The girl’s name is Hairi Weisprorope.
I thought it was a silly name. The fact that it differed by only one character from Mr. Hein’s name felt malicious.
No matter how much the girl denied it verbally, anyone who called her name would inevitably think of him.
Of course, I was thinking of him even now, while being attacked. So, instead of counterattacking, I attempted to persuade her verbally.
“Let’s talk! Let’s talk! We’re both explorers, aren’t we?!”
“Precisely because we are both explorers, we must fight! Only one person can reach the deepest part, only one person!”
Even while wielding her sword, the girl answered me conscientiously. I felt I couldn’t see her as a stranger.
Believing there might be a thread for persuasion, I continued to speak to her.
“Are you also aiming for the deepest part?!”
“Yes, I am! Just like you!”
“Then why don’t we go together?!”
I tried to recruit her on the spot.
I didn’t quite understand it myself, but my mouth moved on its own, inviting the girl.
“Didn’t I just say that?! Only one person’s wish can be granted, so there’s no point in going in a group! The boy intends to return to his original world, doesn’t he?! If that’s the case, we can’t get along!”
“—How did you know that!?”
The girl knew my wish. My companions had only recently learned of it, and I hadn’t told Mr. Hein about it, of course.
Seizing the opening of my surprise, the girl’s twin swords came perilously close to my vital spot.
Having no choice, I used my physical abilities to leap backward.
Seeing the distance widen, the girl began to chant. It appeared she was an all-around explorer, capable of both swordplay and magic.
I didn’t want to be subjected to area-of-effect magic repeatedly. To counteract her magic, I spread my Dimensional Magic.
“Magic: ‘Dimension Winter’!”
“—’Dimension’ / ‘Zitterwind’—”
In response, the girl also strengthened her Dimensional Magic.
Winter magic mixed with wind magic. The magic power I had moved to interfere with the girl’s magic was instead being interfered with.
The gentle wind the girl created was similar to my ‘Dimension Winter.’
I had to give up on interfering with her magic using ‘Dimension Winter.’
Seeing that I was being overpowered in the magical battle, Rustiara, who was behind me, cried out in concern.
“Kanami, what are you going to do!? She’s quite strong!”
“Just leave it to me a little longer!”
If possible, I wanted to end the battle peacefully. If Rustiara and the others got involved carelessly, the girl might get hurt.
Gripping my sword again, I charged at the girl alone. The girl shouted in response.
“I will go to the deepest part! Yes, even if I have to fight you all! Even if I have to die! —’Sea Wind Madness’!”
With a phrasing I had heard somewhere before, the girl completed her magic.
The girl’s magic power was unleashed, and all the wind in the labyrinth momentarily stilled.
Even the slightest breeze disappeared, creating a state of complete calm. Then, in the next instant, the air in the space exploded, and the corridor was filled with a gale.
The initial wind magic, ‘Sea Wind,’ had a direction. It was a gust of wind that could still occur as a natural phenomenon, but this time, the magic was different.
It was a storm that was by no means ordinary. It was irregular and restless, changing direction from right to left, up to down, and back again. Sometimes the winds collided, sometimes they separated.
Enveloped in this unpredictable storm, my movements were sealed. No, it couldn’t possibly be just sealed. My body was being pulled in all 360 directions with a terrifying force, as if it were being torn apart.
I reinforced the ‘Dimension Winter’ that cloaked me, but it had little effect against the magical storm.
And, more importantly, just like in the previous battle with Galflad Jelly, breathing became a problem again.
Within the domain where this magic, ‘Sea Wind Madness,’ was deployed, I could barely breathe. Since I hadn’t taken a deep breath beforehand, I knew I wouldn’t last long.
“Ku, ugh! —’Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions’!!”
Judging that I couldn’t counter it without using my own strongest magic, I deployed a Winter world within a radius of about 50 centimeters. The oppressive Winter magic halted the wild movements of the wind.
Like the eye of a storm, a windless state was created uniquely around where I stood.
—MP 185/889-400—
While checking my MP and considering my next move, the girl burst out from within the storm. It seemed she had charged through the gale.
I blocked her twin swords with ‘Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen.’
However, the girl hadn’t mastered her magic as I had. She was charging in, sustaining cuts and abrasions on various parts of her body. Her self-sacrificing fighting style reminded me of Rainer.
While being worn down by the storm, the girl continued to attack me.
The ‘Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions’ was being used to resist the storm, so I couldn’t fight advantageously.
—MP 163/889-400—
My MP was visibly decreasing rapidly.
‘Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions’ is not the type of magic that can be used continuously. If this continued, I would run out of MP and be swallowed by the storm.
To devise a solution, I began to gather all information meticulously using ‘Sensation’ and ‘Dimension.’
Then, I noticed.
It wasn’t just me whose MP was rapidly decreasing; the girl in front of me was in the same situation.
With ‘Gaze,’ I could see the girl’s remaining MP.
— MP64/512-200 —
With only 64 MP remaining, the girl was consuming MP even more than I was, her face contorted in pain.
If we continued to let the magic and swordplay stalemate, the girl would fall first.
Understanding this, I felt a sense of relief. I stopped attacking and focused on defense, watching our respective MP dwindle. This alone would guarantee my victory.
After several tens of seconds of stalemate, the girl’s MP finally ran out.
Naturally, as the supply of the girl’s magical power ceased, the storm’s momentum rapidly weakened.
Sensing the end of the battle, I exhaled deeply. However, to my relieved expression, the girl shouted.
“—What are you so relieved about! It’s not over yet! Not yet!!”
The magic supply for the storm resumed. The weakening storm reversed its momentum and began to blow fiercely.
Even though she had no MP, the magic’s intensity increased.
I knew of this phenomenon. It was magic that operated by using HP as a substitute for MP, a power that went beyond the limits.
In other words, it meant the girl had gambled her maximum HP to resume the battle.
—HP 282/352—
—HP 282/347—
—HP 282/341—
—The girl’s life was being shaved away.
As the girl’s twin swords approached, encroaching upon the domain of ‘Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions,’ she was also consuming her HP.
This time, my ‘Gaze’ could see not MP, but her maximum HP visibly decreasing. The sight of this frenzied expenditure of life sent a chill down my spine, and I realized my plan had failed. It was now impossible for anyone to avoid injury without a doubt.
“—I-I’m sorry, everyone! Stop her right now! It’s fine if you break a bone or two! Stop her!!”
I had no choice but to call for my companions’ help, shedding any shame.
“There you go again, that bad habit! This is what happens when you get complacent on your own!!”
“I’m truly sorry!!”
First, Rustiara, who was behind me, rushed forward with a scolding. Reaper, riding on Sera’s back after she had undergone her ‘Beastification,’ followed suit.
“Big Brother, I’ll calm the wind for now! —’Midnight of Abyssal Dimensions’!”
Reaper used magic with the same effect as my ‘Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions.’ A concentrated darkness flowed from Reaper, attempting to envelop the storm.
“Don’t interfere!!”
However, the girl’s winds blew away the darkness. Just as thin smoke is blown away, Reaper’s darkness was easily extinguished. Magic that cost life was, unlike normal magic, powerful. I knew this firsthand, but it was incredibly troublesome when used against me.
Reaper was surprised that his strongest magic was ineffective.
“Wh-what!?”
However, from within the dispelled darkness, Rustiara, cloaked in red mist, lunged forward.
“—’Growth Extended’! Blood Magic ‘Hein Helvishein’! And then ‘Cannon Sea’aa!!”
With that momentum, Rustiara loosed a full-powered wind magic. The gale, shot like a cannon, punched a hole through the storm. And through that wind tunnel, Rustiara, whose physical abilities were heightened to the extreme, attempted to dash through.
“So assertive, my lady! ‘Cannon Sea’!”
The girl also unleashed the same magic into the tunnel that had formed. As long as she was running within it, Rustiara couldn’t avoid it. The wind of ‘Cannon Sea’ pushed back Rustiara, who was running towards her.
The girl’s series of counterattacks was fluid and magnificent. However, the opening created by using those two spells was decisive.
“This is the end—!”
I swung my sword at the girl, who had taken her eyes off me. But—
“—What!?”
Just before my sword touched the girl’s defenseless body, I felt a burst of magical power from her. I instinctively attempted to dissipate the magic with ‘Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions.’ But the magic wasn’t being used for magic construction; it was merely being converted into wind magic and made to run wild. My magic negation technique works by disrupting magic construction. Therefore, if the opponent abandons magic construction, I cannot interfere.
Next to the girl, wind magic exploded. The sword that had been about to reach her was pushed back. Frustratingly, I missed the opening my companions had created.
However, the girl’s body was covered in cuts from the uncontrolled magic. Furthermore, the amount of magic consumed was far greater than in normal magic. Honestly, it was a disproportionate amount of damage.
It shouldn’t have been worth it—but the girl laughed.
“—Fufu, if I’m losing with a sword, I can just make it explode.”
Her fair, beautiful face was stained with red blood as the girl laughed. The smile sent a shiver down my spine. In the preceding exchange, the girl had lost nearly 50 points of her maximum HP. That was enough life to kill a child. Yet, she laughed after burning that much life like firewood. Just watching the acceleration of this life loss filled me with primal fear.
In my fear, I shouted at the girl. “That way of fighting won’t last long!”
“Fufu, it hardly matters! My life is disposable anyway!”
“Th-this girl—!!”
Her response only fueled my frustration. It was the same emotion I had felt towards Rainer.
Fear turned to anger, and I felt my own magic surge. I converted it into my most confident attack magic.
“Magic: ‘Midgardsflame’!!”
I froze the water underfoot, generating a serpentine ice statue. It was an Ice Magic that disregarded MP efficiency. Even ‘Parallel Thinking’ was screaming in protest at the simultaneous use with ‘Midwinter of Overcrowded Dimensions.’
“Charge!!”
The ice serpent charged through the storm. Its scales chipped off, but its momentum did not wane. ‘Midgardsflame’ possessed such mass and magical power. I lurked behind the ice serpent, following it. The ice serpent parted the wind, minimizing the storm’s impact.
“‘Sea Fang’!”
Seeing the ferocious Ice Magic, the girl smiled ferociously and unleashed her own magic. Four wind spears floated in the air. Two from above and two from below, the wind spears attacked the ice serpent as if to shatter it.
With a sound like breaking glass, the ice serpent was shattered. But I paid it no mind, forging ahead through the scattering ice shards, swinging my sword and shouting.
“I won’t let you do that! Draining your life like that!!”
“You’re starting to look good! Just like this—!!”
While bearing the brunt of my criticism, the girl did not cease her life-draining. The storm intensified further.
Then, as our swords met in a clash, our eyes locked, and we exchanged our true feelings, I felt the girl’s heart.
That heart was utterly decadent. This girl was completely different from Rainer. Rainer had been draining his life while suffering and agonizing, out of necessity. But the girl before me rejoiced in being able to drain her life.
With shining eyes, her gleeful shouts were like those of a child playing with a beloved toy. She was more frightening to behold than Rainer.
Noticing the girl’s distortion, I felt I couldn’t leave her be. I wouldn’t say I didn’t know the reason why— The girl resembled Hein, to whom I owed a great debt. Therefore, I couldn’t just leave her. At the very least, I thought, I couldn’t let her die until I could confirm that connection.
“Rustiara! For now, let’s freeze this fool!!”
“—Fuh, fufu—”
The first to react to my declaration with laughter was the girl. Everything I did seemed amusing to her.
Following the girl’s lead, Rustiara and the others nodded. Resonance Magic required close proximity. We fired our spells in a pincer formation.
“Swallow me whole! Magic: ‘Midgardsflame’!”
Once more, I summoned an ice serpent from the ground. Then, from behind the girl, Rustiara unleashed her Ice Magic.
“‘Ice Mesh’!”
An ice net spread out, attempting to envelop the girl.
An ice serpent at point-blank range and a net of ice from behind. Normally, these would be unavoidable. However, even in this dire situation, the girl still laughed. She tried to conjure magicpower by draining her maximum HP instead of MP.
“Fufufu, not yet! I still haven’t! —’Cannon Sea Madness’!!”
With a cry of delight, the girl wove more storm magic. With a double deployment of ‘Cannon Sea Madness,’ our Ice Magic was repelled.
Then, the girl began to run, laughing—
“—Eh?”
—She fell to her knees, placing her hands on the ground. Blood dripped from her face, and she began to breathe heavily.
“Haa, haa…! At, at a time like this? How unlucky!”
Bleeding from her nose and mouth, the girl clawed at the empty air. I had seen the way her hand disappeared before.
“—This girl, even her ‘Inventory’!”
While surprised by her ability, I didn’t miss the opportunity and charged forward. Rustiara, who was diagonally opposite, was also surprised and ran towards her.
“That girl, is she like me…? But with that, she…!”
However, the content of their surprise was different. I didn’t have time to confirm the difference. The girl was trying to insert a magic stone into her mouth, taking it out from her ‘Inventory.’ This was the same action Palinkron took when he obtained the Guardian’s power.
In a hurry, I kicked the magic stone from the girl’s hand and grappled onto her body.
“Ah, ugh…!”
The girl collapsed, gasping. At the same time, while clinging to her, I infused ‘Dimension Winter’ to prevent her from using magic.
“Ah, aah, gah! Cough, cough!!”
Then, the girl coughed violently and began to vomit blood profusely. Aghast at the sheer volume of blood, I turned pale.
Looking around, the storm that had been raging so fiercely had suddenly quieted. It was clear that the magic had dissolved because the girl had exceeded her limits. Checking the girl’s status, I saw her HP had plummeted.
“Th-this is bad! Rustiara! Heal her!”
I entrusted the girl to Rustiara, who arrived a moment later.
“Leave it to me!”
Rustiara began casting healing magic on the girl, our enemy, without hesitation. In a situation where every second counted, her personality was a godsend. Reaper and Sera then joined us, and we all surrounded the girl.
Rustiara, her face etched with concern, continued to cast spells on the girl, who was on the verge of death. A warm, white light filled the corridor. As the amount of light increased, the girl’s expression gradually softened. Her rough breaths turned into regular, sleeping breaths. Fortunately, the girl had lost consciousness.
“Is she alright…?”
I asked Rustiara, who was dripping with sweat.
“For now, I think she’ll be fine. I’m used to healing this.”
Looking at her status, the girl’s HP had recovered to about half. Rustiara gently lowered the girl to the floor and murmured gravely.
“However, the blood loss was too severe… She won’t be fully recovered anytime soon. And it seems this girl’s body was weak to begin with…”
“No, as long as she’s not dead, that’s all that matters. As long as she’s alive…”
In fact, it was quite convenient that she wouldn’t recover fully immediately. It would be easier to restrain her when the girl woke up and started to act up.
“But, since she seems special, we’ll need to diagnose her more thoroughly…”
Rustiara said, stroking the girl’s cheek as she lay with her head in Rustiara’s lap, her voice laced with worry.
“We were going to leave anyway. Let’s take her with us and nurse her back to health on the ship.”
“That’s a good idea.”
With that, we began preparing to leave. Reaper and Sera also showed no objections to our plan. Despite the unexpected battles, I was grateful that none of my companions were injured.
“Alright, I’ll create a door now. —’Connection’.”
Due to the fierce battles, my remaining MP was barely enough. Even if it were insufficient, Reaper could have taken over, but it was still risky. If I had been out of MP, we might have been trapped in the labyrinth. Having come this deep, we had to exercise the utmost caution.
Feeling the need to review our future exploration policy, we headed back to the ship.
Taking with us the white-haired girl named Hairi Weisprorope——
