The blaring alarm echoed through the air. Everyone present froze, their thoughts grinding to a halt. They all understood the meaning of that sound with absolute clarity.

──── Something has happened within this labyrinth.

That much was clear. The labyrinth fairy continued to wail incessantly, showing no sign of stopping. A sudden moment of blankness. It was almost as if time itself had halted.

"What should we do, Clay?"

The unexpected question snapped me back to reality. When I turned around, I saw Freesia looking straight at me, her expression as calm as ever.

──── That’s right. Don't lose your composure.

The course of action was obvious. My thoughts often veer off in strange directions, but in situations like these, I become the quickest to regain my cool. I wish I could always be like this, but that’s probably asking too much. I tore my gaze away from Freesia and looked at the others.

"We're heading to the source of the sound."

Another faction was in mortal danger. The moment this alarm rang, the promotion battle was as good as suspended.

This was no longer a situation where factions could afford to fight amongst themselves. Time was of the essence. None of my comrades objected to my decision; they simply nodded in agreement. Given the circumstances, it would be perfectly reasonable for someone to suggest retreating. In fact, prioritizing one's own life would dictate that retreat was the only logical choice. And yet, no one in our group chose to do so. Perhaps it was because────

"Lucky or unlucky… I can’t quite decide…"

The distress signal's origin was just ahead, beyond the connecting passageway────on the fourth floor.

As students of the Academy of Magic and Swords, we couldn't just run away when we were in a position to help. No… even without that obligation, I wouldn't have considered fleeing. Even if I had to go alone, I would move forward. I had to. Because────

"What about the Swordstrike Faction?"

"Leave them. Monsters won’t appear in this room anyway. Bringing them along would only be a hindrance."

"O-Okay…"

Because from below, I could sense a faintly familiar presence.

──── Interrogating that damn woman could wait.

Something far more urgent had just come up. But even so, I had to make sure to leave her a warning.

"Hey, we’ll finish this later, I swear────"

"Ahh… It’s over… It’s over… It’s really over… I’m going to die here… I’ll be eliminated────"

"…Huh?"

I didn’t want to look, but when I glanced at that damn woman, her face had gone completely pale, twisted in an expression of utter despair as if she were about to drop dead on the spot.

She curled up, shrinking into herself as if trying to hide from some unseen terror. She trembled, like she was trying to escape something that wasn’t there. Her sudden change in demeanor left me bewildered.

"Hey, what’s wrong with you? Do you know what’s causing this distress signal?"

From her words, it sounded like she understood exactly what was happening. I pressed her for an answer, but her response was incoherent.

"No! No more! I worked so hard to get here, and now it’s all over? It’s too cruel! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die! I don’t want to────"

"…Damn it! She’s completely lost it from fear!"

I had hoped to get some answers from her before heading to the fourth floor, but that was clearly impossible now. I shifted my focus back to Freesia and the others.

"────"

But they were all frozen, staring at the connecting passageway.

In this dire situation, what were they doing? The confusion lasted only a moment before I realized why they weren’t moving.

"Tch────!!"

They weren’t refusing to move. They couldn't move.

'BIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBI!!'

From beyond the connecting passageway, in eerie synchrony with the blaring alarm, another warning sound reverberated. Along with that grating noise, an overwhelming stench of death filled the air.

──── It’s getting closer.

From the echoing footsteps ascending the stairs, I understood immediately.

The source of the distress signal was climbing through the passageway, approaching this very room. We should be preparing for battle, readying ourselves to intercept whatever was coming. And yet, for some reason, our bodies refused to budge. As if paralyzed by fear, as if our instincts had already accepted death.

'BIBIBBIBIBIBIBIBIBIB────!!'

How long had we stood like this?

Seconds? Tens of seconds? Minutes? Hours?

I remembered that sensation vividly.

Time itself felt distorted. People often said time perception became unreliable within a labyrinth, but this was something else entirely.

Even so, by some stroke of luck, I found myself gripping my bloodstained sword as if I had been prepared from the start. Perhaps it was thanks to daily training. Even if I wasn’t at my best, at least I had some level of readiness. And maybe, because of that small reassurance────

"Ahh, I finally found you."

"────!!"

I heard that thin, almost ephemeral voice.

In that instant, the paralysis gripping my body shattered, and I moved.

"Jump back!!"

"────!!?"

Without thinking, I grabbed the cowering woman beside me and leapt backward.

Freesia and the others, fortunately, reacted in time and did the same. A moment later, the spot where we had been standing erupted with a dark, shadowy force.

If we hadn’t dodged, death would have been certain. That thin, alien, black-gray knight had clearly intended to kill us.

"You dodged that…? I see. It seems Lord Scarshade’s concerns about you were well-founded…"

The knight spoke in an oddly detached voice. Hearing him, the woman in my arms suddenly started thrashing wildly.

"Ah… I’m sorry! I’m sorry! Please, just give me one more chance! This time… this time, I swear I’ll do it right────!"

"Tch!? Hey! Stop squirming! Do you want to die!?"

I scolded her, but she didn’t hear me. The knight answered her desperate pleas with a quiet, resolute voice.

"I told you before, Levia. There are no second chances. You already know, don’t you? The moment I arrived here, your fate was sealed. Once I’ve eliminated my target, you’ll be following him to the depths of hell."

"────!!～～～～～ッ…"

Their exchange made it clear that these two shared some kind of connection. But now wasn’t the time to interrogate them. I turned to address the knight, still staring at us in eerie silence────

"Who the hell are you──── huh?"

That’s when I noticed the human body he was dragging carelessly along.

My breath caught.

Illuminated by the dim light, unconscious but unmistakable──

"Jade Calamity…?"

The man once hailed as the strongest in the academy.

The knight heard my whisper and responded casually.

"Oh? You know him? I brought him along on a whim, but if you recognize him, all the better. Mind shutting off that annoying alarm he’s holding?"

"────What???"

The knight unceremoniously tossed Jade Calamity’s limp body toward me. Instinctively, I caught him, and in his hands, I saw the endlessly ringing magic device────the labyrinth fairy.

And in that moment, every single question I had was answered.

The knight before me was the source of this entire crisis. And he was someone who had effortlessly defeated Jade Calamity.

"I’ve been looking for you, Claym Bradley. Apologies for the abruptness, but I’ll be taking your head now."

His cold, detached words sent a surge of bloodlust coursing through my veins.