The Labyrinth's End
"The 'prey' on the fifth floor is mine. Don't even think about touching it. Get lost."
"...Ah, then I suppose I have no choice but to let you have it."
Amon walked down the passage with a triumphant stride.
'Of all people...'
Of all people, it had to be Zeto.
Amon had been subtly avoiding Zeto until now.
The sound of Zeto's footsteps following behind him was incredibly grating.
"I told you to get lost...?"
Amon swallowed the curse rising in his throat and glared back, but Zeto was much further behind than he had thought.
Shrugging with an annoying smile, Zeto gave off a strong impression of saying, 'What do you want me to do about it?'
"Ugh..."
Amon turned his head back and thought.
'If only we weren't in the Labyrinth...'
But that was as far as his thoughts went.
Amon stopped thinking any further.
If they really weren't in the Labyrinth, could he actually smash that annoying face into the dirt?
The class placement exam suddenly came to Amon's mind.
Back then, he hadn't let his guard down just because his opponent was blind.
'He definitely dispelled it. And with a sword, no less.'
No matter how hot-headed he was, Amon was still a Caligus. He hadn't learned magic for nothing.
He didn't dismiss Zeto's dispel as a mere fluke.
'Even if we fought again, it would be hard to win.'
Amon had experienced dispel before. He knew exactly how much of an advantage a dispel had against a mage.
Naturally, a dispel required a deep understanding of the magic to be neutralized.
His father had easily dispelled his magic.
Well, of course, since Amon had learned magic from his father.
But this guy, Zeto, had dispelled his Earth Gauntlet. And he was a swordsman, not even a mage.
Even to Amon, dispelling magic with a sword was completely unheard of.
This meant there was a terrifying gap in skill between Amon and Zeto.
'I was going to take care of it... Please, just get lost...'
Many cadets had fallen to the powerful, unidentified monster on the fifth floor.
He had planned to defeat that monster in spectacular fashion, proving the greatness of the Caligus family and showing the academy cadets exactly who Amon Caligus was.
And in the middle of that, he had run into Zeto.
'He's definitely here for the monster too.'
Anxious without realizing it, Amon quickened his pace.
He was worried that Zeto, following behind, might steal his achievement.
Finally, Amon spun around and shouted.
"Fuck off!"
Fortunately, this was the Labyrinth.
Even if Amon spoke harshly, Zeto couldn't retaliate here.
The only reason he hadn't picked a fight with him before was to avoid retaliation.
Picking a fight with someone stronger than you only led to embarrassment.
Amon was the textbook definition of "strong against the weak, weak against the strong."
To Amon, Zeto was already the "strong" and he was the "weak."
But because he could curse at Zeto here in the Labyrinth, he felt a refreshing sense of relief, as if a clog in his chest had been cleared.
Hearing Amon's curse, Zeto's expression gradually hardened.
'Yeah, so what if you're pissed?'
Amon smirked at Zeto.
Absurdly enough, he was the type to worry about the consequences later.
Soon, Zeto opened his mouth.
But the words that came out of Zeto's mouth were completely different from what Amon had imagined.
"...It is coming."
Zeto spoke in an unusually serious tone.
Startled by Zeto's ominous words, Amon quickly turned his head forward.
The dimly lit passage was still deathly quiet.
The smell of blood hung thick over the entire floor, but otherwise, nothing had changed.
'No, it really is coming...'
Without even having time to marvel at Zeto's absurd detection ability, Amon immediately assumed a combat stance.
Thud, thud, thud!
Only then did the sound of footsteps reach Amon's ears.
Judging by how quickly the sound was approaching, it was moving at an incredible speed.
Even though he couldn't see the creature yet, Amon had to prepare in advance.
"Earth Wall!"
Amon slammed his hand onto the ground, raising a thick wall of solid rock in front of him.
'It'll definitely break through the wall. The moment it mindlessly smashes through, I'll crush its head.'
Soon, the footsteps reached the other side of the wall, and Amon's instincts flared.
It was breaking through now.
Crash!
Just as Amon expected, the wall shattered, and the creature revealed itself amidst a shower of flying stone fragments.
'A mane?'
Its grey mane fluttered.
Without panicking, Amon swung his gauntlet down in the nick of time.
Whoosh!
But the creature dodged Amon's gauntlet, which had been on the verge of smashing its face.
"Unbelievable...!"
Then, the creature's long claws lunged toward Amon.
*Clang!*
Amon quickly blocked with his gauntlet.
Fortunately, the gauntlet wasn't pierced.
Indeed.
Even if he were to die, Amon was still a Caligus.
He was Amon Caligus, the son of Maxim Caligus, the "Shield of the Empire" and the foremost master of earth magic, renowned for its unmatched sturdiness.
"Earth Spear!"
Even as he was blown back by the heavy impact, Amon summoned a spear of stone in midair and hurled it at the beast.
Even if the creature had dodged his gauntlet at point-blank range, the speed of the Earth Spear was exceptionally fast.
*Clang!*
Finding it difficult to dodge, the creature swiped its arm to deflect the stone spear.
Amon pushed himself up from the ground and identified the creature.
'A Lycanthrope...?'
A human with a wolf's head.
Though the only thing human about it was that it walked on two legs...
That was the only name that came to Amon's mind.
It wasn't a normal monster.
It wasn't something that should appear in the Labyrinth.
Amon thought so, but the battle came first.
In an instant, the Lycanthrope's form blurred.
'It's coming...!'
Approaching Amon at a speed almost impossible to react to, the Lycanthrope's claws battered against his gauntlets.
Slash! Clang! Clang!
Amon was holding his guard up with his gauntlets, but he knew he couldn't hold out forever.
The Lycanthrope's menacing claws lunged toward Amon's lower body, which his gauntlets couldn't protect in time.
"Earth Wall!"
In a split second, Amon caused a wall to erupt right beneath his feet, barely dodging the Lycanthrope's claws.
Crash!
The Lycanthrope smashed through the wall once again.
Amon, propelled into the air above the beast, cast another spell.
"Stone Shower!"
Large, sharp fragments of stone rained down heavily upon the creature's head at Amon's command.
This was the specialty of Amon, an earth mage who preferred close-quarters combat.
The Lycanthrope hastily raised its arms to block the falling stones, but it couldn't deflect them all.
"Phew..."
Amon looked at the Lycanthrope, which now had stone shards embedded all over its body.
He thought that maybe, just maybe, he had a chance.
Awooooo!
Then, the beast threw its head back and let out a savage howl toward the ceiling.
With a clattering sound, the stone shards embedded in its flesh fell to the floor.
The Lycanthrope was regenerating its wounds.
Its torn flesh knit back together, and the flowing blood stopped.
Growl...
Hot breath hissed from the Lycanthrope's mouth.
Its crimson eyes glowed with an even more hideous, malevolent energy.
He thought he had dealt a significant blow, but he had only succeeded in infuriating it.
Scritch...
The Lycanthrope dragged its leg back.
Boom!
The beast kicked off the ground, launching a charge far more violent than before.
In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of Amon, its razor-sharp claws thrusting straight toward his face.
Amon desperately raised his gauntlets to block, but...
Crash!
His battered gauntlets cracked, and Amon's body was sent flying sideways.
Crunch!
Amon slammed hard into the wall.
"Gah!"
Blood sprayed from Amon's mouth.
'Did I break a rib...?'
Amon's body shivered as if it were about to fall apart. He couldn't even stand up.
'They said it was just a monster...'
It was no easy opponent.
It wasn't just because the beast was agile or because he was a mage.
Amon was confident in close combat too.
The Lycanthrope was simply that powerful.
At this point, Amon had no choice but to admit it.
'Did I bite off more than I could chew?'
He was always the type to realize his limits only after tasting bitter defeat.
Zeto during the placement exam had been one instance, and this Lycanthrope was another.
Drool dripping from its jaws, the Lycanthrope slowly approached Amon.
'...I guess I'll have to go get treated at the infirmary.'
Just as Amon was about to cleanly give up and accept defeat...
"...It is my turn now, correct?"
Suddenly, that annoying voice—the last thing Amon wanted to hear right now—echoed from across the passage.
The Lycanthrope reacted to the voice as well, as if only just noticing Zeto's presence.
Lying on the floor, Amon strained to roll his eyes toward Zeto.
But Zeto looked strange.
'The usual blindfold over his eyes... and now he's even covering his mouth...?'
With his entire face wrapped tightly in bandages and cloth, Zeto looked like a faceless assassin.
The Lycanthrope turned toward its new challenger.
"You should probably... plug your nose."
Zeto left Amon with those cryptic words.
Zeto threw a pouch from his waist toward the Lycanthrope.
Then, just before the pouch could reach the Lycanthrope, Zeto drew his sword and slashed it.
Burst!
The pouch burst open, scattering a cloud of yellow powder in all directions.
'Powder...?'
The powder quickly dispersed through the air, reaching the nose of Amon, who hadn't been able to block his nose due to his injuries.
'...My body won't move.'
Whatever the powder was, it possessed a paralyzing effect.
'A Lycanthrope doesn't use magic. Which means "Dispel" won't work on it.'
To be frank, the swordsmanship Zeto had shown before was quite ordinary.
It couldn't even compare to the legendary Ice Swordsmanship of the Aisin family, who governed ice magic among the Four Elemental Families.
'What are you going to do, Zeto...?'
Since things had turned out this way, Amon decided to just lie quietly and watch Zeto fight.
Distracted by the powder, the Lycanthrope sniffed the air, and its body temporarily stiffened.
Zeto didn't miss that window.
'Why is he holding his sword like that? A reverse grip...?'
Holding his sword in a peculiar reverse grip, Zeto immediately charged at the Lycanthrope.
Zeto's sword struck.
Zeto's crimson blade aimed straight for the beast's head.
Yet, by some absurd feat of physical prowess, the Lycanthrope overcame the paralysis and reacted to the strike.
Slash!
Instead of its head, the beast's wrist was severed.
Zeto's sword sliced through the dense, tough muscle as effortlessly as if it were cutting water.
Having lost a hand, the Lycanthrope quickly leaped backward to put distance between itself and Zeto.
A reverse grip.
And a crimson sword that, even from a distance, was clearly a masterpiece.
Zeto had changed significantly in his own right.
'It hasn't even been that long since we enrolled, and he's already grown this much?'
Amon realized that the gap between him and Zeto had widened even further.
Meanwhile, after backing away, the Lycanthrope seemed to be waiting for something.
Blood poured from its severed wrist.
Even for a Lycanthrope, a severed wrist wasn't something that could be regenerated instantly.
But to Amon, the beast didn't seem to be waiting for its wound to heal.
It was waiting for the strange powder that paralyzed its body to settle to the ground.
Whether this was instinct or intelligence, Amon couldn't tell.
Zeto pulled down the cloth covering his mouth and nose, calmly waiting for the beast.
The standoff didn't last long.
The Lycanthrope sniffed the air and then lunged at Zeto.
Roar!
Shrieking, the beast ignored its severed right hand and swung its left claw.
Even with only one hand, its attacks were far swifter and more agile than when it had fought Amon.
Yet, Zeto deflected and slipped past the attacks with light, effortless movements.
'He... definitely can't see... so how...?'
As if he could see perfectly, Zeto dodged every single one of the Lycanthrope's sharp claws with miraculous movements.
The Lycanthrope's attacks grew faster and faster.
With every swipe of its arm, a sharp gust of wind whistled through the air.
Deciding that it was impossible to keep dodging the relentless barrage of strikes, Zeto blocked the claws with his sword.
*Clang!*
Though he blocked with his sword, Zeto couldn't completely absorb the impact, and his body was pushed back through the air.
Screeech.
Zeto dragged his blade along the ground to bring himself to a halt.
Even so, he remained completely composed.
Zeto flicked his sword once, a faint smile playing on his lips.
'He can't win just by dodging. What is he hiding that lets him make a face like that?'
Amon swallowed hard, staring intently at Zeto.
Then, Zeto raised his index and middle fingers, slowly running them down the flat of his blade.
It was a gesture whose meaning was entirely unclear.
But in that instant, Amon saw the flow of Zeto's mana shift.
It was so bizarre that Amon doubted his own eyes.
The way Zeto manipulated his mana in that brief second completely transcended Amon's understanding.
Soon, Zeto took a stance, preparing to swing his sword.
Growl...
Grrr...
The Lycanthrope was panting.
It was exhausted from the reckless barrage of attacks it had just unleashed.
As a result, there was a significant distance between Zeto and the Lycanthrope.
It was a distance where neither of their attacks could possibly reach the other.
Ignoring this, Zeto swung his reverse-gripped sword several times, drawing elegant, flowing curves in the air.
The crimson trails left behind as his sword sliced through the empty air were incredibly beautiful.
But the problem was that he was only slashing empty space.
It was bizarre.
How could he swing his sword in the air without even releasing sword energy?
Sword energy wasn't something that could be drawn out so easily. Only swordsmen who had reached a certain level of mastery could wield sword energy.
Watching Zeto, Amon suddenly thought:
'He really must be blind. He's lost his mind. They said getting hit by that thing's attacks causes confusion... He must have been grazed during that flurry of strikes.'
If Amon hadn't been paralyzed, he would have clicked his tongue at the sight.
But immediately after Zeto swung his sword, a deafening sound pierced Amon's ears.
Riiiiip!
With a thunderous roar, massive sword gashes carved themselves into the surrounding passage.
The walls and ceiling of the passage were sliced open as if defying space itself.
Startled, Amon rolled his eyes to check his own body first.
Fortunately, the fierce sword gashes hadn't swept through his body.
Even though attacks between cadets didn't work inside the Labyrinth, Amon had been so utterly bewildered that he had completely forgotten that fact.
'Then... what did this mysterious "sword energy" actually cut...?'
Amon's trembling eyes focused on the Lycanthrope.
The beast stood perfectly still.
But only for a moment. The lines of Zeto's sword paths suddenly manifested across the beast's body, and then, its flesh began to slide apart in pieces.
Thud.
First, its head.
Thud, thud.
Next, its arms and torso.
Plop...
Finally, its remaining lower body split cleanly in half.
The Lycanthrope was completely diced, leaving only its ankles standing solitary where it had once been.
Splash!
For some reason, Zeto flicked his sword diagonally, scattering blood onto the ground—even though no blood should have been on the blade.
The blood he shook off was undoubtedly the Lycanthrope's.
Click.
With that, Zeto sheathed his sword.
The events that had unfolded in a single instant were far too complex, so Amon gave up trying to make sense of them.
He is far stronger than me.
That was the only thought left in Amon's mind.
Soon, Zeto strode forward and called out loudly.
"Amon! Are you still alive?!"
Zeto's cheeky smile was as prominent as ever.
Maybe not to other cadets, but to Amon, it was incredibly irritating.
'That bastard... he deliberately avoided cutting anywhere near me...'
Amon wanted to curse him out at the top of his lungs, but the paralysis kept him from doing so.
In any case, that was how things were for Amon.