The reflection in his eyes was his own.
Were Dia’s eyes asking for help?
Were my eyes asking for help?
I couldn’t tell in that instant.
But I was certain.
Unconsciously, it was I who had been asking for help all along.
Anyone would have sufficed.
As long as I wasn’t alone, that was all that mattered.
No matter how much I tried to act tough, I hated being alone in a world like this.
It was just by chance that Diablo Sis was the one I encountered.
She looked like she was about to die, so I reached out, thinking I could easily tame her. And fortunately or unfortunately, we became companions. If I wasn’t mistaken, I think we could have also become friends of the same age.
If Dia, my companion, were to die here, I would be alone in the labyrinth once again.
And I don’t just mean alone within this dim labyrinth.
I mean being completely without allies in the labyrinth of this endlessly sprawling Another World.
Once you’ve experienced the time spent with another person, the fear of being alone multiplies.
And so, the pure desire to save my friend Dia.
And the desire to protect my dependency for my own sake.
These two mixed feelings fill me up.
These overflowing emotions have nowhere to go, and they move my body.
“Get away—!!”
I deflected the blade aiming to lop off Dia’s head on the third strike and threw myself at Teeda, pushing them back.
Then, I rushed to Dia, who had fallen face-down, and looked at their profile—my heart leaped.
Their eyes were vacant, showing no sign of life.
Before their eyes lay Dia’s right arm, still clutching the P treasure sword that had been brutally severed.
I stared at it, lost in shock.
A torrent of blood flowed from the severed limb.
I could feel death approaching with every passing moment.
“I’m surprised… Humanity’s mutual aid is beautiful. All the more beautiful for its futility…”
Teeda slowly regained their footing and commented on Dia’s struggle.
For this nihilist, Dia’s act seemed to be quite pleasing.
They approached as if about to applaud.
Their killing intent indicated they had no intention of showing leniency despite their praise.
I readied my sword, thinking.
I would focus solely on killing this monster.
To save the gravely injured Dia, I had to kill this monster as soon as possible.
Fortunately, the exhilaration that had clouded my thoughts had completely turned into fear.
But it wasn’t fear for my own death; it was fear for my friend’s death.
Though I might rage with anger, my body would never freeze.
I kicked off the ground, intending to shatter Teeda’s frozen body.
The odds were slim.
However, there was one more element I could use to outwit Teeda.
If I could stay true to myself and bet everything on it, there was still a possibility—or so I believed.
“…Has your ‘excitement’ turned to ‘fear’? Then, I’ll cast the spell again, and—!?”
Teeda looked at my face and seemed to grasp my condition.
But midway through, they looked at me with eyes as if seeing something unbelievable.
No, more accurately, they were looking *behind* me—.
“—Divine Magic \[Sion].”
A voice that was neither Teeda’s nor mine spoke.
Teeda immediately leaped back into a defensive stance.
I confirmed that the enemy had distanced themselves and checked behind me.
Countless bubbles of light.
Spherical lights, several meters in diameter, filled the space in a crowded fashion.
“Wha—Dia!?”
In the center of it all, a blood-soaked Dia stood up.
They glared at Teeda with vacant eyes.
Ignoring the blood gushing endlessly, Dia waved their right arm, which was no longer there, horizontally.
Fresh blood arced onto the ground.
In sync with it, the countless bubbles of light began to rage.
The swarm of bubbles became a torrent, engulfing me and Teeda.
Simultaneously, a pressure of Magic Power pushed down on me.
The light bubbles themselves had no physical force, but I could tell they had the effect of disrupting Magic Power. The Dimension I had deployed around me began to distort.
Furthermore, Dia began to chant.
“—Divine Magic \[Cure Fool], Divine Magic \[Strath Field], Divine Magic \[Divine Arrow] \[Divine Arrow] \[Divine Arrow]—”
Divine Magic.
This was Dia’s most proficient Skill.
Dia’s true magic—.
These spells were indiscriminately cast.
The healing magic stopped Dia’s bleeding, healed my cuts, and even shed light upon Teeda.
And the attack magic was unleashed everywhere in the labyrinth, targeting nothing in particular.
It was indiscriminate.
Anyone could see they were in a frenzy.
I could feel hostility towards the enemy, Teeda, but there seemed to be no consideration for me, their ally.
I understood this and distanced myself from Dia.
And then, I rejoiced at the opportunity.
Regardless of anything else, Dia’s bleeding had stopped.
Perhaps their use of Divine Magic was limited before, or perhaps they had never used it, I didn’t know. But it was certain that this had disrupted Teeda’s composure.
Teeda’s fluid body was being frozen by the light bubble magic. I could see them desperately dodging the numerous spells that filled the space even now.
I took Dia out of my line of sight and ran straight towards Teeda.
If I hit some magic along the way, then that would be it.
I was staking everything on one final attack.
My vision was red, and I could taste iron in my mouth.
My legs felt heavy as lead, and I couldn’t feel my arms.
My body was far beyond its limit.
Still, I poured all the recovery Dia had brought into these limbs.
Teeda spotted my rapidly approaching figure.
They immediately realized I was making a suicidal charge and took a stance to counter.
In contrast, I leaped forward with such momentum that I didn’t care where Teeda’s blade struck, as long as it wasn’t my sword-wielding hand.
Teeda saw through my intentions and swung their blade-arm towards my sword-wielding hand. As I was committed to my suicidal attack, I couldn’t dodge it. I was leaning so far forward, gaining so much speed.
—My hand was cut, and I dropped my sword.
Without a sword, I couldn’t inflict a fatal wound on the enemy.
Teeda understood this, and their face contorted into a victorious grin.
—But, as planned. With my now-wounded hand, I grabbed Teeda’s blade.
Teeda showed a look of surprise.
Then, as they tried to move their blade, I gripped it tightly with my hand, preventing them from doing so.
With my free left hand, I retrieved a spare sword from my Inventory.
With the momentum of drawing it, the sword severed Teeda’s head from their torso.
Teeda’s head flew off.
The sensation was not like cutting water, but of cutting flesh.
Completely solidified by Ice Magic and light magic, it transmitted a definite sensation to my hand.
Teeda’s torso lost its strength and fell to the ground.
I cut off their limbs and stabbed their core. I didn’t know what would happen, so I delivered as many follow-up attacks to the torso as I could.
Finally, I turned my gaze to Teeda’s fallen head.
Teeda’s head, rolling on the ground, was looking at me.
Their expression seemed surprised… and yet, somehow pleased.
Teeda, now headless, spoke.
“—A, A—Your, victory.”
After that declaration, the magic raging in the corridor subsided.
Looking behind me, Dia was on their knees, in pain.
Perhaps the heat had subsided upon seeing their nemesis minced.
They were clutching their head, suffering from the backlash of magic that was surely beyond their limits.
“Haa, haa, haa—! Y, Yes, it seems we’ve won…!”
I resumed my previously stopped breathing and also declared victory.
Then, I raised my sword to deliver the finishing blow.
“Thank you, that was fun. The last spell was nostalgic.”
Teeda smiled happily, as if pleased to have lost.
The end was anticlimactic.
A surprise attack facilitated by the Inventory system.
Even Teeda seemed unable to anticipate a sword appearing from nowhere.
“My wish has been granted… You truly are beings who can grant my wishes… If possible, continue like this and grant Arty’s… Ah, the girl with the fire from earlier, grant her wish as well, won’t you…?”
Gradually, the remaining head began to turn into just liquid.
Their mouth was becoming unable to form words, and their speech grew slurred.
“You’re asking for that after we fought to the death… even though we were enemies…”
“H, Haha, of—course. It’s—natural. Ha, haha—”
Teeda laughed. And with those words, they turned to sand.
The remaining sand quickly turned to light and vanished.
Witnessing this, I lowered the sword I had raised.
\[Title “The Washing Away of Darkness” Acquired]
Applies a +0.50 bonus to Mental Magic.
In the wake of the light, a single black jewel remained.
I picked it up and gazed at it.
\[Guardian’s Magic Stone]
The crystallized magic of Guardian Teeda.
Having confirmed the enemy’s annihilation and the item’s safety, I let out a sigh and ran towards Dia.
Dia was crouching.
It was just like the first time I met them.
Looking at their HP via the Display, it wasn’t like Dia was about to die, but several pools of blood had formed in the room due to their hemorrhaging. Logically, it was strange they were even breathing. It was obvious they needed treatment at a hospital immediately.
I put my sword and other items into my Inventory and lifted Dia.
They felt strangely light. I knew they were small, but this felt abnormal. It was as if the lost blood had drained everything from Dia’s insides.
“…Chri—Christ, I’m sorry. …Truly sorry.”
Their breathing was ragged, and their eyes were closed, but they seemed to sense my presence.
Cradled in my arms, Dia continued to murmur apologies like a delirium.
“Let’s go back first. We don’t know what might happen.”
Looking around, the black flames that had sealed the room had disappeared at some point.
At the same time, I realized the boss who used those flames might come, so I judged that this was no time to be standing around idly.
“Dia, we can leave soon. You can rest easy.”
Upon hearing this, Dia stopped apologizing and lost consciousness.
I panicked at their sudden unconsciousness, but confirmed Dia was breathing and felt relieved.
Then, I began to retrace my steps along the Seidō out of the labyrinth, remaining vigilant.
My own condition was also poor.
But if I lost consciousness here, all our previous struggles would be in vain.
With strong willpower, I continued to walk the path indicated by the gem.
Encountering a monster by bad luck along the way, I set Dia down and dealt with it using magic and my sword. I didn’t want to die here due to holding back, so I didn’t hesitate to reduce my maximum HP.
As a result, Dia and I managed to escape the labyrinth without perishing.
We had overcome the trial of the Level 20 boss, “The one who steals the logic of darkness,” and returned to the ground.
\[Status]
HP 32/149 MP 0/262
