Chapter 105

I was in despair. I thought it would have been better to remain brainwashed. Then, at least, I could have lived with the hollow hope of lifting the curse from my comrades and master to return to the old days. But within five seconds, I realized one crucial fact.

And that fact was that you were still in the labyrinth.

Despair turned to joy in that instant. Because I had finally found my own kind. I was no longer alone. That is why, without a second thought, I joined this metal friend on the 5th floor and rushed to where you were.

Elizabeth, who had been listening to the lion’s story with a look of pure fascination, pointed a finger at the robot standing motionless beside him.

“And that robot?”

Ah, my apologies. I am late with the introductions. As you likely know, he is the Floor Boss of the 5th floor. And he is my friend. He rarely speaks, and I often don’t know what he is thinking, but our origins are deeply intertwined, so we act as one.

“Hmm….”

I have talked far too long. Regardless, I am currently overwhelmed with happiness. So much so that I wish I could split my chest open and show you this pounding heart. After all… for the first time in my life, I am conversing with beings who can actually understand me. Enemies? About to kill each other? It does not matter. Having even a brief moment like this makes me feel as if I possess the entire world.

“……”

I sincerely… thank you.

“……”

“……”

And so, the lion’s speech finally came to an end.

A heavy silence settled over us, filled only by the sound of pattering raindrops.

“Ummm….”

We were in a bit of a predicament.

Contrary to his appearance, the lion was quite the orator. Before we knew it, we had begun to see him not as a monster, but as a person.

Kindred spirits. That was what this sophisticated-looking lion-head had called us.

Hah… dammit. This makes it awkward to kill him.

At that moment, Chel stepped forward.

“And?”

Hmm?

“It’s an interesting story, but the only response I have for you is this: So what? Why are you telling us this? What do you want? Are you hoping we’ll spare you? If so, I’d suggest you wake up from that dream. We received a labyrinth subjugation request from the Imperial Palace, and unfortunately, to fulfill that request, you two cannot remain alive.”

Mm. Classic Chel. Truly no blood or tears.

The lion waved his paws.

No. Absolutely not. As I said, I purely wished to converse with you and express my gratitude. I am not so shameless. I am well aware that my death is your gain. I too have the desire, as a knight, to clash with you with everything I have, so I will resist with all my might. Given your strength, my death is likely a foregone conclusion. I am prepared to accept my fate willingly. However…

“However…?”

As you can see from that mage burning with academic curiosity, some of the things I have shared today include quite valuable information. If you consider that a decent gain, I have one small favor to ask before we fight.

Chel glanced at Ailet, who was nodding frantically while keeping her eyes glued to her recording artifact, and let out a wry smile.

“A favor? Let’s hear it.”

The lion stroked the head of the silver robot beside him, his lips twisting. Even on a lion’s face, the bitterness was filtered through clearly.

…This friend is about to die. He has no means of supplying energy other than what he receives through the link with the labyrinth. He is moving on residual energy now, but since the labyrinth is gone, he is ultimately doomed.

“……”

But unlike me, this friend takes immense pride in being the guardian of this labyrinth. He does not wish for a lingering, sluggish death where he slowly fades away while trying to save energy. Perhaps his wish is to burn brilliantly until the very last moment—as the guardian of the labyrinth, until the very end.

So… could you take his final blow, which concentrates every last drop of his remaining energy, head-on?

Whether it understood the lion’s words or the stroke on its head was a signal, the robot spread its four legs in all directions, entering what you’d call a ‘Siege Mode,’ and opened its chest armor.

Kiiiiiiing.

An octagonal cannon rose from within. At a glance, it was a large-caliber cannon that screamed, “I’m about to fire something incredibly powerful and cool.”

“Ahahahahahat!!!”

Without a second of hesitation at the lion’s sudden proposal, Kelly leaped forward with a boisterous laugh.

“You’ve got a real sense of poetic flair. I like that a lot. Fine. I’ll do it.”

Thump! With a heavy sound, her two halberds—named Moon-render and New Moon—were slammed into the ground in a cross formation.

“Come! Whenever you’re ready! Bring it on, tin can!”

Watching the scene, Elizabeth sneered from the side.

“What kind of ‘defense’ is a pure DPS-dealer trying to pull? What are you going to do if a laser beam comes blasting out of there? Try to swat it away with those clumsy one-ton halberds?”

Instead of answering, Kelly performed a few somatic gestures and, after a quick cast, manifested a spell for all to see.

“Photon Reflecting Barrier (Mirror Surface Barrier).”

A mirror-like semi-sphere focused toward the front manifested around Kelly. She explained the magic in a tone reminiscent of a street medicine hawker.

“With this, anything from gamma rays to radio waves can be reflected! Any photon cannon below a certain level gets a ‘rainbow reflection’!”

Kelly directed a smirk at Elizabeth.

“I happen to be a 5th-Circle Mage as well as a Blaster, you know. Why don’t you shut your mouth, you brat who can’t do anything except hide behind monsters you’ve summoned?”

For the record, Merina Elves can manipulate both physical mana and mental/spiritual mana simultaneously. It was a power granted by the blessing of Merina.

“…Uugh.”

At the word “Mage,” Elizabeth was left speechless.

Actually, I often forget she’s a mage too, so I can’t blame Elizabeth. Who would look at the way she usually acts and think “Mage”?

Having lightly flexed on Elizabeth, Kelly turns back and gestures grandly toward the robot.

“Come on, then. Lasers, missiles, whatever you want. As long as it’s not something gross, I’ll knock back anything you throw at me.”

It seems Chel has no intention of stepping in over Kelly, either. Hmm… then, I feel a bit bad for Kelly since she’s so fired up, but…

I reached out and caught Kelly’s shoulder from behind.

“Kelly. Hold on a second.”

“Who’s the—oh, it’s you, Orabeoni?”

“Sorry, but I’ll take this one.”

Kelly looked a bit surprised, as if she hadn’t expected me to volunteer.

“You, Orabeoni?”

Even now, it’s… well, quite a thing. I still haven’t fully adjusted to being called “Orabeoni” by an Elf who is over a hundred years old.

I know that in converted age, I’m technically the senior, and she looks much younger than me, but… how should I put it? It feels like the “Confucian Dragon” inside my Korean soul is slapping me with its tail every time I hear it.

I shook my head to clear the thought and answered.

“Yeah. I think I’m a better match for this specific attack.”

She tilted her head. A natural reaction, really.

She knows my skill level well, but as far as she’s concerned, that’s limited to piercing and slashing. It’s hard to associate that with “defense.”

After a moment of thought, Kelly gave a bright nod, choosing to trust me.

“Okay. If it’s your request, Orabeoni, I’ll gladly step aside.”

“Wow, look at that fake… she should show me even a tenth of the sincerity she pours on Mister. Damn it.”

Ignoring the grumbling from behind, I stood before the robot(?) empty-handed.

Seeing this, the lion asked with a subtle expression.

Has the Young Lord decided to receive my friend’s strike?

“Yeah. For now.”

Forgive me, but are you alright with just your bare hands? If you are not ready, I am willing to wait as long as necessary.

Oh. You’re worried about me? How kind.

“It’s fine. Start.”

As I answered, I actually took another five or six steps forward.

This left a distance of about fifteen meters between us.

However, since both the robot and the lion were over seven meters tall, that distance didn’t feel like much of a gap at all.

I took a diagonal stance, one hand behind my back and the other held out in front.

The lion, realizing further words were useless, nodded to the robot.

Friend. Begin.

A light began to gather slowly within the octagonal large-caliber cannon in the robot’s chest. I watched that light and began a rapid analysis.

Judging by the shape of the barrel, it wasn’t a projectile weapon like a railgun. It was likely something closer to a beam weapon.

Woooooooooong!!!

While I steadied my breath and sharpened my focus, the light pouring from the one-meter-diameter barrel of the seven-meter-tall robot grew increasingly intense.

The lion called it a “final blow,” so I assumed the output would far exceed what a normal 9-Star monster could produce.

Not that it mattered. What I was about to do was a sort of “cheat” that could nullify almost any long-range attack.

“Phew…”

Kiiiiiiiiiiing!!!

A strange, high-pitched ringing echoed through the labyrinth corridor.

Then, the robot opened its mouth for the first time. It shouted something.

“!%!@!@%$@!%!”

Of course, I couldn’t understand it. It probably meant “Prepare yourself!” or maybe “Succubus Queen, I’m coming!” something like that.

And then—

“It’s coming! Orabeoni! Watch out!!!”

“Ah, that actually meant ‘Drop dead—’!”

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWAAAAA!!!!!!

Before Chel’s shout or the lion’s useless commentary could even finish, a massive torrent of white light filled my vision.

Blinding luminosity and incredible heat.

But my hand was already striking the empty air before the torrent could reach me.

T-Thump!

The moment my palm—not my fist—struck the air, ripples like a lake on a rainy day violently surged through space.

Spatial Fracturing.

It’s a technique that “breaks” space to create a fissure with bare hands, rather than “cutting” it with Astraphe.

As I’ve mentioned before, it’s not an easy skill. Why? Because unlike Astraphe, bare hands cannot normally withstand the high-dimensional space inside a fissure.

If the force projected toward the high dimension is too high, you lose your hand; if it’s too low, the gesture is wasted. It requires terrifyingly precise “snap” and power control.

So while it was theoretically possible, I never dared to try it. At this level, even I need practice… and how exactly do you practice something where your wrist gets blown off every time you fail?

But I recently found a place where such practice is possible: my Imagery.

Including the time I took down the Blue Lion, it took exactly twenty-seven times of losing my hand before I got the “feel” for it.

T-Thump!!

Successive ripples spread from the point where my palm touched the air, the flickering grew intense, and finally, space shattered.

Crunch! Crackle-crack!

As a result, a pitch-black circular spatial fissure about three meters in diameter formed in front of me—enough to completely cover my body.

Immediately after, as if it had been waiting, the brilliant wave of light poured in.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!!!

It was a photon cannon fired from the chest of the silicon monster.

Well, “photon cannon” is just a term; strictly speaking, it wasn’t just “light.”

If it were just light, it might burn and melt things, but it wouldn’t carve out the walls and floor like a boring machine. To be precise, it was a directional surge of light-attribute energy? Or a violent torrent of energy with pressure and stopping power?

And the range—it started from an octagonal barrel barely a meter wide, but by the time it reached me fifteen meters away, the light was everywhere. It was a diffusion-type area attack.

KWA-KA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GAK!!!

Phew… anyway, this is incredible. When is this going to end?