The Pursuer

The labyrinth conquest began.

Their pace was tremendous.

Their previous advance had been fast enough that no one could follow them, but their current speed surpassed even that.

The reason was obvious.

Ria had stopped holding back.

Trusting her back to her companions, she cut down the enemies in front of her—just cutting, cutting, cutting them down.

Though they were only careful around traps, whether enemies used magic, spat poison, sprayed acid, or cast curses, everything was nullified and neutralized.

Groups of Iron Golems had a leg severed with a single stroke, and with another stroke to their chests, she gouged out their magic stones.

The Basilisk's petrification gaze had no effect at all. They were cut down the same as ordinary Monitor Lizards.

Swarms of Ghosts were blasted with raw magical power and annihilated.

Insect-type demons were burned to ash with fire magic.

The same went for Giant Slimes.

When they were attacked by Giant Bats from all sides, with a flourish of her katana, all that remained were the ruined corpses of bats with their heads sent flying.

Even demons with steel fur—she cut through them, steel and all.

"Blade chips… none. Good, good."

In just this single day, the group had reached the tenth floor of the labyrinth.

"Nee-chan, are you really not overworking yourself?"

Serge whispered to her as they prepared camp.

Since he could understand the other members' conditions with Identify, he could make them rest even if they claimed they could keep going. But since Identify didn't work on Ria, he asked her quietly.

"Ah, I'm fine. More importantly, are you alright, Serge? That was quite a reckless pace."

Among this group, the ones lacking stamina were Serge and Lulu. Particularly given Serge's age, his endurance and stamina were numerically the lowest.

"I can ride on Rudolph, so…"

Though at first she'd thought the Hellhound Rudolph was being pushed on them, he was now an indispensable existence.

His fighting strength was quite high, but in this labyrinth it wasn't particularly outstanding. However, as a means of transportation, he had wonderful capabilities.

Even with Serge and Lulu on his back, his body didn't waver in the slightest. It was obvious he could pull a wagon, but on top of that he had both explosive power and endurance.

Furthermore, his senses exceeded even those of the beastkin Shar and Maal, alerting them to enemy attacks.

Without him, their advance speed might have dropped to half.

"But do we really need to rush this much? I'm not talking about capability stats, but mental health."

She had already told Serge the same things she'd discussed with Vargas.

"I don't feel like I'm particularly rushing. Does it look like I'm being impatient?"

If it looked that way, that was indeed dangerous. Impatience led to openings.

"Nee-chan doesn't look like she's being impatient, but I think the others might be having a bit of a hard time."

"I see. Then maybe I'll slow the pace a bit."

While saying that, preparations were completed, and everyone began to eat.

Only Ria was maintaining her katana.

She had confirmed there were no problems with the blade. But there was a slight sense of wrongness in her hands.

Since its creation, the Kotetsu had cut down a great many demons and other things. Even with magic strengthening it, its durability was phenomenal. As expected of a Japanese sword that could only be classified among the supreme masterworks, said to be the strongest even in her previous world.

Incidentally, while the blade itself was completely fine, the guard and handle had been remade with her genesis magic. The original had certainly been magnificent with artistic value, but since there was a problem with its strength, it was now an unadorned metal handle wrapped in mithril fibers.

"The peg hole is worn out, huh…"

So this was what caused the slight wrongness. She took out a spare handle and replaced it.

"Hey, about that curved blade."

Shizuna asked while gnawing on hardtack. It didn't look elegant at all.

"It's not even a magic weapon, but it cuts so well, doesn't it? Is there some kind of secret?"

"A secret… a secret, huh. Well, it's like a bundle of secrets."

If she started explaining, it would be a long story. But she couldn't really go into details either. Such a dilemma.

"Long ago, on an island at the far east, there was a country called Japan."

It probably still exists, but not in this world.

Serge burst out laughing in the background.

"What was developed there was this curved blade called a katana. It doesn't break, it doesn't bend, and it cuts very well. The pursuit of that to its ultimate form is the Japanese sword."

"Huh, so dwarves made it after all?"

As a warrior, she had a reasonable interest in weapons. Shizuna pressed with another question.

In this world, good weapons being made by dwarves was common sense. Anything surpassing that would have to be a divine artifact.

"No, it was humans. This katana in particular was made by a master craftsman named Kotetsu. I obtained it in Labyrinth City."

She wasn't telling any lies.

"Hmm, could I see it for a moment?"

At Shizuna's words, Serge and Lulu's faces stiffened.

They knew just how attached Ria was to katanas.

Even setting that aside, warriors didn't readily let others touch their weapons.

"Don't touch the blade directly. Also, try not to breathe on it as much as possible."

So Ria's actions were unexpected.

She took out a cloth, wrapped it around the blade, and handed the tang to Shizuna.

"For being so sturdy, it's also delicate, isn't it?"

"It's not enchanted with magic after all. Since it can rust, maintenance is essential."

"Huh… it's beautiful…"

"Beautiful, isn't it? But precisely because they're so beautiful, some are displayed not as weapons but for appreciation. What a waste."

In that regard, this world had similar circumstances. Though since this world still had actual combat, many were made for practical use.

"Hmm, maybe I'll try using it a bit too."

Though Shizuna's weapon was a longsword, if it could cut that well, her interest was piqued.

"If so, I'll teach you. Very thoroughly—I'll guide you hand by hand, foot by foot, hip by hip."

"Ah—never mind then."

Shizuna retreated.

It was quiet.

Only the sound of the fire crackling echoed through the cave.

The breathing of everyone who had fallen asleep blended in and couldn't be heard.

On watch were Ria, Cell, and Lulu—three people.

Added to that were Rudolph's beastly senses. It would be impossible for any kind of demon to launch a surprise attack.

At that moment, what Ria sensed was not a presence.

It was a gaze.

Even if one concealed hostility, murderous intent, and presence, that alone couldn't be hidden—the feeling of being watched.

Katana in hand, she stood up.

Creating light magic at her fingertip, she let it drift toward the passage.

"What's wrong? An enemy?"

Cell asked, but Ria herself didn't know.

Since Rudolph was sleeping soundly, there shouldn't be any danger. But something bothered her.

"It feels like… there's a person."

Ria glided toward the passage. The ball of light illuminated far ahead, but there was no human figure.

"Isn't it other explorers?"

Ria didn't answer Lulu's question either.

When explorers met in the labyrinth, passing by each other without incident was the standard protocol in the Dark Labyrinth.

"… It disappeared."

Returning to her original position, Ria sat down.

She couldn't say it was just her imagination. She couldn't say there was definitely something there either.

But in the labyrinth, the scent of death lurked within such subtle feelings of wrongness.

"There might have been something, but I don't sense anything now."

"The spirits aren't giving any particular warnings."

Cell's detection capability was, in a sense, superior to Rudolph's. Detection through spirit magic. And that was telling him nothing was there.

But there was a fatal flaw in Cell's detection.

If the opponent far exceeded him in using spirits, detection through magic would be ineffective.

(This is troublesome.)

She had concealed her figure, her scent, her sound, and her heat.

Even so, that girl had sensed something and come toward her.

That girl with skin too white by dark elf aesthetic standards had perceived her with senses beyond the five.

(In the end, I'll have to just follow her meekly, won't I?)

That was her original role in the first place.

The Dark Labyrinth, said to boast the highest difficulty on the continent.

There stood a woman who intended to conquer it alone—in a certain sense, even more reckless than Ria.