Chapter 187

“All right, Yuric,” Franz called. Yuric looked down on the squirming lump of flesh and bone that had once been the death lizard with a frigid expression, then held out a hand and cut it open, dripping blood in some apparent pattern onto the foreheads of the raptors. “Now it’s time to dine. Go Wild, My Children!” “Raaararararararaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!!!” The power of an animal tamer was one few possessed, even in the imperial capital. It was an ability only members of the borderland tribe inherited. Although prized for its usefulness, it was the very reason the tribe was so ostracized. It had likely been precisely because of this ability that Yuric—an orphan bearing the unique trait of his people—had survived in the slums of the imperial capital. The demi-human had prowled the streets like a beast with no land to call home. One had to wonder which defined Yuric more: his time living as a beast on the streets of the capital, or his time living as a human after Franz adopted him. At Yuric’s command, the raptors made a savage charge at what remained of the death lizard, tearing off the entirety of its tough skin, and started to eat it. Screaming as they devoured the monster-turned-meat, the raptors appeared free from the constraints of human domestication, displaying their bestial nature. It was an extremely cruel and brutal feeding, but there was a certain natural beauty to it—this was the way animals were. The same was true for Yuric. The demi-human was all smiles while watching the scene unfold. Something about killing the species that had killed a friend felt right. “Uh…my prey is…? Huuuh?” Edgan had been completely left out of the combo attack, being outdone before he could show off his Dual Sword Elements. He stood at a loss, holding his half-charged blades. “Edgan, there’s a fresh death lizard over there!” “Yes, he’s right. It’s waaay over there. See it? You should get after it.” “We’re relying on you, Edgan.” “Yeah, we’re countin’ on you.” Grandel, Yuric, Franz, and Donnino treated Edgan as they ever did. Edgan may have falsely represented himself in many ways, but his strength was most certainly real. Both Nick and Newie thrust their fists into the air to cheer him on. “You can do it.” Per Grandel’s theory, a leader was one who “creates an environment where his team can demonstrate their true strengths.” Edgan was an A-Ranker who could defeat death lizards even by himself. He’d culled monsters whose numbers had made victory unthinkable for the other members of the Corps. Then he’d gone off to slay more-distant monsters on the twentieth stratum who hadn’t noticed the group yet. The number of subjugations alone made his work worthy of an A-Ranker. The frenzied death lizards paid no heed to the apparent difference in strength and eagerly attacked Edgan at every turn. He didn’t know whether the monsters were or male or female, but it seemed that Edgan’s popular phase had arrived at last. Being popular did have its challenges. 12 Around the same time that the Black Iron Freight Corps was killing death lizards, Voyd and Elmera were strolling around the thirty-eighth stratum. It was a world of whirling clouds with the couple at its center, as if they were in a place that belonged entirely to them. Even subjugating ferocious monsters was an activity for Elmera and Voyd to do together. Monsters struck by the Lightning Empress’s thunderbolts were burning in place of romantic candlelight. “I’ll be with you come hell or high water.” In contrast to the sweet atmosphere in which the couple routed monsters as they advanced to the deepest parts of the Labyrinth, Haage was in the thirty-fifth stratum, three levels up from them. The lonely man loosed his Limit-Breaking Cleave against the grotesque creatures that were starting to appear again, giving a thumbs-up to the empty air every time he defeated a formidable monster. Since Haage was skilled enough to teach young people how to fight in the Adventurers Guild, he was more than safe fighting solo. The way he maintained distance between himself and his enemies was flawless. Seemingly unconcerned with the strange-looking monsters that sprang up one after another, Haage dealt with them as they came. By any measure, he should have been happy with how his fight was going, but he looked somewhat dispirited. Could the long, lonesome fight have finally started to wear him out? Bam! There was no one to ask him, because Haage was the only human in this stratum. “…” The smile gradually faded from Haage’s face, and a deep sorrow started to make him wonder if he should stop giving the thumbs-up. He seemed to be mentally exhausted. Haage sliced up monsters by using his Limit-Breaking Cleave, and the defeated monsters became magical power for the Labyrinth and disappeared. Even that stagnated, corrupt magical power wasn’t as gloomy as the atmosphere surrounding Haage. After breathing a small sigh, Haage began to look for his next prey without flashing a snappy thumbs-up, when… “This is nice and quiet.” “Seems even the guildmaster stops his pointless exercises when he’s tired.” “I’d like to think he realized how meaningless inefficient words and deeds are.” “Wh-what?!” The top brass of the Adventurers Guild, the members of Team Haage, came running in. Haage didn’t appear to be in any actual danger, but he’d been on the verge of losing his unique affectations. That in and of itself was a kind of tough spot. After seeing his subordinates appear on the scene like a team of heroes, there was only one thing Haage could do in reply… Bam! He threw a snappy thumbs-up with a great big smile on his face. “…Now I wish we’d been a bit slower in coming.” “It was absurd to finish our work in a hurry…” “The change in mood has made him twice as annoying.” Haage’s recovery speed was too fast. Evidently, a potion was not needed for the man’s mental health. The top brass of the Adventurers Guild seemed to want to say they were fed up. Still, they remained unwilling to admit defeat, and they surrounded Haage in their usual battle formation. The arrangement created an impregnable fortress around Haage while still letting him leverage his attack power against monsters. It allowed the group to search for, restrain, and defend against monsters—perfect for long battles. “Let’s go! Team Haage’s battle starts now!!!” “Please stop using that name.” “Maybe you’d rather we leave you alone?” “You’ll bring bad luck.” Haage shouted a rallying cry they’d heard somewhere before as he happily challenged swarms of monsters. Conversely, the guild’s administration accompanied him in low spirits. Haage’s battle was one of many dramas unfolding in the Labyrinth at that moment. 13 Everyone was challenging the Labyrinth today. There was a large number of adventurers and soldiers, of course, but many of those embroiled in the battle didn’t normally fight. People like farmers, merchants, young women, the elderly, and even children all rallied to the cause. That didn’t mean everyone could defeat powerful monsters. Many could defeat only weak monsters like goblins, and only if they were in groups, but even a single slime or goblin was part of the Labyrinth’s power. Monsters were created after being defeated and were defeated again after being created. The greatest strength the monsters had was their numbers. Just as the monsters had stormed the streets of the Kingdom of Endalsia on the day of the Stampede, the people of the Labyrinth City now crowded the Labyrinth to protect their homes, their way of life, and their families. Had anyone, even the boss of the Labyrinth, ever expected this day to come? Even supposing the boss had the ability to think, it probably hadn’t imagined that opening movement between strata and sending out monsters and corpses to crush the Labyrinth Suppression Forces underfoot would cause the people of the Labyrinth City to surge into the Labyrinth. Two hundred years ago, considering the scale of the Kingdom of Endalsia, comparatively few adventurers had fought against the monsters. It had been easy for the monsters to chase after and devour the people who tried to escape, because perpetual peace had robbed the citizens of the kingdom of the knowledge of battle. Such was not the case for the Labyrinth City. Even children took up arms in the fight. Not a single person gave up hope; an indomitable light burned in each person’s eyes. Did the Labyrinth’s own confidence quail, if only for a moment, at that determination? The Wicked Hands of Creation would occasionally stretch into the air. They were probably making monsters in other strata far above. All it did was create a good opportunity to attack, as far as Leonhardt and the others still fighting in the fifty-ninth stratum were concerned. Every time the people who’d gone into the Labyrinth defeated monsters, the Wicked Hands of Creation produced new ones to replace them. Leonhardt and the Forces seized upon those moments, advancing toward the hands. Slowly but surely, they crept closer. Their progress was like that of the Labyrinth City, or of the Schutzenwald family’s Labyrinth subjugation—slow but deliberate forward momentum over the span of two hundred years. The Schutzenwald house had been wounded and defeated countless times but had continued to pass down their wish to subjugate the Labyrinth to the next generation. Every time the noble house had fallen to its knees, comrades and people of the City had helped to lift them again and again. It was no different now. The men and women of the Forces would never concede. They continued their march, until at last, the weapon of the Gold Lion General, Leonhardt Schutzenwald, rested just before the core of the Wicked Hands of Creation. “This ends here!!!” Leonhardt mustered his unshakable determination, his unstoppable wish, and thrust his sword forward. By his sword, Leonhardt would end the days of endless fighting, the bloodshed, and the centuries of lives lost. To Leonhardt, the stairs leading to the deepest part of the Labyrinth were more than mere steps. They were a bloody path built by the hands of all his comrades who had died.