At the signal of Rail Braysicle drawing his sword, the other subordinates also took their battle stances to protect that wretched woman. Acknowledging this, I immediately gave orders.

“I’ll take on Rail Braysicle. Weiss, Your Highness, and Lady Gravitell, restrain the others without killing them. Freesia, make sure that wretched woman—Levia—doesn’t escape.”

“Understood!”

“Why am I the only one left out?! She looks obviously weak!”

Ignoring the battle-maniac’s complaints, I turned my glare back to the target.

“Don’t let your guard down. That woman is an Heir of bloodline magic. If my guess is correct, her magic won’t affect you… but we can’t be sure what might happen.”

“An Heir!?”

“Whatever you do, don’t kill her.”

“Got it!!”

Upon hearing the words “bloodline magic,” the battle-maniac’s eyes changed, but she swallowed her discontent. Now I could focus entirely on the enemy before me.

────!!

There was no such thing as a fair signal to begin a fight. This was a battle to the death. In the blink of an eye, the puppet before me thrust its blade forward.

“Shit, that was close…!!”

I dodged by a hair’s breadth. Immediately countering, I swung my manifested blood sword, only for it to be effortlessly blocked.

────Something’s off…

That brief exchange was enough to raise my suspicions.

Rail Braysicle’s movements were several levels more refined than when we had fought before. It wasn’t as if he had held back last time. No, back then, I was certain he had been fighting with everything he had.

“Then that means…”

Even as I defended against the onslaught of the Swordstrike Knight, my mind raced to reach a conclusion.

────Does that wretched woman’s bloodline magic not only charm her targets but also grant them an enhancement buff? And the deeper the magic corrodes them… the greater the effect?

If that were the case────

“What an utterly broken magic!!”

Charming both humans and monsters, and then further strengthening those charmed subordinates beyond their natural limits—this power had no weaknesses. If mastered, she could easily build an army of mindless, obedient soldiers. No, more than that—she could control an entire nation at her whim.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!!”

What kind of absurd ability is that?! Just because it’s bloodline magic, does it have to be so ridiculously overpowered? The only reason the world isn’t already in chaos is that the user is this pathetic woman. She cannot be allowed to live.

“Levia, don’t—come—closer—!!”

“The first thing you say, and it’s that!?”

A sharp, unseen blade distorted the air, separate from the relentless sword strikes closing in on me.

Even when prepared, dealing with sudden Swordstrike Magic was a challenge. And on top of that, her magic was further enhanced.

“This is just ridiculous!!”

Focusing on the two tangible blades left me vulnerable to the invisible one. I twisted my body at the last moment, minimizing the damage, but the wound was still deep.

“This wasn’t how it was when I fought him before!!”

Looking back at my first life, I had never gained such overwhelming power. Which meant… that wretched woman hadn’t even considered me an important pawn back then, had she? Not that I would have ever wanted to be her puppet, but the thought still infuriated me.

“You’ve got to be shitting me…”

The more I learned, the more my anger grew. And now, I was dealing with a modified Swordstrike Magic technique unleashing relentless consecutive attacks. My wounds multiplied, and the blood loss was alarming. In other words────

“Because of you, I was fucking executed!!”

My blood was boiling.

The fury from my first life resurfaced. And now that I understood how unfairly I had been treated, my rage only intensified.

────I won’t forgive you. I thought we were all the same, but you are nothing like me!!

You are my enemy. A clear and undeniable enemy, just like that woman. I no longer care if you are being controlled. Compared to what I went through in my first life, you are far too fortunate. Oh, what an insult. What an absolute disgrace!!

“Blood loss is sufficient────”

Bloodflow Manipulation was at its peak, and although my magic reserves had dwindled from the continuous battles, that didn’t matter. I refused to let the enemy control the flow of this battle any longer. In that case────

“I’ll be borrowing this technique────you old bastard!!”

The only way to end this in one move was with overwhelming firepower.

Extermination.

I gathered all the blood that had spilled so far—the stains on the ground, the droplets scattered in the air, the blood still gushing from my wounds. As long as it was mine, it was not difficult to manipulate. Not a problem at all.

────And yet, there still isn’t enough blood…!!

What an absurdly demanding magic. To think that old bastard used this crude, brute-force spell so often────

“That muscle-brained old fool!!”

“Wh-What is…!?”

The sheer concentration of blood and magic. Even with his dulled consciousness, a knight of Rail Braysicle’s caliber could not ignore the massive surge of power.

But it was already too late.

This spell was an all-encompassing force, an absolute storm of destruction.

“Crimson Blood Overlord: Bloodroad!!”

The air itself tensed. The magic in the atmosphere trembled, converging upon a single point.

A cataclysmic convergence, manifesting around me like an all-devouring tempest. A crimson storm. The entire area was dyed deep red. This was a secret technique of the Bradley Family, a forbidden art only permitted to the next heir or one of the Seven Peerless Swords.

“Die—just enough to survive.”

Dodging was meaningless. Defending was pointless.

An onslaught of seemingly infinite blood surged toward the knight before me. It lasted mere seconds—over in the time it took to blink. And yet, before the overwhelming storm of blood, Rail Braysicle could do nothing────

“Gah—!!?”

He was utterly crushed, slowly collapsing to the ground. The fight was over.

There was no need to worry about Weiss and the others. They would complete their tasks without issue.

────The real problem…

Taking a breath, I turned my gaze toward the battle-maniac whom I had entrusted with the most critical task.

“N-No way... Lord Rail lost…?”

“Heh! How was that!? Clay is amazing, isn’t he?”

The despairing look on that damn woman’s face and the triumphant grin of the battle maniac. That exchange played out before me.

It seems she actually remembered and followed my orders properly. Finally, I could take my time and get some answers.

“Clay-kun, just as you ordered, we’ve finished restraining the others.”

The counterattack against the Swordplay Faction that ambushed us in the third stratum was complete. With the restraints successfully in place, I gave my thanks to the Hero, who had finished his task.

“Thanks, Weiss. Take a break for now. I’m going to start interrogating this woman.”

“O-Okay… but don’t go too far, alright?”

“I know. It’s not like I’m planning to eat her or anything.”

Weiss gave a wry smile before stepping away from my side. With that, I turned my attention to the damn woman, who had been bound like the rest of the Swordplay Faction, her eyes covered to prevent any chance of using magic.

“P-Please… forgive me… I don’t want this… I hate the dark, I hate not being able to see… I won’t use magic anymore, so please, at least let me see…”

She trembled violently, sobbing as she pleaded. At this point, it was hard to say who was the real villain here. Her playing the victim irritated me, but having her continue wailing like this would just be a hassle.

“You swear you won’t go back on your word?”

“Y-Yes! I swear!”

“If you break that promise, I’ll cut off your head without hesitation. Understood?”

“Y-Yes! I understand! So please, hurry…”

“Haa…”

For the sake of a smoother conversation, I removed the blindfold from the damn woman’s eyes.

She immediately tensed up, but showed no sign of using magic. Instead, she looked genuinely relieved, as if being able to see again was the greatest blessing. Seeing her reaction caught me a little off guard, but I cleared my throat and pressed on.

“Levia Haydenrott. I have some questions for you. You will answer them truthfully and without deception. Understood?”

“Y-Yes…”

“If I sense even the slightest lie, I’ll cut your slender neck off immediately. Keep that in mind as you answer.”

“Hii…!”

She let out another frightened squeal, making me furrow my brows. I was starting to look more like the villain here. I swallowed down my rising irritation and got straight to the point.

“First, let’s confirm the facts. Ever since we arrived on this third floor, we’ve been attacked by an unusual number of monsters. You and your group… No, this was your doing, wasn’t it?”

“…Yes. That is correct…”

She finally resigned herself and nodded, lowering her head. As expected, but that still didn’t explain everything.

“That’s quite a rare kind of magic you use. To think you could control not just people, but monsters as well.”

“…!!”

“You used it when we first met as well. What exactly is this Bloodline Magic of yours?”

“My magic is called Attractive Arts… Just as you said, it’s the Bloodline Magic passed down through the Haydenrott family for generations.”

“Explain its effects in detail. What are its activation conditions? Does it have any weaknesses?”

She hesitated before answering, but I could tell she wasn’t lying.

“This magic interferes with the subconscious mind, charming the target and allowing me to take control. The stronger the control, the more I can enhance them with my magic… The activation condition is making eye contact with the target while using my magic and words to slip into the gaps in their heart. But my magic is incomplete… It only works on the opposite sex. And if the charm fails or is broken even once, I can never cast it on that person again. Plus, its binding strength is weak, and the success rate is low.”

“What…?”

Her explanation left me speechless.

I had already suspected most of this, but hearing that this magic was still incomplete was hard to believe. The supposed weaknesses didn’t even seem like weaknesses. This woman had perfectly charmed one of the strongest individuals in the academy. Still, I couldn’t get too fixated on her magic alone.

“Alright, next question. Why the hell are you going to such lengths to interfere with me?”

“That… is…”

When I asked why she was so obsessed with targeting me, she suddenly clammed up, as if the submissive act from before had been a lie. Sensing something off, I pressed my Blood Sword to her throat.

“If you won’t talk… then die.”

“I-I’ll talk!”

She paled completely, shaking her head desperately as she forced the words out.

“…It’s an order.”

“From who?”

“T-To assassinate you…”

“On whose orders?”

“M-My family’s… from the Empire’s… Shadow Dragon…”

“!!”

My ears caught those words clearly. The moment that name was spoken, my mind nearly snapped.

“What… did you just say?”

“I… I never wanted to do this! But if I didn’t, my family would abandon me! I didn’t want to be alone again! Even if I had to offer myself to the dragon, this was the only way… The only way I could survive…”

“Shut—”

Emotions erupted between us. She wailed, trying to justify herself, while I prepared to sever her head—

‘BIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBI!!’

“!?”

The sudden blaring alarm cut through everything. A distress signal from the magical tool—the Dungeon Pixie.

“Clay-kun! It’s a distress signal! Something’s happening inside the labyrinth—!!”

“…Damn it!!”

Killing her would have to wait. I cast a quick glance at the still-crying woman before shifting my focus to assessing the situation.

Something was seriously wrong inside this labyrinth.