51 Underground maze (2/2)

But no matter how I think about it, I don't think Rage-sama would ask me out.

And what does it have to do with Novis where I was invited by Rage-sama?

'What the hell are you talking about?　That's not the point, let's go back to Thessesia!

I say and start walking.

I hear the sighs of my friends behind me.

What the hell is that?

Black haired wise man Chiyuki

We exit into a large space.

There is a huge door at the back of the hall.

It is said that we can go down to the fifth floor from the room beyond that door.

But there is a fearsome guardian in this hall.

We look at the center of the hall.

There is a huge metal statue of a giant golem standing there.

''That must be the gatekeeper that blocks the way to the fifth level.

Sisyphe says that most people can't get down to the 5th floor because of that golem.

However, I've heard that some people have taken advantage of the golem and gone down to the 5th floor. However, no one has ever come back.

What do you think, Raige? Beat that golem?　Or do you want to bypass it?

It's one thing to avoid needless combat. And given that no one has come back to it, there may be something on the fifth level. Maybe it's better to conserve our strength.

'No, let's fight here, Chiyuki. If anyone is taken to the fifth level, it will be an obstacle to our return.

Rage draws his sword.

Rage's sword is the holy sword of light given to him by Raina. When he pulls it out of its sheath, golden light floods out of the sword's barrel.

''That too.''

I hold up my wand.

'Shall we go then?'

Nao also sets up a boomerang.

'Who's going first?'

'I'll go, Miss Lino. You can't help the spirits in this enclosed space, Reno-san.

With that, I step forward.

Reno is good at spirit magic and spirit magic.

But spirits don't respond to your calls in a closed space.

When entering this labyrinth, Reno brings lower level spirits such as fire lizard salamanders, so he can fight to some extent. However, he wouldn't be able to use the higher level spirits here.

And the opponent is an inanimate giant statue golem, spirit magic cannot be understood.

In other words, it's not a good match for Reno.

So I step forward.

The giant statue doesn't seem to move unless I get a certain amount closer. It won't move even slightly.

The statue has an odd shape, as if two figures are connected back to back. It has four hands and four legs. And each of the four hands holds what looks like a large magical sword.

The five-meter long dull, glowing metal body looks hard.

I activate my magic. A red ball of light, the same size as mine, appears in front of me.

''Extreme Explosive Bullet!

The red ball of light moves vigorously and explodes when it hits the giant statue.

The Burst Barred is my original magic that narrows the range of the explosion without reducing its power. The explosive bombs were strengthened and released, no matter how strong the colossal statue was, it wouldn't be a free shot.

The smoke from the explosion clears. You'll find that one of the giant statue's arms is hanging down, and its entire body is cracked.

It's hard. It looks like they didn't all break: ......

I think I should have used a little more firepower magic. I made it a little too weak because I thought it was indoors.

I'm not going to be able to get my hands on any of them. It seems to be pretty hard.

Still, I think I was able to destroy it pretty well. A few more shots and it would have shattered.

The giant statue's four eyes glowed red. It seems to have recognized us because of the attack.

Suddenly, a band of light appears on the walls and floor of the room.

'What?!　Huh?　Hey, it's not playing?

Sahoko lets out a cry of surprise.

The giant statue's body glows in response to the light on the walls and floor of the room, and its arms, which had been hanging down, are slowly trying to return to normal. The cracks all over his body are disappearing little by little.

''I didn't expect it to have a self-repair function. Perhaps it's the effect of the magical devices that have been planted throughout this room.

It seems to be a rather troublesome enemy.

The giant statue starts to move and comes towards you with its sword raised.

Rage steps forward.

'I won't let you!　Flashbang!

Rage's series of light-speed attacks stopped the giant statue from moving.

'Avoid, Rage-kun!　Triple Extreme Explosive Bullet!

I release three reinforced explosive bombs the moment Rage dodges to the side.

The explosion blows the giant statue backwards.

''Did you do it?''

No, not yet!

I deny Sahoko's voice.

When I look, the four swords held by the giant statue glow and take a defensive stance. It doesn't seem to work as well as it did the first time.

It looks like it's done some damage, but I can't take it down.

When the giant statue stops moving, the room begins to glow again. Then the statue recovers.

It seems that you can't defeat it with half damage. But if you shoot any more high-powered magic, the room might collapse.

''I'm going to eat this one too!

Nao fires a boomerang.

The boomerang generates a scythe as it approaches the giant statue.

The four swords of the giant statue glow again.

Then a golden film of light appears around the statue.

The boomerang's movement slows as it hits the glowing film, and the giant's swords bounce the boomerang back.

'Oye?　That's pretty hard.

Nao says with admiration.

Nao is quick and excellent at detecting, but her attack power is weak.

It seems that Nao's attacks don't seem to be able to pass damage through the giant statue.

''Nao and Reno, stand back!　Me and Mr. Rage will take you down!

It's hard for Reno and Nao to do any damage to the opponent. It should be me and Reigi fighting here.

''No, Chiyuki stay back too. I'll take care of this one by myself.

With that, Rage tries to get me to back off.

'Are you sure, Rage-kun?　That golem seems pretty strong.

It's okay, Chiyuki. And I have some things I want to try.

With that, Rage smiles wryly.

Then he pulls another sword from his back. The sword isn't as good as the holy sword Raina gave me, but it's one made by a famous dwarf.

Rage holds both swords. It is two swords.

To be honest, I can't show this figure to Cyrone. This is because this is a way to beat Cyrone's childhood friend.

Defeated, Rage went to a two-fisted approach with the idea of becoming stronger.

Rage is an evolving monster. If he fights again, he'll beat his childhood friend Shirone. And I'll never be able to compete with Rage again.

Rage charges at the statue. The statue readies his four swords and fires at him.

Rage skillfully uses two swords to deal with the giant statue's large sword.

It's amazing, aren't you, Rage! It's impossible for Nao to move like that.

Nao exclaims in admiration. Nao is the most physically capable of all of us. Rage is truly a monster, as he can move in a way that not even Nao can imitate.

As a matter of fact, he is ambidextrous. He can hold a pen in both hands and write letters at the same time. I was surprised when I first saw it. Perhaps that's why he is able to manipulate both swords at the same time with no discomfort.

The giant statue is even bigger than Rage and has four large swords. In contrast, Rage only has two swords. Nonetheless, the giant statue is being pushed.

Rage's breathless series of attacks are breaking the statue.

You can't see its face, but you can tell it's smiling.

I'm enjoying that one. For Rage, that level of enemy is nothing more than a playmate.

But even if the body is destroyed, the giant statue recovers every time the room lights up. It's not enough to defeat them with that.

As expected, it's a pain in the ass ....... Then how about this!

Then Rage leaps backwards and moves away from the giant statue a bit.

'f*ck you! Light-winged Heaven Breaker!

Rage held his sword low and his whole body wriggled like a spring as he flew towards his opponent. Its speed is tremendous, it's like a single arrow of light.

I have seen that technique in the past. It's a body-attack in which your entire body is bounced around like a spring. It's easy to avoid because of its large reserve motion, but if it hits, it's powerful enough to pierce anything.

Rage's attack hits the giant statue and pierces it.

And after it passes by, a large hole is made in the giant statue's body. And a crack appears in the center of the hole, and the statue shatters.

The room glows again. But there is no sign of the giant statue recovering.

It was shattered and it seemed that it would never regenerate again.

'Yes!

Mr. Rage!

Mr. Ray!

The three of them run up to Rage, and they hug him, saying how awesome he is.

I think it's really amazing too. They practically took down that giant statue with just one person.

Moreover, it looks like Rage hasn't gotten serious yet.

I also run up to Rage. As expected, I don't hug him, but I can't help but admire him.

''You're gonna do it, Rage-kun!

Of course. You're falling in love with him again, aren't you?

Rage looks at me and laughs.

It would be great if I didn't really get on top of things.

Well, that's what Rage is, so I can't blame him.

'Oh my God, what are you talking about!　Let's go ahead.

Then I look at the door that the giant statue was guarding.

I don't know what's waiting for me from here.

We open the door and enter.

There is a staircase that leads down.

The stairs lead down to a large room.

The large room is smaller than the hall we just entered, but it's a moderately large room. And there is a magic circle in the center.

”Is this a magic circle of transition?　Looks like we'll have to use this magic circle to move on from here.

I say, approaching the magic circle.

'Chiyuki-san. Your shoe has fallen off.

I think Nao has found something.

Everyone goes to him.

”It looks like a kid's shoe.

Reno was right, the shoes were small and looked like children's shoes.

'I wonder if they belonged to the child who was among those taken away, after all?

'No doubt about it, Sahoko. They probably got moved somewhere in a magic circle.

I think Rage is right too. The people who were taken must have been transferred somewhere.

'What do you think, Rage? I don't know what's going on with the transposition: ......

We'll have to go. It's enough to take them away alive. It's not a place where a human being can't live.

Sure it is: ......

They would be taken alive. It's hard to imagine that it's a dangerous trap that would cause a human to die immediately. For example, it's unlikely that the transference destination is in flames.

If you check the magic circle, the transference is a one-way street. You may not be able to come back after transferring.

But if you don't go, you won't know anything.

Maybe it's a good idea to leave one person behind. But Rage is our greatest asset, and we can't leave him behind.

I have to go because there might be a magical trick in there.

I want to take Nao with me, who has excellent detection skills.

You can't miss Sahoko's healing magic.

Reno is the right man for the job, but he won't want to be left out.

So we'll all have to go together.

We look at each other and nod.

Then we all enter the magic circle.

The magic circle begins to glow.

The landscape distorts and subsides and we are sent to a room somewhere.

The room is not secluded, but the light shines in from outside the room.

'It's bright. What's going on?

Sahoko's words made us head outside.

'It's so big ....... It's hard to believe we're in a labyrinth.

Nao was right, there was a large space there. It was large enough to hold at least ten cities, and the ceiling was extremely high.

And there is a huge crystal protruding from the ceiling that is as big as a single city. The light comes from that crystal.

Thanks to this light, this large space is so bright that it is hard to believe it is in a labyrinth.

”There is a forest and a lake. It's like being outside.

Reno shouts in surprise.

I was surprised, too. I couldn't believe that there was a place like this in the labyrinth.

'There's a field. Looks like someone lives here.'

Rage says, looking into the distance.

We were sent to a building that looks like a shrine. That shrine is built on a little hill. Because of this, we were able to see the entire large space.

In the wide space, you can see forests, lakes, and fields.

'It looks like there's a city in the distance: ......

I look in the direction that Nao is looking.

He can see some buildings there.

'We'll have to go. There are probably some people that were taken to this place. So let's move on, guys.

We nodded at Rage's words.

We don't know what's waiting for us. But for now, we have no choice but to keep going.

We started walking towards the city.

Atranaqua.

Inside my mansion in the Republic of Ariadia, Eulia, the princess of the Pasipaea Kingdom, is looking out the window.

I'm sure Rage-sama is at his father's right now. Now Rage-sama is mine ....... Don't you think so, Atrana?

Eulia mutters as she looks in the direction of the labyrinth.

'Eulia-sama ....... Zarxis wanted the power of a brave man, too.'

He doesn't deserve to die like that. He deserves to be mine.

My head hurts when I hear Eulia's words.

This princess is the daughter of Lavrus and the Queen of the Kingdom of Pasipaea, who is human.

Although Lavrus, the god, is the father, this daughter is a human. She doesn't have much power.

However, even if she is human, it is dangerous to be rude when her father is Lavrus.

So he bows his head.

This princess is lucky enough to look like her mother, so she's quite beautiful. If she had looked like her father, she would have been horrified by her appearance.

'Then I have an appointment: ......

No. Besides, I've already asked your father for a favor. You don't give a d*mn about your promise to Zarxys if I wish it.

Eulia laughed. That smile was somewhat like Lavrus.

Her father, Lavrus, is a monster who torture men, humiliate women and devour their pleasures. And the daughter, like her father, is arrogant and greedy.

He will never stop trying to get what he wants.

Lavrus is a man who breaks his promises with impunity. He will rebel against his daughter's wishes if she asks him to. This doesn't allow Zarxis to suck the power of a brave man.

Eulia is laughing innocently. Both father and son are selfish.

'Besides, you're after Raina. That goddess must be so frustrated that the man she loves was taken away from her by me.'

Eulia says with a stain on her cheeks.

I had her put on a play to lure the brave man of light. She liked the brave man of light a great deal at that time.

And Eulia was right.

I want to beat the shit out of that shitty goddess, Raina. I'm sorry to Zarxis, but I can't change that feeling.

If I think about it, I can say that things went exactly as I intended.

I want to say to Raina, ”Suck it up. I got the man you wanted. You're bound to feel better.

You're more than fit to be the violent lavrus.

You smile at the thought.

And now, what do you suppose Rayna will do? My heart leapt when I thought about it.