The Rustie faith includes not only its canon scripture but also an apocryphal text.

What is recorded there is neither moral doctrine nor a complete narrative.

Long ago, there existed a being called the Ruin King, who sought to annihilate the world and slay God—a great enemy of this world who was said to have possessed power equal to his ambition.

The fierce struggle between Rustie, the divine apostle, and the Ruin King is detailed in the apocryphal text.

“Okay, let’s summarize what we’ve got.”

Civilization had finally arrived in this labyrinthine village.

Sitting shoulder to shoulder by the campfire conjured by Eunice’s magic, Ziel thought idly.
Might as well trust him now. Completely, fully trust him—just as he had come to trust Lililia after she used her cleansing magic on him. A sense of reciprocity had developed, a give-and-take of goodwill.

“Finally, our village has its own fire, eh, Ziel?”
“Yeah... I guess.”
“Your reply sounds like it belongs to a string of old dialects.”
“Stop drooping your eyes. At least wait until my story’s over before you nod off.”

Ziel and Lililia turned to Eunice with sheepish grins.

“First, Ziel.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re just a clueless fool who wandered in here by mistake.”
“...Yeah.”

Ziel nodded solemnly.

“And Lililia.”
“Yes?”
“You were tasked by the other three Saints to investigate whether anything foul was here. I’d already heard that from Arinate.”
“My grandmothers were like, ‘You’re young and full of energy, so go!’”

Ziel mused that the average age of the Four Saints must be close to ninety.

“And you’re all hopelessly bad with directions.”
“Hey, don’t exclude yourself.”
“I’m part of the group too,” Eunice admitted cheerfully.

“For the past four and a half months, we’ve been wandering the labyrinth, going backward—or maybe forward? Either way, we defeated a few floor bosses along the way.”
“Yeah, but…”

Lililia’s words trailed off, and Eunice picked up the thread.

“Apocryphal beasts.”

Ziel, unable to follow the shift in the atmosphere, asked hesitantly,
“What exactly are those?”

“Wait, aren’t you a Rustie follower?”
“I’m from the boonies.”
“Hmm, even so, it seems odd…”

“Well, never mind,” Eunice continued.
“Apocryphal beasts are monsters said to have been under the Ruin King’s command during his battle with Rustie. Some see them as extensions of him, but that’s beside the point.

“These beasts were so powerful that it took an army to defeat one, and the stronger ones were said to rival entire nations.”

“Nations, really…?”
“Bet you think that’s an exaggeration.”

Lililia’s accusation made Ziel uneasy.
“No, it’s not that I doubt you...”

“But if I told you that the horse you fought—the Nightmare—was a low-tier one, how would you feel?”

Ziel froze. Slowly, he tried to push up his glasses—only to realize he wasn’t wearing any. His fingers sliced through empty air.

“That was... a low-tier one?”

He didn’t know when the apocryphal text was written or how much military power had evolved since then.

But he could believe it. If a creature like that went on a rampage, defeating it through sheer numbers would be nearly impossible unless you had someone of equal strength. Even a hard-won victory would come at catastrophic cost.

He accepted the notion.

“So why are these apocryphal beasts still around? Weren’t they all wiped out by Rustie ages ago? Is it a survivor? Or is this labyrinth something the Ruin King made?”
“I think that’s pretty close,” Eunice replied seriously.

“Really?” Ziel couldn’t help but ask for confirmation.

“Yes, at least, there’s a lingering trace. The magic circle drawn on that door you two got stuck at—it’s described in the apocrypha.”
“But isn’t that holy magic?”

Lililia chimed in,
“I think it’s one of the magic circles Rustie used, recorded only in the original apocrypha and the first seven copies.”
“Oh?” Eunice raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t call Rustie ‘Lord,’ Lililia?”
“His diary said, ‘Being called “Lord” feels weird~.’”
“Really? I haven’t read that deeply. I’ll check it out next time I’m at the Grand Library.”
“It also said, ‘I wonder if anyone reads my diary; it’s kind of awkward~.’”
“In that tone?”

Ziel’s question was met with laughter.

Returning to the topic, Lililia said,
“But the magic circle isn’t exactly the same.

“It’s not just an ordinary protective spell. It doesn’t only block entry—it also prevents things from leaving.”

“Even so, if Rustie cast it, shouldn’t we leave it alone?”

Although Ziel wasn’t well-versed in Rustie’s teachings, he understood enough to know they were the good guys. His suggestion was genuine.

“No, not necessarily,” Eunice countered.

“There’s a key—a way to break it.”
“I think so too,” Lililia agreed.

“A key?”

“Yes,” Eunice said, raising a finger.
“Someone of Rustie’s caliber—assuming he was human, which I doubt—could’ve made a perfect magic circle. But this one, while complex and advanced, can be undone by a skilled holy magic user and magic analyst.

“It was designed to be broken.”

“A magic circle meant to be undone?”
“That’s what I think.”

Ziel rubbed his temple in confusion.
“So, what does that mean?”

“This labyrinth is tied to the Ruin King. But for some reason, Rustie or his associates set up a peculiar checkpoint here—a place that only someone who isn’t the Ruin King’s ally, a ‘holy magic user,’ can pass.”

The implication is clear, Eunice declared:
“...We have no idea what it means.”

“I’m going to sleep now.”
“It’s just the adorable humor of an arcmage,” Eunice teased.

“Still,” Lililia admitted, “he’s right. We don’t have enough clues to figure it out. We don’t know how the labyrinth ties to the Ruin King or what the magic circle’s purpose is.”

“Ziel,” Eunice turned to him abruptly, “you’re an adventurer, right? Don’t you know anything about this labyrinth—the so-called ‘Abbyss’?”