by Fujino Omori
“This isn’t the time to fall for the enemy’s machinations. At this rate, even if we lure out the Evils, we can’t do anything here…!”
“Endure it. Don’t become agitated, Alicia. It will spread to the other elves. Maintain the spirit of the great tree as you fight!”
Riveria was standing on the front lines, Concurrent Casting and acting as a lure for the monsters while the elves bathed the whole passage in a volley of magic. But it wasn’t long before more monsters appeared. Unlike the skirmish aboveground, the tunnel had already transformed into a fierce battle scene.
Closing an eye, Riveria finished chanting and unleashed an ice cannon.
“Loki Familia…fools.”
A purple robe swayed on the other side of the orichalcum door.
A masked person commanding a swarm of violas and vargs scoffed at Loki Familia with an ominous voice. It sounded as though several different voices were overlapping. Holding out their hands encased in metal gloves, they sent another swarm of monsters toward the adventurers.
“Excellent work.” Thanatos smiled deep inside Knossos.
They were in a large hall inside the labyrinth, the base of the Evils. There was a pedestal holding a large crimson orb in the center of the room. Using that, it was possible to freely manipulate the doors in Knossos. With that special trait, it was called “the room of the labyrinth master” by the members of the remnants.
As he listened to the reports regarding Loki Familia brought in by his followers, a thin smile spread across the face of the god who ruled over death.
“Ikelos’s screwup was certainly outside my calculations, but…I see what you’re planning. You intend to use the key of the talking monsters as bait to lure us out, right?”
The long, deep purple locks of the god swayed, giving off a degenerate atmosphere as he crossed his legs atop the pedestal.
“We’re just going to keep spitting out monsters. You can self-destruct as you please. An easy job. Even someone with no knowledge of battle can do this.”
Thanatos had seen through Finn’s plan. And in doing so, he’d recognized that it put a large burden on Loki Familia. As he said, Thanatos only needed to unleash a stream of monsters to harass them. With that alone, the members of Loki Familia in the underground passage would incur losses. Meanwhile, on the side of the Evils, they wouldn’t suffer any lasting damage, no matter how many of the dispatched monsters were defeated.
Thanks to the help of the creatures, there were countless vividly colored monsters in Knossos.
“Keep the monsters flowing!”
“Ha-ha!” Thanatos’s lazy voice broke into a resounding laugh, as if he might break out into song at any moment.
The followers of the God of Death dashed off in response.
“Barca, I’m counting on you, too.”
“…This is a waste of time. But it’s also an effort that cannot be spared.”
At Thanatos’s side stood Barca, a descendant of Daedalus, manipulating the crimson orb in front of him on the pedestal.
His left eye was hidden by his white bangs and had long forgotten the light of day, but it shone with the light of D, opening the labyrinth’s inner walls, unlocking doors to release the violas inside. Opening and closing doors in succession, Barca led the monsters out of the labyrinth.
“Loki Familia won’t be able to handle it in this situation…And while they’re reeling from their losses, our forces can retrieve the key.”
Thanatos had already readied his countermeasures for dealing with the armed monsters. He looked up at the ceiling enclosed with stone, grinning in the direction of the enemy base aboveground.
“Being caught between a rock and a hard place is rough, isn’t it, Braver?”
For Loki Familia, the difficult situation persisted.
For Thanatos Familia, the comedy continued.
Thanatos laughed like a child.
While the intense battle was unfolding in the underground passage, the uproar on the surface was just starting to pick up speed.
“Wow…the captain is incredible. The battle has begun, just as he predicted,” murmured Raul, who was charged with one part of the formation.
Raul Nord was a second-tier adventurer.
His status as a Level 4 was proof enough that he was strong, but there was an impression among the others that his personality was lacking. From Finn on down, Raul was plainly daunted by the first-tier adventurers who were among the best in the city. He was the spitting image of a normal person who lacked self-confidence. Unlike most adventurers who often got carried away with themselves, he had unusually low self-esteem, which was why he was seen as an ordinary person.
Which meant there were times when enemies facing off against Loki Familia saw him as a weak link.
“—Raul!”
“Um, uh…Captain?!” Raul responded in a wild voice, swinging around.
Finn was running toward him, even though he should have been at the central base. Raul was leading the squad to the Labyrinth District’s west, which was part of the defensive line connecting to the central area. He was confused why Finn would come all the way out to their position.
“Wh-why are you here?! Who’s giving orders…?”
“The main monster force has arrived in the southeast! And the black minotaur! Meet Aiz there and crush them! Tell your unit—we’re changing formation! I’ll join you there!”
“Y-yes, sir?!” Raul instinctively snapped to attention at his commanding tone and the words black minotaur. He didn’t doubt the prum in the slightest.
“Also, Raul, do you remember our positions in Knossos?”
“Uh, the one underground? I remember, but—”
“Tell me what they are. Something has been bothering me.”
Raul was totally confused as he responded, “Uh, Gareth and his group should be guarding the four doors—northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast…”
“I see…Well then, I’ll head out first. Gather everyone in this area and come to the southeast.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Raul started moving without hesitation upon receiving orders from the great captain himself. He informed everyone to change formation, accepting Finn’s intention to prioritize subduing the black minotaur.
Huh? But what happened to Captain’s spear…?
Raul didn’t notice.
He couldn’t realize that as he turned and ran off, Finn’s lips curled into a cold smile.
“—Raul?” Finn noticed the change in formation immediately.
The western squad was moving south.
The flickering phosphorescence of the semaphore seemed almost agitated by the unexpected movement.
“Th-the western troops are shifting southward! Raul said they’re going to encircle the pack of monsters there!”
“We haven’t gotten any reports of that! The captain hasn’t given any orders, either. What are you doing moving on your own?!”
“B-but, uh…Raul said the captain came directly to him and gave him the order…”
“What?!” Anakity responded in a fluster when she received the report from the messenger, looking back and forth between Finn and the cityscape below her.
The main camp filled with a sudden unease, but Finn alone had a sense of déjà vu.
That’s it…This is like the War Game between Hestia Familia and Apollo Familia.
He was thinking about the war two months ago between factions that made the name Little Rookie resound throughout the city. In that fight, a single prum betrayed Apollo Familia and brought victory to Hestia Familia.
If that wasn’t an actual betrayal but a disguise…No, a transformation—
“So that’s what happened…”
“Captain?”
Disregarding Anakity looking at him in curiosity, a single prum came to Finn’s mind.
It’s her, isn’t it?
The truth was that there was a fellow prum who had caught Finn’s eye ever since Bell had impressed him during th
e minotaur incident. It was the girl who’d sought out help for the boy’s sake even at the risk of her own life, a girl whose bravery Finn had acknowledged.
Finn guessed it was the work of the girl who had the keenest mind in all of Hestia Familia. With the use of a magic item or spell, she’d beaten both Raul and Finn. It was a failure on Finn’s part for being on guard only against Bell Cranell.
“Draw the squad back. Fill the hole from the north with Narfi’s…No, that won’t work. Too slow.”
Finn was about to tell another squad to fill the hole, but he shook his head before he could finish the order.
Immediately after—clang, clang, clang!
As if affirming his resignation, the warning bells of monster sightings in the west started ringing.
“C-Captain! A large group of monsters suddenly appeared from the west. They’ve breached the gap where Raul’s troops were earlier and are heading for the central area!”
“I know. Calm down. I’m guessing Tione’s unit noticed what’s happening, but I want you to call them back. We’ll pincer the enemy using the remaining garrison forces.”
Agitation raced through the base, but the sight of Finn’s resolute leadership kept his allies from panicking. As they regained their composure, they started carrying out the things they needed to do.
“What route is the enemy taking? What part of Knossos are they headed for?”
“Uh…straight ahead! They’re moving straight east from their point in the west!”
“—Straight ahead? Meaning toward the west of Knossos?”
For the first time, Finn’s face clouded over at that report, looking at the confused messenger as she nodded. He glanced back out across the Labyrinth District.
If they appeared in the west, I would have expected them to angle northwest or southwest…There isn’t a door to Knossos in the west. Or at least not one we could find in four days of searching…Is it possible they know a route that we didn’t uncover?
Finn’s thoughts raced, recalling a certain conversation as he considered the worst possible case.
Ikelos touched on the existence of Daedalus’s notebook, which had a blueprint for Knossos…Do they have that?
During the interrogation, Ikelos had definitely said, I don’t have it…Maybe it just fell somewhere in Knossos.
Loki was on hand, so Finn had believed him.
But if he’d managed to pull the wool over their eyes…or if the notebook had changed hands in a place where Ikelos couldn’t see it…
“This is bad,” Finn whispered as he looked down at his right hand.
His thumb that foretold his apprehensions hadn’t begun to ache yet.
I relied too much on instinct without realizing it.
Finn was ashamed of himself, but he quickly switched gears. His original plan had envisioned them luring the armed monsters into the underground path, but he started adapting as the situation changed. He discarded the possibility of using them as bait to lure out the Evils, prioritizing capturing them aboveground. They couldn’t afford to let them advance into the central part of the district now that they knew there was another possible route that had slipped past their investigation.
His thoughts accelerated at a dizzying rate.
“Heeeey, Finn!” The goddess’s drawl rang out.
“Where’ve you been, Loki?”
“Here and there.” Loki made her appearance in the hectic main camp, approaching Finn from behind.
He didn’t bother to glance back.
“Mm, thinking about something, Finn?”
“Yeah, I guess I was a little conceited. I’d appreciate it if you left me alone for a bit.”
Loki looked intently from the side as he continued to weave his thoughts.
And then the corners of her mouth twitched up—ever so slightly.
Loki placed her hands on Finn’s shoulders and whispered.
“Finn—get to the bottom of this.”
“—” Finn’s thoughts ground to a halt.
Did she mean Bell?
Or was she talking about the monsters?
Finn couldn’t understand her divine will. She was intentionally making Finn think about it.
She watched from his periphery as just his eyes moved, and the goddess smiled faintly.
“With your own two eyes. Don’t rely on anyone else.”
“…”
“I’ll leave the final decision to you. I won’t say anything else.”
As she released his shoulders, Loki smiled thoughtlessly as always, swinging her arms playfully and walking past Finn.
“…”
A small pause.
As the uproarious bustle of the main camp continued, Finn drew in a long breath.
As he stored the goddess’s words in a corner of his mind, he prioritized dealing with the current situation. Donning the mask of the leader again, Finn looked out over Daedalus Street.
“Call Raul here. At once.”
“Y-yes, sir!” responded the messenger Elfie before running off.
Finn started to issue orders without hesitation.
“We’re shifting the formation. Reposition Gareth’s forces from the southwest back aboveground with the monster-assault squad.”
“Is that okay, Captain? If we don’t have them underground, it will be harder to check the Evils’ movements…”
“If the monsters know another route connecting to Knossos, it’ll be a bad plan to leave them belowground. Our goal is the key. What’s the point of trying to use them as a lure when we’re letting what we’re actually looking for slip away? The Evils’ attacks are getting more intense, which is why we’re moving Gareth to shake them up.”
“U-understood!”
Anakity realized that Finn was shifting the priority to the armed monsters, which had originally been intended as bait. While he was explaining it to her, he was working on another plan, too.
I knew we’d be relegated to taking a defensive position, but I might have given them too much of an advantage. To come at me without any hesitation…First, there’s Bell Cranell, and then, the rest of you. You’re really out to get on my nerves.
As he continued to whine internally, Finn smiled at the situation, as if his heart was rejoicing at the unseen opponent on the other side of the board moving their pieces shrewdly.
She’d deny it, but our lines of thought really are similar. In which case, her next move would be…
Finn looked up when he finished his thought.
“Aki! I’m giving you a squad, so head out.”
The base stirred as Finn hammered out a new set of deployments.
“I don’t mind, but…what should we do about your logistical support?”
“I’ll have Raul take over for you. You’re the only one who can do what this plan needs,” Finn said with his full confidence in her.
Anakity responded with a nod, and her expression remained unchanged.
He explained the mission details to her as fast as he could, and she crammed them word for word into her head.
As he looked out over the Labyrinth District while the semaphore’s light flickered intensely, Finn gave her an order.
“I’m about to tell you where you need to spread a net.”
“Loki, where did you go?”
After leaving Finn, Loki went to the location where Dionysus was observing the battle—a spire near Loki Familia’s main base, looking out a window inside it.
“I went by the Guild for a bit.”
“What? Did you go to Ouranos?”
“Who knows.” Loki giggled as Dionysus looked at her reproachfully.
Loki glanced around once she was satisfied by the discontent of the god who was cunning under normal circumstances. The narrow light of a lamp made of magic stones was barely visible, sending an unending stream of signals going back and forth. Was that bonfire in the northwest actually a watch fire in the plaza where the evacuees were gathering?
Filvis wasn’t with Dionysus. Loki had
two members of her familia as bodyguards, but they were keeping their distance.
“…How does the situation look to you?”
“No clue. Without clairvoyance or the divine mirror, there’s no way to know what’s goin’ on out there.”
“That’s true.”
Loki stuck out her tongue at Dionysus peering into the darkness. But she sniffed as if she could sense the minute changes through the air of the Labyrinth District.
“But they’re done with feelin’ one another out.”
The warning bell in the west was still ringing.
Its chime seemed to confirm Loki’s comment, declaring the end of the opening skirmish and announcing the beginning of the real battle.
Loki opened her crimson eyes just the tiniest bit.
“The real fight starts now.”
She was a young animal person, one of the many shameless adventurers aiming to make a killing from the rewards the Guild had put out on the armed monsters.
As she pretended to play that part, she scampered around among the other violent people, gathering information and occasionally shouting, “Outta my way!”
“Th-this’s awful…”
“Shit, how many people is that?!”
There was a sea of blood—adventurers collapsed at every turn on winding roads, bodies piled up as far as the eye could see. It looked as if they’d been crushed, broken, their blood splattered from an excessive amount of brute force. Among the fallen were some bearing the jester’s emblem.
Gasping at the awful scene, she left the place without being noticed by the other adventurers, from 277th Street to the sign for the back alley of 278th.
As she slunk around the eastern side of the Labyrinth District, she made extra effort to ensure that no one was nearby before she crouched and stealthily held her hand to her mouth.
“This is bad. The Xenos aren’t here. They were probably noticed by some adventurers at the meet-up point…Yes. Yes…Yes, give up on meeting with them and start another diversion—” she softly whispered into the crystal in her small hand, even though she was alone.
She stopped murmuring, stood up, and scanned the area, about to run off again.
“Just as Captain predicted—”
