want let the life he saved go to waste, I don't want to let the life you saved go to waste either. I'm coming with you, Yukacchi."
"Same. There's no way I'm letting you go out on your own, Yuka. You saved my life too, remember?"
After Hajime had saved her life, Yuka had pulled herself together and rallied some of the other students. Taeko and Nana had been part of that group. Both of them knew that it was thanks to her that they'd survived long enough to escape. And so, they decided if Yuka was going to get back up, they were bound to follow.
"I see. Well, alright, then I guess we'll protect Ai-chan from both the monsters and the really hot knights the Holy Church sent to escort her." She had hoped her two friends would join her, so she broke out into a beaming smile when they offered. Nana and Taeko gave a spirited "Yeah!" in response.
The shadow of fear disappeared from the three smiling girls' eyes, replaced instead by the faint glow of hope.
Mist swirled about the castle grounds on the dawn of their departure. The sun was just beginning to poke its head over the horizon, and the crisp morning air kept everyone awake and alert. Despite the pristine weather, one of the travelers had a glum expression on her face. Aiko Hatayama. The leader of the expedition.
"Girls... Are you sure you want to do this? I already have the Holy Church's knights to protect me."
"We're not leaving, Ai-chan-sensei. And besides, those knights are more dangerous than helpful. It's obvious they're agents sent to try and seduce you into their faction."
"That's right, Ai-chan-sensei. Don't fall for their charms just because they're all hotties, okay?"
"Though, if you ask me, it looks like their plan backfired. But still, you're our Ai-chan-sensei, so we just want to be extra careful."
Aiko shrugged her shoulders helplessly at their insistence. She'd already tried to dissuade them when they'd talked to her last night about joining her expedition, but no matter how much she impressed the dangers of the journey, they never faltered. As such, she knew nothing she said now would change their mind.
Furthermore, Yuka's claim that the Holy Church was trying to seduce her into their camp were more than just baseless accusations. On every single trip Aiko had gone, they had, without fail, assembled a team of good looking knights to accompany her. And without fail, each and every one of them had tried to make a move on her. All in order to control the one person in the world with the ability to completely revolutionize agriculture. But as Taeko had said, all of the knights had instead become her loyal followers. The same charm that had led all of her students to love her had toppled the army of hot guys as well. Aiko herself was as dense as a dating sim protagonist though, so she hadn't realized that little tidbit as of yet.
She was glad her students were worried about her, and that they'd recovered enough to want to try again, but at the same time, she was worried about the dangers they would face on the road. Unable to resolve the conflicting feelings inside of her, she just cradled her head. A few seconds later, she could hear a huge commotion coming from across the courtyard.
Aiko and the girls turned around and saw the knights bringing over their carriages. However, there was an unexpected group of guys facing off against them, so they were seemingly in the middle of a heated argument. Aiko's eyes went round in surprise, while Yuka and the others looked taken aback.
"T-Tamai-kun? Aikawa-kun and Nimura-kun, you're here too? Why are you all..."
"Oh, Ai-chan-sensei. How's it going? We're coming too."
Atsushi and the others greeted Aiko casually, a complete turnaround from the stern glares they'd been sending the knights mere moments ago. Aiko opened her mouth to argue, but Yuka cut her off before she could.
"You're coming? That's a surprise."
"Shut it... You're not the only one. We wanted a chance to stop being losers too. Though I think the rest of the guys are still too scared."
"I see. Well, welcome aboard. Let's do what we can with what we've got." Yuka shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Despite their nervous expressions, the boys still let out a spirited cheer.
One last student showed up to join a few minutes later. After multiple altercations with the knights, Aiko's agricultural reform expedition was finally formed. Everyone burned with the resolve to stand up on their own two feet once more.
"I can't believe I let it happen again... I couldn't even hold back a single one of them... I'm such a bad teacher... Waaa...!" Aiko cried by herself in a corner of the carriage. The knights all felt moved by her plight and tried to offer a helping hand, or words of condolence. However, Yuka and the other girls snarled angrily at them to keep them at bay. No one noticed that their constant bickering was giving Aiko, the person they were supposed to be protecting, a headache. And it seemed their journey would continue along those lines for quite some time...
In a certain room far underground, three people huddled together close to a wall that was glowing with a faint blue light. Hajime, Yue, and Shea.
They were sitting with their backs to it, Hajime in the middle, Yue to his right, and Shea to his left. The room was silent, but if one listened closely they would hear the sound of soft breathing. Yue and Shea were sleeping. They each had their arms wrapped around one of his, using his shoulders as pillows.
A week had passed since they'd entered the winding Reisen Labyrinth. The never-ending barrage of traps and annoying insults had been more mentally exhausting than physical. They'd been sent back to the start seven times, triggered lethal traps forty-eight times, and suffered minor pranks like getting stuck in birdlime, being covered with smelly white liquid, and hit on the head by falling tubs one hundred and sixty-nine times.
At first they'd been furious with Miledi Reisen, but around the fourth day or so, staying constantly angry had become too tiring, so they'd just become apathetic.
Their overwhelming stats kept them from dying, and they'd brought plenty of food, but those were the only silver linings in the godforsaken maze. They slept intermittently, like they were now, as they continued exploring. After a week of searching they'd noticed that there was a pattern to how the maze rearranged itself. By using his Tracking skill, Hajime had been able to figure out where each block was moved.
They were finally making progress. Pleased, Hajime looked down at the two girls sleeping on his shoulders.
"I can't believe you guys are sleeping so peacefully... We're in the middle of one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, you know?" He whispered softly with a smile on his face. It was his turn to be on watch. He somehow managed to extricate one of his arms and started gently running his fingers through Yue's hair. Her lips curled up in a faint smile. Hajime, too, smiled as he gazed down at her.
On his other shoulder, Shea had her mouth open and was drooling all over his shirt. Such a soundly sleeping face didn't fit the harsh environment of this labyrinth at all. Hajime suddenly remembered that she'd always wanted to have her head patted too, so he softly placed his hand over her pale blue hair.
He ran his fingers over her fuzzy rabbit ears as well. Her normally relaxed expression loosened even further. She was completely and totally at ease. Perhaps she felt secure knowing Hajime was keeping watch. Or perhaps she was simply happy to sleep next to him. He twisted his mouth into a wry expression as he ran his fingers through her pale hair.
"Seriously, what do you even see in a guy like me that you're willing to follow me all the way out here?" He looked down at her with surprising tenderness as he said that. While he doubted he could ever fall in love with her like Shea wanted, he was still amazed by her overly positive attitude and her stubborn streak that kept her going even when her face was a mess of tears. That was why he'd grown a little kinder toward her.
And in that moment, Shea decided to mutter something in her sleep.
"Mmm... Oh Hajime-san, you're so bold. Doing this outside where everyone's... watching."
"..." The kind light suddenly vanished from his eyes. He stopped stroking her hair and instead pinched her nose, while also covering her mouth. Her peaceful expression quickly transformed into one of extreme discomfort.
"Mmm... Mm? Mmmm!? Mmmmmmm!!! Pwah! Haah... Haah... Wh-What was that for!? I know I told you to attack me in my sleep, but I didn't mean like that!" Hajime just looked at her coldly while she drew in deep ragged gasps.
"And? Just what kind of pervert do you take me for in your dreams? What was I doing with you outside, hmm?"
"Huh...? Wait, that was a dream!? Nooo...! I finally got to see you be nice for once, Hajime-san. And then, because you were unable to control your burning emotions, you said all these embarrassing things to me and took me in broad— Bweh!?"
Unable to listen any longer, Hajime strengthened his fingers and flicked her on the forehead. The force of the blow made Shea smack her head against the wall behind her, and she crouched down in pain. In the end, she's still the same worthless rabbit.
Gingerly rubbing the back of her head, Shea muttered her complaints.
"Feels like I was having this really great dream... but I can't remember it now." She must have unconsciously noticed Hajime stroking her hair in her sleep. But if he told her that she'd get carried away again, so he kept quiet. Since Shea had already been awoken, albeit rather forcefully, Hajime decided to wake Yue up too.
"Mmm... Hwah?" Yue slowly opened her eyes as Hajime gently shook her. She looked up at him and nuzzled her head against his shoulder for a moment longer before getting up and straightening her clothes.
"Man, Yue-san looks so cute... That's how a girl's supposed to wake up! Compared to her, I'm just..." Yue gave Shea a confused stare, but then came to the conclusion that "that's just how she always is" and decided not to say anything.
"Come on, you always knew there was a huge gap between you two. Now pull yourself together, we've got more exploring to do."
"Is it just me, or are you even meaner than before?"
"Huh...? Hajime's always nice."
"...Hic... Only to you, Yue-san. Hmph."
After pouting for a bit, Shea finally stood up. Yue and Hajime were already ready to go. Praying they wouldn't be sent back to the start again, the three resumed their search.
They had spent so much time in the labyrinth that they had reached a kind of enlightenment. Annoying traps and insulting messages had ceased to affect them.
And today, they finally found themselves in a room they hadn't seen since the first time they'd run into it a week before. It was the golem room that had taken them back to the start for the first time. However, this time the sealed door was already open, and instead of a room, it lead down a passage.
"Here again... It'd be a pain if we let them surround us. The door's already open, so let's make a run for it!" Hajime barked his orders.
"Yeah!" Yue quickly agreed, clearly favoring the option.
"You got it!"
They dashed forward as one. Like before, the golems started moving once they reached the halfway mark. But this time, Hajime shot down the ones ahead of him before they could even make it off their plinths.
They sped up, and were at the altar before the golems had a chance to catch up to them. The golems were chasing after them as fast as they could, but they wouldn't make it before Hajime and the others slipped through the door. Sure that they were in the clear, Hajime smiled triumphantly.
But that smile was wiped off his face mere moments later. Because the golems hadn't stopped at the door. They were still chasing them. And worse—
"Wha—!? They can run on the ceiling!?" Hajime screamed, clearly surprised.
"...That's new."
"Gravity, please start doing your job!"
Indeed, the golems were running across the walls and ceiling as they chased after the trio. The sight was made even more surreal because of how heavily their armor clanked as they did so. Even after all they'd seen, Hajime and the others hadn't expected that. Hajime cast Ore Appraisal on the walls and floor as he sped by, but they were all made of materials he'd already examined. Nothing about the hallway suggested it was made of stone that reversed gravity, or had suction powers.
"How the hell are they doing that?" Hajime muttered to himself. When he risked a glance back, he saw something even more surprising. The lead golem jumped off the ceiling, flying like a cannonball at Hajime.
"What the—!? Damn you!" Recovering from his shock, Hajime pulled out Donner and fired a barrage of bullets at it. The hail of bullets destroyed the golem's helmet and most of its shoulder. Its head and torso fell off, and it let go of its sword and shield. But instead of falling to the ground, its weapons and body parts kept flying at them.
"Dodge!"
"Okay."
"Waah!"
Hajime and the others ducked and weaved through the golem's head, torso, sword, and shield. The disparate golem parts kept flying past them and crashed into the walls, ceiling, and floor ahead of them, then kept rolling forward after that.
"Hold up, either I'm seeing things, or they just..."
"Yeah... it's like they're 'falling' forward."
"Okay gravity, seems like you're only planning on working sometimes."
Yue and Shea both tossed their quips at Hajime's words. It seemed these golems also had the power to manipulate gravity. But then, why didn't they bother using it last time? Unless it's something they can only do in this passageway, maybe?
Hajime's thoughts were interrupted as the rest of the golems began "falling" forward toward them. One of them was spinning its sword like a windmill as it fell. Hajime and Yue used gunfire and the Rupture spell respectively to shoot down the golems from a distance, while Shea mopped up any they missed. They kept running as they did, and soon Hajime felt a presence ahead of them.
"Hmm... Hajime."
"Yeah, I know. We knew they could regenerate, so I kind of expected this."
"Th-They've got us surrounded."
The golems that had fallen past them had finished rebuilding themselves. An entire row of them was waiting for the trio. With their shields out, they made for a formidable wall, and there was a second row behind them supporting the first. They'd already realized Hajime and the others could power through a single row.
"Tch, what a pain." Hajime clicked his tongue and holstered Donner and Schlag. From his Treasure Trove, he pulled out another weapon.
Orkan, a rectangular twelve-shot missile launcher. Each of the missiles it fired was thirty centimeters long, and packed more explosive power than his hand grenades. With his creation magic, he had imbued Lightning Field directly into the ore the missiles were composed of. As such, they were constantly charged with static electricity, and that electricity ignited the explosives in the warhead on impact. Hajime smiled wickedly as he took aim with Orkan.
"Yue, Shea! Cover your ears! I'm blowing them out of the way!"
"Okay."
"Wait, what on earth is that!?" Shea's eyes widened in surprise. This was her first time seeing Orkan. Yue stuck her fingers in her ears. Shea's rabbit ears were still standing straight up, but Hajime didn't have any more time, so he pulled the trigger. The missiles launched with a whooshing noise, leaving a trail of sparks in their wake. Each and every one of them found their mark.
There was a huge explosion as they hit. The entire passage shook from the force of the shockwaves. The golem knights were blasted to either side, blown up beyond recognition as they slammed into the walls. It would take a while to rebuild from that kind of damage.
Hajime and the others sped past the wreckage.
"My rabbit ears! My rabbit ears are—" Shea's ears were lying flat against her head, with her hands covering them. There were tears in her eyes, but she still kept pace with the others. Rabbitmen had the best sense of hearing out of all the beastmen.
"That's why I told you to cover your ears."
"Huh? What'd you say? I can't hear anything!"
"You really are a worthless rabbit..."
They both gave her exasperated looks, but Shea was too busy worrying about her ears to notice. After another five minutes of fending off golems falling at them, they saw the end the of the hallway. It opened up into a massive chamber. The chamber had no floor, and there was a square platform standing ten meters out from where the hallway stopped.
"Yue, Shea, jump!"
They both nodded curtly. From behind, golems were still shooting down at them. They continued dodging or intercepting them up until they jumped. With their body strengthening, all three of them could leap far further than any Olympic athlete. A jump that would easily have broken world records back on Hajime's world carried them easily over the gap and directly toward the square platform.
Still, unexpected surprises were this dungeon's specialty, so while they were still in the middle of their jump, the platform started moving.
"What!?" Hajime had lost count of how many times he'd yelled that down here. At this rate, they were just going to fall down. And a quick glance below showed that the hole was quite deep. Hajime thrust out his left hand, ready to fire an anchor, but Yue acted first.
"Updraft!" A surge of air lifted them up, carrying them a few feet higher. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Hajime just managed to grab on to the ledge as he fell. He transmuted spikes into his left arm to keep him fastened there while Yue and Shea clung to him for dear life.
"N-Nice one, Yue."
"That was amazing, Yue-san."
"Mhmm. Praise me more."
Hajime and Shea smiled, praising Yue for saving them from whatever hellish pit awaited below. Yue was exhausted from burning so much mana, but she still managed to puff out her chest proudly.
However, their celebration was cut short by an army of golems flying at them. This time they were just floating through the sky. It must have been their gravity controlling powers at work. They headed toward Hajime and the others at frightening speed.
"Yue, Shea, get up there!" Donner was already in his hand before he'd finished talking, and he fired a barrage of bullets at the incoming golem knights. Yue and Shea clambered up over him and onto the platform. Once they were over, Hajime vaulted up himself.
One of the golems' swords thrust into the platform's side a second later. Had Hajime taken a second longer, it would have speared him. Taking advantage of the golem's brief opening, Hajime bombarded it with bullets.
"Fuck. I don't know if it's gravity control or what, but these guys are getting more and more precise with their movements."
"...It's probably this place."
"Ahaha, I don't even know what common sense is anymore. Everything's floating." As Shea had so aptly stated, everything in the room they were in was floating.
The platform had taken them into a massive spherical room. In fact, "massive" didn't do it justice. The room must have been two kilometers in diameter. There were numerous stone platforms floating around, moving every which way. Gravity may as well have not have existed in this space. Despite that, Hajime and the others were still affected by it normally. It seemed only objects made out of a certain material could ignore gravity.
The golem knights were able to fly in whatever direction they pleased. But it definitely felt like they were reorienting which direction gravity applied to them in, as their movements were jerky and sudden. Living creatures would have probably died from the G-forces that exerted on their frames. However, their movements had continued to get steadily more precise the further they went in, which meant...
"The golem's controller should be around here, right?" Yue and Shea nodded in agreement of his statement and tensed up, ready for a fight. For whatever reason, the golems were just circling them without attacking. He looked around, scouting for any possible exits. There was no telling if this was their final destination, or if there was still more to come. Either way, this must be near the end of the labyrinth. The increased precision of the golems and the strange nature of the room supported his hypothesis.
Hajime activated his Farsight to scout out the room. But before he could get a good look, Shea yelled out a warning to him.
"Run!"
"Wha—!?" Hajime and Yue unquestioningly heeded Shea's warning and leaped to the side as fast as possible. Fortunately, there was another block floating a few meters away for them to jump to.
A second later, something crashed into the block they'd been standing on with the force of a meteorite. The impact shattered the block completely. Meteorite was an apt description for what had just landed, as whatever it was shot straight through the block and kept falling, a nimbus of friction-induced heat surrounding it.
Cold sweat ran down Hajime's back. Had it not been for Shea's warning, they would have taken that head on. And since he couldn't use Diamond Skin here, it might actually have killed him. It wasn't that he hadn't been able to sense the attack. In fact, he'd felt the presence bearing down on them an instant after Shea's warning. However, it had been traveling so fast that he wouldn't have been able to dodge in time after sensing it that late.
"Thanks, Shea. You saved our lives."
"Yeah... good job."
"Ehehe, thank goodness my Future Sight activated back there. Though I'm completely out of mana now..."
So the reason she sensed it before me was because of her Future Sight ability? Shea could use her ability voluntarily, but there were also times it activated on its own. When something posed a threat to her life, it would almost always activate. That meant the meteorite had at least enough power to instantly kill Shea. Hajime shivered a little before looking down at where the meteor had fallen. He cautiously poked his head over the edge of the platform. When he peered down, he could faintly make out something ascending at high speed. In the blink of an eye, it was floating above Hajime and the others. Its eyes glowed with a cold light as it stared at them.
"Man, are you serious?"
"It's... so big..."
"S-So this is their boss."
They all gazed up in amazement. Yue's outburst could probably have been interpreted in a not-so-wholesome way, but that wasn't really important.
Floating in front of them was a massive golem knight. It was fully armored like the others, but this one was twenty meters tall. In its right hand was a glowing red heat knuckle. That was what it had used to destroy the platform earlier. In its left was a flail, its fingers wrapped around the chain.
As Hajime and the others prepared for battle, the other golems all started flying in as well, encircling the trio. They stood, or rather floated, at attention, with their swords held upright in front of their chests. As if they were saluting their emperor.
Hajime and the others looked around nervously. Silence filled the room, and the tension was almost palpable. The moment one side moved, a fight to the death would break out. Or at the very least, that was the sense the atmosphere gave off until...
"Heyo~ Nice to see you~ It's me, everyone's favorite idol, Miledi Reisen-chan~" The huge golem's greeting didn't match its look at all.
"..." Their jaws all dropped open in shock. The cutesy voice coming out of the heavily armed and armored golem was so utterly incongruous that they couldn't help it.
The giant golem frowned in displeasure as it looked down. Judging from its voice, Hajime guessed it was a she.
"Hello? Aren't you going to say anything? It's proper manners to return a greeting, you know? Sheesh, kids these days... no respect, I tell you." That annoying manner of talking was very familiar to them.
"Unbelievable." The golem with a burning knuckle in one hand and a flail in the other shrugged her shoulders in a very human-like fashion. Irritated expressions flitted across the trio's faces. She talked just like the messages they'd seen. Since she'd called herself Miledi Reisen, it was possible it was the Liberator herself, but she was supposedly long dead and a human. Hajime decided to try that angle of questioning first.
"My bad. But wasn't Miledi Reisen a human? And isn't she dead? Anyway, we've never seen a sentient golem before, so we were a bit surprised... Sorry about that. Also, tell us what exactly you are. As concisely as possible, please."
"Oh my, you're quite forward despite being surrounded and outnumbered."
There was no subtlety to his questions. He just laid his questions flat out. Unsurprisingly, the golem called Miledi was taken aback by his bluntness. But she recovered quickly, and if he didn't know golems couldn't show expression, Hajime would have sworn she grinned.
"Hmm? Miledi was always a golem, you know? Whatever gave you the idea she was human?"
"There were a few things written about you in Oscar's notebook. And don't give me bullshit like 'Oh, but I look just like a human, don't I?' Just keep it short. It looks like you're trying to get in our way, so we'll be turning you into scrap soon enough. That's why there's no need for any annoying banter, just tell us what we want to know."
"O-Oh my. I finally get a chance to talk to someone, and this is how you treat me? And did you just say Oscar? Did you three perhaps clear O-chan's labyrinth?"
"Yeah, we've already beat Oscar Orcus' dungeon. But I'm the one asking the questions here. If you don't want to answer, that's fine too. We'll just move straight to the part where we crush you to pieces. It's not like I'm dying to know any of this information. All we're here for is the ancient magic." Hajime pointed Donner at the massive golem to accentuate his words. Yue looked on impassively, but Shea, half-impressed and half-nonplussed, let her thoughts leak out.
"Wow, nothing fazes you does it?"
"If you want the ancient magic, does that mean you're going to kill the gods? Are you going to take out those conniving little bastards for us? If you got to the end of O-chan's labyrinth, then you must know what's going on, right?"
"I told you, I'm the one asking the questions here. If you want me to tell you anything, you answer first."
"You really are a cocky little brat. Well, whatever. Umm where to begin... Ah, guess we'll start with my real identity. Umm..."
"Like I said, keep it short. I don't need an entire novel's worth like when I saw Oscar."
"Ahaha. I guess O-chan can be a little long-winded. He always did like to talk." The massive golem looked up at the sky, quietly reminiscing. She really felt more like a human than a lump of rock. Yue was as expressionless as always, but Shea was glancing nervously at the golems surrounding them.
"Alright, so put simply... I am indeed Miledi Reisen. And the secrets of these golems lie in the ancient magic I can use! If you want to know more, then you'll have to beat me first!"
"That's not an explanation..."
"Hahaha. I mean, what'd be the point in making this labyrinth if you got all the answers before clearing it?" The Miledi golem wagged her finger like she was lecturing a small child. If only it wasn't Miledi Reisen doing that, it'd almost look cute.
"It's who's inside that's the problem," Yue muttered quietly. It appeared she agreed.
Though in the end, they hadn't figured anything out about who was inside either. Hajime's best guess was that if she claimed to be Miledi herself, then she was probably the lingering remnants of her spirit or something. He vaguely recalled that one of his old classmates, Eri Nakamura, had the job of necromancer, which dealt with manipulating such spirits. Though nothing she'd resurrected with her necromancy had the kind of independent will this golem seemed to possess. So does that mean it's the ancient magic she had that let her spirit have such a strong will even after she passed on?
Regardless, it seemed that whatever magic Miledi possessed, it wasn't going to help him teleport across worlds. Somewhat put out, Hajime asked his next question.
"Does your ancient magic have something to do with controlling spirits?"
"Hm? Sounds like you're looking for a certain spell. Well, just so you know, my ancient magic has nothing to do with any of this. I had La-kun help me affix souls into these guys~"
Hajime's only goal was to return home. It didn't matter if this spell controlled souls or spirits or whatnot, it was of no use to him. But Miledi's response wasn't what he had been expecting. He didn't know who this "La-kun" was, but he guessed they were another one of the Liberators. Whoever they were, they were the ones that had put the spirit of Miledi, who was supposedly dead, into this golem.
"Then what does your ancient magic do?"
"Oh, interested, are we? Do you really wanna know that bad?" Her expression couldn't change, but her tone made it obvious that she was grinning inside. Annoyed, Hajime waited for her to answer.
"If you wanna know... you'll have to answer one of my questions first." Her tone suddenly shifted drastically at the end of her sentence. Her playful, cutesy voice was replaced by a dead serious one. Hajime and the others were slightly taken aback. Still, he didn't let it show on his face.
"What?"
"What are you after? Why do you want to collect ancient spells so badly?" Her tone made it clear that she wouldn't forgive him for lying. It was possible this was her real personality. After all, she was a member of the group that had risen up against the gods for the sake of the people. She had plenty of reason to want to know what the person she entrusted her power to would do with it.
Unlike Oscar, who'd passed away and left only a video recording of himself, Miledi had spent centuries here waiting for a challenger to come and lay claim to her power. In a way, it must have been torture. Her frivolous attitude might only have been a front, while the real her was someone with an immense amount of patience and a strong sense of responsibility.
Yue had picked up on that as well, so her expression shifted ever so slightly. Having spent centuries trapped in a prison of her own, Yue must have understood the suffering Miledi had gone through. And there was more than just sympathy in her eyes. After all, unlike Yue, Miledi had chosen to remain down here in the darkness for centuries of her own volition.
Hajime's gaze met Miledi's, and he told her the truth.
"My only goal is to return home. One of your stupid mad gods summoned me to this world by force. I'm just trying to find a spell that can teleport me back... I have no interest in carrying on your crusade against the gods. I'm not going to risk my life for this world."
"..." She stared at Hajime for a few seconds before turning to look at Yue, then Shea. Seemingly coming to some sort of understanding, she nodded curtly.
"I see," was all she said. Then, her serious tone of voice vanished, and was replaced by the cutesy one she had been using before.
"Hmm... I see~ I see~ I understand now, you're not from this world. Yeah, that must have been tough for you~ Alright, let's duel! Beat me and get your hands on the power you seek!"
"I can't follow your logic at all, but... in the end, what is your ancient magic? Is it a teleportation spell?"
Miledi only laughed gleefully and said "Well..." suggestively. She would have made a great host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Tired of her games, Hajime pulled out Orkan. If she wasn't going to say anything, then he would just beat her and get his own answers. And yet, before he could fire she opened her mouth and taunted him.
"Not telling!"
"Then die." Hajime let loose a barrage of missiles. They left a trail of sparks as they slammed into the Miledi Golem and exploded. The explosion echoed loudly across the massive room. Smoke enveloped the space Miledi had been occupying.
"Did you get her!?"
"Shea, anytime anyone says that the enemy's alive."
Shea was ready to start celebrating, but Yue shot her down. And in the end, Yue's warning proved correct. A burning fist punched its way through the smoke. Miledi swept her hand across, blowing away the smoke.
As the smoke cleared, they saw that while Miledi's forearms were crumbling here and there, she hadn't taken any serious damage. She grabbed one of the nearby floating blocks and crushed it, using the particles to restore her own body.
"Fufu, congratulations on landing the first strike. But I'm sure you can do better than that. Come on, I might have the spell you're looking for~ I'm pretty strong though, so try not to die." Accompanied by joyous laughter, Miledi fired the flail attached to her left arm at Hajime. Not swung, fired. There was no windup, so the flail attached to the end of an arm was just suddenly hurtling toward them. She must have been able to control the direction of her gravity like the other golems, so she made the flail "fall" at them.
Hajime and the others jumped to a nearby platform to avoid it. It shattered the block they had just jumped off of and, like it was swimming through the air, turned around and returned to Miledi's hand.
"Let's do this. Yue, Shea, we're taking Miledi down!"
"Okay!"
"Roger!"
At Hajime's shout, the final battle of the Reisen Labyrinth, one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, began in earnest.
The golem knights that had been on standby until then suddenly sprang into action. Like they had in the hallway, they pointed themselves like bullets at Hajime and the others, then fell straight at them.
Yue lithely dodged out of the way, thrust one of her canteens forward, and swung it from side to side. The highly compressed water shot out with considerable force and cut through the golems like a laser.
"Ahaha, pretty good. But there's fifty of these infinitely regenerating golems and me. Will you really be able to get them all at once?" With a wicked cackle, Miledi fired her flail again. Shea leaped out of the way and onto a pyramid shaped block above her. Instead of dodging, Hajime emptied Donner's chamber on it.
There was only one gunshot, but all six bullets were fired. The six bullets hit the flail almost simultaneously. Even a giant mass of metal like the flail couldn't ignore six railgun enhanced bullets. And so, it was flung off at an angle, away from Hajime.
Meanwhile, Shea leaped off her platform and swung Drucken down at Miledi's head.
"I can see right through your tricks~" Miledi suddenly shot sideways through the sky. She had reoriented her gravity.
"Kuh, damn you!" Gritting her teeth, Shea pulled Drucken's trigger. There was a concentrated explosion along the face of the hammer. The recoil of the blast allowed her to correct her trajectory. She spun around thrice before delivering a blow backed by the power of centrifugal force squarely into Miledi.
Miledi raised her left arm up to guard herself, but Shea's strike was so powerful that it crushed her arm entirely. However, Miledi seemed unconcerned and swatted away Shea with her crushed arm.
"Kyaaa!"
"Shea!"
The force of the blow sent her flying. She somehow managed to stabilize herself by firing Drucken multiple times, then made an emergency landing on one of the floating platforms.
"Heh, looks like you're just fine. Hey, Yue, just what kind of training did you give this girl?"
"...I just cornered her a little."
"I see. No wonder she's so good at surviving." Hajime nodded approvingly as he watched Shea make her way back, jumping from block to block. The amount of golems swarming them was more than Yue could handle alone.
Hajime pulled Metzelei, his Gatling gun, from out of his Treasure Trove. Then, back to back with Yue, he started firing 12,000 rounds of death a minute.
The six barrel Gatling gun rotated at ridiculous speeds as it fired. Gunshots echoed throughout the room and streaks of red light filled the air as a hailstorm of bullets ripped the golems apart, sending them all hurtling to the depths below. The knights that attempted to circle around and take him from behind were cut down by Yue's water jets.
Within seconds, over forty golems had been turned into hunks of fractured rock. They fell unceremoniously down to whatever was below. They'd return fully rebuilt, of course, but at least they wouldn't bother them for a while. And that meant they had enough time to take out the Miledi Golem.
"Hey, what the heck was that!? I've never seen or heard of anything like it!" Hajime ignored her question and put Metzelei back into his Treasure Trove. Then, he took Donner out of his holster and yelled in a voice loud enough for Shea to hear,
"Miledi's core is where a human's heart would be! Destroy that!"
"Wha— How do you know that!?" She asked, clearly surprised. It hadn't even occurred to her that Hajime might have a demon eye that could see the flow of mana. Now that they knew the Miledi Golem's weak point, Yue and Shea's eyes glinted with a predatory light.
There weren't even ten regular golems left to protect Miledi. As long as we coordinate our attacks, we should be able to take out her heart.
Hajime leaped from platform to platform, looking to close in on Miledi. With his weakened railgun, it would be difficult to.shoot down Miledi's core. And so, he'd have to rely on a point blank shot to blow off her armor, then finish her core off with a grenade.
But no matter how frivolous her attitude, Miledi was still a Liberator capable of using ancient magic. He doubted it would be so easy. Miledi's eyes flashed bright, and one of the platforms floating overhead shot down toward Hajime.
"Huh!?"
"I never said the knights were the only things I could control~"
Hajime ignored her and activated another one of his left arm's features. With a resounding bang, a shockwave fired out of his elbow. More specifically, he fired a shotgun blast. It couldn't be accelerated with his Lightning Field, but the burst contained far more blastrock than Donner's bullets. Though, the recoil was also that much stronger in turn. Hajime flew through the air, narrowly avoiding the falling platform. He somehow managed to land on the block he was aiming for too.
Naturally, Miledi tried to drop the block he'd landed on as well, but before she could, Shea jumped up behind her, aiming for her head. Since she needed to flash her eyes before controlling the platforms, Shea had decided to crush them along with the rest of her face.
Unfortunately, Miledi noticed Shea in time, so she sent her remaining golems after her while she was still mid-jump. In the sky, Shea was defenseless. But just before a knight's sword sliced her in two—
"...I won't let you." Yue suddenly popped up behind her and diced the golems into little pieces with her Rupture.
"Thanks, Yue-san!" Her obstacles now removed, Shea swung down her hammer with all the might of her body strengthening behind it.
"Do you really think you can beat a golem in a contest of strength?" As if to prove her point, Miledi turned around and swung her burning right fist up at Shea.
There was a thunderous crash as Miledi's heat knuckle and Shea's Drucken collided. The shockwaves were powerful enough to send all the nearby platforms spinning away.
"You liiiiiittle!" Shea let out a bestial roar as she struggled to push through Miledi's fist. However, she was unable to match the golem's strength, so she was blown away.
"Kyaaa!" Shea screamed loudly as she flew through the air. Her body had been temporarily stunned by Miledi's fist, and there were no floating platforms in the direction she was headed. At this rate she would fall, but Yue suddenly jumped next to her, grabbed her mid-flight, and used Updraft to correct their trajectory to a nearby platform.
"You've got quite the coordinated little team there." Miledi looked down at Yue and Shea, her voice smug. But just then, another voice rang out from right beside her.
"I know, right?"
"Wha—!?"
As Miledi turned around in surprise, she saw Hajime. He had fired an anchor into the gap between her armor and found himself a foothold. In his hands was the railgun-accelerated anti-materiel rifle Schlagen, pointed directly at her heart. Sparks were flying down the length of Schlagen's barrel.
"Wh-When did you—" Miledi was interrupted by the sound of a bullet being fired. The point blank rifle shot sent Miledi flying backward, obliterating the armor around her chest. With his Lightning Field weakened, Schlagen was only as powerful as Donner normally was. Still, that was more than enough to destroy metal armor. Even in this dungeon Donner was powerful enough to blow away the normal golem knights' armor, and since Miledi seemed to be made of the same material, the most she could have done to her armor was make it thicker.