A short while ago.
“Wh-What should we do? If this keeps up, they’ll all die…!”
Elly who was standing at a distance watching the party fight the demon stomped her feet nervously.
“Shouldn’t we try to help…?”
“We can’t. Interfering with either the person undergoing the trial or the enemies that must be defeated in the trial automatically makes that person a participant in the trial. In short, you’d be forced to take part. And failing the trial always means death.”
“……!”
“You’re not planning to risk your life, are you, Miss Elly?”
At Yujin’s question, Elly went pale and lowered her head. Shia also stood frozen with her face drained of all color. Lastly, Hans was drenched in cold sweat; his expression was one of complete dismay.
Meanwhile, Yujin continued to watch those fighting in the distance.
As he stared, Tiamat spoke to him.
[So, what do you plan to do?]
I don’t intend to let them die, but this trial seems suspiciously straightforward. Honestly, the demon’s ability feels more like immortality than simple regeneration.
[You’ve got a sharp eye. That’s no mere super-regeneration. It’s probably a conditional immortality of some sort.]
Is that what it is?
[Of course, there’s no such thing as perfect immortality. You could erase it without leaving a trace, curse it so it can’t regenerate, or even impose a conceptual death… there are more ways than you’d think. None of that would be particularly difficult for you at this point.]
I don’t plan on making such a flashy display, but… hmm?
At that moment, Yujin noticed the demon sending Hugo flying and then slowly advancing toward Mirien. The others around Yujin screamed in panic.
“Oh no, what do we do!”
“G-God, please protect them…”
“Ah, damn it…!”
“……”
Yujin watched for a moment before taking a single step forward.
And then—
“…Huh? Mr. Yujin?”
In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the spot. Hans who was startled by Yujin’s sudden vanishing act looked around in confusion.
Before anyone realized it, Yujin was standing behind the demon, who had taken over the orc’s body.
The demon was oblivious to the fact that Yujin was standing right behind him and continued to prattle on.
[You mortals probably assumed this body had some kind of regeneration ability, didn’t you? Wrong. What I granted this body during this trial was conditional immortality! Any attack that doesn’t fulfill the conditions will regenerate without fail.]
“That’s impossible…!”
[Haha, unfair, isn’t it? Especially since you don’t even know the conditions. Still, I’ll do you a favor and let you in on it. The attack must either split this body in half or utterly erase me without leaving a trace. But let’s face it, there’s no way you mortals could pull off either. So it’s as good as….]
“I see. Thank you for explaining.”
[Huh?]
The demon hadn’t expected anyone to calmly thank him for revealing his weakness. Yujin smirked and raised his index and middle fingers before swiftly slashing them downward toward the orc’s body.
Thwack!!
With a streak of dark black energy, the orc’s body was split cleanly in half.
[Wh-What…?]
The demon’s voice stammered in disbelief as the orc’s corpse toppled to either side. He was severed in two.
Thud! Thud!
“A-Ah…?”
Beyond the fallen body, Mirien stood frozen while staring blankly at Yujin who now stepped forward into view.
“Ooh, you’re really kind! Or did you have some curse that made you act like a manga character? I can’t believe you’d actually reveal your weakness like that.”
Yujin’s cheerful smile caught Mirien completely off guard. Then—
<Congratulations on passing the trial!>
A message popped up in front of his eyes along with a blue window. Yujin glanced at it and thought to himself.
It feels oddly like a game, just like when the trial was first given.
For a brief moment, the idea crossed Yujin’s mind that perhaps the labyrinth itself was designed as a kind of entertainment.
But the thought was fleeting.
[This is absurd…!]
“Hmm?”
Before long, something like a dark smoke appeared, taking on a strange shape and emitting an eerie sound.
Yujin immediately recognized its true nature.
“Ah, are you the demon?”
[How… Why is someone this strong here?!]
The demon Encheos wailed like someone whose plans had been overturned at the very last moment.
Yujin asked when she saw him in his current form, a spirit without a physical body,
“So, where is my reward?”
[Damn it…! Don’t get cocky, you…! You may be strong for a mortal, but…!]
Even as he spoke, Encheos was bound by the rules of the labyrinth and had no choice but to grant the reward.
Sssssss…!
Black smoke gathered in the air, forming a single horn that dropped to the ground. Yujin picked it up.
The familiar blue window from the labyrinth appeared again.
<Encheos’ Horn>
<Description: The horn of a low-ranking demon, Encheos. It contains demonic power. It can be processed into a weapon or used as an alchemy material.>
<Abilities: It allows you to draw in surrounding demonic power or use the demonic power stored within. However, consumed demonic power does not recover. Additionally, it can temporarily enhance regenerative abilities significantly through demonic power.>
It’s not exactly an extraordinary item.
This horn was probably something that would regrow for a demon like Encheos. Since it was a trial issued in the upper floors, expecting something extraordinary would have been unreasonable.
[Yujin.]
Hmm? What’s the matter?
At that moment, Tiamat who usually wandered around Yujin in her spirit form suddenly spoke to him from within his heart.
[If that thing realizes my presence, it might try to flee. So don’t let it sense me and listen carefully. Let’s conduct an experiment on it.]
An experiment? You mean right now?
[Yes, an experiment. Follow my instructions exactly. First—]
Tiamat outlined her plan for the experiment and infused a certain knowledge into Yujin’s mind.
Taking it all in, Yujin grinned inwardly and nodded.
Sounds interesting. I was planning to try this at some point anyway, so let’s give it a shot.
[Fufu, excellent.]
Tiamat fell silent after finishing her words.
Meanwhile, Hans and Elly, who had gone to retrieve Hugo from where he had flown off earlier, were now supporting him as they laid him down beside Krom. Both of them knelt by his side, chanting prayers as if in supplication.
“Oh, goddess of healing, please hear my prayer…”
A bright yellow light seeped into both Hugo and Krom. Their expressions noticeably softened as their pain seemed to ease.
“Ugh…”
“Mm…”
The two of them slowly sat up. Krom scratched his head with a grimace, while Hugo’s face was filled with relief.
“Phew… Thank you, Miss Shia.”
“You have my thanks, Priestess.”
“Oh n-no, it’s nothing. I could only stand back and watch during the battle…”
Shia replied with a self-reproaching expression. However, both of them shook their heads.
“It’s perfectly understandable. After all, we asked you not to interfere in the first place.”
“That’s right, don’t trouble yourself over it.”
“Ugh…”
Shia’s face twisted with guilt at their reassurances.
Soon after, the two turned their attention to Yujin.
“And… Mr. Yujin, thank you.”
“We owe you one. Truly, thank you.”
“It’s nothing. If anything, I should apologize for not stepping in from the start.”
When Yujin said this, Hugo and Krom exchanged wry smiles.
“Honestly, it does feel like we were tricked, but you saved our lives in the end, so I guess it all worked out.”
“There’s no need to dwell on it. If anything, we’re embarrassed to have needed your help. But more importantly…”
Their gazes shifted toward the demon.
The demon’s face distorted into a swirling mass of smoke as it spoke.
[Foolish mortals, consider yourselves lucky… Damn it, and you, the one called Yujin? I will remember you… When you descend to the lower floors someday, we’ll see what becomes of you then…!]
With those words, the demon began to vanish.
Yujin who was watching it intently spoke up.
“Why wait for later? Let’s settle this now.”
[What?]
[Stop.]
Woooom!
The chime of a clock reverberated through the air as ripples spread across the space. In an instant, the entire area was suffused with an ashen color.
And then, everything stopped.
People, animals, the air, the earth, the sky… all of it ceased to move.
[…Wh-What?]
Everyone except Yujin and the demon, Encheos.
Encheos who saw the scene, shouted in a flustered voice.
[Th-this is impossible! This… this is… ‘Dragon Word’!]
The demon was thoroughly shaken and turned to look at Yujin. His glowing eyes revealed a deep sense of shock.
Saaaaahhh…
[Th-This can’t be…]
At the same time, as the oppressive aura of the dragon’s presence washed over him, fear began to take root within him.
He had been mistaken. The being before him was no mere “mortal”.
This was a Transcendent. An apex being. The pinnacle of all life.
[A dragon?!]
“Only realizing it now?”
[How?! How?! All transcendent beings aside from the gods were either dead or sealed within the Tower!]
But how could a dragon, of all things, freely move inside the labyrinth, go through its trials, and even claim rewards? It defied all reason!
Though Encheos shouted in disbelief, Yujin merely shrugged.
“There’s a saying. Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. And here’s the truth standing before you.”
[How is this possible…?!]
“Haha, explaining it all would just be boring and pretentious, wouldn’t it? Just empty your mind and accept it.”
With those words, Yujin then turned his gaze elsewhere and spoke to someone unseen.
“Well then, Lady Tiamat, shall we begin?”
[Hehe, yes, let’s begin.]
[Tiamat…..No, it can’t be!]
The moment Encheos recognized the name Tiamat, his cry of disbelief rang out. But before he could react further, Yujin extended his hand.
And then, he murmured.
[Not a single being shall escape my grasp, nor shall any evade my sight.]
Wooooooong!
With the resonating power of the Dragon Word, countless overlapping magic circles of dark red magical power formed around Encheos.
From dots to lines, lines to planes, and planes to three-dimensional structures, the circles rapidly unfolded. Finally, they transformed into incomprehensible shapes that transcended the understanding of the three-dimensional world.
[This… this is impossible!]
“It is possible.”
Woooooong!
At last, the spell activated.
[Kraaaaaaaaah!]
Then, following Yujin’s gesture, the black smoke that had formed Encheos’s spiritual body was drawn in and absorbed into the horn Yujin held in his hand.
And then…
<The reward has been updated.>
<Encheos>
<Description: A horn containing the low-ranked demon Encheos. While this demon holds a low rank among transcendents, it undeniably possesses the power of a demon.>
<Abilities: It can use not only the surrounding demonic power but also the demon’s own demonic power. The demon’s demonic power gradually regenerates over time. Through this energy, it can push regenerative abilities to their absolute limits.>
“Not bad.”
Yujin remarked with a faint smile. He hadn’t truly expected it to work.
[How can this be… reduced to a mere tool?!] (Encheos)
[Hmph, this seems to have worked out quite well.] (Tiamat)
[……?!]( Encheos)
At that moment, Encheos heard a voice.
At the same time, Tiamat emerged, manifesting herself as she detached from Yujin’s heart.
[…You are?!] (Encheos)
[Still, I must say… you’re rather pitiful for a so-called Transcendent. You’re not even a match for Yujin, who has only just been born as one.] (Tiamat)
Despite Encheos’s shock, Tiamat merely evaluated him and started murmuring in disappointment. Yujin laughed heartily and said,
“Ha, if his rank had been higher, I wouldn’t have been able to pull him in and seal him up so easily to my liking.”
[That’s true. He would have resisted. But… your rank isn’t exactly insignificant either.] (Tiamat)
[How… How is it that you, Tiamat! Weren’t you supposed to be dead?!] (Encheos)
As Tiamat and Yujin continued their conversation, the astonished Encheos interrupted with a question.
Glancing at him briefly, Tiamat sneered and replied,
[A nameless demon like you dares to speak so curtly? How rude.]
Thud!
[Kuhk?!]
Tiamat’s soul had risen in rank compared to the past, thanks to the insights she had gained through her conversations with Yujin.
In the face of the aura exuded by her elevated rank, the low-ranked demon Encheos who was trapped in the horn in his spiritual form shriveled helplessly.
[I-I apologize. But how is it that…](Encheos)
[Do I really need to explain myself to the likes of you?] (Tiamat)
[Y-Yes! My apologies!]
Yujin was somewhat surprised. It was the first time he had seen her, who was usually so gentle and casual, radiate such commanding authority.
[Anyway, Yujin, even something like this can prove useful, so make sure to keep it well.] (Tiamat)
“Hmm… Sure.”
Soon after, she reverted to her usual soft demeanor when addressing him. It occurred to him that she might be the type who reserved her kindness exclusively for her own people.
Around that point, Yujin snapped his fingers. Thanks to Tiamat, Encheos had quieted down, so it should be fine now.
Snap!
“…Huh?”
The moment Yujin snapped his fingers, time in the world began to flow once more. His companions, however, were caught off guard by the sudden disappearance of the demon before their eyes.
“…Where did the demon go?”
“Who knows? I’m not quite sure myself.”
Hugo spoke up, but Yujin responded with feigned ignorance while maintaining a straight face. He continued,
“Well, now that the trial is complete, shall we get going?”
When Yujin said this with a cheerful smile, the others exchanged uneasy glances but nodded their heads reluctantly in agreement….
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