episode_0027

Moving along with Zeke who had joined.

On the path in the cave, bodies of Big Spiders started to appear one by one.

“…Was there a battle?”

It seemed like the person they were facing had quite a struggle as blood was splattered around.

From then on, it seemed like Herdy was even more vigilant, scanning the surroundings.

They continued walking like that.

They saw a figure lying on the ground.

A figure holding a long greatsword, lying down.

Whether they died in battle or not, they were sprawled among the Big Spiders.

A familiar silhouette and a greatsword.

I knew who that figure was.

*

I cautiously asked Zeke.

“…What happened here?”

“……”

A moment of silence.

Zeke stared intently at Victor’s body turned into a corpse.

And….

“W-what is this….”

With a voice trembling in shock, he approached Victor’s body.

“What is going on…?! V-Victor! Wake up!”

“……?”

What…? Wasn’t he just a beat late?

Zeke kept shaking Victor, who was already lifeless.

Did he not know about this? I thought he knew since he guided us this way….

“You didn’t… know?”

“How could I! It’s my first time seeing this too!”

Zeke retorted.

“We only took this path to get here, there’s no other way, are you saying you didn’t see this?”

“I didn’t! When I was lost, Victor wasn’t lying like this!”

“……”

It was strange.

A battle happened in such a short time, leading to this tragedy?

I glanced at Victor and the bodies of the Big Spiders out of the corner of my eye.

…The blood seemed slightly discolored, almost black.

If it were completely black, I would have probed further, but this left me uncertain.

Was he truly unrelated to this tragedy?

“Victor… I won’t let your death be in vain…. I will inform the Adventurer’s Guild about this labyrinth and uncover the truth! Ugh…!”

Zeke lifted Victor’s body.

“Let’s go! Kid! If we keep going this way, we’ll encounter a teleportation magic stone! Let’s leave before it’s too late!”

“…Haven’t we still not found Monaka?”

“We need the Adventurer’s Guild’s help for a safe search! If we die here, who will inform about this labyrinth!! Do you want to increase the casualties?!”

“……”

It was a valid point, but given what we saw at the scene, doubts were inevitable.

…If only there were concrete evidence, I would want to investigate further.

I glanced briefly at Herdy.

“……”

He seemed uneasy. His demeanor was a mess, as if he had just returned from a coal mine.

He also looked quite fatigued, trembling.

If an argument broke out between Zeke and him in this state, Herdy might be in danger.

…There was no choice.

“What are you doing?! Let’s go, kid!”

Victor grumbled and was already far ahead.

“…Let’s go.”

Herdy urged, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I nodded once.

And followed Zeke with Herdy.

The suspicion about him lingered throughout the journey, unavoidable.

*

“Here! The magic stone was attached to this wall!”

We soon arrived at the location Zeke mentioned.

Due to the narrowness, this dimly lit place didn’t offer a clear view of the front path or the surrounding terrain compared to other places.

“It should be around here…!”

Zeke felt around the wall and moved forward.

After a while.

“…! Here! You just need to infuse magic here! Kid!”

Zeke, with excitement, told me that he found the teleportation magic stone.

Indeed, where he pointed, the magic stone was attached to the wall.

‘Hmm….’

It was undoubtedly a teleportation magic stone.

Herdy remained cautious, checking for traps or spells around.

I approached the magic stone.

‘…It doesn’t seem to be enchanted with any trap magic. If it were enchanted, it would probably emit a faint light, should I activate it like this…?’

As I reached out towards the seemingly harmless magic stone, just then.

‘…….’

Suddenly, Zik’s thoughts flashed through my mind.

It felt uneasy to act exactly as he said.

Just then, as I hesitated, Zik shouted at me.

“Hurry up and channel your magic, you brat! We need to escape from this damn place quickly, don’t we?!”

“…….”

Ah, this is really unsettling.

I know I have to activate the magic stone, but his inexplicable urgency bothered me more.

Usually, when trapped in such a labyrinth, one becomes desperate to get out.

But having witnessed the previous disaster….

“What are you waiting for?! If the monsters come while you’re hesitating, it’ll be over! Channel your magic now! Don’t tell me… you don’t know how to handle magic?!”

“Hey, old man.”

“…?”

As Zik continued to erupt, Hedy, who had been waiting behind, approached Zik with a grim expression.

And she said,

“If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have been able to escape alone. Why are you so worked up?”

“Well… I mean, to quickly escape, we need to channel the magic, right…!”

“He probably has his reasons too. Maybe he doesn’t want to escape and that’s why he’s acting like that? Just wait.”

“…Ugh.”

Wow.

Zik is fuming, clenching his teeth, unable to say anything.

A bit refreshing.

She must be the heroine responsible for the cider in the story after all. The most reliable presence when on my side….

People must choose the heroine route for this charm; I realize it anew.

I didn’t know when playing the game, but experiencing it in reality makes me feel its charm.

Well, it’s irrelevant to me now as the protagonist Cain.

“Alright. Mister. I’m going to activate the magic stone now, so step aside. And please keep an eye on the surroundings with him.”

“…Understood.”

So Zik steps back.

There doesn’t seem to be any immediate issue, so let’s activate it first and then think.

It feels uneasy, but Zik was right. Delaying further could lead to unknown consequences.

This is an uncharted maze.

I placed my hand on the magic stone.

-Hum….

The magic stone responds.

It seems to react only to those with magic power.

I immediately channel magic through my fingertips into the stone.

And then it happened.

-Thud!

““……!””

A massive magic circle suddenly appeared beneath our feet.

It was a large magic circle inscribed with several geometric symbols in a fiery red color, almost flaming.

It resembled the magic circle from when we were transferred here.

As soon as the magic circle activated, the ground began to shake and vibrate.

-Thud thud thud.

The surroundings were filled with a bright red light. It looked as if one wrong move would make it seem like blood had stained everything red.

The entire maze seemed to tremble as if in an earthquake.

“Haha, it’s done! It’s done! We’re escaping this darn place now…!”

Zik exclaimed with ecstatic eyes.

But it’s too early to let our guard down.

Last time, rocks fell, leading to Andrei’s death.

“There might be falling rocks around, so be careful! Keep your balance so you can dodge anytime!”

They both nodded at my words.

-Hum!

The magic circle brightly lit up once again.

The light was so intense that it engulfed us and the entire space.

By the time the vibrations ceased, the space we were standing in had changed.

“Is this success?”

The warm sunlight covered my body.

In that moment of sudden brightness, I cautiously opened my eyes to look at the world.

There was the sky.

The ceiling was no longer made of piles of stones and boulders.

There was no darkness either.

It was the outside world illuminated by the clear daylight.

“We’ve successfully transitioned.”

I see Hedy running towards us in the distance.

Perhaps she was transferred to coordinates slightly away from us.

It was a relief. She also moved safely.

“Uh…?”

But something was off.

Hedy’s expression as she ran towards us seemed uneasy.

As if she was warning us about something….

“…Behind!”

She shouted as she ran.

“…You!”

…!

-Clang!

A metal piece clashed, and sparks flew towards my face.

“Ugh… this!”

…If it weren’t for Hedy, I could have been in trouble.

Zik ambushed from behind.

He tried to stab with his sword.

“Damn brat!!”

Zeke, who failed the ambush in a visually pleasing manner, swung his sword again in succession.

I parried his sword once more.

And before he could react, I swung my sword even faster.

-Splurt!

“Aaargh!”

Zeke’s arm flailed in the air.

I dodged it.

Blood splattered in all directions.

To make sure, I quickly approached him, who had hesitated and sat down.

“W-wait…!”

As he sat there hesitating, he urgently spoke, spreading out his palm.

“S-sorry…! I lost my mind for a moment! Spare me just this once!”

Nonsense.

Trying to stab someone claiming you’ve lost your mind?

Attempting to justify being mentally unstable?

In the midst of this, Hedie, who was running from behind, suddenly approached and placed her hand on my shoulder.

Looking at Zeke and me in turn, she soon said,

“Let’s report to the Order. You can’t wield your sword, so there’s nothing more we can do.”

“…Hmm.”

It felt too uncomfortable to leave it at that.

I hesitated.

Leaving a potential criminal who tried to kill someone unpunished…

That moment arrived.

-Boom! Swish!

“……?!”

Suddenly, excruciating pain as if something were tearing through my back.

It hurt immensely, as if something had exploded.

With a ringing in my ears, severe dizziness set in.

“That damned bastard… Andrey is giving me a chance to seek revenge from beyond the grave…!”

Before losing consciousness, I looked at Zeke, holding something in one arm.

It was a magic scroll.

I hadn’t expected him to hide something like that.

Had he saved it for a situation where his life was in danger…?

“As expected… I can’t forgive you…!”

My blood pressure skyrocketed momentarily, adrenaline surged, numbing the pain.

Suppressing my weary body, I approached Zeke again.

“W-what…?! Enduring this…,”

-Splurt!

“Aaargh!”

I severed Zeke’s remaining arm.

I could have gone for his neck, but with severe bleeding already and another wound, leaving him would lead to agonizing death from excessive bleeding.

I didn’t want to let him off easily.

“Ugh….”

That was it.

What kept me somewhat sane.

I, too, was bleeding heavily.

After that, everything became too dizzy, scenes blurred and hard to see clearly.

The accumulated sense of exhaustion dramatically overwhelmed me.

My body leaned back and collapsed.

“Gasp! …Hey! …Wake up…!”

Hedie rushed towards me as I fell.

Hedie’s face filled my vision.

Hedie’s face…?

It didn’t seem like hers.

Her face seemed to overlap with something else.

……

Younger sister…?

They say you see your life flash before you die.

I didn’t expect my younger sister’s face to be the first thing that came to mind.

I placed my hand on my younger sister’s face.

My beloved younger sister.

She flinched in response.

How adorable….

How long had it been since I last saw my younger sister’s face?

Desperately clutching my throat, I uttered,

“…Hemi.”

“……?!”

Her bewildered expression was my last memory.

***

It was a hospital room.

Startled, I opened my eyes and sat up, greeted by the sight of the hospital room.

There was nothing around except the soft bedsheet enveloping me; no peculiar sculptures or decorations besides that.

How did I end up here all of a sudden?

Memories were sporadic.

“That damned bastard….”

“……”

I remembered.

I had been hit by a magic scroll imbued with fire magic.

As I finished that thought, the door creaked open, and someone entered.

“……?!”

The person entering was Hedie.

“What?! You’re awake?!!”

“Uh…”

She rushed over, placing a tray with something on the nearby table.

“How’s your body?! Are you okay?!”

“……”

I wriggled my bandaged arms and legs but found nothing amiss.

Had someone used healing magic on me?

“I seem to be fine.”

“……”

Hedie stared at me with a sad expression.

Why is she making that expression?

Ah.

Was it because of the spell she was under that weighed on her mind?

“I’m really okay.”

I smiled reassuringly at her.

In the end, did I survive?

It seems like she bore all the hospital expenses…

That should be enough.

Hedy forced a weak smile.

Then she asked me.

“…Would you like to eat some fruit?”

“Sure. I’m already hungry… Wait, how long was I unconscious for?”

“Two days.”

“Wow.”

She took something out from the tray she brought in when she opened the door earlier.

And she presented it to me…

Up until this point, everything was fine.

Just up to here.

But then, with her puzzling actions, I couldn’t hide my bewildered expression.

“……?”

“……”

Due to her silence, my thoughts spiraled further into uncertainty.

What kind of situation is this?

Was she always this kind of character?

Along with my confusion, a sense of alienation crept in.

“…Not eating?”

“Uh, um….”

Her trembling hand.

I just silently watched it.

…She was trying to feed me the fruit.