Published: March 21, 2026
The Demon Clan boy, aurum trace, blew into his flute, but no sound came out.
Even so, lady amelia told Lord Akira once more to run.
I tried to obey and flee, but realized my legs wouldn’t move.
No matter how many barriers I made, perhaps because I'd been exposed to the Demon Clan's magical power for too long, my body had stiffened and I couldn’t move.
I thought, somewhat out of place to be impressed, that the feeling of a frog staring down a snake must be something like this.
“The Demon Clan are a race that control and command demonic beasts. Except for those already being controlled, the rest will become my hands and feet.”
Demonic beasts poured out from every wall of the labyrinth.
Not dozens or hundreds.
Probably thousands of demonic beasts in a vast army.
It was my first time entering a labyrinth, but I'd heard a lot about them.
They say labyrinths have many traps, some designed to genuinely kill.
Like this—overwhelming you with sheer numbers.
Maybe because I’d heard those stories, maybe because I wasn’t directly confronting the Demon Clan, or perhaps thanks to lady amelia’s warning, I was the first to break free from my paralysis.
“Reinforce ‘Divine Barrier’!!”
I did what I could—focused on strengthening the barrier.
I had been separated from Lord Akira and the others, likely by the mass of demonic beasts.
Ugly-faced monsters approached.
My face twitched before I could stop it.
“No—please don’t come!!”
I drew my dagger to fight back, but these were monsters that roamed the deepest layer of the labyrinth.
Even the dagger the castle knights had forced me to train with didn’t scratch a single one of them.
Lord Akira would surely find it easier alone.
Lord Yoru was with lady amelia, so she would be fine.
Apparently you can’t take control of beasts already being commanded, so Yoru would protect lady amelia.
That meant I was the easiest target—the loose pawn.
A few strong ones would distract Akira and Yoru, while the rest finished me off.
Normally, these beasts would charge recklessly at whoever was right in front of them, but under the Demon Clan’s command, they could act with such intelligence.
“If there’s a guardian, they’ll be trouble later—Mahiro told me as much—so first, I’ll crush you, okay?”
aurum trace, who had somehow come close, smiled innocently atop the pile of monsters.
Feeling the Demon Clan’s immense magical power at close range, my body trembled and my limbs went limp.
The dagger slipped from my hand.
The sound of it hitting the ground rang out, and then my body sank onto the labyrinth floor.
My eyes could barely move, but all I could do was watch my death draw near.
It was a desperate, life-or-death crisis.
Perhaps it was punishment for coming this far—having little skill yet wanting to warn lady amelia.
Memories I had long forgotten flashed through my mind like a revolving lantern.
As if reminding me, now that I faced death, not to forget.
That was right.
Even if it was punishment, even if everyone thought there was no meaning in my being alive…
“…Even so, I cannot die here.”
As the words left my mouth, sensation returned to my body.
Maybe I’d grown a little used to his magic.
With shaking arms I lifted my upper body.
My gaze wandered and I saw the precious staff that I never let go of except when casting magic lying beside me.
It had always been by my side—running at Yoru’s speed, when Lord Akira strangled my neck, at the moment my family died. My companion through it all.
I took up the staff.
Using it in place of legs that still had no strength, I stood.
“Hm? You’re getting up? If you’d stayed down you could’ve died easy, you know.”
True—death is a kind of relief.
It frees you from the ties of life.
“Still, until I meet that person… no, until these feelings are conveyed, I cannot die.”
I felt both envy and a little regret toward lady amelia, who was loved so much by Lord Akira.
When I left that person, did I tell him my will?
Had I thrown myself into things like this before?