Published: March 21, 2026
I was off yesterday, so today’s a bit longer.
※From partway through the perspective switches from Akira to the hero (Tsukasa Satou).
We managed to break away from the battle, but of course the demonic beasts pursued us.
“Master, protect us… ‘Sanctuary.’”
When commander saran thrust his hands forward, a shining wall sprang up and blocked the labyrinth corridor. The monsters that touched the wall began to vanish. It seems the high-level barrier magic, a holy light magic, simply obliterates lower-grade demonic beasts just by existing.
Honestly, do we even need a hero? The knights order… no, this one person alone feels like they could probably take down the demon king.
Noticing my look that seemed to want to say something, commander saran gave a wry smile.
“I’ll properly explain everything later, including your questions.”
Of course commander saran is a mind reader.
After running for a while, a scream rose ahead. That voice—if I remember correctly—was Mr. Sano, the class mascot type. She always acts cute and it bothers me. …Come to think of it, there might not be anyone in class I’m actually comfortable with.
“I’ll go check it out.”
Vice Captain Zeal said and ran up the wall vertically. Commander saran and Zeal both do things like that; ordinary people in armor can’t run up walls. Zeal’s wall-running is the result of speed, strength, and balance. Agility like that is usually the assassin’s domain… I could run up a wall if I tried, but with armor on? That’s iffy. Zeal doing it so casually is impressive.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
Another scream tore through the labyrinth like silk being sliced. Maybe because I’d sped up, the voice seemed closer than before. This time it wasn’t Mr. Sano. It was another girl’s voice.
I pushed into a final sprint and finally reached the source of the scream.
“What the hell is that.”
“That is…!”
The commander, the knights, and I were all speechless.
“Gwoooooaaaah!!!”
“…damn!”
“Keep the barrier up and maintain it! Anyone who can heal, give him your highest healing!”
There stood a huge demonic beast that shouldn’t be this high up in the labyrinth. A human body with a bull’s head… a minotaur.
“No way! That’s a monster that should only appear below at least the fiftieth layer!!!”
“…tch.”
Ignoring the knight’s muttered voice, I clicked my tongue and dashed for the minotaur’s feet. Commander saran had already rushed to Vice Captain Zeal.
I had a glimpse of something. In front of fleeing classmates, the hero stood, struggling as he steadied his sword. Mr. Sano’s barrier was barely holding, and Zeal was trying to draw the minotaur’s attention, but it wouldn’t be surprising if its interest turned toward the classmates. They’re idiots and a burden, but if they die I’ll feel awful.
Tsundere, you say? …leave me alone.
“—Hah!”
I reached the front line by running along the wall like Zeal and drove a silver dagger into the minotaur’s throat.
“—! Huh??”
But the minotaur was so hard the dagger shattered to pieces. Wrong. Its toughness defied natural law. I tossed aside the broken hilt and landed beside the hero.
“…Akira.”
“Oh… how are you holding up?”
The hero spoke in a small voice as the faint light of healing wrapped him, and I gripped my half-broken sword.
────
Tsukasa Satou’s perspective
After our group member, the fighting fist warrior Katsumi Watanabe, activated a trap in the labyrinth, he left the monsters to the knights order and Akira while our group withdrew from the front.
There was no way the knights would struggle against such low-grade monsters, but I worried about Akira. From the side I could see that he was clearly a head above us in strength, though I couldn’t tell how much stronger. Assassins should be poor at fighting multiple opponents. If something happened to Akira, it would be my responsibility as Katsumi’s—and thus our group’s—leader. The same could be said for other classmates.
Just because we were still on an upper layer didn’t mean we could let our guard down. The recent trap made that clear.