"Normally, if you’ve been to a place this many times, wouldn’t you be able to get there more easily?"

"Well, I just can’t seem to remember any landmarks..."

"But, at least the route, right?"

"........."

Ziel bowed his head sincerely as if apologizing.

"Fine, I’ll let it go," Lililia said, forgiving him.

"So this is the main room, three hours on foot?"

And with that, she added,

"Let’s cast a spell on the lost boy~"

"...Enhancement magic?"

"Exactly."

"Yeah, but..."

Feeling slightly hesitant, Ziel spoke.

"I don’t think it’ll work."

"Why not?"

"Because I’ve already trained my inner strength a lot. Any external physical enhancements probably won’t have much effect."

Lililia chuckled softly.

"Just leave it to me. I’ll turn you into a real gorilla."

"Also, even if you did, it wouldn’t matter."

"Huh?" she replied, confused.

"The strength itself is already restrained a lot. The problem is this sword—it can’t withstand my strength."

"A cheap one?"

"Honestly, yes."

Ziel lifted the sword slightly so Lililia could see.

"Why are you using something like that?"

"If I strike the right spot, it’s fine. But right now..."

"Because you don’t have glasses?"

"Exactly. Besides, no matter how sturdy the sword is, if I swing recklessly, it’ll break anyway. It’s better to use something easily replaceable... This one, I just bought on a whim after the previous one broke."

"Hmm," Lililia said thoughtfully.

"How many times?"

"What?"

"How many times would you have to use it to defeat this floor boss, or whatever it’s called?"

"Ah," Ziel nodded.

"Once."

"What?"

"If I swing with all my strength, it’s over in one blow... but then I’d lose my weapon, making the rest of the journey difficult."

"Quite confident, aren’t you?"

"I’ve tested it a few times. It’s just a fact."

"Oh-ho," she said, intrigued.

"Then, let’s give it a little bonus—two uses, maybe."

――――〈A Strong and Amazing, Absolutely Unbreakable Magic Sword〉

The sword glowed brilliantly.

"――――What?"

"Holy magic, of course."

"…Does the Rustian scripture have such words in it?"

"They seem to in children’s storybooks. That’s where I learned it."

Lililia pushed Ziel’s back enthusiastically.

"Now, it’s not the ultimate holy sword, but it’s something like a pseudo-holy sword. Go on, big brother, just as you declared—finish it in one swing."

"Indeed," Ziel gripped the sword.

Throughout his travels, he had often worked with clerics. Each time, they had strengthened his weapons using holy magic.

This feeling in his hands now told him:

This was something special.

It could withstand his power.

"――I am deeply grateful."

"Ha-ha, what are you, a knight from 300 years ago?"

Flustered by her teasing, Ziel blushed and opened the door.

In that instant, an overwhelming surge of magic burst forth from the room, blowing into their faces.

"GROOOOOAAR!!"

A four-legged beast roared once again.

It was the mighty beast that had repelled Ziel, an exceptional swordsman, countless times. To this day, he still did not know the creature’s true identity. It exuded raw magic and domination.

"――What?"

Behind Ziel, Lililia uttered in astonishment.

"That’s an Apocryphal Nightmare――――?"

However, Ziel did not hear her murmur.

Not even the beast’s roar registered in his ears.

His hand gripped the hilt of his sword as he muttered to himself:

"Still too rough to call this the right way..."

I can’t hesitate forever, he thought.

He raised the sword before him.

"Let me crush you――――!"

"GROOOOAAARR!!"

He charged.

Even the wind couldn’t catch him.

The uneven terrain of the battlefield became flat under the sheer force of his stride.

Sparks flew as he surged through the labyrinth like a streak of lightning.

This wasn’t the precision of a strike that cleaves.

It was destruction—pure, brute force.

"Enough of my own inexperience――――!"

A relentless, crushing blow.

Secret Sword――――〈Bursting Thunder〉

One strike.

Just as promised.

Blinding sparks flashed, flaring to hundreds of degrees in an instant.

The beast’s voice—if it could still be called a voice—lasted only seconds.

As Ziel descended from the air and tumbled into a landing, the sound of his sword sliding back into its sheath rang clear.

With that, the beast’s body erupted into a mist of dissipating magic.

It was, unmistakably, the end.

"…I still have much to learn."

The swordsman murmured softly.

"Oooh~"

Lililia approached, clapping enthusiastically.

"You okay? That might’ve been a bit more intense than I expected; the coating might’ve been weak."

"No," Ziel patted the sword lightly.

"It’s fine. I was shocked, though. This... well, I wouldn’t call it a technique, but using that didn’t break the sword for the first time."

"Thank goodness. I almost became just talk, you know."

Ziel wondered, who was she, really?

Someone capable of such skilled enhancement magic couldn’t be an ordinary cleric. Not just a priest, either. Archbishop? Cardinal? He’d never met one, but perhaps she was of that caliber.

Her youth was puzzling, but he supposed her earlier mention of being "over twenty" only set a lower limit. Maybe she was just a particularly youthful-sounding elderly woman... No, that’s absurd, Ziel thought, shaking off the ridiculous notion.

"It really is..." Lililia leaned closer to the beast’s remains, examining it.

"Just what kind of creature was this? The silhouette was blurry, and I never really saw it clearly."

"A horse."

"A horse?"

"Yes. But it seems to be something more than that..."

"...?"

Lililia seemed troubled, pondering something.

Ziel tried to share her concern but couldn’t discern much about the beast he hadn’t clearly seen himself.

"Well, whatever," Lililia finally concluded.

"This means we can move on, right? Oh, that door there."

"Ah, wait. Before that," Ziel stopped her.

He needed to say something.

"Hm?"

"I’m bad with directions."

"Huh?" she said, confused.

"I mean, I’ve explored this floor a lot, and I think that door leads to the upper floors... but honestly, I’m not entirely sure."

So, could you help me, he asked earnestly.

"If it looks like I’m going the wrong way, please say something."

"That’s all?" she said brightly.

"Of course! From now on, let’s pick our path together. Leave it to me! I’ve always liked looking at maps."

"Really? That’s reassuring... wait, maps?"

"Yep," she nodded confidently.

"I don’t go out much—maybe twice a year at most. But that’s just because I’m an indoor type. I love looking at travelogues and guidebooks, though! Don’t worry, I’m great at visualization!"

"Are you... sure about this?" Ziel asked, growing nervous.

"It’s fine, fine~. I don’t love traveling, but this place is quiet and people-free, so it’s not so bad. It’s big and unfamiliar, but hey, trust me like you’re boarding a big, reliable ship!"

Ziel recalled being tricked by his master into boarding a luxury liner, only to end up battling hordes of colossal squid monsters.

Anxiety crept in.

But when anxiety offered no solutions, Ziel had only one option.

"...Alright! Sounds good to me!"

"That’s the spirit! It’ll be fine!"

That single option, of course, was sheer determination.

Thus, the swordsman and the saint left the room. At a crossroads, they paused.

"Which way do you think?"

"My gut says... left!"

"Oh! That’s what I thought too! We might be more in sync than we realized!"

And so, the two stormed down their chosen path.

Double the combat strength.

Double the horsepower.

Which is how, in the span of a month, they descended—somehow—fifty floors.

Descended.

They descended.

The adventure continues.