A lukewarm breeze brushed across my cheek.
The scenery before me had shifted from the city streets to the entrance of a labyrinth overgrown with lush vegetation and trees.
"Orun, is this the place?"
Fuuka asked as she confirmed the labyrinth entrance in front of us.
"Yeah. They plan to take the magic beasts here with them and teleport straight into Tsutrail's explorers' guild."
Just as Amuntsāsu could use the teleportation circles at each branch of the Downing Company to move around, the Cyclamen Church had other teleportation destinations besides the various explorers' guilds. What made that possible were the labyrinth cores located at the deepest parts of the labyrinths. Not every labyrinth had one, but the church could teleport from one labyrinth to another.
I had already tampered with the teleportation circle leading to Tsutrail, so they could not jump there from here. But since they did not know that, they would try to teleport from this spot just like last time.
In the previous world, they had teleported to a labyrinth a short distance from Tsutrail—the one Gary had once caused to overflow—and then marched into the city on foot. This time, however, I had no intention of letting them teleport anywhere.
We would crush them right here—the Rakshasa and the Battle Ogre.
I spread a barrier across the entire island to block teleportation.
"…I won't let them ravage Tsutrail. Let's begin, Fuuka."
"Yeah. I'm ready anytime."
I released the anger I had kept sealed deep in my heart and drew a magic circle in the sky above. This was not the flashy but hollow magic circle I had used when destroying the detention facility in Tsutrail. This was the real thing.
It was magic on a scale normally restricted by the laws of this world because it could potentially cause the collapse of the world itself. I was forcing it into existence through the magic circle.
Well, Titania had used it last time, so one activation should not be a problem.
Jet-black magical power converged at a single point. The surrounding space began to warp.
"—Erebus, Black Night of the Underworld!"
When I activated the spell, jet-black magical power pierced down from the sky and struck the ground.
Labyrinths originally existed in a separate space. No matter how deep you dug into the ground, you would never reach one. But this magic connected two different spaces and forcibly synchronized them with this world.
The darkness swept over the group in red robes gathered at the deepest level of the labyrinth.
◇ ◇ ◇
"…This is strange."
The Rakshasa, Stieg Strom, murmured as he held his hand over the labyrinth core.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing? Hurry up and jump us out of here!"
The Battle Ogre, Dimon Ogle, shouted angrily at him.
"I would love to do that as well… but I cannot set Tsutrail as the destination."
"Huh? What are you talking about? That's impossible!"
Dimon placed his hand on the labyrinth core with a sour look. Nothing happened even after a while.
"…Tch! What the hell is this!"
"…Assuming there is nothing wrong with this labyrinth core, it is reasonable to conclude that the teleportation circle at the destination has been tampered with."
"You're being too roundabout. What does that mean?"
"It means Leon Conti, the southern guild master, has betrayed us."
"Betrayed us!? You've got to be kidding!"
"Well, he was originally opposed to our ideology. We made him the southern guild master because we thought he would not provoke Orun Dura or Oliver Cardiff, but it seems that decision has backfired."
"I don't give a damn about that! So we just have to kill that guild master and everyone else, right?"
"You really are simple. …Very well. For now, let us teleport to a labyrinth near Tsutrail and proceed on foot from—!?"
While Stieg was laying out their next plan, he suddenly looked up. The usual composure had vanished from his face.
Darkness tore through the ceiling of the deepest level and surged toward them. It was so massive it covered the entire floor.
"Hah!?"
Dimon noticed the darkness too and let out a shocked cry.
But it was already too late. Everyone present was mercilessly swallowed by the darkness.
"…!?"
Stieg deployed a magical barrier around himself. In theory, it was the hardest possible barrier, difficult to break even with magic or spells. However, the enormous darkness Orun had unleashed gradually eroded the barrier and reached Stieg.
Stieg managed to reduce the damage with his magical barrier, but he still could not stay on his feet and dropped to one knee.
"This… is…"
Even while using magic to repair his body, Stieg could not hide his astonishment.
"Hey, Rakshasa! What the hell is this…!?"
Dimon was badly battered but had not lost consciousness. His body slowly began to regenerate on its own.
"To endure that without a barrier—you really are as tough as ever—!? Battle Ogre! Above us!"
Hearing the urgency in Stieg's voice, Dimon looked up. There, he saw the blue sky and blazing sun of the surface—something that should have been impossible to see from the deepest part of the labyrinth.
Blending in with the sunlight, Fuuka descended straight toward Dimon.
"—Second preemptive strike."
Fuuka murmured in an emotionless voice as she swung her blade downward. The slash, carrying the full momentum of her fall, held tremendous power.
"Guuh!?"
Dimon took an impact strong enough to crater the ground around him but somehow managed to block Fuuka's sword with his own greatsword.
"Long black hair the color of wet feathers and a kimono modeled after the dawn clouds… Don't tell me—"
Stieg realized Fuuka's identity from her appearance and let out a surprised cry. At that moment—
"Aren't you a little too distracted?"
Orun's voice came from behind Stieg.
At the same time, Stieg felt a strange sensation in his chest. When he looked down, he saw a jet-black blade piercing through him from behind.
"Brings back memories. When we first met, you stabbed your own comrade Gary in the back with a sword. How does it feel to be on the receiving end? Got any thoughts?"
When Stieg turned his head just enough to look back, his eyes met Orun's cold gaze.
"Orun Dura…! …Kuh!"
Stieg's face twisted with effort. Suddenly, water burst from the ground at his feet. It spiraled upward and began to envelop him.
Orun pulled Schwarzheze free without any sign of surprise and leaped backward to create distance. Seeing this, Fuuka—who had been pinning Dimon down from above with her blade—also moved away and returned to Orun's side.
'Orun, was that according to plan?'
Fuuka sent the question through telepathy.
'Yeah, perfect. Thanks to you, it made things a lot easier.'
Normally, Fuuka could have used Future Sight to deliver a slash that Dimon could not block. But Orun's instructions had been to pin Dimon down and draw both their attentions to her. So she had made a flashy entrance that did not quite match her usual fighting style.
'With this, our victory is pretty much decided.'
While the two communicated through telepathy, the power of the water tornado swirling around Stieg gradually began to weaken. When the water vortex finally disappeared, Stieg was nowhere to be seen.
"He still disappears right in front of me like always. Fuuka, I'll go after Stieg. You handle the Battle Ogre as planned."
"Got it. Leave it to me."
Fuuka gave a small nod in response. Upon hearing her reply, Orun activated Shift Teleportation and chased after Stieg.