Chapter 25 (1/2)
The Final Floor
“Eh-”
No one kneho that sound came from It could have been anyone
The tenth floor It was an open cave with a smooth stone floor
Pale light emanated from the stone The area was around ten meters wide, with a staircase that lead doard in the corner
And there was a mirror at the end of the staircase
It see froo further back up either
“This is… a resting place?”
Though Riawith it
It was hard to take a break in a place like the ninth floor’s jungle The enemies weren’t obviously visible It probably wasn’t a trap either
“There’s no signs of ical power This is an ordinary place”
Maal’s words proved it
“Before the final boss, I guess we’re o here?”
Thinking about it as though playing a gaiven the nature of this labyrinth, it was probably like that
“For now, let’s rest”
Ria judged so Though they had decided to advance, they originally planned to return right after, but it seemed they could sleep here
Unfortunately, the stone floor was abnor a bath They wiped down their equipment and bodies ater
Laying out blankets, they laid down The first to stand as lookouts were Maal and Ria These tere best for the role because they were the least exhausted
“I’m useless, aren’t I?”
Maal whispered in a weak voice
Ria hugged Maal’s shoulder, slowly caressing her ear
“It’s not like that”
There were no lies in Ria’s words If Maal weren’t there, the amount of time it took to explore the labyrinth would have been several ti said
“Maal does things like cook and ht isn’t a talent”
Towards Maal, Ria was always gentle A gentleness that one wouldn’t associate with Ria-chan the Merciless
“But, I also want to be useful in fights”
It’s not that she didn’t understand that feeling
“I’ht?”
Before, she was just a tool Locate traps, release them, and pick the locks on treasure chests
But here, under Ria, everyone thought of her as a co said
Here, she wasn’t a tool She wanted to becoether with them
“Then, special training e return”
“Yes!”
“Shh Be quiet”
Maal held her mouth shut in a hurry
“Alright, let’s go!”
After sleeping, they didn’t feel h it didn’t appear in a nu down
Rather than a labyrinth, this was like a passage
It was at h they thought it was a straight line at first, it bent very slightly to the left
“A spiral staircase~? It feels somewhat like DNA, doesn’t it…”
Only Ria understood the word that Serge used Though Ria wasn’t much a person interested in science, she still sorams
“Isn’t that a double helix? I think this is entirely different though”
“Yeah, I was just saying that But going down a spiral staircase into the ground, it’s so”
He was likely being talkative due to being anxious Not that she didn’t understand hoas feeling
This labyrinth gave a feeling of being enclosed Unlike the previous floors, it had the at impossible to return from
“Ah, wait a second”
Along the way, Serge stopped the group After a ic
“It’s alright, the path behind us wasn’t closed off”
“Incidentally, could you see what’s ahead of us?”
“Roger that”
Serge’s ic Even if he couldn’t see it, he could understand as in a space as long as it wasn’t shi+elded
“The depth is… about five castle gates worth There’s probably so like a door at the end If there’s a room on the other side of the wall, wouldn’t it be the size of five town blocks?”
There was probably a guardian in such a large place
“I wonder if it’s a Dragon?”
Ria roup all looked reluctant
What’s a Dragon? The strongest living creature in the world It’s stronger than most demons
After all, two thousand years ago and again a thousand years ago, there were large floods of deth, mankind finally won
Casalia’s founder, Leyte Anaia, beca Ria’s ancestor
“Well, though I said a Dragon that doesn’t ons”
Carlos knew of legends with knights battling dragons, so she continued
“If a Five God Dragon came out, even I would escape”
Even if Ria was entirely confident, she didn’t think she could coht against a nuclear warhead