Ankoku Kishi Monogatari ~Yuusha wo Taosu Tameni Maou ni Shoukansaremashita~

I told Godan, Shizufae and their parties that we could advance through the safe route and wander through fewer places with their guidance .

The stairway leading toward the 5th underground floor should be just a bit ahead of us . Beyond the 5th underground floor lay uncharted territory, thus none of the Freedom Fighters here could guide us . Moreover, they would just be a burden if they were to come with us .

Hence why we were the only ones who proceeded beyond that point .

「My apologies, Reiji-sama . We… We can’t guide you to the end . 」

Shizufae apologized to Reiji .

「Don’t worry about such things . How about going out when I return from this labyrinth? If possible, just the two of us, how does that sound?」

Reiji looked at her with a refreshing smile .

「Yes, by all means . 」

Shizufae stared at him with a delighted expression . It seemed we would have some fun waiting for us once we returned .

Shizufae’s and Godan’s party returned to the surface .

Only our party was left now .

「We’re by ourselves now . Have you found the way, Nao-san? 」

「No doubt about it . The smell of the people who passed through here is definitely not that of Freedom Fighters . 」

Nao said as she sniffed the surrounding area .

「Then, are the kidnapped people ahead of us? 」

「Maybe, Sahoko . The problem is how far they are ahead of us . 」

Reiji had a serious look on his face . He was right, we didn’t know how deep this underground labyrinth went .

We might need to return if it went too deep .

「I want to go back alread~y . This place is so gloomy . 」

「Just a bit more . Do your best, Rino-san, it’s a little brighter here . 」

The labyrinth was lightly illuminated with eternal light magic starting from the 1st underground floor .

It seems this labyrinth wasn’t made for someone with night vision .

「By the way, how long do you think this will continue on? 」

「Well, I wanted to keep going on until we found the place where they are keeping the kidnapped people… In case we don’t find them on the next floor, we can go back to the surface for the time being . 」

Even if there was no one on the next floor, we had to descend to the 5th underground floor first . Otherwise, who knew what would be waiting for us down there .

「Well, let’s get going everyone . 」

We continued on with Reiji’s command .

◆ Freedom Fighter Girl, Shizufae

「Haa… Somehow, we made it back . 」

I sighed when we got back to the surface .

Since Reiji-sama and his party decided to continue on, we returned to the surface with great difficulties .

The other Freedom Fighters were also sighing in relief once we arrived on the surface .

The 4th underground floor was an extremely dangerous place .

It was a miracle that none of us met our doom in such a dangerous floor . That miracle might be attributed to Reiji-sama and his party .

「Nevertheless, they were such amazing people… Right?」

Madi commented as she looked at the stairway that led to the 1st underground floor .

「Yeah… They were amazing, indeed . Not even I was in such good terms with the spirits when I still had the power to speak with them . 」

Nora-san was referring to Rino-sama .

「Saint-sama is also a wonderful woman . I mean, her healing magic is so powerful . 」

「The girl called Nao too . She could move so flawlessly inside such narrow spaces . 」

Leylia-san and Big Sis Keyna sang praises to Nao-sama and Saint-sama .

「Sage-sama’s magic was amazing, too . No matter how much I study I won’t be able to reach the heights her magic has reached . 」

Madi praised Sage-sama .

Everyone was full of praises to Reiji . Although I felt bad about Novis, Reiji-sama was the true Hero . The difference between him and the other Heroes was like the difference between heaven and earth .

I looked at Novis, who was called Hero of Fire . For some reason, he was pouting . Could he have some sort of rivalry with Reiji-sama?

I grew up with Novis, and I knew he was a sore loser . But I thought there was no point in him having a rivalry with Reiji-sama because he was someone chosen by Goddess-sama .

Despite numerous other Heroes existing, Reiji-sama was the only Hero Goddess-sama loved . That’s why he was the True Hero .

That’s why Novis was too reckless for wanting a rivalry with such a special existence .

「Why are you making such a displeased face, Novis? 」

「It’s nothing… I’m not pouting . 」

When I saw that expression on his face, I sighed .

「You will never win against Reiji-sama, so don’t be reckless! 」

「HAAAH!!! 」

Novis glared at me and let out that strange scream when I told him that . That expression confirmed I hit the bullseye . He really felt some sort of rivalry against Reiji-sama .

I wanted to tell him to man up already .

「Ah, you can say that to him, Shi~zu♪ . 」

Big Sis Keyna embraced me from behind .

「Big Sis Keyna?!! 」

When I turned around, I saw Big Sis Keyna grinning at me .

「Hihihihi, Novis just doesn’t like that the Hero of Light invited you back there . Riiiiight, Novis?」

「Big Sis Keyna!!! 」

Novis shouted at her .

「He doesn’t like the fact that the Hero of Light invited me… Why? 」

「It means that the Hero of Light wants your virg—-UHMMMMM」

Novis covered Big Sis Keyna’s mouth . I had no idea what she was trying to tell me .

「I don’t know what you are talking about, but Reiji-sama inviting me is just lip service . It’s not like he was actually serious about inviting a girl like me . 」 [TL: … Is this good]

There was no way Reiji-sama wanted to go out with me . Beauties surrounded him, so there was no way he was interested in me .

「Haah… Shizufae doesn’t understand, huh… He was serious…」

Novis shook his head, but no matter how many times I thought about it, I found no reason for Reiji-sama to have any interest in me .

And why did it affect Novis if Reiji-sama invited me?

「Geez, what kind of incomprehensible things are you saying!! Let’s stop this useless chit-chat and go back to Teseshia!!」

I began walking as I told him so . I could hear the heavy sighs of my comrades coming from behind me .

Really now, just what in the world do those sighs mean?

◆ Black Haired Sage, Chiyuki

We arrived in a spacious room with a giant door in the innermost part . It seemed like that door led to the 5th underground floor .

But a giant metal golem stood right in the center of the room, protecting the door .

「That must be the gatekeeper . 」

According to Shizufae, that metal golem was the reason why no one could reach the 5th underground floor .

But I’ve heard stories about people who used a gap in the metal golem’s defenses to sneak into the 5th underground floor .

Those people never returned .

「What shall we do, Reiji-kun? Should we beat that golem or take a detour? 」

We needed to avoid combat as much as possible . I wondered if something in the 5th underground floor prevented those people from returning .

We should conserve our power by avoiding battles as much as possible .

「No . We will fight here, Chiyuki . This thing will become an obstacle on the way back if the kidnapped people are being kept in the 5th underground floor . 」

As he spoke, Reiji unsheathed his sword .

Reiji’s sword was the Holy Sword of Light bestowed by Rena . The blade released a golden light .

「True enough . 」

I set my cane too .

「Don’t forget about me . 」

Nao readied her boomerang .

「Who will go first? 」

「Let me go first, Rino-san . You can’t use your spirit’s power in this kind of closed space . 」

I went forward as I said so .

Rino excelled in spirit and mind magic, but the spirits wouldn’t answer her call in a closed space .

She could still use the bare minimum of her power to fight by calling the low ranking spirit of fire, Salamander . But high-ranking spirits were impossible to be called in this place .

And her magic wouldn’t work on inorganic objects like a giant golem . In short, this opponent had bad compatibility with Rino, thus I stepped forward .

It seemed the giant wouldn’t make a move unless I approached a certain distance . It stood still .

It was a giant with a bizarre appearance . It looked like two people tied back-to-back with 4 arms and feet . Each hand was holding a magic sword . Its 5 meters tall metal body was rigid .

I summoned my magic . A huge red ball as tall as I appeared .

「Blast Bullet!! 」

The red ball hit its target and exploded, forcing the immovable body of the giant to move .

Blast Bullet was my original magic which I created by compressing the power of Explosion into a smaller form . Not even that giant golem could escape unscathed if it got hit by that strengthened explosion .

I cleared away the smoke caused by my attack . One of the giant golem’s arms was dangling down, filled with cracks .

「Tough . It can even break them, I think…」

I think I might be able to destroy it with slightly more powerful magic . Maybe the power of the Blast Bullet was reduced since we fought indoors .

Moreover, the giant seemed to be made of a special kind of metal . It was really tough .

Nevertheless, I knew I could destroy it for sure . It would break into pieces with a few more Blast Bullets .

The giant’s eye shone red . It seemed to notice us after my first strike .

Bands of light suddenly appeared from the floor and walls .

「EH!! EH? It won’t regenerate, right? 」

Sahoko sounded astonished .

The giant’s body moved along with the light of the floor and walls, then the broken arm was back to normal . Its surface filled cracks were gradually disappearing .

「It seems this guy has a self-repair ability . It must be the effect of the magic equipment installed in the entire room . 」

What a troublesome guy .