Depths of the Otherworldly Labyrinth (WN) – Chapter 498

The moment of guaranteed victory by sword had arrived.

Dia’s tense expression relaxed, and he was about to declare victory.

“We win! Old Ma—”

“I’ll deliver the finishing blow!”

I rushed forward, bisecting Fenrir the Old Man’s torso, who had lost his weapon to defend himself.

Fresh blood spattered. Pushed beyond my previous limits, and in pain, he collapsed with both knees and his right arm on the floor. I watched intently as he tried to staunch the copious bleeding with his remaining left arm.

I didn’t intend to take his life, but I aimed for a blow that would leave him permanently incapacitated.
However, Dia reflexively protested my attack.

“You, you idiot! Think about the old man’s body!! Idiot Fran!!”

Though I was scolded, I ignored him and continued to press the tip of my sword against his throat.
I had no intention of easing my guard until he surrendered. Sensing my vigilance, the Old Man finally relaxed his tense expression and spoke.

“I lose, Franryure. That’s fine. If you couldn’t do it, I was going to step in for Dia’s sake, but…”

“I will do it. So please, rest your weary body without any worry. Actually, aren’t you spoiling Dia too much?”

“…Knight Franryure. Dia is also too kind. Therefore, you must compensate for her shortcomings and protect her. —The sword of Aleis must not be solitary. It has been passed down for a thousand years that it must not be so. Understand?”

“I refuse. Dia is my friend, and I believe there is someone else I should serve as a knight.”

I had received victory and instruction from a respected predecessor. But I refused what was self-evident, like being told that I must not be solitary.

Finally, I too relaxed my tension.

Seeing this, the Old Man grumbled in exasperation and looked towards the rear.

“Sigh. Honestly, these two never listen. I just said something really important… But well, I guess I must have looked like this to others in the past too… Lady Sis, with this outcome, she’ll probably—”

The Old Man’s gaze shifted to the main stage, and with a light utterance – but a deep bow – he conveyed his surrender apologetically.

The surrounding crowd heard this as well. With confirmation from the most trustworthy head of the Aleis family that the battle was over, a small sigh of relief escaped.

Only Lady Sis, however, looked disbelieving and continued to pour Divine Magic into him from afar.

Forcibly stemming the bleeding from his cut torso, she refused to accept the knight’s surrender, her voice trembling.

“Th-this never happened… In the Master’s 『Plan』, even if a comrade turns traitor, the future should never change… Why? The Continent’s number one 『Sword Saint』, just like that? Even if it deviates, as long as there are 『Threads』, it should be corrected immediately…”

She was clearly confused.
It seemed her “『Plan』” had crumbled, but what she was saying was riddled with mistakes from the start. She said “even if a comrade turns traitor,” but we were simply fellow comrades fighting amongst ourselves. It was a competition for the right to help Kanami first – no, a contest of who would repay their debt of gratitude first, and we had won this time, but what was she talking about?

The match wasn’t “just like that” either.
The reason we were able to defeat the Old Man, the “『Sword Saint』,” was due to the preparations Dia and I had made for months.

I’m sorry, but Lady Sis has made many mistakes on this stage.
To prevent her from making any further errors, it might be best to incapacitate her first. Thinking this as a display of goodwill, and to quickly bring matters to a head, I moved towards the stage—

“Fran, that’s enough! Leave the rest to me!!”

Before I could strike, Dia stepped in front of me.

“I understand. But wouldn’t it be faster to talk after beating her down?”

“First, let me talk! Sis is an important friend! —As important as you are!!”

“………. F-fine then, I suppose I have no choice.”

Dia’s current statement caused hesitation among the surrounding knights who had been ready to move due to the Old Man’s injury. I had captivated the audience until now, leaving them in suspense. However, perhaps she could control them in a different way.

Besides, if I were to start our usual bickering with Dia here, it would be a terrible waste of time.
So, regardless of whether she was my friend or not, I would back down like an adult. …Strictly as an adult.
Giving myself various reasons, I cleared the way for Dia before she could see my embarrassed face.

The gazes of Lady Sis on the stage and my friend met, and their lips parted.

“Dia, something’s wrong… The Master’s 『Threads』 are definitely connected. I’ve always felt them. Yet, the battle isn’t going well…”

“『Threads』 have nothing to do with it. Right now, it’s just you and me facing each other.”

Dia replied as she advanced down the path I had cleared.
It seemed they had their own way of communicating, and they wasted little time on preliminaries.

Without any hesitation in their emotional exchange, they got straight to the heart of the matter.

“No…! It can’t be just the two of us visible! Because it’s been like this for a thousand years! Everyone was connected to someone’s 『Threads』 and manipulated! We never chose our own choices!!”
It seems Lady Sis is shocked not just because her knight surrendered. Something that had been accumulating deep in her heart for a long time is about to overflow, triggered by this defeat.

“Even so, it’s wrong to leave everything entirely to others. Isn’t that what Rustiara Fuziaze taught me with her life? —Even so, you must continue to choose. You have to choose strongly and go beyond those 『Threads』.”

“R-Rustiara Fuziaze…? She was the one whose 『Threads』, more than anyone else’s, were manipulated by Tiara and Hitaki!”

“No, Sis. Rustiara enjoyed the 『Threads』 more than anyone. …She loved her connection to the 『Threads』, and rather than being controlled, she wanted to perform better, living her life to the fullest. She was truly chaotic, and she’s the friend I respect the most.”

“Enjoyed the 『Threads』…, and 『friends』…?”

Lady Sis repeats the words. She savors them deeply, like a secret password from a legend continuing from a distant past.

“Yeah, she was my precious 『friend』. …But you are too, Sis.”

Dia continues to emphasize this. She implies that Lady Sis didn’t just come to the Cathedral to slay enemies like herself.

“You are my first 『friend』. Of course, I’ve made many others… Not just Fran here, not just Kanami. Maria, Snow, Reaper, Sera, Rainer, truly so many. …Say, Sis. Did you not have any 『friends』 at all?”

Such words would be considered rude to the holy Apostle representing Revannism. Usually, Lady Sis would haughtily declare, “As an Apostle, I have no need for friends!”

However, she was overwhelmed by the gaze Dia fixed upon her. And then, she falters.

“…A long time ago, I also had 『friends』.”

With the same expression as Dia, Lady Sis gazes somewhere far off and counts names.

“Kanami, Hitaki, Tiara… These three were my first friends. They taught me many things when I was newborn and knew nothing. Afterward, I understood they were also a bit mean to me, but these three were certainly important people to me. Because when the three of us were together…, …it was fun. Every day was truly so much fun.”

What she’s recounting, little by little, sounds like a myth from a thousand years ago to me. A story that should be sacred and solemn is told like a memory of an ordinary town girl. The sacred concept Lady Sis had always protected was now, just a little, beginning to change.

“Kanami said something a thousand years ago. He said he hoped I would have many normal friends… Saying that, I was pulled by the 『Threads』 to this era, and my first 『friend』… was you, Dia.”

“It was undoubtedly someone’s 『Threads』 that guided us to meet. But if those 『Threads』 stop pulling us, then you wouldn’t be my 『friend』 anymore—”

“I am your 『friend』. To me, you are also truly important.”

Dia’s retort was drowned out by a powerful voice.

…

Ah, that’s it. It seems there’s no longer a role for me to play. It appeared the old man watching beside me felt the same way, letting out a small sigh.

From here on, I’ll be watching like an audience member. I intend to enjoy the story of the Apostle spun from a thousand years ago.

“No matter what happens, we are not enemies… But, the one who cherishes our bond… is probably Kanami too.”

“…Did Kanami say something about me?”

“He repeatedly said not to make you an enemy. Kanami’s 『Plan』 prioritized ‘the relationship between me and Dia not breaking’ over ‘Apostle Sis fulfilling her new mission.’ …That’s the kind of person Kanami is, even from a thousand years ago. After knowing him for so long, I understand. …Yes, I knew from the beginning. Since that day of the summoning, he’s been an important 『friend』…”

As she speaks, Lady Sis’s voice grows weaker. By acknowledging Dia’s words, her momentum is being blunted. But soon, she looks down, clutches her collar tightly, and raises her voice in anger.

“Undoubtedly, Kanami was a 『friend』! But, all of those 『friends』…! My allies who promised to work together until we save the World, they all, all, all…! They keep disappearing from my 『World』…!”

Weak words spill out. She, who was always insolent and self-confident, showed a side I had never seen before. The woman who was the symbol of this Temple looks up at Dia as if seeking help.

“Hitaki and Tiara have gone beyond my reach…! Kanami, who remains, is also heading down the same path… The 『World』 is trying to take them away from me, as if to say, ‘Apostles have no need for such things,’ Dia…!”

Tears welled up in her eyes. The two facing each other in the Temple looked alike, like blood sisters. If asked who was the older sister, considering their height, it would be Lady Sis. But at this moment, as if Dia were the older one, she extends her left arm.

“Sis, if you don’t want them taken away, you have to choose strongly and keep holding on…! 『Threads』, the 『World』, the 『Mission』, everything trivial—hold on so strongly it’s cast aside!! Grab them, and never let go again!!”
Dia had already reached the stage.

He called out to her, “We’re not alone anymore now that I’m here. Let’s go together! If we don’t go now, it’ll just be the same cycle all over again! Or do you really think Kanami is strong enough to get by without losing anything on his own…? You, who were friends with Kanami for longer than I was!”

Faced with his outstretched hand and question, Sis’s eyes continued to tremble. She surely cherished both Dia and Kanami. Wavering between her bonds with them, she answered.

“K-Kanami is strong. His power has grown stronger than anyone else’s now—”

Slowly, gradually, she began to concede to Dia.

“But… he was also just as weak… Kanami is cool, but when he’s pathetic, he’s truly pathetic… When he lost Hitaki a thousand years ago, it was truly awful. He raged and cried, with no composure at all…”

“Yeah, he’s always got no composure. Maybe he’s been like that continuously, even before coming to this Another World. …That’s why Kanami isn’t even thinking about the Ground right now. You know that, right? He’s completely occupied with dealing with the companion who went to the Deepest Part ahead of us, and has no room to interfere with our battle.”

“But Master’s ‘Plan’ is impregnable… And Seldra is in the Labyrinth…”

“If the ‘Plan’ went as intended, I should be losing this battle right now, shouldn’t I? But here I am, talking to you. Kanami isn’t absolute, and he’s not a ‘God’. He’s just someone who tries his best to do things he can’t, for the sake of others.”

“……!”

Her ‘God’s’ absolute authority denied, Sis’s mouth fell open. As an Apostle and the one entrusted with Revannism, she had to protect the ‘God’s’ dignity and mysteriousness immediately. However, though her mouth opened, her throat did not tremble.

Before Sis could even form a denial, Dia continued. It wasn’t just to deliver the final blow with words to Sis… or so I felt. The theatrical nature of the scene clarified the reason I had been feeling it all along.

From the start, Dia was speaking to ‘someone’ watching from somewhere. Even if the script was already written, and the two facing each other were actors on a stage, they were intensely aware of being watched. It was akin to an ‘Incantation’ spoken to the ‘World’.

“Let’s go, Sis. If Kanami is suffering in the ‘Deepest Part,’ I’ll cut off his limbs if I have to, grab him, and make him rest. …First, we have to free him from the shackles of ‘God,’ or Kanami’s life won’t even begin.”

And with that, Dia moved forward, intending to overcome whatever stood in their way. Believing that the opponent was someone he could trust, he advanced without defense. If my Lady Sis changed her mind even a little and chose to attack, Dia would be defeated. His reckless and overly brave figure reminded me of Lady Rustiara, whom I had seen from afar—

“…That’s the exact line Kanami said when I took over your body before. Hehe.”

Sis smiled and spoke another name. It wasn’t just Lady Rustiara who made Dia who he is now. It was also Lord Kanami. Understanding that it was thanks to both of them, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted. I was intensely envious of the ‘Adventure’ Dia and the others had been on up to this point. Yet, I also understood that I wasn’t entirely uninvolved in this play.

Once, we had watched a play together on Valfala’s theater ship. At that time, Dia had said, “A story without a happy ending is more convincing.” But now, she was embodying something I had argued for: “I can’t accept stories where two people who love each other don’t get a happy ending.” Dia hadn’t forgotten my favorite kind of narrative; she had internalized it, utilized it, and was now presenting it like a play before my very eyes.

“Th-there’s no problem with it being like that! More importantly, Sis!”

Dia’s face flushed slightly as he cut off his words and extended his hand further. It wasn’t a prosthetic arm constructed from magic power, but the left hand of a swordsman, roughened by his ‘Adventures’. Sis, facing him, seemed to notice something and raised her own left hand, as pristine as an infant’s, and gazed at it.

“Or is it that I’m not ‘friends’ with you, so it’s no good? Can’t take this hand?”

As Dia asked, Sis raised her gaze. Towards the girl before her, so much like herself, she offered a slightly nostalgic bitter smile before slowly shaking her head. Extending her hand gently in return, she answered.

“On that point, you’re not mistaken. Because my only wish was… I didn’t want to lose another ‘friend’. That was all…”

She placed her right hand onto Dia’s left hand. The moment their hands touched, Dia nodded forcefully in return.

“I don’t want to lose you either. But that’s not because we chose to be ‘Apostles’.”

“Yes, what ‘we’ chose was—”

“What ‘we’ truly want to protect are all the precious ‘friends’ we’ve finally found.”

“…That’s right. It was.”

Sis acknowledged this, moved closer, and extended her free left arm forward. She firmly grasped the magic power prosthetic that constructed Dia’s right hand—lost during his ‘Adventure’. She held his hands with both of her hands.
At that moment, the magic power of the two pulsed strongly.

Sis-sama is a “magic life form” where Revann’s faith becomes power itself. Perhaps, at this very moment, an anomaly occurred in the faith within the temple, causing the flow of magic power to change.

Clutching each other’s hands, Sis-sama murmured.

“That’s right… Because I don’t want to lose you, I wished to never be separated again, and created this a thousand years ago… One last thing, along with Tiara, with a ‘Curse Technique’…”

Through their hands, the sacred magic power of the two began to mix.

Then, light overflowed in the temple.

The sight was the same as the “Level Up” ritual of Revannism.

However, it was incomparable in scale and intensity to the ritual I knew.

The torrent of extraordinary magic power felt as if their very souls were crossing, and Sis-sama continued to speak, as if bridging a thousand years of distance.

“Even if I couldn’t capture you a thousand years ago and let you go… so that my future ‘self’ could truly protect what is precious… so that ‘everyone can laugh together in the end,’ this was a Skill I created with Tiara… That’s why—”

Sis-sama reminisced about the time that had passed.

There must have been many things she couldn’t capture and couldn’t protect.

She now spoke her monologue, encompassing all of them.

“That’s why, if I let go of your hand here, I won’t be able to face Tiara. …It’s the same for Kanami. If it stays like this, I won’t be able to call Hitaki my ‘friend’ ever again.”

At that moment, Dia had the same expression.

He too must have had things he couldn’t capture and couldn’t protect.

However, he answered strongly, gripping her hand in return.

“This time, I will protect my ‘friends.’ Kanami, who protected the important ‘us’.”

“Yes. This time, I want to protect… Kanami, who kept ‘our’ promise.”

Even watching from the side, I could feel there was ‘something’ that connected the two of them.

At first, I thought that ‘something’ was like the ‘destiny’ of a story.

However, perhaps because I am now on stage, watching from beside them.

From a different perspective, a slightly different impression came to mind.

It wasn’t just ‘destiny.’

It felt as if the ‘Connection’ of their souls, which they had built up to this point, had shifted the originally intended ending of the story just a little, upwards.

Then, Dia pulled her hand.

Sis-sama finally confirmed the meaning of him leading her outside the Cathedral.

“Now… can ‘I’ truly join ‘us’ Dia? ‘I’ who have continued to cause you pain?”

“It’s not now. You’ve always been a part of it, Sis. …Besides, today is a festival. Let’s not worry about the small details and show them the cool ‘Diablo Sis’ ending! To Kanami, for everything you’ve saved us with!!”

“…Eh?”

Dia answered in his characteristic way, and they nodded at each other.

After that, the two, moving as if they were one, not just sisters, began their Incantation.

” ‘Faint death’ ‘Meaningful pride joy’ ”

” ‘And, past time nostalgic hometown sorrow’ ‘All for the blessing of a new beginning’ ”

As the ‘Incantation’ continued, the overflowing light converged and was absorbed into their bodies.

It might have been mistaken for “Level Up,” but it was clearly something different.

For a brief moment, a Magic Circle floated on the ground of the Cathedral. It felt as if what had been missing for a thousand years was now filled, and the ‘something’ that had been unstable was finally completed.

Then, Dia turned back towards me, along with Sis-sama.

As promised, Dia, who had ended the battle through discussion, had a very proud look on his face.

Reluctantly, I gave a short clap.

Eighty points.

They truly settled things with words alone, and the content was quite good. If the persuasion had failed, and if, in my opinion, the argument had been unsatisfactory, then—I had intended to slash either of them from behind, just as Dia might shoot me from behind.

I intended to approach them, returning my sword to its scabbard, to convey that it was barely passable.

But before that, voices rose from the surrounding crowd.

“S-Sis-sama…?”

Unbeknownst to me, many “Magic Stone Humans” were mixed among the crowd.

Perhaps because of the location.

One person, who had come from outside or from underground, called out, and the impromptu Arena began to crumble.

Naturally, most people found it difficult to even understand, let alone agree with, what the two had just said.

Confusion spread.

However, Dia, the crucial one who could resolve it, was blushing and flustered at the crowd.

It seemed he was now embarrassed by having loudly proclaimed his own life.

…As expected, I’m indispensable.

I thought I’d push the narrative forward, declaring, “And with this, this matter is settled!” to forcibly conclude it, but before that, another voice was raised.

“Everyone. As you’ve heard, Revann’s ‘God’ is just a ‘Person.’ His name is Kanami.”

Unlike Dia, Sis-sama remained calm even while revealing her own life.

She immediately began her explanation to the crowd as the person in charge of the temple.

“Kanami is a more pathetic ‘weak person’ than most people… So, I’m going to go and check on them with Dia and the others for a bit.”
The sudden change in policy from their superior naturally bewildered the knights and priests.

However, as they had served under Sis-sama at the Cathedral, they knew that she was inherently immature and prone to making mistakes.

Those loyal to their duties would likely comply with her instructions, at least in form, even if they had some reservations… The problem lay with the assembled Magic Stone Humans.

Those who spoke up were the girls whose lives had been saved by Rustiara-sama and Kanami, and who could only survive within this Cathedral.

“Sis-sama… please stop joking…”
“Our Lord has undoubtedly been the ‘God’ who changed our ‘destiny’!”
“We have prayed to ‘God’ continuously… And we will continue to do so…”

They trembled, shaking their heads slightly.

Their appearance was uncannily similar to Sis-sama’s from earlier. And so, Sis-sama herself, with a pained yet gentle expression, began to speak of what was to come.

“Don’t worry, your Revannism will not change at all. Because nothing about Kanami changes even if you know him. …It’s designed so that even if the object of your prayers changes from ‘God’ to ‘Kanami’, it’s fine, and perhaps that was the ‘Plan’ from the beginning.”

Sis-sama lowered her gaze to the ground.

Seeing the Temple’s magic power seeping slightly into the earth, she offered a wry smile.

“‘God’ can change…?”
“Yes. Changing only the name… Kanami is a ‘weak person’ who sets up so many cunning safety measures. But the efforts of such a ‘weak person’ have saved our world continuously… And he is trying to save the future world as well. Truly, he is too kind in the wrong direction, isn’t he? You worked with Kanami at the Cathedral and saw him, didn’t you? …That is the entirety of Revannism.”

While Sis-sama appeared to be teaching them about Kanami, it also seemed like a confession of her own mistakes.

Perhaps she was teaching the Magic Stone Humans so they wouldn’t make the same mistakes she did, as a senior.

However, it would be difficult to unite the Temple with just that teaching alone.

Because the Magic Stone Humans with strong faith had directly witnessed Kanami’s actions, the tremor in their voices did not stop.

“Are… are you saying you deceived us…? That Revannism deceived us…”

With the resolution between Dia and Sis-sama, the flow within the Temple had changed significantly.

However, that change would not necessarily be all for the good.

The outcome was uncertain and felt extremely dangerous.

Furthermore, the change in flow was not confined to the Temple.

For some time now, clearly abnormal pulses of magic power had been flowing in from outside the Temple.

I turned my gaze towards the cracked window of the Temple to confirm what was happening outside.

At the same time, a beastkin leaped through the window I was looking at as if carried by the wind.

“――――ッ!?”

It was a beastkin knight with beautiful blue hair fluttering.

I recognized the texture of his fur. There was no way I wouldn’t.

I couldn’t help but use polite language to call out the name of the person I knew well—

“…Sera-senpai?”

Sera Radiant, the wolf knight, burst through the window and stood beside me.

She appeared to have torn clothes and was injured in various places.

However, she addressed us with a light voice, as if she had no wounds at all.

“…Hm? What is it. Not only the Magic Stone Human children, but Fran was here too. However, more importantly… Dia-sama. I have come to escort you, as I expected it was about time.”

Unlike me, Sera-senpai, like a proper knight, offered a clean bow.

Then, without seeming to mind the surrounding chaos or clamor—no, she seemed to take the chaos and clamor in stride. With a combative smile, as if to stir things up even more, she reported the situation outside to the Temple.

“Currently, Diplakla-sama is rampaging in the town, causing damage. Please issue instructions.”

The mention of the second Apostle’s name increased the commotion within the Temple.

This was a serious matter for the knights and priests, not just because of the name but also the context.

However, amidst this abnormal situation, Sis-sama alone calmly replied immediately.

“…In that case, I, Diablo Sis, will take responsibility and bring the Apostle Diplakla back to the Deepest Part. …As you said, going to Kanami first, meeting him, and talking directly will clarify everything. Then, we can all decide the true ending of this Final Festival at our leisure.”

Her answer and expression were completely different from before.

She transformed from the unsettling Apostle Sis-sama into a dignified figure befitting her sacred magic power.

—She was about to walk a new path.

Sis-sama turned her gaze toward the window through which Sera-senpai had entered.

She seemed ready to depart immediately.

On her back, radiant wings of magic power were beginning to form.

—Just now, Sis-sama chose ‘friend’ over ‘Apostle’.

However, her back felt more divine and more like an Apostle’s than before.

Perhaps the surrounding Magic Stone Humans felt the same.

While bewildered by the changes in Revannism and the Apostles they believed in—they could not take their eyes off her back.