Haltina’s Labyrinth

Hajime's party walked swiftly through the thick fog, never once losing their way. Their

destination was the entrance to the true labyrinth, the base of Sacred Tree Uralt.

Normally, the fog around the tree was so dense that even beastmen couldn't find their

way around it. However, the fog thinned enough for the path to be navigable every ten

days.

Three days had passed since Hajime had first arrived in Verbergen, and the path had

finally opened. Thanks to Ulfric's hospitality, the three days Hajime and the others had

spent in the city had been rather pleasant.

Shea and Altina had constantly been competing for Hajime's affection, while Hajime

had been busy further training the Haulia. Meanwhile, Ryutarou had found himself

fitting in quite nicely with Verbergen's warriors. Kouki, on the other hand, had been

hounded by all the former beastmen slave girls he'd helped free. Similarly, Kaori had

been hounded by her cult members, and Tio had tried to hang around Hajime but had

been constantly kicked away. Suzu, however, had found herself extremely popular

with the beastmen children. And amidst it all, Yue had somehow found time to spirit

Hajime away and have her way with him every night. At any rate, they'd been a fun

three days. For everyone other than Shizuku, at least.

"Amanogawa, on your right."

"Ah—"

A pack of monsters burst through the mist. However, Hajime, Yue, Shea, Tio, and the

Haulia didn't bother fighting back. They left it all to Kouki and the others. Hajime

wanted to get them warmed up for the kinds of dangers they'd face once they were in

the real depths of the labyrinth. Because the fog clouded their senses, Kouki and the

others couldn't use the same tactics they had in the Great Orcus Labyrinth either.

Though this was meant to be a mere warm-up, Kouki and the others found themselves

pressed surprisingly hard. In fact, it was only thanks to Hajime's timely warnings that

they were able to fend off their enemies at all.

Kouki frowned in irritation, Ryutarou clicked his tongue in annoyance, and even Suzu

and Shizuku seemed angry at themselves. Kaori, however, seemed as spirited as ever.

"Take that! And…. this!"

She'd returned to fighting with Kouki's party temporarily so that she could gain more

experience fighting in Noint's body. It appeared Noint's senses were unaffected by the

fog, so the area around the Grand Tree made for perfect practice. Kaori flapped her

silver wings and unleashed a barrage of feathers. She had gotten much better at

controlling her feathers, and they homed in on the monsters in front of her with

pinpoint precision. Each one hit its mark and the monsters disintegrated under the

merciless onslaught.

"Yaaah!" Kaori then bisected the one monster that had managed to close in with a

single sweep of her glowing broadsword. She wasn't able to use both at once just yet,

but her skill with a single sword had improved considerably. Enough to the point

where her job might be mistaken for Swordmaster, even.

"Looks like you've gotten pretty used to swinging that sword around. I guess you got

a lot of practice in fighting with Yue every day."

"Her stats are ridiculously high. If I don't work harder, I'll be left behind."

Hajime and Yue watched as Kaori took a step back and sucked in a deep breath.

Originally, Noint had managed to go toe to toe against Hajime at full strength, so Kaori

still had a ways to go. But considering it had only been two weeks since she'd had her

spirit transplanted into this body, her growth was astounding. Her diligence in

training was coming in handy here. It wouldn't be long until Kaori could move Noint's

body like her own.

"I'm not nearly good enough yet. I still can't use offensive magic in battle, and I can't

activate my weapons' disintegration powers unless I concentrate…. I still haven't been

able to beat you even once, Yue."

Kaori walked over to Yue and Hajime, pouting. She'd clearly overheard their

conversation. And though they'd been praising her, she still couldn't move this body

the way she wanted to, and her frustration was making her snappy.

"Kaori. You can't be serious. Not only do you have better physical stats than us, you

can use disintegration abilities, and your affinity for every type of magic is perfect.

Plus, you can cast spells without magic circles or incantations. Your swordsmanship's

already reaching crazy levels, and you're still in the middle of improving it so it's going

to get even better from now on. Also, you're a walking fortress who also can heal

yourself instantly at any time…. You're so overpowered it's ridiculous. What's there to

be unhappy about?"

Kaori couldn't meet Shizuku's gaze. Now that she'd had her abilities pointed out

objectively like that, it did feel a little like she was whining.

"But I still can't beat Yue or Shea…. so if I'm overpowered, what does that make

Hajime-kun and the others?"

"I don't even know how to begin describing them…." Shizuku racked her brains, but in

the end was unable to find a good descriptor for Hajime and the rest. And sensing her

frustration, Kouki walked up next to her and provided words of comfort.

"It's okay, Shizuku. Once we get through this labyrinth, we'll be just as strong as

Nagumo. Actually, since his job isn't combat-related, we'll probably be even stronger

than him."

"You got that right. I can't wait to see what magic we'll learn."

"Yeah, we just have to keep trying and we'll get there too!"

The primary source of Hajime's strength had nothing to do with the ancient magic

he'd obtained, but Kouki was oblivious to that fact. He, Ryutarou, and Suzu all looked

raring to go.

"We're here, everyone." Shea looked over her shoulder as she said that.

The group hurried after her and found themselves in a clearing free of the thick mist

that pervaded the rest of the forest. In the center of the clearing towered the same

withered tree that Hajime had seen last time.

"So this is…. the Grand Tree…."

"It's freaking huge…."

"It…. really is massive…."

Kouki and the others looked up in amazement. The tree was so tall they couldn't see

the top of it, and so wide that its trunk seemed like a solid wall of wood. Hajime and

Yue exchanged glances and smiled at each other. They'd had the exact same reaction

the first time they'd come here. Hajime pulled the proofs of all the labyrinths he'd

conquered out of his Treasure Trove and walked up to the lithograph in front of the

tree. It hadn't changed at all since his last visit here. Each of the heptagon's verticies

had one of the Liberators' crests drawn on it, and a depression on the back to insert

whatever proof each labyrinth provided.

Hajime got down to one knee and started sorting through the five proofs he had.

Curious, Kouki and the others finally tore their eyes away from the tree to see what he

was doing. From this point on, not even Hajime knew what to expect. They were finally

entering the lion's den. Hajime glanced sharply back at Cam.

"Cam, there's no telling what might happen next, so have the Haulia retreat to a safe

distance."

"You got it, Boss. Good luck in there."

Since Cam had secured the area around the Grand Tree for the Haulia in his previous

negotiations with the elders, he and his men had tagged along on the trip to the tree.

Though it was a little vexing that he couldn't go any further with his beloved boss, Cam

still gave Hajime a crisp salute and retreated back into the fog. Once they'd left, Hajime

put Orcus' ring, the proof that he'd conquered the Great Orcus Labyrinth, into the first

depression. A second later, glowing letters appeared above the lithograph.

—Four markers of strength. —The power of restoration —A beacon woven from

bonds. —Only with those three ingredients in hand will the path to a new trial be

opened.

"Looks like that's still the same as last time. I guess…. I'll just use the first four we got."

Hajime inserted the proofs into their respective depressions. Reisen's ring, Gruen's

pendant, and Melusine's coin. With each item inserted, the lithograph's glow grew

greater. After Melusine's coin was in, the glow coalesced on the ground around the

stone tablet and shot in a straight line toward the tree. Once it hit the tree's roots, the

Grand Tree began radiating its own light.

"Hm? Look, there's a crest on the tree now."

"Yeah. Do we have to use the power of restoration now?"

Just as Tio had said, a shimmering crest had appeared on the tree's bark. Yue walked

up to it, placed her hand on the crest's center, and cast restoration magic. A light far

more dazzling than the ones before rippled outward from the crest, and with a loud

whoosh, climbed up the tree's trunk. Once the light had enveloped every inch of the

tree, it started regaining its vitality.

"Ah, new leaves are growing in…."

Shea pointed and watched in awe as new leaves sprouted on the bare branches. It was

like watching a video at ten times the speed. Even Hajime was moved by the wondrous

spectacle. Within seconds, the tree's branches were coated in lush, vibrant leaves, and

the tree itself had regained its former vitality.

A strong gust blew past, and the fresh leaves rustled audibly. At the same time, the

tree's outer bark parted to each side, revealing a hollow grotto. The opening was wide

enough that ten people could walk abreast. Everyone nodded to each other, then

together they stepped into the cave that marked the entrance to Haltina's true

labyrinth.

Hajime had been worried he would only be able to take people who had also

conquered at least four labyrinths with him inside, but it appeared that had been a

needless concern. No one was barred entry into the tree.

I guess it's just like the other labyrinths. As long as you can find a way in, it doesn't matter

how you did it. After all, if you don't have what it takes to survive, you'll just die inside.

Hajime examined his surroundings. But so far, there didn't seem to be anything special

inside the tree. Just a large, dome-shaped room.

"Is this a dead end?" Kouki muttered dubiously.

Before Hajime could reply, new bark started growing in around the entrance. The shaft

of light illuminating the room grew narrower and narrower. Kouki tried to rush back,

but was stopped by a shout from Hajime. The bark closed around the entrance

completely, and the party was trapped in darkness. Yue raised a hand to summon a

light sphere, but her actions proved unnecessary. For a massive magic circle lit up

beneath the group, illuminating their surroundings.

"Whoa, what's going on!?"

"What is this!? What's happening!?"

Calm down! This is just a teleportation circle! Get ready, there's no telling what's

waiting for us on the other side!"

Hajime shouted out a warning to Ryutarou and Suzu just as the light enveloped them

all.

"Where…."

As the light faded, a dense sea of trees sprang into Hajime's view. For a moment Hajime

thought they'd been teleported outside the Grand Tree, but then he realized they were

still inside the labyrinth.

A sea of trees inside a tree…. That's about as weird as it gets.

"Everyone alright?"

Kouki shook his head to clear his vision and checked to see if his comrades were all

safe.

"No problems here," Shizuku responded. Yue, Shea, Tio, and Kaori all seemed fine as

well, so the group started scanning their surroundings. Flustered, Kouki spoke up.

"Nagumo, we're in the labyrinth for real now, right? Which direction do we take?"

There was nothing but trees in every direction, so it was hard for Kouki to tell which

way led to their goal. In fact, aside from the clearing they were in, they could only see

trees in every direction. To make matters worse, the sky above them was covered by

a thick fog, so they couldn't pinpoint their destination from the air either.

"I guess I've gotta look for them." Hajime's mutterings didn't seem like they were a

reply to Kouki's question. And indeed, Hajime wasn't even looking at Kouki.

"If you say so. Anyway, I'll take the lead. If you see anything, let me know."

Kouki found Hajime's actions odd, but he put him out of his mind and marched

forward. He still remembered Hajime's warning about how they wouldn't be granted

the ancient magic unless they proved they'd helped overcome the labyrinth's trials.

For that purpose, he wanted to contribute as much as possible.

As no one raised any objections, everyone in the group followed after Kouki— except

for Hajime. For whatever reason, he hadn't moved from the spot he'd been teleported

to. He glared coldly at the backs of his comrades. Noticing he wasn't following along,

Shea turned back and looked questioningly at Hajime.

"Hajime-san, what's—"

Shea was interrupted by the sound of something cutting through the wind. Hajime had

pulled three of his bolas out of his Treasure Trove and thrown them with inhuman

speed. His targets were Yue, Tio, and Ryutarou. All three of them were too shocked to

react, and his spatial magic-enhanced bolas pinned them in place.

"Hm!?"

"Master!?"

"What the hell are you doing, man!?"

The three of them struggled against the wires holding them down. Kouki looked at the

three of them, dumbfounded. He then rounded on Hajime and shouted.

"Nagumo, what's the meaning of this!?" He glared angrily at Hajime. Shizuku and Suzu

both gave him questioning stares as well.

"Hey, Nagumo—"

Hajime held out a hand to silence Kouki, then walked over to Yue. She looked up at

him, puzzled. He unholstered Donner and pressed its muzzle against her forehead.

There wasn't the slightest bit of warmth in his eyes.

"Hajime? Why—" Yue couldn't believe what she was seeing. Neither could the others.

Hajime pointing a gun at the girl he loved most? Impossible.

He must have gone insane…. Kouki thought to himself. He rushed forward to stop

Hajime, but before he could—

"Ah!?"

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the forest. Hajime had pulled the trigger

without hesitation. He'd moved the gun from her forehead to her shoulder at the last

second, but it didn't change the fact that he'd really shot her.

"H-Hajime-kun!?"

"Wh-What are you doing, Nagumo-kun!?"

Kaori and Shizuku screamed at him to stop. They tried to pull him away, but Shea,

who'd noticed that something was wrong, kept them away from Hajime. Kouki looked

ready to jump at Hajime as well, but Hajime's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"Answer me, fake."

His voice was ice-cold. Kaori and the others shivered. Of course the temperature

hadn't dropped at all, but the murderous look in Hajime's eyes had leeched all the heat

from their bodies. It even felt like their surroundings had gotten darker. Cold sweat

poured down Kouki's back, and his breath came in short gasps.

"Who are you? Where's the real Yue?"

"...…" The creature pretending to be Yue looked flatly at Hajime, no longer even trying

to copy Yue's expressions. Whatever the creature was, it wasn't human. No blood

dripped from the shoulder that Hajime had shot off.

There was another gunshot, and the creature's remaining shoulder was gouged

through. However, the fake Yue's expression didn't budge. Apparently, it didn't feel

pain. Its mannerisms were even more doll-like than Noint's, so it was possible it had

no will of its own.

"Don't want to answer, huh? Or rather, looks like you don't have the ability to. Fine.

Die."

Hajime brought Donner back to the fake Yue's forehead and fired a third bullet.

Strange, squishy goop flew out of the back of her head. Shizuku involuntarily covered

her eyes, but after a few seconds she opened them back up and realized what was

splattering the ground wasn't brain matter, but some kind of rust-colored slime.

Bereft of its head, the rest of Yue's body dissolved into the same rust-colored slime.

The slime was then absorbed into the ground until only a faint stain remained. Hajime

then walked over to Tio and Ryutarou, and shot them through the head as well. Like

Yue, the two of them turned into rust-colored slime and were swallowed up by the

earth.

"Tch…. I guess I should expect this kind of stuff from labyrinths at this point…." Hajime

clicked his tongue as he holstered Donner.

"Hajime-san…. does this mean Yue-san and Tio-san are…."

"They probably got teleported somewhere else, yeah. When we were getting

transported, I felt the same kind of brain probe we get whenever we clear a labyrinth.

Those red slime things probably got copies of our memories so they could act just like

our real selves and stab us in the back when our guard was down," Hajime spat. He

was still upset that someone had dared to impersonate Yue. Shizuku and Suzu

shivered as they heard Hajime's explanation.

"I see…. I'm surprised you were able to tell so quickly, though."

"Yeah. I totally couldn't see any difference. How were you able to tell?" Suzu asked, still

a little pale.

Kouki waited eagerly for Hajime's answer. He was worried about how the real

Ryutarou was faring. Unfortunately, Hajime's response wasn't too helpful.

"That's a tough one. All I can say is, the moment I saw her, I knew she wasn't the real

Yue."

"...…." Everyone slumped in disappointment. Suzu, however, gave Hajime a curious

look and asked another question.

"So then, how were you able to tell Ryutarou-kun and Tio-san were also fakes?"

"Once I knew there was one fake, I used my Demon Eye to check if anyone else had

been swapped. Unless you've got something similar, the only real way to know who's

fake and who's not is to see if you can tell they're acting different from usual, I guess."

"I-I see…. But then how am I going to tell Ryutarou-kun apart? All he has to do is talk

like any old musclehead and it'll sound like him."

"Maybe that's why he was one of the ones chosen to be replaced. Curses…. Ryutarou…."

Suzu's comments were rather harsh, but the fact that Ryutarou's best friend agreed

with them meant even he knew Ryutarou was a bit too simple.

Poor Ryutarou. Shizuku looked off into the distance sympathetically. For a moment,

she imagined she saw Ryutarou's figure in the sky, giving her a thumbs-up.

Shea's ears shot up as if she'd just thought of something, and she turned to Hajime.

Eyes full of anticipation, she asked him a simple question.

"Umm, Hajime-san. Would you be able to tell if I was a fake with just a glance too?"

"Ah!" Kaori twitched a little when she heard that. She gave Hajime an intense stare and

chimed in as well.

"What about me? Could you tell me apart too!?"

Everyone's gazes focused on him. Hajime didn't seem affected by the expectant

atmosphere and responded bluntly.

"Dunno. I probably wouldn't be able to tell with just a glance."

"...…" "...…."

If there were any crickets present, they would have all been chirping at that moment.

Going by the flow of the conversation, Hajime should have said something like "Of

course I could." But in standard Hajime fashion, he'd just given them a brutally honest

answer. Shea and Kaori both glared at him, but he ignored them and briskly walked

into the overgrown forest. The two of them sulkily followed after him.

"There's such a thing as having too much nerve, you know….?"

"K-Kaorin, Sheashea, cheer up!"

"Seriously, what does Kaori see in that guy?"

Hajime smiled wryly to himself as he heard Shizuku and Kouki's grumbling. In truth,

he probably would have been able to tell Shea apart with just a glance, but if he'd said

that Kaori would have gotten angry for sure. The best way to keep Kaori's demon stand

from appearing was to stay quiet.

The party wandered through the sea of trees for a good two hours before they heard

something. Mechanical whirring, similar to the sound an electric fan made when put

on max speed surrounded them from all sides. There appeared to be multiple sources.

"Monsters!? Nagumo, we'll handle this, you just sit there and watch!"

"I guess this is your first labyrinth battle and all."

Kouki, Suzu, and Shizuku all unsheathed their weapons. Honestly, Hajime thought they

were letting their desire to prove themselves get the better of them, but if he babied

them through the whole labyrinth there would be no point in bringing them here. So

he just shrugged his shoulders and settled in to watch. This would be Kouki and the

others' first time fighting monsters from the true part of a labyrinth. Shizuku and Suzu

both nervously readied themselves behind Kouki.

"This is the sound of wings! Everyone, please be careful! Flying monsters in the sea of

trees are especially agile!"

"Good luck, Shizuku-chan, Suzu-chan!"

Shea gave them some helpful advice, while Kaori cheered them on. The swarm of

monsters flitted between the gaps in the trees and charged the party.

"Eeek, these things are disgusting!" Suzu screamed.

Normally, she would have erected a barrier right away to protect her comrades, but

the monsters attacking them were so disgusting on a biological level that Suzu

couldn't help but shrink back. The closest earth insect they resembled was bees, but

they were the size of a human baby, and possessed hundreds of wriggling legs, much

like a centipede. Their mouths resembled those of spiders, and they had seven

composite eyes each. They had the same alternating yellow and black stripes over

their bodies that honeybees did, and their stingers were coated in a toxic green liquid.

Hajime could see why one would be disgusted by such a gruesome creature.

"Suzu, keep it together!" Kouki yelled. Then, he used Supersonic Step to close the

distance between him and Suzu, slashing down the bee-thing heading for her.

However, the bee-thing easily dodged Kouki's swing. As Shea had warned them, the

insects were unbelievably quick. As it dodged out of the way, some of its green liquid

flew off its stinger and splattered over Suzu's face. She almost fainted then and there.

Seeing an opportunity, the bee pointed its stinger at Suzu and rushed forward.

"I won't lose in speed!"

Shizuku leaped forward and sliced through the bee-thing with her black katana.

"Suzu!"

"S-Sacred Shields!" Suzu finally sprang into action. She used her barriers to split the

swarm of monsters in two, then created an opening to lead them down the path she

wanted. Despite the tears in her eyes, she cast faster than she ever had before. She

didn't forget to cast healing magic on herself either. The green liquid clinging to her

face vanished in a puff of light. Shizuku and Kouki then began cutting down their

enemies, making sure to cover each other's blind spots.

"Celestial Flash!"

The bee-things parted to either side, easily dodging Kouki's favorite attack.

"Damn bugs, stop flitting around!" Kouki cursed. Their unbelievable agility made it

seem like they were ignoring the laws of physics. The bugs then darted to either side

of Kouki and launched a machine-gun barrage of poisoned stingers. They grew new

ones after each one was shot out, so they could continue firing without pause.

"Sacred Shields, Sacred Shields, Sacred Shields!"

Thanks to Suzu's timely reaction, Kouki was spared being skewered. Meanwhile,

Shizuku used her speed to her advantage and cut right through the bee-things'

coordinated attack. After she'd thrown them off-balance, Kouki launched another

powerful assault. However, he was only able to cut down a few of them. As they were

currently beset by hundreds of monsters, they were a long way away from achieving

victory. Compared to the monsters they'd faced so far, these bee-things were both

stronger and more cunning.

"Shit, these guys are strong as those monsters the demons brought with them!" Kouki

cursed again.

"Isn't it the other way around? The demons' monsters are probably based off of these,"

Hajime replied casually.

Kouki frantically swung his sword as he thought back to the nightmare they'd faced in

the Great Orcus Labyrinth. They were already being pushed hard right from the outset.

Seeing one of the bee-things about to skewer Kouki from behind, Hajime nonchalantly

drew Donner and shot it down.

Kouki and the others had been all gung-ho about winning this on their own, but

honestly, these monsters were beyond their capability to handle. In fact, they were

being pressured so hard that a detachment of bee-things had broken off and started

heading toward Hajime, Shea, and Kaori. The three of them easily struck down

anything that got close.

"Dodge all you want, it won't help!" With each swing of her hammer, Shea unleashed

shockwaves that pulverized all the monsters in the vicinity.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this now!" Kaori had gotten much more accurate with

her homing feathers as well. No matter how the bee-things tried to dodge, the feathers

continued chasing them until they hit their mark. Kaori's growth was so fast that each

barrage ended up more accurate than the last. Kouki grit his teeth in frustration as he

watched the trio out of the corner of his eye.

"Kouki-kun, this isn't looking good! We're getting overrun!" Tears streamed down

Suzu's face. She replaced her barriers each time one was destroyed, but keeping it up

was draining her mana at a prodigious rate.

The intermediate-level light spell Sacred Shields was fundamentally a spell that

focused on using multiple weak barriers instead of a single strong one, so it wasn't too

surprising that they were being destroyed so fast.

Still, Suzu was a Barrier Master. The Sacred Shields she deployed were on a different

level than most normal ones. Regular monsters would need a few solid attacks to

break one. Yet these bee-things were tearing through them like they were made of

paper. Suzu was forced to recast her spells faster than ever before.

As time passed, Suzu's exhaustion caused her concentration to slip, and the bee-things

began to close in. Their gradual defeat was affecting Suzu on a psychological level as

well.

Even Shizuku's expression grew grim. As a fighter who relied on speed over strength,

she was the best-suited to fight these bees. Indeed, her No Tempo was helping her

shred the bees with ease. However, the true terror of these monsters lay in their

number. While Shizuku could easily take them one-on-one, she lacked the ability to

destroy large crowds at once. Which meant that they were getting pushed back. Seeing

Shizuku and Suzu driven into a corner made Kouki hasty, and he charged into the

group of bees alone.

"My will is a blade! Light, heed my call and sunder my foes! Radiant Slash!"

White light swirled around Kouki's sword. It then melded into his weapon and

extended a full two meters from the tip of his blade. With his sword transformed into

a greatsword, Kouki spun in a circle. Light trailed behind his blade as he spun, and he

bisected the group of bee-things surrounding him. However, the cost for his temporary

victory was high. He'd rushed into the thick of the monsters and used an attack that

left him wide-open. The remaining monsters tackled him one after another.

"Ngh, you little!"

Kouki tried to back off, but the bee-things swarmed him. Their mandibles clacked

loudly as they tried to stab him with their stingers. Fortunately, Kouki's armor

protected him, and the needles slid off harmlessly.

After a difficult struggle, Kouki was able to skewer the monsters dog-piling him and

broke free. However, the remaining bee-things weren't going to give him time to get

back on his feet. Another group swarmed him, determined to keep him pinned to the

floor.

"Kouki!"

"Uwooooooooooooh!" He had no time to reassure Shizuku. Instead, he dropped to one

knee and, with a mighty roar, swung his sword. Unfortunately, that was as far as he'd

get to go. One of the bee-things ducked underneath his slash and latched onto his back.

It brought its face close and tried to bite through Kouki's neck.

"Wha—!?" Kouki words were cut short. Before it could kill him though, a red streak

shot past, blowing its head clean off.

Kouki had no time to process what had happened. Neck still stinging, he hurriedly

ripped off the remaining bee-things clinging to him. He might barely have escaped

death this time, but their situation was dire. Another couple hundred bee-things

joined the group already fighting.

Kouki's expression stiffened. They were being utterly overwhelmed. Just then, he

heard a calm voice next to his ear.

"Don't move, Amanogawa."

"Wha?"

A barrage of red streaks filled the air. It was as if a meteor shower had suddenly passed

them by. Seconds later, a series of dull explosions sounded in the distance. After each

explosion, another six streaks of light shot past. It was as if the bee-things were beset

by a horde of crimson spears. Each streak of light shot through a monster without fail.

This was one of Hajime's gun-kata skills, Ultra-Fast Quick Draw. He fired so fast that

each round of six bullets had only one gunshot noise accompanying it. Furthermore,

he'd perfectly calculated all the angles of his shots, so that occasionally his bullets ran

into each other and ricocheted off to hit other monsters with perfect accuracy as well.

Incidentally, that happened to be another one of Hajime's gun-kata skills, Polygon

Rebound. To an observer, it looked almost like the enemies were themselves willingly

jumping into the bullets' paths. Normally, there would be a slight delay every time he

reloaded, but because he teleported the bullets right above the cylinder and reloaded

by spinning it rapidly, it took less than a second. Plus, Donner and Schlag would always

be aiming in different directions and shooting down separate foes.

His skill with guns was practically godlike. In less than ten seconds, the hundreds of

monsters lay dead. Kouki and the others watched, dumbfounded, as Hajime casually

holstered Donner and Schlag, and walked over to the remnants of the bee-things. After

examining them for a bit, he dropped a bombshell of a statement.

"Tch. Doesn't look like I'll get much for eating these…."

"E-Eating!? Nagumo-kun, you plan on eating these creatures? Are you serious?"

Shizuku was shocked out of her reverie. She pulled a face and backed a few steps away

from him.

"Did I not tell you guys? If I eat a monster stronger than me, I can learn whatever

unique magic it had. Oh, but don't try it yourselves. You'll die for sure."

The only way to survive eating monster flesh was to have the legendary Ambrosia on

hand, and the willpower to stay sane after experiencing having your body destroyed

and remade hundreds of times. Hajime's supply of Ambrosia had dwindled to almost

nothing now, and restoration magic didn't heal someone from their injuries, it

returned them to a previous state, meaning it was useless in this case.

Kaori's strongest healing spells might be enough for someone to eat it and survive, but

it was still possible she wouldn't be able to regenerate their body before it was

destroyed completely. Hence why Hajime didn't recommend it. For someone like

Hajime, who'd already had his body transformed, regular healing spells were enough

to keep him going after eating monster meat.

"Don't worry, we don't want to. But the more I hear about you, the crazier it all

sounds…." Shizuku muttered, a troubled expression on her face.

While Hajime was reliable, the way he'd gained his strength sounded so painful that

Shizuku couldn't find it in herself to be happy about it. If anything, she felt more pity

than awe.

Hajime just shrugged his shoulders. This time, it was Suzu who asked him a question.

Like Shizuku, she looked somewhat disgusted.

"B-But then, why won't you eat this one? I mean, I'm glad I don't have to see you

cooking this disgusting thing, but…."

"Like I said, it has to be a monster stronger than me. These guys are too weak to get

anything out of."

"I see. So these monsters are just small fry to you, Nagumo-kun. I get it now, ahahaha."

"Suzu, I get what you're feeling, but please come back to us. Don't break over just this."

Shizuku sighed and brought Suzu back to her senses.

"...." Kouki looked down at the corpses scattered across the ground and curled his

hands into fists. These monsters had nearly killed the three of them, and Hajime had

single-handedly wiped them all out like they were nothing. Whether he liked it or not,

he was forced to accept the difference in strength between them.

Though he kept a straight face, the inside of his heart was filled with negative

emotions. Hajime noticed Kouki was just standing there and turned back to him.

"Amanogawa."

"Wh- What?"

"For now, just focus on finding your friend. You can worry about everything else after

you've done everything you can."

"You don't need to tell me. I know already."

Though his tone was snappy, Kouki still took Hajime's words to heart. With a weary

sigh, he braced himself and considered where Ryutarou might have gone. After

observing him for a few more seconds, Hajime shook his head and turned back to the

monsters.

He'd already guessed what was going through Kouki's mind right now. Jealousy

toward Hajime's strength, and mixed feelings of inferiority and impatience. All feelings

that Hajime had once felt himself.

It was rather ironic that Kouki, the boy who had everything, would feel that way

toward Hajime of all people. Thanks to his personality, Hajime had been able to

overcome those emotions himself in the past. But he wondered if Kouki, who'd never

experienced being inferior to others before, would be able to master himself as easily.

Well, I guess it's not my problem. Hajime decided to just ignore Kouki's issues. Besides,

the fact that he'd told Kouki to focus on Ryutarou showed that he was being more

considerate than he used to. For the monster of the abyss, even that slight concern was

an improvement.

"Hajime-san, I got rid of the monsters up ahead."

"All done here, too."

Shea and Kaori, who'd gone off to eliminate the remaining monsters in the area,

returned triumphantly.

"Perfect. Let's get going, then. Yue and Tio can handle themselves, but I'd still like to

meet up with them as soon as possible. As for Sakagami…. Well, let's hope his luck

holds out."

"Hey, don't you think you should care a little more about Ryutarou? I mean, I can get

why you'd be more worried about your girlfriend, but…."

Shizuku gave Hajime a complicated look, while Kouki just glared at him. But they said

nothing more, and the group set off in search of their missing comrades.

After another two hours or so of walking, the entire forest was suddenly dyed red. The

air trembled, the earth shook, and great gouts of hellfire started consuming the forest.

Earthquakes followed one after another, and it truly seemed like the end of the world.

The screams that Hajime and the others heard in the distance were likely the other

monsters in this forest burning to death. Their cries were a mixture of fear and panic.

And at the same time—

"Take that, you bastards! Burn with the whole goddamn forest!"

The owner of the crude voice that rang out was naturally none other than Hajime.

Yes, because he was the one carpet bombing the forest. He mercilessly fired rockets

from the Orkans he held in both hands. Something had clearly gotten him riled up.

"U-Umm, Hajime-san, don't you think that's enough?"

"Y-Yeah, Hajime-kun. I'm sure all the monsters are dead by now…."

Shea and Kaori timidly tried to stop him as they watched him fire hundreds of missiles

and use his Cross Bits to unleash a truckload of cluster bombs on the ground below.

Hajime turned to them.

"Hm?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"We're sorry for bothering you."

The moment they saw his bloodshot eyes, the two of them hurriedly backed off.

"Aww…. I'm scared. Shizushizu, stop hiiim."

"You're asking for too much, Suzu. I don't want to die just yet. Besides, I don't blame

him for being angry…."

Suzu hid behind Shizuku, tears in her eyes. In response, Shizuku just sighed and patted

Suzu's head to calm her down. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Kouki was

still squatting on the ground and covering his eyes with his hands.

"My eyeeeeees! Damn you, Nagumo! What the hell was that for!?"

His current appearance resembled that of a certain colonel who loses his sight near

the end of a certain series. Incidentally, the one who'd poked him in the eyes was

Hajime.

As for why Hajime had nearly left Kouki blind and started burning down the forest in

a crazed frenzy— The answer had to do with the monkey-like monsters he'd

encountered a few minutes prior. They'd been armed with stone knives and clubs, and

had used their superior dexterity to leap between the trees and run circles around

Kouki, Suzu, and Shizuku. Like the bee-things, they hadn't been any match for Hajime

and the others, and they'd easily dispatched any monsters foolish enough to attack

them.

The remaining monkeys had been scared off by that and had changed tactics.

Unfortunately, that crude intelligence of theirs became their downfall. In an attempt

to outsmart Hajime's trio, they made a most unwise choice. Their unique magic was

the same as the rust slimes Hajime had killed before, mimicry. And they'd possessed

same memories of Hajime and his comrades that the slimes had. With their limited

knowledge, they'd decided to transform into the person they thought would most

rattle Hajime's psyche…. Yue.

One of them had transformed into a beaten, disheveled Yue, and the other monkey

monsters had dragged her fake out for Hajime to see. As with the slimes, the fake Yue's

appearance looked every bit like the real thing. But of course, Hajime was still able to

tell with just a glance that the Yue they'd brought out was not the real Yue.

That having been said, the things they'd done to even a fake Yue were not something

Hajime was willing to forgive. Not one bit. First, he'd used Supersonic Step to run over

to Kouki and blind him. Since the fake Yue had looked like the real thing, he hadn't

wanted to let any other guys see her in such tattered, revealing clothes.

At that point, Hajime was already on the verge of snapping, but the monkeys hadn't

stopped there. Instead, they sneered and started pummeling the fake Yue with their

clubs. It was then that she looked up at Hajime and begged, "Save me, Hajime…."

Everyone present heard the sound of his reason crumbling when those words were

uttered.

What followed was the carnage everyone was witnessing now. A devastation so

thorough, it looked like the end of the world. Everything a good 500 meters in front of

Hajime had been burnt to a crisp and charred monkey corpses littered the ground.

The conflagration was so large, the other monsters living in the forest got caught up

in it too.

Despite having completely lost it, Hajime was still careful to make sure the real Yue or

Tio or Ryutarou weren't in the radius of his bombs. He kept a number of crow-shaped

Ornises by his side to observe the surrounding area. However, the combination of

being wreathed in hellfire and surrounded by crows made him look a true demon lord.

Tears were still pouring down the hero's eyes, so the only people available to stop him

were two of the demon lord's sworn vassals, Shea and Kaori.

"Don't give up, you two! You're the only ones who can stop Nagumo-kun now!"

"B-But Shizuku-san…."

"Sh-Shizuku-chan…. it's not that easy…."

"Don't give me your whining! Listen up! If you throw in the towel here, this entire

forest'll burn to the ground! Come on, chin up! You can do it, girls! Remember, there's

nothing stronger than a maiden in love!" Shizuku tried to give the two girls a pep talk.

In truth, she just didn't want to stop Hajime herself, so she was trying to get them to

do it instead.

Seeing how desperate Shizuku looked, Kaori and Shea exchanged glances. They

nodded determinedly to each other and leaped at Hajime the moment they saw him

reloading his Orkans. They both grabbed one of his arms and appealed to his

sensibilities.

"Hajime-san, this is enough! No more!"

"Shea-san's right, Hajime-kun! You need to calm down!"

Hajime turned to them, a displeased frown on his face. His expression resembled that

of a disgruntled yakuza member. Still, the two of them had been traveling with Hajime

for a long time. They continued gently persuading him to stop his assault, and

eventually, he did start to calm down.

"Alright, I get it already. I'll stop."

Hajime shrugged his shoulders and called his Cross Bits back. He put them, along with

his Ornises and Orkans, back into his Treasure Trove. Shea, Kaori, and Shizuku all

heaved sighs of relief.

"Sorry for getting all worked up like that."

"It's okay, I got pretty mad too so I can understand."

"Yeah, those monkeys really are the worst. But I guess I should have expected as much

from a labyrinth." Hajime smiled bitterly to himself while the two girls shook their

heads. The two of them hadn't been unaffected by fake Yue either.

The three of them chatted casually for a bit longer, the scorched forest still smoldering

in the background. Shizuku gingerly walked up to the group and said,

"Nagumo-kun, if you've finally calmed down, could you please heal Kouki's eyes?"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." Hajime turned to Kouki, who was still in tears. Tortus'

greatest hero looked rather pitiful right now. Hajime gestured to Kaori, who nodded

and cast healing magic on Kouki.

"I recognize this feeling. Am I being healed? Ah, I can see the light again…."

Kouki's expression relaxed as he was enveloped in light. Since he was on his knees and

gazing up at the sky, he looked almost like a priest being granted a divine revelation.

After his sight was fully restored, he glared at the source of his pain. His furious

expression ruined his natural good looks.

"Nagumo, what do you have to say for yourself?" Kouki did his best to keep his voice

even, but his body was still trembling with rage. He was this close to snapping himself.

"Yue's fake appeared, barely clothed. I had no choice but to kill all other guys present.

But since I didn't want to kill you, Amanogawa, I stopped at just blinding you. There's

your explanation."

"Explanation my ass!"

Hajime's "explanation" did nothing to quell Kouki's wrath. And so, Kouki swung his

sword through the air and screamed at him.

"Look, Amanogawa. I'll admit I probably should have held back more, but there was

no way I could let another guy see my girlfriend like that. You have to admit…. blinding

you was the only option."

"Quit trying to make it sound like that's just common sense! I thought you'd crushed

my eyes for a second there! Besides, we all knew it was a fake! It's one thing if it was

the real person, but I can't believe you'd do that over just a fake."

"Moron. Your eyesight's worthless compared to saving even a fake Yue from disgrace….

It's like comparing a pebble and a diamond."

"My eyesight's worth more than a pebble!" Kouki lunged at Hajime, but Shizuku

grabbed him and held him back.

"Anyway, it should be easier to search the place now that it's not covered in trees."

Hajime ignored Kouki and set off once more. His nonchalant attitude irked Kouki to

no end, but Shizuku and Suzu managed to calm him down. Both Kouki and Hajime

often had to be restrained by the girls around them. It wasn't something Hajime was

particularly happy to have in common with Kouki, though.

"Hm?" Before they got very far, Hajime sensed something coming straight toward

them. Whatever it was, it was alone and running no faster than a trot. And judging

from the mana Hajime sensed from it, it wasn't very strong either.

Puzzled, he turned back to the forest. Shea had sensed it as well, and her bunny ears

tilted in the direction of the trees. Kouki and the others could tell something was

closing in from Hajime and Shea's reactions, and they quickly readied themselves.

"What is it this time?" Kouki muttered. With a faint rustling of leaves, a goblin trotted

out from between the trees. It had dark-green skin, a twisted, ugly face, and a small,

childlike body. Also, it was only wearing dirty rags. Upon spotting Hajime and the

others, the goblin let out a startled "Gyaah!" Then, it stopped in its tracks and stared

at Hajime. Because of how its face naturally looked, it seemed like it was glaring. Or at

the very least, Kouki seemed to think so.

"I won't let you!" Kouki still hadn't been able to contribute much to their fights, and

that knowledge made him impatient. His desire to be even a little useful spurred him

into action without considering the situation. He rushed toward the goblin, his sword

held aloft. Yet despite the threat to its life, the goblin remained stationary. In fact, it

seemed neither shaken nor aggressive. It simply stood there, blankly watching Hajime.

Kouki did note its strange behavior, but he had no intention of showing mercy to a

labyrinth monster. Unwilling to let his guard down for even a second, he swung his

sword with all his might. Seconds before his glowing sword sliced the goblin in two—

"What the hell are you doing, moron!?"

"Huh— Bwah!?"

Hajime leaped forward and knocked Kouki away with a rolling kick. Kouki screamed

and went flying with such force it was like a dump truck had hit him. He crashed

through a number of bushes and vanished from sight.

First a poke in the eyes, now this. Shizuku and Suzu were understandably shocked.

They rounded on Hajime and chewed him out.

"Hey, Nagumo-kun, what do you think you're doing!? This is completely uncalled for!

Kouki was just killing a monster this time!"

"Yeah! Is Kouki-kun even alright!? It looks like you sent him flying really far."

Even Shea and Kaori looked confused as to why Hajime had done that this time.

However, Hajime ignored Shizuku and the others and focused his entire attention on

the goblin. The girls, who had totally forgotten about the goblin in the commotion,

drew their weapons and glared at it as well.

Just then, Kouki came barreling back into the clearing they were in. From the looks of

it, he was unhurt. Though Hajime's kick had looked flashy, he'd made sure to hold back.

That didn't change the fact that Hajime had attacked his own ally a second time,

however. And honestly, Kouki looked ready to eviscerate Hajime.

"Nagumo, what the hell are you doing? This isn't like last time, so you better have a

damn good explanation for getting in my way. Or have you totally lost it and are

protecting monsters—"

"That's no monster."

Kouki was so taken aback he stopped talking, and looked suspiciously at the goblin

again. That was all the explanation Hajime gave as he knelt in front of the tiny creature.

Kouki and the others opened their eyes wide in surprise. Shea was the only one who'd

guessed what was going through Hajime's mind. "It can't be…." she muttered.

Hajime looked the goblin in the eyes, and smiled happily, choosing to speak to it in an

overly kind tone….

"It's you, isn't it, Yue?"

"Gyaaah!"

"What?"

Hajime's unbelievable statement left Kouki and the others dumbfounded. However,

Hajime took the goblin's hand without hesitation and muttered something. "I knew it,

it's you…."

"I knew it…. It is you…."

The goblin smiled and replied in a high-pitched tone.

"Gyaaah!"

"Umm, Hajime-san. Are you sure that's Yue-san? All I see is a monster…."

"Y-Yeah, it looks just like a monster to me too. Is that really Yue?"

Shea and Kaori stared dubiously at the goblin.

"Gogya…. Gugooo…. Gyaaah!" The goblin cried, clearly trying to convey something. Its

shoulders drooped as it realized it could only make unintelligible noises with its

mouth.

However, Hajime understood Yue on such a deep level that even her goblin grunts

made sense to him.

"Hm? Mm, so basically right after you'd been teleported you already looked like this?"

"Gyaaah! Gugooo."

"So your physical body was transformed into something else…."

"Gugyaaah…. Gyaaah…. Gug."

"I see…. So you lost all your equipment too."

"Gug…. Gogooo."

"And when you heard the explosion you thought it might be me? Well, you weren't

wrong, but…."

"Gyuuu…. Gogooo."

"You can't use any of your magic? Well, as far as I can tell you won't transform any

further at least."

"Gigigigagi."

"It'll be fine. This is probably part of the trial as well. If they made it impossible to clear

from the start, it wouldn't be a trial, right?"

"Gyuuu?"

"Yeah, we're missing Tio and Sakagami too. They've probably been transformed like

you. Into what, I don't know…. but no need to worry, Yue. We always figure something

out in the end."

"Gyaaah!"

Unbelievable as it seemed, Hajime was conversing fluently with goblin-Yue.

"...." Kouki and the others watched silently. And eventually, still smiling, Hajime

turned back and spoke to them.

"There you have it, guys. Also Kaori, could you try using restoration magic on her?"

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, what."

"There's something off here, Nagumo-kun. This doesn't make any sense."

"Hold up a second, Nagumo-kun. I can't even follow what's going on here!"

Kouki, Shizuku, and Suzu all interjected at the same time. Hajime gave them a puzzled

look as if he couldn't understand what there was to be surprised about. Shea on the

other hand just mumbled "Yeah, yeah, I should have guessed this is what would

happen," with a resigned smile on her face. Kaori, meanwhile just whispered "This is

too weird…." with a distant look.

"Don't you think it's weird? Like really weird? How are you able to understand her so

easily!?"

"What are you talking about….? She's speaking normally."

"All I'm hearing is Gyaaah and Gogooo! Does that even count as a language!? How the

heck do you get what she's saying!? Nagumo-kun, did your Language Comprehension

skill get upgraded too or something!?"

Shizuku and Suzu continued pressing Hajime. Him being able to understand the goblin

was so incomprehensible to them that they were getting mentally overloaded. Hajime

scratched his cheek awkwardly, unable to really give them an explanation.

"I guess I'm just, feeling what she's saying, or something? Like I can tell what she's

saying by the look in her eyes."

"Well, the two of you do always get lost in each other's eyes. Maybe you just spent so

long doing it that you can talk through eye contact now. But you know, that's still

weird."

"Isn't it pretty normal to be able to do that with people you love?"

"No it's not, Hajime-kun. You might think it is, but I can tell you for sure it's not…. What

am I going to do? Becoming someone special to Hajime-kun keeps getting harder and

harder…." Kaori's voice grew uncharacteristically bitter. She couldn't ever see herself

reaching Yue's level. The road ahead was beginning to grow uncertain.

Now that he understood the situation, Kouki's anger faded away.

"Wait, Nagumo. How could you even tell it was her? The fact that you stopped me

means you knew from the start, right?"

"Come on, shouldn't it be obvious?"

At that, everyone simultaneously heaved a weary sigh. At this point, it wasn't too hard

to guess. Hajime then turned back to the Yue goblin and kept going.

"I'd never mistake Yue just because her appearance changed a little. That's all there is

to it."

"I see…." came the monotone reply.

"Gyaaah!"

The others were already tired of this conversation. This was probably the one and only

time Kouki and Shea were in sync. Also the only time anyone would see a goblin grin

like that.

"Anyway, Kaori. Try using restoration magic on her."

"Ah, umm, okay…. Here I go, Yue. Tetragrammaton!"

White light rained down on Yue. As restoration magic was ancient magic, there was

theoretically nothing that couldn't be restored by its power.

"Gyaaah?"

"Huh? How come it's not working!? L-Let me try again…. Tetragrammaton!"

However, Yue remained a goblin. Kaori's spell had properly gone off; the light

surrounding Yue and the steady drop in Kaori's mana was proof enough of that. Yet

Yue remained unchanged.

"Why won't it…." Kaori muttered, dumbfounded.

"Gugyaaa…." Yue's shoulders drooped.