Chapter 2: Haltina’s Labyrinth (Part 1)

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.

Shea and the others looked at her worriedly. Hajime folded his arms and

tapped his forehead thoughtfully. There had to be a logical explanation for

what was going on. Yue tugged on Hajime's sleeve and looked up at him

with a worried expression. Since she was still a goblin, it looked more like

she was glaring though. Upon seeing that, Hajime broke out of his musing

and smiled reassuringly at her.

"It'll be alright, Yue. Like I said before, this probably isn't a trap, and

since this is a trial they wouldn't want to eliminate us right at the start. There

has to be some way to get you back to normal." Hajime's voice was filled

with such confidence that Yue and the others smiled.

"My guess is restoration magic didn't work because whatever turned you

into a goblin was another form of ancient magic. That magic circle probably had something special built into it."