51 Underground maze (1/2)

Black haired wise man Chiyuki

I'm surprised you found this way.

I say as I walk down a narrow passage.

I avoid the front passage with the traps and walk down a hidden passage in the side wall.

'Well, it's easy, isn't it? This path has been traversed by many humans in the recent past.

Nao says, looking back.

The ears of the beast can be seen on either side of Nao's head now, and tails sprouting from his buttocks. She is in a so-called half-beast state. When Nao is fully transformed into a beast, she will take the form of a beautiful winged leopard.

As Nao becomes more and more bestial, her ability to sense things becomes sharper and her physical abilities increase. However, in return, his dexterity is reduced, the number of armor and armor he can equip is reduced, and his resistance to spirit magic is reduced.

In other words, beastification has both advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, I have to think about where to use it.

Right now, I'm in a semi-beastified state to do some exploring. Since Nao, whose detection ability has been improved, says that the people taken away must have passed through this path without a doubt.

If that's the case, it's definitely this way. But still, it's not very formidable at all.''

Really, it's so boring.

Oh, my God, Ray and Reno!　Nothing is better than nothing!

Sahoko is right. Nothing is better than nothing.

But it sure feels like it's going too well. I don't know what the Minotaur is after with such a large scale abduction. Or do they have no particular aim?

It's much easier than going to the surface because the Gordans ahead of us are taking out all the demons.

We step through one level full of traps and go to the second level. There's nothing special so far.

This path was found by the freedom fighters who explored this labyrinth. How many people were sacrificed to find this passage?

The freedom fighters have covered the first four levels. We only have to follow the safe path they found, so it's easy. However, from the fifth level on down, it seems that little is known. After all, no one has ever come back.

Perhaps our turn will come from the fifth level.

Sisyphe and the others stopped when they were advancing through the labyrinth's passage.

''What's wrong, Sisyphe?''

'Master Raige. From here it's three underground levels. I thought I'd let you know that there are some troublesome demons down here.

There is a ladder in front of Siszfe that goes down to three underground levels.

'Really?　By the way, what kind of demons do you have in mind?

Akefalos and Evil Eye. These demons roam the third and fourth floors.

Akefalos is a demon that takes the form of a headless human. But instead of a head, it has eyes on its chest and a mouth on its belly. It resembles the Chinese yokai, or yokai.

In addition to having a body of iron, Akefalos has an excellent ability to handle weapons, and it is said that it can also produce powerful acid from its mouth.

And the Evil Eye is a demon with huge eyeballs and tentacles that look like optic nerves. The light emitted from its giant eyes can paralyze, fascinate, or petrify its target.

They are said to entangle and catch their prey with their tentacles, depriving them of life when they are unable to move.

Both demons are quite dangerous to ordinary humans.

Sisyphe and his team encountered Akefalos in the past when they joined the search party.

Half of the search party's freedom fighters were killed at that time, but they managed to escape.

Will Gordhan and the others who went ahead of him be okay?

Sizfe looks anxious as he remembers what happened when he encountered Akefalos.

'Don't worry, Sisyphe. We'll be with you. Don't worry.

Dear Rage: ”Dear Rage: ......

Rage says and Siszfe looks happy.

And Novis beside him doesn't look amused.

'I'm worried about Gaudin and the others who are ahead of us. Let's hurry up.'

The freedom fighter girl Sisyphe

Air bullets!

Maddy unleashes a spell lower than Sonic Wave.

This causes the giant bat to lose its sense of direction and start wobbling.

That's where my sister Kayna and I drop it.

Even we can beat a demon like this.

We've got Rage and the others behind us.

We should be able to hold out until the fourth level. There's no need to bother Lady Rage against these small fry.

Novis, Leiria-san and Nora-san will take down the zombies that come from the right.

'It's stopping!　Mr. Sisyphe!

Nao-sama's voice makes me stop. I heard that Nao-sama, who has turned into a half-beast-like figure, has sharp senses.

''Something's coming. ......

Nao-sama points to a crack in the wall. A giant eyeball comes out of it.

'Evil Eye!

A sickening tentacle wriggled behind the eyeball.

'Light!　Protect everyone!

The saint's voice echoes. And the next moment Evil Eye's eyeballs glow.

I involuntarily cover my face with my hands.

Then I open my eyes, but there's nothing. Grains of light are dancing around me.

It seems that the saintly woman has protected me with magic.

'Stand back, Sisyphe,'

The wise man steps forward.

'Wise man!　Evil Eye is highly resistant to magic. You can't defeat it with magic!

Maddy advises the wise man. Indeed, Evil Eye is strong in magic. You should be fighting with swords here, not magic.

”Don't worry, you'll see. ”Burst Barred!

When a red ball of light appears in front of the Sage, it goes towards the Evil Eye.

And when it hits the Evil Eye, it explodes and completely destroys the eyeball.

'Lies...... to defeat it with magic......'

Maddy gives me a look of disbelief.

'Oops, they're still coming.'

Nao-sama points in a different direction this time.

'Reno will do it this time. Mr. Salamander, please!

When a fire lizard comes out of Reno-sama's hand, it burns down the slime that appears to soak up the slime.

I've seen that color slime before, but it's a dangerous opponent that emits vicious acid.

Rage-sama's wives and others defeat the two demons in an instant.

''Then let's go ahead.''

When Master Rage says that, everyone starts walking around.

It's as if nothing has happened.

It's amazing ....... You took him down so easily ......

Novis mutters as he grunts.

I nod in response.

The black-haired sage Chiyuki-sama.

The pure white saint Sahoko-sama.

Reno-sama, the spirit user.

Nao-sama, who has excellent detection abilities.

And the brave and courageous Reiji-sama of light who unites them.

All of them have both beauty and strength.

There's also a person who isn't around right now, but she's called the Maiden of Swords. I'm sure she's also very impressive.

I didn't think there were people like this in the world. I don't think there's anyone in this world who can beat them.

Rage-sama and the rest of the team move onward with dignity. No demon will be able to stop them.

''We'll go too.''

I said and everyone nodded.

And we also started walking onward.

◆Chiyuki, the black-haired wise man.

'Oh, oh, oh!'

I went down to the fourth basement floor and caught up with Gaudan and his friends. Gordan was in the middle of a battle with Akefalos.

Akefalos' shield and Gordan's axe collided with Akefalos' shield.

Akefalos bounces off Gaudan's axe and attacks Gaudan with his sword.

Gordan steps back to avoid it.

A pretty good exchange between the two fighters. Gordan is being pushed around a bit though.

Akefalos's body is two meters high, about the same size as the huge Gordant.

The freedom fighters are lying in the ground. They seem to have been involved in the battle between Akefalos and Gaudan. If you look closely, you can see that some of them have their armor and shields unraveled.

As Gordan moves away, Akefalos opens the mouth of his stomach.

''d*mn it!

Gordan holds up a huge shield.

Akefalos spits a liquid from his mouth and something splatters around him.

''Gwaaaaah!

Gordan defends himself with his shield, but the freedom fighter behind him is bathed in what comes out of Akefalos' mouth.

Smoke comes out of the freedom fighter's body as he is bathed in the liquid and he screams. It's like he's melting his entire armor.

The reason why Gordan's shield is safe is probably because it's enchanted.

The dwarven freedom fighter and the sorcerer cover Gordan.

''This is bad. ......

Nao was right - he's going to lose this one if he keeps it up. Gordan is fighting a good fight, but he's being overwhelmed by Akefalos' power.

Still, he's just able to fight unlike the other freedom fighters, or should I say the brave men of the land?

But he won't last much longer. We should help them.

I'll take this one. We've barely done anything so far.

Rage steps forward and draws his sword.

It's a spare look. Well, that's about as good as it gets, Rage can be defeated in one hit.

”Let's go, flashbulbuster!

Rage uses a quick move to close the gap and slash Akefalos with a series of lightning fast attacks.

Akefalos, whose body has been shredded, collapses as it is.

''Awesome ......''

I didn't see the sword flash at all.

”This is the power of the brave men of light.

When the freedom fighters saw this, they exclaimed in admiration.

''I'm sorry, Master of Light.''

Gaudin, who was saved, approaches and bows his head.

Sahoko treats the injured freedom fighters.

Most of the freedom fighters who were ahead of us are stuck, and only a few seem to be able to move properly.

It looks like it's about time for us to go. The rest of us will go on our own.

I say to Siszfe and the others, and to Gordan and the others.

With her guidance, I was able to avoid the room with the trap and get here by a safe path.

There should be a place to descend to the fifth level a short distance from here, and from the fifth level there are no freedom fighters here who can guide us. And even if we could stay with them any longer, we would be slowed down.

So let's just go on our own from here.

''I'm sorry, Rage-sama. I wasn't able to guide you to the end. ......

Sizfe apologizes to Rage.

'Don't worry about it. 'Yes, I'll have you join me for a drink when you get back. Preferably alone. Is that okay?

Rage says with a refreshing laugh.

'Yes, I'd love to join you.'

Sizfe says happily. Now it looks like we have something to look forward to when we get home.

Sizfe and the others and Gordan and the others go back the way they came.

We're the only ones left.

It's just us from here. Is this the right way, Nao-san?

I'm sure of it. I smell someone who's clearly not a freedom fighter has been through here.

Nao responds by sniffing the surroundings.

'So the person who was taken is just down the road?'

'Maybe so, Sahoko. The question is, how far will it go?

Rage says with a serious face. It's true that we don't know how far the underground labyrinth will go.

If it goes on too long, we should probably leave for once.

It's time for me to go home. It's dark in here.

You'll have to be patient, Mr. Reno. Besides, it's a little brighter.

This labyrinth was a little brighter with magical lights all the way from the basement floor.

This labyrinth does not seem to have been built for those with night vision abilities.

''By the way, how far do you want to go?

'Well, I'd like to get to where the person who was taken is, if possible: ....... If we don't find them on the next level, we'll leave once we do.

At the very least, we'll have to go to the fifth level, where no one has ever been before. Otherwise, I don't know what we're here for.

'Let's go then, guys,'

Rage's voice sends us onward.

◆Sizfe, the freedom fighter girl.

Haha ...... you managed to come back.

I come back to the surface and exhale.

Unlike the trip, Rage-sama and the others weren't there, so it was a challenge to get back here, but I managed to get back.

Around us, the freedom fighters who had returned as well, were wearing expressions of relief.

The fourth level is a dangerous level.

It's a miracle that not a single person was killed after entering that level. This is also thanks to Rage and his team.

''Even so, they were amazing people: ......

Maddy says, looking at the stairs down to the basement floor.

'That was definitely awesome ....... Even when I was able to talk to the spirits, I didn't get along with them that well.'

Nora says, remembering Reno-sama.

''The saint-sama is amazing too. She can use healing magic like that.''

That girl Nao is amazing. I never knew she could move like that in that small space.

Leiria-san and Keina-sama praised the saint and Nao-sama respectively.

''Sage-sama's magic was also amazing. No matter how much I study, I can't use that much magic.''

Maddy continues to praise the wise man.

Everyone is praising Rage-sama and the others.

I'm sorry Nobis, but that's the real brave master.

There is more than a difference between you and other brave men and women.

I look at Novis, the brave man of fire. Novis is somewhat unhappy.

Perhaps Novis has developed a rivalry with Master Rage.

I've known Novice since I was a child, but Novice doesn't like to lose. But I don't think it makes sense to have a rivalry with Master Raji.

It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what to do with it, because it's the Goddess' chosen existence. I'm sure there are many other people who are called brave, but this is the only one who is loved by the Goddess. You will be able to get a lot more than just a few minutes of your time.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most of your time with us.

''Novice, why do you look so grumpy?''

'Not separately ....... I'm not cranky.

A sigh comes out when I see his expression.

''There's no way you can compete with Rage-sama anymore!　There's no point in fighting it!

What!

When I say it, Novis makes a funny noise and glares at me.

I think he was a figurehead, just as I thought he was when I saw his face. I knew he had a weird rivalry with Rage-sama, and I want to tell him to grow up.

''Well, don't say that, Sizefe...''

Sister Kayna hugs me from behind.

'Sister Kayna?!

When I turn around, sister Kayna is smiling at me.

'Nishishi, Novis, you know, it's not funny that the brave man of light asked Sizfe out at the end. I know, right Novis?

Sister Kayna!

Novis exclaims.

'It's not funny that I was invited by Lady Rage ....... 'Why?'

That's right, they took Sisyphe... ......

Novis covers his sister Kayna's mouth. 'I don't know what it is,' she says.

'I'm not sure. It was a social gesture for Lady Rage to ask me out. There's no way he'd take me seriously.

Rage-sama wanted me to go out for a drink alone with him, but there was no way he was serious. After all, with all those beautiful women, it would not be fun to have a drink with me.

”Haha ...... Sisyphe doesn't know ....... That was serious .......

Novis says, shaking his head.