101. Labyrinth
101. Labyrinth
I stared at the empty spot where Stella had vanished, chewing the jerky in my mouth.
"What a pain in the ass this timing is."
I wasn't flustered.
I'd already figured out this place was a teleportation labyrinth.
A teleportation labyrinth.
Exactly what it sounds like—a labyrinth where Teleportation Magic triggers at random.
The shitty things about a teleportation labyrinth aren't limited to one or two.
But the most representative shitty thing is this.
Like just now, Teleportation Magic activates without any warning whatsoever.
And it doesn't only apply to the humans trapped in the labyrinth. It applies equally to the Monsters roaming somewhere inside it.
That's how I'd been able to notice.
Because while we were moving around, I'd sensed the presence of Monsters suddenly popping out from fairly close range.
The elite Lizardmen we first encountered were like that, the Mimicra that imitated Leona was like that, the Naga that crawled up out of the filth was like that, and the Mimicras that imitated the others were like that.
When I met the Mimicra imitating Leona, I became certain this place was a teleportation labyrinth.
Along with that, through my conversation with the Mimicra, I also learned that the master of this labyrinth was watching us.
The devices watching us were the Monsters' eyes.
Why watch us, mere academy students?
The reason was simple.
Stella Verheigen.
Those bastards need Stella along with Pina. So they weren't going to let Stella, who had entered this place, simply go.
But the labyrinth's master couldn't step forward personally.
Not only did they have to keep an eye on Pina at the center, but another presence inside the labyrinth was bothering them.
And if they sent some half-assed Monsters, I'd wipe them all out together with Stella beside me.
So what would they do?
Wait until Teleportation Magic triggered where we were, and the moment Stella and I were separated—
go after her.
Stella without me is weak.
Even just the elite Lizardmen we'd met earlier would obviously overpower Stella with ease.
So they must have thought that if they could just separate me from her, they could take her without trouble.
Therefore, I had left a "trail" on Stella without anyone noticing.
A trail that would let me find her if I got separated from Stella and the bastards took her to the labyrinth's center.
If I just followed that trail, I could reach the labyrinth's center very easily and quickly.
That said... I hadn't meant to use Stella as bait. I'd just left it in case of an unforeseen situation.
Really.
Inside a labyrinth where I couldn't even know whether teleportation would happen or not, I couldn't have planned something like that.
Even Labyrinth, who holds the Labyrinth's Authority, can't manipulate a teleportation labyrinth at will, so how could I know?
But... the situation had already unfolded.
I might as well use the arrangement I'd prepared.
Gulp— I swallowed the jerky I'd been chewing and leisurely packed my things.
I could afford to be leisurely right now.
They wouldn't kill Stella.
No matter what kind of fit Stella threw, they couldn't kill her.
Because the one after Stella wasn't some Black Wizard who built this labyrinth, but at minimum a Legion Commander.
So... I felt a little sorry for Stella, but.
I could move slowly until she was completely kidnapped.
Still, I'd take responsibility and rescue her... yeah.
Like that, I finished packing and also finished recovering my stamina.
I checked my body's condition and finished my personal maintenance.
"She's probably been kidnapped by now, right?"
Brushing off my backside, I stood up and focused Mana into my eyes. I blinked a few times as my eyes instantly grew sore.
Then, a moment later.
I began to see a thin thread connected to the bandage wrapped around my hand.
A thread stretching straight toward somewhere in the dark labyrinth.
The thread before my eyes led into Stella's pocket.
It was connected to a piece of bandage hidden in the pen holder she always carried around.
Since I'm still Tier 5, I can't use this bandage's true ability. In other words, I can't determine Luna's location.
But if I pull a little trick like this,
I can at least locate a fragment of the bandage that used to be part of the same whole.
I'd used it like this often four hundred years ago too.
Havar.
It means reunion.
It's an Artifact that lives up to its name damn well.
After making it, Luna had bragged about it for quite a long time.
Chuckling as I recalled Luna's smile, I moved my feet along the pure-white thread that resembled her hair.
*****
"How strange."
A Black Wizard leaning against the head of a giant serpent.
Samaella gazed straight ahead with an enigmatic smile.
A magic circle drawn with the blood of the Imperial Knight Order.
Upon it, Pina lay bound at the limbs while her spirit's power was being extracted.
And beside her, the star child whom "that one" had ordered brought—Stella Verheigen—lay unconscious.
Looking at those two girls, Samaella tilted her head.
"Things resolved too easily."
Securing Stella hadn't been part of the plan.
Of course, until recently, they had intended to kidnap her.
Also, Robert—Phaid, who had infiltrated the academy—had been ordered to secure Stella if the opportunity arose.
But because too many obstacles had appeared in that process, securing her had been postponed until later.
Sooner would be good, but at the latest before she underwent her coming-of-age ceremony.
That was the deadline given to Samaella and numerous other Black Wizards.
So there had been no need to worry about it for now.
Yet she had suddenly walked right into their grasp. And with a direct descendant of House Eustetia, no less.
"Is she stupid?"
Or had she planned even this far?
If this was planned, then who?
The direct descendant of House Eustetia who had entered the labyrinth with her?
That little girl.
Had she drawn up this grand scheme to catch her?
Even using her own friend as bait?
"Pfft."
As if. That wasn't a choice a mere seventeen-year-old girl would make, nor a scheme she could draw up.
Of course, Eliarnes was strong.
From what she'd observed so far, she was quick-witted and had sharp intuition. Her martial prowess was outstanding and her judgment was fast.
But she was still just a seventeen-year-old girl.
A girl raised as the treasured jewel of House Eustetia, who had never even set foot on a battlefield, let alone in the political arena.
An ignorant girl who didn't know House Eustetia's secrets.
That wasn't a scheme such a girl could draw up.
Even if this entire situation was something Eliarnes had engineered, there was no problem.
What could a mere Tier 5 Martial Artist do?
She couldn't imagine defeat.
In the first place, a being who couldn't imbue Mana with Intent could never defeat her.
That was a Heavenly Principle that no living, breathing being in this world could ever defy.
But Samaella didn't set aside her doubts.
A lingering unease remained.
Adelia Baros.
She thought that snake of a woman, even more serpentine than herself, might have made some kind of move.
Of course, she had put special effort into drawing Adelia's attention so she absolutely couldn't look away.
But that cunning woman might have left behind some unforeseen variable.
"Robert."
Having thought that far, Samaella decided to eliminate the variable. Killing a direct descendant of House Eustetia would be a bit troublesome, but there was no helping it.
She couldn't spare attention for that girl right now.
Even at this very moment, the captain of Nameless was ransacking the labyrinth. She couldn't guarantee how long that detestable woman would remain tied down there.
And.
Samaella wasn't a person with so little greed that she'd let go of something already in her hands over a mere lingering unease.
"What shall be done with the corpse?"
"The corpse..."
Originally, she had intended to leave the corpse here so it could be returned to House Eustetia.
Because humans, when there's no corpse, cling to the useless hope that the person might not be dead and go poking around everywhere.
And if the ones doing the poking were House Eustetia, it would be irritatingly bothersome.
But.
If that massive gate opened, she would leave the Empire and return to Ge Vihenum. And for a while, she wouldn't be coming back to the Empire.
The way back was already established.
A back door of the labyrinth created with the Authority specially granted by Labyrinth.
If she just opened that door, she could go directly to Ge Vihenum.
In that case... even if House Eustetia went poking around.
There would be no problem.
She would return there and hand Eliarnes's corpse over to another Demon.
The Hero's blood wasn't mixed in, but it was the corpse of a virgin who hadn't even undergone her coming-of-age ceremony.
Her talent was outstanding, and the Mana she held was pure.
Samaella, still merely human, couldn't take that corpse, but Demons could.
So she could sell it for a high price.
The costs incurred during this operation were already considerable.
How much Demonic Energy had she used to skewer that Demon that had rampaged through the Arant Museum?
She would recoup it with Eliarnes's corpse.
"Bring it. In as clean a condition as possible."
Actually, it wouldn't matter even if he brought it in pieces.
But among Demons, there were many with unusual tastes.
So the cleaner it was, the higher the price she could receive.
"As you command."
With that brief answer, Robert's form vanished.
Left alone, Samaella quietly organized her thoughts for a while.
Then she looked at Pina, who was emitting spirit light, and spoke.
"Little one."
A voice that seemed to tickle the inside of her skull as it passed through her eardrums.
"Are you awake?"
At that voice, Stella's body flinched.
"You don't need to be afraid. You won't die."
Then, click— click—
Samaella rose from her seat and approached Stella, who lay with her eyes squeezed shut.
"Even if someone tries to kill you, I'll protect you."
Stopping beside Stella, Samaella caressed Stella's leg with her bare foot.
"So, until the ritual ends and that gate opens, shall we have a little chat?"
At the sensation, like a snake slithering up her, Stella opened her tightly shut eyes.
"Jeniella Verheigen."
Seeing Samaella's face, Stella drew a startled breath.
"A story about your missing mother."
Samaella, the master of this labyrinth—
"...Just what are you...?"
—had the exact same face as the mother who had gone missing seven years ago.