Arifureta/ From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Vol. 8 Ch. 3

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest Volume 8.

Chapter 3: Grab Hold of Hope.

Hajime felt something cold and hard digging into his back. The unpleasant sensation jolted Hajime’s hazy consciousness awake.

“…Where…”

Hajime shook his head, got to his feet, and examined his surroundings. The room he was in was pitch-black, but as he had the Night Vision skill, that was no impediment to him. A cursory glance told him he was inside the trunk of a tree, but one that was about twice as large as the one they’d entered after the Treant battle. There was one other significant difference between this trunk and the other. This trunk wasn’t empty. Rectangular objects had been placed at regularly spaced intervals along the circumference of the trunk. Each one was large enough to fit a person inside it.

They’re like coffins. From the looks of it, Hajime had awoken from within one of the aforementioned coffins. Aside from that, the room was empty. There didn’t appear to be any exits either. Hajime examined the coffins to either side of him, then dashed over to the one on the right.

“This… looks like amber.”

Lying inside the coffin was Yue. Not Yue in her transfigured goblin state, but the old, original Yue. She was suspended in some kind of strange, yellowish-brown semi-solid. As Hajime had said, the strange substance resembled the kind of amber people often found preserved fossils in. At first, Hajime had worried she might have been dead, but then his Sense Presence had picked up on Yue’s heartbeat. Furthermore, this Yue didn’t appear to be a fake. This was without a doubt, the real Yue.

There were a total of nine amber coffins in the tree trunk. Hajime checked each one in turn, and as he’d expected he found the rest of his party encased inside them.

I guess we were all teleported directly into them after the fight with the Treant. Hajime thought back to the illusion he’d been trapped in until just now. That dream had been like a Venus flytrap. Had he let himself be lured too deep inside, he would never have escaped. Chances were, everyone else was seeing similar visions. If they managed to escape from that world of sweet illusions, they’d likely break free of the amber as he had. At the very least, that was the conclusion Hajime came to after examining the coffins.

“Well, at least Yue and Tio are back in their original bodies. All that’s left is to see if they can make it back on their own or not… though I guess there’s no need to worry on that front.”

As far as Hajime could tell, everyone had been returned to their original forms the moment the party had cleared the floor the Treant was guarding. Hajime sat down on the edge of Yue’s coffin and reached out toward her. Naturally, the amber prevented him from touching her, but he still caressed the area above her face.

“Hurry up and return to me, Yue. It’s been ages since I heard your real voice…”

Hajime toyed with the idea of smashing the amber, but even if that released Yue from her illusion, it would likely result in them failing the trial and thus failing to clear the labyrinth.

“…But you know, Yue looked damn good in a school uniform. Shea too… I’m amazed dream me was able to keep his composure with those two around. I should ask them to wear them when we get back to Japan.”

Just then, Yue’s amber began to glow. Hajime took his hand off it and put some distance between himself and the coffin. Before long the light faded and the amber started melting away. The liquified amber vanished into the sides of the coffin as if being absorbed by them. In less than five minutes, it was all gone.

After confirming that Yue was still breathing, the last of Hajime’s worries disappeared and he gently lifted her up. He didn’t want to leave her lying there in the cold. And more importantly, he just wanted an excuse to hug her. As he brushed the hair out of her face, Yue’s eyes slowly blinked open.

“Welcome back, Yue. How’re you feeling?”

“Mmm… Hajime?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Yue still seemed a little dazed, but her gaze didn’t stray from Hajime. Even after she was fully alert, she continued observing him carefully.

“Are you the real Hajime?”

“I can probably guess why you’re asking that, but… it’s better if you decide that for yourself. Do I look like the real Hajime or a fake?”

From her reaction, Hajime had no doubt that a fake version of him had appeared in Yue’s illusion. It made him happy to know that he was part of Yue’s ideal world.

“Just so you know, I’m certain the Yue in my arms right now is the real Yue.”

Yue blinked in confusion a few times, then smiled faintly as she realized what Hajime was trying to say. Like Hajime, she was happy to know that she had been part of his ideal world. Her expression softened and she questioned his resolve.

“How can you be sure?” Yue already knew the answer, but she asked anyway. It was important that she heard it from Hajime’s mouth.

Hajime understood that as well, so he shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“Because I don’t sense anything off about you. Something deep inside my souls telling me that the Yue in front of me right now is the one who’s special to me.”

“Fufu… I feel the same way about you, Hajime. I can tell you’re the real one. Sorry, I asked such a pointless question.”

“It’s fine, you just woke up after all.”

Hajime shrugged his shoulders, and Yue wrapped her arms around his neck. He hugged her back and squeezed her tight. Cough!

“How was the me in your illusion?”

“You looked great in my school uniform.”

That hadn’t been the response Yue was expecting, but she chuckled regardless. It was funny how easy Hajime’s mind was to read.

“Mmm… I’ll wear it for you sometime, then.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it. How about you, how was your illusion?”

Cough! Cough!

Yue buried her face in Hajime’s neck and kissed it over and over.

“…You looked great sitting on the throne in royal robes.”

“Sorry, I’d be willing to wear royal robes for you, but I don’t think I’ll ever sit on a throne. Actually, why the heck was I even on a throne?”

“Because I was the queen. And we already had 11 children.”

“What the heck kind of fantasy was that!? And why the hell’s our family so big!? Are you planning to make a soccer team out of just our kids!?” Hajime so so shocked he pulled Yue off him and stared at her.

Yue licked her lips seductively in place of a reply. Hajime’s heart skipped a beat and his ironclad confidence in his ability to keep his cool no matter the situation wavered a little.

“Fufu, look forward to it…”

“…Hah, I guess I’m no match for you, after all, Yue.”

Cough! Cough! Cough!!!

Hajime threw up his hands in defeat, and Yue smiled playfully in response. Now this is the Yue I remember. Hajime wrapped his arms behind Yue and hugged her tight. Yue was longing for the same thing he was, so she obediently closed her eyes and lifted her chin. Hajime was captivated by her soft, rosy cheeks, bewitching lips, and the tiny tongue that occasionally darted out between them.

The two of them leaned into each other, their lips drawing closer and closer. Just before they touched, however, the two of them were interrupted.

Ack! Cough! Cough! Hic! Ack! Cough!

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

They thought they’d just been imagining the coughing they’d been hearing, but it seemed not. Unable to ignore it any longer, the two exchanged glances and, after a brief pause, turned toward the source of the sound. Standing there was none other than Shea.

“Look, I know, I know, you don’t want me around anyway. Even though I worked so hard to come back to reality… this is what I’ve returned to. Ugh… I even tried to remind you guys I was here by coughing… But you… just ignored me… Reality is just too cruel.”

Her bunny ears were drooping, and she was sobbing uncontrollably. Hajime couldn’t help but pity her a little. It appeared Shea had awoken not long after Yue, but as the two of them had had eyes only for each other, so they hadn’t noticed her. Truly, it was a shame.

Shea tottered over to a corner of the room, sat down cradling her knees, and sulked. However, Hajime didn’t miss the suggestive glances she occasionally threw his way.

Whatever the case, it had been cruel of them to ignore Shea right after she’d completed her ordeal and shattered her illusion. And so, Hajime and Yue smiled wryly to each other and went to comfort Shea. After a few minutes of fondling her ears, her tiny tail was wagging with excitement. As Hajime caressed her soft fur, he spouted words of comfort.

“Yep, a Shea without bunny ears just isn’t any good. Shea’s only Shea because she has those. In fact, without them, she wouldn’t be Shea. The ears are Shea’s true essence.”

“Umm, I have no idea what you’re trying to say, but I’m more than just my rabbit ears. Though you’re obsessing them even more than usual today, Hajime-san. Did something happen inside your illusion?”

“Yeah, dream you didn’t have any bunny ears. You were just a boring Shea.”

“Mmm… does that even still count as Shea?”

“Excuse me Yue-san. While I admit my ears are my trademark, I’m still me without them.”

A chill ran down Shea’s spine. They don’t really care more about my ears than me, do they? Hajime then asked her what kind of illusion she’d been shown, and Shea explained that she’d been living in a world where all of her family, even the ones the empire had killed, were alive and well. Even her friend Mona, who’d died when she was young, had been there. On top of that Hajime and Yue had been with her as well. She’d spent her days living happily in the sea of trees with everyone.

Incidentally, Yue’s illusion had been one where she hadn’t been betrayed and her nation still stood. On top of that, Shea, Kaori, and Tio were all her friends while Hajime was her husband, and as she’d mentioned before, they had 11 kids.

“As for me, I’d never been summoned to this world and was living my life peacefully with Yue and Shea in Japan. I guess the labyrinth wanted to show me a world where I didn’t have to suffer through Orcus’ labyrinth, but still had all the happiness I’d found along the way.”

“I see… That definitely sounds like an ideal world.”

“…How did you break your illusion, Shea?”

Shea grinned at that question and replied.

“Well, I couldn’t just deny who I am, not that I wanted to anyway, so I just told Haltina ‘How dare you use my family to manipulate me, you cheating monster!’ and started smashing everything.”

“I see…” Yue nodded in understanding. Hajime smiled and nodded as well. In her illusion, Shea had likely been the same weak girl she’d been before meeting Hajime and Yue. That was probably what she hadn’t been able to accept.

“Since I met you guys before the empire found us in my illusion, we all started living together without having to fight anyone. So I spent all my time being protected by you two. But you know, I think deep down I knew there was no way I’d really be allowed to stay with you guys if I was that weak. I mean, it was nice that Hajime-san said he’d protect me, and I was happy when Yue-san said she’d take care of everything… It really felt good letting myself get spoiled. But the more time I spent like that, the more it started to feel wrong somehow… and before I knew it, I’d decided to fight for myself. Together with all of you.”

“So that’s how you got back…”

“That’s right! I want to keep fighting together with you two, Hajime-san, Yue-san. Even if it means I have to go through even more painful things in the future.”

She’s become a lot tougher now… Hajime thought to himself.

When they’d first met, she’d just been a worthless loser of a rabbit, but now she’d changed completely. And the impetus for her change had been her desire to stand together with Hajime and Yue. That, and her love for Hajime specifically. Though Hajime didn’t feel the same about Shea as he did about Yue, he couldn’t deny that he felt something for her. He wrapped his arms around Shea’s head and hugged her close. Yue, who’d already guessed Hajime’s feelings, smiled kindly.

“U-Umm, Hajime-san?”

“What’re you getting all flustered for…? Welcome back, Shea. You did good.”

“Ah… Thank you!” Shea grinned. Though Hajime hadn’t said it, he’d clearly been implying that she belonged with them. Her smile was so pure and full of happiness that Hajime couldn’t help but be charmed by it.

The trio huddled together in a group hug and continued talking about their respective illusions. After a few minutes, another one of the amber coffins began to glow. Another one of their comrades had broken free of the prison of temptation and returned to reality.

“I’m pretty sure that coffin had…” Yue increased the intensity of her magical light, illuminating the figure breaking free of its amber cage. And after a few more seconds—

“Pathetic! Master would never punish me in such a lukewarm manner! If you wish to mimic him, you must do better than that!”

“…..”

Naturally, the person shaking her fist in the air was none other than Tio. That outburst had been enough to give Hajime and the others a decent idea of what kind of illusion Tio had been seeing, and they all glared coldly at her. Hajime’s gaze, in particular, was colder than the Siberian tundra. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of things I was doing in her dream.

Upon realizing she was being watched, Tio shivered with excitement. She turned around, her expression ecstatic. When she realized who it was staring at her, her smile grew wider. She locked eyes with Hajime and ran over to him like a puppy dashing toward her owner.

“Masteeeeeeeeer, I have returned! Praise meee!” She tried to knock down Hajime the same way she had back when she’d been a goblin. Naturally, Hajime responded with a rubber bullet from Donner.

“Awah!?” There was a loud bang, and Tio flipped backward through the air. She landed headfirst into the ground and groaned in rapture. Hajime’s next course of action was to step on her. It was the only way he could stop her from writhing in such a creepy manner.

“Damn perverted dragon. What the hell did you make me do in your illusion?”

“Nhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah this is what I longed for! Oh, to be shot and stepped on the moment I return to reality! To be gazed at as if I’m nothing more than trash! A fake could never hope to grant me such exquisite pleasure! This is the Master I know and love!”

“Die, you damn pervert.”

“Abababaaba!”

Unable to listen to another word, Hajime jolted Tio with a surprisingly powerful Lightning Field. She arched her back, spasmed for a few seconds, then fell to the ground. White smoke rose from her limp body. Her expression was so disgusting that it couldn’t be described without needing to be censored. That being said, she certainly looked happy. Of course, her happiness only made Hajime angrier.

“Ahaha… I guess even the creator of a labyrinth couldn’t understand Tio-san’s fetishes. Haltina tried to create a pervert’s ideal world, but in the end, Tio-san escaped because it wasn’t good enough.”

“Haltina, you have my respect.” Yue stood up straight and saluted. Hajime could have sworn he saw a vision of Haltina salute back with tears in their eyes.

“It truly is a blessing to be able to enjoy Master’s rewards. The real Master is truly peerless.” Tio bounced back from Hajime’s attack looking no worse for the wear. Annoyed, Hajime took aim with Donner to put another bullet in her, but then stopped.

“…..” He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Tio’s expression.

“Hmm? What seems to be the matter, Master? Have you finally fallen for my beauty? Nufufu.”

Tio flashed him a winsome smile, and Hajime breathed a prolonged sigh. He stepped in close and patted Tio on the head. She looked at him blankly as he did that, so he spoke his mind.

“If you want me to fall for you, don’t force yourself to smile. Even your usual perverted expression is better than that. Anyway… welcome back, Tio.”

Tio’s eyes went wide in surprise, and she blinked a few times before covering her eyes and blushing in embarrassment.

“Mmm, thank you, Master,” she muttered. It was then that Yue and Shea noticed what Hajime had already puzzled out. Out of everyone here, Tio was the one who’d lived the longest. As one of the near-extinct dragon tribe, she’d seen the most horrors and experienced the most suffering. She undoubtedly had more regrets than the others. Considering all she had lost, the illusion the labyrinth had shown her must have been far more wonderful than anything it could have shown Hajime or the others. It would have been a veritable treasure trove, filled with all the people and things she’d lost over the centuries.

That was likely the reason why it had taken her longer to wake up than the others too. However, she’d tried to act normal in an attempt to cover up the feelings she’d bottled inside. It was only thanks to Hajime’s sharp perception that he’d noticed something was off.

“Welcome back, Tio-san.”

“Mmm… I’m glad you’re back, Tio.”

“Shea, Yue… Thank you.” Hajime and the others smiled at Tio’s bashful response, which made her blush even harder.

A short while later, another one of the amber coffins began to glow. It appeared the next person to escape the world of illusions would be Kaori. Hajime and the others rushed over as she gasped for breath and opened her eyes. When she spotted her friends standing around her, she breathed a sigh of relief. However, when her eyes met Hajime’s, she blushed bright red and backpedaled all the way to the wall. This was the first time she’d ever backed away from Hajime, and he was somewhat confused. He turned to Yue and the others, hoping they might have an explanation. Worried about what they might say, Kaori hurriedly tried to explain her odd behavior.

“Ah, u-um, it’s not what you think, Hajime-kun! I just, uh… Anyway, it’s nothing really! I’m not trying to avoid you or anything!”

“I don’t really mind… Something must’ve happened in your illusion to make you act like that, right? What the heck did you see in there?”

“Huh? Um, I…” Kaori’s blush spread all the way up her face, and she trailed off. With a garbled groan, she squatted down on the ground and cradled her head. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Hajime’s gaze.

The other girls were more or less able to guess what kind of illusion Kaori had been based on her reaction. Tio grinned and said “Oho…” while Shea blushed and muttered “So bold, Kaori-san…” while looking away. Yue, on the other hand, pulled no punches.

“Kaori, you pervert.” She glared coldly down at Kaori, who twitched and hurriedly tried to deny it.

“I-I am not! D-Don’t just accuse me like that!”

“Then what kind of dream were you in?”

“W-Well… I-I was just living an ordinary everyday life.”

“I see… An ordinary everyday life where you seduced Hajime every night.”

“I did not! I might have pushed him down at first, but after that, it was Hajime-kun who… Ah!”

“You’re too dangerous to be allowed near Hajime anymore.”

“Th-That’s not true! Hajime-kun, don’t listen to her, okay? I’d never do anything like that to you.”

“Yeah yeah, I know, don’t worry.”

“Ugh…”

It seemed Kaori had done quite a few naughty things with the Hajime in her illusion. Apparently, Kaori had shaken Hajime off and escaped just before they’d gone all the way, but she still seemed to be regretting that choice a little. The entire time she was explaining her dream, she shot covert glances at Hajime to judge his reaction. That only made Yue want to tease her more, and she whispered something into Kaori’s ear that caused her to cover her face in embarrassment again. Yue was like a cat, toying with her food before she went in for the kill. And Kaori was the poor mouse caught in her clutches.

“Anyway, looks like all of us managed to escape safely.”

“Yep. What are we going to do about the hero and his friends?” Shea asked as she glanced over at the remaining amber coffins.

“Let me think… Worst case, we can always break them out, but for now, let’s wait and see if they can break out with their own strength. If they can’t, then there was no point bringing them here in the first place.”

“How long should we wait?”

“However long it takes for me to eat and rest up, I guess? I could have broken out of the illusion the normal way, but I got kinda pissed and used all my mana to smash it by force, so I need to rest for a little bit anyway.”

“Why do you always do things like this?” Shea said with a sigh.

Hajime never thought he’d see the day he’d be lectured by Shea of all people.

“I know I know, it was dumb. I’ve been letting this labyrinth rile me up way too easily.”

“Yep. But well, I can see why you’d be mad, since it keeps using Yue-san as bait…”

“That’s not a good enough excuse. If I keep letting this stuff get to me, it’ll turn into a weakness that can be exploited. It’s gonna be hard, but I’ll try and learn how to keep my cool in here.”

Hajime’s resolve truly was admirable, and Shea watched him with admiration. Then, after a quick glance over at Yue, who was still bullying Kaori while Tio watched on, she leaned in close to Hajime and whispered something.

“Umm, Hajime-san?”

“Yeah?”

“If I ended up like Yue-san had… would you have gotten mad on my behalf, too?”

She then looked away, embarrassed, though her ears were still pointed in Hajime’s direction. Even if he wouldn’t get as mad about her fake being used to manipulate him as he would if it were Yue, she still wanted to believe it would at least upset him. Hajime thought about giving a noncommittal answer, but after seeing the faint glimmer of hope in Shea’s eyes he scratched his cheek awkwardly and decided to speak honestly this time.

“The reason I felt like shattering that shitty illusion wasn’t just because of Yue. You were in my dream as well. And well… I didn’t want any Shea except for the one sitting in front of me.”

“Ah… Ehehe, I see.” Shea smiled, and her tail and ears began wagging back and forth. He reaction was so cute that Hajime reflexively started fondling her again.

Afterward, Kaori came crying to Hajime when she couldn’t take Yue’s bullying anymore, and Shea disentangled herself from him to comfort her. Meanwhile, Yue puffed her chest out proudly and Tio… Well, Tio’s reaction wasn’t important. Regardless, the five of them continued horsing around while they ate, and before they knew it three hours had passed. However, none of the hero’s party had awoken.

“Guess it’s about time…”

“Mmm… Yeah.”

“I guess that’s that. It’s not like we can keep waiting forever.”

Hajime looked at the coffins, considering how best to forcibly remove Kouki and the others from them. Yue and Shea both seemed to agree that there was no point in waiting any longer too. However, Kaori didn’t.

“Can… Can we wait just a little bit longer? I’m sure Shizuku-chan won’t let something like this beat her…”

Kaori understood best just how desperately Shizuku and the others wanted to clear this labyrinth and obtain ancient magic of their own. After all, having even one would help them tremendously in gathering the others. Also, Kaori personally wanted Shizuku and the others to get stronger because she believed they’d help in finding a way back home.

For his part, Hajime wanted them to grow stronger as well, in preparation for the battles to come, so he shrugged his shoulders and agreed to Kaori’s plea. Kaori smiled and attempted to hug him, only to be blocked by Yue. While the two of them were grappling with each other, one of the coffins started to glow.

“That one’s… Shizuku-chan!”

“I figured Yaegashi would be the fastest.”

“Indeed, Shizuku has a good head on her shoulders. It does not surprise me that she discovered the illusion first.”

Kaori forgot her previous quarrel and dashed over to Shizuku’s coffin. Shizuku groaned and opened her eyes, and Kaori helped her into a sitting position.

“This place is… Kaori?”

“It’s me, Shizuku-chan. Welcome back.”

“So I made it back to reality. Phew… That was tiring…”

Shizuku sighed and shook her head. She then smiled at Kaori and muttered, “Thanks.” Seeing that she’d awoken, Hajime and the others walked over as well.

“You sure took your sweet time. Still, I’m glad you made it.”

“Huh? Oh, N-Nagumo-kun… Y-Yeah. It was tough, but I managed somehow.” For some reason, Shizuku started stuttering when she talked to Hajime.

Yue and the others stared suspiciously at her, since the reaction was definitely odd. Shizuku coughed a few times to hide her strange behavior and examined her surroundings. However, she couldn’t hide the faint blush that had appeared on her cheeks.

“…So Kouki and the others are still inside?”

“Yep. We got out a few hours ago, but you’re the only one who’s escaped since then, Shizuku-chan.”

“I see. It certainly was a grueling trial. Sorry I made you guys wait so long.”

“Don’t worry about it, Shizuku-san. If anything, you should be glad you made it through. Also, if you don’t mind, there’s something I want to ask you…”

“Thank you, Shea. And feel free.”

Shizuku felt a sliver of dread from Shea’s tone, but she tried her best to remain calm. However, the one who ended up asking was not Shea, but Yue.

“……”

“Wh-What is it?”

“…….”

“Um, I won’t know what you want if you just stare at me like that, Yue.”

Yue was standing right next to Shizuku and staring intently at her. She neither moved nor blinked nor showed any kind of expression. She just stood there and stared. There was something intimidating about being stared at silently from point-blank like that. Despite Yue’s beauty, Shizuku couldn’t help but feel a little terrified.

Shizuku tried to avoid Yue’s gaze, but it bored into her whether she met it or not. Finally, Yue asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Shizuku… what kind of dream did you see?”

“Huh? It was a totally normal one. I was just living my everyday life like a normal girl.”

“Normal? Who else was in it?”

“Everyone. Everyone I know anyway.”

“I see…”

Shizuku met Yue’s gaze as she said that. Her voice neither wavered nor trembled. However, her vague reply made it clear that she didn’t want to go into details about the contents of her dream. Yue and the others understood that, so they decided not to press her any further for now. Shizuku breathed a sigh of relief as she realized Yue was backing off.

The party then brought Shizuku over to the center of the room, where they’d prepared some tea. Tired as she was, Shizuku was grateful for the break. As she sat down, she muttered to herself.

“I can’t believe I was a princess. And of all the people, the prince had to be…”

Few people heard her quiet grumbling.

A few hours later, Shizuku had fully recovered. None of her remaining party members had escaped from their coffins, so Hajime decided it was time to finally break them out by force. They couldn’t afford to delay their progress any further. Either Hajime or Yue could have easily smashed the amber, but they decided to leave it in the hands of the person most suited for it.

“Alright Kaori, we’re counting on you. Just make sure you don’t accidentally disintegrate their bodies too.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. If I’m not in the middle of a fight, I can control the power perfectly.”

Kaori placed her hands on the amber and started pouring her mana into it. Her silver mana glinted like moonlight inside the dim tree trunk.

“Disintegrate.”

Kaori had no need to say anything to cast her spell, but she did anyway to help her focus. The amber didn’t melt like it had for the others, but instead withered away and dispersed as it was broken down into particles too small to see. It took only a few minutes to disintegrate the amber surrounding Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu. Worried that the unorthodox method of freeing them might have affected their bodies somehow, Kaori ran a diagnosis on them, but it appeared they were in perfect health.

“…Huh? Kaori? Shizuku? Where am I? I thought the two of you were…”

“Huh? Where is this? I thought I was…”

“Huh? No, Eri, don’t…”

Before long, the three of them woke up from their respective dreams. As they hadn’t realized they were in the middle of an illusion, they were confused by the sudden change in scenery.

Suzu’s hand was stretched out toward the ceiling, and it was obvious from her words what it was she was trying to grab onto. She must have been dreaming about Eri. Considering how much Eri’s betrayal had hurt Suzu, it was hardly surprising that she hadn’t been able to break free from her dream.

Shizuku and Kaori watched Suzu with pained expressions on their faces. Suzu was always the one who acted the most cheerful out of everyone, but that betrayal had left deep scars on her heart. Scars that hadn’t fully healed yet.

“Are the three of you alright?”

“Suzu-chan…”

Finally, the three of them started to realize that what they’d been seeing until just now was an illusion. Each of them had a different reaction to that knowledge. Ryutarou looked a little depressed, but then scratched his head awkwardly and spoke wistfully.

“Well, I guess that’s just how it is.”

Kouki, on the other hand, looked darkly at the ground and balled his trembling hands into fists. Suzu tried to play it off with a smile, but everyone could tell her smile was hollow. Unable to bear seeing it any longer, Kaori and Shizuku hugged Suzu tight.

However, it appeared the labyrinth wasn’t going to give them time to come to terms with their feelings. Another magic circle began to glow underneath their feet. It appeared once all members broke free of their amber coffins, the challengers were sent on to the next stage.

“Amanogawa, Taniguchi. There’s no time to reflect on your visions. If you don’t pull yourselves together, the things you desire will fall forever out of your reach.”

“Ah… You don’t need to tell me twice.”

Y-Yeah, you’re right!”

There was a blinding flash, and Hajime and the others were once again teleported.

The party found themselves once more in a sea of trees. Unlike before though, they could see the ceiling and had a clear guidepost for where they were meant to go. From what Hajime could tell, this space was similar to the forest he’d encountered in the Great Orcus Labyrinth and was situated in an enclosed, underground space. While most of the trees were of uniform size, there was one further in that was much larger than the rest. If this room followed the same pattern as the others, that was where their next teleportation circle was.

“Looks like we all made it together this time,” Hajime said as he looked over the party. He’d been worried they’d get hit with more fakes, but it appeared that had been a needless concern.

“Hajime, are there any fakes?”

“Nope, everyone’s real. At least, that’s what my eye and my instincts tell me.”

“If you think we’re fine, then we’re definitely fine Hajime-san.”

Shea and the others relaxed visibly. The party then set off through the dense jungle toward the large tree in the distance. Hajime glanced back to make sure everyone was still with him and noticed Kouki and Suzu both had dark expressions still. Hajime could understand why Suzu still wasn’t over her dream. Going from an illusion where your best friend was still with you into a reality where she’d betrayed and nearly killed you was about as traumatic as it got. The dream had likely reopened the emotional wounds that had barely begun to heal.

That still left Kouki, however. Hajime had no idea what he’d seen, but judging by Kouki’s sunken eyes, and the neutral expression he was struggling to keep, it must have left quite the negative impression on him. That, or he was frustrated at failing to overcome yet another trial. But while Hajime did sympathize, this was a labyrinth. A murderous maze where the party could be thrown into a life-threatening situation at any moment. If Suzu and Kouki kept carrying that emotional baggage with them, they wouldn’t last long.

“Amanogawa, Taniguchi. Are you guys really serious about tackling this labyrinth?”

“Wha!? O-Of course we are!”

“Huh? Y-Yeah, I am!”

Hajime’s sharp glare pierced through the both of them. Ryutarou seethed at Hajime’s caustic words, but before he could come to his friends’ defense, Hajime continued.

“This is a labyrinth. Death lurks around every corner. We might be thrown into hell at any second. If you can’t focus anymore, you may as well give up here. Otherwise, you’ll die.”

“W-Wait, I…”

“Regardless of your reasons, the fact of the matter was that you couldn’t clear the last trial. At the very least, you need the determination to pass all the others if you want to survive. And I don’t see that determination from either of you. If your will’s been broken, then you’re worth less than dead weight.”

“……”

“I’m not sure if I can or not, but I’ll try to open a portal back to the surface from here. If I can’t, I can create a barrier around you guys to keep you safe until we return. So decide, here and now. Are you willing to do this, or not? I won’t let anyone with halfhearted feelings continue on with us.”

Silence followed Hajime’s speech. Kouki grit his teeth in an attempt to hold in his rage. He wasn’t angry at Hajime, but at himself for being so weak. He’d unconsciously felt a sense of safety, knowing that even if he was distracted Hajime and the others would be able to clean up anything that came their way.

The whole reason he was here was because he didn’t agree with Hajime’s methods or his morals, and he wanted the strength to prove that Hajime was mistaken. And yet, after forcing his way into Hajime’s party, here he was relying on him. He wanted to punch himself. But if he let himself get carried away by his anger, he’d just be proving to Hajime that he didn’t have the mettle to keep going. Kouki took in a few deep breaths, letting his anger and impatience dissipate, then slapped his cheeks.

“Nagumo. I’m fine now. I can keep going!”

The light had returned to his eyes. Hajime gave Kouki a small nod, then turned to Suzu. Suzu started trembling, but then she too slapped her cheeks and renewed her resolve.

“I’ll go too. I’m not done yet!”

“I see. Good. Remember to stay focused.”

That was all Hajime said before turning around and resuming his trek. Ryutarou stepped up behind Kouki and gave him a slap on the back.

“Ow!” Kouki exclaimed, then gave his best friend a rueful smile. Kaori and the others encouraged Suzu in a similar fashion, and she gave them a slightly less forced smile. The party advanced in a straight line toward the giant tree. The forest was deathly silent. Not only was the sound of insects absent, but there wasn’t even any wind to rustle the leaves. The surrounding silence made the noise of Hajime and the others’ advance even more pronounced.

“Hmmm… There’s something ominous in the air.”

“Yeah… It’s like when we were ambushed in Orcus.”

“You’re right… but I can’t sense any monsters anywhere.”

Tio raised her eyebrows suspiciously, while Kaori and Shizuku thought back to the time Cattleya had ambushed them in the Great Orcus Labyrinth.

“I’ve sent my Arachnae up ahead to scout, but they didn’t find anything either. I doubt we’ll get through this forest without anything happening, but…”

Hajime was referring to his multipurpose spider-shaped golems.

“…Hm? Rain?”

“You’re right, it has started raining.”

Kouki scrunched up his face and looked up at the sky. Suzu held out her hand and nodded in agreement. A second later, chills ran down their spine as they realized what they’d just said. There was no way it could be raining inside a tree.

“Tch, Yue!”

“Okay… Hallowed Ground.”

Realizing what was going on, Hajime called out to Yue. Without a moment’s delay, Yue deployed a barrier. A second later, a heavy downpour hit them. Yue’s Hallowed Ground had come up just in time to keep the rain off them. However, no one looked relieved. In fact, they now looked more worried than before.

Considering what was happening outside, it was only natural. The liquid sliding down Yue’s Hallowed Ground was most definitely not rainwater. It was either poison or some kind of strange new monster.

It was Shizuku who noticed first.

“Nagumo-kun, look.”

Despite her strained voice, she was still calm enough to analyze the situation. And what she saw was some strange opaque milky liquid oozing out of the trees, the foliage, and the ground.

“Are those slimes? Damn. Not only are they masking their presence, but I also can’t even see them with my Demon Eye. Just what kind of concealment magic are they using?”

“Nagumo, they’re at our feet!”

Hajime mentally clicked his tongue, then looked down to see the slimes sprouting from the ground directly underneath them. As Hallowed Ground formed a fully spherical barrier, it prevented the white slimes from burrowing through from underground, but it couldn’t protect against creatures that were in the part of the soil it encompassed. The few slimes that had sprouted within Yue’s barrier attacked the party.

“Kyaaa! You little… Disintegrate!”

Kaori hurriedly attempted to obliterate the slime that was crawling up her leg. The slime burst into tiny white particles and crumbled away. Slimes tended to attack by engulfing their target and dissolving them, as it was the best way to make use of their high physical resistance. But it appeared Kaori had managed to get rid of it before it could do anything.

“Raaaaaah! Get off me!” Ryutarou slammed a fist into the slime trying to swallow him from behind. His gauntlet artifact sent ripples through the slime’s body, and it burst apart.

“Hey, Ryutarou, stop! Don’t send their pieces flying over here!”

“You muscle-headed moron! Don’t use your full strength against them!”

“Huh? Oh, my bad!”

“Bleh, I’m all sticky. This stuff’s disgusting.”

Kouki and Shizuku protested hotly against Ryutarou’s hasty actions, while Suzu examined the white goop covering her.

“Seriously dude, you gotta stop doing this. Are you alright Shizu—”

“Yes, I’m just fine, Kouki. At least these things die pretty easily… Is something wrong?”

“Huh? Oh no, it’s nothing! Nothing at all!”

“Huh?”

For labyrinth monsters, these white slimes were quite weak. Shizuku kept her guard up in case they had another trick up their sleeve as she gave Kouki a puzzled look. Kouki averted his gaze, doing his best not to look at Shizuku. Not only that, he was avoiding looking at Suzu as well. Even though there were slimes popping up from everywhere, he kept his gaze focused firmly ahead. Shizuku grew even more curious about Kouki’s strange behavior, but she put in the back of her mind for now and focused on eliminating the slimes with her katana’s special skill, Thunder Blossom.

The reason for Kouki’s strange behavior lay in the milky-white composition of the slimes. More specifically, the fact that both Shizuku and Suzu had been splattered with their dead bodies. It wasn’t hard to imagine what being drenched in milky-white liquid looked like from a guy’s perspective. Though it appeared neither Shizuku or Suzu had noticed that yet. Naturally, Yue and the others weren’t spared from the deluge of white either.

As Yue was using fire magic to burn away the slimes their corpses weren’t splashing onto her, but she’d been hit by a little bit of the initial deluge, and sticky white liquid dripped down her cheeks and neck. Shea, on the other hand, had used Drucken’s shockwave to blow away the first wave of slimes, landing her in the same situation as Ryutarou. She was splattered with the white liquid of the monsters she’d killed.

Tio had had it even worse though. She’d been hit by most of the splatter of Shea’s first few kills and was completely drenched. Shea hadn’t aimed for Tio or anything like that, Tio had just been unlucky enough to be standing in the wrong spot. She resembled one of those variety show contestants who’d had a pie thrown in their face. Her black hair and kimono were slathered in sticky white liquid. It was hard to look at her and not be aroused.

Kaori, however, had come out relatively untouched. Thanks to her disintegration abilities, she didn’t need to worry about the slimes she defeated splattering her. However, traces of the slime who’d first caught onto her leg were still there, so she wasn’t in that much better shape than the others.

Hajime had opted to surround his entire body with Lightning Field, making him more or less invincible against the slimes. As he electrocuted wave after wave, he considered poking out Kouki and Ryutarou’s eyes again so that they wouldn’t accidentally see Yue or the others in compromising poses. But while the slimes appeared weak, there was no telling what might happen inside a labyrinth. Hajime didn’t particularly want to leave two party members vulnerable by robbing them of their sight.

Besides, if they end up seeing something, I can always just beat the memories out of them later. Kouki shuddered. He instinctively sensed the threat Hajime posed and did his best not to look in Yue and the others’ direction.

Soon enough, the party had wiped out the few slimes who’d made their way into the barrier. After making sure there were no enemies left inside, Hajime turned his attention to the wriggling mass outside. He sent his Cross Bits and chakrams out of the barrier and started mowing down slimes.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…”

From the visual feed his Cross Bits sent back to his Demon Eye, Hajime could tell there was an enormous amount of slimes waiting outside the barrier. To make matters worse, more were still raining down from the sky. The forest was buried under a sea of milky-white slimes. Had Yue not been able to put up a barrier as fast as she had, the party might have been overrun by the sheer number of them.

“Yue, reinforce the barrier. I’m gonna blow everything up at once.”

“Okay… Leave it to me.”

Hajime sent all seven of his Cross Bits and all seven of his chakram up into the sky.

“Are you fucking serious!? You’re going to bring that hellfire back!?”

“Not this again…”

“Ugh, if it wasn’t for Kaorin’s restoration magic, my barrier would have been destroyed back then. I thought we were all done for. Honestly, I was more scared of Nagumo-kun than the enemy!”

Ryutarou trembled in fear while Shizuku’s eyes glazed over. Suzu teared up, as memories of Hajime’s traumatizing attack came back to her. Kouki looked silently up at the sky. He was more worried about being blinded right now than anything. Unfortunately for Ryutarou, he’d already made the mistake of looking. While Hajime was currently busy dealing with the slimes, he made a mental note to put Ryutarou through his special memory-erasure course later.

“Kaori, use your disintegration to get rid of all the slime goop on you guys. It doesn’t look pretty,” Hajime sent to Kaori via telepathy.

How come he only sent that to me? And why telepathy? Kaori tilted her head, but in the next second she realized what Hajime had meant by “it doesn’t look pretty.” She looked down at herself and blushed. “Yeah, this isn’t…” she muttered. The reason Hajime had used telepathy was out of consideration for Shizuku and the others, who still hadn’t noticed. It’d be embarrassing if a guy pointed it out to them.

“Th-Thank you, Hajime-kun. I’ll clean us up right away. Also, please don’t hurt Ryutarou-kun too much.”

“…I’ll think about it.”

Kaori had already guessed what Hajime was thinking of doing to Ryutarou. She smiled ruefully at his response and swiftly dissolved the sticky liquid clinging to everyone. Hajime returned his attention to the feed from the sky that his Cross Bits were sending him.

How long is this slime rain going to go on for? Is there an infinite amount stored up there? In that case, I’ll have to do something about the ceiling first. He glanced down at the rising tide of slimes and decided to push his chakrams even faster toward the ceiling. The rotating chakrams sliced through the slimes falling in their path and lodged themselves into the ceiling. Half-sunk into the bedrock as they were, the chakrams resembled mini-arches. It just so happened that the inside of those arches were portals that Hajime could control at will.

Hajime then took a few spare charkam and a lot of Arachnae out of his Treasure Trove. Shizuku, Suzu, and Kaori froze when they saw a swarm of mechanical spiders appear in mid-air. Hajime paid no attention to their discomfort and dropped them through the chakrams. They reappeared through the portals on the ceiling, and started scuttling around in all directions. Since they weren’t combat-oriented, Hajime could control up to 100 of them at once. The swarm of spiders glowed red as they scuttled across the ceiling, and Hajime activated his Transmutation through each of them. Hajime’s goal was to seal up all the cracks the slimes were dripping down through. His plan worked. With every crack he sealed, the deluge of slimes slowed.

“Alright, that’s the ceiling dealt with. Now we just have to get rid of the slimes on the ground… I guess I’ll have to burn everything down again.”

Hajime sounded more like a terrorist than a Synergist, and Kouki’s expression cramped up. Hajime ignored him and manipulated his chakram to dislodge themselves from the ceiling and circle above the sea of slimes. Then, like before, he started teleporting vast quantities of taur through them.

“This is what you get for spraying that disgusting goop over Yue and the others.”

It felt as if these slimes had been purposely designed white by Haltina in order to create a situation like the one that had just happened.

This liberator sure likes to mess with people. She reminds me of the one in Reisen Gorge. Haltina’s little prank had gone too far though, and now Hajime was pissed. While he didn’t let his anger show, it was clearly boiling beneath the surface. His resolve to overcome his temper seemed to already be forgotten.

“He’s turning into a devil, Shizushizu! I’m scaaared!”

Suzu hugged Shizuku, terrified. Like a protective mother, Shizuku gently patted Suzu on the back.

“Holy shit, Kouki. That guy’s totally gonna get arrested one day.”

“What a coincidence, Ryutarou. I was thinking the same thing. He’ll probably show up on the news one day.”

Considering Hajime was about to scorch an entire forest with a smile, Kouki and Ryutarou were justified in thinking he’d end up a terrorist. In a sense, he was actually more terrifying than a terrorist. Hajime’s smile twitched a little as he heard Ryutarou’s assessment.

Do I really look that evil? He didn’t really care that much about Ryutarou or Kouki’s opinions of him, but he was worried he might have creeped out Yue and the others too. And so, he glanced back at Yue.

“…Hm? I prefer you like this.” As always, Yue could tell what Hajime was thinking without him having to say a word. And after hearing his beloved Yue’s opinion, Hajime’s evil grin grew eviller.

“You’re amazing Yue-san. Even now you keep finding ways to make Hajime-san like you more. And so naturally too. I didn’t think that was possible. But I won’t lose to you! Even when you’re acting like a brute and evil incarnate, you’re cool, Hajime-san!” Spurred on by Shea’s cheering, Tio and Kaori also voiced their support for Terrorist Hajime.

“Will you all please shut up?”

Hajime glared at the lot of them. Then with a sigh, he returned his attention to the task at hand. It didn’t take long for a layer of black to cover the sea of white.

“This should be enough.”

Hajime grinned, and the counterattack-cum-elimination began. A series of explosions rocked the forest, and the earth shook so hard they could feel it through the barrier. The very air trembled as Hajime rained down a barrage of bombs from his Cross Bits.

These particular bombs were basically napalm bombs. Hajime had filled them with yet more taur, and as they landed in the sea of slimes, they burst apart, spraying 3000-degree flames everywhere. In contrast to the earlier white rain that had poured down, now there was a rain of black as Hajime sent more taur down into the burning conflagration. The mass of slimes writhed and squirmed, but all they succeeded in doing was sucking the taur further inside the blob. That helped spread the napalm’s flames even further. In seconds, the sea of slimes had turned into a sea of flames. The conflagration licked at the nearby trees, threatening to set the whole forest alight. The crimson tide was like a physical manifestation of Hajime’s anger, and it charred everything it touched. Soil transformed into lava, and the air itself burned away. Kouki and the others swore they heard the slimes screaming in pain as they were scorched to cinders.

Outside the barrier, a veritable hell awaited. A hell of fire and screams. Eventually, even the slimes crowding around Yue’s barrier started to burn. The view of hell became visible to Kouki and the others who didn’t have remote viewing tools. They all watched with haggard expressions as the world burned away. Finally, the flames withered away. The ground had been turned into a sea of bubbling lava, the trees and plants burned to ash. Smoke blanketed the forest’s remains.

“That was a good blaze.” Hajime looked proudly at his handiwork. In response, Yue smiled faintly at him and asked a question.

“Can I drop my barrier now?”

“Hold on just a bit longer. Let me make sure none of the slimes burrowed underground.”

The spiritstone ring on Hajime’s finger began to glow. Countless black objects dropped from the ceiling, thin threads trailing behind them. Hajime’s Arachnae.

“Kyaaa!?” Shizuku squealed as the numerous mechanical spiders hit the ground. No one had expected such a cute scream to come out of Shizuku’s mouth, but they were tactful enough to ignore it. Though they couldn’t suppress their faint grins as Shizuku blushed in embarrassment. Hajime set his Arachnae to transmuting the ground on their path to the large tree. He closed his eyes in concentration and spoke.

“It’ll take some time to transmute the whole path. We still don’t know how many of those slimes are left. Even if it takes more time, it’ll be more convenient to secure our route than stop and kill them each time they pop up. I know it’s a pain, but please keep the barrier up until I’m done, Yue.”

“Okay…”

Realizing they were safe for now, Kouki and the others relaxed. Thanks to Kaori, everyone had been cleaned of slime goop as well. Unfortunately, though, Ryutarou’s fate remained unchanged.

“Rest while you have the chance,” Hajime said, then sat cross-legged on the ground. Transmuting the area around their path was going to take time. And while Hajime wasn’t physically exhausted yet, it was a rule of thumb among adventurers to rest when the opportunity presented itself. The rest of the party followed suit, resting as best as they could.

Some time later, the glowing barrier around them faded away. Hajime then felt something soft lean against his back. He turned around, confused, and found Yue hugging him. Just as he was about to ask why she’d suddenly dispelled her barrier—

“Haaah… Haaah… Hajime I feel… strange… I need you.”

“Hey, Yue. This isn’t the time for… Yue? What’s wrong?”

Yue’s breathing was ragged, and her eyes were brimming with desire. Had this been night and the two of them safely tucked in bed Hajime wouldn’t have minded, but this was hardly the time. Nor could he imagine Yue getting this aroused in the middle of a labyrinth. Something was wrong with her.

Hajime’s expression grew serious, and he pulled Yue off him. His touch alone was enough to send shivers down Yue’s spine, and her whole body flushed with heat. Unable to control herself, Yue tried to press herself against Hajime. Still unsure of what had happened, he held her at arm’s length and tried to discern what was wrong. Just then though, a shadow fell over him. He looked up and saw Shea.

“Hajime-san… I… I can’t… Haaah… Haaah…”

“You too, Shea?”

“Haaah… Haaah, I think there’s something wrong with me, Hajime-san.”

“Wait, hold up.”

Shea ignored Hajime and wrapped herself around his right arm. She held it between her cleavage and thighs, making it impossible for him to escape. Even her bunny ears wrapped around his neck. Like Yue, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes blurry with desire. She rarely acted this sexy, and Hajime nearly found himself overwhelmed. Whatever had happened to Yue, had happened to Shea too.

“Wait… don’t tell me…” A possible cause sprung to mind. And if his guess was right, it wasn’t just Yue and Shea who’d been affected. Alarmed, he looked over the rest of his comrades. As he’d feared, Kaori and the rest were suffering from the same symptoms as Yue and Shea.

“Hajime-kun, I—” Kaori crawled over to Hajime and looked up at him with pleading eyes. Tio, on the other hand, was just sitting there spacing out. However she didn’t respond to Hajime’s calls, so he assumed the worst. Even Kouki and the rest weren’t exempt from the strange transformation.

“U-Ugh… What is this?”

“Uwaaah…” Suzu crouched down and hugged her knees, while Ryutarou had a vacant look to him. Kouki, however, watched Shizuku with bloodshot eyes. He then suddenly got to his feet and reached out to her.

“Fufufu… Like hell I’ll lose here.”

Shizuku alone appeared to have any control left. After writhing for a few seconds, she bit her lip so hard she drew blood. Then, she used the pain to anchor her consciousness and sat down with her back ramrod straight. And after that, she closed her eyes, as if concentrating on something.

Hajime guessed she was attempting to meditate. That, or she knew some special Yaegashi-style focusing technique. Whatever it was it appeared to be working, as her blush receded and she regained her composure.

However, she also seemed to be having a difficult time maintaining that state. Even the slightest lapse in concentration seemed like it would cause her to relapse. Because of that, she didn’t notice Kouki reaching out to her. He continued muttering her name in a deranged manner as he staggered forward. At the same time, Ryutarou started toward Suzu, who was still kneeling and holding her head.

“Goddammit… So this is what those slimes were for.”

Hajime pulled three bolas out of his Treasure Trove, then flung them all with a quick snap of his wrist. Each found its mark, and Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu were all immobilized. The bolas’ weights pulsed red and the spatial magic stored in them fixed them in place. After struggling fruitlessly for a few seconds, Kouki and Ryutarou once again stretched their hands out, looking for anyone to grab onto. Meanwhile, Suzu gazed at Shizuku with unrestrained lust. Fortunately, Hajime’s bolas were powerful enough to have even restrained one of God’s Apostles for a few seconds. A group of half-insane students had no hope of breaking free.

For the present, Hajime had prevented them from doing something they would later regret. Hajime tried to think of a way out of this situation while he kept Kaori from climbing any further up his left arm, Shea from climbing any further up his right arm, and Yue from sucking the blood out of his neck. While he was racking his brains, Tio suddenly called out to him

“Master, are you alright? It appears those monsters’ fluids contained a powerful aphrodisiac.”

Not only was Tio’s expression normal, her gait was measured and even. More importantly, she was processing their current situation.

Is this really Tio? Hajime thought to himself. Regardless of whether Tio realized what Hajime was thinking or not, she continued her explanation.

“The pleasure delivered by the aphrodisiac is so extreme that it has rendered everyone incapable of using magic. Furthermore, the more time passes, the stronger its effects will become. Worst of all though, the aphrodisiac doesn’t affect one’s body, but one’s mind. In fact, it would be more accurate to call whatever special magic these monsters had a form of hypnosis than an aphrodisiac. There are creatures capable of such feats.”

Tio’s observations were perceptive and well-reasoned. Upon seeing such a level-headed Tio, Hajime thought,

Yeah, there’s no way this is Tio.

“The reason you were likely spared the hypnosis’ effects was because after the first few drops of rain hit you, you activated Lightning Field to keep any and all bits of slime off of you. The few drops that did make contact with your skin were not concentrated enough to pierce your natural defenses.”

“I-I see?”

“Indeed, this would be our only silver lining. That being said, this trial has still proven itself quite arduous. It is hard to imagine any normal challenger escaping from that mass of slimes completely untouched. And if the battle dragged on, said challengers would find themselves eliminated. Even if they were able to overcome the deluge of slimes, they would still end up driven to intercourse by the effects of slimes’ hypnosis.”

“Y-Yeah, you’re right…”

“I imagine that was this part of the trial’s aim. Whether you can overcome your desires and press onwards with your comrades… Or perhaps it was to test whether you and your comrades could maintain trust with each other even after committing unsavory acts… Regardless of which it may be, this labyrinth’s Liberator is quite the troublesome one.”

“Uh, Tio.”

“Mmm? What is it, Master?”

While all of Tio’s points made sense, there was one thing that didn’t. Hajime looked from Yue and the others, who were still trying to fling themselves at him, to Tio, who appeared perfectly calm.

“I understand everything you said, and your hypothesis makes sense. I pretty much agree with all your points. There’s just one thing I don’t understand. How come you’re fine? I’m pretty sure you’re the one who got the most soaked out of all of us. You practically looked like an actress on a JAV cover.”

“I did indeed. In fact, the hypnosis is affecting me even now. It’s because of the pleasure coursing through my body that I still cannot properly use my magic. Do not underestimate me though, Master. Who do you think I am?”

“Tio…”

Hajime’s eyes widened in surprise as Tio puffed her chest out proudly. He couldn’t help but be impressed. She was able to maintain her sanity through such a crippling onslaught of pleasure. It was times like these that he was reminded that despite her extremely perverted nature, she was a wise dragon who’d lived for centuries. A paltry toxin like this was nothing for someone of—

“I am your servant and your servant alone, Master! Such tepid pleasure cannot hope to compare to the exquisite pain which you grace me with on a daily basis! Please do not think of me as some loose woman who’ll let any old sadist slap her arse!”

“Oh.” Hajime’s expression changed in an instant as Tio shot a fist into the air and declared her undying loyalty. He once again gazed at her like she was trash, which made Tio blush and shiver in excitement.

“I guess I should have expected as much from you, Tio-san. Or perhaps I should call you Clarence-san. You really are something else. Now I’d like it if you didn’t get any closer.”

“M-Master’s being polite!? And calling me by my last name!? I can’t believe you would act so distant toward me now of all times! Haaah… Haaah… Th-This is not good. I can feel myself giving in to the pleasure…”

Though she’d been fine until now, Tio suddenly started slipping. She fell to all fours and struggled to retain her sanity. Hajime turned to Yue, Shea, and Kaori, and pointedly ignored Tio.

He gave them a look of absolute confidence and spoke his mind.

“Yue, Shea, Kaori. There’s no way you guys actually got done in by these weakling monsters. You’ve all managed to keep your sanity, haven’t you?”

Still flushed and panting, the three of them looked up at Hajime with clear eyes and said simultaneously, “Mmm… Of course.”

“Ugh. Of course I have.”

“Th-That’s right! Haaah… Haaah, I’m just fine!”

As expected, the three of them were able to fight back against the pleasure that assailed their senses. Though they had to grit their teeth to do it. Hajime gave each of them a quick look over, then smiled in satisfaction.

“Listen up, this is another one of the labyrinth’s shitty trials. I refuse to believe that you can’t overcome something like this. Look, even Yaegashi and our resident pervert were able to control themselves. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to lose to that perverted dragon.”

At Hajime’s provocative challenge, Yue grimaced and forcibly pulled herself away from him. She then gave him a fearless smile reminiscent of his own.

“Seeing as restoration magic couldn’t fix Yue’s goblinification, I doubt it’ll do anything here either. Besides, it’s not like any of you can use magic right now anyway. However, I still have some Ambrosia left. I bet even Haltina didn’t expect us to have that. I know the slimes’ poison is mental, but Ambrosia’s the legendary cure-all. Do you guys think you need it? If so, it might be worth a shot.”

There was no telling if it would work or not, and Hajime had scant few vials left. Still, it meant there was a chance they could be freed from this unbearable pleasure hell. Despite that, the three all shook their heads immediately.

“Mmm… I’m fine.”

“I don’t need any.”

“I’m good.”

They were determined to overcome this trial with their own strength.

“That’s what I thought,” Hajime said with a warm smile.

They returned his smile, glad that Hajime had that much faith in them. He put some distance between himself and them, thinking it would be easier for them to resist if he wasn’t around. Contrary to his expectations though, Yue and the others crowded around him again.

“Hajime, hug me.”

“Won’t that make things worse?”

“Absolutely not! There’s no one this world who’d feel worse after being hugged by you, Hajime-san!”

“Shea-san’s right. If anything, it’ll help us calm down… Please.”

Hajime smiled ruefully and wrapped the three of them up in his arms. He scooped Shea in with his right, Kaori with his left, and squished Yue between the two of them. The three of them trembled for a few seconds, then relaxed and slowly calmed their heavy breathing. They closed their eyes, focusing on maintaining their sanity. Soon enough, their temperature returned to normal, and their heartbeat slowed. Hajime closed his eyes and smiled. He then lifted them up slowly, careful not to stimulate them too much. Just then, Tio called out to him.

“Master, could you embrace me as well?”

“Surely you jest, Clarence-san.”

“No… I won’t be able to resist without youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

Her anguished scream echoed through the quiet forest.

Some time later. The liquified floor had cooled and hardened, and the smoldering embers had all died out. A single shiny, metallic pathway cut through the barren wasteland that remained. It made a straight line to the giant tree in the distance.

“…Mmm?”

“Huh?”

“Oh?”

Yue, Shea, and Kaori all opened their eyes.

“Hm? Is… it over? Are you guys alright?” Hajime looked worriedly down at the three girls still in his arms.

They all looked at each other, then nodded confidently.

“…Mmm. It looks like we weathered it.”

“Yep! All that pleasure I was feeling is totally gone now.”

“I don’t feel anything anymore… And it looks like the rest of my senses are back to normal.”

Sounds like they’re good. They’d overcome pleasure so overwhelming it could drive normal people insane through willpower alone. Once it passed a certain threshold, pleasure was no different from pain. Hajime could only begin to guess how much the three of them must have suffered. Chances were, it was the hardest trial any of them had faced thus far. He looked proudly down at them and spoke.

“I knew you could do it. Good work, you three. I had faith the whole time, so I wasn’t really worried… but it still must have been tough.”

“Mmm….”

“Ehehe, you’re making me blush.”

“Fufu, thank you, Hajime-kun. It was thanks to your support that I was able to pull through.”

There was no reason for them to keep hugging Hajime any longer, but none of the girls seemed willing to pull away. Instead, they hugged him tighter and looked happily up at him, blushing. The pleading look in their eyes made it clear they wanted to hear more praise. In all honesty, he found it harder to resist their earnest approach than their advances when they were under the influence of the slimes’ hypnosis. He’d unconsciously begun to let them go, but now hugged them tighter as well. They stayed like that for a few seconds, until Shizuku awkwardly interrupted them.

“Ahem! Sorry for interrupting, but could you leave the flirting for after we’re out of here? Also, you can release Kouki and the others now.”

“Hm? Oh yeah, sure Yaegashi. You were pretty amazing too, you know? I guess I should have known a swordsman of your caliber would have no trouble resisting. Was that meditation something you learned at your dojo?”

“I knew you could do it, Shizuku-chan! Even though you don’t have the body of a God’s Apostle like me, you were still able to resist! That’s really amazing!”

Shizuku’s irritation faded and she blushed as Hajime and Kaori heaped on the praise. She looked away in embarrassment and muttered something.

“Th-Thank you. My father and grandfather taught me how to still my heart since I was young, so while it was close, I managed to overcome it somehow… Also, did you restrain Kouki and the others to protect me? I wouldn’t have been able to do anything while I was focusing on meditating, so thanks for helping me out, Nagumo-kun.”

“Don’t mention it. Anyway… it looks like Amanogawa and them fainted. They probably couldn’t hold out against the pleasure. Yaegashi, I’ll prepare a change of clothes and make a changing room for you guys, so wake them up for me. I’ll leave explaining everything to you.”

“A change of clothes? Changing room…? Oh.” Shizuku tilted her head in confusion, but then realized what Hajime was getting at when she looked down at her clothes. Shizuku blushed to the tips of her ears.

A trial of pleasure was terrifying in more ways than one. Though she hadn’t moved an inch, Shizuku’s clothes were soaked through with sweat. She wasn’t the only one either, everyone else was drenched as well. No doubt it was uncomfortable to be walking around covered in sweat.

Of course, sweat was all it was. There weren’t any other liquids mixed in there at all. At the very least, that was what Shizuku’s silent glare seemed to be implying as she blushed and sat down to cover her lower half. Since anything he said would probably only make it worse, Hajime decided not to meet Shizuku’s gaze.

Yue and the others stepped back and sat down as well, looking almost as embarrassed as Shizuku.

“All the clothes I have are made in my size, so they might be a bit too tight for Sakagami… Maybe some of my looser clothes will work, though.” As he said that, Hajime pulled out some spare sets of clothes he’d bought in town a while back, and transmuted a covered hut from the earth. A simple but functional changing room. He also disengaged the bolas tying Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu. Without anything to support them, the three of them crumpled to the ground. Shizuku caught Suzu as she fell, but Kouki and Ryutarou had no one to help them so they hit the ground with dull thuds. Considering their sturdiness as the hero and his companion, it was probably fine to leave them be.

“As for Taniguchi… I imagine only Yue’s stuff would fit.”

“Mmm… I have a few outfits like this, so she can wear one of those.” Yue pulled a spare change of clothes from her own Treasure Trove and Hajime looked over at Shea and Kaori. Always the helpful one, Shea stepped forward.

“In that case, Shizuku-san can wear one of my—”

“Please no.” Shizuku got on her knees and knelt before Shea.

“What’s wrong with my clothes!?” Shea exclaimed, her bunny ears hopping back and forth.

“Nah, I get where Yaegashi’s coming from. The only clothes you own are those super revealing ones… Do those even count as clothes?”

“What do you have against my clothes!? Stop laughing at them!”

Even though she was a close-combat fighter, her clothes barely even covered the places they needed to.

“U-Umm, Shizuku-chan? It’s okay, I have some clothes that you might like. I bought them last time we were in the capital because I thought they’d suit you, so please don’t look like you’ve resigned yourself to death.”

“Kaori! My friend! My soulmate!”

She really doesn’t want to wear Shea’s clothes, huh? Hajime had never seen Shizuku look so happy.

“I don’t understand…” Shea muttered, her bunny ears drooping. Naturally, everyone ignored her. Having narrowly avoided wearing an outfit that would have revealed her arms, legs, belly, and most of her chest, Shizuku slapped Kouki and the others awake, then explained to them what had happened and headed to the changing room.

Yue created warm water with magic for them to shower in, and Shizuku sighed in exhaustion as she washed herself down. Hajime kept an eye on their surroundings and recalled his Arachnae while Yue and the others cleaned themselves.

He’d transmuted the ceiling, their surroundings, and their path to the tree, so unless the slimes could teleport he was relatively certain they wouldn’t run into anymore. Furthermore, thanks to the blaze he’d created, their view of the surrounding area was stellar. No other monsters could ambush them, and chances were most of the ones that might have had already been turned to dust by the earlier conflagration. Of course, that didn’t mean Hajime had any intention of lowering his guard.

“Master, please don’t forget about me. I’m the only person you haven’t made a changing room for…”

A timid voice interrupted Hajime’s thoughts. Up until Tio had been writhing in pleasure on the ground. Everyone had known she was there, but as she’d appeared to be enjoying herself, they’d ignored her. Even though she’d been the only one to overcome the trial at first, she’d ended up suffering from it the longest. It was rather sad. And so, Hajime glanced back at Tio.

“Oh, you’re still here, Clarence-san?”

“Ah!? M-Master, how long are you planning to act like that for? It certainly was a refreshing way of being insulted, but I’m beginning to feel somewhat… left out. Could you please return to speaking to me the way you used to? I much preferred it when you called me Tio.”

“What are you talking about, Clarence-san? This is how I always talk to you. Oh, please refrain from getting any closer.”

“Ah!? M-Master, I’m deeply sorry! I swear to never get ahead of myself like that ever again! Please, I beg of you, return to normal!”

“…..”

It was rare to see Tio beg or cry. She crawled to Hajime’s feet and threw herself at them. Hajime watched her with dead eyes. While Tio was still blushing a little, it appeared she really did find being called by her last name painful, as opposed to enjoyable. She wasn’t going into a panting fit at least. Hajime had expected her to derive pleasure from this too, but the fact that she didn’t meant he finally had a way to truly punish her. He grinned. Tio shivered as she watched the corners of Hajime’s mouth rise up.

Am I perhaps doomed to suffer this fate forever? Tio nearly burst into sobs.

“Masteeer. Please… call me Tio.”

Hajime rejoiced upon finally discovering a way to truly punish Tio. Seeing her cry before him tickled at Hajime’s sadistic urges. For once he was witnessing Tio truly distressed, instead of enjoying her distress. Looking at it objectively, Hajime was quite the pervert himself considering how sadistic he was acting. For better or worse though, he didn’t notice it himself.

“If you insist. Look, I already know you’re a hopeless pervert, but try to rein it in a little at least… Tio,” he added with a shrug.

Tio’s eyes sparkled at the mention of her name, and she gave Hajime an innocent, childish smile. That smile was so dazzling, he nearly found himself captivated by it.

Not only was Tio wise and knowledgeable, but she was also perceptive when it came to the feelings of others. Furthermore, she was constantly doing her best to get along with everyone, and never lost her cool. Her combat skills, courage, and decisiveness were nothing to scoff at either. She also had a strong sense of duty, and impeccable looks. If she hadn’t been a raging masochist, she really would have been the perfect woman.

“Seriously, why are you so hopeless?”

Is it my fault after all? Hajime thought sadly to himself. It was, of course. He was the one who’d driven a pile bunker into Tio.

Yeah, I guess I can’t really deny this one. Hajime gave Tio a waning smile.

“What’s wrong, Master?”

“…It’s nothing. Anyway, you go change too.”

“Mmm, very well… Though I would not mind if you were to change me yourself, Master. Feel free to clean me up as well, if you wish.”

Tio gave Hajime an expectant look as he transmuted another changing room for her.

What happened to reining it in? Hajime pulled a grenade out of his Treasure Trove.

“Is that so? Well in that case, how about I blow all that dirt right off you?”

“Ah!? I-I shall change right away!” Tio shook her heard and ran into the changing room.

As he watched the failure of a dragon run off, Hajime was once again reminded that her “condition” was his responsibility. He smiled ruefully to himself and shook his head.

Soon enough, everyone had cleaned themselves up and changed into fresh clothes. As usual, Kouki, Suzu, and even Ryutarou were depressed at their inability to overcome the trial. They hunched forward, as if carrying a basket of stones on their back, and black clouds followed them wherever they went. They remembered everything they’d done under the influence of the hypnosis. Tio had hypothesized that this trial of pleasure was one that was meant to test the bonds between comrades, and Kouki, Suzu, and Ryutarou’s reaction seemed to be proof that she was right. Kouki and Ryutarou were unable to meet Shizuku or Suzu’s eyes, and kept their distance. Suzu, too, was blushing bright red and hiding behind Shizuku. Shizuku tried to patch things up between her friends, but she was having a hard time thinking of something to say. Not only had she nearly assaulted her friends, but she’d also revealed her own perverseness. That kind of trauma wasn’t easy to recover from. There was no way to address the fact that they’d all nearly sexually assaulted each other without it being awkward. And naturally, Kouki and the others couldn’t help but feel guilty about it. Suzu especially. Not only had she nearly assaulted her friends, but she’d also revealed her own pervertedness. That kind of trauma wasn’t easy to recover from.

“Suzu, let’s just forget all about this. There’s nothing you could have done. And the whole incident ended without anyone doing something they’d really regret, so it’s better just to never think about it again. I mean everyone has a few skeletons in the closet, right?”

“Shizushizu…”

“Look, even I’ve done things I’d rather not remember. There was this one time I went to the 18+ corner of a store and got into an argument about the girls on the cover of this one porn game! Just thinking about how the other guys in the store looked at me… is enough to make me depressed…”

Incidentally, the cause of that whole affair had been Kaori. The person Shizuku had been arguing with was also Kaori. After that little incident, the two of them had been banned from the store. Quite a depressing outcome.

Hajime and the others all looked at Kaori.

“Don’t look at me…” she whimpered and covered her face in shame.

“Shizushizu, you like porn games?”

“No, I don’t! That was just an unfortunate accident.”

“…Hahaha. I can’t imagine you ever arguing about a porn game, Shizushizu… Kukuku.”

“I can’t believe you’d laugh at me like that, Suzu…”

Despite her words, Shizuku seemed relieved that Suzu had returned to normal. Shizuku knew normal means of comforting Suzu wouldn’t have worked, so she’d reluctantly dug up one of the buried events of her dark past and tried to share in Suzu’s embarrassment. And from the looks of it, her self-sacrifice had paid off splendidly.

Shizuku really was a master at looking after others. She didn’t even hesitate to throw herself under the bus in order to make them feel better. Hajime, Yue, Shea, and Tio all applauded Shizuku’s admirable efforts. Seeing that Suzu had recovered, Kouki forced himself past his shame and looked up at Hajime.

“Nagumo… Sorry for causing you trouble. And thanks for stopping us.”

“Yeah, thanks for the save, Nagumo. You saved our hides.”

Ryutarou looked up and thanked Hajime as well.

“Yeah, you better be grateful. Never forget the debts that you owe me. Because you’ll be paying them back by being my meat shields when the time comes. You better not try and skip out on me. Because I’ll chase you down to the ends of the earth if that’s what it takes.”

Hajime sounded completely like a yakuza member shaking down a poor debtor. But he was deadly serious. If Kouki or Ryutarou tried to avoid repaying their debts, Hajime really would chase them down to the ends of the earth. He wasn’t one to help someone he didn’t like for free. Kouki and Ryutarou smiled sadly at each other. They’d been swindled through and through by Hajime. Still, Hajime had saved them from committing a crime they knew they’d regret for the rest of their lives, so even if the debt was large, it had been worth incurring.

“Yaegashi, Taniguchi, what’s with the sympathetic looks? You do realize you’re in the same boat as them, right?”

“What!?”

Shizuku and Suzu both jumped. Their faces fell, and their expressions matched Kouki and Ryutarou’s. They looked at Hajime as if he were a loan shark from hell. The camaraderie they felt at being Hajime’s debtors did a good job of wiping away any lingering awkwardness they felt around each other.

The party resumed their journey and made it the rest of the way to the tree without any more attacks from slimes. Like every other large tree they’d seen thus far, this one had an opening leading into its hollow trunk. As usual, once they stepped inside the hollow closed in around them and a magic circle appeared at their feet. There was a familiar blinding flash of light, and the group was teleported once more.

“Hm? We did teleport, right?”

“Yeah… Hajime, look. There’s an exit.”

The place they’d been taken to was the inside of another tree trunk. It looked identical to the one they’d entered so for a moment Hajime thought they hadn’t teleported at all, but then Yue pointed to the one difference between this tree and their old one. This time, too, everyone had safely been teleported together. Hajime’s Demon Eye didn’t sense any fakes. Meaning whatever was waiting for them lay up ahead. Hajime nodded to his comrades and stepped out of the tree trunk. What he saw shocked him speechless. After a few seconds, he finally found his voice.

“This looks… just like Verbergen.”

Yue nodded in agreement. Outside the tree, there was a single passage. But it was no normal passage. It was a giant tree branch that extended out from the tree they’d just exited. The branch was easily five meters wide. Hajime gazed back and saw the tree’s trunk was wider than he could measure. The fact that they were next to one of its branches meant they had to be a good way up in the air.

Hajime looked around and saw that their branch entwined around various others jutting out from other trees, creating a web of crisscrossing wooden paths. Hajime had described it as the same as Verbergen’s aerial pathways, but Verbergen’s didn’t hold a candle to these. These were much larger, much grander, and much more complex. Their twisting patterns created optical illusions that made the maze of branches appear even more complex than it was.

“I’m… pretty sure we’re still underground, but…”

High above them, a stone ceiling covered the sky. At the very center of this underground space towered a tree so massive it appeared to be a pillar connecting heaven and earth. Its top wasn’t visible, meaning that it rose up above the ceiling. There was only one tree Hajime had seen that was that large.

“Is that the Grand Tree?” Yue muttered.

Shea nodded.

“I believe so. This must be the space directly underneath the Grand Tree.”

“But that means the part we saw on the surface was just…”

Kaori’s voice trembled a little. The vast scale of the Grand Tree had shaken her. Tio scratched her chin and spoke her hypothesis.

“I see… This is undoubtedly Uralt. If there are branches growing down here, then that would mean the tree’s roots lie even further underground. Meaning the part of the tree visible from the surface is little more than the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. To think there were things in this world that could surprise me even now, after all these centuries. I never dreamed the Grand Tree spanned such a distance.”

“H-How big do you think it is in total?” Kouki asked timidly.

No one had an answer. Everyone looked up at the ceiling, overwhelmed by the size of the tree. Though they couldn’t see through the ceiling, they could easily imagine it sprawling ever upward toward the surface. For a few minutes, everyone stood there in awed silence.

The silence was broken when Shea’s bunny ears twitched. She’d picked up on something. Then, she strained her senses, trying to figure out where the sound had come from. She could just barely make out a faint, somewhat unpleasant rustling noise coming from below.

Goosebumps rose on her arms, and she scrunched up her face in annoyance. Her ears and tail stood on end. Confused as to why her body was reacting like this, Shea peeked down over the edge of the branch.

“Hmm, it’s too dark to make out what’s down there… Maybe if I use body strengthening on my eyes, I’ll—”

Shea used body strengthening to improve her eyesight, then froze in place.

“What’d you see, Shea?”

She didn’t respond. The hair on her ears and tail puffed out far more than it ever had before. In fact, her tail now looked twice as large as it normally did. Like the rest of her, it was also frozen in place.

Wondering what could have gotten her so riled up, Hajime peered over the branch himself. The combination of Night Vision and Farsight allowed him to see the ground below with perfect clarity. But for once, that was a curse, not a blessing. Like Shea, he stiffened up.

“H-Hajime? What did you see?”

“Hajime-kun!?”

“M-Master, are you alright?”

Seeing Hajime get goosebumps made Yue and the others exceedingly worried. Hajime turned around, his neck creaking like a badly-oiled door.

When they saw his expression, even Kouki and the others looked shocked. The arrogant, fearless monster of the abyss had gone white as a sheet. What on earth did he see?

Hajime looked at Yue for a few seconds then muttered “Ahhh, I can feel myself being cleansed,” to himself.

“…There’s a devil down there. A real, bonafide devil.”

“Devil?”

Everyone tilted their heads in confusion. Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu all muttered, “Well there’s definitely a devil up here at least,” simultaneously, their gazes piercing through Hajime. Hajime responded by glaring them to tears.

“Umm, Nagumo-kun? By devil… do you mean that devil?”

Shizuku spared a glance at Kouki, who was still in tears, before turning to Hajime. The image of the biblical devil flashed across her mind. Hajime picked up on what she was referring to and shook her head.

“No, this devil’s way worse. The devil of hell’s nothing compared to this guy. You’ve all seen this devil before… The black devil that dwells in kitchen corners, I mean…”

Hajime’s description only made Kouki and the others more confused. In response, Hajime pulled out a single Cross Bit and sent it down below. He then pulled up a small crystal display to show everyone what its sensors picked up on. Yue and the others crowded around, and as soon as the blurry image came into focus—

“Aaah!?”

There were dozens of them. And for each one that was visible, there were likely dozens more. The terrifying devils whose name started with C. They scuttled around the ground, spreading chaos in their wake. From shadow to shadow they crawled, these devils who were sturdier than any other living creature. Whether in Tortus or on earth, these devils possessed the unique magic capable of striking fear into the hearts of all. The bane of mothers and restaurant owners everywhere.

Cockroaches.

Down below, hundreds, no thousands, no millions of them scuttled about. It was a veritable sea of black. They surged and swelled, creating artificial waves in their artificial sea. The sound they made was one only cockroaches ever did.

“H-How could you show that to us…”

“Bleh, there’s so many of theeem.”

The blood drained from Shizuku and Suzu’s faces. And like Hajime, goosebumps had risen on their arms. Kouki and Ryutarou turned away with a groan, struggling not to throw up. Returning to her senses, Shea covered her ears with both hands and squatted down, trembling. Tio was in better shape, but not by much. Kaori, on the other hand, had completely fainted.

“Hajime, burn it all down,” Yue muttered dangerously.

Kaori’s eyes snapped open, and she sat straight up. Apparently, she agreed with Yue this time. Though there was fear in her eyes, it was joined by a burning hatred. She was the most eager to see these monstrosities punished.

“I’m gonna disintegrate them all!” she whispered furiously.

“I think we’d better not. Look at how many there are… What if some of them escape and come up to us?”

“……”

The thought of countless cockroaches rushing at them chilled them to the bone. Both Yue and Kaori lost any will to fight. Just imagining what could happen had broken them.

“We’ll be fine as long as we don’t fall… I hope. Let’s just keep going and get out of here. If we stick around too long, they might come after us.”

Everyone nodded, suddenly serious. Their expressions were much sterner than usual. The party advanced across the sturdy branches.

Their first checkpoint was a spot in the distance where four branches met to form a large platform. They moved cautiously, afraid that the cockroach swarm would assault them at any turn, but they made it across multiple branches without incident. Soon enough, they’d arrived at their destination. The platform was about the size of a residential park, meaning it was large enough to take a short break on.

“Now then, let’s see what we can find… See anything guys?”

“Mmm… Not really.”

“Nothing here.”

“Nagumo. What if what we’re looking for’s on the other side of the tree?”

As the group discussed where to head next, they were suddenly interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. The sound they’d feared the most. Judging from how loud it was, it wasn’t just a few pairs of wings either.

“Ah!?”

The party’s expressions froze, and they hurried over to the edge of the platform and looked down. As they’d feared, the tidal wave of cockroaches was climbing their way up to them.

“Fuuuuuuck!”

“Mmm!? Draconic Thunder.”

“Get away from meeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”

“Nooooooooooooooo! Disintegrate, disintegrate, disintegrate!”

“Begone, foul creatures! Dragonbreath!”

Everyone’s hair stood on end, and they fired off their strongest attacks in a panic. Hajime unleashed a barrage of rockets from his Orkans, Yue summoned her Draconic Thunder, Shea fired off explosive slugs one after another, Kaori sent down a wave of disintegration, and Tio unleashed her malefic breath. Kouki and the others fired off their best long-range attacks as well. Everyone except Shizuku, who looked like she was about to faint.

Fortunately, their overpowered firepower was effective. Countless crimson flowers blossomed in the darkness below, rimmed with crackling electricity. The space in between was filled with pale blue ripples and beams of silver and black. The occasional white flash could be seen as well, bearing down like God’s wrath itself. It was a one-sided elimination. The amount of death and destruction Hajime and the others were unleashing was greater than that any army on earth could muster.

Unfortunately, their barrage barely put a dent in the ungodly number of cockroaches. The party’s best efforts didn’t even slow the black wave’s inexorable advance. It was like trying to fight the ocean. The cockroaches flew in perfect formation, fanning out to the right and left to cover any avenues of escape.

“Ugh! L-Let this be a holy ground that d-d-denies thine enemies passage— Hallowed Ground!” Suzu erected a barrier in tears.

The wave of cockroaches flew up above Hajime and the others, then, as if being pulled down by gravity, crashed into them as one solid mass. The party’s field of vision was filled with wriggling black bodies. Many of the cockroaches were squished on impact and left disgusting brown streaks as their bodies slid down the barrier. Those that survived crawled all around the barrier’s surface, seeking for a way in.

“I-I can’t—”

Disgusted beyond reason, Suzu fainted. Kouki rushed over to Suzu and grabbed her as she fell.

“Suzu, don’t fall asleep! If you fall asleep it’s all over for us!”

That was no exaggeration. If the party was swallowed up by that wave of cockroaches, they would no doubt be utterly broken mentally. No amount of ancient magic could wipe away the trauma of an event like that.

“Yue, we need a backup barrier.”

“Okay… I won’t let them break this one!” Yue deployed her own Hallowed Ground that overlapped with Suzu’s.

“It’s just one thing after another in this labyrinth…”

“Indeed. I see now why this labyrinth requires challengers to have cleared other ones first. It appears to be much more difficult than the rest.”

Though her expression was stiff, Tio was still able to calmly analyze their situation. Kaori, who was trembling in the back, screamed.

“L-L-Less analyzing and more killing!”

Shizuku turned to Kaori with a heartfelt smile and attempted to calm her best friend down. It was hard to believe she’d fainted just moments before.

“Kaori, don’t worry. Those things are just flecks of black sesame. You know, I really like black sesame pudding and black sesame rice. Black sesame rice with soy sauce is especially delicious.”

“Oh no, Shizuku-chan’s broken down!”

Shizuku’s eyes had indeed glazed over. Realizing they had no choice but to annihilate them all, Hajime rubbed his arms and opened up his Treasure Trove. Before he could pull anything out though, the cockroaches started to pull back. Confused, Hajime watched as they formed a sphere in the mid-air. A few of them split off and created a ring around the giant sphere. More split off and created a second ring around the first. From there, cockroaches started creating lines connecting the two rings to each other at various points. Hajime’s lips twitched as he watched them create geometric shapes within the rings one after another.

“Hey, are you serious…? Are they really making a magic circle?”

This isn’t good. Hajime’s instincts warned him it was dangerous to let the cockroaches finish. Hajime and the others fired an even fiercer barrage at the mass of cockroaches, but those not part of the magic circle threw themselves forward to block the attacks. They were literally meat shields. Hundreds of thousands of cockroaches dropped dead every second, yet the mass didn’t seem to be shrinking at all.

Before long, the cockroaches’ magic circle was complete. It spanned 15 meters in diameter and was glowing a dark red. The sphere it surrounded started pulsing, like a massive, disgusting egg about to hatch. The cockroaches on the outer shell of the cockroach egg were pushed outward and fell to their deaths.

And finally, the egg burst…

Finally, the egg burst, revealing a massive, three-meter long, giant cockroach. It didn’t look like the regular, oval-shaped cockroaches that were flying around either. No, it looked like some horrifying cross between a human and a cockroach.

Six spiked limbs jutted out from its torso. The limbs themselves were like that of a cockroach’s, but the very ends had fingers like they were human hands. Each of those fingers was a razor-sharp blade. The cockroach’s head was fitted with two pitch-black eyeballs and powerful mandibles. Three pairs of translucent wings sprouted from its back, and it had a tail near its waist. Considering how intimidating and blasphemous it looked, Hajime guessed that it was this floor’s final guardian.

“Gichichichichichi!”

It let out a revolting, inhuman scream, and wreathed itself in dark red mana. The cockroaches around it rearranged themselves and started creating another magic circle. It appeared the giant human-shaped one could control the others at will.

More cockroaches flew to the center of the magic circle and started creating multiple spheres. These were smaller than the ones that had created the human-shaped one, but they were still big enough that whatever came out of them would be trouble.

“Tch, like I’ll let— Wha!?”

“Mmm!?”

Hajime and Yue made to attack the cockroach swarm, but then stopped when they felt a vast torrent of mana at their feet. They both looked down, but at a glance, it seemed the platform they were on hadn’t changed at all. Hajime activated his Demon Eye and saw that another swarm of cockroaches had created another magic circle underneath the branches.

The other magic circle up in the sky was just a distraction to keep the party’s attention away from this one. And it had worked. Hajime only had time to curse before the magic circle beneath them activated. A pillar of dark crimson mana shot up from underneath the branches. It spiraled around them like a tornado, and Hajime was forced to cover his eyes from the intensity of its light. Then, there was a blinding crimson flash, and the entire room was filled with light.

After a few seconds, the light dispersed. Hajime looked down at himself and found he was unhurt.

“What on earth was that? Yue, are you—”

Upon seeing Yue, Hajime stopped mid-sentence, stunned. Was it because he’d been captivated by her, even in the middle of battle? No. The opposite, actually.

He was neither relieved at finding her safe, nor happy to see her. No, he was disgusted. Disgusted to the point that he was filled with hatred. For the first time in his life, Hajime felt that way toward Yue. And from the looks of it, Yue felt the same way. Her mouth was twisted into a faint snarl, and there was murder in her eyes.

“Yue.”

“Hajime…”

They both frowned in displeasure at the same time.

“I fucking hate you.”

“I wish I could kill you.”

Neither of them bothered to hide their disdain. At the same time, they drew their weapons. Hajime pointed Donner at Yue’s forehead, while she pointed a hand glowing with pale blue flames at his chest.

Just barely, the two of them managed to stop themselves from firing. Something in their memories told them this situation was wrong. Had it not been for their instincts, they would likely have tried to kill each other.

“Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing you two?” Shea interrupted their charged glaring contest with an angry yell. However, it wasn’t because she was trying to stop them from killing each other.

“The hell do you think you’re doing, playing around in the middle of a battle? I’ll murder you worms!” In fact, she seemed more than ready to join in herself. Her eyes held nothing but hatred. She tapped Drucken threateningly against her shoulder. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were in a life-and-death battle in the middle of a labyrinth, she would have attacked them already.

“Who the hell do you think you’re talking to, worthless rabbit!”

“I’ll tear your ears off…”

Hajime felt a hatred for Shea nearly as great as his hatred for Yue. It appeared Yue felt the same way, as she was reaching threateningly for Shea’s ears.

However, they were all aware of the fact that they were in the middle of a battlefield. Inside a labyrinth no less. Hajime mentally berated himself for letting his feelings get the better of him and examined his surroundings.

A truly bizarre spectacle was playing out before him. Tio and Kaori were glaring daggers at Yue and Shea. And to his surprise, Hajime found he abhorred the two of them too. So much so that he contemplating assassinating them in the middle of the fight.

There was something incredibly odd going on here. Hajime couldn’t remember ever hating anyone in his party before. In fact, he distinctly remembered coming to trust each of them implicitly after all the trials they’d overcome together. And yet, just recalling those memories filled him with hate. Just as Hajime’s anger was about to boil over, he heard a passionate voice behind him.

“H-Hey, what do you guys think you’re doing!? I won’t let you lay a finger on Nagumo!”

Kouki, of all people, had rushed to Hajime’s defense. Yue and the others glared at him. For whatever reason, Kouki was looking at Hajime with something akin to worship in his eyes.

Hajime looked away, disgusted. However, he didn’t feel any inexplicable hate or love for Kouki. That knowledge helped him calm down a little, and examine his irrational feelings more carefully.

Fortunately, Yue and Suzu’s barriers were still active. Otherwise, they would have been swallowed up by the swarm of cockroaches while they were still bickering. But while the group was arguing, the human-shaped cockroach continued to organize the others into spheres and magic circles, creating more miniature versions of itself. While the human-shaped one was horrific because of its exaggerated features, the miniature ones were disgusting to look at because their appearance was a cross between the human-shaped one and normal cockroaches.

They were best categorized as half-human-shaped. And the human-shaped boss was mass-producing them with unbelievable speed. If the human-shaped one was their king, then these half-human-shaped ones were its knights and the tiny regular ones foot soldiers.

Regardless, the primary reason Hajime and the others were able to argue like this at all was that Suzu and Yue’s barriers were keeping them safe. However, that might not remain the case once the human-shaped cockroach began attacking in earnest. Hajime forced his hate-filled brain to think, and finally, he realized what the source of everyone’s inexplicable feelings was. Going by how everyone was acting, he was certain his guess was correct.

“Looks like that last spell reversed our feelings on everything. And these reversed feelings are as strong as their original counterparts.”

“Yeah… It pisses me off that I agree with you… but that seems likely.”

Yue nodded with a frown. The other girls all agreed as well, displeasure oozing from every pore.

“I understand now. This trial is a test to see if we can overcome our reversed emotions through the strength of the bonds we’ve forged, or failing that, continue to place our trust in each other despite our mutual dislike… This is quite the nasty ordeal. Especially since the stronger your bonds are, the greater the hatred you’ll feel when those feelings are reversed. Worst of all though…”

Tio trailed off and turned toward the half-human-shaped cockroaches swarming outside the barrier, her face slightly flushed. Hajime and the others followed her gaze and found themselves at a loss for words. Kaori was the first to break the silence.

“They’re beautiful…” she whispered, her eyes glistening.

And therein lay the problem. These black devils that they normally detested more than anything was their enemy. But right now, all Hajime and the others could think about was how lovely they appeared to be. Naturally, they still distinctly remembered trying to eradicate the swarm. But their feelings regarding these monsters had been reversed too. The fact that Hajime felt as if he actually liked these cockroaches was proof enough that his theory was correct.

Not only would their coordination be hampered by their mutual hatred for each other, but they would also unconsciously hold back against enemies they’d suddenly come to love. At the very least, that was likely Haltina’s aim. That would explain why they’d picked cockroaches to serve as the challengers’ enemy too; there was no other creature so universally hated. While the party bickered amongst themselves, they would slowly be drowned under a sea of cockroaches or ripped apart by the human-shaped and half-human-shaped elites. For any normal party, this trial would be a death sentence. However, Hajime and his comrades were anything but normal.

“Yeah, they’re beautiful alright. I can’t believe we were trying to so hard to kill these cute things a second ago.”

“I love how they scuttle around on their little wriggly legs. And their shells are so impressive.”

Hajime and Yue smiled as they stared at the massive cockroach boss and the swarm surrounding it. The human-shaped cockroach looked, if anything, even more lovely to their eyes than its underlings. Right now, everyone present felt these creatures were cuter than any puppy or kitten. They could feel a desire to protect the adorable critters welling up within them. Who could possibly harm them when their eyes seemed to be pleading for mercy? And so—

“I could stare at them forever… Alright, time to kill them.”

“Yeah… They really are wonderful… Okay, let’s kill them.”

Hajime took Schlagen, his anti-material rifle, and fired. Yue cast the spatial magic Void Fissure. Two powerful attacks ripped through the swarm of cockroaches. Hajime’s piercing bullet shredded its way through everything in its path, whether that was Yue and Suzu’s barriers, or the thousands of cockroaches and hundreds of half-humanoid cockroaches protecting his target, the human-shaped boss.

“Gah!?” The human-shaped cockroach screamed and retreated. It fled at full-speed, sparing no thoughts for defense. Unfortunately, Hajime’s railgun-accelerated shots traveled too fast to dodge. He unleashed a barrage that devastated the human-shaped cockroach’s left half.

Schlagen’s bullets had so much force behind them that they went through even branches and trees in their path and embedded themselves in the cavern’s walls. A second later, the air blurred and warped. This was no vibration caused by a speeding bullet. No, space itself was shaking.

As Yue’s and Suzu’s barriers disappeared, the cockroaches flooded toward the party. However, no matter what direction they came from, they were instantly murdered and their corpses flung away. Shockwaves of spatial magic battered cockroaches in waves, obliterating the tiny ones, and crushing the half-human-shaped ones beyond recognition.

“Huh? What? What’s happening?”

Suzu looked around, confused. She couldn’t understand why her own comrades had destroyed her barrier, but then she noticed the enemies around her had all been destroyed. There was nothing black in sight, save for Tio’s clothes. Unfortunately, Hajime and Yue had only destroyed the cockroaches around them. There were still countless more climbing up the walls or scuttling around on the floor below. But that didn’t bother Hajime or Yue one bit.

“This is so sad. If only they weren’t our enemies, we wouldn’t have to kill them.”

“Truly, a shame…”

No matter how cute they looked. No matter how lovable they were. No matter how much they didn’t want to kill them. No matter how much they wanted to be their friends. It didn’t change the fact that these cockroaches were Hajime and Yue’s enemies. And the only thing that awaited their enemies was death. There was no room for sympathy or mercy.

Hajime’s eyes glinted with a murderous light and his lips curled up in a fearless smile. On the other hand, Yue’s gaze turned as cold as ice. She looked like a true vampire queen.

“Hey, pipsqueak. That big one’s mine. Don’t get in my way.”

“Who do you think you are? That prey is mine. Get in my way and I kill you.”

The two glared at each other, then simultaneously turned away with a “Hmph!” Hajime bent his legs in preparation for a jump while Yue floated into the sky. Another tidal wave of black bugs had risen up and was bearing down on the two of them. The human-shaped cockroach was at its center, trying to repair the damage Hajime had caused.

Shea, Kaori, and Tio called out to Hajime. But he wasn’t in any mood to listen. The only reply they got was a loud thud as Hajime leaped off the platform of branches. The wooden supports creaked and groaned, and a tiny crater remained at his leaping point.

Hajime had already turned into a speeding bullet by the time Shizuku and Suzu squealed in surprise. The wave of cockroaches rose up to swallow Hajime like one giant, wriggling maw. Hajime responded by wreathing himself in Diamond Skin and Lightning Field, causing him to glow crimson and emit sparks. At the same time, he deployed all seven of his Cross Bits. They whirled around him at high speed, firing their explosive slugs incessantly.

The roar of cannon fire filled Hajime’s ears and the slugs punched a series of holes into the great black mass. However, they weren’t enough to stop the wave’s advance. They didn’t need to, though. Any cockroaches that managed to latch on to Hajime were incinerated by his Lightning Field or repelled by his Diamond Skin and the speed of his flight. The wall of cockroaches didn’t even slow him down. The ripples of his Aerodynamic platforms resembled the passage of a skipping stone as he shot through the air. The human-shaped cockroach recoiled in surprise and attempted to escape from Hajime’s path.

“Man, everything it does is so cute… Oh well. Die.”

Hajime sped through the air faster than the eye could follow and planted a flying kick squarely in the cockroach’s chest. There was a thunderous roar of metal slamming against metal. Then Hajime landed lightly where the human-shaped cockroach had been standing, while the cockroach flew through the air so fast it looked like a blur. Without any means to slow itself down, it slammed painfully into the Grand Tree’s trunk. A second thunderous roar reverberated through the room. Judging from the noise, the Grand Tree’s trunk was far sturdier than any normal plant’s.

Despite that, the human-shaped cockroach was buried deep inside the trunk’s wood. There was a huge crater in its chest where Hajime had hit it, and white fluid leaked from its every orifice. But he wasn’t done yet. He pulled Orkan out of his Treasure Trove and took aim. He may have called it cute and adorable, but Hajime had no mercy for it despite that.

However, this cockroach was still the labyrinth’s final guardian. While it may have relied on underhanded trials to confuse Hajime’s party, it was no slouch when it came to combat. Before Hajime could pull the trigger, It unleashed a discordant shriek.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

A huge shadow loomed over Hajime. Looking up, he saw a group of tiny cockroaches forming a magic circle above him. Before he could react, black mist spewed from the circle. It didn’t stop there. Every tiny cockroach, whether it was part of the circle or not, began emitting the same black mist.

Hajime’s honed senses warned him that coming into contact with that mist would be a death sentence.

“Tch.”

Hajime brought his Cross Bits close and activated his spatial barrier, but there was no telling if it would finish deploying in time. Just then, Hajime heard a loud howl. A jade-green dragon made of wind swallowed up both Hajime and the cockroaches surrounding him.

Yue’s Storm Serpent. The dragon comprised of thousands of blades of wind held together by a gravity core near its jaw shredded all it came into contact with. At the same time, another dragon comprised of deep blue flames and one wreathed in a storm of electricity bore down from above, obliterating the cockroaches’ magic circle.

Her Sapphire Serpent and Draconic Thunder, twin dragons made of fire and gravity and lightning and gravity magic respectfully, had also entered the fray. They were like whales, swallowing up thousands of cockroaches in a single gulp.

However, that wasn’t all, as another dragon, this one made of crystal clear ice, headed toward the weakened human-shaped cockroach.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!”

It let out another screech and jumped out of the way right before the ice dragon slammed into the Grand Tree. Ice spread across the tree’s trunk, and waves of frost assailed the cockroach.

This was a new composite spell of Yue’s, Frost Wyrm. Right as the cockroach cleared Yue’s Frost Wyrm, another one comprised of pure white smoke bore down on it from above.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiii!”

A horde of small cockroaches surrounded the human-shaped one, creating a sphere-shaped shield. The dragon unleashed a stream of white breath. Any cockroach the breath touched was petrified, turned to white marble. Bereft of the ability to fly, the petrified cockroaches dropped like hailstones.

This was another new composite spell of Yue’s, Stone Wyvern. Together, the five spells were known as Yue’s five heavenly dragons. Yue observed the carnage with an impassive eye and spoke in a flat voice.

“Did you die?”

Her wind dragon coiled itself around her as she tilted her head. And an angry voice replied from below.

“Just who were you trying to kill back there, huh? It better not have been me.”

Hajime used Aerodynamic to jump up to where Yue was floating. His clothes were in tatters. His barrier had deployed a split-second too late, and the Storm Serpent had chewed them up.

“Heh,” Yue smirked.

“Y-You little bitch. You were totally trying to kill me back there, weren’t you?”

“…It was just a joke. If it was that easy to kill you, someone would have done it ages ago.”

“Hmph, you make it sound like there’s a ton of people who want me dead. Don’t make me shoot you.”

“There’s definitely a ton of people who want you dead. Would you have preferred the lightning dragon?”

Hajime and Yue glared at each other. Regardless of her intentions, Hajime came out of the cockroaches’ mysterious attack safely because Yue had acted under the conviction that Hajime wouldn’t die to an attack of that level.

“It’s your fault for getting in my way. If you’re going to charge in so recklessly, you’re better off retreating.”

“Hah. You’re so full of it. That puny dragon of yours didn’t even scratch that cockroach. You’re the one who should get back.”

The two of them pushed their faces together so closely that their noses touched. The whole time, Yue’s fire and lightning dragons continued to incinerate the cockroaches above them. Her wind dragon’s umbrella of protective wind kept the rain of burnt bugs from falling onto the two of them.

From a distance, they looked like lovers huddling up next to each other to take shelter from a sudden downpour. They must have seemed that way to the human-shaped cockroach as well, since it let out an angry roar, furious that they were ignoring it. At the same time, it beat its six pairs of wings rapidly and shot out of its mostly-petrified shield of small cockroaches.

Its wings let out a strange, high-pitched whirr as it sped through the petrifying beam. Because of its ridiculous speed, it managed to push through with only its extremities petrified. The ice dragon and stone dragon chased after it, determined not to let their prey escape.

“Mmm… It’s fast.”

The dragons were unable to keep up with the cockroach’s inhuman velocity. It flew up toward the ceiling, where it had gathered another group of tiny cockroaches, and vanished into their midst.

A scant few seconds later, the thick mass of tiny cockroaches dispersed, revealing a completely unharmed human-shaped cockroach. There were no traces of the damage Hajime had dealt with Schlagen and his kick, or of the petrification and freezing Yue’s ice and stone dragons had caused.

“Is it absorbing the tiny ones to heal itself?”

“It was made from a group of small ones to begin with, so it makes sense.”

If the human-shaped cockroach could heal itself using its minions, then their situation suddenly grew desperate. Considering how many cockroaches covered the walls and floor, they’d be fighting forever. And thanks to their reversed emotions, their sense of desperation was transformed into admiration.

The human-shaped cockroach roared, signaling the start of the second round, and the beginning of its counterattack.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Black smoke spilled from its mouth. It was joined by its surrounding servants, who also started spewing black smoke.

Unconcerned, Hajime shouldered Orkan while Yue unleashed her five dragons at the cockroaches. In response, the black surrounding the cockroaches began to swirl around them in a spiral. The tornado of smoke then raced forward, toward Hajime and Yue.

“Tch.”

“Hmph…”

Trusting their instincts, Hajime and Yue chose to dodge the tornado rather than block it. They leaped in opposite directions, and the black tornado flew past them, right into one of the Grand Tree’s branches.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Hajime muttered.

His eyes narrowed as he watched the branch wither before his eyes. It shriveled up, turned black, and started to crumble away.

“Did it rot?” Yue mumbled to herself, a short distance away.

Her guess was right on the mark. The cockroaches’ black smoke eroded anything it touched. It was one hell of a dangerous weapon.

The human-shaped cockroach screeched again and flew toward Yue. Its tiny servants encircled the pair, preventing them from escaping.

The human-shaped cockroach was probably aiming for Yue first because it felt her dragons were more dangerous than Hajime’s weapons. Yue prepared to intercept the cockroach with her Storm Serpent, but then something unexpected occurred.

“Ah!?”

As if it had teleported, the human-shaped cockroach appeared right in front of her. In response, she used gravity magic to fall sideways, dodging the cockroach’s bladed fingers by a hair’s breadth. But despite the successful dodge, blood still spurted from Yue’s shoulder and side. Furthermore, she doubled over and started coughing up blood.

“Wind blades and a shockwave?”

Once again, Yue’s assessment was accurate. Upon closer inspection, she realized that the human-shaped boss was surrounded by a faint white aura. It was whizzing around so fast that it had broken the sound barrier. Its oscillating wings weren’t just to give it speed, but also to allow it to shoot out blades of wind as it passed, and to leave shockwaves in its wake. In the time it took Yue to process all that, the cockroach boss had already closed in for a second assault. Before it could slice at her again though, a missile slammed into it.

“Mmm!?”

“Kiiiiii!?”

There was a loud boom, followed by a massive explosion. Shockwaves of heat rolled over Yue. The human-shaped cockroach spun to the ground below, smoke trailing behind it. Its recently-healed body was covered in cracks and fissures.

Hajime clicked his tongue.

“Tch, couldn’t finish you off.”

“Who were you trying to kill back there? It wasn’t me, was it?”

Yue floated up behind Hajime and glared angrily at him. Her clothes were singed and covered in soot.

Thanks to her innate regenerative powers, so long as Yue had mana left she could recover from even getting her head chopped off. However, doing so required time and concentration. Meaning she was wide-open while she was regenerating fatal wounds. And since the human-shaped cockroach’s attack would have decapitated her, in a way Hajime’s missile had saved her. Broken bones and burns healed much faster than a missing head.

Of course, Yue was still pretty pissed at Hajime’s attempt to blow her up. Hence why she’d teleported behind Hajime and was now pointing a glowing blue finger at his back. Hajime turned toward her, Orkan still on his shoulder. Then, after a quick glance at her, he turned away.

A vein pulsed in Yue’s forehead, and she growled.

“You bastard. You really were trying to kill me.”

“It was just a joke. If it was that easy to kill you, someone would have done it ages ago.”

“Don’t make it sound like everyone wants to kill me.” Yue’s glare grew sharper, and she debated loosing her lightning dragon on Hajime. Their exchange was a perfect mirror of the time when Yue had tried to off Hajime. Though they were supposed to despise each other, it almost seemed as if they were good friends who happened to fight a lot. Not that anyone was brave enough to point that out.

Their glaring contest was interrupted by another high-pitched whirring. The two responded instantly. Hajime drew Donner and fired a full salvo while Yue unleashed a torrent of azure flames.

Crimson streaks and azure flames crossed each other in mid-air, then whizzed past Yue and Hajime’s faces. The half-humanoid cockroaches sneaking up behind Hajime and Yue were shot down without mercy.

Another wave of black bore down on the pair as they finished off the half-humanoids. This time, the tiny cockroaches were wreathed in the corrosive black smoke. And there were billions of them.

With a flick of Yue’s finger, her five dragons coiled themselves around her. Then, true to their name, they flew up toward the heavens.

“Mmm… Roar.” Yue snapped her fingers, and the five dragons unleashed their most powerful attacks.

With a thunderous howl, the lightning dragon burst apart, blooming into a radiant electric flower.

With an explosive howl, the fire dragon burst apart, scattering flames of destruction everywhere.

With a stormy howl, the wind dragon burst apart, throwing thousands of razor-sharp wind blades in all directions.

With a rumbling howl, the earth dragon burst apart, coating the cockroaches in white.

With an icy howl, the ice dragon burst apart, sending shockwaves of sub-zero temperatures through the army of cockroaches.

The five dragons’ howls scattered the putrid miasma and destroyed most of the cockroaches surrounding the human-shaped one.

“Kiiiiiiiii!” It charged Yue, who was still staring at the ceiling. Seemed it had already used its underlings to heal itself again.

However, Yue predicted the attack and canceled her gravity magic, falling safely out of reach. As she fell, Hajime locked on to the boss from the other side.

There was a single loud bang, and five streaks of crimson light shot out of his revolver. He’d aimed for the cockroach’s head, heart, stomach, and both shoulders with pinpoint accuracy.

Its figure blurred as the bullets passed harmlessly through it. Hajime had ended up hitting the cockroach’s afterimage. It accelerated even further and flew behind Hajime.

Four arms bore down on him, each covered in blades of wind and the black mist of death.

“Hmph… I knew you’d try that.”

Hajime spun Donner around with a flick of his wrist and fired at the enemy behind him. His last remaining bullet punched through the cockroach’s shoulder, fouling its aim and causing half of its slashes to miss. Hajime blocked the remaining two arms by twisting to the side and using Orkan as a shield.

The cockroach pushed against Hajime, trying to force its way through. But in seconds, Orkan’s surface started to corrode due to the black mist’s influence. Before it could wither away entirely, Hajime threw it back into his Treasure Trove.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Thrown off-balance by the sudden move, the human-shaped cockroach pitched forward. Hajime pressed Schlagen’s muzzle against its flank and fired multiple rounds. He did it all so fast it was hard to tell when he’d even taken Schlagen out of his Treasure Trove.

The monster’s shape blurred again, and it retreated at top speed. Despite its inhuman reaction times, it hadn’t been able to dodge all the shots, and there was a single hole in its stomach. Hajime spun his revolver’s barrel as he reloaded and muttered to himself.

“I guess this is supposed to simulate a battle with one of God’s Apostles.”

The human-shaped cockroach seemed to be the Liberators’ approximation of what a fight with an apostle would be like. Since anyone challenging these labyrinths would eventually find themselves facing real apostles, the Liberators had created a trial where one faced something similar.

The corrosive smoke was similar to an apostle’s disintegration. Its near limitless regenerative abilities were similar to their bottomless reserves of mana. Its wind blades were similar to their twin greatswords. And its army of tiny cockroaches was similar to their barrage of feathers. Even its speed rivaled that of an apostle.

No wonder this labyrinth required you to have cleared four others first.

As far as Hajime could tell, the human-shaped cockroach was a bit weaker than Noint had been, but it still posed quite a threat. Had they fought this monster right after escaping the abyss, Hajime and Yue might have found themselves overwhelmed.

“Bring it on,” Hajime spat as the cockroach sped toward him faster than the speed of sound.

With Yue’s dragons gone, it had determined that Hajime was the greater threat. Recalling his fight with Noint, Hajime chose to backstep out of the cockroach’s way, rather than face it head-on. However, retreating a few meters wasn’t going to be enough to get out of the monster’s way.

From an observer’s point of view, Hajime’s flight might have appeared panicked, but there was a good reason for his actions.

“Kiii!?”

The moment after Hajime pulled back, lances of lightning shot up underneath the spot he’d been standing on. The human-shaped cockroach, who’d just reached that same spot, was struck by the barrage. Two of its arms and four of its wings were ripped to shreds.

The loss of its wings caused its speed to drop, and Hajime took advantage of that opening to bombard it with Donner and Schlag. The cockroach jerked back and forth like a ragdoll as bullets blasted through it.

A second later, it burst apart, like a popped balloon. All that remained now were the tiny regular cockroaches.

“Did we get it?”

“I’m not sure. I definitely destroyed all the mana crystals inside it, but…”

Mana crystals were like the heart of a monster. The human-shaped cockroach had possessed multiple, likely because it was comprised of hundreds of tiny ones. It was because Hajime had shot through all of them that it had dispersed into its component mini-cockroaches again.

However, Hajime didn’t let his guard down. He looked up at the ceiling with his Demon Eye, and as he’d feared, he spotted numerous pinpricks of crimson light.

Yue followed his gaze and watched as dozens of new human-shaped cockroaches emerged from the roiling mass. It appeared just beating one cockroach wouldn’t be enough to clear this trial.

“Looks like I guessed right.”

“Yeah… An army of Kaoris. It’s like a nightmare.”

While they were meant to be facsimiles of apostles, calling them Kaoris was a bit rude to her. Either way, this proved Hajime’s theory. This trial was meant to be a simulation for when labyrinth challengers would eventually need to face Ehit’s army.

Once they’d marshaled their forces, all 50 human-shaped cockroaches rushed at Yue and Hajime. and as that happened, two of them looked at each other and snapped at each other.

“Don’t get in my way.”

“That’s my line.”

They wrapped themselves in crimson and golden mana respectively, a dangerous glint in their eyes. Then, they greeted the monsters’ charge with fearless smiles and lined up side by side. It was hard to believe their feelings really had been reversed.

Let us turn back time to a few minutes ago. Right after Hajime and Yue left to fight the human-shaped cockroach, another wave of black monsters assaulted Shea and the others still on the platform. Suzu hurriedly attempted to put up another barrier, but then hesitated.

“……”

Right now, the cockroaches swarming toward her seemed unbearably cute. They were as irresistible as a litter of kittens coming to play. To shut them out with a barrier would be too cruel. After all, all Suzu wanted was to frolic with them.

“Hey, Suzu!?” Shizuku screamed.

Shizuku couldn’t stand this girl at the best of times, and now she was trying to shirk her duties? Unacceptable. For a moment, Shizuku debated chopping Suzu’s braids off in punishment, but she knew now wasn’t the time for that.

“Rise up, O furious gale— Purgatory Blaze!”

An instant before the black wave swallowed the group, a blazing tornado rose up to protect them.

The spiral of flames was so large it covered the entire platform they were standing on. Though they were massive in number, the small cockroaches were still just cockroaches. Unable to withstand the whirlwind of fire, they died one after another as the wave tried to crash through and failed.

“Pull yourselves together, girls. Did you forget why you came here? It certainly wasn’t to give yourselves up to the enemy, was it?”

Tio’s words were a huge wake-up call not just for Suzu, but also for Kouki. He started and turned to Tio. She had her hands out in front of her and was glaring sharply at Suzu and the others.

“S-Sorry,” Suzu mumbled.

“Save your apologies. Right now, you need to focus on doing your duty. A Barrier Master’s job is to protect their comrades, is it not?”

“Y-Yes!”

Though Suzu held no particular love for Tio right now, Tio’s words still resonated within her, and she found herself nodding. For some reason, even though she was a hopeless pervert everyone currently hated, no one could ignore the weight behind Tio’s words.

“She’s actually acting like the legendary dragonwoman she’s supposed to be!” Shea exclaimed.

She stared in wonder at Tio.

“Who are you!?” Kaori whispered as she brandished her greatsword at Tio. She looked as if she’d just encountered some incomprehensible creature. At that, Tio’s lips twitched as she spoke.

“I-Is there no limit… to your disrespect? Well, I suppose I deserve it considering how I normally act. However, that’s not important right now! My spell’s nearing it’s limit, so the rest of you need to get your act together!”

Though they still couldn’t believe how reliable Tio was being, Shea and Kaori both turned their attention to the problem at hand.

A second later, Tio’s spiral of flames vanished. Shea and Kaori prepared to intercept another wave of cockroaches, but they found the area around the platform empty.

“Hm? Oh, they went to deal with those two.”

Shea looked up, where Hajime and Yue were in the middle of dueling the human-shaped cockroach. Despite the sheer numbers the cockroaches possessed, they couldn’t afford to split their forces when it came to fighting those two. Either that or they were unable to take action independent of the human-shaped cockroach’s orders now.

Either way, Shea was glad that the cockroaches’ attention wasn’t focused on them. Neither she nor Kaori were good at handling large numbers at once. Though it irked her to no end that it was thanks to Hajime and Yue that she could take it easy.

But while her burden was lessened, it didn’t mean she had no enemies to face. In fact, the stronger enemies had been left to Shea’s group. They had to deal with the swarm of half-human-shaped cockroaches, each of which was half the size of the human-shaped one.

There were already 200 of them, and more were spawning every second. Before long, they blotted out Shea’s view and she could only catch glimpses of Hajime and Yue’s fight. It wouldn’t take much more time before even those few gaps were closed up.

“Hey, wait, I don’t care how awesome those things look. If we don’t fight them here, we’re screwed.”

Cold sweat poured down Ryutarou’s back. However, it seemed he’d managed to shake off his misgivings about fighting creatures he found cute. He raised his fists and fell into a combat stance.

“What, you’re really gonna fight them!?” Kouki looked at Ryutarou as though his friend were insane.

Irritated by Kouki’s half-assed attitude, Shizuku snarled.

“Kouki, stop spacing out. You heard Nagumo-kun, didn’t you? Our feelings have been reversed. What you’re feeling right now isn’t real. And if we don’t fight here, we’ll die.”

“I-I know, but… Oh yeah, Nagumo’s here! All we have to do is focus on defense, and he’ll handle everything for us!”

Wasn’t the whole reason you came here because you couldn’t stand to rely on him for everything!? Shizuku thought as she glared at Kouki. He winced, but held his ground. After all, he trusted Hajime far more than he did Shizuku. As he was about to argue back, the half-humanoid cockroaches charged the group. Their time limit was up.

There was no more time to think about what to do. The one to kick off their battle was naturally Shea.

“Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!” She loosed a deafening war cry, channeling all of her negative feelings into this one strike. A large red sphere appeared in the air in front of her, and she smacked it with all of her might. The air itself shook as Drucken sent her kendama flying like a massive cannonball.

Any cockroaches in its path were crushed to a pulp, leaving a huge hole in the cockroaches’ encirclement.

“Stop ignoring me, you little devil!”

It appeared Shea was still mad at Yue and Hajime. She couldn’t stand how they’d just ignored her and went off to battle by themselves. She leaped into the sky, leaving a crater as big as Hajime’s on the platform below. Shooting through the opening she’d made with her kendama, she headed for where Hajime and Yue were fighting. However, the half-human-shaped cockroaches swarmed in from all sides to stop her.

“I don’t have time to play with you guys! Get lost!”

Shea blushed a little as she watched the mass of half-humanoids surround her. But while she was glad for the attention they were giving her, she didn’t hesitate to send their speeding frames flying with a thwack from Drucken. The cockroaches flew around the cavern like pinballs.

As their bodies were sturdier than the mini-cockroaches, they were surprisingly bouncy. The noise they made when Drucken smacked into them was almost comical. Soon enough, the air was filled with whizzing, crushed corpses. And not a single one of them touched Shea.

Even when they tried to surround themselves in corrupting miasma, one strike from Drucken was all it took to obliterate them. The cockroaches then attempted a simultaneous assault from all directions, but found themselves swept aside by Shea’s kendama.

She was tearing through them like a howling gale. No enemy could hope to withstand the combination of her warhammer and kendama.

“Nnnnnngh! I wish I had as much mass destructive power as the others!”

In the end, though, Shea was still a close-combat fighter. While numbers could never truly overwhelm her, neither could she mow them down efficiently. She glanced over and saw Hajime and Yue fighting together even as they fought each other, and puffed her cheeks out in jealousy.

A few cockroaches tried to jump on her while she was distracted, but she just blew them away with a casual roundhouse kick. The two half-humanoid monsters were blown away and joined the hundreds of others bouncing around the room. Kaori watched with unbridled jealousy as Shea blasted her way through the monsters.

“Amazing…” Kaori knew how strong Shea was, but this was the first time she’d seen the bunny girl fight so many enemies up close. She was so engrossed in watching Shea that Kaori forgot to fly off and try to join Hajime and the others herself. Of course, she continued to cut down the cockroaches that attacked her on the platform and mow down others with her silver feathers, so it wasn’t like she’d forgotten to fight.

But this is just… borrowed strength. Kaori’s old doubts rose to the surface.

“Did you not make your peace with those feelings in Melusine’s ruins?”

“Huh?”

Tio turned back to Kaori as she fired scattered shots of her breath to back up Kouki and the others. Kaori bristled at having been seen through so easily, but before she could protest, Tio continued.

“It matters not how you obtained it, the power in your hands is now yours to wield. Besides, you sacrificed your own body to obtain this strength, don’t belittle your own efforts.”

Shocked by Tio’s words, Kaori showed the merest hint of an opening. A single cockroach took advantage of that opening and flew in from above, but Tio casually shot it down with a wind blade. Her precision and focus were unparalleled.

“Be proud of yourself, Kaori. It is because of your own efforts that you are standing here with us.”

“Shut up… I don’t need you to tell me that, Tio.”

Even though she was supposed to hate Tio, Kaori couldn’t help but feel a little grateful. She only lashed out at Tio in a childish attempt to cover her own embarrassment. In order to distract herself from the warmth spreading through her chest, she redoubled her efforts to tear through the wave of cockroaches. A barrage of disintegration feathers tore through the monsters, breaking them apart.

Naturally, Tio saw through those feelings as well and continued with a small smile.

“Shea, too, is special in her own way. You would be better off not trying to compare yourself to her.”

Shea certainly was special. She was the only beastman who possessed mana, and even without that, her strength was abnormal. Kaori assumed that was what Tio was referring to, but Tio shook her head.

“No, I’m not referring to her abilities. I mean her fortitude.”

“Her fortitude?”

“Yes, her fortitude. Remember, Shea is a rabbit girl. Originally, she had no love for fighting.”

But she knew her wish would never have been granted if she didn’t fight.

“Through all the tears, through all the terror, she continued to press forward. All so that she could stand together with those she loved. While this world seems to have granted Kouki the title of hero…” Tio glanced up at Shea as she said that.

“I believe that neither he nor even Master are worthy of holding that title. If the word hero defines someone who possesses limitless courage, then no one is more deserving of that moniker than Shea Haulia.”

It surprised Kaori that Tio held that much respect for Shea. What surprised her even more though, was that Tio was able to voice such feelings in this situation.

“Hey, Tio. Shouldn’t your feelings be reversed too?”

Even as Tio conversed with Kaori, she continued to back up Kouki, who was still lacking the will to fight, and Ryutarou, who was slowly being overwhelmed. It was amazing how calm she was able to remain. It didn’t seem at all like her emotions had been reversed. Either that or Tio had secretly hated everyone all along.

“Hmph, I care not for you lot. In fact, I can feel displeasure welling up simply from talking to you. But what of it?”

“Huh?”

Tio turned her gaze back to Kaori. Kaori gulped, overwhelmed by the intensity in her eyes. Tio grinned, then turned around and unleashed another storm of breath at an oncoming army of cockroaches.

“Feelings alone… cannot hope to match the 500 years of experiences I’ve lived through.”

Her memories served as her guide, keeping Tio from being swayed by the reversal magic. She had long since grown out of the age where she let herself get swept along by temporary feelings. No matter what her current feelings were, so long as she retained her memories, Tio Clarence would never let herself be swayed by hate. Inside her, both love and hate, right and wrong, were eclipsed by the weight of her own experiences.

After wiping out another group of cockroaches Tio turned and stated her thoughts clearly.

“Compared to my duty, my feelings are of little importance. While I may despise you at the moment, my memories are telling me that you’re someone I wish to protect.”

Duty, obligation, and honor. Those were what drove Tio onward, and she would never betray that part of herself. And that was also why she wasn’t shaken.

“Kaori, I will protect you. I swear it on my pride as a black dragon, and on my job as a guardian.”

Tio spoke with the authority and dignity of a king. Kaori found herself captivated by the unwavering resolve in her eyes, and her lustrous black hair, fluttering in the breeze. She felt a deep sense of relief wash over her.

“I-I-I don’t need your protection! I can handle myself just fine!”

And so Kaori once again lashed out to hide her embarrassment. Unfortunately, she couldn’t hide the blush spreading up her face. In a way, the scariest part of this feeling-reversal magic was how cool it was making Tio seem.

Chances were, Tio had to suppress her own perversions in order to keep her feelings in check, which was why she seemed even more perceptive than usual. And when Tio wasn’t acting like a masochistic dog, she really was a reliable, cool, older sister.

Having once more found her resolve, Kaori made to leap off the platform and join Shea in her fight. The faster they were able to sweep away these half-human cockroaches and join Hajime and Yue’s battle, the better. Not because she wanted to help them, but because like Shea, she was pissed at them.

However, just before she could leap off, the unspeakable happened…

“Kyaaa!?”

“Ahhh!”

A familiar scream pierced her ears. She turned around, half on instinct, and saw Shizuku sprawled on the ground. It seemed she’d slipped on the fluids of the cockroaches she’d killed. A mistake like that was fatal. Another cockroach raised an arm wreathed in corrosive smoke.

However, Kouki was right next to her. He saw what had happened. Furthermore, Suzu was right behind her. Plus, Tio’s breath could easily handle a monster of that caliber.

None of those possibilities even entered Kaori’s mind though, and she acted faster than she could think. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of Shizuku, her greatsword held aloft.

“Ah… Kaori…”

“Shizuku-chan…” Even though she hadn’t needed to save Shizuku, even though other people were better positioned to do it, Kaori had rushed to her side anyway. She forgot all about her grudge against Hajime and Yue for leaving her behind. Her body moved on instinct, despite the fact that right now, Shizuku was someone she hated as much as Hajime. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she’d acted.

And as she did so, she felt her body grow lighter. The dark feelings that had been weighing her down ever since arriving here vanished. The corners of her lips naturally turned upward into a smile. It wasn’t the kind of smile you could show to someone you hate.

“On your feet, Shizuku-chan! This is no time to be resting!”

“Huh? Uh, okay.”

Kaori grabbed Shizuku’s hand and pulled her to her feet. Shizuku looked at her in shock, but Kaori had already turned back to engage another group of cockroaches.

“Don’t worry Shizuku-chan, I’ll protect you.”

“Ah…”

Shizuku thought back to the moment back in the royal palace, when she’d resigned herself to death. But the sword that had been meant to kill her never reached her. Her best friend, Kaori, sacrificed herself in order to save Shizuku. Even though Shizuku had sworn to protect Kaori, when it counted most she was the one who’d been protected. And because of that, her best friend had died. A sharp pain pierced her chest. At the same time, it felt as though some oppressive aura that had been shackling her until now vanished.

Shizuku turned her back to Kaori. Not because she hated her best friend, but because she trusted her. The two girls fought back-to-back, and Shizuku uttered words of gratitude.

“Thank you, Kaori. But don’t forget, I’ve got your back too.” She drew her katana in a flash of light, and her blade sliced through a cockroach with pinpoint precision.

“I know!”

A flurry of silver feathers shot forth. At the same time, Kaori’s healing magic enveloped the party, healing their wounds, their exhaustion, and restoring their mana.

“Tio, Shizuku-chan and I’ll take care of this side! You take care of that one!”

“As you wish!”

Tio reacted instantly, shifting her focus. Her gaze held a newfound respect for Kaori. The group spread themselves out in a triangle, with Tio handling one side, Kaori and Shizuku handling another, and Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu handling the last one. Even now, Kouki still hadn’t overcome his aversion to fighting the cockroaches. Ryutarou was trying, but his irritation with his comrades kept getting in his way, dulling his blows. Suzu, on the other hand, was having trouble matching her barrier’s positioning to her comrades’ sloppy movements.

Fortunately, Kaori, Tio, and Shizuku were able to cover for the three of them. That still left the area above them, but Shea had that covered.

“Uryaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

With a yell, she unleashed another pale blue shockwave of energy, blowing away the cockroaches descending on Kouki from above. Kaori looked up, smiling, and yelled.

“Shea!”

“Leave the skies to me!”

She’d given up on joining Hajime and Yue and had decided to assist her comrades down below. As for why, well, the blush on her face and her twitching ears made it obvious. She’d overheard Tio praising her. With her arrival, their offensive power skyrocketed. While there were more of them, the half-humanoid cockroaches were inferior versions of the human-shaped ones. Tio, Shea, and Kaori were more than a match for even an army of them. Such a weak foe couldn’t even be considered a trial.

50 human-shaped cockroaches bore down on Hajime and Yue. This meant they had to fight 50 approximations of an apostle. The monsters all left afterimages in their wake as they charged forward. Once they’d closed the distance a little, they fired out compressed pellets of corrosive smoke. Rather than dodge the fist-size spheres, Hajime pulled a massive black shield out of his Treasure Trove and blocked them head-on. The shield was large enough to cover both him and Yue and they huddled behind it as the hail of black smoke slammed into them.

“You won’t get past me that easily.”

As these smoke balls had been compressed, they possessed more force than the usual smoke clouds released by the human-shaped cockroaches. In seconds, Hajime’s shield had started to erode from the constant barrage. Seeing as he wasn’t moving, the cockroaches rushed forward to swarm him. But just as they reached the pair—

“Asura.”

A wall of immense pressure slammed down on the cockroaches. A sheet of pure gravity was crushing them from above. Looking up, the cockroaches only now realized that Yue was floating high above them. The shimmering portal behind and below Hajime explained how she’d gotten up there when she’d been standing next to Hajime just a second ago. The wave of pressure bore down on Hajime as well, and he let the force carry him downward, toward the still-open portal. He returned his shield to his Treasure Trove and warped out to safety while the cockroaches continued being pushed toward the ground.

The reason Hajime had chosen not to dodge and had used his shield instead had been to hide the portal from the cockroaches. It had been a strategic move to give them the high ground advantage. Now it was the cockroaches who were below Hajime and Yue. And this time it was Hajime’s turn to bombard the cockroaches with attacks.

He brought out 50 Cross Bits and fired a torrent of explosive slugs. The only way he could control so many at once was to activate Riftwalk and focus only on attacking and not maneuvering.

Crimson flowers bloomed in the dark pit below. However, the superpowered cockroaches had more than enough mobility to escape the barrage of hellfire with most of their group intact. That wasn’t to say they’d come out completely unscathed though. Seven of the monsters had been knocked out of the air by Hajime’s previous barrage. Of the 43 still in fighting condition, quite a few had taken serious injuries.

In retaliation, the remaining cockroaches flew upward in a line, a wall of corrosive smoke deployed in front of them.

“Heavensfall.”

Ominous black spheres swirled around Yue like satellites. Their superdense gravity fields absorbed the wall of black smoke, preventing it from reaching its intended targets. Three cockroaches rushed toward Yue, intent on taking out her spheres. At the same time, three streaks of red light shot at Yue. She waved her finger like a conductor’s baton, and her spheres bent the trajectory of Hajime’s bullets so that they slammed into the three cockroaches instead.

“Fireball.”

50 fireballs winked into existence. They glowed pale blue and were all compressed to the size of Hajime’s bullets. Yue had taken the strongest fire spell, Azure Blaze, partitioned it, and created her own spell with far more wide-area destructive might. Any normal wizard would have been shocked speechless by such a godlike display of skill. Naturally, Yue had given this new spell the same name as one of the most basic fire spells on purpose.

She snapped her fingers, and all 50 fireballs rushed toward Hajime. He put away his Cross Bits and charged Yue. Then, he used Aerodynamic to bring himself right in front of the barrage of fireballs and unleashed a barrage of chakrams to counter it. Half of them headed for the fireballs while the other half went in a completely different direction.

As planned, the fireballs sped through the chakrams’ portals and slammed into the cockroaches flying at Yue from three sides. Two of the cockroaches managed to barely dodge out of the way, but the last one was too close to Yue’s gravity field to maneuver properly and ended up taking a direct hit.

Hajime then weaved through the remaining fireballs his chakrams didn’t catch, and they barreled into the cockroaches who had been sneaking up on him from behind. He paid no heed to the enemies he shot down and continued charging forward, flying right past Yue and planted a fist into one of the cockroaches still closing in on her. And after that, he activated his artificial arm’s oscillation and sent out magical shockwaves from his fist. His punch blew straight through the cockroach’s defenses and pulverized it before its smoke could start to rot his arm.

Another cockroach tried to attack him from the left while his arm was still outstretched. Its four arms moved so fast that for a moment it looked like a 100-armed Buddha. Hajime drew Donner with his free right arm and shot at the cockroach from underneath his left. It used its superhuman speed to narrowly roll out of the way. The moment its attack was halted, Hajime turned his attention to the cockroach coming from the right.

Meanwhile, Yue looked down at the cockroach Hajime had left behind, and shot a flurry of golden sparks at it. It was in the middle of attempting a counterattack when the sparks landed on its forehead. A second later there was a deafening boom, and electricity enveloped every inch of the cockroach. The high-voltage blast sent the monster’s head flying before it even had a chance to scream. The other monster on Hajime’s right was too surprised by the fact that he was ignoring the pincer attack and going straight for it that it failed to dodge Hajime’s point-blank barrage in time and was ripped to shreds.

“What happened to your dragons?”

“These enemies are too fast for large attacks. Surely even a moron like you can figure that out.”

Another swarm of cockroaches charged the pair from above. Hajime and Yue dashed off in opposite directions, and the swarm passed harmlessly between them. Yue then held them in place with a gravity sphere, and Hajime shot them all down.

“You’ve already split up your other spells, why not just summon a thousand small dragons instead?”

“Because it’s not efficient. Just how stupid can you get? Do you want me to kill you?”

The two of them glared daggers at each other while they effortlessly dispatched the monsters behind them.

“If that’s not efficient, then there’s gotta be some other spell that is, right?”

“So what if there is?”

“Hurry up and use it, then!”

Four sickle-shaped arms bore down on Hajime as he yelled at Yue. He blocked them with Donner, Schlag, and two of his Cross Bits, using Diamond Skin on his weapons to keep them from rotting. Yue then flipped around in midair and shot a fireball through the gap between his legs. The cockroach tried to flee to safety, but Hajime instantly put Schlag in his Treasure Trove and grabbed one of its arms with his prosthetic, holding it in place. It screamed in pain as fireballs incinerated it from head to toe.

Hajime didn’t even bother to watch it die and turned his attention behind him. A few well-placed shots from Donner shot down the cockroach attempting to tackle Yue.

“I’m working on it. It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

Yue scoffed as she flipped back around and entrusted her rear to Hajime. The reason Yue hadn’t used any large-scale spells since defeating the first cockroach was because she’d been focusing her attention on constructing a new one. As she surveyed the battlefield Yue spotted another cockroach constructing another magic circle a safe distance away. Her mage’s instincts were telling her whatever that spell was, it was a bad idea to let the cockroach finish it.

Meanwhile, Hajime had to deal with a flood of cockroaches who were all attacking out of formation. They shot out smoke balls at random, making their attacks difficult to predict.

Yue needed more precision, while Hajime needed more destructive power. The moment they realized that, Yue and Hajime ignored the threat in front of them and swapped places. No signal passed between them, but their movements were so casual, it was like they weren’t at all concerned about the enemies at their back.

They both trusted each other to handle the mess they’d left behind. Once they’d completed their turn, they once again pressed their backs against each other and spoke simultaneously.

“Like I’ll let you.”

“Not happening.”

The two of them were in their element now. Every spell possessed a core, and if that core was destroyed, the spell unraveled. Normally that core was invisible, but Hajime’s Demon Eye could see it clearly. And so, his bullet flew true, striking down the cockroach’s spell’s core with pinpoint accuracy.

On the other hand, Yue created another swirling sphere of dark energy. It swirled around her like the others, but this one sucked in all of the nearby cockroaches. This wasn’t a Heavensfall, but a Spatial Severance. The cockroaches’ attempt to scatter was thwarted, and they were all sucked into Yue’s sphere of death.

“Looks like we’ve only got 30 or so left.”

Realizing they were at a disadvantage, the cockroaches put some distance between Yue and Hajime and themselves. They started circling around the pair, seeking an opening. Hajime tapped Donner impatiently against his shoulder and turned to Yue.

“So, Yue, how long’s that spell of yours going to take?”

“Mmm… If you can protect me the whole time, Hajime, 20 seconds.”

Hajime grinned as he noted the change in her tone.

“Looks like the spell’s worn off.”

“Yeah… Is it gone for you too?”

“You bet. I don’t hate you now, just think you’re an annoying little brat.”

“How mean… Hic…”

“Hey, what’s with that reaction!?” Hajime had expected her to throw a quip back, so he grew flustered when she started crying. So flustered that he committed one of the cardinal sins of battle and took his eyes off the enemy. But when he turned to her, he found Yue grinning.

“Hehe, you’re getting so worked up.”

“……”

He hadn’t actually hurt her feelings, she’d just been messing with him. Hajime knew he should be angry, but he couldn’t find it in himself to get mad. The playful, joyous look Yue gave him was too precious. He felt his heart start to pound, but he focused his attention back on the fight at hand.

“Alright I’ll cover you, so get that spell ready.”

“Okay…”

Hajime sighed, irritated at himself for letting Yue lead him around by the nose so easily.

At his signal, Yue closed her eyes, the other action that should normally never be done in a battle. Hajime could tell she was concentrating intensely. Which meant that she’d entrusted her life entirely to him. The last traces of negative emotions still lingering in his mind were washed away. The darkness that had shrouded his heart was swept away, and light took its place.

At the same time, the cockroaches decided on their next plan of attack. A few of them remained at a distance, while the rest rushed Hajime and Yue. Tornadoes and spheres of black smoke shot out of their mandibles, threatening to engulf the pair.

“I won’t let you bastards anywhere near Yue. Limit Break, final derivative skill, Overload.”

A pillar of crimson mana shot out of Hajime, reaching all the way up to the ceiling. For as long as Overload was active, his stats were multiplied by five. Mana surged from his body in waves, sending ripples of power across the room. He’d enhanced the mana unleashed when he activated Overload with shockwave properties, so those ripples held actual might behind them. As they spread out, they blew away the barrage of black smoke.

Even someone with as much mana as Hajime could only keep Overload activated for a limited amount of time. And once that time limit ended, he’d be left so exhausted he could hardly move. However, he wasn’t the least bit worried. After all, his partner had told him twenty seconds was all she needed to finish her spell. Hajime trusted her to end the battle, so he had no reason to think any more than twenty seconds ahead.

All he needed to focus on was protecting Yue until she was ready, which was why he holstered Donner and Schlag, then pulled out two Metzeleis. He held one in each hand, and let the gatling guns rip. Their barrels spun into action, each gun spitting out 12000 bullets a minute. The bullets traveled so fast they looked like spears of crimson light. The remaining cockroaches scattered. Considering their speed, a gatling gun’s imprecise barrage shouldn’t have been too difficult to dodge.

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!?”

However, the stream of bullets ricocheted off each other, changing trajectories in mid-air, and accurately striking down the fleeing cockroaches. Hajime had activated Riftwalk in combination with Overload, heightening his senses to unparalleled levels. As he was now, he could snipe even with a gatling gun.

A few of the remaining cockroaches circled behind Hajime, hoping to attack from his blind spot. But even there they were met by 14 of Hajime’s Cross Bits, each firing with perfect accuracy. In front of them lay a storm of bullets, while behind them lay an army of autonomous weapons. Hajime had created a veritable fortress around Yue. None of the cockroaches could hope to get close. However, that didn’t pose too much of a problem to them. After all, the group attacking Hajime and Yue was just a diversion.

Just then, the group that had been hidden safely behind the Grand Tree let out a piercing wail. Countless wings beat along the walls, creating a cacophony so loud not even the roar of Hajime’s Metzeleis could drown it out. From the sound of it, the human-shaped cockroaches had summoned forth every cockroach within the labyrinth.

“Of course you’d pull something like this out at the end.”

Now that the emotion reversing magic was wearing off, Hajime felt nothing but disgust at the sound of billions of cockroaches rushing forward. His lips twitched, and he muttered, “Is this supposed to be some kind of warning? Like there’s as many apostles as there are bugs?”

Before he could think any further, the walls of their subterranean cavern erupted. Or at least, it seemed like they did. The cockroaches clinging to every inch of the walls shot outward, making it seem as though the room itself was shrinking. The mass of cockroaches blotted out the walls, the ceiling, and even the Grand Tree. Hajime couldn’t even see Shea and the others, so he had no way of knowing what had happened to them.

From the outside, it appeared as though a massive, writhing, black sphere had trapped Hajime and Yue. They were inside a living cage. Instinctively, Hajime could tell this was a message from the Liberator who’d created this labyrinth.

“Don’t fight apostles head-on. Take out their source, or you’ll find yourself overwhelmed.” That was what the message seemed to be.

“So you’re telling me there’s some kinda ‘source’ where all these things are coming from? And that’s what I gotta destroy?”

At the very least, that seemed to be the logical conclusion. Haltina appeared to be saying that the only way to win against such numbers and complete this trial was to discover the location of the cockroaches’ source and destroy it. However—

“I don’t see why I have to play by your rules.”

Hajime dashed to Yue’s side and hugged her from behind. He then gathered his Cross Bits around him and created a triple-layered barrier to protect the two of them.

“Just five seconds left.”

An instant later, the cockroach prison contracted around them with a sickening crunch. There were so many cockroaches that combined they were able to exert more pressure than an entire ocean. Even the hardest metal couldn’t survive in such harsh conditions. The remaining twenty-odd human-shaped cockroaches watched impassively from outside the cage.

After a few minutes, one of them flew forward. The mini-cockroaches parted to either side, creating a tunnel for the human-shaped one to travel through. It advanced through the tunnel slowly, until finally, it arrived at the center where it had expected to find two crushed people… so what it saw came as a surprise.

“Kiii?” With a confused cry, it drew closer to the pale blue light shining at the end of the tunnel. The light was faint and flickering, like that of a will o’ the wisp, yet at the same time as clear as a pure blue sky.

A second later, it instinctively backpedaled away from the light. It ignored its duty as a labyrinth guardian and its murderous impulses as a monster, choosing to flee as fast as it could. Something primal and instinctive inside of it was telling it that blue light was dangerous. Fear swept across the monster in waves. The final bit of the tunnel slid away to reveal Hajime and Yue.

Two of the three barriers Hajime put up had been destroyed. The last remaining one had been compacted by the pressure, and Hajime had been forced to support it with his body to keep it from crushing the two of them. The blood vessels in his eyes had burst, giving them a bloodshot look, and blood dripped from the corners of his mouth. Faint wisps of crimson mana flickered around him, the last traces of his Diamond Skin activation. White smoke jettisoned from his artificial arm, proof that it had taken on a massive burden. Hajime had squeezed out every last ounce of his strength to protect Yue from the cockroaches’ assault. The monster of the abyss had succeeded once again.

“…Time’s up.”

Nestled safely inside Hajime’s arms, with not a scratch on her, Yue opened her eyes.

“Cull.”

That was the lone word she said as her eyes opened. She held her hands close to her chest, as though she were praying. The vivid blue light spilling from the cracks in her fingers pulsed. Invisible waves of power spread outward, striking fear into the hearts of the human-shaped cockroaches. Yue slowly spread out her hands, as if unveiling something fragile. A tiny flame sat in her palms. It twinkled with a deep blue light, a drop of burning sapphire.

It’s like she’s holding a tiny earth in her hands, Hajime thought to himself. The growing pulses of light certainly did make it seem as though a planet was being born in her hands.

Yue held her hands up, offering her blue jewel to the heavens. Illuminated by the light of her own creation, Yue looked almost divine. Hajime hugged her from behind, and she leaned into his arms.

Finally, the cockroaches returned to their senses. Screaming in panic, they once again ordered their servants to crush Hajime and Yue. Unfortunately, they were too late.

“Divine Purgatory.”

A beautiful yet cruel voice rang out across the room. The next moment, her spell of annihilation took shape. Her blue sphere emitted its strongest pulse yet. It then grew so bright that every inch of the room, from the ceiling to the floor, was bathed in pale blue light. Quiet, calm, merciless ripples spread through the ocean of light, turning the cockroaches surrounding them to ash. In less than a second, all of the small cockroaches had been incinerated.

The human-shaped cockroaches turned to flee, but before they could run even a few paces, the light caught up to them and obliterated them instantly. With the cockroaches gone, Hajime could once again see Shea and the others. As far as he could tell, they were all fine. The light reached their location, cremating all of the half-human-shaped cockroaches as well.

Shea and the others looked around in confusion as their opponents crumbled before their eyes. A second later, they realized how strange it was that they had survived long enough to be confused in the first place. But it wasn’t just Shea and the others that the light didn’t touch. Neither the Grand Tree nor any of its branches were affected by the obliterating magic either. Only the cockroaches were incinerated. But that only confused Shea and the others more.

The strange and terrifying phenomenon had been caused by another one of Yue’s composite spells. Divine Purgatory was a spell that combined fire, gravity, and spirit magic. First, she’d used gravity magic to compress ten instances of the fire spell Azure Blaze into a single point, then she’d used the spirit magic Cull to choose either the only creatures to be affected by her spell, or the only creatures not to be affected by her spell. It was an annihilation spell that worked on a massive scale and spared those Yue saw fit. The rest were incinerated in a wave of merciless, inescapable flames. Yue’s strength was beginning to approach that of an actual god’s. The name she’d given to her spell, Divine Purgatory, was quite fitting. Judging by the fact that the human-shaped cockroaches weren’t regenerating, Hajime assumed her flames had destroyed whatever source had been powering them as well.

“That’s one hell of a spell. I knew I could count on you, Yue.”

“Hajime…”

Their voices echoed loudly in the now empty room. Yue staggered, utterly exhausted after using such a large-scale spell. Hajime caught her before she fell, and lifted her gently up in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. As if trying to make completely sure her feelings and his had both returned to normal.

After a short pause, Yue smiled. She’d seen exactly what she’d hoped to reflected in his eyes. At that moment, had Hajime claimed her smile was the cutest in the world, no one would have dared refute him.

“Hajime…” she murmured again, her voice dripping with affection.

“Thanks for the meal.”

“Bwah!?”

She started sucking his blood, both to restore her mana and as an expression of love. She was a vampire, after all.

A haggard but unhurt Hajime returned to the platform where the others were waiting, with Yue cheerfully in tow. Shea and Kaori ran up to him the moment he landed.

“Yue-saaaaaan Hajime-saaaaaaaaan. Are you alright? Because we’re not! Tio-san was so cool a few seconds ago that I think I’ve been scarred for life!”

“Hajime-kun, Yue! Listen to this! Tio actually seemed like a big sister for once! It was terrifying!”

The first things out of their mouths weren’t complaints about how Hajime and Yue were flirting too much, or praise for Yue’s new spell, but terror regarding Tio’s transformation.

“Y-You two, there’s a limit to how rude you can be… Haaah… Haaah… But alas, your insults feel so good!” Tio twitched in pleasure, like the pervert that she was. From the looks of it, she was back to normal.

“She looks like her usual perverted self to me.”

“Yeah… She’s as pathetic as always.”

Tio crumbled to the ground, her entire body shivering in ecstasy. It appeared her legendary dragon mode had been a product of the emotion reversing magic. It was only under its effects that she’d acted normal. Shea and Kaori would likely never see the creepily cool and scarily reliable Tio ever again. Whether that was a good thing or not, no one knew.

Afterward, Kaori used restoration magic to heal everyone, and they took a short break to eat some rations and catch their breath. None of them broached the topic of how they’d acted under their reversed emotions. A lot of the events were awkward to talk about, and none of them really wanted to remember what had happened anyway.

Right as everyone was starting to feel rested, almost as if the labyrinth had been waiting for them to recover, the part of the Grand Tree near the ceiling began to glow. With a loud creaking noise, a branch started to grow from the glowing section. It extended at a downward slant, heading toward the party’s platform. Once it arrived, it twined itself around the wooden platform and became another path. Then, the wood on its surface undulated and stretched until it turned into a set of stairs.

“I really hope that last trial was the final one,” Hajime said with a rueful smile. The aftereffects of Overload hadn’t disappeared completely yet.

Yue and the others nodded in agreement. Kouki especially was nearing his limits mentally, and he fervently prayed there wouldn’t be any other battles. The party climbed up the flight of stairs and found a familiar hollow greeting them at the top. The magic circle inside was visible this time. Once everyone was inside, it began to glow, and they were teleported once more.

This time, Hajime and the others found themselves inside a garden. The air was fresh, and the sky dazzlingly clear. The garden was about the size of Hajime’s school gym. Canals crisscrossed the neat lawn, crystal clear water flowing through them. Trees were spaced at regular intervals, each bearing delicious-looking fruit. Inside the ring of trees was a chalk-white building. Hajime and the others had been teleported to one corner of the garden, a short distance from the building. Bridges stretched out in all four directions, and there was a magic circle at their feet.

“Hey, Nagumo, is that it!?” Excited, Kouki pointed toward a tree that was larger than the rest. It towered over the others from the far end of the park. Like the platform they were standing on, it was growing on an island ringed by canals. Near its roots stood a conspicuous stone tablet.

Hajime held out a hand to stop Kouki, and warily examined his surroundings. A quick glance told him that they were at a high elevation. Past the garden, there was only blue sky in all directions. Tio carefully walked over to the edge of their platform and looked down.

“Unbelievable… Master, it appears this is the Grand Tree’s summit.”

At Tio’s words, Hajime and the others crowded around the edge as well. Looking down, they confirmed what Tio had said. Below them stretched out a dense sea of fog. They were obviously high above the Haltina Forest. And the only thing that rose above the forest’s mists was Uralt, the Sacred Tree. However, Hajime pointed out a contradiction in Tio’s reasoning.

“Hold on, this doesn’t make any sense. When we came here in Fernir, we didn’t see anything like this. If the fog’s that far below us, this garden has to be at least 400 meters up. Meaning…”

Hajime trailed off as he noticed another inconsistency. When they’d first seen the Grand Tree from down below, they’d estimated its size meant that the tops of its branches towered over the sea of fog. Yet they’d never once been able to spot it while traversing the sea of trees in Fernir.

“I see. Someone must have used concealment magic on it.”

“Yeah… They could have used spatial magic to bend the light around it, or simply moved the top of the tree to a different plane entirely. Or used high-level spirit magic to interfere with the perception of anyone who looks at it, even…” Yue gave an expert’s opinion on how Haltina had managed to hide the tree.

Dark magic could interfere with people’s perceptions as well. But not on this scale. Meaning it was likely Haltina had used some kind of magic from the Age of the Gods to hide the tree. Yue had a few theories, but she couldn’t be sure which was correct. Both Yue and Tio shuddered. As expert mages themselves, they knew just how impossible a feat it was to hide something this big so well that no one, not even a master magician, could spot it. The two of them gulped, but no one belittled them for it. The others were just as overwhelmed. The trials they’d faced thus far had been the nastiest, most trying yet, but they’d expected as much from a Liberator. What they hadn’t expected, was this Liberator to also have an aesthetic sense.

“I guess this really is the final goal, then.”

Hajime and the girls nodded to each other, then walked over to the lithograph. They passed underneath an intricate arch as they crossed the bridge over the canals. As they neared the stone tablet, it began to glow. Bright green mana filled the canals. It appeared the canals themselves were this labyrinth’s final magic circle. Motes of green light rose up from the waterways, like thousands of fireflies.

The usual sensation that accompanied having their memories read assailed the party, then Hajime and the girls felt knowledge of this labyrinth’s ancient magic forcibly imprinted onto their minds. Though Hajime’s group was used to it, the rest weren’t. A cute squeal came from someone in Kouki’s group as they had their mind probed. Just as Hajime was about to say something about the magic they’d just acquired, the tree behind the lithograph began to squirm. Instantly alert, the party drew their weapons. The tree’s bark twisted and warped until it had formed an approximation of a person’s face. The face protruded from the trunk until it had formed a full head and shoulders. Once the person, no, woman’s face was complete, she opened her eyes and spoke up.

“First, allow me to congratulate you on making it this far. I am Lyutillis Haltina. You have done well to complete my trial, along with the trials of the other labyrinths. You have my respect for completing such a difficult gauntlet, and my apologies for forcing you through it.”

It appeared the tree was the medium in which Haltina’s memories had been stored. It wasn’t too different from the hologram that Oscar Orcus had left behind.

“She looks like a princess…” Kaori muttered. Hajime nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, she sure does.”

Lyutillis Haltina had the same refined air and carried herself in the same dignified manner as Liliana. As it was only her head, shoulders, and long straight hair that were protruding from the tree trunk Hajime couldn’t be completely sure, but she looked like a beauty. Her long ears tapered to sharp points, denoting that she was an elf.

“However, a trial of this nature was necessary. Since you have completed various other labyrinths, you have likely learned about the tragedies of the past, of our relationship with the gods, and of the tyranny our world currently lives under. It is for that reason that I wanted you to know both the strength that can be derived from unbreakable bonds and the ways in which they can be tested. Moreover, having come this far, I felt it necessary to teach you both the strength of a person’s heart, and its fragility. I pray this knowledge will aid you in the trials to come.”

Shea and the others listened to Lyutillis’ speech with rapt attention. However, Hajime was beginning to grow impatient. It was clear he was tired of the lecture. The only reason he kept silent was because he knew the others were interested.

“I know not for what purpose you sought my magic, evolution magic, for. And now that it is yours, you are free to use it as you please. All I ask is that please, don’t allow this power to rule your thoughts. If ever there comes a time you feel yourself drowning in the power you’ve obtained, cling to the bonds that saw you through these trials.”

Hajime started glancing about. He was looking for the proof that they’d conquered this labyrinth. It was obvious he wasn’t paying much attention to Lyutillis. Judging by the constant glances he kept giving the lithograph, he was likely planning on pulling the whole thing out soon. As a precaution, Shea grabbed onto his left arm, while Yue took his right and Kaori wrapped her arms around his waist. They silently pleaded with him to wait, calming Hajime down enough to listen to the rest of the speech.

“The power of my ancient magic, evolution magic, allows you to enhance all other forms of power, no matter how weak. You should already have been granted the knowledge of how to use it. But that’s not where the true worth of this magic lies.”

Hajime’s eyes suddenly shot open. He looked over at Lyutillis, his curiosity piqued. The knowledge they’d been given hadn’t contained anything about evolution magic’s true worth. Realizing that Hajime was interested in Lyutillis’ words, Yue and the others let go of him. Meanwhile, Shizuku glared at him in exasperation.

“As its name suggests, evolution magic causes other power to evolve. Naturally, that includes other ancient magic. Creation magic, gravity magic, spirit magic, transformation magic, spatial magic, and restoration magic… These are all powerful branches of magic that manipulate the fundamental forces that govern this world. If you were to evolve them all and combine them, you would give birth to a magic that surpasses all others. Magic that could truly be considered godlike… Concept magic.”

Someone gulped, the noise echoing loudly in the following silence. Surprise was etched in every inch of Hajime’s face. He thought back to what Miledi Reisen had told him in the Reisen Gorge.

“You’ll need to acquire all the ancient magic the Liberators left behind in order to achieve your goal.” That was what she’d said. And now, Hajime finally understood what she meant.

“Concept magic is exactly what it sounds like. It can bring forth any concept its user can imagine, granting them the powers of a god. However, even if you manage to collect all the ancient magic, mastering concept magic won’t be easy. For concept magic operates not on theory, but on force of will. You will need an unbelievably powerful will to bend this magic to your desires.”

So that’s why we didn’t get any knowledge of that from the magic circle. Hajime raised an eyebrow. After all, “unbelievably powerful will” wasn’t very specific.

“Even with our powers combined, us Liberators were only able to create three concept magic spells. They served our needs well enough, but… Regardless, as a gift, I shall pass on one of those to you.”

The stone tablet below Lyutillis slid to the side, revealing an object resembling a pocket watch. Hajime bent down and picked it up. The front of the object was covered with translucent glass-like substance and inside sat a single needle. Engraved on the back was Lyutillis Haltina’s crest, indicating that the object also served as their proof that they conquered the labyrinth. As Hajime scrutinized the object, Lyutillis continued her speech.

“That object is called the Compass of Eternal Paths. The concept magic spell its imbued with—” —Points its owner toward whatever they desire.

“Huh!?”

Upon hearing those words, Hajime’s heart started to pound. It felt as though his body was on fire. All sound vanished, and those words repeated themselves over and over inside his head.

“Points its owner toward whatever they desire.” Does that mean…

“If you wish for something, the compass will show you where that something may be found. Whether that something is a missing person, a hidden object… or even a different world.”

“Ah—”

The other world Lyutillis was likely referring to was the world of the gods. If it took an unbelievably strong will to create concept magic, there was no doubt what the Liberators had created these spells for. To defeat the gods. Meaning originally, this compass had been made to discover their location. Hajime guessed that Oscar had used his creation magic in conjunction with concept magic to make this compass. However, if this compass was capable of showing the way to the world of the gods, then that meant it was also capable of showing the way back home to Japan.

In his hands… was a guide to the way home. Finally, at long last, he’d found his first real clue. Immeasurable joy filled his heart. He was so happy he couldn’t express it in words. In fact, he didn’t even know what kind of expression to make. His hand trembled. The day he’d been reborn in the abyss, he’d sworn that he’d return home, no matter what it took.

The sense of elation made events of his long, arduous journey flash through his mind in an instant. Hold it together. It’s not time to celebrate just yet. Hajime willed the tears welling up in his eyes to dry as he mentally cautioned himself. His mechanical left hand creaked as he balled it into a fist. It wasn’t the same hand he’d come to this world with, but he was proud of it. As he looked down at his fake arm, he renewed his resolve. And then, he turned around to find Yue looking gently up at him. She took hold of Hajime’s fake hand and entwined her tiny fingers around his own.

“So long as you obtain all the ancient magic and possess an unbreakable will, you will be able to go wherever your heart desires.”

Though she couldn’t possibly have known Hajime’s current feelings, Lyutillis’ memory appeared to be smiling as she said that. Finally, she said the customary last words of all the Liberators. But those words, delivered centuries ago from the depths of her heart, reached Hajime.

“I pray that you can live freely, in a world where you may choose your own future. May the path you walk be filled with blessings.” Still smiling, Lyutillis disappeared back into the tree.

Here, at the very top of the Grand Tree, Lyutillis had spoken to them through yet another tree that was growing at its summit. Thinking about it, it seemed to Hajime that the entirety of the Grand Tree housed Lyutillis’ spirit.

The party fell silent, either too awed by what had just happened to speak, or too busy digesting Lyutillis’ words. The only sound was the wind rustling through the leaves.

Finally, Hajime broke the silence. In an even, controlled voice, he turned to Yue and spoke up.

“Just in case… Yue, do you think… you could use spatial magic and evolution magic… to teleport to another world?”

Kouki, Shizuku, Suzu, and Kaori stiffened up as he asked that. Yue didn’t answer right away. She knew just how important this question was to Hajime, so she made sure to consider all the possibilities. Using her vast knowledge as the world’s best mage, along with the information she’d just received, she went through thousands of simulations in her head, trying to think of a spell that would do the job. After exhausting all the possibilities, she muttered something dejectedly.

“…I’m sorry.”

“I see…”

So it’s impossible after all. Then again, if all you needed to get to a different world was evolution magic and spatial magic, the Liberators wouldn’t have had such a hard time doing it. Lyutillis had said the Liberators had created three concept magic spells. The first had been the spell the Compass of Eternal Paths was imbued with. Magic that pointed its wielder toward whatever they desired. The remaining two were likely a spell to allow someone to travel between worlds, and a spell to defeat the gods. In other words, unless Hajime reached a level where he could use concept magic, teleporting between worlds would be impossible.

Yue looked down, depressed at failing to meet Hajime’s expectations. However, Hajime looked kindly down at her and ran his fingers through her golden-blonde hair. Startled by the sensation of his fingers on the back of her neck, Yue looked back up at him.

“Don’t look so down. I didn’t really think it was gonna be possible anyway. All that means is we’ve gotta get the last remaining ancient magic, so don’t make that face,” Hajime said with a smile.

Yue had seen Hajime’s smile so many times she could recreate it from memory, but it still managed to make her heart skip a beat. There was something different about this smile. It was gentler, warmer, and deeper than any smile Hajime had ever made before. In fact, it wasn’t too different from Lyutillis’ smile earlier.

“Yue?”

“… Mmm.”

Yue took a few deep breaths to calm her pounding heart. Then, she returned his smile with one as radiant as his. The two of them gazed into each other’s eyes. A second later, Shea, who’d been as captivated by Hajime’s smile as Yue, returned to her senses and tried once again to grab Hajime’s attention.

“Ahem! Hajime-saaan, Yue-saaan, are you two done flirting? The shortcut leading back down to the forest has shown up, so I think it’s about time we get going.”

Hajime and Yue turned around at Shea’s cheery voice and saw that a new magic circle had appeared in another corner of the garden. Shea was likely right in assuming it was a shortcut back to the ground. Hajime then turned back to Shea and tilted his head in confusion. For whatever reason, Shea, along with Kaori and Tio, was blushing as they looked at him. Before he could ask what was going on though, Kouki interrupted him.

“H-Hey, Nagumo. If what that woman said is true… once you can use that concept magic or whatever…”

“Yeah, we’ll be able to go home. Well at the very least, this compass will be able to show us how to get there.”

“I see…” Kouki bit his lip, his expression a mixture of hope and frustration. Ryutarou, Suzu, and Shizuku all looked torn between happiness and trepidation as well. It looked they wanted to ask something, but were holding themselves back from doing so. Their worries stemmed from the fact that they still hadn’t finished finding a way home, and the only one among them likely to successfully get all seven ancient magic was Hajime and his party.

“U-Umm, Nagumo-kun? Once you find a way back, will you… you know…” Suzu faltered, unable to finish her question. However, Hajime knew what she was trying to ask. The reason she was so hesitant to ask it was because she knew how cold Hajime had been to them when they’d first reunited. It was entirely possible that Hajime would just take his own comrades along when he found a way back and leave everyone else behind.

Normally, Suzu was the bluntest out of all of them, but when it came to important things like this she had a hard time getting the right words out. Regardless of whether that was a character flaw or not, it was still preferable to blindly believing that Hajime would bring them all back with him. At the very least, Hajime found Suzu’s question commendable.

“Don’t worry. So long as there are no restrictions like a maximum number of people I can teleport, I’ll take everyone back with me.”

“I-I see. Ehehe… Thanks, Nagumo-kun.”

“Anyway, considering how worried you guys sound… I’m assuming you weren’t granted the ancient magic?”

“Ugh!?” Kouki, Ryutarou, and Suzu hung their heads in shame. With evolution magic, they would have been able to upgrade all of their stats. Of course, since evolution magic was still ancient magic, it would take an enormous amount of mana to use, and at most, they’d be able to do something like use Limit Break without the exhaustive side effects. Still, it would be enough to let them conquer the first part of the Great Orcus Labyrinth without any trouble at all. In fact, they’d probably be able to make a good amount of headway through the true Orcus Labyrinth as well.

The fact that they didn’t sound at all confident in their ability to handle another labyrinth meant that they hadn’t earned the right to receive Haltina’s magic. Among Kouki’s party though, there was just one person who didn’t seem as worried and was looking away awkwardly while trying to think of something to say.

“Yaegashi… Well, looks like you got the magic at least.”

“Ah…! Umm… yes, it looks like I can use it.”

“C-Can you really, Shizuku!?”

“Seriously!? Nice going, girl!”

“I knew you could do it, Shizushizu! That’s why you’re my waifu!”

She had managed to conquer the trial of pleasure, the illusory ideal world, and even the test of reversed emotions. It was little surprise that she’d been accepted as one who’d cleared the labyrinth. Though her combat contributions had been few, she’d shown that she had the mental fortitude to handle ancient magic.

Suzu was overjoyed for her friend, while Ryutarou seemed equal parts impressed and jealous. Kouki, on the other hand, had a smile on his face as he praised Shizuku, but he seemed troubled by something, and there was a shadow behind his eyes. Worried, Shizuku kept stealing glances at him.

“At any rate, let’s head back to Verbergen and rest up. I think that cockroach fight traumatized me. I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a mentally draining fight. Plus, I’m still exhausted after using Limit Break… I need Yue to heal me.”

“Fufu… Just leave it to me.”

“Hajime-san, if you want healing, why not use my fluffy bunny ears?”

“Healing’s literally my job, Hajime-kun! Let me take care of you! I’ll do anything and everything you need! And by anything, I mean absolutely anything!”

“Oho, are you really that tired, Master? Very well, I shall be your chair. Feel free to sit on me as much as you please. No matter how my bones ache, I shall endure for your sake.”

Hajime’s expression grew serious, and he glanced at each of his party members in turn. Shea, Kaori, Tio, and Yue. He seemed to be confirming something. And once he was finished, he looked up at the sky, confirming something within himself.

At that, Shea and the others tilted their heads, confused. But after a few seconds, Hajime looked back down and gave them a troubled smile.

“Ah…” Kaori gasped. The smile he was wearing now was one she thought she’d never see again, one she’d almost forgotten. Tears welled up in Kaori’s eyes as old memories resurfaced.

Yue, Shea, and Tio were also surprised, though less so. They were used to seeing Hajime’s fearless, arrogant, and heartless smiles, but they’d never seen a smile like this. Though it was slight, Hajime had changed over the course of his journey. It was hard to describe in words, but it was almost as if he’d grown kinder, while remaining just as sharp and aggressive as before. At least, that was what it seemed like to Yue and the others.

The person he’d been before being summoned to Tortus and the person he’d become after suffering in the abyss had started to fuse together. As he was now, he was equal parts merciless and kind, and oddly enough, Yue and the others found the combination unbelievably attractive.

“What’s wrong, guys? Don’t we need to hurry back so you can all heal me?” Hajime said, and with that, he turned around and headed for the magic circle.

Kaori rubbed the tears out of her eyes, and Shizuku smiled and laid a hand on her friend’s shoulder. Nostalgia rimmed their pupils. Both of them were glad to see the old, nice Hajime returning.

“Mmm… I understand now.”

“Yue…”

Yue took hold of Kaori’s hand and smiled gently at her. As for what exactly Yue had understood, the others knew without having to ask. It was the reason why Kaori had fallen for Hajime in the first place, back in Japan. Yue and the others only knew Hajime after his transformation, but Kaori had known him before it too. And now that the two Hajime’s had begun to merge, everyone felt as though they were on the same page when it came to understanding him.

“Hey, what are you guys waiting around for?” Hajime asked quizzically as he turned around. He’d already activated the magic circle.

Yue and the others shared a knowing smile, then ran after him. Suzu, Ryutarou, and Shizuku were in high spirits as well, having finally found a way back home.

There was just one among them who had to force himself to look happy. Thus, the group’s adventure within Haltina came to a close. With renewed hope in their hearts, the party returned to Verbergen.

Diamond. diamond. diamond.