Chapter 6

“Guh… ah…”

In the castle’s inner courtyard, Ryouzas was writhing in agony.

His back, which had been slammed upon impact, was throbbing with a dull, heavy pain.

Due to his delayed reaction, he had failed to fully mitigate the shock of the fall.

In addition to that, his broken nose, and the cuts on his arm and shoulder were also throbbing with pain.

The intense pain made it difficult for him to even breathe.

“Haa, haa, damn… damn, damn it…!”

A few minutes later, when the pain had slightly subsided, Ryouzas managed to sit up.

Breathing heavily, Ryouzas cursed loudly.

“That damn bastard…! Getting so cocky!”

Without realizing he was being used, the foolish kid had held up a sweet and meaningless ideal.

To Ryouzas, Iori was such a presence.

It was unthinkable to be manipulated by such a ridiculous clown.

“If I hadn’t been caught off guard, he would have been just another nobody…!”

Whether it was the price of death or the effect of the second summoning, Ryouzas couldn’t sense any magical power from Iori.

Without the power of the hero, Iori could have been easily strangled to death.

This time, it was just a matter of being caught off guard.

Ryouzas looked up at the direction of the magic workshop and spat out a warning, not to get cocky just because of a cheap trick.

“Ku, ku! I’ll make you regret it. I’ll kill you thoroughly so you never come back!”

He had been caught off guard, but he wouldn’t show such a pitiful sight again.

With a twisted smile, Ryouzas began to heal his wounds with healing magic.

Healing such minor injuries was a trivial matter.

“Where would he go—”

Without magic, it was impossible to escape from the kingdom.

Therefore, he must have used some special means to move.

“The ritual room?”

In the ritual room, there existed a “summoning circle” known only to the kingdom.

It had a similar structure to a “transfer circle” used to move to another location.

With Iori’s knowledge, it was highly likely that he could use the summoning circle to transfer.

“I won’t let you escape, Amatsu!”

Only a few minutes had passed since then.

It was unlikely that Iori could have left the castle in such a short time, no matter how quickly he moved.

He must still be inside the castle.

Ryouzas burst into the castle, kicking the door open.

“Hey! Is anyone here!?”

At Ryouzas’s shout, the knights on standby rushed over.

He ordered them to follow and hurriedly headed towards the ritual room.

The knights, seeing his expression, followed Ryouzas without a word.

Upon arriving at the ritual room, Ryouzas noticed that the seal had been broken.

The knights who arrived later also noticed and began to ask, “What’s going on?”

“Damn it!”

“Lord Ryouzas!?”

Ryouzas stepped into the sealed room.

The room was lit, and Iori was standing in the center.

“W-Why is the hero here…?”

“How did you break the seal!?”

The knights were visibly shaken by the sight of the hero.

Even as Ryouzas and his men stepped into the room, Iori maintained a calm expression.

“You’re quick, Ryouzas.”

Iori’s attire had changed significantly from what Ryouzas had seen in the workshop.

He was wearing high-quality magic robes and a precious sword at his waist.

All of these items should have been stored in the castle’s treasure vault.

“You…!”

As Ryouzas observed Iori’s attire, he noticed that stones were scattered around him.

Not just any stones, but special minerals containing sealed magic power, known as “magic stones.”

By using these as a substitute, it was possible to cast magic even without magic power.

Iori was using the magic stones to interfere with the summoning circle.

“Amatsu, you! Stay away from the summoning circle!!”

“A-Amatsu!? Lord Ryouzas, what are you saying…?”

As Ryouzas had suspected, Iori intended to use the summoning circle to transfer.

The circle had already been rewritten by Iori.

Anxiety grew as Ryouzas realized how well-prepared Iori was, and he shouted Amatsu’s name loudly.

The knights, surprised by his outburst, were unaware of Ryouzas’s realization.

Ryouzas and Iori, with his cold expression, glared at each other.

At that moment,

“What is this, Ryouzas! What are you doing!!”

The king, accompanied by several knights, burst into the ritual room.

He immediately noticed Iori and was shocked.

“H-His Majesty, this is…!”

Just as Ryouzas was about to frantically explain the situation,

“Thanks, Ryouzas. Thanks to you, I was able to break the seal and figure out how to use the summoning circle.”

Iori’s tone, which had been filled with hatred in the workshop, had changed to one of familiarity.

He called out to Ryouzas in a friendly manner.

The eyes of everyone present shifted to Ryouzas for a moment.

At that instant,

The summoning circle emitted a blinding light, illuminating the ritual room.

“—I’ll come back again.”

Immediately after saying this,

The light enveloped Iori, and he disappeared.

“Wait, Amatsu!!”

Ryouzas tried to cast a spell on the spot, but it was too late.

Unable to do anything, Iori’s figure vanished from the ritual room.

Everyone present stared at the spot where Iori had been standing, stunned.

Among them, the king was the first to regain his composure.

“Ryouzas! What do you mean by teaching him how to break the seal!!”

With a furious expression, the king confronted Ryouzas.

“No… no, Your Majesty! It’s not like that!”

As Ryouzas tried to defend himself, more knights rushed into the ritual room.

“Your Majesty! The treasure vault has been broken into, and many items have been stolen!”

“What!?”

“The ‘magic stones’ we had stored, magic-imbued items like the sword and magic robes, and even the national treasures, the ‘Anti-Magic Bracelet’ and the ‘Power Ring,’ are gone…!”

The king’s face turned pale at this report.

The ‘magic stones’ were an important resource used for everything from lighting the castle to casting large-scale magic.

The magic-imbued items, especially the national treasures like the ‘Anti-Magic Bracelet,’ were valuable items passed down through generations.

Such a theft was unprecedented.

“—Ryouzas”

The seals on the treasure vault and the ritual room were under the jurisdiction of Ryouzas, the court magician.

It would have been easy for Ryouzas to break the seals.

Naturally, suspicion fell on him.

“Please wait! I’ll find out where the hero went!”

Realizing the situation was turning against him, Ryouzas rushed to the summoning circle to make a comeback.

He touched the circle and read the destination where Iori had transferred.

Despite Iori’s efforts, he couldn’t hide his destination.

Ryouzas instantly understood where Iori had gone.

“Ku…!”

He was still a naive fool.

With a smile, Ryouzas was about to inform the king of the destination when—

“Huh?”

The summoning circle shattered with a loud sound.

“What…!?”

At that moment, Ryouzas realized that the circle had been enchanted with a ‘self-destruct’ spell.

It would shatter if anyone other than Iori touched it.

“The ancient summoning circle…! Ryouzas, you!!”

But only Ryouzas realized this.

To the others, it looked as if Ryouzas had shattered the circle.

“You broke the seals on the treasure vault and the ritual room, let the hero escape, and even destroyed the summoning circle. What were you thinking!?”

“Your Majesty! It’s not me! It was Amatsu… he did it!!”

As he spoke, Ryouzas finally realized he had been calling Iori ‘Amatsu’ all along.

Ryouzas’s friendly attitude towards Iori,

The words, “Thanks to you, I was able to break the seal and figure out how to use the summoning circle,”

And the way Ryouzas shattered the circle as if to protect Iori.

If he had been calling the former comrade ‘Amatsu’ all along,

It was natural for the others to assume that Iori and Amatsu were the same person and that they had collaborated.

“Seize Ryouzas immediately!!”

The king’s order echoed through the ritual room.

In an instant, the knights rushed at Ryouzas, who tried to defend himself.

Unable to do anything, Ryouzas was pinned to the ground.

“A… ah!”

At that moment, Ryouzas finally realized he had been set up by Iori.

“Damn it…!”

Ryouzas’s scream echoed through the ritual room.

◆

During the transfer, I recalled the scene just before and smiled.

“Really, you came at the perfect time. Lucky me.”

It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly.

Even though it was just an act, talking to him in a friendly manner made me want to vomit.

With that development, Ryouzas must be being interrogated by the king right now.

If he’s blamed and thrown into prison, that would be perfect.

Just as I was thinking about this, the transfer light disappeared.

When my vision cleared, I found myself standing in a dimly lit cave.

The ground and walls were rough rock, and the space was illuminated by countless floating particles in the air.

“Success.”

I had rewritten the summoning circle’s spell to enable instantaneous long-distance transfer.

Despite being hastily constructed, it had successfully brought me to my destination.

Apart from avenging Ryouzas, my mission in the castle was complete.

After leaving the magic workshop, I first headed to the treasure vault.

I broke the seal and took a few items from inside.

The kingdom’s stockpile of magic stones,

Magic-imbued robes and a sword with a large amount of magic power,

A pouch enchanted with a ‘storage magic’ spell that could hold a large number of items.

I also took the ‘Anti-Magic Bracelet’ and the ‘Power Ring,’ which were kept under strict security.

The ‘Anti-Magic Bracelet’ reduced the damage received,

The ‘Power Ring’ enhanced the wearer’s magic power.

Both were highly valuable magic-imbued items, designated as national treasures in the documents I had seen in the library.

The kingdom must be in an uproar now that they’re gone.

I also stole a few items needed for my revenge.

One of them would have been best used on Ryouzas, but I’ll think about that later.

With these magic-imbued items, I should be able to regain some of my former combat power, even if it’s not as strong as before.

Then, I infiltrated the ritual room and rewrote the summoning circle’s spell to enable transfer.

During the process, I modified it to self-destruct if anyone touched it.

I used magic stones to provide the necessary magic power for the rewrite.

The treasure vault had been ransacked, and the kingdom’s summoning circle was destroyed.

It’s a shame I can’t see Ryouzas’s reaction directly.

“Well,”

I confirmed my location again.

It was indeed my destination.

“The structure doesn’t seem to have changed much since the last time I was here.”

This was the labyrinth at the edge of the kingdom—the ‘Abyss Labyrinth.’

One of the strongholds of the Demon King’s army, teeming with monsters.

It was also the labyrinth I had once broken through with my companions.

Apparently, the Demon King had rebuilt it over the past thirty years.

Why did I come to such a dangerous place?

To regain the power of a hero.

The ‘Proof of the Hero’ on my right arm is almost non-functional.

For some reason, the part that allows the use of magic has been blocked.

To make it function properly, I need to absorb a large amount of magic power and forcibly activate the proof.

At first, I thought I could manage with magic stones, but it was far from enough.

The amount of magic power needed is much greater than I expected.

That’s why I targeted this labyrinth.

At the deepest part of the labyrinth, there is a ‘Labyrinth Core,’ a mass of magic power.

This core fills the labyrinth with a gas called ‘mana particles,’ which creates monsters.

“I’ll obtain the Labyrinth Core in the deepest part and regain my former power.”

That’s why I came to the Abyss Labyrinth.

“—”

I recalled the dream I had held just a short while ago.

To end the war and create a peaceful world where all races coexist.

I remembered the faces of my companions who mocked that dream.

—How can you, a newcomer from another world, save this world? Don’t you think it’s presumptuous?

—That goal was only yours.

—Maybe it’s better to dream while you sleep.

“I’ll make you regret it.”

Ryouzas, Dionysus, Lucifina, and the traitorous demi-humans.

“To do that, I need power.”

The power to kill the demi-humans.

The power to kill Ryouzas.

The power to kill Lucifina and Dionysus, who are with the Demon King’s army.

I’ll think about how to return to my original world after my revenge.

“To do that, I need the Labyrinth Core.”

To obtain the Labyrinth Core, I need to reach the deepest part of the labyrinth.

There will be monsters along the way, and most likely, a demon guarding the core in the deepest part.

I’ll break through quickly and take what I need.

“Let’s go.”

After confirming my plan, I stepped into the depths of the labyrinth.

Next chapter → 21:00

The heroine will appear soon.