Blade Forest – Labyrinth (6)

* * *

The Dungeon Master’s laboratory.

The Demon manipulating the core was filled with anxiety.

‘That stupid horse-head killed all the reserve test subjects too…!’

A nameless, common Demon wandering the world without a home. He had little power, and all he could do was set traps to catch small animals. Hunting humans? He could easily catch and kill humans, but he didn’t have the power to deal with the pursuit, so he couldn’t even if he wanted to.

Humans called these Demons ‘lesser Demons.’

What set them apart from other normal Demons was that they didn’t know exactly what they wanted. All Demons lived according to the desires they truly wanted, but lesser Demons couldn’t.

‘…What kind of traps can I make?’

The tail on his butt was proof that he was a lesser Demon. A novice Demon who hadn’t manifested his desires. The tail would naturally disappear once he found his identity as a Demon.

‘An electric snare? Can I stop that bastard with this?’

The Dungeon Master wagged his tail and manipulated the core.

‘Even if I make monsters, that stupid horse-head will just tear them all apart…’

He was frustrated. He used too much of the core’s power to control Gankan. With the energy he had left now, he could barely make a dozen or so Orcs. The Dungeon Master’s future looked bleak. He couldn’t understand the magic that red-haired bitch showed him, even after seeing it. He didn’t know exactly how, but it was clear that she was an opponent he couldn’t beat.

A Labyrinth core he obtained purely by chance.

He thought he could finally find his identity as a Demon and break free as a ‘real Demon,’ but now he was about to die in vain.

‘At this rate, there’s no point in crawling into the Blade Forest…!’

The lesser Demon was always anxious about other Demons taking the core, so he looked for a safe place. That’s how he found the Blade Forest. A place where humans, monsters, and Demons couldn’t easily approach.

The monsters living here didn’t attack unless you got close, so all he had to worry about was the sharp grass. That’s how he built the Labyrinth in the deepest part of the forest. He made a lot of monsters, and when those monsters went out and killed humans, the core’s life force was recharged. Then he could make stronger monsters.

‘If it weren’t for that horse-head…’

But then a headless horse suddenly appeared and killed all the monsters.

Gankan.

The owner of the mountain attacked the lesser Demon who had invaded without fear.

‘Let’s stay calm. …Ah, maybe he hasn’t betrayed me yet.’

To make a long story short, the lesser Demon won. The core’s power exerted absolute power over monsters. Creatures abandoned by God were easily dominated by the power of the core, which was a collection of negative thoughts.

He tapped the core to display the screen.

The short-lived bitch was approaching him on the headless horse. She was running fiercely, creating wind pressure with just her running. She would probably reach the laboratory in five minutes.

The lesser Demon buried his head in the core.

His own reflection in the core.

A face that looked innocent, unlike a Demon. And his long hair, reaching down to his ankles, was so white that it was reminiscent of an Angel. If he were even a little taller, he would have had some charisma, but the small stature typical of lesser Demons only added to his cuteness. Even the cute horns on the sides of his temples weren’t sharp at the ends, but round.

“Ugh…”

This was a Demon?

Even he thought it was pathetic.

‘If I pretend I don’t know anything and beg for my life, will she spare me?’

He cowered in a corner, trembling.

He was jumping for joy when he got Gankan. But now that that bastard was coming to kill him, an indescribable fear dominated his entire body.

‘…Let’s try ordering him just once, just once.’

Still, if he wanted to live, he had to do something. The Dungeon Master went outside the laboratory, hoping that Gankan would listen to his command.

* * *

After running for about five minutes, the horizontal tunnel split into several branches. The frequency of monster appearances also decreased, and the traps noticeably decreased. Gankan stopped at the intersection where it split into five branches.

“Are we there?”

Gankan nodded and shook his body.

I immediately got off and checked the intersection. The first thing that caught my eye was the traces of someone living here. There were leftover bones from eaten food and strands of white hair scattered around. Touching the bones, they were recently eaten.

If there was someone eating meat and shedding hair in this Labyrinth…

‘The Dungeon Master.’

It could only be a Demon.

The five tunnels were presumed to be rooms used by the Dungeon Master. Each would have its own purpose. If so, that meant the Demon bastard was in front of us. The concentration of magical energy had already become thick. It was enough to be visible if I concentrated and opened my eyes.

‘…Should I go into the right one first?’

Gankan had to attack me in front of the Dungeon Master, no matter what. That way, I could dramatically express his betrayal. I signaled Gankan and moved my feet.

But.

The moment I turned my body in that direction.

“S, stop!!”

A shrill voice was heard. The same voice as the Dungeon Master. I immediately took a backstep to check the source of the voice. It was coming from the middlemost of the five tunnels. I couldn’t see him yet. I waited for the Dungeon Master to come out and called Gankan.

However.

What popped out of the tunnel was―

“…Welcome to my, my laboratory! You inferior short-lived species!”

A kid.

A barefoot girl dragging long, white hair on the ground… or so it seemed. He didn’t look like it, but judging from his slightly sturdy build, he was definitely a man. Anyway, the boy, who was about the same height as Clark, had such a pretty face that I couldn’t believe he was a Demon.

“…Are you really a Demon?”

The boy bristled.

“I am a Demon! I even have horns here!”

He turned his head to show his horns. They weren’t easily visible, so I illuminated them with a light orb, and small, adorable round horns came into view. I almost burst out laughing, but barely managed to hold it in. I forgot to signal Gankan and opened my mouth.

“Why did you grow your hair out if it makes people mistake your gender?”

“I’m a male! I, I just didn’t cut my hair because it’s a hassle!”

“Yeah, yeah…”

I gathered Mana and created a magic circle. High-level water attribute magic. A blue and sharp vortex was already swirling at the tip of my finger. It was small like a pebble, but its power was the same as a real vortex.

“…”

The Demon’s eyes wavered. It was a similar reaction to when I was teasing Clark, so it felt strangely familiar. I approached the Dungeon Master, forgetting to signal Gankan, and gestured with my other hand. I spread out five fingers. It meant to attack in five seconds.

“I, if you stop attacking right now and bow your head, I’ll spare your life!!”

“You talk too much for a Demon.”

“Eek, uh, G, Gankan!!”

Three fingers folded.

Gankan retreated and prepared to charge.

“I’ll kill you without pain, so obediently offer your neck.”

“H, hick…”

The fourth finger folded. The Demon boy in front of me was terrified and couldn’t even move. I put the vortex to the Demon’s neck. Strands of white hair that stuck out were cut and floated in the air. Soon, the boy’s skin was grazed by the vortex, creating a bright red line.

“T, th, th-please, pl-please spare m-meee…”

The boy dropped tear drops with a pale face. I smiled like a Demon and folded the fifth finger.

―Clatter, clatter…!

Gankan charged with his thorns raised. The Dungeon Master saw Gankan charging at me and shut his mouth tightly. Hope filled him. He must have thought that he finally listened to his command, and instead responded to me with a nasty smile.

“Y, you short-lived bitch! Listen to me!”

“…?”

“I, if you kill me! You, you can’t get the treasure!”

“Treasure?”

Intentional stalling. It was obvious that it was a hastily made lie. But I’ll play along. There were about 10 seconds left until Gankan charged.

“First, take that hand away!”

“…If it’s a lie, I’ll kill you painfully.”

I took my hand away. The Demon, freed from me, kept touching his neck. He couldn’t believe he had survived.

“So, where’s the treasure?”

I asked, knowing there wasn’t one. He took a deep breath and smirked. He didn’t stop there and stuck his tongue out at me. I made a fierce expression and created a vortex.

“…Are you kidding me?”

At that moment.

――Thwack!!!!

“Huh?”

My body tilted. I fell face first and spilled a lot of blood from my nose. Could there be something wrong with my body? So I tried to get up again. I tried to get up and kill that Demon. But my feet wouldn’t move.

When I looked down.

I couldn’t see my legs below the knee.

“Ah, ack, heuk. Keuek…?!”

A step late, pain struck, and my face contorted.

“W, well done, Gankan!!”

Gankan, who had been running from behind, blew away my legs. I clearly gestured that he could blow away up to my thighs, but he was an unnecessarily kind monster. I crawled on the floor towards the Demon. He pointed at me with a triumphant face. It meant good riddance.

But that was only for a moment. The Demon seemed to remember something and ran to his room. A little later. He was holding a handcuff-like tool in his hand. It was a shackle that interfered with Mana operation. Of course, it wouldn’t work on me at all.

‘Should I pretend to be sealed…’

His true form was more pathetic than I thought. His Mana level was only slightly higher than Clark’s. I was more curious about how this bastard survived as a Demon.

―Clang.

He put shackles on me, who was out of my mind from excessive bleeding. I felt a slight tingling pain around my wrist, but that was it.

“As expected, short-lived species cannot keep up with my wisdom…!”

The Demon boy couldn’t seem to snap out of his self-admiration.

“Gankan! Drag her to the laboratory!”

Gankan tapped his hooves on me and asked what to do. I whispered in telepathy so the Demon wouldn’t hear.

‘Drag her.’

He hooked his hooves around my neck and dragged me. I dragged my white hair and pondered how to win over the Demon who was returning to his room.

* * *

The core was located in the very center of the Dungeon Master’s laboratory. If I just broke that, the Labyrinth would be closed. He was showing me something so important. He must have firmly believed that my magic was sealed.

“…Release this right now.”

I gritted my teeth with a resentful expression.

The Demon boy scoffed and said.

“Since you guys interfered with my experiment, you’ll have to become test subjects yourself.”

“What experiment?”

“Why, a monster breeding experiment!”

Monster breeding, huh. He’s coming on strong from the start. I frowned and asked back.

“What does that have to do with me?”

“You guys killed them all! Eek… That stupid horse-head swept away even the ones that were left while charging…”

To summarize, there was a disruption in monster production. I thought they were just being stamped out from the wall, but I guess that wasn’t the case.

“Therefore, you’ll have to give birth to them yourself.”

“…Crazy talk. Monsters and humans can’t breed.”

Except for Goblins and Orcs, interspecies pregnancy is impossible for humans. There are exceptions like Minotaurs, but that’s just a characteristic of a unique individual, so it doesn’t fall under common sense.

It would be a different story if he took out Goblins or Orcs, but well. As that bastard said, there were no monsters left. The only monster here is… Hmm. Could it be. The Demon shouted with a resentful expression.

“Don’t try to teach me! You won’t know until you try it yourself!”