The three of us continued throwing ideas back and forth as we made our way deeper into the labyrinth. Kartina continued complaining but was probably a lot more mobile than us with her wings.
We eventually arrived at our destination, where the raid teams of over thirty members led by Zera and Doula were resting to have some food and water. Doula, the commander of the operation, noticed us approaching and turned around, her red hair wavering with the movement.
“I’ve been watching you. Next time we have something bothersome to deal with, I will assign it to you two. I’m sure you’d figure out an easy way to take care of it in no time,” said Doula.
“What!” I protested. “I don’t want to spend all of my precious time in the labyrinth working.”
Doula sipped water and grinned at me. Zera stood beside her, huge as ever, and drank from the same canteen without hesitation when she handed it to him. She wiped the water that spilled from his mouth with a piece of cloth, which reminded me that the two were married.
“Now, we’re back at the point where we abandoned the raid last time we were here,” Doula said.
“Mm-hmm. That’s when you determined the team wasn’t ready at the time,” Zera replied, and they looked at the path ahead.
This was a troublesome path on the third floor. Marie’s scan revealed that it branched out into many narrow paths where monsters lurked. As the commander, Doula had decided the team needed to hone its abilities or we would have suffered heavy casualties. They had since returned to the second floor with Hakam’s approval and trained to prepare for the next raid.
The third floor was quite unique. On the first and second floors, a floor master seemed to lead the monsters, but they each attacked invaders purely on instinct. Yet here, the monsters seemed to have an uncanny amount of coordination. There were many times, like during the battle with Kartina, when they formed groups and properly prepared before deciding to attack us.
“I think there’s a control room somewhere on this floor where monsters are being given orders from. If we can seize it, we should be able to hinder the enemy army’s invasion,” Doula said.
“I don’t think you should count on that too much,” Zera replied. “They’re monsters. I really doubt they’re going to cooperate with us.”
Doula nodded stiffly.
Hopeful speculation could be dangerous. If things turned out contrary to one’s expectations, that hope could quickly turn into despair. Of course, I wanted her to be right too.
To my surprise, Doula showed us a confident smile.
“You should trust a woman’s intuition once in a while,” she said. “Right, Marie? I’m sure it was your intuition that led you to choosing your boyfriend.”
“Hm? W-Well, I suppose so,” Marie replied.
Doula gave me a look as if to say, “See?”
That sounded like a rather ambiguous reason to be so sure about it, although I noticed Kartina averting her gaze. Perhaps Doula’s words held more truth than I believed, given her supposed neutrality and apparent concealment.
For now, I set aside this hope for the future and focused on getting through the path ahead. Doula looked around to check everyone’s equipment, then pointed ahead.
“Kazuhiho, Eve, scout ahead!” she ordered.
We were up. When I thought about it, I had teamed up with Eve to lead an attack before. Maybe Doula had noticed how well we worked together back then, showing how shrewd she was.
“I wonder if this is also that ‘woman’s intuition’ she was talking about?” I wondered aloud.
“Hm? Dunno what you’re talking about, but she’s counting on us, so let’s show her what we’ve got, Kazu,” said Eve, putting an arm around my neck.
I glanced to my side, and Eve’s suntanned exposed skin filled my vision. Strangely, she was wearing much lighter armor than last time. Muscles made her abs appear toned, revealing her well-trained thighs beneath the fabric she wore around her waist.
“I see you’ve changed your equipment,” I noted.
“Yeah, armor’s just gonna get in the way. This suits me better. I’m more used to it anyway,” Eve said.
She flexed her bicep, wrapped her hand around the other hand’s index finger to strike a ninja pose, and winked at me. A traditional ninja would dress more modestly, but I didn’t want to put a damper on my tag team buddy.
I smiled at Marie, who was hydrating with her canteen, then walked forward with Eve. Up ahead was a dark passage full of danger. As soon as we started walking, we heard the heavy clang of armor along with footsteps. I was too focused on the path ahead to turn around, but there was probably a row of armored men with shields and spears at the ready.
But I didn’t want to raise tension, so I said in a laid-back tone, “Oh yeah, I might have forgotten to ask this, but did you know ninjas originated from Japan?”
“Seriously?! No way, I wanna know more! Are real ninjas as amazing as I’ve heard they are? Can they duplicate themselves, explode, and breathe fire?”
Eve was far more into this than I had expected. She tugged at my sleeve as her blue eyes widened with excitement. I couldn’t help but feel happy that she had so much interest in Japan. Her fervor reminded me of the ninja and samurai craze that swept over other countries a while back.
I wasn’t sure if this was the best time to discuss this until I thought of something.
“I know! Marie and I debated where we should go for our autumn trip. And there’s an attraction recreating ancient Japanese culture, with samurai and ninjas...”
“Oh, I’d love to go!”
The others couldn’t hear us because we communicated through Mind Link Chat. But we weren’t exactly sneaky about it either, considering Marie raised both of her hands in the air and had a face flush with joy.
As much as I wanted to take Eve, she had a duty to contain the hero candidate Zarish with her ring. I hoped we could figure something out for her.
Suddenly, another woman’s voice entered the chat.
“I am in! As an avid fan of period pieces, I must visit this so-called attraction you speak of! Hah, hah, how utterly exciting!”
“Whoa, is that you, Wridra?” asked Marie. “Your voice in the chat is pretty quiet. Are you far away? And how are things over there? Do you know when you’ll wrap things up?”
Wridra made a contemplative noise, then we heard a heavy metallic clack. Maybe I imagined it, but it sounded like a bullet in a chamber.
“I will take a while longer. Wait for me to report later with good news,” declared Wridra.
There was a static, then her voice cut out.
Her response indicated her opponent must have been more powerful than I’d imagined. Back at the library, she had told me that there was a sizable power gap between her and her husband, even though both were ancient dragons. I was dying to know what was happening over there, but we had our job.
Eve and I drew our weapons without saying a word. The statues on either side of the passage rotated like trap doors, and giant monsters emerged. They were sticking both arms out like mummies, and separated into their upper and lower sections with a loud crack, transforming so they had four arms.
Meanwhile, the consecutive thuds from down the passage told me more were spawning in the darkness ahead. Judging by the name “Machlus’s Marionette” that appeared above their heads, they were monsters unique to this region.
The crowned bone puppets swung their four sabers around, with the blades leaving a faint phosphorescent glow in their wake. At the same time, we felt the ground beneath our feet shake, and we moved forward despite standing still. That was quite thoughtful of whoever designed this place. If only the rest of the floor had this feature, Marie wouldn’t have had to exert herself so much on the way here.
“We’re being guided to our deaths while just standing here. I wonder if this is the ancients’ idea of a joke. Anyway, I’ll back you up, so go wild,” I told Eve.
“Okaaay!”
Eve crossed her daggers and smiled. There was nothing ninja-like about her brutish expression, but I kept that thought to myself. We stood back-to-back as we advanced deeper into the dark passage.
As I prepared for battle, Eve extended her arms forward swiftly, and something like a heat haze enveloped her from her fingertip to her shoulder. I strained my eyes, trying to figure out what it was, only for it to come into focus.
The things on her arm blinked their beady eyes and opened their toothless mouths. They were Fire Lizards, a type of spirit Marie utilized often. A row of them was on the dark elf’s arm like sparrows on a power line, watching her as if they awaited orders. I couldn’t help but wish I could summon spirits.
“Merge,” Eve ordered in Elvish.
To my surprise, the spirits sank into her skin, leaving a flame-colored outline around her body. The dark elf turned to me, and I noticed even her eyes had changed color.
“This is my specialty,” she said. “I make myself stronger by absorbing spirits into my body.”
“That’s impressive. You’ve got a knack for this,” I said.
Eve clapped happily and said, “Right?!” I caught a glimpse of fire dancing on her tongue when she smiled, making her look rather intense.
The moment I pointed in a direction, Eve spun like a top. A three-meter-tall monster towered over her with its saber rising above. Most people would falter out of fear, but Eve slipped under the attack and countered by swinging her dagger up at its arm.
She landed several attacks in quick succession, chipping away bone fragments and setting them ablaze with her fire enhancement. I followed up with a thrust of my sword that passed right under Eve’s arm, destroying the monster’s damaged hand.
“Is it cool if I keep going?” asked Eve.
“Go for as long as you’d like, Miss Eve,” I said playfully.
“Ha ha! Then don’t mind if I do!”