A doll.

Ziel couldn’t think of any other way to describe it.

It had the shape of a human. But it was not human. A magical beast in human form—so it wasn’t an oni either, he assumed.

“What the hell is this…?”

Before him—

stood a humanoid figure made of metal.

With a slight shift of his left foot, Ziel took a half-stance, keeping his hand on the hilt of his sword.

It was natural to be cautious around something so unknown. Yet, the doll did not shift its gaze. It did not change its stance.

“———!”

“Whoa.”

Instead, it emitted an incredibly loud noise.

The sound echoed through the vast underground space of the prehistoric ruins beneath the southern jungle. At first, Ziel thought it might be some kind of attack and nearly covered his ears, but it wasn’t loud enough to rupture his eardrums. However, it was strong enough to drown out the sound of draining water he had been hearing just moments ago.

Its eyes, which had been red from the start, now glowed even more intensely.

Not just that—the blue light that had been illuminating the water tanks had also turned completely red.

Even the dullest of people would have arrived at the same conclusion Ziel did.

He was being warned.

“—Wait. Calm down.”

He didn’t know what this thing was.

But a warning was at least a sign that some form of communication was possible. With that in mind, Ziel released the hilt of his sword and raised both hands slightly in front of his chest.

“I don’t intend to harm you. Let’s both back away slowly.”

Then, he began to retreat step by step.

Ziel believed that in any situation, the best approach was to handle things peacefully. This wasn’t an evildoer, nor did it seem to be a magical beast. He had no idea what it actually was, but it was not the kind of opponent he usually faced.

Avoiding hostility would be ideal.

“————!!”

“……”

That was his thought—but the noise from the doll only grew more intense.

Any creature other than a human would have instantly turned tail and fled upon hearing such a sound, Ziel thought. Even he, a human, felt like running away. The sound seemed to resonate throughout the space, as if the entire ruin was responding. The light grew blindingly strong, bathing everything in red. His vision was overwhelmed, and a creeping anxiety burned in the pit of his stomach, warning him that he was in an extremely dangerous place.

Eventually, Ziel realized something.

The sound the doll was making—it wasn’t just noise. There was a repeating phrase within it, though it was in a language he didn’t understand.

It was speaking.

And that likely meant his own words weren’t reaching it either.

“———!”

The sound and light reached their peak, and the tension snapped.

The doll lunged at him.

“Well, figures.”

With a resigned murmur, Ziel once again placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The attack was straightforward. A direct charge with no tricks. From this single movement alone, Ziel was able to glean a dozen, perhaps even twenty pieces of information about its combat style and make predictions accordingly.

Charging head-on at a prepared opponent was not a tactic that anyone with a reasonable level of combat intelligence would use. If it lacked intelligence, then that was ideal—but he had to consider other possibilities. Could it move faster than his reaction speed? No. Could it use special movement techniques or visual tricks to throw him off? No. Was it relying on sheer physical durability to endure the first strike? Unclear.

He stepped back to reclaim the lost distance.

The speed advantage was clearly his.

Of course, that was only for now.

What else? As he transitioned from landing to utilizing the spring in his calves, Ziel continued analyzing. His training with Chikano in the eastern lands, as well as instructing Klaha, who had less physical strength than him, had refined his tactical thinking even further. He would not repeat past mistakes. This was an unfamiliar opponent. He had to determine where to strike in order to neutralize it. The legs? Did it have any unique evasion techniques or attacks linked to its movement?

The only way to know was to press his blade against it.

He wasn’t fond of attacking without the intent to finish a fight, but this opponent was an unknown entity from the prehistoric ruins. Analysis was necessary—

“Ah.”

At that thought, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

“———!”

“Tch.”

The doll swung a punch at him, but Ziel dodged by tilting his upper body. Another punch. Then a third. None of them came close. As he listened to the sound of its fists cutting through empty air, Ziel found himself thinking.

Unfortunately, he had the luxury of doing so.

Was it really okay to destroy this thing?

“———!”

“……”

It was the same reason he had refrained from slicing through the door in the passageway earlier.

This doll—this entity he was currently evading with mere footwork—was clearly connected to the prehistoric ruins. Its sounds and lights were synchronized with this space. If anyone was an intruder here, it was likely him. That realization turned into a powerful doubt, causing his hand to hesitate.

Was it right to cut it down?

Would doing so trigger some kind of irreversible consequence?

His concern for preserving history quickly shifted to a more practical fear. Destroying it might cause unknown effects on this space. There was no guarantee it would be as simple as slaying a magical beast in a labyrinth. What if its destruction triggered something? What exactly? He had no idea.

It could speak.

Perhaps if someone else from his group were here, they could extract some useful information from it.

“—Alright.”

He made his decision.

For now, he would continue engaging it without destroying it.

Fortunately, the difference in their abilities was obvious. It was no real threat. He also had escape routes—the drainage channel, or the passageway door that had opened once before.

He could retreat anytime.

This wasn’t a battle where he had to protect anyone.

With that thought, his movements became unexpectedly light. Even without drawing his sword, he moved like a summer breeze sweeping across the plains. The doll couldn’t even touch the hem of his clothing, let alone his shadow. As Ziel grew accustomed to its movements, his mind expanded its range of thought. And then, at some moment, a realization—something like intuition—struck him.

He could grab it.

He understood almost all of its skeletal structure. Its range of motion, the general force output of each limb. And after reaching that conclusion, there came a fleeting exchange—one moment where Ziel gained absolute certainty.

One, bend down and slip into the bosom

Two, Wrap Your Arms Around the Opponent's Torso. Restrict Their Limbs. Move Your Arms. Wrap Them Around the Neck. Entangle Your Legs with Theirs, Without Even Exerting Much Force.

"—Hup!"

Three, Flip Them Over.

It was a technique so beautiful that not even the sound of contact with the ground was heard. Ziel was impressed with himself, but at the same time, the movements of his body triggered memories. Ah, this was one of the techniques Chikano used on him countless times in the past, forcing him to eat sand. The realization that he had finally mastered it filled him with emotion, as did the memory of a match where he had managed to turn the tables using this very move.

Even when pinned down, one could flip the situation by struggling with all their might.

To prevent that, Ziel applied more pressure from above.

As a result—

That was probably a mistake.

"—――――――!!!"

The sound grew so loud that it could have shattered his eardrums.

At the same time, the light shifted from red to yellow.

And finally,

The mouth of the subdued doll opened, revealing a glow of magical energy within.

"Oh, sh—"

The moment Ziel realized the danger, a magical arrow shot past his head.

A loud bang echoed behind him. He heard the ceiling crumbling, pieces falling. He didn’t dare turn around, but even without looking, he could grasp the situation.

Not good.

Are they seriously trying to destroy this place?

After a mix of hesitation, confusion, and sheer frustration at the absurdity of it all, Ziel leaped away from the spot. The doll rose in a posture no living creature would assume. It faced him. Its mouth opened once again, emitting a dangerous mixture of yellow and black light. Ziel quickly put distance between them.

Chasing after him, another magical blast was fired.

"Unfinished Sword—!"

Ziel, mid-air, swung with all his might—

And struck the spell away.

There was impact. His sword didn’t break. Dewey had given it to him over the summer, saying, "Make sure to carry something decent." The explosion left soot marks around him, but it was better than having the blast hit a wall and cause structural damage.

Once again, the glow of magic appeared within the doll’s mouth.

Would it really be better than outright destroying this place? Doubt crept in.

Ziel sensed that the enemy’s attack patterns had changed. They were considerate enough to change the color of the light, making it obvious even to him. He hoped that this was the highest level of escalation, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t go beyond this.

Now? Should I do it now?

If he destroyed it now, would the overall preservation of this site be better?

"—Hah!"

Through his hesitation, Ziel swung Unfinished Sword once more.

The impact of his strike caused another explosion, colliding mid-air with the magic and canceling it out in a dazzling burst of light. He wanted to decide before the third attack. He kept thinking, calculating, simulating.

The simulation was interrupted.

From the passageway ahead, three more identical dolls emerged.

"—!"

The explorer instantly shifted into the stance of a swordsman.

At least four of them. Four should be enough. If he destroyed one, it wouldn’t matter. No—wrong. He didn’t know how many reinforcements there were. If he had to destroy them, he needed to take down at least three. Their mouths opened, emitting that same yellow and black dangerous glow. He moved. Leaped into the passageway. He had to take them down before they fired.

However, the first doll had already nearly completed its attack sequence by the time the other three appeared.

To eliminate any lingering threats, Ziel decided to take it out first before dealing with the rest—

"Damn—"

He saw it.

The magical blast was fired—completely off target.

It must have failed to react in time to his speed. The shot was launched without a proper aim, heading straight for the passageway’s framework. If it hit, it would likely destroy it. The dolls, as remnants of the ruins, might be allowed such destruction.

He didn’t know.

And because he didn’t know, Ziel jumped back into action.

"Hah—!"

It was, in a way, a luxury.

Even with all these unnecessary steps added to the fight, he still had breathing room. Against enemies of this level, he could handle a hundred more and still not lose. His clear grasp of the power gap only expanded his choices beyond mere combat.

Yet even so—

He couldn’t do anything about the fact that the remaining three dolls had also misfired due to failing to keep up with his speed.

"You idiots—"

He wanted to complain. Here he was, going all out to protect this place.

Using the force of the explosions, Ziel propelled himself toward the wall and landed. The dolls’ mouths were now aimed at entirely different places.

Humans couldn’t be in three places at once.

That meant he had to cut them all down at the root in one swift motion—but considering what would happen to the stored magic the moment he slashed through them—

The moment he was about to push off the ground—

It seemed his worries were unnecessary, so he stopped himself.

"――――!!"

Three beams of magic shot forth.

Each one flew toward a different target. The wall. The ceiling. And the drained floor of the tank, which had been completely emptied of water amidst all the alarms.

Because there, standing alone in the white expanse—

Ziel called out a name.

"Lililia!"

"Right here~"

Her timing was flawless.

With a graceful motion, her fingers moved. As if lifting the end of a strand of hair, yet producing an incredible effect. The magical light never even reached its target. As the beams neared her, they faded into gentle, flickering embers and vanished. Not just the one aimed at the floor. The wall. The ceiling. They all remained intact, as if nothing had ever threatened them, as if mocking the very idea of destruction.

A shadow of violet followed, bringing an end to everything.

"—〈Seal〉!"

In an instant, all sound and light disappeared.

And what remained was the deep darkness unique to underground spaces. The blindness lasted only a moment before a soft light flickered to life. A familiar glow, a familiar warmth. Ziel could see the searching gaze of someone nearby, and he used it as a guide to descend from the wall.

"Yo," he greeted.

The two who had just pulled up the last person turned to look at him.

"That was fast."

"Ziel-kun, you were taking your time, huh? We were starting to worry something had happened."

"Ugh."

"Nah, nah."

One of the three who had caught up, the one with violet hair, nudged him playfully with a shoulder and said,

"You were holding back for us, weren’t you? So we wouldn’t lose our chance to shine."

"...Well, close enough."

As soon as he said it, he wondered, "Was it really that close?"

But the person beside him smiled brightly, looked up at him, and said,

"Thanks. That makes me happy."