Chapter 184

01 “How is this happening?! They’ve fused with monsters!” cried the soldiers in disbelief at the corpses surging forth. Perhaps the dead weren’t used to their haphazardly pieced-together bodies, as they moved somewhat stiffly. Some of them carried themselves in ways that suggested they had probably been high-ranking adventurers in life. Only their original body parts showed such refined movement, however. The way the monstrosities had been pieced together offset their centers of gravity, and differences in leg lengths hindered them from showing their true abilities. Nothing resembling reason could be found in the vacant expressions of the creatures; hopefully, they did not realize what a terrible thing had befallen them. Whether that was fortunate for the walking corpses or for the Labyrinth Suppression Forces who would have to face them was up for debate. At the very least, the clumsy bodies of the seemingly endless supply of enemies proved a boon to the Forces, whose fighting-ready members had dropped below two hundred. Swords were swung, lopping off heads and limbs. Spears punctured holes in torsos. Halberds sliced bodies clean in half. Great showers of arrows rained down. Magic swallowed and engulfed the rotting bodies. It was an overwhelming march that resembled a massacre. As a group, with Leonhardt in command, the Labyrinth Suppression Forces clearly boasted higher strength. So why didn’t the corpses falter? Death had taken from them fear and pain, and none of them seemed to care if they had holes in their chests. If one didn’t have legs, it crawled with its arms, and if a corpse didn’t have arms, it gripped a weapon in its mouth. Over and over, the creatures would fall to the Forces, but the army of the dead continued its offensive. There was a palpable sense of preparedness for death, a conviction that emanated from the lurching army of deceased men. In truth, such a preparedness for the end was no different from the feelings of their living brethren, who willingly entered the Labyrinth and delved into such perilous places. “Protect our city! Now is the time for glory!” Mariela could hear those words emanating from the battle, but which side did the cries belong to? From Mariela’s point of view, that first disaster was only around a year ago. The hopes the people of the Citadel City had carried in the middle of the chaotic Stampede hadn’t yet faded. The will of the Kingdom of Endalsia had persisted for two hundred years and now filled this stratum. As a mere alchemist, Mariela had no way to grant those ancient desires. The young woman simply clung to the back of her raptor and ran through a time that should have been long past, charging forward with the army that fought back against the wave of death. “Protect our city! Now is the time for glory!” “Even if I fall in battle, as long as someone important is able to survive…” Such feelings were expressed in the clash of blades. With each foe his weapon met, Leonhardt could feel it, too. “These things still hold on to the dreams they once had. It’s an endless nightmare that’s lasted for two centuries,” Freyja said to Leonhardt as the two finally reached the stairs leading to the fifty-eighth stratum. Her voice was unusually quiet, as though she were offering words of condolence. “So they’re the victims of the Stampede from two hundred years ago?” Freyja nodded in response to Leonhardt’s question. To the walking dead, the tragedy of so many lifetimes ago had never ended; they probably saw Leonhardt and the others as the monsters that were attacking. That was what drove them to fight eternally, even in such a state. “In other words, an entire kingdom’s worth of corpses from Endalsia awaits us below.” “That and all the monsters that perished.” “Why are they fused with the monsters?” As she listened vaguely to Weishardt and Freyja’s exchange, Mariela recalled what Sieg had related to her about how Endalsia came to ruin. The story of the Stampede two hundred years ago had been passed down like a fairy tale. It was said that the swarm of monsters that closed in on the Citadel City consumed both the heroes who opposed them and the people of the kingdom. Then they ate their fellow monsters. The last one remaining swallowed the spirit of the ley line, and subsequently, the Labyrinth was born. Freyja’s response to Weishardt was both straightforward and repulsive. “This stratum and the one above us were the Labyrinth boss’s ‘legs,’ right? What lies above the legs?” “The stomach…?” In other words, those who had been eaten in the battle two hundred years ago and settled into the stomach of the last remaining monster were gathered in the stratum below as remnants of their former selves. Most likely, only a small portion of the true horde was overflowing into this stratum—the corpses storming up from the newly opened stairs. However, the number that could reach the stratum was limited by the actual physical dimensions of the path. Elite soldiers positioned in front of the stairs kept the swarm of the dead at bay, using skills to burn them or reduce them to chunks of flesh to keep them from moving farther upward. “Lady Sage, why do you think the corpses are able to cross through strata?” This time, it was Leonhardt who sought Freyja’s opinion. Admittedly, his question might have been meaningless in and of itself; the knowledge would’ve made little difference. It was more for the man’s own reassurance than anything else. Freyja’s answer was quick to cut down any hope Leonhardt may have been holding on to. “You think it’s just the corpses that can?” It wasn’t that these shambling dead things had some unusual ability to move between strata; rather, whatever prevented all monsters from moving up the levels had been removed when the fifty-eighth stratum opened. Just as Leonhardt had feared, a stampede had begun. Realizing this, Leonhardt looked to the heavens and closed his eyes. He wanted to remind himself not of the dark ceiling of the Labyrinth, but of the blue sky stretching over the Labyrinth City and the future that awaited them all at the end of this battle. After this quiet contemplation, Leonhardt issued an order to his younger brother without a hint of hesitation. “Weis, take the scouts, the fourth and fifth units; return to the surface.” “But, Brother!” “Don’t worry. The boss of the Labyrinth has lost its legs; it’s squirming and struggling. We can’t afford to miss this opportunity. I have long desired to kill the Labyrinth and give this city, and our territory, a future. But the future of this city, and of our territory, is nothing without its people. What is a lord without the masses? Protecting them is our duty as well. That is why I entrust you with this duty. Go, Weishardt! I leave them all in your hands!” Leonhardt placed a hand on his younger brother’s shoulder. As the brothers passed each other, he added, “Go, protect your princess.” Weishardt clenched his teeth and firmly grasped his brother’s hand in his own. Taking command of his new charges, Weis issued orders with resolve and speed. “We’re running through! Follow me, and don’t fall behind! Scouts, order the adventurers within the Labyrinth to return home! Gather as much information as possible about the migration of the monsters through the strata!” Since the second stratum connected to the underground Aqueduct, the situation could deteriorate quickly if monsters reached it. An immediate blockade would be required. The Forces needed to guard the protective wall around the Labyrinth and prepare to meet the monsters that were no doubt going to charge forward from its depths. At the same time, those who couldn’t fight needed to be given evacuation instructions. Weishardt’s troops had to return to the surface before the monsters in order to minimize the number of victims. Dick, I’m heading for the surface. Stay alive so we may meet again. Malraux joined those returning to the City and sent a parting telepathic message to Dick. The man’s mental communication wouldn’t function over distances as far as the deepest part of the Labyrinth to the surface. However, it would undoubtedly be helpful in the extreme chaos that was to come topside. Yeah, they need your telepathy. Make sure you get out of there in one piece. Dick replied with a short message. As a constant precaution against the worst-case scenario in subjugating a stratum boss, soldier slaves accompanied the Forces and served as a supply train for consumable goods such as spare weapons, arrows, food, and potions, among other things. Now was no different, and they still had goods to spare. However, with the stratum stairs no longer safe, the supply line was severed. Proceeding from here to the lower stratum meant confronting an unknown enemy with scant information and no hope of reinforcements or supplies. How likely was it that they’d actually be able to return alive? While you’re at it, make arrangements for the celebratory party. Despite such grim circumstances, Dick’s mental reply was very characteristic of him. It carried neither excitement nor fear and made it sound like he was merely heading to the Fell Forest as he had during his time with the Black Iron Freight Corps. “Mariela, you’re probably a little frightened, so close your eyes and hold the raptor tight. Salamander, Come Forth. Light Mariela’s path.” Freyja spoke wearing her serious “master” expression. She gently stroked Mariela’s head, took her hand, and placed the reins into it. The young alchemist’s hands were as cold as ice and violently shaking at the swarm of grotesque and unpleasantly familiar bodies. After wrapping Mariela’s right hand tightly in both of her own, Freyja touched the ring on the girl’s middle finger, summoned a small salamander about the size of one’s open palm, placed it on the raptor’s head, and smiled. “Rawr!” “Rar?! Raaar!!!” The little salamander communicated something, and Koo replied as though saying “Leave it to me!” “Well then, Sieg. I’m counting on you,” said Freyja. The Sage of Calamity then departed no more dramatically than if she was simply going to get a bottle of alcohol and began walking toward the front lines to join Leonhardt. “M-Master…” Freyja looked over her shoulder at the voice calling to her and waved in response. Mariela had a terrible feeling she’d never see Freyja again. Mariela wanted to tell her to stop, but she felt that was almost certainly the wrong thing to do. She believed her master had awoken in this era because there was something she needed to do. Freyja had probably left to go do just that. If her master told her to, Mariela would fulfill her duty as well. Even if that responsibility lay beyond the great hordes of the walking corpses. Resolving not to simply be a burden, like she had been when they’d lost Lynx, Mariela gripped the raptor’s reins tightly in her hands. “Well, Your Excellency. Shall we go?” “Oh, Lady Sage. It’s heartening to have your support. I don’t suppose there’s a good strategy you know of?” Leonhardt asked. Freyja had previously demonstrated unparalleled understanding of the situation, after all. Even facing an army of the dead, Leonhardt showed no fear; his majestic appearance made him worthy of the nickname the Gold Lion General. “This isn’t a ‘strategy’ per se, but those corpses were slapped together; their individual attack power is low. Trouble is, there are a lot of them, and they’re extremely hardy. In this stratum, they’ll stop moving if you chop them up, but since the belly of the Labyrinth’s boss is right beneath us, they’ll probably be remade right away if you just slice them without a plan. If everyone cut down a hundred of them, that still wouldn’t be enough to keep up. Instead, just charge through without worrying about them. No more limit on stratum movement, remember? The way down should already be open. Luckily, the inside of the belly is a straight shot, no forks. If you plow your way through the corpses, you’ll definitely get there.” “If we do that, the corpses will flood up the stratums.” “I’ll stay to make sure that doesn’t happen.” “Lady Sage…” “No need to worry. This’ll be a piece of cake compared to culling earth dragons in the Fell Forest two hundred years ago. Besides, these people are from my time. It’s only fitting that I be the one to send them home, don’t you think? It’s fine; no need to worry about me. Living a long time gives you a sense of when you’re nearing the end. And I won’t meet my end in a place like this.” Freyja’s big grin brought the conversation between the pair to a close. There was no time left for deliberation. The strategy had been established. After directing the entire army to use the monster-warding potions they carried, Leonhardt ordered the start of the operation. “Mage unit to the front! Unleash your magic at maximum firepower! Everyone, follow me! We’re running through at full speed!” “Huuuooooooh!” The war cry was intense enough to shake the Labyrinth, but to whom did it belong? Like the high-powered flames the mages unleashed, Leonhardt plunged into the enemy vanguard and cut through them, his soldiers close behind. People and monsters alike burned as the swallowed city turned to ash, and every single person shouted as if a war cry could keep the stench at bay. They all charged forward with weapons in hand and unleashed magic and techniques to open the way down. Just like a charging beast. Just like a monster closing in. Just like the day of the Stampede. The Labyrinth’s fifty-eighth stratum was a cavern resembling an intestinal tract smeared with blood. Although there was no visible sky, the reddish-brown walls made it look like a city in flames, and the wet red floor gave the impression of a ruined, bloodstained country. The Labyrinth Suppression Forces shook off the clinging corpses as they might shake off past nightmares, literally cutting through them, and crossed the ceaseless vision of horror, leaving the corpses behind. Take up your swords! Ready your bows. You damn monsters. How dare you! How dare you— Which side harbored such thoughts? “It’s all over.” Freyja calmly stood at the entrance to the Labyrinth’s fifty-eighth stratum—the unending nightmare—far behind Leonhardt and the others. Multiple layers of flaming walls surrounded her to prevent the corpses from surging into the upper stratum. “It’s your turn, my kin. Your first big stage in two hundred years. The job is to lead home those poor lost children who are trapped in the past. You’ve received plenty of offerings, so how about you show me what you can do?” Despite the fact that they’d be burned to charcoal by the flames, the corpses accumulated and closed in, and the blazing walls surrounding Freyja began to narrow, bit by bit. She smoothly dodged the spears and magic that flew her way while desperately defending the stairs to the upper floor in a beautiful dance of flame, and she wasn’t performing alone. A group of fire spirits was emerging one by one around her. A lone corpse stepped in front of Freyja, as if lured by her steps. Perhaps as a result of the crimson dance, a trace of reason could be seen in his eyes. “Say, have you seen a girl? I wonder if that alchemist made it home safely?” The corpse had severe injuries, and more than half of his body had been blended with a monster’s. The little bit of clothing remaining suggested he had once been a guard. In fact, it was the same guard who had given Mariela his own monster-warding potion on that day two hundred years ago. “Yeah, she made it. So you can rest easy and go home, too.” Freyja began to sing while she danced. It was a song she offered to the spirits, one with which she commanded her kin. No, perhaps it was more appropriate to call it a requiem for the dead. “Come, great flames. Come, great flames. True fire, deep fire, you are primordial blood. Ignite, destroy, burst, barrage. Summon Fire Blast!” In that instant, the stratum of the ancient dead was engulfed in a thunderous roar and a blast of overwhelming heat. The inferno purified the hellish scene, reducing it to ash and scattering the remnants to the wind. A great many corpses had awoken from their two-hundred-year nightmare. As properly deceased people, as they were meant to be, the dead at last embarked on a journey to the one place they were meant to go. 02 Weishardt was dashing up the stratum stairs that ran through the Labyrinth when he felt a blast rock the foundation of the entire underground. The fifty-sixth stratum’s red dragon hadn’t yet revived, and Weishardt continued through to the fifty-fifth and then the fifty-fourth. Thankfully, the only monsters here had been each floor’s respective bosses: the Black Fiends and the Sea-Floating Pillar. Weishardt ran all the way up to the fifty-third stratum, where he at last saw with his own eyes that monsters were moving between different strata. …Are they eating each other? Basilisks had left their habitat on the fifty-second stratum and moved to the fifty-first, where they were attacking and greedily devouring the beasts that lived there. In such a state, they resembled the monsters inhabiting the Fell Forest. Monsters of the Labyrinth ate people. However, Weishardt had never heard of monsters here eating their own kind or dying of starvation from lack of people to consume. The purported reason for this was that monster bodies were maintained by the magical power filling the Labyrinth. However, when different species met, did one species naturally become prey? “At any rate, they do not seem to be heading for the surface en masse. If that’s the case… Let’s hurry to the surface while we have the chance!” Without a moment to lose, Weishardt and the others ran up to the fiftieth stratum and used the Teleportation Circle to return to the second stratum. “I don’t believe monsters can activate a Teleportation Circle, but keep watch over it for caution’s sake. If you confirm a suspicious transition, destroy it immediately!” said Weishardt. Considering that this magic circle was a way back for Leonhardt’s group, Weishardt wanted to leave it the way it was. However, he couldn’t overlook the danger of powerful monsters from around the fiftieth stratum suddenly appearing in the second. “Blockade the Aqueduct entrance on the second stratum! Don’t allow monsters to invade from underground! Fifth unit, establish a defense on the tenth stratum, and sixth unit is to be stationed at the Labyrinth entrance! If you encounter any adventurers, immediately have them return to the surface for the time being. Malraux, take command of half of the scout unit and get me some intel on the situation from the tenth stratum up. The rest of you, get in touch with every location! This is an emergency summons!” “Sir!” The soldiers immediately took action under Weishardt’s orders. During the brief time when the monsters moving between strata were eating those in the earlier levels, the protectors of the Labyrinth City had to get ready. This was a race against time, and no one was about to let the tragedy that had befallen them two centuries ago repeat itself. 03 A handful of goblins were the first monsters to reach the surface. They were a hideous sight to youths aspiring to be adventurers, but they made for an easy battle. Goblin skin was a dark, greenish-brown hue, a pigmentation never found in humans, and they had small, childlike bodies. However, the fact that goblins walked on two feet and were similar to humans in a few ways helped to inspire a type of readiness in those considering the life of an adventurer, a person who continually fought and slaughtered monsters. The sight of a slain goblin brought many to consider that it just as easily could have been them. Such monsters had a certain unsettling familiarity about them. However, the ones that crawled from the Labyrinth for the first time were noticeably different. Their skin was darker and duller than that of normal goblins, and they had bloodshot eyes. Blood mixed with saliva dripped from their mouths, staining their chests. Each held a low-quality sword covered with blood and fat. Whether the creatures had picked up the weapons in the Labyrinth or had taken them from some unfortunate victims was unclear. Unusual monsters like these had previously only been encountered in the Fell Forest: for example, the black death wolves and werewolves that the Black Iron Freight Corps had once come across. Those wolves would eat people, go mad from magical power, eat their fellow monsters, and become more ferocious individuals. Any living thing that ate of its own species could hardly have been considered acceptable, but perhaps it was a fitting evolution for creatures that originally arose from corrupted magical power. The goblins, felled by soldiers who were keeping watch, had been stronger than the average specimen of their kind. Strangely, despite having been generated within the Labyrinth, their corpses didn’t vanish. “Were their bodies fully incarnated?” Weishardt received a report regarding the goblins in a council room of the Adventurers Guild, and that was when he hit on the reason for the monster cannibalism he’d witnessed. “Are they eating each other to acquire physical bodies? What is the status of monster generation within the Labyrinth?” The magical power of the Labyrinth’s boss hung thick in the air of the deep strata. Among the monsters generated from the stagnant magical power, individuals whose bodies hadn’t incarnated much probably couldn’t exist without a constant supply of magical energy. So they would eat one another to replenish their magical power and achieve full incarnation. If monsters ate each other and evolved into stronger forms, their numbers would decrease. As long as those creatures of the Labyrinth didn’t come thundering through like an avalanche, it was possible to hold them back and buy more time. “According to a report from the fifth unit defending the tenth stratum, the number of monsters being generated in the shallow strata has doubled, and about ten percent of those are one rank higher than the rest. Higher-rank ones are eating the other monsters in the area and moving toward the surface. The fifth unit is blocking the progress of the monsters from the tenth stratum upward, but the report says that the strength of the fiends is increasing slowly over time.” New monsters were appearing one after another and moving to reach the surface. It seemed like a desperate situation for sure. However, Weishardt had noticed a silver lining in that report. Not even two hours had passed since they had established their headquarters in the Adventurers Guild, the place closest to the Labyrinth. If there was a time for action, it was now. “On that note, Your Excellency, how do ya want us to welcome our guests of honor from the Labyrinth?” asked Haage, the master of the Adventurers Guild. It wasn’t just the Labyrinth Suppression Forces who had been assembled, either. Elmera, master of the Merchants Guild, and division chairs with high fighting strength had been summoned as well. The City Defense Squad, charged with guarding the Labyrinth City, was also present. It was understandable for the colonel and Captain Kyte to be there, though Adviser Teluther’s presence was questionable. However, Teluther was observing the situation not with his usual excitement at being in the presence of his admired Lightning Empress Elsee, but with a tense, extremely serious expression. Perhaps he’d hastened here believing that his long career in the City Defense Squad meant he would be able to provide something of use. “The Labyrinth’s northeastern gate is closed, so enter and exit on the southwestern side. The Labyrinth City’s large southwestern gate, western gate, and southern gate are closed. City Defense Squad, continue to guard the protective wall while advising residents who can’t fight to evacuate. Just like with the drills, we will use the mountain road leading from the large northeastern gate for evacuation.” Around the Labyrinth was a reconstructed, protective wall that had once been the castle ramparts for the Kingdom of Endalsia. The barricade was meant to hold back the monsters in the unlikely event they flooded out of the Labyrinth. Not one had emerged in the past two hundred years; the wall had simply served to give a sense of security to the people living in the Labyrinth City. However, thanks to how carefully it had been repaired, it would now serve as the city’s final line of defense. The barrier around the Labyrinth had two entrances, one on the northeast side and one on the southwest. The former, which many residents used, was closed. The purpose of this was also to buy time to evacuate, because if you left the Labyrinth City and headed northeast along the mountain road, you would arrive at the dwarves’ autonomous region, Rock Wheel. A route through the Fell Forest by way of monster-warding potions also existed, but there was a possibility the forest’s monsters were linked to—and had been invigorated by—the Labyrinth. It was safer to use the mountain road, an already well-known evacuation route, in times of emergency. “Adventurers Guild, organize your people to subjugate monsters in the Labyrinth. Form lines of defense on the tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth strata. Keep the monsters’ progress in check while bringing down as many as possible. I would also like to request that the Merchants Guild supply and transport reinforcements and goods. I will ask Lord Royce and the Aguinas family to make potions available. The house of Margrave Schutzenwald will be responsible for all expenses.” Weishardt took command just as easily as his brother would’ve. “We were gonna do that from the get-go, but how long do ya plan to fight?” Haage asked as both the mediator for the adventurers and as a guildmaster. Was the battle they were ordered to fight meant to buy time to save the residents’ lives, or were they sacrifices meant to prevent damage from reaching the imperial capital? Adventurers had far more freedom than soldiers. They had few obligations, but in exchange, there was no security. Of course, those who belonged to the guild were entitled to guild benefits in exchange for defined responsibilities, so it was possible to mobilize members by force. It was even within the power of the guild to send adventurers into an extremely dangerous place without telling them the particulars. However, in addition to being a guildmaster, Haage held classes for young adventurers and had been teaching people how to fight for a long time. He wanted to help raise strong adventurers and see them return alive; he couldn’t send them somewhere perilous without telling them anything. “What should I say to ’em before I send ’em off?” Haage’s eyes were serious. He was not about to falter, not even in the face of the house of Margrave Schutzenwald’s influence. They faced threats from the Labyrinth on the inside, the Fell Forest on the outside. The man who had long watched over the adventurers of this isolated human land was also their protector. “They’re to remain until my brother has killed the Labyrinth, Haage.” Weishardt looked the bald man straight in the eye as he answered. Leonhardt was still fighting, and Weishardt trusted that his brother would slip through the sea of the deceased and deliver the point of his sword to the boss of the Labyrinth. “New monsters are being created, eating each other, and incarnating. That means there are fewer monsters than there have been for a long time, but they’re also strong enough to move to the surface. The Labyrinth Suppression Forces and adventurers entering the Labyrinth for many years and continuing to weaken its power was by no means pointless. Our time spent, our sacrifices, from drops of blood to chunks of flesh, were all worthwhile.” Weishardt stood before them and made his speech. Although they had different affiliations, the people gathered in that room all lived in the same city and fought together against the Labyrinth. “And now, the monsters can move freely, despite the fact that without enough incarnated monsters, preparations for a stampede are not complete. There is no doubt that our accursed, longstanding enemy in the Labyrinth has its back to the wall. My brother, the Gold Lion General Leonhardt, will kill the Labyrinth. Of that I am certain. So in answer to your question, Haage… Until that time, we will protect the Labyrinth City and the people who live there, defeat monsters, and work to weaken the power of the Labyrinth.” Weishardt didn’t have any skills like Lion’s Roar to inspire the people. However, an equally powerful force existed in his words. The man continued to stare straight at Haage, and all present sensed the unwavering fighting spirit burning within him. “Listen, everyone. This is not a battle of defense with no end in sight. This is a battle to take back our city, this region, from the monsters and return it to human hands. Understand that we are at a turning point. Will we win the right to build a happy future for ourselves and welcome each day in this land that will be truly ours? Or will those days, will our very lives, be snatched from us and devoured? I know my brother, the Gold Lion General, will defeat the Labyrinth and return this land to us. Until then, we must protect it, together.” There was no despair in Weishardt’s eyes; instead, there was confidence, and the conviction that he would protect the people. Such was the duty of those born into the house of Margrave Schutzenwald. It was their dearest wish and for Weishardt, his raison d’être. “I see. So the Gold Lion General is still fighting, is he? In that case, our blades are yours, Lieutenant General Weishardt. The Labyrinth Suppression Forces have the support of the Adventurers Guild!” Bam! Haage gave his answer along with a snappy thumbs-up and a radiant grin. If the Schutzenwald brothers hadn’t given up the fight, then the Labyrinth City, built so the Labyrinth could be killed, would fulfill its purpose. In this pivotal moment, adventurers would not fail to take up arms. “Let’s go, ladies and gents! Summon the adventurers! Now’s the time to stand our ground! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Don’t forget to take care of the idiots and make sure they don’t rush into danger! Let’s go! It’s time for Team Haage!” Was it the destiny of an adventurer to be roused to action in exactly this sort of situation? Haage had directed his thumbs-up toward the assembled top brass of the Adventurers Guild, and they all responded at the same time: “Guildmaster, please go on your own.” “Even with all of us managing things and assigning adventurers according to their abilities, we’ll be short-staffed. Honestly, you should know that much.” “Ah, but we don’t need your help here, Guildmaster, so please fight to the utmost on the front lines.” “Besides, no one wants to call us ‘Team Haage’ except you.” “Wh-what’s is wrong with all of you?!” Even though he’d expressly gone “Bam!” when he made the decision, nothing had come of it, as per usual. Despite the state of emergency, the strong-willed staff members of the Adventurers Guild didn’t budge an inch but ran things as they always did. They really exuded a sense of stability, likely thanks to Haage’s daily training. The top brass of the Adventurers Guild left the council room to summon adventurers, as Weishardt had directed. They were quite calm, even finding the time for pointless chatter. “I’ve always had objections to the name Team Haage.” “I’d at least like it to be Team Limit Breaker. Something even a little less embarrassing.” “No, what about Team Hair? That way, the boss can’t join. Not that he ever had to join us.” “You all know I shave this, right?” “Mm… So you’ve gone out of your way to encourage hair loss? That’s a very fresh interpretation. Still, it’s impossible to say you’re not bald.” Although they cracked jokes with each other, the guild staff members were hastily dividing up their work. Watching, Weishardt peered curiously at the adventurers, tilting his head, his beautiful blond hair bouncing slightly. “He shaves it… So pure!” Telluther seemed to have been deeply moved by something. 04 The stairway heading into the abyss of the Labyrinth began at the end of the corridor creating the nightmare, just as the Sage of Calamity had said. They’d managed to shake off the corpses, flying down the stairs as if an explosion were propelling them forward. The Labyrinth’s fifty-ninth stratum was pitch-black, keeping Leonhardt from seeing what awaited him. The corpses on the fifty-eighth stratum had lost interest in the Labyrinth Suppression Forces that had charged through. Instead, the walking corpses appeared more interested in heading toward the upper strata. Would they reach the surface, or was Freyja still going strong even after the explosion powerful enough to devastate the entire fifty-eight stratum? There was no way for Leonhardt and the others who walked among the abyss to know for sure. The stairs connecting the strata of the Labyrinth up to this point were aptly called “stratum stairs”; they had been constructed with uniform steps. Here, however, the way down was a slope of accumulated rocks and dirt. No longer was there a structure one would call a “staircase.” The stratum’s ceiling was high, likely dozens of meters above, making the path down seem even steeper. Not a single blade of grass had sprouted in the soil, giving the impression the place was a newly excavated cave. The dirt appeared to be claylike rather than coarse and sandy, and there was enough water underground to dampen the chill earth. Although soft, the soil wasn’t loose and posed no threat to anyone’s footing; rather, it had the texture of something like soft rock made of densely packed particles. “Light. I can’t see anything. Light the lamps and confirm the damage.” At Leonhardt’s order, the soldiers lit their lamps one after another and filed into ranks. Normally, the walls and ceilings of the Labyrinth contained shining rocks called luminous stones or another material called moonstone. Both made the strata as bright as day. Even in gloomy strata, you could use night-vision magic to ensure a sufficient view. However, there were neither luminous stones nor moonstones in this stratum. This was truly the bottom of a dark hole that any would have rightly dubbed an abyss. In this level, devoid of light and as silent as the grave, the signs of life were the roll calls taken and the lamps lit by the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. The damage check was surprisingly quick, but both the reports and the roll call were done in near whispers. No one believed the stratum was free of monsters. The Forces had lowered their voices so as to listen carefully for the sound of monsters approaching. Monsters in this stratum could have been heading right for them, guided by the light from magic or lamps. Shining lanterns in this darkness would mean telling the fiends their position, but the soldiers wouldn’t have been able to sense monsters approaching otherwise. More than anything else, however, it was fear that caused Leonhardt and the others to use illumination magic. It’s hard to believe that this is what came after a nightmare like the Stampede two hundred years ago… Mariela recalled the cellar of her cottage in the Fell Forest, where, terrified of dying, she’d used the Magic Circle of Suspended Animation. Back then, I was so, so scared… I just didn’t want to die there all alone… Perhaps sensing Mariela’s uneasiness, the salamander riding on the raptor’s head looked back at her with a “Rawr?” and tilted its own head a bit. The little spirit had been given form with her master’s magical power and so had a physical existence. Despite its having been born of fire, the salamander wasn’t too hot for the raptor’s head. The flickering flame reminded Mariela of the lantern’s light back when the Kingdom of Endalsia had fallen. On the day of the Stampede, the flame of the lantern she’d carelessly forgotten to extinguish had led her to the world of two centuries later. The young alchemist wondered where the salamander’s light was leading her now. “It’s all right, Mariela, I’ll protect you.” Sieg, who was holding the raptor’s reins, tried to reassure her. The alchemist’s worries must have shown on her face. “Yeah, thank you. It was scary, and I’m still worried, but I’ll manage.” Mariela put on a smile as she answered Sieg. She’d run through the Fell Forest to escape alone on that day two hundred years ago, but she wasn’t by herself now. This time, the Forces and, most importantly, Sieg were at her side. She would be all right. Mariela wasn’t taking refuge in a cellar alone; she was in a place everyone had worked together to reach. When the young alchemist took a fresh look around, she saw that the stratum was extremely large. However, the darkness kept her from taking it all in. This lack of vision might have made the place feel more expansive and more mysterious to her than it actually was. Within the illuminated area, enormous lumps of earth stood in a row. They varied greatly in size, ranging from only a few meters to over ten, but all of them towered over the average human. Their irregular shapes, as if a child had made them out of dirt, made it difficult to call them rocks. They looked like they’d been carelessly molded from clay. The damage report seemed to have wrapped up while Mariela was surveying the place. A short distance beyond the entrance to the stratum, each unit formed a line in front of Leonhardt and the captains, who themselves were standing as though to guard the general. Nierenberg, his medical team, Mariela, and the sixth unit in charge of protecting them were in the center line. The Labyrinth Suppression Forces, which had numbered over two hundred people when they’d first entered the Labyrinth that day, had suffered losses during the battle with the Bladed Beast of Many Legs. After some had split off and made for the surface with Weishardt, the group that remained had steadily lost more of their men while pushing through the stratum with all the walking dead bodies. Only about a hundred of them remained. Roughly half of those lost had returned alive to the surface, but the Forces had clearly suffered some heavy casualties. Most likely, everyone felt the same. They’d given their all in the battle with the Bladed Beast of Many Legs; neither fighting power nor resources had been spared. Crossing the sea of corpses had been no easy task, either. The alchemist was still going strong, and the army hadn’t yet run out of potions, but was it really possible to make it through this stratum with only half of their original fighting force and without adequate preparation? Like this floor of the Labyrinth, a darkness seemed to swallow the hearts of the remaining members of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. The gigantic clumps of earth might as well have been a high wall that barred the way. “Rawr!” A sharp cry from the salamander broke the silence. As if in response, the raptor leaped to the left to pull Sieg, who was holding the reins, and the nearby soldiers away. “Eek, Koo?!” “Whoa, hey!” Mariela and Sieg cried out in surprise at the sudden movement of the raptor. The soldiers whose ranks had been thrown into disorder all stared, equally startled. “What’s going on?” Before the words even left his mouth, some kind of enormous explosion blew away the soldiers to the right of Mariela’s group like a pile of wooden splinters. 05 The city was in an uproar. The news that monsters from the Labyrinth were heading to the surface was sweeping the streets, so such a reaction was understandable. The Adventurers Guild was near the Labyrinth, and adventurers gathered there one after another, each fired up. A person who would flee upon hearing that monsters were attacking would never have been among their ranks. Every person there jumped at the chance to make a good profit and earn a reputation for themselves. Of course, in order to survive and be able to earn money and prestige, information was needed more than anything else. People packed the Adventurers Guild because they understood that rashly storming the Labyrinth was not a good plan. Staff members more than had their hands full with distributing information on the status of the monster outbreak, suitable ranks for each stratum, and deployment locations of support items such as potions. Running against the stream, Elmera hurried toward Sunlight’s Canopy. Of the work entrusted to the Merchants Guild, the duties of transporting and supplying goods were things Leandro was qualified to handle. Elmera trusted that he would skillfully allocate work to the staff and that everything would proceed without issue. What Elmera was better suited for in an emergency situation like this was fighting on the Labyrinth’s thirtieth stratum and below as the Lightning Empress. There she would cull the monsters, even if only a little. A single monster’s death weakened the Labyrinth, and delaying the progress of powerful monsters meant buying more time for the people who couldn’t fight to escape. And to that end, Elmera was heading for Sunlight’s Canopy to prepare. She fought for the sake of her children and faced the battlefield to ensure that they would not come to harm. That was why she had to make arrangements to ensure that they got away. Elmera’s precious children awaited their mother at the entrance to Sunlight’s Canopy, along with Voyd and Ghark. “Hello, Elmera. I thought I’d run into you if I waited here for a bit.” Elmera’s husband, Voyd, smiled and called to her as if he’d been waiting for a lost child. Next to him stood their two sons, Pallois and Elio, as well as the woman’s grandfather, Ghark. “Darling, Pallois, Elio, Grandpappy…” Elmera’s two children were wearing some unusual outfits. Both had donned the armor they normally used during combat training at school, and they carried no luggage for evacuation. Elio was the type who fought with magic, so he had no weapons to begin with. Pallois, on the other hand, was holding a real sword and shield. Ghark, who accompanied them, had brought his customary double ax and was brimming with an amount of vigor one wouldn’t have expected from such an old man. “Mama! I’m going to the Labyrinth, too!” Elio embraced Elmera in a cute gesture appropriate for his age while saying something rather troubling. “My, what are you talking about, Elio? You will leave the monsters to your mother and evacuate with Grandpappy.” Elmera responded as any mother would have. In truth, she wanted to take her children and evacuate, but she knew where she was needed. “Mother, the guards told us ‘Those who can fight go to the Labyrinth; those who can’t fight evacuate.’ That’s why we have to go. We learned how to fight in school.” Pallois’s assertion that they were ready for battle put Elmera in a bind. Certainly, two children with the blood of Elmera and Voyd possessed plenty of the qualities needed in warriors. However, they were still children. “‘Don’t go in too deep. If it becomes dangerous, run away, no questions asked. That’s the hardest part.’ That’s what we learned from Miss Master. We don’t want to go with everyone out of selfishness, Mother. We’ll make sure to fight in a place that’s appropriate for us. We can do it. Believe in us.” The “Miss Master” Pallois referred to was Freyja. The red-haired woman had always seemed to be just playing with the children, but apparently, the sage had been teaching them important lessons. Even so, Elmera was dumbstruck. Voyd gently nestled up to her and spoke. “Let’s let them go. It’s all right—they’re our children, after all. Your grandfather will be with them the whole time, and I want to respect their desire to stand and fight.” “Darling… I understand.” Elmera nodded, and Voyd smiled tenderly at his wife. The family was soon joined by Sherry and Emily, who had met them there, as well as Amber, who had finished closing up Sunlight’s Canopy. Although they weren’t very well equipped, they wore armor that covered their vital spots. Amber had a pole about the length of a broomstick, Sherry wore two cooking knives at her waist, and Emily carried monster-warding potions, as well as smoke bombs with a variety of effects, such as sleep and concealment.