Chapter 1

—It was dark.

Everything was painted in a deep, endless black, devoid of even a hint of light.

The first thing that felt off was the smell.

It was a fishy stench so foul it felt like my nose was being gouged out. A sensation like mud rising from the back of my throat washed over me. Jolted by the intense discomfort, my eyes snapped open and I sprang up.

“——!”

The first thing that entered my vision was a dark corridor.

It was a stone chamber that glowed with a faint, hazy luminescence, even though no light should have been reaching it.

As I looked around, I saw something resembling a small altar enshrined behind me.

I only realized it was an altar after observing it closely; it was so weathered that it looked ready to crumble at any moment.

On the small stone pedestal sat the remnants of two candles.

What looked like an animal hide had been offered up, pierced by an ancient-looking arrow.

“What is this…?”

Being someone who often talked to myself, the words spilled out naturally.

“I-I don’t understand this… This is disgusting…”

As I kept speaking, my heart began to race. My pulse grew louder, thumping violently in my chest.

I truly didn’t understand. I couldn’t grasp the situation.

I was sleeping… and then, did I just wake up?

But there was no warm bed here. There was no noisy mechanical alarm clock, no morning sunlight peeping through the curtains, and no light from an electric bulb.

Only an unsanitary, cold stone floor.

A stench that felt like it was crushing my nose.

The eerie, faint glow of the stones.

It was sickening…

I covered my mouth and waited for the wave of nausea to pass.

Then, a roar echoed from the distance—

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

It was a wail completely devoid of reason. It was a vibration of heat and murderous intent, like the furious cry of a wounded beast.

“W-wait… Wait, wait, wait…!”

Since I didn’t know what was happening, I didn’t even know what I was saying.

Driven by sheer confusion, I started running in the opposite direction of the roar.

“Hah, hah, hah!”

I ran through the stone corridor, gasping for breath.

I turned corners several times—frustrated by the scenery that never seemed to change—and simply fled toward the distance.

—In the middle of my flight, there was a sickening, squelching sound.

Feeling like I had stepped on something angular, I checked the bottom of my shoe.

There, an insect the size of a fist was writhing in sync with its death throes—

“Ugh, ah!”

I cried out at the gruesome sight.

It wasn’t that I was particularly bad with bugs. However, encountering a giant insect that you’d never see in a city surrounded by concrete triggered a powerful physiological revulsion.

The insect let out a high-pitched chirp.

It was a cry that sounded almost as if it were screaming for help.

Suddenly, I felt a chill and looked up. I directed my gaze further down the path.

From around the next corner, an insect the size of a human was peeking out.

It was a size that defied all common sense.

It moved its angular, insectoid limbs, making a disgusting, grinding “gichi-gichi” sound.

At a quick glance, it looked similar to a stag beetle. However, its abnormal size and those two freakishly shaped horns were whittling away at my sanity.

“——!!”

I couldn’t even squeeze out a scream anymore.

If I let out a scream, that monster looked like it would pounce right on top of me. I had no choice but to turn tail and run.

—I ran, and ran, and kept on running.

I didn’t have the mental capacity for high-level thoughts like “choosing a path.” All I could do was keep moving.

I sprinted until my stamina bottomed out, and my pace naturally began to slacken.

Just as I was starting to regain a tiny shred of my sanity—

“!!!!!!!!!!”

That beastly roar struck my ears again.

This time, it was much closer.

Like an idiot, I had doubled back at full speed toward the path I had originally fled from.

The color drained from my face.

My confusion accelerated.

However, by getting closer to the beast’s roar, I became able to pick up other sounds as well.

It was the sound of people talking.

“P-people! Human voices—!!”

Like a moth drawn to a flame, my body moved toward the voices of its own accord.

My frantic brain was desperate for someone else—for “humans.”

As I drew nearer, the beast’s roars grew louder, but the human conversation became clearly audible too.

“Maintain distance! Keep your distance and buy some time!!”

It was a deep, mature male voice.

A man was barking orders to the people nearby.

When I finally reached them, the scene I witnessed was like something out of a fairy tale.

There were people clad in leather armor and carrying wooden bows—things you’d only ever see in a museum.

One person was swinging a rugged iron sword with brute force.

Another was making fire sprout from a wooden staff that lacked any mechanical components.

These surreal people were engaged in a fierce struggle with a wolf roughly two meters tall.

I didn’t have the courage to jump into the middle of that.

I could only stand still at a distance and watch the battle unfold.

“If we buy enough time, we can make this work! Hold your ground!”

The man with the deep voice, who seemed to be the leader, shouted instructions to a warrior holding a greatsword.

The warrior raised the greatsword high, preparing to bring it down.

However, before he could, the giant wolf slammed into him with terrifying speed. The warrior was sent flying like a bouncing rubber ball.

The wolf’s eyes settled next on a woman holding the fire-spitting staff. Noticing this, the other humans shifted their formation drastically to protect her.

—Consequently, they made a major move.

The battlefield was drawing closer to me.

I was confused.

And I was terrified.

If I had been calm and composed, I might have been able to relocate. But as I was now, I could only stand there, rooted to the spot in a daze.

—My eyes met those of the leader, who was wielding a rapier.

“What?! You… who are you?!”

The man barked at me, his face twisted in surprise.

“I-I’m lost… P-please, help me!!”

I reflexively pleaded for help.

My words were fragmented, but the intent should have been clear.

Yet, the man’s reaction to my SOS was incredibly cold.

“…Hey. Help you? Are you an idiot?”

“—Huh?”

It wasn’t an affirmation, nor was it a denial.

He fired back with a look of disdain, as if to say such a request was utterly out of the question.

If I had been my usual self, I would have realized it.

I would have seen that these people didn’t have the luxury of saving anyone.

Their attire, the lethal weapons in their hands, the maddened beast, the sheer danger of the situation—there was no way I shouldn’t have noticed.

But right now, I didn’t have that kind of cognitive power.

“This is a Labyrinth—specifically, you’re in an ‘Unmanaged Zone.’ You came here prepared for this, didn’t you, brat?”

The words the man followed up with were even colder.

Then, the cold rapier in his hand brushed against my thigh—and slashed it open.