episode_0080

000

When Aruru regained consciousness, her limbs were restrained.

However, the place she was in, even when looking around, didn’t feel like a cold prison.

Rather, it gave a comfortable feeling, as if she were in a room prepared to welcome a guest.

Yet, the room’s design, no matter where you looked—front, back, left, right, above, or below—was a closed space made of stone walls.

To feel comfort in such a place, surely, her senses must be malfunctioning.

More than that, she had to think about escaping from here first.

Examining the identity of what was restraining her limbs—

“Ugh… what is this?”

Not chains or shackles, but something extending directly from the walls or floor was binding her body.

Even when trying to exert force, she could feel not only her magical power but even her physical strength being absorbed.

“Please, be comfortable. Such resistance is meaningless.”

Was someone watching her from somewhere? A familiar voice was heard.

Hearing that voice, Aruru fell silent for a moment.

Yes, she didn’t want to deny reality, but the one who had imprisoned her here was—

“Your beloved Cleon and the top student of the Sword Arts Department are probably wreaking havoc in the heart of the labyrinth by now.”

“Can you afford to only focus on me? The students of the Execution Department can’t stop him.”

Aruru quietly raised the corners of her lips and spoke.

She couldn’t help but feel resentful about the fact that she had become a hindrance to them, but Cleon would surely be able to subdue the Execution Department without any problems.

“The Execution Department… they’re just useless pawns discarded by the Council of Elders.”

“What…?”

However, the other party didn’t deny or affirm Aruru’s thoughts, as if they didn’t think much of it.

It was as if they had wanted it to turn out that way from the beginning.

“The purpose of the Black Skirmish has been only one from the start. The top students are just fish lured in by the bait called the Execution Department.”

“-The Black, Skirmish… Then you’re…!”

The next moment, the wall of the room Aruru was in twisted grotesquely, and a long, needle-like object grew out.

It went behind Aruru’s neck, about to pierce her.

She tried to resist by twisting her body somehow, but due to her restrained body and the constantly draining strength.

She soon became unable to move her body.

She could feel a slender sensation passing through her neck, but strangely, she felt no pain.

“What, exactly….”

“Don’t worry, I won’t harm you.”

“It seems like you’re already tormenting me enough…”

“That’s just how you feel now.”

The next moment, a sensation of something in her mind being sucked out through the needle piercing Aruru.

Overwhelmed Aruru.

“Ugh, just now, what was…”

“It’s the image of `fear` that you possess. Ariadne’s Labyrinth has the ability to materialize images of fear. I didn’t think Cleon could be defeated by the image of fear someone like me possesses. So, I decided to borrow your thoughts, which are on an equal footing.”

Soon after, the needle was pulled out from the back of her neck.

The voice from beyond the wall sounded satisfied.

“Haha, indeed. You are the daughter of someone who considers the kingdom’s security the top priority. I never imagined that what you fear most would be this.”

“Stop it… What is your purpose….”

The voice that came from Aruru was filled with sadness.

There, more than resentment or questions about the opponent who was committing these acts, she was simply overwhelmed by a feeling of sadness.

“It’s all for your sake, Lady Aruru.”

001

In the heart of the labyrinth, from the central room, each clash of metal produced an ear-splitting sound and brilliant sparks.

The four students, with their red uniforms fluttering, wielding their specialized weapons, facing Cleon and Liomes.

Seemed to have earned their positions as executives of the Execution Department, and were definitely more skilled than the ones they had faced before.

Unceasing teamwork, a combination of magic and martial arts. And powerful weapons to support them.

If Cleon hadn’t leveled up through his fight with Talcheck, he might have had a little trouble facing the two of them at the same time, let alone one of them.

“Your posture is stiff. The only things that should be stiff on a person’s body are their genitals and nipples….”

Liomes was saying something next to him, but he didn’t feel like agreeing with her.

She was wearing her usual relaxed smile, slightly, slightly. With light steps, through minimal movements only.

She was parrying the attacks of the two people attacking her.

“Ugh… you perverted bitch…!”

As if they didn’t like her attitude, the two of them raised the speed of their attacks even more, with resentful voices.

But Liomes didn’t seem to care at all, or rather, she was blushing and answering.

“Thank you. Every time I hear such insults, I get so excited that I feel like I’m going to get an erection. Ah, I don’t have one, though. Will you do it for me, Instructor?”

Mental attacks aimed at him flew in from an unexpected direction.

Cleon appropriately ignored her words and thought that he should also deal with the Execution Department members in front of him.

They showed noticeable gaps when attacking, so he thought it was some kind of trap.

But it seemed to be a kind of bad habit that they themselves hadn’t noticed.

If that was the case, Cleon would immediately put it into action.

First, the male student using dual swords who was blocking his path was the first target.

Holding a long sword in one hand and a short sword in the other, trying to target his gaps or the outside of his vision was commendable.

However, the trajectory of his attacks was too straightforward.

If that was the case, he would have been better off holding a long sword and shield.

The next moment, Cleon’s sword returned to its sheath in an instant.

The magic power in free rotation created propulsion inside the sheath.

And it was drawn out at a speed that couldn’t be caught by the eye.

-Crack!

What was heard was not at all the sound of swords colliding.

It was the sound of an egg breaking as it hit a rock.

That sound came from the two swords held by the Execution Department member.

“What…is it? How could an enchanted weapon break against such an old sword….”

As if he couldn’t believe the situation itself, he looked down at his sword even with Cleon in front of him.

Next came a merciless flying roundhouse kick that seemed to pierce his abdomen.

“Cough…!”

Seeing him vomit the stomach acid he had been holding inside and fly backward.

Another student who had been supporting him from behind attacked Cleon.

What she used was a four-section sword.

It was something that required even more skill than dual swords, but on the contrary, this one didn’t want her trajectory to be read.

So, there were often gaps between attacks.

If the dual swordsman student in front didn’t fill in her gaps.

She alone could not possibly be Cleon’s opponent.

Eventually, her sword was fixed and caught in mid-air by a chain of red-hot flames.

“Blazing Chain.”

The restriction-type magic that had been prepared in advance completely caught the four-section sword, and eventually dug into its weak gaps.

Seeing the sword gradually melting with a creaking sound, the female student’s face was dyed with despair.

“W, why-.”

The next moment, Cleon’s scabbard swung mercilessly, hitting her jaw.

The female student from the Execution Department lost consciousness on the spot and collapsed, without even having time to scream.

“It’s futile. You’re not a match at all.”

Cleon muttered his honest impressions and looked down at the fallen people.

“Red Clam. Shell Opening. Whole Overturn. High Fall.”

He glanced at Liomes next to him, who was stabbing the vital points of the students she was in charge of with flashy hand movements.

Each time she stabbed, the magic power that had penetrated like a needle left a wound there.

Liomes’ magic power, which had penetrated through that gap, shook the opponent’s body as it was.

They became unable to aim their bodies properly, their heads became dazed.

At the same time, excitatory substances were secreted throughout their bodies, and they were overcome with elation and uncontrollable pleasure.

“Please, have a good time.”

Liomes whispered that as she released her hands from the two people at the same time.

The female student and the male student trembled at the same time, collapsing on the spot.

Glancing at them, he could see that they were bleeding from their noses.

“Is this sensitivity amplified by 3,000 times….”

“Are you interested? I can let you experience it.”

“Ah, no. I’ll pass.”

Cleon shook his head at the chilling sensation that ran up his spine, and Liomes looked disappointed.

“Come to think of it, what about the top student of the Execution Department?”

“Tina said he ran away. We can report that the search for Demiurgos is impossible. I don’t have any obligation to follow their orders anyway.”

Cleon didn’t like Lady Noeum’s attitude or intentions, so frankly, he didn’t care about searching for such a thing.

What was important was to end the Execution Department here.

The deputy chief, who had been causing troublesome things until now, was finished off by Liomes and Cleon just now.

“Then next is, closing the labyrinth through the control device and getting out of here.”

“Yeah.”

The two people’s gazes naturally turned to the control device in the heart of the labyrinth.

He wasn’t good at operating machinery, but if he asked someone among the top students of the Sword Arts Department who were captured, he would get a rough answer.

Saying that, just as he was about to turn his body and approach it-

“Senior!!!”

A sudden scream-like voice echoed.

Something fell from the sky with a huge impact.

If Cleon hadn’t rolled his body without realizing it at the scream and the murderous intent he felt from behind.

His body would have been pierced by that huge greatsword that had fallen in front of him, and he would have died on the spot.

Sweating coldly, he began to identify the target that had attacked him.

Black hair – black eyes. And white skin.

A swordsman wearing black armor all over his body and a red cloak.

His eyes were filled with hatred and madness, and cold breath with a chill was spewing from his open mouth.

Feeling that the countless eyes on the demon sword were all looking at him, his body froze from head to toe.

Cleon’s heart beat fast.

He could instinctively tell who that was.

A man who was of the same bloodline as them and the strongest of the Black Magic clan.

The worst emperor who led the empire to ruin before he was born-

The enemy of the world who was defeated by the hero Lesia.

The `Demon Sword Emperor` himself.

The appearance as a member of the Black Magic clan. Black armor made of rare Orichalcum.

The man who spread despair throughout the world, holding the legendary demon sword `Pandora` in his hand.

But even Cleon could tell that it wasn’t `himself` or the `real` one.

“Oh my, oh my…. Two instructors…. Even for me, I don’t think I have enough holes.”

Liomes was also sweating coldly, rarely seen, and taking a stance.

What she said was definitely not a mistake.

The `Demon Sword Emperor’s` face was the same as Cleon’s.

All of those characteristics were no different from what was passed down in the kingdom’s heroic tales.

But his face was exactly like Cleon’s, and he was overwhelmed by a feeling as if he was looking in a mirror.

“That’s not a funny joke….”

But even if that wasn’t the real Demon Sword Emperor.

The huge magical power felt from that body, and the monster-like existence that emitted a murderous aura that evoked primal fear in them.

It was by no means a shameful thing for one’s will to be broken by being touched by that murderous intent.

The humans who can fight against this fear are what the world and history call `heroes`.

“Ugh…! Everyone!”

As Cleon shouted `Don’t come!` to Tina, who was trying to jump out from where she was hiding, he grabbed his sword.

All the top students of the Sword Arts Department who were restrained were cowering and trembling in fear.

Cleon and Liomes were the only ones who could somehow move against this suddenly appearing fake.

Even if Tina could move, her life would be in danger if she came close.

Moreover-

The control device was sparking and emitting smoke in front of them.

As a result of Cleon dodging the earlier surprise attack, the fake Pandora had smashed it.

“…This is a setback. A means to dismantle the labyrinth….”

Cleon clicked his tongue.

He had a means to retreat.

Communication with the outside was cut off, but opening a dimensional door for a moment was enough with the scroll he had received from her.

However. It was one-way, and it couldn’t allow many people to pass through at once.

Everyone had been given one each, but going outside through this meant that when they re-entered, they wouldn’t know where they would be entering.

-If so.

“Tina! There’s a scroll in my bag that can take you outside! Get out through that!”

The next moment Cleon shouted that, the Demon Sword Emperor’s sword was swung at Cleon.

With a heavy sound of cutting through the air, a magic-infused strike covered Cleon.

He tried to block it somehow using his master’s sword, but-

“Ugh, ick…!”

This sword’s weight was not that easy to handle.

He felt a pain as if his arm was being torn apart, and a heavy magical power pressed down on his entire body.

“Billeh… eat…”

“Ha!”

As Cleon was trying to push away that attack somehow.

Liomes’ long fist struck the Demon Sword Emperor’s body with a shout coming from next to him.

Abandoning the control of the body through the yin and yang magic power that had been her means of attack until now.

It was an attack style specialized for battle, unlike her.

However-.

The magic power could not penetrate properly due to that thick armor.

Its effectiveness stopped at slightly pushing the Demon Sword Emperor away.

“Liomes! Get away!”

At Cleon’s shout, Liomes retreated with a resentful face.

At the same time, Cleon squeezed out the remaining magic power and floated a red fireball.

And the thorns of fire that stretched out from there.

If he couldn’t do anything with just physical strength, he would add the power of magic.

As the thorns wrapped around the greatsword Pandora and pulled it up, a gap was created where he could move his body, albeit slightly.

During that time, Cleon was able to escape from that attack by swinging his sword up greatly and pulling his body back.

“Damn it, what the hell is going on…!”

“I think it would be better to retreat. Let’s go outside and send a signal magic.”

“…Ugh…”

As Cleon nodded at Liomes’ suggestion, Liomes took out the scroll she had tucked into her cleavage and tore it apart immediately.

-But nothing happened.

“What…? Lyla’s scroll didn’t work? That can’t be-”

“The things that happen inside the labyrinth are to some extent under my control.”

A voice was heard in the two people’s ears.

Behind the Demon Sword Emperor – someone walked out as the blocked wall opened on its own.

And both Liomes and Cleon widened their eyes at the identity of the someone who had walked out.

“It’s no use trying to run away outside. Eliminating irregulars like you who are hindering us and reclaiming Demiurgos is my mission given by my teachers.”

A polite and elegant voice.

The black sword hanging at his waist was his real sword, which was not usually visible.

“Rail…!?”

The one who controlled the Demon Sword Emperor like his own limbs and revealed himself as an enemy in front of them was.

Rail Gliophond, the deputy chief of the Sword Arts Department and the next head of the family of attendants who assisted Aruru.