With a flash, Ritsuko’s gift, the mirror image, is released, and the four Ritsukos turn back into one.
[Great! Awesome! Good job, Ritsuko-chan! Next next!]
Led by Ritsuko, our party swiftly broke through the laboratory.
The enemy, Doctor Moromoro, desperately released the interdimensional beings confined in the lab to block our path, but in front of Ritsuko and Aris, he was just stalling for time.
Ritsuko and Aris were mowing down the interdimensional beings like a vacuum cleaner.
The power of the two S-ranks was impressive.
As I watched them swiftly decapitate the interdimensional beings, I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘This is how you deal with it.’
The endlessly frustrating plot from the original story was nowhere to be found.
All I saw ahead was pure refreshment!
Unlike the original protagonist who had wandered around cluelessly in this underground lab, I was accompanied by a reliable operator—no, a navigation system.
[Up ahead is the lab where Rena-chan is sleeping.]
As expected, we were able to reach our destination much faster and safer than in the original.
Before my eyes stood a gigantic metal door that practically screamed importance.
A large number “00” was engraved on the door.
It was exactly like what I had seen in the anime.
“Rena······.”
Kasumi-senpai called her friend’s name with a trembling voice.
She tightly gripped her staff-like potion weapon, the “Star Quarterstaff,” with both hands.
Kasumi-senpai’s battle mode had her in a witch form.
With a purple pointed hat and a flowing purple witch’s robe, Kasumi bit her lip.
“Just a little longer. My junior and I will save you.”
Kasumi-senpai mumbled in a soft voice.
[System hacking complete. Opening the door now. Be careful, Deok-Sung-chan.]
With the operator Saori’s voice, the door creaked open.
What lay beyond was so gigantic it looked like the World Tree.
Rena had transformed into a plant.
The vibrant green tree filled with life looked quite ironic under artificial lights.
Countless pipes were intertwined around the tree trunk.
It was extracting the raw materials for the amplifying drug.
Kasumi-senpai’s eyes trembled at the sight of Rena’s transformed form.
“That’s just cruel······.”
Kasumi-senpai bit her lip.
She lifted her head.
Before her stood a gray-haired man in a white coat with a sly expression.
No doubt about it.
That must be Doctor Moromoro.
“Are you Doctor Moromoro?”
One step forward.
Crash.
Aris steps forward, aiming her spear at Doctor Moromoro.
Flash.
Silver sparks dance on the spear tip.
“With your power, you can never defeat us. So stop wasting time and just surrender. We really don’t want to fight.”
Ritsuko says in a lazy tone, spinning a dagger in her hand.
“Yeah, yeah! Surrender already, Doctor Moromoro! It’s over for you!”
The moment Saori chimes in with excitement.
“Ugh, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
Doctor Moromoro slaps his forehead and leans back, bursting into loud laughter.
Just like a typical light novel villain.
Here we go again.
Look at that show-off.
As I click my tongue and relax to watch, suddenly…
“How foolish these beings are! How pitiful they are! They don’t even realize they’ve walked right into their own trap!”
His eyebrows twitch.
Trap?
It might have lost its meaning now, but those lines aren’t from the original.
Did they really set a trap?
My mind sharpens.
As I glance around.
“YO. What Doctor Moromoro says is true. The ones caught in the trap are you.”
A voice I shouldn’t hear rings in my ears.
“Two S-Ranks thought they could take down Moromoro. You thought that, didn’t you? If it weren’t for the Master’s orders to eliminate you at all costs, we wouldn’t have been dispatched here today. You were in real trouble.”
A voice from another man.
From behind a tree, two men appear.
One, a black villain character wearing a golden chain necklace and a backward hat.
The dangerous S-Rank villain, Mister Digger.
The other, an old white man with a monocle, a thick coat, and a Kaiser mustache.
The dangerous S-Rank villain, Architect.
The two additional members of the 13 apostles have appeared!
“Holy crap.”
A Korean swear escapes my lips after a long time.
Both of them should not be showing up at this point.
Mister Digger, Architect.
Both are leftovers from the last episode when the academy was destroyed, meant to be taken down by the grown protagonist and heroines.
But why the heck are they here now?
Three S-Ranks?
This can’t be happening.
No matter how much the original gets twisted, this is too much.
‘Messiah, you crazy bastard…’
Grind, grind.
My teeth clench.
Despair sinks in.
We can’t win.
We have two S-Ranks, they have three.
Even if the sky splits apart, victory is impossible.
We need to retreat quickly and plan for the next opportunity…
“…We have been defeated.”
“I can’t believe this.”
Aris looks frustrated while Ritsuko bites her lip.
[Calculation failed. Deok-Sung-chan! Mega pinch! Danger! Danger!]
Saori’s warning message echoes in my ears.
“Quick, run…”
Just as I was about to give the retreat order.
“Well then, I shall invite you now.”
Architect takes off his hat.
His bald head shines under the artificial lights.
“To my Labyrinthos.”
Boom!
The moment Architect slams his staff on the ground.
The world turns upside down.
The scenery around us flips.
The laboratory disappears, and a labyrinth appears before our eyes.
Labyrinthos.
Architect’s ultimate technique created by combining the gift of ‘Earth Manipulation’ and the ability of ‘Fortress Construction.’
His ultimate skill, a combination of ‘Fortress Construction’.
This damn skill, which bizarrely describes overlaying a labyrinth created through earth manipulation onto reality via fortress construction, is a fantastic cheating skill that literally summons a maze into reality.
“Junior······.”
Hoshino Kasumi calls me with a trembling voice.
I look around.
The scenery completely transformed with the summoning of Labyrinthos.
The sky is blackened, and desolate maze walls endlessly split apart in every direction.
‘The rest of the party disappeared. Except for Kasumi.’
There’s no one else besides Hoshino Kasumi.
It seems all scattered to random points within the maze the moment Labyrinthos was summoned, just like in the original story.
In the original, the protagonist used his superhuman sense to find the way and defeat the Architect at the center of the maze to dispel Labyrinthos.
But what about me?
I see Hoshino Kasumi shivering beside me.
It’s chaotic.
“Calm down, Senpai.”
I take her trembling hand to soothe her.
If our only available ally is in such a state, I’m in danger.
I have to prevent any troll behavior beforehand.
“Ah, got it. Junior······.”
I can see Kasumi’s trembling starting to subside.
I frown.
‘Should I just blindly thread my way through this darkness like Ariadne’s thread?’
This is the method used by Theseus in Greek-Roman mythology to navigate the labyrinth.
I don’t know if that method will work here, unlike the trap-filled myths, but it’s the only option I have.
First, I need to find the way. I need to find it and regroup with the other party members.
It’s been a long time since I lost communication with Saori.
I need to quickly join up with Aris or Ritsuko and use them as a meat shield.
I don’t want to die.
No, I can’t die. I have to return to the original world.
“Let’s find the way.”
“Okay. I’ll just follow you, Junior.”
The moment I move forward with Hoshino Kasumi.
“Are you trying to find a path?”
With an ominous crack in the air, a bespectacled old man falls to the ground.
“Shit.”
More swearing slips out.
The Architect.
Why the hell is he showing up again?
“No need for that. I’ve personally come to deal with you myself.”
Swooosh.
The Architect draws a sword from his staff.
A sword-stick form of a weapon, the Gubti Aga, makes its appearance.
I quickly recall the settings related to the Architect in my mind.
The Architect is the weakest among the 13 Apostles.
While maintaining Labyrinthos, he cannot use gifts, abilities, or true names.
Is this worth a shot?
Vummmm.
Durandal shakes violently.
Clenching my teeth, I raise Durandal.
I don’t know.
“Farewell, Kim Deok-Sung.”
The bald old man, the Architect, swings his sword-stick with a blank expression.
“Rock of the Giant, Skill 1: Rock Monster!”
The moment he loudly announces the skill name.
Brilliant white magical light transforms into a bizarre rock shape, pouring down like a meteor.
At that moment, I didn’t have the strength to curse this crazy light novel world or to laugh at the skill name.
I felt it instinctively.
I can’t block it.
No matter how much I use synchronization and Black Stone, all I’m doing is mimicking.
I can never win against a real S-rank.
“······Shit······.”
“Damn it, how many times is this now?”
I’m bound to lose.
I want to run away. I want to escape.
But there’s no way out.
Is this how soldiers feel when they go into a battle they know they can’t win?
I grip Durandal tight.
Vroooom!!
The blade of Durandal trembles.
Even without borrowing the Black Prince’s talent, I can tell from all the combat experience I’ve accumulated.
Even if I manage to block it, I’m definitely going to die on the next turn.
“I don’t want to die…”
“Don’t bully the junior!!”
At that moment.
Hoshino Kasumi stands in front of me.
Sshhhh!
Scales begin to grow all over her body, and her eyes split vertically.
Transformed into a dragon girl, Hoshino Kasumi thumps her staff down and chants a spell.
“Draconic Shield.”
A flash.
A violet crystal sparkles, and a chaotic magic circle fills the air.
A translucent violet barrier stacks upon itself.
Draconic magic.
The secret high-tier magic that can only be wielded by those with dragon blood, hidden away by Hoshino Kasumi, the mage and hero.
I know.
She hates showing her dragon form to others.
With her vertically slit eyes locked onto me, she shouts.
Tears spill from her eyes.
“Junior, run away. I’ll try to hold this off somehow, you can’t die. You may be a bad guy and a Black Beast, but I care about you…”
This is straight out of a light novel scenario.
I bite my lip.
But what’s the use?
A strike from an S-rank villain isn’t something she can block.
“Stop messing around…”
Just as I was about to respond to her question.
An earth-shattering roar echoes.
White boulders pile up like paper, piercing through the barrier and hitting Hoshino Kasumi directly.
“AAAAAAHHHH!!”
Hoshino Kasumi falls, screaming in agony.
Her whole body soaked in blood.
She coughs out blood.
“Junior… you have to survive… Junior…”
My hands tremble.
What can I even do?
I feel utterly powerless.
A classic light novel situation.
The protagonist faces an unexpected twist. A suddenly appearing, overwhelmingly strong enemy that the allies can’t defeat.
The heroine, struck down by the enemy’s attack—seeing that, the protagonist’s anger boils over as they ultimately face defeat.
A scene that should never appear in a refreshing web novel, causing countless readers to drop the story in frustration.
That very scene unfolds right in front of me.
If this were a paid serialized web novel, the purchase rates would plummet, followed by a tear-filled notification about its decline.
“Hoshino Kasumi…”
What the heck am I doing?!
I only wanted to run away.
What was the point of that damn pinky swear? I believed it like an idiot.
Why should I go against an opponent I can’t possibly defeat?
Such a fool.
I’m angry.
This doesn’t sit well with me.
“…”
This godforsaken light novel world, where emotion triumphs over reason.
All those stupid heroines with flower gardens in their heads.
This annoyingly sweet world.
And now, Hoshino Kasumi, who’s hurt just trying to protect the selfish, cool geek that I am.
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