The Abyss Labyrinth Opens

It was no different for Oliver.

He had been such a devoted fan of Phantom that he would have followed every adventure, every hardship, every last scrap of the man's legend.

Don't get nervous. Just act the way you did as Hudson.

Oliver steadied his breathing as best he could. He didn't want to look like a sick man. He didn't want Phantom fretting over his health, either. If that happened, even his engagement to Serengeti in Pangenia might fall apart. He still hadn't told her that he could die at any moment — or that he wasn't truly a person of Pangenia at all.

How could he possibly say it?

Fortunately, Phantom showed no sign of having noticed his condition yet.

Act as ordinary as possible.

But what did ordinary even mean? He had gone so long without meeting anyone from the outside world that he had forgotten how to treat people normally.

Still, it wasn't a bad feeling. Meeting the one he had so passionately followed — meeting him in reality — was something else entirely. No matter how hard he tried not to tense up, the tension kept coming. His whole body trembled. It felt like a dream. He still couldn't believe Phantom was standing right there in front of him.

I'll be of use to him. Even if I have to burn everything I have!

When was the last time he had felt this much drive in the real world? For years, Oliver had only ever been on the receiving end of help. It was Phantom who had cracked open the shell that imprisoned him. Without him, Oliver would never have met Serengeti again. He would have died drowning in endless regret.

Gaining a spirit and seeing hope again; steeling his will by watching Phantom's overwhelming presence and unyielding grit — all of it was still vivid, as if it had happened only yesterday. The face of a hero who never broke, never retreated, and charged straight ahead. Oliver wanted to be like that. He wished he, too, possessed that same indomitable will.

So now it was his turn to help.

Fervor lit Oliver's eyes.

For several days I stayed at the castle, shuttling back and forth between it and Pangenia. All of it was preparation for the Labyrinth War. I didn't neglect training with Isaac and Isabella, either.

And so, when every preparation was finally complete—

At last, the Abyss Labyrinth had opened. At the same time, Warps appeared all across Earth. They were forcibly linked to the Warps that already existed in Pangenia — so that from every Warp, one could head into the Abyss Labyrinth.

Countless challengers, myself included, had finished preparing. There was no time to waste.

A condition imposed on everyone who entered the labyrinth.

Tricky.

It looked easy on the surface, but if you didn't consciously correct your behavior, getting ejected was all too likely. And in a labyrinth where you never knew what might come flying at you, simply having one more thing to watch out for was already a massive penalty. On top of that, it changed every day — and if it locked down some truly trivial action, you could end up in a situation with no good answer.

Actually, this is perfect.

But I wasn't worried. No — I was glad. Because I had a countermeasure.

Might as well wipe one out before we start.

Labyrinth Merchant

A floor slick with stagnant, rotting water. The foul stench of something decaying. Fwoosh! I lit a torch and looked around.

"……!"

Isaac couldn't believe his eyes. Isabella and I were the same. We had expected the Abyss Labyrinth to live up to its name and be no easy place — but this was something else.

This place…… is the Abyss itself.

Enormous walls stretched endlessly in every direction, sealing us in. And those walls were covered in countless hands of every species imaginable. The hands were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠alive, writhing, dragging anything they could grab into the wall. The floor was crowded with corpses — bodies torn apart while resisting those hands.

A sight both majestic and grotesque beyond measure. But there was no time to linger.

"What are both of your Action Conditions?"

"I'm not allowed to clasp both hands together for more than three seconds."

"I'm not supposed to shake my head left or right……"

As expected, both were troublesome. The one silver lining was that neither condition restricted walking.

"What is your condition, Heir?"

"I don't have one."

"Is that even possible?"

Confusion flickered in Isaac's eyes.

"But I'll act as if I do."

"Ah. You mean to sow confusion?"

I nodded. Action Conditions — from what I'd heard, most of them were of the "do not do X" variety. Mine had been deleted by the Heart of the Eternal Monarch, but no one else knew that. Which meant I could turn it around and use it to create chaos.

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke.

"Do not swing your right hand in succession. That'll be mine for today."

And just like that, a self-imposed Action Condition was added.

Endless walls. We pushed through the mire between them.

Shiiiiing—!

Thud!

An arrow came flying and buried itself in my side.

Ghk!

I nearly screamed.

"Hei—"

"Shh."

I pressed a finger to my lips and silenced them both. The pierced side burned like hell, but dealing with the threat came first. I heard the sound of arrows cutting through the air. Fast enough to punch through my side before I could even react. If I hadn't twisted my body on pure instinct the moment I heard that sound, it would have taken my heart.

A trap.

No one had fired it. It was a trap. Looking in the direction the arrow had come from, I saw a crossbow mounted on the wall. What kind of gutsy bastard thought to install a crossbow on that wall? Even I hadn't expected a trap at that spot.

"There's a Trapper ahead of us. And a high-level one at that."

A Trapper. That was definitely something a person had set. No rapid-fire function, but designed to snipe the heart of anyone who entered its range.

Gush, gush!

I yanked the arrow free and poured a potion I'd prepared in advance over the wound. The blood that had been welling out stopped, and new flesh knit over the injury.

"How did they get ahead of us?"

Isabella asked as she wrapped a bandage over the wound. We had entered the moment it opened — we should have been in the lead. And yet someone was out in front, laying traps. Someone skilled enough to fool all of our senses.

"Either their entry point was ahead of ours, or they prepared some kind of mount……"

Isaac answered. Entry positions in the labyrinth were random. Of course, you wouldn't be dropped into the very center — but there could still be minor differences.

What a nuisance.

Trappers were among the most annoying classes to deal with. Especially in a confined space like this, they exerted absolute power. A high-level Trapper could set traps that didn't simply trigger on contact, but attacked on a time delay.

"Isabella, watch the rear. Isaac, keep your eyes forward."

"Yes."

"Yes."

There were a lot of traps. But once you stayed alert, none of them were truly life-threatening. Rather than carefully placing each one, they were going for volume. In other words — they knew we were catching up. Because we were clearing the traps far faster than they could set them, they were slapping them down halfheartedly just to slow us down.

Got them.

A group visible in the distance. We had finally caught up. Two figures still frantically installing traps, and one warrior protecting them both.

"Th-they already caught up?"

"What the hell are those bastards?!"

The two Trappers shouted in panic. They must have realized long ago that their traps were being dismantled — so the reaction ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was only natural.

"This is what happens when you mess around planting little traps. Just trust me."

A bare-chested warrior with dark, sun-baked skin. Hair shaved into a straight mohawk, battle-axe in hand — every inch a barbarian.

A high-level powerhouse. But that haircut made it clear — he was a Great Warrior of the desert. A straight-shaved mohawk meant he was a bodyguard of the Desert Queen's inner circle. That was what they called barbarians.

"……Hmm, wait. I see a familiar face."

The barbarian's gaze settled on one point. Isabella. The moment he confirmed it was her, he burst into a great laugh.

"Hahaha! Snake Princess — so the runaway was here all along!"

"Butcher Yagumo……"

"You fell for some so-called Saint and ran off — and this is where you ended up?"

"Why are you here?"

Isabella asked coldly. But it made no sense. Why would a barbarian who should be guarding the queen in the desert be inside the Abyss Labyrinth?

"This place is your grave, Snake Princess. Traitor who betrayed Her Majesty!"

There was no room for further talk. Watching the barbarian charge like a bulldozer, Isabella spoke.

"……I'll handle him."

"Do it."

Same Level 9. In the past I would have stopped her — but she had grown since then.

"Snake Princess! You couldn't beat me even in the desert — you think the result will be any different now?!"

"I am not the Snake Princess, you trash."

While the two of them clashed, Isaac and I shot past the barbarian at the same time and ran on. The barbarian had no interest in us to begin with. And the moment he stopped protecting them, the two Trappers panicked.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

"Yagumo! We paid you good money — do ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your damn job!"

"FUCK! Logout!"

"Logout!"

They were trying to exploit the rule that logging out forced an ejection. Which meant that, unlike the barbarian Yagumo, these two were Players. A moment later their appearances began to overlap — their Pangenia forms and Earth forms flickering back and forth. At the same time, Warps formed behind them. The Warps tried to suck them in—

Kyaka?

Hell, who had at some point settled onto my shoulder, tilted his head. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Then the smoke wrapping his entire body flushed red.

Snap!

In an instant, the Warps that had been pulling them in — stopped.

"Wh-what? Why won't logout work?"

"Why— why is this happening?! Is this a joke?!"

It was strange. Logging out should have forced them out of the labyrinth. The principle was that a Warp would form behind you, suck your body in, and forcibly relocate you to your original position. And yet the two of them were still crawling on the floor in their Trapper forms.

Hell has the ability to manipulate Warps within his range.

That confirmed it. Hell could not only sever Warps — he could also deny or permit them. He couldn't cut just any Warp, of course. From a few experiments, I had learned that Hell could sever "ownerless Warps." But if a Warp manifested within his range, he could also manipulate it. Just like now. Hell had denied them the use of the Warp.

In the Abyss, you can't log out properly without taking a Warp.

And I had gained one more piece of information. This place was the Abyss. Unlike the ordinary continents, the Goddess's hand barely reached here. Unless you rode a Warp and moved your main body back to the continent where it originally was, a proper logout wouldn't go through. That was why logging out automatically generated a Warp first.

Thud. Thud.

As I approached slowly, terror filled the two Trappers' eyes.

"P-please, spare us!"

"What the hell……!"