Delving the Dark Labyrinth Once More

“What are you talking about?”
The person to say that was the one who was closest to being an outsider here, Asuka.
“The Millennium is clearly about the demon’s invasion. However, His Majesty have been thinking about a way for humans and demons to live together.”
“You’re wrong. It’s not like that. I’ll go over it from the start.”
And so, first, Serge told everyone that he became a Great Sage.
Everyone was surprised by that, but it wasn’t wasn’t his main point.
“When I became a Great Sage, I learned the past 3,000 years’ history… in other words, the remaining records of the human race were passed on to me.”
With that, Serge spoke about something that they hadn’t found strange thus far.
“Nee-chan, how do you think humans evolved in this world?”

This wasn’t something that Ria had thought about at all.
Archaeology hadn’t developed at all. The temples said that God created mankind, but as a reincarnator, she knew that was false.
“3,000 years ago, there weren’t any humans in this world.”
If that was the case, where did humans come from?
“The way humans came to this world was through the Great Collapse. Around ten thousand of them in total.”
The Great Collapse.
They already knew what would happen in the Millennium. Looking for food and hoping for land, demons would flood in.
However, Valis hadn’t said anything concerning the Great Collapse.

“From here on, my conjectures will be mixed in. If there’s anyone that doesn’t want to hear it, well…”
Even though he said that, no one made a move to stand up and leave.
The mystery behind this world’s establishment was about to be revealed.
Sighing, Serge spoke.
“If humans and demons don’t kill each other to the absolute limit in the Millennium to circulate souls, the power that causes this world to exist would be lost, causing a Great Collapse.”
This was an opinion that countered the Demon King’s, whose opinion was that they should live together.
“So.”
Within the silence, Guinevere spoke.
“This Great Collapse… what is it?”
“It isn’t stated exactly within the records, but it is likely a literal world collapse. Not islands, not continents, no. This planet itself.”

The planet’s collapse.
Well, that would be a Great Collapse.
“But it’s strange. The Demon King fought together with Valis a thousand years ago, he couldn’t not know that. Knowing about it, he shouldn’t want to promote something so simple as a human-demon symbiosis plan.”
Ria’s doubts were on track here as well. Serge sighed again.
“Yeah, that’s something I myself don’t understand. Therefore, we need to meet it again.” [1]
It. The existence that knew about all of this.
He had to meet Dark Dragon Valis.

*

The current state of affairs that was them vacating the country was considerably difficult. However, even so, they left it to Guinevere.
The members that would be re-challenging the Dark Labyrinth were as follows:
Ria, Serge, Carla, Irina. Just these people were more than enough.
In addition to them, first was Asuka. As a member of the demon’s side, she wanted to go at all costs.
There was one more person, someone who absolutely wouldn’t take no for an answer.
That person was Chris.
“Show us how you look after your wife.”
Chris responded to Ria’s banter seriously.
“I’m not his wife yet. Besides, I need power.”

Concerning Chris, the other members were generally alright with it.
As she was a mage that could take out a Hydra, she probably wouldn’t hold them back.
However, Serge definitely didn’t want Chris to accompany them.
If she met Valis, she would hear about what they were discussing. For a normal person, it would no doubt be a terrible burden.
There was something else besides that.
He’d be troubled if there was yet another woman in this—other than him—female-only group.
Well, the only one that could be called a true woman would be Asuka though.
She was a beauty that fit Japanese aesthetics. At least, she looked like that to Serge. She’d probably fall in Ria’s strike zone.
However, he was forced to give up in the end. At times like this, men were truly weak against women.
“You’ll protect me, right?”
She said it like that, so he had no choice but to protect her. As a man.

*

Unexpectedly, Irina couldn’t fly.
Of course, she could fly if she returned to her Dragon form, but because of that, she hadn’t learned how to fly.
Other than her, everyone could fly—Chris included. That said, they would have to travel on land so that Irina could keep up, which would take up valuable time.
There, Serge’s new magic showed its effect.
“Summon Wyvern.”
Irina took off her armor and got on the back of the summoned Wyvern. Serge temporarily took charge of her armor.
Within that night, the group finally arrived at the Dark Labyrinth.
There were no other explorers in the entrance hall.
With the demon army so close by, they probably didn’t even feel like delving into a labyrinth.
The party began to explore the labyrinth after a brief rest.
“Hasn’t the path changed since the last time we were here?”
The person Ria asked was Irina, but had obviously changed from asking Serge after seeing his expression.
“I think Valis-chan changed the insides after Ria and everyone beat it back then.”
That made sense. If they knew the map all the way inside, any further ‘exploration’ would basically be a single path in.
So she could do something like that as well? As expected of a God Dragon.
But in this situation, it was just a hassle.
“Irina, do you know any shortcuts?”
“Uu… there are, but I don’t remember… sorry.”
Unusually, Irina apologized.
Ria sighed.
“Oh well. It’s been a while, so how about we explore the labyrinth while raising that Ojou-chan’s level?”
Even though she said ‘oh well’, it felt more like she was a bit glad.

*

Chris misunderstood.
She’d thought that, just a bit, she’d gotten strong.
That was a mistake.
She knew what true strength was now after coming to this labyrinth.

Severing a Hydra’s neck in a single blow, its scales easily pierced through by magic.
They could repel magic creatures simply by bombarding it with more magic and tear through Golems like they were made of paper.
Taking part in such a ludicrous group, Chris was outperformed in her primary role.
It was said that the main reason that levels would raise was the Magic Source that composed living creatures, but it was also often said that the person who got the attack in that ended its life would gain the most.
In fact, one would feel power flow into themselves each time they defeated a powerful enemy.
At the same time, the other five people killing enemies with her… just how strong were they?

“You are really are out of the standard. That boy in particular. He’s grown so much that his old self can’t compare at all.”
Saying that, even Asuka was clearly stronger than she’d been before. It was rather rare for an existence that had already lived for so long to have such a rapid growth.
“Well, I did a bit of something.”
After obtaining the title of Great Sage, he changed that knowledge into power and killed monsters with experimental magic.
If you simply raised your level by killing monsters, that would also make you strong.
Asuka had been practicing before the Millennium as well.
That’s exactly the reason why she could operate the giant Golem Robot.

*

A week later.
There was a huge door before them.
Back then, this was the door that Irina was protecting. Now, there was a giant in front of it.
It wasn’t a Cyclops. Even more colossal, it was a giant whose whole body was clad in ice. An Ice Gigas.

However, even with the giant’s estimated level of 160, it was no match for Ria.
Ria killed it by herself.
Moreover, with a single attack.
Pulling her dark god sword from her shadow, she cleaved the giant in two from shoulder to waist.
Darkness magic. Not giving it any practical use in the least since being taught it by Valis, the current Ria was able to manipulate it freely.
“Man~, this really does cut well~”
Using Gallach for the first time, Ria said that.
Concerned that it might bring harm to her allies, she couldn’t make use of it lightly.

The Ice Gigas dispersed into dark particles and was sucked into the god sword.
It could absorb power and become stronger. This was definitely a godly weapon.
“Well then, let’s open it~”
Declaring that carefreely, Irina opened the door the the Dark Labyrinth’s deepest depths.

Footnotes:

• Note that Serge is starting to call himself with ‘ore (masculine)’ rather than his usual ‘oira (capricious/childish)’