To Mr. Hein, Rustiara replied with a deceptive demeanor.
“Hello, Mr. Hein. Are you alone today?”
“Yes, I am alone today.”
I used Magic “Dimension” to check if anyone was hiding around us.
Seeing Rustiara looking at me, I nodded to confirm that Hein was alone.
Having confirmed this, Rustiara continued the conversation.
“Are you here to challenge my knight, Christ, to a duel again today?”
Upon hearing the word “duel,” Mr. Hein froze for a moment.
Then, he immediately nodded repeatedly and replied.
“Yes, I have come to challenge you to a duel. However, before that, there is something I wish to discuss.”
“Discuss?”
“Yes, with your knight, Christ.”
With that, Hein turned his face towards me.
I took a step forward to hear what he had to say.
“What is it that you wish to discuss, Mr. Hein?”
“Well, fighting isn’t the only way to settle things. For example, I can offer you whatever you desire, and have you concede defeat. That’s the kind of discussion I’m talking about.”
Hein appealed for a non-violent resolution in a gentle tone.
Indeed, if the matter could be settled through negotiation, I would prefer that as well.
“That’s certainly true.”
Hein began his negotiation with a flawless smile.
“Therefore, please tell me what you desire.”
“What I desire, you say…?”
“Whether it be money or honor, I will prepare anything you wish for. If you seek pleasure, as a young lady might, I will arrange any kind of pleasure… So, won’t you concede the duel?”
It was a very reasonable proposal.
However, unfortunately, I do not desire money or honor.
There is only one thing I desire: ‘return’.
To have my only family returned to me. That is my only wish.
Currently, the only possibility that could grant me this wish is the ‘Deepest Part’ of the labyrinth.
Through the information gathering up to today, I have found no other possibilities. Therefore, I desire nothing other than the talent capable of reaching the depths of the labyrinth.
At present, ‘Rustiara,’ ‘Dia,’ and ‘Arti’ are the only three individuals who seem to possess such talent.
I have no reason to concede victory to Mr. Hein by abandoning one of these few combatants.
“…What I desire is something that you cannot provide, Mr. Hein.”
“You cannot provide it?”
“What I desire lies in the ‘Deepest Part’ of the labyrinth. Therefore, you cannot provide it, Mr. Hein.”
I declared.
At my response, Hein frowned slightly and continued his negotiation.
“That ‘Miracle’… You desire the ‘Miracle’ of the Deepest Part…?”
“Yes.”
“Indeed, that is something I cannot provide…”
Upon learning my objective, Mr. Hein clasped his head in his hands and looked down.
Then, after a moment of thought, he murmured.
“This is the worst…”
That one word trembled.
It was no longer the soft, beautiful voice from before, but a hoarse sound escaping from the depths of his abdomen.
Then, Hein slowly raised his face and showed me his sorrowful expression.
There was no trace of the flawless smile he had worn until then. It was the face of an ordinary person facing a tragic event.
I was flustered by the sudden change in his expression.
Hein, unconcerned by my bewilderment, continued to speak with a sad face and a hoarse voice.
“It is the worst. Your wish is ‘the worst’ for me… Wishing for a miracle is fine. But this labyrinth. This place, above all, is unacceptable. Ah, what a… bad location.”
“What do you mean…?”
I couldn’t understand what Hein was saying and tried to ask him again.
“There is no other way. Let’s duel.”
However, Hein did not answer my question and requested a duel.
“I don’t mind that, but…”
“As usual, if you win, I will never show my face again. Is that acceptable?”
“Yes, of course. But—”
An unsettling feeling crawling up my spine made me try to stop the conversation for a moment.
However, Hein would not allow it.
He spoke word after word, relentlessly continuing the conversation.
And then, he delivered the ultimate blow, throwing a statement at me.
“Then, if I win, you and the young lady will leave the Allied Nations.”
As he uttered those words, Hein’s expression returned to a smile.
With a captivating smile and the gentlest voice he had used all day, he declared.
“Eh?”
I couldn’t immediately grasp the meaning of his words.
Given the flow of the conversation so far, I had assumed that if he won, Rustiara would simply return to her hometown. However, Hein was demanding a completely different reward.
This changed everything.
As I tried to refuse this and take another step forward—
That step was never taken.
My feet didn’t touch the ground, and I was overcome by a sensation of floating.
“—Zeer Wind.”
Hein pointed his right hand at me and his left hand at Rustiara, chanting a spell.
Simultaneously, one of his rings shattered, and a gentle stream of wind caressed my cheek.
The next moment.
The scenery before my eyes distorted, a mass of air collided with my eyes, and my eyelids were forcibly shut.
Furthermore, a pressure that threatened to blow my body away struck me.
The pressure came from Hein’s direction.
However, my vision was obscured, so I couldn’t discern the nature of the pressure.
Instinctively, I curled my body and prepared for any potential situation.
“—!?”
I was blown backward.
During this, I lost my sense of up and down.
It was only then that I understood that I was being blown backward by a magic gale that surpassed human comprehension.
I had let my guard down due to Hein’s seemingly kind demeanor, and my response was too late.
Although I had sensed something was amiss, my tension was insufficient.
While being blown away by the wind, I deployed Magic “Dimension – Decisive Calculation” to gather information about my surroundings.
I instantaneously expanded the magic and began constructing a countermeasure based on the gathered information.
In terms of time, it was less than a second.
I grasped my own position, which was being blown away, and the position of the wall towards which I was being propelled. Then, accordingly, I prepared for impact.
First, I absorbed the shock by placing both hands and feet on the wall.
While clinging to the wall, I permeated Magic “Dimension” throughout the entire room.
Somewhere far away, Rustiara was thrown against the wall and had fainted.
She was likely not dead, but at first glance, one of her arms appeared to be broken. Unlike me, she hadn’t been able to brace herself.
It wasn’t that Rustiara’s reaction was worse than mine. If anything was worse, it was the location where she was standing.
Although the distance from me to the wall was a dozen meters, Rustiara was on the verge of the wall, so she likely had no time to think.
I decided to proceed without expecting any help from Rustiara.
I had no choice but to ignore Rustiara and concentrate on the enemy.
As I reached this conclusion, I saw Hein drawing his twin silver swords and closing the distance towards me.
I also drew my Treasure Sword from my Inventory, planting my feet on the ground.
Before Hein could reach me, I began constructing magic to gain an advantageous situation.
“—Magic “Form” “Dimension Snow”!!”
I manifested countless magical bubbles.
Upon seeing this, Hein chanted a spell.
He pointed one of his silver swords towards me, and another ring shattered.
“—Zitter Wind.”
Along with the spell’s name, a gentle wind was born from Hein’s silver sword.
This wind did not possess the same pressure as the previous gale. However, it preceded Hein and scattered the magical bubbles that had formed around me.
Realizing that the magical bubbles were ineffective against Hein, I stopped producing them.
Then, deciding to focus solely on swordsmanship, I tried to empower Magic “Dimension”—but I noticed my magical senses were being disturbed.
“—!?”
The gentle wind generated by Hein was interfering, and Magic “Dimension” could not accurately convey information about my surroundings to me.
Gritting my teeth, I prepared to face Hein.
Hein’s twin swords attacked me from both sides.
I blocked one with the sword in my hand and dodged the other by twisting my body as much as possible.
It was fortunate that I managed to dodge. I had no experience fighting against two swords, so I could only parry the attacks with instinct and intuition.
Having survived the initial onslaught, I instinctively felt that holding back would lead to regret as I created distance.
To catch Hein off guard, I reached behind me and drew a spare sword from my Inventory.
I blocked Hein’s twin swords, which were approaching from both sides, with my own twin swords.
Seeing my swords, Hein showed a hint of surprise. Exploiting this opening, I parried his swords outward and delivered a kick to his torso.
Although the kick itself lacked power, the recoil allowed me to further distance myself from Hein.
For now, I intended to put some distance between us and gather information by ‘gazing’ at Hein—
[Magic Stone Ring of Trembling Wind]
A ring imbued with the power of ‘Trembling Wind’.
[Magic Stone Ring of Scattered Wind]
A ring imbued with the power of ‘Scattered Wind’.
[Magic Stone Ring of Heavenly Wind]—
One of the ten rings.
The Magic Stone Ring of Heavenly Wind shattered.
“—Zeer Wind.”
Hein inhaled the surrounding wind, compressed it, and released the mass towards me.
The unleashed gale easily lifted my body and sent me flying far backward.
However, I had witnessed the beginning of the magic. This time, I did not lose my balance and firmly braced myself against the wall. Hein, seeing that I had braced myself, halted his pursuit midway.
With the distance created and the attack stopped, I regained some composure and shouted to Hein while strengthening Magic “Dimension.”
“Mr. Hein!! What is the meaning of this!?”
Even as Hein gathered the surrounding wind to construct new magic, he answered my call.
“Meaning? It’s a duel. However, it’s not a warm duel sworn on the ‘Magic Stone Line’. It’s a true duel where we impose violence upon each other to achieve our respective desires.”
His voice was gentle.
Despite the terrifying content of his words, his voice was incredibly kind.
Having been attacked so directly, I had assumed there would be no resolution through words. And I clearly understood that my last shred of hope had vanished.
“Grr…! —Magic “Dimension – Decisive Calculation”!”
At this point, the only way to resolve this situation was to defeat Hein.
However, as I tried to construct a tactic for this—I was stunned.
I realized this was my first true one-on-one battle against an opponent of comparable strength, and I felt a sense of unease about where it was heading.
How far should I attack?
Aim for unconsciousness? That would be best. But the enemy is not weak enough to be knocked unconscious so easily.
Should I then expect him to lose an arm or two? That might be acceptable. But I wasn’t confident I could execute that without hesitation.
Would I be able to? No, that’s not the real issue. The issue is—
—The issue is that this is a battle to the death between humans.
If it were a monster, my conscience wouldn’t be troubled.
Even if they were humanoid, I could make excuses by telling myself they were monsters.
But if I were to cut down a person who was undeniably human, I would have no excuses.
While I could devise strategies in an instant, I couldn’t immediately come up with this answer. My body grew rigid, preventing me from taking optimal action.
In that moment of rigidity, Hein’s magic was completed.
“I will make you behave, even if it means cutting off your leg…!!”
Hein’s determined words echoed.
The surrounding air distorted.
Countless lines of distortion appeared, and the sound of slicing air reverberated twenty floors.
Hein pointed his silver sword at me and chanted.
“—Reis Wind.”
Lines of distortion that sliced through the air were released towards me.
To evade them, I concentrated Magic “Dimension” in that direction.
However, as I tried to concentrate, the gentle wind filling the room interfered. It wasn’t completely negated, but a slight deviation was occurring. And my magic was the kind where such slight deviations could be fatal.
Sensing the danger of relying solely on Magic “Dimension,” I took out food from my Inventory. I chose a bag of flour, grabbed it, and threw it into the distortion that sliced through the air.
The bag was torn, and a large amount of flour scattered.
The cloud of flour took shape in the air, making the distortion that sliced through the air clearly visible. In exchange, my visibility was reduced, but this was not a problem for my magic.
I sprinted at full speed, evading the distortion slicing through the air, and approached Hein.
“—Wind.”
Hein chanted his next spell, blowing away the flour dispersed in the air.
However, by then, I had already evaded all the air-slicing distortions. I immediately lunged at Hein.
I had not yet mustered the resolve to kill.
However, given that he said he would “cut off my leg,” I decided to swing my sword with the same intention. That was the compromise I could accept at this moment.
Sword clashed against sword, and small sparks flew.
I had no intention of creating distance anymore.
Even if I wanted to gather information, there were too many weapons and armor on Hein that I couldn’t ‘gaze’ at all of them. If I stayed at a distance, I would be bombarded with wind magic. If I tried any tricks at medium range, the magical wind would blow everything away. Close-quarters combat was my only option.
His unique twin-sword swordsmanship was a threat, but it wasn’t enough to decide the outcome immediately.
I pressed on, fending off Hein’s swords.
I poured even more MP into Magic “Dimension – Decisive Calculation” to create an opening for victory in close combat.
And then, as the sparks between our swords exceeded ten, Hein’s expression changed.
With a click that didn’t suit him, Hein distanced himself from me.
I tried to pursue him, but stopped myself.
I understood why Hein had created distance. In the direction he was looking with a bitter expression, Rustiara was moaning. She seemed about to regain consciousness.
With a sense of relief, I re-readied my sword.
If Rustiara woke up now, the tide would turn. With Rustiara joining the fight, even the formidable Hein would have no chance of winning.
In other words, I simply had to hold out until Rustiara woke up.
Seeing me switch to a defensive stance, Hein let out a deep breath. Then, he sheathed his twin swords, returning them to their scabbards at his waist, and slowly spoke.
“I never imagined Christ would go this far… My plan is off…”
Hein spoke with a tone of regret—and somehow, a hint of joy.
It was as if he were pleased that his plan had gone awry.
His true intentions today were entirely opaque to me, so I replied with heightened caution.
“Why are you doing this…?”
I wanted to know his true intentions.
The truth behind the wish that the seemingly kind Mr. Hein felt compelled to push through, even by ambushing us.
“…Because I saw the young lady playing happily with you.”
Hein replied weakly.
“Rustiara playing happily…? And because of that…?”
Why would that lead to a desire to drive me and Rustiara out of the Allied Nations?
With the information I possessed, I couldn’t find any connection.
In response to my question, Hein smiled faintly.
“I was mistaken.”
Then, his expression contorted as he blamed himself.
I could do nothing but stare blankly.
Hein appeared sane. He seemed so, but fundamentally, our conversation was not making sense. It felt as unstable as if I were dealing with an overly excited Rustiara.
I couldn’t find any words to say to Hein.
Meanwhile, he continued to speak.
“If things continue like this, the young lady will die. I beg you, Christ. Please let her escape…”
And then, Hein said Rustiara would die.
“Eh?”
Rustiara will die…?
My heart pounded fiercely.
Hein began to speak torrentially, like a river that had burst its banks.
“She no longer listens to my words, so I have no choice but to forcibly take her away…! Christ, absolutely…! Absolutely, do not listen to the young lady’s words…! Her words, while seemingly open, are in fact all ‘fabricated.’ Her expressions, her emotions, her way of thinking—all of it is ‘fabricated.’ I was complicit in its creation, so I am certain. Instead of the twisted, unstable, inhuman ‘Rustiara,’ listen to the true feelings of the ‘girl who stands there’!”
I didn’t understand what he was saying.
It was sudden and far too abstract.
‘Fabricated’?
Does that mean Rustiara is not speaking her true feelings?
As I struggled to grasp the true meaning of Hein’s words, I caught sight of Rustiara in my peripheral vision, attempting to get up. Hein also noticed this and, retreating towards the stairs to the 19th floor, spat out a parting remark.
“No matter what, I will take her away… To some far-off place, not here…”
Hein’s eyes flickered with a dark, sinister light.
Combined with his beautiful blonde features, that sinister aura sent shivers down my spine.
And with those words, Hein disappeared into the darkness of the stairs.
