Chapter 86

When the door opened, the inside was dark and spacious, with a smoothly polished stone floor stretching far into the distance.

The orange light from behind seemed to be blocked by the darkness, reaching only as far as the entrance. I used the 'Light' magic to illuminate as wide an area as possible, but I still couldn't see far ahead.

"This darkness... even the light of the sword spirits can be diminished. It might be the influence of the 'Snake.'"

"Whatever it is, we have no choice but to move forward. Be careful of your surroundings."

Everyone nodded and split into vanguard, center guard, and rearguard, advancing. Irene and Cody, walking beside me, were intensely focused, exuding a sense of pressure that made my skin tingle.

After a while, the door behind us closed. I had imagined that ambushers might be lurking in the darkness, but it turned out to be completely different.

"Wh-What's happening...!?"

"This... is an illusion. But why such a..."

The scenery around us changed completely. The corridor became bright and vast, with walls on both sides that were so high they made me dizzy, adorned with intricate and enormous paintings.

A floating island, shaped like a pyramid, with its base covered in clouds. It seemed as if the island was floating on the clouds, flying through the sky.

In reality, it must have been flying through the sky with magical power far beyond our current civilization. The one who created that power was the 'Snake of Versalis.'

A painting of a sky so blue it was almost blinding. Beyond the aerial corridor, there was a path that seemed to walk through the sky, creating an illusion that was hard to shake.

But it wasn't just the painting that surprised us; the figures of people walking through the corridor, appearing as illusions, also startled us.

"This... is the people who once lived in this city... ah...!"

An illusory woman appeared and passed through Miralca's body. It wasn't surprising that a non-corporeal illusion could do that, but I still felt uneasy when a child suddenly appeared in front of me and passed through my body.

"... Dick, is this something the 'Snake' is showing us?"

"I can't be certain... but something ahead is probably showing this to us."

Sherry's spirit fragment, which she hosts, is not connected to the 'Snake.' That's why, even though we can guess that the 'Snake' is creating these illusions, we can't be sure.

Looking back, a large man's illusion appeared in front of Verlene, who dodged to the side. In front of Yuma, a girl's illusion appeared and ran past—beyond her, the woman who had passed through Miralca was visible. They seemed to be a mother and daughter.

As Miralca said, these might be the people who once lived in this city. If so, why are they showing us this?

—Or is the 'Snake' just seeing it for itself? If that's the case, the 'Snake' must still be attached to the people of the floating island who left it behind.

"... Master?"

I realized Master had stopped. She was looking down, and several illusions passed by her side.

"... Why... all this time..."

In a voice so soft it was almost inaudible, Master muttered something.

It seemed that just seeing these figures was causing her unbearable pain. She was gripping her left arm with her right hand.

"Master, stay strong. This is just an illusion."

"..."

Master's hand was digging into her arm. When I pulled her hand away, she looked at me as if waking up.

Her already pale skin had turned even more ashen, and she looked exhausted, on the verge of tears.

... Does Master know these people in the illusion? Yet, she didn't know everything about this labyrinth. How could that be possible?

Master, who is immortal, has lived for a thousand years. But when she talked about the fall of the floating island, it was as if it was someone else's story.

If she really doesn't remember, did the shock of the island's fall erase her memories? Or—

Was her memory sealed by someone? If those memories are resurfacing now, should we take her further?

"If you hesitate to move forward, you can wait here. We'll finish everything and come back."

Cody said this without blaming or doubting Master for suddenly stopping. He believes that our Demon King extermination team will surely succeed. The others felt the same.

"... I'm fine. Sorry for stopping. We shouldn't be wasting time like this."

"Don't worry, Master. It's hard not to be shaken by such a scene. However, the number of illusions appearing suggests that this city was once very prosperous."

Verlene, perhaps remembering her time as a ruler, looked at the people passing by with a protective gaze.

—But then, Yuma raised her staff, pointing it down the corridor.

"Mr. Dick, something different is coming from deeper inside!"

The moment Yuma spoke, the blue sky in the mural at the end of the corridor began to turn red, and the illusions turned into skeletons, decaying and disappearing.

It felt like malice or hatred. Whatever Yuma described as different felt overwhelmingly negative to me.

Master's face, facing the changing scene, was unbearable to look at. I caught her as she seemed about to collapse.

"Is this... suggesting that this city met its end like this...?"

I'm not sure if Verlene is right, but the happy figures of people disappeared, leaving only the ominous image of the floating island.

The painting of the floating island in the blue sky had changed to show it being attacked by something.

"... A dragon... no, half of it is human..."

As Irene said, something that looked like a cross between a fire dragon and a human was spewing flames at the floating island. There were countless of them.

The floating island was under a total attack by its enemies and fell to the ground. The people who lived here either died in the battle or escaped from the island.

If that's true, how did Master and the other person survive? In any case, we won't know for sure until we go further.

I realized Master was gripping my arm tightly. When she looked up, her eyes were red, but she had regained some of her usual composure.

"... Thank you, Dee. I'm fine now."

"Is that so... No, don't push yourself. As Cody said, if you can't move forward, it's fine to wait. You don't have to force yourself."

"Okay. I won't hold you back. Take me with you."

We started walking again. The surroundings returned to darkness, and we relied on the light I created to move forward.

We reached a door at the end of the corridor. Before we could touch it, it slowly opened from the inside.

The room beyond was illuminated by light descending from the ceiling.

The figure that appeared there—truly, a snake. A snake with a body of unimaginable size was there.

Its head, large enough to swallow ten people at once, had a human upper body growing from its forehead. A woman with silver hair, almost naked, was integrated with the snake.

Unable to speak, we faced her. Her eyes, which had been closed, opened slightly.

"Who dares to invade Versalis? What do you intend to scatter your insignificant lives for?"

"Are you... the 'Snake of Versalis'? Are you still guarding this place?"

Her eyes, from a height that made us look up, gazed down at me.

Seeing her, I could only imagine one answer—the part that looked human was Master's close friend.

"That... it's like..."

I could guess what Verlene was about to say. Instead, Miralca, her voice trembling, said:

"The 'Snake'... was sealed by integrating with a human...?"

"That's... If that's true, the soul has been trapped in the depths of this labyrinth for so long... It's impossible to retain human emotions..."

For a thousand years, spending that time alone, no one could remain sane.

"Those six dolls... were created to retain some semblance of humanity..."

"That's... Then, this 'Snake'... that woman...!"

Cody's words made Irene lose her composure. The answer they both reached was too sad.

The woman integrated with the snake remained expressionless, like a statue, looking at me. Her gaze, which had been fixed, turned to Master.

Tears streamed down Master's face uncontrollably.

Everyone else, unable to understand why she was crying, was just confused—while the human part of the 'Snake' looked at Master with gem-like eyes, possessing the characteristics of the people of the floating island.

"... Why are there survivors? After everything left, anyone who appears here is considered a doll."

"... No... I... I..."

"Trying to provoke me, are you? Master isn't a doll... She's different from those outside. You didn't create her."

The 'Snake' turned her gaze to me. With a face that showed no interest, she still looked at me, denying my words.

"I showed you how the people disappeared from this island. I must now clear the grudges of those who created me. To do that, I must make Versalis rise again. All those in human form who harmed us must be destroyed."

"... What nonsense. You're saying this labyrinth, buried underground, will rise...? If that happens, the capital will...!"

The capital, home to 500,000 people, built over a thousand years, would be destroyed.

I don't know if the floating island, buried underground for a thousand years, still has that much power. But the snake says it can—

We should have come here sooner. We must stop the 'Snake' here, or the capital of Alvinas will be destroyed.

Everyone now understood the situation. This labyrinth was once on the surface, and the people who lived in the city were gone due to an external enemy.

"What we saw earlier... did it really happen a thousand years ago...?"

"... But, in this city, besides monsters, only the 'Snake's' soul remains. The people who lived here must have escaped. Otherwise, their souls would be wandering."

Irene and Yuma spoke, and Master, with her head bowed, listened.

Just by looking at her, I realized she was remembering the truth. What really happened in this city.

"The creatures that crawl on the ground, you fear my power and continue to monitor me without rest. Even when my creations eliminate you, you still invade here to put me back to sleep. Do you think you can reach a snake with wings?"

"... No, the part that looks like a person...!"

Miralca cried out. That part wasn't originally part of the snake but the result of someone sacrificing themselves to integrate with it. Her companions were visibly shaken by this revelation.

"Why... knowing that the people of the capital might be involved someday, why did you do such a thing...?"

Asked by Cody, I thought. I could only imagine, but the answer was clear from the information we had, and I didn't think it was far off.

"... To prevent people from forgetting that my companions were sacrificed."

Even if it meant the destruction of the capital, it was worth it to achieve this. The reason for such a mad idea was one.

That it was correct was confirmed by the 'Snake' herself.

"The one who saved the country was not a hero who paid a price without compensation. That man... Albein, tried to make the people he saved my companions. I don't know what happened after that. I waited here, my will restored, until the soul of the sacrifice wore out."

The sacrifice—the human part—no longer had its original personality.

"... Do you... remember Master?"

"... Stop, Dee. Please... don't ask...!"

Master's voice was strained. The snake lowered its head to almost our height and delivered a cruel truth.

"There are no survivors of those I was supposed to protect. Leave while you still can without harming me."

—The soul has worn out. The answer was as the words suggested, filling me with a sense of helplessness.

Who should I blame? The one who created the 'Snake' and ordered it to take revenge without discrimination. Blaming them would be meaningless.

I never wanted to sacrifice myself to save the country, and that feeling hasn't changed.

I don't want to be a sacrifice, nor do I want to make anyone a sacrifice. That's all there is to it.

"Master, we don't have to fight now. Look at us."

"... No. I have to fight... If I don't do anything, my friendship with her will really be nothing."

The human part of the 'Snake' was Master's friend. Hearing this, everyone's eyes were filled with a fighting spirit, not hostility.

"... We can't lose. Even if it's a god-like being, it doesn't matter to us."

"... I know this might sound strange... Snake. If you want to clear your grudges, you can entrust them to us."

Cody's offer was ignored. The snake raised its head, and two magic circles appeared at its feet. One was large, and the other was just big enough for a person.

A giant with wings emerged from the large magic circle, wielding a massive single-edged sword and clad in armor.

The other was a woman with a reptilian lower body, wearing a metal mask and a patchwork of metal plates as armor, holding a trident in one hand and a large shield in the other.

"Snake people... in my magic kingdom, they were a species of monster whose origin was unknown. Could they have been born from this labyrinth...?"

"Maybe, or they could be the 'Snake's' minions, coincidentally having the same appearance."

While answering Verlene, I quickly formulated a plan. Among the three vanguards, Irene would face the giant, Cody would face the snake woman, and I would face the 'Snake.'

I also gave instructions to the center and rear guards. With the help of a power-enhancing spell, everyone's reaction time was increased, minimizing the delay in following my commands.

—Let's go!

"Oooh!"

"—Demon, over here! This is the demon!"

"Let's see... the power of the 'Snake's' minions...!"

I leaped into the air with my sword, activating a teleportation spell at the moment of the jump to instantly reach the snake's head. I swung my magic-enhanced sword.

—Enhanced strike count—

Instantly, an invisible barrier enveloped the snake's head, blocking countless strikes. My magic power and the enemy's magic power clashed, emitting a blinding light.

I met her gaze in mid-air, her eyes open despite the light. Up close, I could see that her upper body was covered in spell-like symbols.

Did she inscribe them herself to become a sacrifice? She might have been a victim too—but we had to fight to find any hope.

"Do you pity me? Creatures of the earth, know your place."

"I'm not pitying you... I just wish we could have met in a different way...!"

Her hand pointed at me, and the magic barrier that blocked my sword strengthened, throwing me into the air. The snake's long body moved to attack me, but—

The moment the snake's jaw clamped down on me, I used a