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Twilight Moonbow had reached the vicinity of the entrance to the labyrinth that had suddenly appeared north of Daluane. They were waiting for the right moment to enter when a tremendous roar came from the direction of Daluane. A massive explosion followed, and then a tornado appeared, sweeping up both the blast wind and the magic beasts.
"Whoa! Huge explosion~!"
Seeing the scene, Caroline let out an excited cry in her usual high-energy tone.
"Is that Shishou's magic? Our instructor really is so far ahead… We keep trying to catch up, but we cannot reach him at all."
In contrast, Logan spoke negatively with his mouth, but his expression was a mix of delight and battle-hungry anticipation.
"I heard you overcame the constitution that prevented you from using attack magic above advanced level, but even so—if a swordsman like Orun-san can do something that even someone from a lineage of mages like me cannot, it really leaves us in an awkward position."
Luna laughed with an amused expression as if agreeing with Logan's words.
While the three of them were captivated by Orun's magic, Sophia was checking the surrounding magic beasts' movements and timing their entry into the labyrinth.
"Log, the discharge of magic beasts seems to have calmed down. I think now is the time to enter the labyrinth."
"Got it. Before we go in, could you send a telepathic message to Shishou?"
Hearing Sophia's voice, Logan immediately switched his focus. He began constructing buff spell formulas for everyone while giving Sophia instructions.
"Yeah, leave it to me!"
All four of them were under the influence of Selma's Mental Sympathy, so any of them could send telepathy, but since Sophia was the one most accustomed to it from her daily telepathic conversations with Selma, she would be the one reporting to Orun.
'Orun-san, we've arrived at the labyrinth! We are beginning the conquest now!'
Sophia immediately sent the telepathic message to Orun, and his response came back.
'Yeah. Understood. I pray for your success. You can conquer this labyrinth. Do not worry about the surface—just focus everything on the conquest!'
Those words carried Orun's full trust.
Realizing that their instructor—Orun—believed in them, Logan and the others stepped into the labyrinth with expressions free of any anxiety.
'Yes! Heading in now!'
Once inside the labyrinth—a separate space—Selma's Mental Sympathy connection was cut off.
Right before the connection severed, Sophia's spirited voice echoed in the minds of everyone still under the influence of Mental Sympathy.
◇
"…Is this a hilly area?"
Logan murmured while looking around.
The labyrinth that Twilight Moonbow had entered was an open space similar to the lower levels of a great labyrinth.
The gentle undulations and widely spaced trees prevented any sense of claustrophobia, but visibility remained poor.
"Open-type labyrinths are troublesome. Finding the path to the next floor becomes quite a chore."
Luna also wore a bitter expression.
While open labyrinths were welcome for normal exploration, when the goal was short-term conquest, the countless possible paths made them the type to avoid most of all.
"We have no choice but to map it out steadily. For now, let's move away from here, Log. Staying near the entrance means fighting tons of magic beasts."
"You're right. Let's just head in some direction for now."
Accepting Sophia's suggestion, Logan decided to first move away from the entrance and begin mapping as they advanced.
He chose a direction on instinct and proceeded, with Sophia and Luna following behind.
However, Caroline was staring blankly around her.
"Carol? What's wrong? We're moving away from here first."
Noticing her, Logan called out.
"Hmm—wait a sec, Log."
Even though she responded to Logan's voice, Caroline did not turn toward him. Instead she muttered to herself while lost in her own world.
"Open-type labyrinth, terrain with poor visibility—both of those were things that person… liked. —If that's the case…"
As if something had occurred to her, Caroline began walking in a direction different from the one Logan had chosen.
"Hey, what's going on, Carol!"
"I want to test something. Just give me a little time."
Leaving the bewildered Logan and the others behind, she continued walking.
Though puzzled, the three followed after her.
About fifty meters from the entrance, she stopped and declared with satisfaction, "Yeah. Probably right here!"
Then she turned toward the three who had followed her and spoke again.
"Does anyone have a magic stone?"
"Uh, yeah. I have one. Is this okay?"
Though confused, Sophia took a small magic stone out of her storage magic tool and handed it to Caroline.
"Thanks, Sophie!"
"So what exactly are you planning to do?"
Still not understanding what Caroline was up to, Logan asked again.
"I know this labyrinth."
"Eh!?"
"Well—more precisely, I know one very similar to it. This labyrinth is close to the kind that Doctor liked to create. So if Doctor is the one who made this labyrinth—"
While speaking, Caroline toyed with the magic stone Sophia had given her in her hand. Suddenly a magic circle appeared at her feet.
"This is…!"
"Just as I thought. This magic circle is a transfer array to the deepest part of the labyrinth. And since this is usable, that means Doctor is definitely at the deepest part."
Caroline spoke with a solemn expression that was hard to imagine from her usual self—her words carried absolute certainty.
"Doctor—as in one of the executives of the Cyclamen Cult, right?"
Logan and Sophia were too stunned to speak, but Luna—who had survived far more hellish situations than they had—asked calmly without showing any confusion.
"Yeah. Fifth Seat of the Cyclamen Cult, Doctor Oswell MacLeod. The person who kidnapped me and my siblings and used us for human experiments."
Recalling her past, Caroline's knees trembled.
Even so, unlike when she had reunited with her siblings before, there was no panic in her. Her eyes still held strong determination.
"He himself is not that strong. I could probably restrain him. But he commands all sorts of magic beasts, so it will not be easy. And the Doctor I knew is from the past. I do not know how he is now. I do not know what he will do. Since he is someone unpredictable, retreating is also an option."
Suppressing her instinctive fear, Caroline shared everything she knew with the three of them.
Seeing her like that, all three reached the same conclusion.
"Carol, what do you want to do?"
Logan asked on their behalf.
Taking a deep breath at his question, Caroline looked straight at the three of them and spoke.
"I… —I do not want to run anymore. I think this is fate. Sophie faced her past without running away. I do not want to keep averting my eyes from the past anymore. I want to settle things once and for all!"
Hearing Caroline's resolve, the three responded.
"Got it! We will cooperate too! I do not care if he is some cult executive or whatever—let's smash him!"
"I will fight together with Carol too!"
"Leave support to me. Carol, do whatever you think is right."
"Yeah, thanks everyone… All right! Let's smash Doctor!! And then—"
◇
In the deepest part of the labyrinth that Twilight Moonbow had entered, a magic circle suddenly rose from the ground.
"The transfer array is activating!? What is going on!?"
Seeing it, Lurea let out a surprised cry.
Frederick beside her also looked at the magic circle with suspicion.
Very few people knew about the existence of a transfer array connecting the entrance directly to the deepest part.
Even among the cult executives other than Doctor, none knew that his created labyrinths had such a mechanism.
The only ones who knew were Doctor himself and the humans he had used as experimental subjects.
However, all of those experimental subjects—except for Lurea and Frederick—had already been disposed of.
Since the three of them were now gathered at the deepest part, there was no reason for the magic circle to activate on its own.
Even Doctor himself was slightly surprised, but when he saw who had transferred in, he immediately understood.
"I am glad you remembered my teachings, Caroline. —Welcome, members of Twilight Moonbow."
Seated on an out-of-place throne-like large chair at the deepest part, surrounded by several floating magic circles, Doctor—Oswell MacLeod—greeted Twilight Moonbow with welcoming words.
"Doctor! And Lurea-neechan and Fred-niichan…"
Caroline showed visible confusion upon seeing not only Oswell but also her older siblings Lurea and Frederick.
"It's been a while, Caroline. You've grown so big."
"—Don't act like a parent! I do not feel happy hearing that from you!"
Caroline scowled unpleasantly at Oswell's words and raised her voice.
"Hey now, wasn't I the one who took care of you after your parents were gone? Doesn't that make me something like a parent?"
"You were the one who killed Mom and Dad! So how… how can you say something like that!"
Caroline's mind was in chaos.
The instinctive terror of Oswell engraved in her, her determination to settle things with him, and the infuriating words from the man responsible for her parents' deaths.
She—who usually never raised her voice or showed negative emotions—was now fueling herself with anger.
"Ahaha! It's true I killed your parents, but that does not change the fact that I took care of you, does it?"
"What the hell is wrong with this guy…! Is he even human?"
Seeing Caroline's anger brushed aside as if it were nothing, Logan felt terror.
Sophia and Luna glared at Oswell without hiding their disgust.
"—Doctor, is it okay to kill the intruders?"
Just as Oswell was about to speak further, Lurea cut him off with a question.
"Ah… yes, that's right. Caroline is no longer useful either, so kill everyone except Sophia Clodel."
"…Eh? Me…?"
Sophia let out a bewildered voice when her name was suddenly called by Oswell.
"What does that mean!? What are you planning to do to Sophie—!?"
As Caroline tried to demand an explanation for Oswell's words, Lurea—who had received Frederick's buff—closed the distance in an instant and was right in front of Caroline.
Lurea swung her longsword—nearly as long as her own height.
Caroline reacted instantly to Lurea's attack, crossing her two jet-black short swords to catch the blade.
However, she could not fully withstand the strike that carried both the buff and centrifugal force, and Caroline was blown backward.
"Carol!? Damn it!"
Logan reacted a beat later and swung his spear.
Lurea easily caught it with her own sword.
The moment her movement stopped, Logan used his ability to manifest the shadow extending from her and attempted to restrain her with vine-like tendrils.
"I have seen that before."
Looking down at the black vines rising from below, Lurea muttered in boredom. Immediately after, she activated Flash, erasing the shadows.
"—Gah!?"
Flash also served as a distraction, and Lurea's kick struck Logan's abdomen.
Though Logan was sent flying by the kick, the time he had created was enough for the remaining two to finish constructing their spell formulas.
Just as Sophia and Luna prepared to unleash attack magic from both sides to sandwich Lurea, Frederick's magic activated first.
Lightning arrows rained down on Sophia and Luna, forcing them to evade.
Taking advantage of the opening, Lurea skillfully wielded her longsword and sent multiple slashing attacks toward Caroline.
Caroline—who had been blown back—took a proper landing and somehow managed to dodge Lurea's slashes.
Lurea closed in again and swung her sword.
The two disappeared from Logan and the others' sight as they entered a hole large enough for a person to pass through—created by the earlier slashes Lurea had sent.