Intervention

,What is that?

Even though he knew the contents of the box were a Hatchling’s egg, Raellan feigned ignorance and asked.

Raellan glanced sideways, but he showed no signs of agitation. I was amazed at how he could remain calm and collected even at this moment.

,I told you. It’s the Golden King’s lover.

,To my eyes, it just looks like a big egg?

When Raellan retorted, Belker twisted one corner of his mouth and muttered in a low voice.

,To those who don’t know the value of jewels, jewels are just common stones.

Belker turned his eyes and met the gaze of the Golden King, who was looking down at him from the golem’s shoulder with boredom-filled eyes.

,I think the Golden King-nim knows exactly what this is and its value.

….

A sharp tension settled in the Golden King’s silence. As I was recognizing the surrounding spatial coordinates so I could fight at any moment, I heard the Golden King click his tongue softly.

That uninterpretable reaction made me feel uneasy for a moment. I began to suspect if it really wasn’t another Hatchling’s egg.

When the Golden King didn’t seem willing to continue the conversation, Raellan naturally stepped forward again.

,We also know that it’s a Hatchling’s egg.

,You know?

Belker, who had narrowed his eyes, spoke with a puzzled expression.

,How… no, more than that, then why were you suspicious?

,Because we have a Hatchling’s egg.

,What?

,What I’m saying is that what’s in that box isn’t a Hatchling’s egg.

,You’re talking bullshit. Are you saying that the egg in the box that’s been sealed for hundreds of years is fake?

,Yes, if you want to bet, I’ll gladly accept.

At Raellan’s words, Belker, with an expression of suspicion and anger, rubbed his forehead and waved his staff to bring the Hatchling’s egg from inside the box into his hand. Belker brought the egg close to his eyes, examined it, and smiled.

,Hehe, the winner of the bet is――.

Before Belker could finish speaking, the egg suddenly melted like liquid. As Belker stared blankly at the liquid flowing through his fingers, smoke suddenly appeared on his palm and soon took on a human-like form.

Looking like a hologram, a handsome man dressed like a young adventurer stood on Belker’s palm, put his hands on his hips, proudly puffed out his chest, and shouted.

―Captain! I came and am going!!!

With those words, the smoke dissipated.

An awkward silence weighed down the air.

….

….

Tuk tuk. Belker, having shaken off his hand, gave a relaxed smile and glanced at his companions over his shoulder.

,Arz, I think you said before that you dreamed of becoming a dragonslayer.

,…Yes, it’s a dream. Because dragons no longer exist in this world.

,Fortunately, thanks to the grace of the Pope-nim, you’ve found an opportunity to fulfill your dream.

At Belker’s gesture, the man standing behind Estelle took off his mask. A man with pure white eyes, Confession’s Number 1. Arz of Chaos stepped forward, drawing his crimson sword.

Raellan looked at the approaching Arz and said without turning around.

,So the Order hid Edio with a seal, and Nelson found it.

….

,Anyway, will you fulfill the contract? Well, I don’t need to tell you, you won’t forgive the Order for daring to touch the King’s things without permission.

As Raellan finished speaking, the Golden King, who seemed like he wouldn’t leave the golem’s shoulder, came down from the golem and walked towards Arz. They walked towards each other for a moment, then suddenly everyone was pushed back by a huge shockwave.

Kwaaaang――!

The place where Arz and the Golden King were standing was dented like a crater. That was just a light collision. When Arz swung his sword, the ground was turned upside down, and the space itself was distorted as a whole, making it seem like the Golden King’s figure was momentarily cut off.

But when the Golden King stretched out both arms to the left and right, the distorted space was restored, and an invisible, enormous energy flew like wind, crushing Arz and the members of Confession standing behind him.

Kuuuuuung―――!

It was such a tremendous impact that the ground sank, but it seemed that the Vice-Pope’s magic had blocked the attack, as Confession was only covered in dust without taking any damage.

,There’s no need to fight the Golden King-nim right now. With Arz in front, we retreat!

At Belker’s shout, the atmosphere suddenly roared. Golden wings made of magic on the Golden King’s back fluttered as if creating a whirlwind.

As another huge shockwave echoed, Raellan approached me. For some reason, Raellan’s gaze was higher than usual.

,…It’s started.

With those words, the number [10000] appeared above Raellan’s head. All the surrounding companions also had numbers floating above their heads. It seems the Goblin King sensed the collision between Arz and the Golden King.

,The gate is opening!

At Conrad’s shout from a high place overlooking the castle, Raellan ordered.

,Leave the Order to the Golden King. We’ll focus on dealing with the enemies coming from the palisade, and the Coordinator will maintain their current position. Lamine and I will block the enemies coming over the palisade, and Ross and Ellie, who are skilled in one-on-one combat, will move fluidly to deal with the enemies!

As he climbed onto the palisade with Lamine, Raellan pointed at me and Ellie and warned once more.

,Look at the numbers above your heads and match your speed with the companions next to you. Especially you two troublemakers, don’t get excited and rush ahead.

,…You’re so annoying as always.

At Ellie’s muttering, I smiled and materialized a spear of shadows.

***

The goblins living on the second floor of the labyrinth had many special characteristics. They had darker skin than ordinary goblins, their strength was several times greater, and they were armed with armor and weapons like humans.

Like seasoned soldiers familiar with the battlefield, they were accustomed to constantly shooting arrows and repeating hit-and-run tactics to deplete their opponents’ stamina. Moreover, ever since the gate opened, armed goblins had been pouring out endlessly.

Mountains of goblin corpses piled up around the palisade, but the goblins continued to swarm around the palisade, stepping on entrails and blood. But our defense was solid.

In particular, Conrad’s performance was outstanding. The title of Archmage was not an empty one; he was able to support Raellan and Lamine while holding his position. Thanks to this, the number of goblins we had killed so far was approaching 5000 each.

,They really keep coming endlessly… If it weren’t for the Coordinator’s purification magic, I would have suffocated from the poison of the entrails.

Ellie didn’t seem to be struggling yet, but she was tired of the goblins who kept coming endlessly even after being killed.

The palisade was completely surrounded. Ellie killed hundreds of goblins at once with synthetic magic from time to time, but other goblins quickly filled their places. I was also a little tired of the fact that the numbers weren’t decreasing at all.

,But it seems better than over there.

Following my gaze, Ellie turned her head towards the mountain. There, adventurers who had broken through the endless maze were gathered, desperately blocking the goblins.

,…I admit that.

Even from a distance, I could tell that place was hell; the endlessly swarming goblins and the people who had just crossed the portal were mixed together, creating chaos.

The people who were moved here were relatively safe, thanks to the palisade drawing the goblins’ attention. Thinking that we wouldn’t last long and would be breached, they were gradually moving away from us, who were being surrounded. It seemed they were trying to find a safe place by using us as sacrifices.

But there was something they didn’t consider. The reason why there were fewer goblins in the direction they were heading was because Confession and the Golden King had swept through everything in the vicinity. Moreover, the fight between the Golden King and Arz was still not over.

Kwaaaang――!

A giant reptile’s hand appeared in the sky and slammed down on the ground far away. It seemed they didn’t care about the goblins swarming around them and were pouring out tremendous attacks at each other.

,But will the Goblin King really erupt the volcano?

At Ellie’s question, who was creating a barrier of water to block the incoming arrows, I nodded.

,He’ll definitely erupt it.

,There are more goblins than us? If the volcano erupts, it’s a loss.

There were far more goblins than people who had invaded the second floor. But the Goblin King will definitely erupt the volcano. It’s not an action based on thorough profit calculation. It’s closer to a male’s instinct.

Lost subordinates can be easily replenished with the labyrinth’s magic. The castle was also designed from the start to not be affected by the volcano’s damage. So, when else would he erupt the volcano if not now?

,…Because he wanted to erupt it.

….

Ellie stared at me with a look of incomprehension. It seemed she was curious about the writer’s thoughts for that reason. Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I was diligently stabbing my spear at the goblins when Ellie and I simultaneously felt something and turned our heads.

A huge amount of magic is gathering in one place. Even the goblins, who were endlessly rushing in without fear of death, stopped for a moment and turned their heads towards that place.

Ellie, sensing a familiar magic, muttered quietly, reaching my ears.

,Roel Oppa?

No sooner had those words ended than a huge release of magic occurred, and the countless goblins filling the prairie were swallowed up by the light created by the pure white magic.