Sealed Labyrinth
A few days earlier...
To eliminate the Demon King Eskalia, the two knight captains dispatched to a remote location boarded a carriage with only light travel gear and no farewell send-off. Though the fate of the nation hung in the balance, the fact that Eskalia—said to have died four years ago—was alive and well could not be revealed. The truly critical matters were handled quietly in the shadows like this.
"Do you believe there are lies told to save the world, Claire?"
Clack. Clack. The carriage wheels rumbled over the rocky path, gently jostling the two women's bodies. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but the air itself conveyed Claire's awkwardness toward Riana.
"...I'm not sure."
Claire averted her gaze from Riana's curious eyes, trailing off her words.
"Why did the Holy Kingdom suddenly change its mind? Because they're afraid of the second Demon King?"
"You have so many questions, Captain Riana."
"Exploration is a delightful pursuit. It awakens us from ignorance."
Riana believed everything had a reason, while Claire, conversely, thought even grand events could happen without any particular cause.
"I'm not sure. As long as we can eliminate the Demon King, that's all that matters to me."
"Is defeating the Demon King Captain Claire's dream~?"
"It's not quite that grandiose... but isn't it what everyone wants?"
Defeating the Demon King would bring peace. Sure, squabbles might arise between nations over the details afterward, but the tragedy of dozens of villages vanishing overnight would end.
"My hometown... was burned to the ground because of the Demon King."
"Then why didn't you enroll at Deseval? You could become a hero and defeat the Demon King."
"That's..."
Why had she? What mindset had led her to become a knight captain...? Looking back now, it didn't come to mind clearly.
"Maybe I just couldn't stand sitting at a desk studying."
"Did you think becoming a knight captain would let you defeat the Demon King right away?"
"It's true I thought it would give me a quicker shot at the opportunity."
"And how did that turn out?"
"That's..."
Squeeze. In her frustration, Claire gripped the hilt of her innocent sword tightly.
The White Flame Knights had been at the Demon King subjugation frontlines... but they couldn't fight until the end. The same went for Riana's Seongyul Knights.
"They said it wasn't the role of the knights."
"That must have been heartbreaking. Or do you regret it? Wish you'd become a hero instead."
"I don't even understand why roles are divided in the first place. No matter who does it, as long as the Demon King is defeated before such tragedies occur..."
Claire fell silent mid-sentence. The scars Eskalia had left on the northern continent were nightmares too horrific to speak of.
"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought up such unpleasant talk."
"Hehe, it's fine."
"At least the Holy Kingdom has agreed to unseal it now. Let's handle this cleanly and go home."
"Aren't you scared? Your opponent is that Wolf of Ruin."
"I am."
Claire relaxed her arms and took a deep breath.
"That's why... I want to end it here, so people don't have to live in fear."
"It's not a difficult task, so don't worry~. We're just going to cut off the breath of a sealed Demon King."
"Is that meant to be encouragement?"
"Of course, since you said you're scared, Claire."
"Ugh..."
Claire's cheeks flushed red.
"Would it be better to say I'm not afraid of anything?"
"If that's the lie to save the world?"
"...I'll make the Demon King's death the truth, at least."
Rumble. The carriage arrived at its destination. Moonlight poured over the barren plain, empty of anything.
There, like a single flower petal, stood a green-haired girl with a sorrowful expression.
"...Lady Esilla?"
The saintess Esilla. A member of the hero party that had saved the world alongside hero Ethan Hillel... The air around where she stood felt inviolable, protected like a sanctuary.
"You've arrived."
"You might not remember me... I'm Claire, captain of the White Flame Knights. This is..."
"Riana~."
"Mother is over there."
"Mother...?"
"Nngh!"
The green-haired girl pointed her staff with a swish, toward where a woman was grunting on the ground, having set down a heavy object, her legs splayed ungracefully wide.
"......"
"......"
"Nngh~~! Nngh! Ngh!"
What was she doing in this wilderness? The green-haired woman grunting as if about to bash her head into the ground...
'Green hair?'
Claire startled and hurried over to help her.
"Let me assist you, Lady Esilla."
"What? Kingdom folk? It's fine. This is... my job...! Hya!"
The mysterious box she was wrestling with suddenly emitted light. Whoooosh. A strange sound echoed as a barrier spread around them.
"Phew. It's so stiff because it's old."
The green-haired milf with the huge ass wiggled as she stood, turning to Claire and Riana with a toothy grin after her bout with the ancient artifact.
"What!! If it isn't prim Claire and shady Riana? You don't even recognize my face anymore?"
"Ah, well... your daughter looks so much like you, Lady Esilla..."
Having mistaken the saintess herself for someone else, Claire was thoroughly flustered.
"Of course she looks like me—she's my daughter!"
Esilla thrust out her massive breasts, chattering cheerfully. Until a few years ago, she had been so pure and dignified... Claire felt confused.
'...It's the same person, right?'
The hydrangea-like blooming dress now belonged to her daughter, the saintess candidate. Esilla herself looked like she'd just stepped out for a stroll, in jeans and a plain white tee.
"Yes... you look so different now."
"Say hi. This is my daughter Epana."
"Hello. I'm Epana, participating in the hero selection as a saintess candidate."
Bow. After the greeting, Claire glanced around briefly.
"Um... is this everyone?"
"Yeah. That's right. Didn't they explain? More people just means more trouble."
"I suppose, but..."
"Don't worry! Nothing will go wrong."
'Am I the only one worried...?'
Instead of her vague mother, Epana cautiously spoke up.
"Um... this time, we're just reinforcing the weakened seal... so..."
"Weakened seal?"
"Yeah. I'll explain on the way. We're entering the labyrinth now—are you ready?"
"Straight from here? It's not very conspicuous, but..."
It wasn't impossible for distant observers. Claire worried someone might be spying.
"What I just opened is the Holy Kingdom's national treasure, Shysculrit. This area is spatially isolated—no peeking, and our conversations won't leak."
"Then we're safe."
After the old coachman departed, Esilla held a small pocket watch and announced,
"Entering in 30 seconds."
"Yes. Ready."
The Holy Kingdom wasn't the only one with a national treasure. Claire drew her White Dragon Sword from her waist.
Space transfer activated, and darkness enveloped everything.
'This is...'
The Sealed Labyrinth. In a pitch-black stone chamber with an endlessly high ceiling, massive mountain goat statues lined up on both sides.
While everyone marveled at the overwhelming grandeur, Esilla strode forward confidently.
"W-Wait, you can't go ahead first."
Claire panicked and followed behind Esilla.
"Impressive~. I wonder who built this~."
Riana's blue eyes sparkled like she was touring a museum, scanning the surroundings. Even so, she didn't forget to cast Guardian Holy Rite on everyone.
Epana gaped in awe at the blue starlight enveloping her body.
"This... this is holy magic?"
"Hehe, beautiful, right? This is the light of the distant stars."
"It's so pretty..."
"Would you like to receive the teachings of the Distant Star? With your breast and hip size, Epana, you'd be perfect..."
"Riana! Don't teach my daughter weird stuff."
"It's not weird~."
"Not weird? Teachings of that indecent primordial evil aren't worth learning."
"Lady...!"
Esilla kept talking nonstop even as they traversed the eerie labyrinth.
"Our party had one back then too! A Star Church follower. When I asked her to use Divine Bow, guess what she said?"
Riana chuckled, anticipating the punchline.
"...What did she say?"
No one else seemed inclined to ask, so Claire chimed in.
"She said she couldn't because she masturbated the night before!"
"Pfft hahaha."
"Isn't Rite of Resistance only for women? What kind of weird magic is that?"
"It's not magic. It's holy rites~."
Only Riana laughed merrily at Esilla's spicy talk. Epana had been red-faced and silent since the word "masturbate" left her mother's mouth.
"You said we're just reinforcing the seal, but we were told our mission is to kill Eskalia."
Feeling she couldn't endure this topic much longer, Claire hurriedly brought up business.
"Huh? Oh, if we're lucky, we might kill her? That's what your kingdom said."
Before Claire could respond, Riana interjected.
"The kingdom believes Claire's White Flame can do it. We've conveyed that several times."
"How many times do you think we've tried methods to kill her so far?"
"The White Flame..."
"Is special? If it's truly the flames of Genesis God Nimyuel, maybe. But..."
Esilla scoffed.
"No human could wield something like that."
"...Does that mean my power is insufficient?"
"It's enough for escort duty. Ah, here they come."
"Here they come—what..."
Right in front of where Esilla halted, black blood trickled down.
'Where's it falling from?'
The blood kept flowing, eventually forming the shape of wolves.
"Fifty this time...? That's a lot."
The knight captains were already in combat stance.
"I'll leave it to you?"
"Captain Riana! Cover me, please!"
"You can count on me, Claire."
Without hesitation, Claire swung her White Dragon Sword. Whoosh!! White flames erupted in an instant, devouring everything.
The black wolves, undaunted, charged at the mother and daughter while engulfed in the white fire.
"Kyaa, Mom!!"
"Duck~."
Riana drew her Divine Bow and shot down the approaching wolves one by one. Pale starlight scattered chaotically, but the dispersed light was sucked back into the wolves' bodies, causing small explosions.
Divine Bow Summon followed by Starlight Shower! It was Captain Riana's grand holy rite, capable of sweeping away hordes of hundreds of monsters like dust.
"Amazing!"
Epana's eyes sparkled in admiration.
'Hoo.'
Her mother, Esilla, was impressed by Claire's prowess. Facing the clones summoned by the Wolves of Ruin without flinching, she was overwhelming them.
Claire, with her advanced Insight... True Sight skill, read the wolves' movements, dodging and swinging her sword before she could even think. In split seconds, dozens or hundreds of exchanges condensed into vibrating light, then exploded outward.
Monstrosities that could raze cities one by one. Black waves melting into shadows and dancing across the ground were driven back by the white sword.
"Buff incoming."
"Ah, thank you!"
Claire felt her chest swell with emotion. Fighting at the front with Saintess Esilla's blessing was a great honor.
Buoyed, Claire repelled the Wolves of Ruin after fierce clashes, while Riana methodically finished off the incapacitated wolves, cleaning up the situation.
"Incredible..."
Epana watched the knight captains' battle with shining eyes.
"Both of you... are so strong..."
"You can become like this if you learn holy rites~."
"Like you, Lady Riana? Shooting beautiful bows made of starlight?"
"Of course. With your breast size, Lady Epana, it's more than possible."
Riana gauged aptitude for holy rites primarily by breast size—a Star Church insider term. It wasn't unrelated to Tia's immense talent.
But with a glare from Esilla—a Star Church native, hero party member, Kwonwang's disciple, and active saintess—Riana had no choice but to back off.
"I said no proselytizing."
"Hehehe."
"I'll admit your skills are good."
The Demon King's clones, Traces of Ruin, kept pouring out as they advanced, attacking the party, but Riana and Claire handled them flawlessly every time.