Thus the Boy Runs Through the Labyrinth ~The Story of an Ordinary Boy Who Ended Up Punching Heroes, Demon Lords, and Even Gods~ – Chapter 711

Once upon a time.

Before the Ark drifted away from the World and shortly before discord arose within the Ark itself.

“Um… Ees.”

In a research facility where members of the Israilian Research Institute gathered, serving as a frontline base to combat the Cultists, a white-haired girl spoke slowly and nervously. The one called “Ees”—Israelia—turned around with an emotionless expression and replied flatly.

“What is it, Shiro?”

“Ah, um…”

After such a long time, Ees finally answered, but Shiro, the white-haired girl, struggled to respond properly. She wasn’t good at speaking.

She had many thoughts swirling in her mind, so many that she felt like they would overflow. Yet, having too many ideas made it difficult to choose which one to say. When she panicked, it only worsened. So, in the end, she often fell into silence, unable to articulate her feelings.

“Is it over now?”

Israelia said this, looking annoyed at Shiro’s hesitation.

This isn’t good, Shiro thought, and she managed to weave her words together.

“Can we… not reconcile?”

Reconciliation.

The members of the Israilian Research Institute were currently in a heated argument. No, it wasn’t merely an argument; it was far more serious, bordering on outright discord. Israelia, the leader, had completely severed ties with the others.

It was a division between those trying to advance the Ark’s reset and the others.

Israelia’s stance—that they must not leave any mistakes in the Ark—was excessively extreme. The idea of erasing humanity, who had failed to reach the various True Persons created to counter the war in the “outside world,” was barbarous beyond measure.

A view that shouldn’t even be conceivable. The problem was that his knowledge and power were so extraordinary that the conflict only escalated uncontrollably.

However, Shiro wished to resolve things somehow.

After all, they had all been such good friends—comrades.

“It’s impossible.”

Yet, Shiro’s wish was unceremoniously dismissed. His expression, which cut her off as if saying it was too late, lacked any semblance of composure. Gone was the childish smile he once bore.

“Why?”

“After failing due to half-hearted emotions, you’re trying to do the same thing again. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Can’t we cooperate to make it better?”

“Everyone is useless.”

With that statement, he mocked Shiro, who was hesitating and struggling to find words.

“You, especially.”

The words struck Shiro hard.

It wasn’t the cruelness of the statement that hurt her. It was the shocked look on his face as he realized his own ugly words had escaped from his throat, the expression of self-hatred that followed. He left, wearing a forced smile tinged with sadness, and Shiro felt an overwhelming sense of pity for herself for not being able to say anything to him. In tears, she lamented her own weakness.

—

And so, in the end, they parted ways, and time continued to pass.

She could no longer meet him. She had tried many times to reach out, but he never revealed his whereabouts. She longed to see him, to talk to him, but it was impossible.

Her former companions drifted apart, and the shape of the Ark changed countless times.

Before she knew it, she was exhausted, coming to a halt.

She felt incredibly sleepy. She was tired. Her body ached chronically, and she found herself drifting off often. Perhaps it was because she had stopped prolonging her life. There were moments when she thought it didn’t matter anymore.

But when the invasion from the outside world occurred, her body moved on its own.

She held back the endlessly expanding “Forest Labyrinth Phenomenon,” saving those left behind. With a devotedness that seemed to incinerate all remaining life, she fulfilled her duty.

Why was she doing this?

No, it was more pressing to ask why she, who had researched magic strong enough to halt the labyrinth’s encroachment, continued to study despite the battles and exhaustion after parting with him.

Why had she taught the captured Israilians, the children they had created out of their own will, that research?

“Witch! Witch!!!”

“Witch! Do you understand us!? White Witch!”

And as those children surrounded her, just when everything was about to end, she felt an inexplicable sense of regret.

—Everyone is useless.

Why?

She understood all too well. Thus, Shiro opened her mouth.

“Everyone…”

Help him.

But she couldn’t say that. After all, he had tried to erase these children. She couldn’t impose such a wish on them. So instead, she quietly hid her selfish wish and spoke while considering the children’s future.

“Continue that power, build it up, and help many people.”

If they did, perhaps someday—

Someday, it might reach him, even if it took a long time.

—

Noise flashed through her mind again.

Fleeting memories, remnants of the past. A violent impact inflicted upon the giant god’s head shook her memories again, causing her consciousness to falter. There were things she needed to do, yet her thoughts were interrupted.

And when she regained her senses, she found herself confronted with a blindingly bright white and blue light. It was undoubtedly an enemy’s attack, a threat that had to be dealt with—yet instead, the thought that crossed her mind wasn’t about how to counter the threat—

The faces of her former companions.

That fleeting recollection stalled her actions.

And in the next instant, her two outstretched arms were obliterated, and a roar pierced through the giant god’s body.

However, the shock that shook the giant god’s entire body brought her back to her senses inescapably.

The destructive energy that could reach the gods. Even as that energy scorched her, the mind of the creator regained its calm. Although taken by surprise due to that Slime Demon’s swarm, she still remained unscathed.

<[Eliminate and Reconstruct]!!!>

Eliminate the damaged parts and reconstruct. The giant god’s body shifted, allowing the roar to pass through as if a grand hole had opened.

She survived.

Of course, the enemy would adjust their aim in response. So before that happened, she directed the remaining four arms towards the huge familiar.

She focused all her attacks on Uuga.

“Well done, Uuga…!!”

As if waiting for this opening, the devouring queen prepared on the other side of the evaded roar.

—

The roar unleashed from Uuga engulfed everything in its path, and the expanding darkness of the night magnificently absorbed it all. In a single breath, the queen consumed all waves of destruction that could annihilate everything—

“[Devour, O Dark Dusk!]”

Even for her, with a bottomless capacity renowned as unprecedented among the Demon King and the Sky Devils, to consume Uuga’s blow that could pierce even gods required more capacity than she possessed. The shock tore at Echel’s insides, making her cry out in pain.

Yet, she steeled herself and focused ahead.

—If there isn’t enough capacity, then increase it!

“[Vanity!]”

She drew forth another power residing within her, transforming herself.

There was no hesitation. There was not even a trace of attachment to being Human. All that remained was a prayer for everyone to reach happiness. And for that, she would commit any sin she had to.

“[I will consume sin and wish for the happiness of the night’s dusk.]”

Thus, she felt no hesitation in devouring the world.

Darkness spread. To compensate for the lack of capacity, her own space continued to expand around her. The dark night shifted again, swallowing everything as if manifesting the fear of humanity.

The darkness transformed into the jaws of a giant dragon. With it under her command, Echel shouted.

“[O dragon of the Dusk, devour the god!]”

As she concentrated her awareness on defeating Uuga, the creator was again caught unawares by a retaliatory strike from behind.

<—what the—?>

The light released by the dark dragon pierced through the protection the creator had painstakingly constructed. It broke through, thrumming upward, tearing through the hole created to evade the attack. It shredded her chest, gouged her neck, and cut through her head, sending radiant light blooming into the sky. The remaining wings of the giant god were also destroyed, piercing through the spell intended to blanket the sky.

“[DIE!!!!]”

The devouring queen roared.

With that battle cry, the light sliced through the air, shattering the spell into oblivion. The shards of light erupted like rain, revealing a red-black, ominous sky beyond.

“…Look.”

The sky tainted by malevolence was pierced through, and what lay beyond gradually came into view. It was merely a slight crack, surely destined to be buried again by the tainted sky. Although the dwellers of the Ark gazed up at it countless times, they had never seen true skies before.

“…It’s the sky.”

A blue, blue sky appeared, reaching the eyes of the warriors, albeit momentarily.

—

The giant god crumbled.

Even with inexhaustible magic power, the giant god had been constructed within True Babel, and its form maintained by countless spells. However, that overwhelming clash of white and blue light had destroyed most of its components. No matter how skilled the creator was, he couldn’t instantly reconstruct what had been completely obliterated.

<—not yet...!>

Yet, the creator ignited with determination.

From the head that had been incinerated and from the eyes that had tumbled into the Waste Hole, the hybrid of the Sun God and Moon God began to operate once more. Gathering the scattered flesh of the giant god and the light of destruction, he focused all remaining power before total collapse occurred.

Raising the already regenerating Waste Hole with his palm, he commanded as the creator.

<—[Technique: Union]>

He forcibly bound the Waste Hole to himself, returning the converging negative magic power to his own energy. Despite being on the verge of collapse, the fact that he could maintain this state was a testament to his unparalleled genius.

Of course, even he understood that this wouldn’t last long. But he paid no mind to appearances anymore.

No matter what, he would eradicate these nuisances!!!

Both the malign magic power and shards of the created world were all poured into the power of destruction. He pushed everything else aside. Now, he focused every nerve on annihilating the enemy before him.

<—KILL!!! “Not happening.” In response, the gray-haired boy leaped out before him again. Even as he cornered and crushed the boy, he kept coming back. This made the creator grimace, unleashing all his power toward this one boy. <—[Creation: New Star]>

“I am the ash flame that walks towards the end, bound to no one.”

But just before that, the gray flame filled the world.

His own spell transformed. It became a gray flame that filled the space, slipping from his control. It was an extremely bizarre phenomenon, but the creator remained unperturbed.

Assimilation Phenomenon.

He knew it. Of course, it had been he who created the dragons.

He also understood the Assimilation Phenomenon. It was a function of the Moon God, developed for exploring alternative-dimensional spaces that might differ from initial concepts and laws.

However, this was merely a weak space replicated by fragments of the Moon God.

Yet the output was overwhelmingly superior on this side. Thus, he intended to crush it—

It was supposed to be a cleansing blow.

<—What the?>

However, the clash of space and destruction persisted. No matter the logic, there was no reason to lose in output. Regardless of the rules saturating the opponent’s space, the disparity was impossible to surmount.

Yet still, the destruction on their side began to warp.

—Rather than simply warping, was it being corrupted?

It was a familiar phenomenon. Its scale and range diverged significantly from what he knew, yet he recognized it without question. After all, it was something he had created as well.

“Ha… ha ha.”

A voice echoed. A sound that seemed to erupt from the world of gray flames mocked everything.

“Ha, ha ha, ahh ha ha ha ha ha!!!”

A cacophonous laugh, and from the midst of the gray flames, something emerged. It was a colossal dragon, cloaked in fire yet possessing an aura of malevolence. Its massive body lacked scales, its skin gleaming white.

The creator didn’t recognize the laughter. How could he? This “intelligent entity” had been an afterthought, formed afterward.

However, this entity recognized the creator. It knew its origin, the loathsome father who had manifested itself as the Moon God.

“Nice to meet you, Father?”

The lustful dragon, mingled with gray flames, mocked him.