Chapter 103 – Labyrinth

Deep within the underground labyrinth, Pied Haveron’s eyes emitted a sinister glow that set him apart from the other creatures. With each step he took, black smoke billowed around his feet.

Where his gaze fell, faint magic circles materialized. The ground he walked upon darkened to pitch black.

Forward, ever forward—as he advanced through the swarm of monsters, the already dim labyrinth grew even darker.

Pied was creating his domain as he moved.

His abilities centered on hypnosis, mental domination, and illusions.
Used cleverly, these could be effective in combat, but compared to more aggressive forms of magic, they were inherently weaker.

However, when he established his domain beforehand as he was doing now, his magic became more troublesome and lethal than any other type.

This was especially advantageous since his opponent was a close-combat martial artist.

Though she might be just an Academy student—a mere 5th Rank and a small girl at that—Pied did not underestimate Eliarnes.

He had watched her fight through the eyes of monsters inhabiting the labyrinth.

Eliarnes was unnaturally fast and strong for her age and rank. Her instincts were razor-sharp, her judgment cold and precise, and she acted without the slightest hesitation.

Beyond that, she understood perfectly how to counter monsters, and her distribution of strength was flawless.

That was why, to eliminate any unforeseen variables, Pied had created his domain.

Rather than boasting his power before a weaker opponent, executing his master’s orders as perfectly as possible was the right approach.

This thoroughness was the only reason he had remained by Samaela’s side when other Black Magicians avoided her, and it was how he had infiltrated the highly secure Academy.

After spending considerable time preparing a satisfactory domain and checking everything multiple times, he was ready.

This should be sufficient, he thought. Satisfied, Pied advanced toward where Eliarnes waited.

“I was told that Miss Pina never moves alone. It seems that was true. Or perhaps, are you simply here in search of treasure?”

Just as he tried to ignite her anger to create an opening in her subconscious for his hypnosis—

“I came to kill you, you son of a bitch.”

With those scathing words, crack.

His ribs shattered.

When? How? Why?
There was no process. He hadn’t seen it. He hadn’t sensed anything. Not even killing intent.

Pied replayed the last few moments in his mind.
He had seen Eliarnes with his eyes, spoken with his mouth, and was preparing to draw blood from his fingertips to activate his magic.

In that instant, a flash of cherry blossom-colored light.

Had he been hit? He couldn’t tell. His ribs were simply… broken.

Grimacing at this inexplicable outcome, Pied turned toward where Eliarnes should be.

Another flash of light.

“Wh-what—”

Crunch—

Pain overwhelmed him as his entire face seemed to collapse. His breath caught, his head rang. His consciousness flickered as his vision washed white, and something warm gushed from his nose.

He reached up to touch it.
His nose had been flattened.

Again, he hadn’t seen it.
No—he could see her pink twin-tails swaying. Her innocent smile and playfully curved lips were visible.

He could hear her bell-like laughter and the sounds of her still killing monsters.

But why couldn’t he see the moment her fist connected?

Intent Projection? No.
Pied himself had reached the level where he could infuse mana with intent. Therefore, he could sense when others used it.

But from Eliarnes, he sensed no intent whatsoever.

Which meant… what he was witnessing was pure physical ability?

She was stronger than he’d anticipated.
Eliarnes had been holding back her strength all along.
Even while slaughtering countless monsters, she had been restraining herself. Why? To lull him into complacency?

His arms prickled with goosebumps.

“…Who exactly are you?”

“Me?”

While continuously moving through the throng of monsters, Eliarnes giggled.

The sound seemed to come from far away.

“Eliarnes Eustetia.”

Her answer came from his left.

Pied immediately reached out, grabbing a nearby monster’s head and yanking it toward his left side.

Simultaneously—
Splat—a brutal ripping sound as the monster’s torso exploded, splattering viscera across Pied’s face.

There was no time for shock.
No time to wipe away the gore.

Would she create distance now? Or follow up with another attack?
Pied widened his eyes, trying to predict her next move.

Eliarnes had put distance between them.

He had been given time to prepare. Without hesitation, he decided to unleash part of his full power.

He raised his right hand to his mouth.
Four fingers—all except his thumb—went in.

Without the slightest hesitation, he bit down hard.
His fingers were severed, bones and all. In the process, several of his teeth shattered as well.

Yet Pied showed no reaction. He spat the severed fingers onto the ground and began chanting.

By the time his incantation ended, the severed fingers had transformed into enormous serpents. These serpents devoured the surrounding monsters, growing even larger with each one consumed.

Each snake carried venom deadly enough to kill a human instantly. Their scales were so tough that even steel swords would struggle to penetrate them. And they were massive.

Their only weakness was speed—they wouldn’t be able to keep pace with Eliarnes.

But that wasn’t a problem. Behind him lay the domain he had prepared.

To use it most effectively, he needed to create a fracture in Eliarnes’ mind, but in this situation, even forcing its activation would suffice.

If he could restrain her for just a moment, the venom would do the rest.

Calculations complete, Pied pressed his bleeding hand against his clothing to staunch the flow and faced forward.

Standing directly before him, Eliarnes tilted her head.

“The result of your consecration is just four snakes? Do your fingers grow back when you cut them off like that?”

Her casual demeanor betrayed no concern.

Is she insane? Pied wondered.
And he was somewhat surprised.

Consecration.

She even knew about this ritual.

Between recognizing Mimicras and knowing about consecration rituals…

She knew too much.

Was this knowledge from her family?

It didn’t matter.
Questions were secondary to his master’s orders.

Pied extended his hand. At his command, the four serpents circling him opened their massive jaws and lunged toward Eliarnes.

“Hmm… I guess it doesn’t matter if they grow back.”

Standing before them, Eliarnes lightly sprang upward.

“Since you’re going to die here anyway.”

At her matter-of-fact tone, Pied immediately summoned his magi. The domain he had spent so long constructing rippled and swallowed the faint light of the passage.

The blood droplets from his fingertips oxidized, transforming into black fog. This magi-infused mist covered the entire underground waterway, twisting the very scenery around them.

Despite the bizarre distortions, Eliarnes remained unfazed.

She knew exactly what this warped landscape signified.

The domain typically used by mental-type mages.
She had faced many and broken through just as many.

She was slightly impressed by how meticulously he had prepared his domain in advance, but that was all.

Killing him would be the same regardless.

Four serpents.
As they closed the distance, she enveloped her entire body in aura energy. Boom—she stomped forward aggressively and thrust her right leg upward.

Her slender, pale leg extended toward one serpent’s jaw.

The remaining three serpents lunged at her small frame.

Watching this, Pied clicked his tongue.

He hadn’t needed to create his domain after all.
Even the four fingers he had sacrificed seemed wasted now.

Certainly, Eliarnes was fast and strong.
But she was still just a 5th Rank martial artist.

If she had been wielding a sword, perhaps it would be different.
But with those fragile fists and feet, she couldn’t possibly defeat Lady Samaela’s familiars.

Had he overestimated her?

As that thought crossed his mind—

Crack—

A sound like stone splitting.
Like a tree being torn apart.
Like viscous liquid splattering across the floor.
Like tough leather being ripped open.

And then,

Boom—

Three of the four serpents collapsed to the ground.

One lay dead with its skull caved in.
Another had a hole the size of a human body punched through its heart region.
The third gasped for breath with half its facial skin torn away.

And Eliarnes—

“Why are these eyeballs so damn tough?”

Her arm was buried in the eye socket of the half-skinned serpent, all while dodging the remaining serpent’s attacks.

Not content with merely dodging, she positioned her small body to use one serpent as a shield, forcing them to attack each other.

Her body remained unscathed.
No blood spilled from her.
Not even the serpents’ blood stained her.
Her breathing was steady.
Her expression remained calm.
Not a drop of sweat appeared.

“…You’re insane.”

Pied’s face hardened.
Not from anger—he knew rage was useless in battle.

He was simply astounded.
He had been cautious about Eliarnes.
He had paid close attention, assuming she was at least two levels stronger than she appeared.

He was wrong.

It wasn’t two levels stronger.
She was twice as powerful.

He hadn’t even seen how she killed his summoned familiars.
The serpents’ massive bodies had blocked his view.

This only heightened his caution.
His domain would fully manifest any moment now.
If he could endure until then, this would end.

But could he hold out?
Once the domain manifested, could he definitively kill her?

The likelihood was high.
But he couldn’t be certain.

So he would ensure it.

Pied reached into his garment and withdrew a small vial.
Inside was a mixture of Samaela’s blood and concentrated magi from a true demon—a gift she had bestowed upon him.

Its effect was simple: drink it and become stronger.
Of course, there were side effects.
But failing Lady Samaela’s orders would be far worse.

Pop—the vial opened with a clear sound.
Without hesitation, Pied downed the contents.

At that moment, Eliarnes’ eyes widened.
She sensed the violent surge of enormous magi.

But it wasn’t Pied’s.

This was—

“Luxurina.”

The magi of Lust.

She urgently turned toward its source.

Her eyes met Pied’s, now lined with blackened veins. His scale-covered lips completed the incantation.

“Ego Annihilation Illusion.”

To his weak human domain,
The intent of a vast being had been added.

From within, she felt an unknown gaze upon her.

“You son of a—”

Darkness swallowed her whole.