Chapter 17

Just a moment ago.

“Wh-what do we do? If this keeps up, we’re all gonna die…!”

Eri, who had been watching the party battle the demon from a distance, was hopping around in panic.

“Our help isn’t…”

“It’s not possible. If you interfere with either the target undergoing the trial or the enemies they’re supposed to defeat, you’ll also be considered part of the trial. In other words, you’ll automatically join the trial. And if you fail the trial, you definitely die.”

“…!”

“Eri, you’re not thinking of risking your life, are you?”

At Yujin’s question, Eri’s complexion turned pale and she bowed her head deeply. Sia also froze with a deathly white face. Lastly, Hans was sweating bullets and looking completely flustered.

Meanwhile, Yujin was still observing those battling far away.

Looking at him, Tiamat asked,

『So, what do you plan to do about this?』

“Honestly, I don’t plan on letting them die, but it bothers me how simplistic this trial is. The abilities seem closer to immortality rather than mere regeneration, if you ask me.”

『You’re seeing it correctly. That’s not simple regeneration. It’s probably some form of conditional immortality.』

“So that’s how it is?”

『Of course, there’s no such thing as perfect immortality. You could erase them without leaving a trace or hit them with a curse that makes regeneration impossible, or even kill them conceptually… There are more methods than you’d think. With your current strength, none of these should be particularly difficult.』

“Hmm… Not planning on making such a big fuss though… Hmm?”

Just then, the demon sent Hugo flying and slowly approached Mirien. The people around screamed in terror.

“What do we do?!”

“Oh gods, protect them…”

“Ah, damn it…!”

“…”

After watching for a moment, Yujin took a step forward.

Then…

“Eh? Yujin-san?”

Right before their eyes, he disappeared. Hans was confused by Yujin’s sudden vanishing act.

Before they knew it, he was behind the demon possessing the orc.

The demon, unaware of Yujin’s presence behind it, was boasting.

[You mortals must believe the regenerative power in this body is just regeneration, right? Wrong! What I’ve given this body for this trial is conditional immortality! Any attack that doesn’t meet the special condition will definitely regenerate.]

“That can’t be!”

[Heh heh, unreasonable, isn’t it? You guys don’t even know the condition. But since you’re so curious, I’ll tell you. The attack has to split this body cleanly in half. Or completely erase it without a trace. Though, neither of those are possible for you guys anyway…]

“I see. Thank you for the information.”

[Huh?]

The demon didn’t expect it would spill its own secrets. Yujin grinned, raising two fingers before drawing a line down the orc’s body.

Pwoosh!

With a crimson thread of magical power, the orc’s body split cleanly in two.

[Eh, eh…?!]

Together with the demon’s shocked voice, the orc’s corpse fell apart into two pieces.

Thud! Thud!

“A-a…?”

On the other side, Mirien blankly stared at Yujin’s appearance.

“Wow, really considerate, aren’t you? Or maybe there’s some kind of manga-style restriction here? Didn’t expect you to outright reveal your weakness.”

Smiling cheerfully, Yujin was blankly observed by Mirien. At that moment,

[Trial cleared! Congratulations!]

A blue window appeared with the message. Watching it, Yujin thought,

“Hmm, feels kinda like a game when assigning trials too.”

Maybe the maze itself was some kind of game. This fleeting thought crossed Yujin’s mind.

However, that was short-lived.

[This is ridiculous…!]

“Hmm?”

Some sort of dark smoke-like substance appeared, taking on a strange shape while emitting sounds.

“Ah, so you’re a demon?”

[How… Why is someone this strong here?!]

The demon Enkeos wailed like someone whose plans were ruined at the last minute, now existing as a spirit without a physical form.

Watching him, Yujin asked,

“So where’s my reward?”

[Damn…! Don’t get cocky, mortal…! You seem pretty strong for one, but…!]

Still, according to the maze’s rules, he had no choice but to provide the reward.

Swoosh…!

Black smoke gathered in midair, forming a horn which then fell. Yujin picked it up.

A blue window continuously appeared in the air.

[Enkeos’ Horn]

[Description: The horn of the lower-tier demon Enkeos. Contains demonic magic. Can be used as a weapon or as material for alchemy.]

[Ability: Can harness surrounding magic power or use the contained demonic magic. Used demonic magic cannot be restored. Additionally, can temporarily greatly enhance regeneration through magic.]

“Not a very impressive item.”

This horn was probably something that could grow back for Enkeos. Besides, this trial was assigned from a higher level, so expecting something amazing wasn’t realistic.

『Yujin.』

“Hmm? What is it?”

At that moment, Tiamat, who usually floated around Yujin’s vicinity in a spiritual state, unusually contacted him from inside his heart.

『If we expose ourselves, that guy might run away, so listen quietly. Now, let’s conduct an experiment with him.』

“Hmm? An experiment?”

『Yeah, an experiment. Do exactly as I say from now on. First—』

Tiamat explained the rough experimental plan and injected some knowledge into his mind.

Accepting all of it, Yujin nodded with a smile.

“This should be fun. I was meaning to try something like this eventually, so let’s go for it.”

『Fufu, good.』

With that, Tiamat went silent.

Meanwhile, Hans and Eri brought back Hugo, who had flown off somewhere, and laid him beside Chrome.

Additionally, the two prayed over their heads.

“Goddess of healing, please hear my prayer…”

Together with the prayer, golden light seeped into Hugo and Chrome. Their expressions relaxed.

“Mmm…”

“Grunn…”

Both woke up. Chrome scratched his head with a groggy expression while Hugo looked relieved.

“Phew… Thanks, Sia-san.”

“Thanks, priest lady.”

“No, it’s nothing. I couldn’t do anything during the fight, so…”

Sia replied with a somewhat self-reproachful expression. However, both shook their heads.

“It’s only natural. We did tell you not to interfere anyway.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

“Ugh…”

Sia made a pained expression. Then, both turned to look at Yujin.

“And… Thank you, Yujin.”

“We owe you one. Thanks.”

“No, I apologize for not stepping in from the start.”

As Yujin said that, Hugo and Chrome gave bitter smiles. They said,

“Honestly, it feels like we got tricked, but well, ultimately you saved us, so it’s all good, right?”

“Yeah, no need to worry about it. Though I feel somewhat embarrassed receiving help. By the way…”

Their gazes turned toward the demon. The demon twisted its smoke-like face and said,

“Mortals, you’ve been lucky… Damn it, and you, Yujin, was it? I’ll remember this… When you come to the lower levels later, we’ll settle this then…!”

“To what end must we wait? Let’s settle it now.”

[What?!]

“『Stop (停止)』.”

Wooong!

The sound of a clock bell rang out, creating ripples in space while everything within range turned gray.

And everything stopped.

People, animals, air, ground, sky…

[…Wha, what?!]

Except for two beings: Yujin and the demon Enkeos.

Seeing this, Enkeos panicked and shouted.

“This, this is absurd! This is… Dragon Language!”

The demon stared at Yujin in shock, his eyes filled with astonishment.

Swoosh…!

[I-it can’t be…]

Simultaneously, upon sensing the dragon’s fear, pure terror gripped him.

Mistake. The being in front of him isn’t a mere mortal.

An ancient transcendental being. The pinnacle of all living creatures.

[Dragon?!]

“Do you understand now?”

[How?! How?! All transcendentals except the gods have died or are trapped in towers!]

Yet how is a dragon managing to take trials in the maze and receive rewards?! This is absurd!

Though Enkeos yelled, Yujin merely shrugged.

“There’s a saying. ‘When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ Here’s the truth right before you.”

[How…?!]

“Haha, explaining all of this would be too tedious and pedantic, wouldn’t it? Just empty your mind and accept it.”

Having said that, Yujin addressed someone.

“Then, Lady Tiamat, let’s begin.”

『Fufu, alright.』

[Tiamat… Could it be?!]

Just as Enkeos recognized the name Tiamat and exclaimed in shock, Yujin extended his hand.

And muttered.

“『There shall be none who can escape my hand, and none who can hide from my sight.』”

Woooom!

With the dragon language, countless overlapping crimson mana magic circles formed around Enkeos.

From points into lines, lines into surfaces, surfaces into solids, they rapidly expanded before inscribing forms incomprehensible in three-dimensional space.

[I-It can’t be!]

“It can.”

Woooom!

The activated magic.

[AAAHHHHH!!!]

Following Yujin’s gesture, the black smoke forming Enkeos’ spirit was drawn out and absorbed into the horn Yujin held.

Thus…

[Reward updated.]

[Enkeos]

[Description: A horn containing the lower-tier demon Enkeos. While transcendentals rank low, it undoubtedly possesses the power of a demon.]

[Ability: Can utilize not only surrounding magic power but also demonic magic. Demonic magic restores slowly. Can amplify regeneration to its limit through magic.]

“Not bad.”

Seeing this, Yujin smiled. Truly unexpected.

[I-it can’t be… To fall to the level of a mere tool…]

『Fufu, seems to have gone well.』

[…?!]

At that moment, Enkeos heard a voice.

Simultaneously, Tiamat emerged from Yujin’s heart and manifested.

[…Who are you?!]

『Even so… Pathetic for a transcendental. You don’t even compare to Yujin, who’s newly become a transcendental.』

Despite Enkeos’ shock, Tiamat simply evaluated him with a sigh. Yujin laughed and said,

“Haha, if you were higher ranked, I wouldn’t have been able to drag you here and seal you like this.”

『That’s true too. He probably would’ve resisted. But… Your rank isn’t exactly weak either, is it?』

[How… How can you, Tiamat, be alive?! Weren’t you dead?!]

In the middle of Tiamat’s conversation with Yujin, Enkeos interrupted, shocked.

Glancing at him briefly, Tiamat smirked and replied,

『Nameless demon, don’t speak beyond your station.』

Bang!

[Kyaaah?!]

Tiamat’s spiritual rank had risen compared to before, thanks to the enlightenment gained from conversing with Yujin.

Facing the overwhelming aura emitted by her, the low-level demon Enkeos, trapped in spirit form within the horn, helplessly shrunk.

[S-Sorry. But how…]

『Must I explain everything to the likes of you?』

[Y-Yes! Sorry!]

Yujin was somewhat surprised. This was the first time he’d ever felt such authority from her, who was usually gentle and unassuming.

『Anyway, Yujin, even things like this have their uses, so keep it well.』

“Alright… I will.”

Soon after, she reverted to her usual gentle demeanor towards him. She seemed to be the type who was kind only to those close to her.

Around that time, Yujin snapped his finger. With Tiamat keeping Enkeos quiet, it should be fine.

Snap!

“…Eh?”

As Yujin snapped his finger, the world’s time flow resumed. The party was bewildered by the sudden disappearance of the demon.

“…Where did that demon go?”

“Hmm, I’m not quite sure myself.”

Though Hugo spoke, Yujin simply replied nonchalantly. Continuing,

“In any case, since the trial is complete, shall we go?”

Smiling gently, Yujin suggested this. The party, feeling uneasy, nonetheless nodded…

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