Published: March 21, 2026
Happy New Year.
Please continue to support "My stats as an Assassin are clearly stronger than the hero's" this year as well.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing that came into view wasn't the sharp, black eyes of my beloved—even though calling them beautiful would be generous—but a pair of large, vivid emerald eyes.
"Ah! You're awake."
A child's face, smiling innocently as if they'd been bored waiting, made me bolt upright.
I tried to scramble away in a panic, but my body wouldn't obey.
"Ah—no, no! I stole your body's freedom, remember? Even without that, you were revived and your body is weakened—"
I could only move my neck, and I looked around.
I wasn't bound by chains or restraints; I simply couldn't move.
Some kind of magic had immobilized me.
And the sand touching my cheek felt familiar.
Different place, same atmosphere and air.
"...a labyrinth."
"Yup yup! As expected of Princess Amelia."
I glared at the Demon Clan boy who nodded with satisfaction.
I felt like he'd introduced himself before killing me, but I hadn't bothered to remember his name, so it was gone from my mind.
He shrugged off my murderous glare like a breeze and laughed lightly.
"Don't make that face. It'll ruin your pretty looks, you know?"
I ground my teeth at the boy's nonchalant attitude.
I tried to move, but nothing responded.
I could feel the ground beneath me.
My back ached from lying on the rough earth.
And yet, I couldn't move.
The boy who had been a little way off clicked his way closer.
"I told you, right? You won't move. The demon lord told me to bring you here without a scratch, so I used a special trick."
He crouched down near me as if taking a casual stroll, then pushed his face forward.
"I always wondered what would happen if we cast the spell we use to control demonic beasts on elves, humans, or beastmen. Thanks to you, I got my answer."
He was within arm's reach, yet I couldn't kill him.
No—maybe I couldn't kill him, but I might have been able to escape, and yet I couldn't even do that.
It would interfere with Akira.
"It didn't work perfectly, of course. I couldn't fully control you, but I can completely halt the movements of an elf with magical power second only to the Demon Clan. This is a great harvest."
The boy smiled and backed away.
More worrying than that was how Akira would think of me.
If Akira abandoned me, I probably couldn't go on living.
...No, it would be better to extract information than sink into such negativity.
"...Why are you in the labyrinth?"
My first question made the boy's eyes light up.
Apparently he wanted me to talk to him.
I had assumed, because he was Demon Clan, that he would be much older than me, but he was childlike just as he looked.
"Well, you see, my boss—how to put it? The second-in-command of the Demon Clan can use magic circles. He used one to come to this labyrinth, and to get back we have to go down to use that magic circle again."
He spilled information surprisingly easily; I felt speechless.
Well, not literally opening my mouth, but I couldn't help widening my eyes for a moment.
The Demon Clan's second-in-command can use magic circles.
And not just small ones—ones that connect from Demon Clan territory all the way to Beastmen territory.
Not quite like the magic circle on the lowest floor of the Cantinen Labyrinth, but still troublesome.
I couldn't imagine using such a long-distance spell in the middle of a battle, but if a long-range warp magic circle can be used, short-range ones should be possible too—so being flanked and stabbed in the back seemed plausible.
As long as the circle is drawn, a magic circle can be activated without incantation by just channeling magical power.
But there's a downside: it consumes many times more magical power than ordinary spells.
That means humans, with their low magical power, can't use them.
Beastmen can't either.
Maybe the Elf race could barely manage, but warp magic circles probably consume too much for them.
I also heard that magic circles were developed by the Demon Clan, so they might be exclusive to them.