Chapter 185

Evidently, they also intended to go to the Labyrinth. Amber dealt with drunken adventurers all the time, so she was likely fairly capable, and schools in the city taught children how to fight, so the girls would know enough to handle goblins. Even Emily, the girl of the inn, was ready to head to the Labyrinth as if it was the obvious thing to do. Likely more than half of the Labyrinth City’s children were adhering to the orders for those capable of fighting to make for the Labyrinth. Seeing this, Voyd crouched so that his eyes were level with Pallois and took his son’s hand. “Pallois, you must protect everyone.” “Yeah, leave it to me, Father. Miss Master taught me how to use my power. You heal wounds by absorbing attacks, but I don’t have a special recovery ability. She said I could make the ‘Hollow World’ swallow stuff, and that I could just ‘isolate’ the energy that hurts the ones I love.” Voyd’s eyes widened a bit at Pallois’s encouraging answer. “Is that so? Very well.” Voyd nodded as if to say he understood the truth of the secret Freyja had imparted to the boy. “I learned from Miss Freyja, too. She said if I train my dismantling skill, I can ‘Dismantle’ living monsters, too. My teachers at school didn’t tell me that. They said I shouldn’t talk about it or use it unless I was in danger. But I don’t think I’ll get in trouble if I use it now.” “I learned things toooo!” “Meee too!” Master Freyja seemed to have been busy teaching a variety of things to the children while playing around with them at Sunlight’s Canopy. Sherry’s remark in particular was frightening. What had she meant by dismantling something while it was still alive? Despite Sherry being such an adorable girl, one had to wonder if inheriting not only Nierenberg’s blood but also his disposition was having an effect on her development. In any other town, Freyja might have received a litany of complaints from parents, but this was the Labyrinth City, where the sort of knowledge she taught was useful. Even Nierenberg and the owner of the Yagu Drawbridge Pavilion, neither of whom were aware of the sage’s lessons, would probably have given their blessing to this Youngster Bloodbath Squadron. Though, like Elmera, they would have done so with rather complicated expressions. “Just leave the brats ta me. I may be gettin’ on in years, but I was once an A-Ranker. I’ll make sure ta take care of ’em,” Ghark assured his granddaughter. The man was not one to be doubted, but since when was the Labyrinth City a place where people were on active duty well into their golden years? “Grandpappy, remember your age. Don’t overdo it.” “I’m counting on you, Grandfather.” Elmera and Voyd bowed their heads while they spoke. “Hey, Old Man Ghark, we’re gonna get a head start!” Gordon and Ludan, who were nearing elderly status themselves, ran past, brimming with energy and weapons in hand. Gordon’s son Johan appeared to be falling behind as he chased after the two. “Shall we go, too, Elmera?” “My, you’re coming, darling?” The S-Ranker Voyd, master of the Hollow Rift, had chosen to go to the Labyrinth with his wife, Elmera, yet again. Choosing to trust their children, the couple had changed their minds completely. The powerful pair was already making their way toward the deepest levels of the Labyrinth. “I’m the only one who can keep up with you at your full power. You’re quite the stubborn young lady.” “The last time we were alone together in the Labyrinth must have been when we first met, darling. It’s been a long time since we had a Labyrinth date.” The fate they were burdened with and the place they were heading for both promised tremendous danger, yet Elmera and Voyd began to walk with their arms linked, a show of their affection. Watching his parents head to the Labyrinth, off in their own little world, the precocious Pallois wondered if perhaps he might find himself with a new sibling soon. He hoped for a sister. 06 A towering lump of earth exploded, sending the Labyrinth Suppression Forces reeling right before Mariela’s eyes. Referring to it as a “lump of earth” didn’t exactly speak to its actual nature, but rather to what it first appeared to be. What was once an enormous clump of dirt had become something else, a thing that imitated the form of a powerful monster. After seeing his soldiers get blown away, Leonhardt at last understood the true nature of the mound-turned-monster. “You again? How many times will you stand in our way?” Anger was boiling from the depths of the man’s heart. Leonhardt’s men had been knocked back by a powerful tail, and following the attack had been a boastful roar—their foe was a dragon. It was a monster that had once defeated Leonhardt’s group on the fifty-sixth stratum of the Labyrinth. Although they’d felled the creature on a second attempt, the follow-up battle hadn’t been an easy one. The transformation wasn’t limited to the single earthen mound. Spiral cracks formed on the surfaces of all the visible lumps. Fractures spread across them in a way suggesting that perhaps the strange piles were of deliberate design, that their purpose from the very start had been to transform. Each then took on the countenance of a monster. One became a dragon, another a basilisk; there was a manticore and even a one-eyed giant. Every one of them was an enormous and fearsome foe. “Sieg! Aim for the wings! All of you, follow me!” Not a moment after Leonhardt gave his instructions, Sieg fired an arrow. Thanks to Freyja’s guidance in revealing the true strength of the Spirit Eye, a great number of frail and formless spirits gathered and surrounded the Sieg’s projectile, making it look just like a comet. The arrow, with light swirling around it like powerful magic, pierced and tore the dragon’s wing membrane as easily as it would have torn a piece of cloth. “Rrrrrroooar!” Its wing damaged and no longer able to fly, the monster opened its jaws in furious anger. “Oh no you don’t! Rising Dragon Spear!” The deadly flame would have left the dragon’s maw before Leonhardt and the others could do anything, but Dick’s spear crashed into the monster with enough force to leave a crater in the stratum floor. Leonhardt and his soldiers charged at the dragon, attacking mercilessly. “These are young monsters, just formed! They’re nothing to be feared!” Leonhardt’s cry as he brought his sword to bear wasn’t made of empty, encouraging words. This wasn’t a stratum of lava, so the Labyrinth Suppression Forces could move as they pleased. The ceiling here was also much lower than that of the fifty-sixth stratum. What was more, this dragon, generated from a lump of earth, was clearly far weaker than the red one that had given them so much trouble. Although the soldiers had suffered serious injury for their moment of carelessness, they’d avoided death. As soon as the wounded drank the potions they’d kept on hand, they rejoined the ranks to challenge the dragon. It was as Leonhardt had said: There was nothing for them to be afraid of here. A lone dragon of this caliber was something they could most definitely handle. Things would swiftly change, however, if all the many lumps of earth in this stratum suddenly turned into monsters and headed their way. While the dragon was unlikely to be difficult to defeat, it was also a matter of how long it would take to bring the creature down. If they weren’t quick, the Forces would soon find themselves surrounded by a multitude of monsters while they’d wasted time felling this one individual. Speed was essential if the Labyrinth Suppression Forces were to escape becoming prey themselves. None of them had descended this deep into the Labyrinth to dig their own graves. That was precisely why Leonhardt announced a decision to all those in his command. “I permit the use of regenerative medicine! Now is the time to carry the power of dragons in your bodies! Warriors who have traveled to this most dangerous place! My proud brethren! Let your names be forever remembered as heroes of history and the Labyrinth City!” Leonhardt took out a potion of shimmering red and downed it in front of the assembled soldiers. All at once, the general’s entire body began to exude light and the man’s wounds healed before their eyes. Leonhardt’s offensive and defensive powers—indeed, every one of his physical faculties—seemed to greatly increase. He appeared to have instantly gone up an entire rank. This was one more miracle the alchemist had brought along with the mana potions; it was the effect of the special-grade version of Regen. Earth-element earth dragon, fire-element red dragon, water-element philoroilcus, and wind-element wigglertrill. Crafted from the four elemental types of dragon blood, this potion was further enhanced with Drops of Life and ley-line shards such that it manifested a miraculous power that not only rapidly increased recovery ability but also boosted every skill of the person who drank it, though only for a fixed period of time. Dragon blood dwelled in individuals who had acquired abilities worthy of dragonkind. Such a creature didn’t gain power from its blood. Rather, possessing power worthy of a dragon was made its blood worthy of the title. Despite engendering such incredible effects, the potion could cause harm to the bodies of those unable to handle the power. This was a medicine that was overly potent while simultaneously being very poisonous. Still, the miracles of this concoction came at a cost: the deterioration of their honed physical strength and magical power, the dulling of their reflexes and sensory organs, and sometimes even the shortening of their lifespan. It was said that so long as you drank of it only once, anything lost from the effects of the potion could be regained later in life. Negative effects differed from one person to the next, though, so that was hardly a proven fact. An overreliance on this potion could even rob someone of their life. The price for achieving tremendous military gains and carving their names into history as heroes was heavy: possibly even their futures. And yet not a single soldier had any doubts. “If I can protect those I love, if I can cut a path to a peaceful and happy future for them, I will not hesitate for a second. Even if I lose my arms and can never take up the sword again, even if I lose my legs and never walk again!” The golden-maned general worthy of his name continued his valiant speech. What was a dragon before a lion such as him? “My sword, my body, my life, are for my people!” Perhaps most of all, Leonhardt fought for the children who would inherit his will and carry the future. The soldiers of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces gulped down the potion one after another and faced the dragon and, beyond it, all other monsters that came their way. The bodies, techniques, and hearts of the soldiers of the Forces had grown strong through years spent battling monsters more powerful than they were. Each of the brave warriors was deemed worthy and received the power of the dragon, pushing their abilities to new heights. Blows crushed dragon scales; magic pierced the eyes of the enormous monsters. Fiendish enemies who before required hundreds of hits to whittle down their stamina and finally defeat could now be felled in only a few dozen strikes. But no matter how many they defeated, there was no end in sight to the waves of monsters or the enormous, dark stratum. The war, it seemed, was only just beginning. 07 The united front of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces and the adventurers holding back the monsters’ advance functioned via a certain kind of paradigm. The soldiers of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces, who were trained and accustomed to group operations, but adventurers were not. They were more of a mob, so one might’ve expected there to have been a great many of them running to try and get ahead of the others. The reason Weishardt made the Adventurers Guild participate in the defense of the city was because he trusted that its staff members would have a crystal-clear understanding of those idiosyncrasies, meaning they’d be able to deploy adventurers effectively. The current state of the Labyrinth differed from what anyone was used to. Far more monsters than usual were appearing, and in every group, there were a few that were clearly stronger than the rest. Since each adventurer had a hunting ground they were accustomed to, it normally would’ve been more efficient to deploy adventurers in corresponding places where the monsters were springing up the quickest. However, such a strategy would leave those adventurers unprepared for the occasional foes a rank higher than the others. To help combat this issue, battle-ready staff members of the Adventurers Guild and the Merchants Guild patrolled the strata, defeating the higher-ranked monsters. They moved from one stratum to the next, supporting those groups of adventurers who were beginning to falter, making sure such parties would be able to continue fighting. In particular, the shallow strata up to the tenth were packed with crowds of children, the elderly, and city residents who ran shops—all people who, up to a short time ago, wouldn’t have been considered fit for combat. They’d formed small squads of only a few people each and engaged monsters like goblins, orcs, and lizardmen, using teamwork to their advantage. Elba, the owner of Elba’s Shoe Shop, and other shopkeepers who dealt in leather products commented on the condition of monster hides as they beat them to a pulp, while butchers from the wholesale market cleaved their enemies with carving knives. It was quite the bloody spectacle. In particular, the groups made up of children fought surprisingly effectively, employing what they’d learned in school so they wouldn’t be surrounded. The adults and elderly who saw this wanted to stay strong for the younger generation, so they kept calm in this truly urgent situation and fought all the better for it. The Youngster Bloodbath Squadron, the pride of Sunlight’s Canopy, played a very active role in the fighting. Pallois used his shield to parry any monsters that leaped at him, Emily used magic and smoke bombs in accordance with monsters’ weaknesses to create openings, and Elio and Sherry worked marvelously in sync to defeat even the higher-ranked lizard monsters that otherwise rarely appeared around the tenth stratum. First Elio paralyzed them with electric shocks, then Sherry dismantled and killed them. Having evolved from the common lizardmen, these more fearsome creatures were, under normal circumstances, found only on the nineteenth stratum. Such a feat seemed to impress Ghark. “Kids sure do grow up fast,” he commented in a brief spell of sentimentality. Not to be outdone, however, he continued to cut down monsters with his ax with a strength and speed that was truly shocking for his age. At Ghark’s side was Amber, who was kicking down monsters with magnificent footwork and beating them with her pole. “These children are special, but it’s because of that Lady Sage’s guidance,” she said in reply to Ghark’s comment. “Eek!” “Are you okay, Sherry?!” “Sherry!” “Don’t pick on heeer!” Although the children fought magnificently, there was no way for them to make it through unscathed. “Here, have a potion. We only have a few left. Why don’t we take a break and go get some more?” At Amber’s suggestion, the group headed for a potion distribution location. The stations had been set up next to the Teleportation Circles at the entrance to the Labyrinth and on every tenth stratum. The one on the tenth was the closest for them. Defense of this key stratum and the managing of its potion distribution had been entrusted to the City Defense Squad. Curiously, Teluther was also encamped at the distribution center. The City Defense Squad was originally supposed to help evacuate any citizens who weren’t able to fight, but there were surprisingly few residents who wanted to leave. Excluding the guards leading the evacuation and keeping looters in check, most City Defense Squad members had announced themselves as the escorts for the tenth stratum. Even before this development, Teluther had always enjoyed generously distributing goods, but the items he was handing out now had been, until just a short time ago, extremely rare. Teluther himself, who handed out the concoctions fully conscious of that fact, and the people he gave them to seemed in extremely high spirits. Perhaps they all recognized that they were collectively writing a new page in the annals of history. Teluther offered encouraging words like “Keep at it!” and “I respect your efforts and courage!” as he watched over the potion sharing. People of the Labyrinth City who weren’t used to being praised or receiving exceptional respect were suddenly brimming with motivation. Curiously, Teluther’s words also caused those folks who’d planned on stealing the vials to be filled with feelings of guilt, inciting them to fight for the cause to atone for their lawless intentions. Teluther’s work was really something. Seeing a man who was usually nothing but a nuisance playing such an active role nettled both Captain Kyte and the soldiers of the City Defense Squad. None of them wanted to be outdone by Teluther, so they grouped up and challenged the powerful monsters that had eluded subjugation and were going up the stratum stairs. The Labyrinth Suppression Forces’ backup troops had taken upon themselves the responsibility of defending the twentieth stratum, where more powerful monsters appeared. They also worked to bring down monsters from the twentieth to the thirtieth strata. The Forces’ fourth and fifth units, along with Haage’s group, dealt with things from the thirtieth stratum onward. Since Voyd and Elmera Seele had strolled by not long ago on their date, no monsters had made it to the thirtieth stratum. Floors below had probably become a veritable nest of lightning strikes. A rather intense date, to say the least. Only someone like the Isolated Hollow—a man with superhuman defense and regenerative power—would’ve dared describe it as merely “stimulating.” Doubtless, the couple had the entire place to themselves. Unsatisfied by the weaker caliber of monsters springing up in the thirtieth stratum, Haage had been keeping track of time and wondering if it would be best for him to follow the two and hunt for monsters deeper in the Labyrinth. However, he feared he’d get in the way of Elmera and Voyd’s date if he went now. It was a thoughtful gesture to show a married people, but the pair had gone to battle monsters. It was not a romantic getaway. Really, Haage had no need for such strange concerns. “This is the first time I have been to such a deep stratum. Its surprisingly calm.” When Haage looked back toward the sweet if out-of-place voice that had come from Teleportation Circle, he saw Caroline. The young lady of the Aguinas family had tagged along with the potion transportation unit. At her side stood Weishardt, assessing the situation, while likely also serving as her guard. “Oh, it’s Miss Aguinas. I know you’re with Lieutenant General Weishardt, but do ya really need to come here when it’s so dangerous?” “That danger is the very reason I deemed it necessary to see the battle with my own eyes,” Caroline answered. How was the battle progressing? How many potions should they transport? Were any other goods needed? The young head of the Aguinas estate had come to the thirtieth stratum to check such things firsthand. “Help! First-aid treatment didn’t do anything!” At that exact moment, an adventurer rushed in carrying a wounded comrade. “This way!” called Caroline. Though a young woman of noble birth, Caroline Aguinas was also a resident of the Labyrinth City, born and raised. She’d never tended to living things, and it was probably incorrect to say she was accustomed to the sight of blood. However, Caroline had learned the basics from Nierenberg, as well as the fact that knowledge alone was useless. In recent days, she’d visited the clinic where her older brother worked. Even if Caroline didn’t perform the medical treatments herself, she refused to succumb to fear and avert her eyes from the terrible sight of one who’d suffered gruesome injury. Watching a doctor who’d come with her tend to the wounded adventurer, Caroline got to work taking orders for potions. “She’s quite the impressive young lady,” muttered Haage. “Indeed. Carol refused to evacuate and came all the way here,” Weishardt responded as he watched his bride-to-be. He looked both troubled and proud. “Carol, I must protect this city. However, I want you to go somewhere safe,” Weishardt had told her. But Caroline had turned down his plea with a smile. “During the Stampede of two hundred years ago, the Aguinases were the ones who rushed in with soldiers before anyone else. I take pride in having come from that bloodline. There’s not much I can do, but I at least want to deliver potions to those fighting for our future.” Even against her impassioned reasoning, Weishardt again begged Caroline to leave. “Please, evacuate for me.” Caroline faced the man and delivered the finishing blow. “Lord Weis, you will be protecting this city, correct? If so, this is the safest place to be!” “After she put it that way, I had no choice but to stay with her.” Although Weishardt looked troubled as he explained what had happened to Haage, he was obviously proud of the woman he loved. If anyone, the lieutenant general’s aide was more likely to be worried. With Weishardt’s older brother currently engaged in a life-or-death struggle, Haage had been hoping the younger sibling would be stricter. Caroline finished gathering all necessary information and promptly returned to Weishardt’s side. “Lord Weis. Thank you very much for bringing me here. I now have a general grasp of the situation. From here, I will return and begin to expand the transportation and preparation of potions, as well as the readiness of my brother’s clinic to accept patients. Please, continue as you were, Lord Weis.” Caroline seemed to have her act together far more than Weishardt did. Thanking everyone for their time and giving a beautiful if tremendously out-of-place curtsy, the young lady left Weishardt and vanished into the Transportation Circle, accompanied by the transportation unit. “…Well, I’m off to subjugate some monsters!” Haage seemed to be suggesting that despite how critical the situation was, he would lose his mind if he remained in such a boring stratum any longer, so he too left Weishardt and descended the stratum stairs. 08 Having left her fiancé and returned to the surface, Caroline reported to her father, Royce, and the family steward on the situation and the estimated potion consumption. Considering the monsters moving between strata and the unusually ferocious variants prowling around, the fights on each stratum remained relatively contained. Of course, the conflict was still highly unpredictable, but it was doubtful that monsters would surge to the surface in great enough numbers to pack the streets and leave a mountain of death in their wake. Caroline anticipated a lengthy fight, however, so a large delivery of potions was going to be needed to handle the accumulating fatigue. “Hrm, in that case, let’s take a break and make preparations so our transportation unit can move when it’s needed. Carol, you should rest a bit, too.” “I can keep going. I will rest after I check on my dear brother.” Royce was clearly concerned for his daughter, and she responded with as much of a smile as she could muster before going out into the city again. Robert’s clinic was already packed with the injured and the maimed. “Brother, do you have enough potions?” “Carol? It was by your orders, wasn’t it? Plenty of potions are being delivered not just to the Labyrinth but here as well. What we lack is hands to administer the actual treatment.” Even as he spoke, Robert continued to tend to the injured. The former prisoner went about his duties, shouting things like “This is what happens when you to close a wound with a potion while a monster’s fang is still stuck in it!” as he opened a patient’s abdomen and removed a foreign object from it. Compared to his once-gloomy demeanor, Robert now brimmed with vitality. Although her brother had been ousted from his previous position as the head of the Aguinas family, it seemed to Caroline when she looked at him now that everything had turned out for the best. Nevertheless, it would have been unthinkable a short time ago in the Labyrinth City for there to be a place like this where adventurers received surgical incisions while their bodies were still dirty. Thankfully, a potion after such rough medical treatment allowed those operated on to heal themselves without any problems. Truly, the little concoctions were extremely useful. “Honestly! This is what happens when benighted cretins depend too much on potions! It creates double the work! Right, you’re healed. Next!” Robert insulted the adventurers as he treated them, but being of a lower social standard, they didn’t understand difficult words like “benighted” anyway. Even if they had, Robert was awfully polite for his insults. Most would have found such anger amusing, though they probably would’ve hidden such feelings from the man himself. However, likely because of the day’s pressures, an adventurer unintentionally blurted out what he really thought: a complaint. “Then why don’t you go to the Labyrinth, Doc?” Currently, people could still come up from the Labyrinth and get to this clinic to receive treatment, but if things worsened, there would probably be some who couldn’t make it all the way back to get medical assistance. One could tell just by looking at this aristocratic youth that he was a man who had no strength to lend to battle against the Labyrinth. However, Robert had healed every last one of the injured who had come to him. Adventurers Robert treated believed that so long as they could reach the man, he would surely help them, no matter how seriously wounded they were. Perhaps that confidence was why the adventurer had made his comment born from the unease of risking his life in battle with monsters. “Hrm, yes, it does seem that would be more efficient. I will do so.” “Huh? Doc?!” With a side glance at the now-dumbfounded adventurer, Robert began stuffing medical devices into a bag, cursing himself for not having thought of that himself. “Brother, if you are going, I believe the twentieth stratum would be best. It is the one with the most wounded. I will make arrangements for the transport of additional potions as well as for someone to take your place here.” “I’m sorry to create extra work for you, Carol.” Robert hastily departed, with soldier escorts in tow. Even the adventurer who’d just been treated followed him, perhaps feeling as though he’d said too much. As she saw them off, Caroline headed for the command room in the Adventurers Guild. She would need to set some things in order to ensure her brother could administer treatment as freely as he wished. 09 Leonhardt and his forces charged through the seemingly eternal darkness. How much time had passed since they began fighting in this dark stratum? How many special-grade Regens had this latest vial made? No matter how many powerful enemies fell to his blade, they kept coming. Still the Labyrinth Suppression Forces continued their advance, regardless of the grave injuries they suffered or the number of times their magical power ran dry. The hundreds of potions created by the alchemist in their ranks would heal them, and the soldiers would return to the front lines. In this endless world of shadow, it was hard to even tell what direction they’d originally come from, but there did begin to be some evidence of change. The ground grew uneven, like parts of it had been gouged out, and the earth at the jagged edges of the shallow pits was soft. When the Forces advanced farther, a more distinct landmark came into view: a pair of identical trees. Though still at a distance, Leonhardt was certain the things resembled great weathered trees. Or they would have, if they hadn’t been moving. Despite having nothing you could call a trunk, the bizarre growths had many branches. They looked something like trees that had been planted upside down, with their roots visible above ground. Of course, there did exist proper plants without trunks that had many branches sprouting from the earth. But the way these curious things spread in such a complex manner, coupled with the densely growing “leaves” comprised solely of veins, gave them the countenance of withered trees. However, the definitive difference from the plants Leonhardt and the others knew was that these twin things squirmed sinuously, grabbing things. This was far more than just the tips of branches that quivered like the wind was blowing through them. Each bough that protruded from the earth moved as an independent appendage. If the Forces had managed to get close enough, they likely would have noticed that even the veiny leaves were squirming. “So these are the ‘hands,’ then?” There was one tree for each hand. The boss of the Labyrinth had left behind its legs and torn open its stomach; now it seemed to have left its hands behind in this stratum. The concept of walking on legs had transformed into the Walking Mountain of Fire and the Bladed Beast of Many Legs, and the people and monsters the boss had devoured in the Stampede had overflowed from its stomach. So then what sort of things were these “hands”? The answer to that question was evident almost immediately. The twin things bent low, motioning like they were grasping and kneading something. They tore up chunks of the ground. When they were finished, the “hands” had produced a single lump of earth. “‘Hands of Creation’ is far too good a name for such repulsive things. Why don’t we call them the Wicked Hands of Creation. Everyone! They are the boss of this stratum! Those abominable hands create monsters from clods of earth and defy the laws of nature! If we defeat them, these monsters will no longer be reborn.” Leonhardt’s call to encourage the Forces cut through the dark of the stratum. “Take heart! The boss of the Labyrinth is near! Take heart! Soon they will know the points of our swords!” “Take heart, take heart,” Leonhardt told the soldiers—and himself. “Take heart, take heart.” “Take heart!” “Take heart!” Dick, Nierenberg, and the soldiers following Leonhardt all raised their voices. “Take heart!” “Take heart!” “Take heart!” It didn’t matter how many times they fell. The lights of lives that had been on the verge of disappearing, the torn-off limbs that had been reattached, all had been healed with potions. It was because of them that the Labyrinth Suppression Forces had made it this far. “Take heart!” “Take heart!” “Take heart!” “Take heart!” Stamina, magical power, and even willpower had long ago been pushed past their limits. The soldiers had reached this place by gambling their lives on the special-grade Regen potions. Even now, their bodies swayed amid the cries of encouragement. Leonhardt’s field of vision blurred, and even breathing was unpleasant. The man tasted blood when he exhaled. It was agonizing, difficult, and painful. Leonhardt’s body and soul had been so whittled away that nothing remained. The temptation to stop and rest was overwhelming. Yet, if they quit here, resigning themselves to dwindling away in this place, what would remain as proof of the lives they had all lived? That was why they shouted. To drive away despair, to encourage themselves and their comrades. “Take heart!” “Take heart!” “Take heart!” “Take heart!” Leonhardt brandished his sword. The blade, which had brought low so many monsters, had grown damaged and weak. It was unlikely to last much longer, much like its wielder. Still, Leonhardt’s gold lion roar reached the hearts of those who followed him, even if his throat was crushed and his voice was dry and hoarse. Dick and the captains of each unit inspired and encouraged their subordinates, and attacked over and over with the weapons they had grown so accustomed to. Each body was pushed past its limits; muscles tore with every swing, and the Regen healed their bodies every time. Even if the monsters’ claws and fangs wounded and sent them all reeling again and again, though blood poured from their bodies, these brave people weren’t ready to quit. Having slain monsters many times over, their bodies were coated with both their own blood and that of the enemy. If anyone had seen the Forces in such a state, they might not have recognized them as human anymore. Nierenberg continued to heal. He would never force those with the will to stand and fight, and the will to move forward, to stop. Nierenberg knew they had the determination not to lose heart, no matter how stained with blood their armor became, no matter how much pain racked their bodies. “I could not be more grateful to have all of you beside me.” Siegmund drew his bow. To him, this place at the bottom of the world was like some kind of hell. Even here, however, the darkness was brimming with a radiant determination. The pain and suffering he’d gone through up to this point felt like child’s play compared with the agony he was experiencing right now. The beauty of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces overcoming such incredible torment, and moving forward in spite of it, left a deep impression on the hunter. What strength these men and women had! How weak Sieg had been before! It was in this place that Siegmund found he was deeply grateful for his fate. It had allowed him to fight alongside these people to create a better future. He offered an earnest prayer for a time to come when he could keep Mariela completely safe with his own two hands. Charged with with Sieg’s prayers and gratitude, the Spirit Eye boosted his arrows, and many spirits gathered to them. The blood he lost after using his eye so heavily was restored by Regen potions. Flesh was regenerated and destroyed, monsters were born and annihilated repeatedly… And Siegmund loosed his arrows at the Wicked Hands of Creation to put an end to the cycle. “Potions are meant to heal people. They’re meant to get rid of pain and suffering…,” Mariela muttered. Even with their arms missing and their legs torn, no one was about to stop walking. No matter how much agony they were in, their wounds would heal and they would return to the battlefield as long as they had potions. Blood flowed in rivers, and Mariela had walked along the trail of that blood to make it this far. “Young lady, I found a ley-line shard. Use it to make potions.” A soldier stained with crimson handed a ley-line shard he’d obtained in this stratum to Mariela. She still had crystallized medicinal herbs and magical power of the moon left, but the shards she’d brought had already been used up. It was only the continuous recovery effect of the Regen potions that had enabled everyone to hold on. “Mariela, you make potions. Because of everything you create for us, because we can recover, everyone can stand against the monsters. That’s why everyone’s able to show such courage!” Through it all, Sieg had constantly been at Mariela’s side, protecting and encouraging the young alchemist. “But…” The ley-line shard in Mariela’s hands began to tremble. “Guh, look out!” It was then that a small dragon at low altitude unleashed its breath at the young woman. Sieg leaped in front of her and fired several arrows that managed to alter the breath’s trajectory and even brought the dragon to the ground. A shield knight further repelled the attack and kept Mariela safe. The attack had grazed and scorched the left half of Sieg’s body, however, and smoke rose from his skin. “Sieg!!!” Mariela cried. “I’m fine. The Regen is working. This kind of injury will heal immediately. Don’t stop, Mariela. Keep at your work. Lynx didn’t give up, and neither will we. Lynx’s dying wish now lives on in me, in us. Keep working; make sure our hopes aren’t extinguished.” Sieg spoke to Mariela, but his eyes remained locked on the fallen dragon as he drew his bow. “But, but, Sieg…the blood… There’s even smoke…” Mariela sounded like she was about to cry. Siegmund looked back at her and cracked a smile. “Mariela, this is the part where you tell me to give it my all.” “…Sieg… I understand. You can do it, Sieg! Give it your all!!!” Mariela tightened her grip around the ley-line shard. Everyone is doing everything they can! What am I doing getting disheartened when all I’ve done is hide behind them?! Both the raptor and salamander roared encouragingly at the young alchemist. “Transmutation Vessel.” All she could do was make potions. There was little else she was capable of here, but still, Mariela was glad she’d continued as an alchemist. She was glad to keep at her work. This is something I can do that helps them all! The only ley-line shards she had now were those she’d obtained from felled monsters in this stratum, and few remained. She couldn’t waste a single one. As she made potions, she put a prayer, a wish, and as much Drops of Life as she could into each. Keep at it! You can do it, everyone! Surely the hope she put into the potions would reach them. The concoctions charged with Mariela’s feelings would heal the wounds and restore the magical power of Sieg and the soldiers of the Labyrinth Suppression Forces. Her hope would warm and permeate the spirits strained by the battle with no end and the bodies withering from pain. Those who imbibed her works would remember who they had been before they headed into the Labyrinth.