Guardian of the First Floor. I don’t know what will come out, but I do know how to summon it.
Since this marks the official start of the story, I paid a bit of attention to it.
To explain it properly would take too long, so let me summarize…
It’s a ritual of sacrifice.
The inhabitants of the Great Forest… in this case, all the monsters on the first floor and the elves, right? You slaughter them before the World Tree and lay out their corpses as needed. Finally, someone must, with deep desire for revenge, pray for power to descend upon them, and that’s it.
At first glance, it seems so simple that you’d wonder why it hasn’t been discovered until now, but when you look closer, it’s not that simple.
Why would you go through the trouble of dragging monsters all the way to the World Tree without even harvesting the mana stones and just laying out their corpses?
Instead of hauling that burden far away, you could just butcher them right there and take the mana stones and byproducts.
And a prayer to the World Tree? Back in the early days of the Labyrinth, maybe there were still elves who couldn’t abandon their faith in the World Tree, but these days, there’s no elf who truly believes in it.
At most, maybe Eve, who’s just been clinging to the old ways?
Conversely, that implies that there were quite a few elves who truly believed in the World Tree long ago, but…
What they wished for from the World Tree was its revival.
Like a child mourning the loss of a mother, simply sorrowing and begging for it to come back.
That was a common sentiment among the elves at the time. It’s not like racial depression emerged for no reason.
As the Labyrinth grew, the definition of the Great Forest residents became tangled, and the elves’ feelings toward the World Tree became far more affectionate than the World Tree itself realized, resulting in something so simple yet undiscovered by anyone.
As time passed, those who truly believed in the World Tree vanished, making the accomplishment practically impossible.
In the novel I was planning to write, the protagonist joins an elf party as a porter and ends up getting wiped out by raiders who brought in monsters.
It’s a material enjoying the difference in gender reversal perception. The protagonist, who barely survived by hiding among the corpses, was someone like me reincarnated from Earth.
Lacking common knowledge, they sincerely prayed, not realizing that the World Tree was already dead, thus accidentally fulfilling the summoning conditions.
The summoned Guardian of the Layers won, but after killing all the exhausted raiders, the protagonist defeats the wounded guardian and gains power… something like that?
Well, in my case, I was thinking of utilizing the corpses of elves.
Among numerous races, elves, known for their longevity, hold great value in themselves.
Some elves, well aware of this, leave behind a bequest that advises to sell their corpses as inheritance.
Of course, they’re still considered nasty even among elves… but hey, at least there’s a legal way to procure them.
Anyway, how in the world did I figure out this simple yet complex condition so quickly?
In front of the illusion of the World Tree, which I arrived at following Karen, there stood One Who Devours the Twilight, circling among countless monster corpses.
In the center of the circle were two elves who were about to meet the same fate as the monsters… somehow, those two faces looked familiar.
“…Lemon? Apple?”
Why are those two captured again?
Did they come into the Labyrinth just to be tied up?? Are they into bondage??
As I muttered in disbelief, Ellie, who was getting ready to leap in from the side, flinched and whispered.
“What? Does Jonah know them?”
“Yes. If you look closely, Ellie might remember too. They’re the ones who came with Fairy and Silver Coin and took me away last time.”
“Oh, they were the ones we rescued from those raiders.”
“Exactly. The dagger I’m using now was made at the request of the person who took care of those two… I didn’t expect them to be captured again.”
Exhaling a deep sigh, Lydia, who had drawn her rapier, narrowed her eyes and stared ahead.
“Ellie, the smallest one is supposedly the strongest. You take care of that one. I’ll handle the one directing the ritual over there. Karen, please tend to the sacrifices in the meantime.”
“Sounds reasonable.”
“Leave it to me.”
Ellie and Karen nodded. Lydia, summoning her aura, looked over here.
“Jonah, wait here. Once Karen brings back the hostage, she’ll free and heal them, but don’t engage in the fight. No, don’t do anything that would draw attention.”
“I know, so don’t worry.”
“…Okay.”
Lydia nodded slightly. This time, she silently exchanged glances with Ellie and Karen.
Quietly, the three of them didn’t wait for anyone and stomped the ground simultaneously.
Boom!
The deafening sound echoed, shaking the ground. A small crater formed, and when I regained my senses, the three had already flown forward.
Naturally, Ellie was the first to arrive. She landed in front of the petite figure and stomped her foot down.
Thud!
“Don’t you ever get tired?! Just quietly live in a corner instead of jumping out and doing something suicidal!”
Her arm swung back dramatically. It reminded one of a bowstring pulled to its limit.
The small figure, the target of confusion, remained calm as they offered a prayer without a hint of panic.
“O Goddess! In this deep affection I feel for you, I may even forget the flow of time.”
A young voice, fitting for such a small figure. But it couldn’t be disregarded.
Vroom—
A murky purple mist enveloped Ellie. Was it meant to hinder her movement? It felt as though she’d stepped into water, her movements slowed significantly.
However, it didn’t seem to completely suppress Ellie’s power.
Clang!
With a sound of shattering, the mist that surrounded Ellie dispersed in all directions. Yet, perhaps due to the effort exerted, Ellie’s extended punch was thrown off course.
That force alone was enough to shake the surroundings, yet somehow, it missed, and the heretics remained standing tall.
“O Goddess—!”
The prayer continued. It seemed it would take a bit longer here before the outcome was decided.
Nodding inwardly, I turned my gaze to the side. There, Lydia, who had arrived a beat later than Ellie, was piercing one heretic’s heart with her aura-wrapped rapier.
It was the one who tried to kill Lemon and Apple.
“Guh…!”
The creature, foaming at the mouth with blood, squeezed every last ounce of strength from its body and hurled the weapon it held towards Lemon and Apple. But—
Clang!
Just in time, Karen’s spear intercepted it.
There was no special decoration. Just the blade and shaft. Only those two were present, other than the simple spear, yet it exuded significant weight.
Karen’s eyes, drenched in fatigue, now flared up with rage. Whether she had not lost sight of her goal or not, she quickly returned with Lemon and Apple.
“Jonah. If you need it, use this.”
“Ah, yes.”
Receiving a vial of Holy Water, which had effects similar to a potion, Karen leaped back into the fray.
Indeed, just as Karen said, most of the ones who served One Who Devours the Twilight looked to be of a manageable level.
After swiftly taking one down with a sneak attack, Lydia wielded her greatsword like a whirlwind, toppling the heretics like autumn leaves.
Karen, too, was calmly piercing hearts one by one.
Of course, the heretics didn’t just sit back and take it; those shrouded in murky divine power stepped forward to battle Lydia and Karen, while the rest fell back to prepare their distorted sacred arts.
However, it didn’t hold much meaning.
The distorted sacred power of the heretics was swallowed up by Lydia’s fiercely burning aura, preventing it from manifesting any real power and shattered to pieces.
Even if one managed to break through occasionally, they met their end at Karen’s spear, which glimmered with a vivid pink hue.
There were also completed sacred arts in between, but…
“Shut up! Distorters of the Goddess’s will!”
Boom!
The distorted miracles crumbled under the pure divine power that burst from Karen’s body.
Yeah. Clearly, as Karen said, with just one of them, they could win due to the power difference.
Then the problem remains with Ellie.
With each punch and kick Ellie threw, the ground tremored, and explosions resonated in the air.
She wasn’t wrapped in an aura like Lydia. She was just strong and solid.
It seemed the reward from the growth of the Labyrinth had honed the beastkin’s robust physique to its limit.
Exuding primal violence, Ellie let out a fierce fighting spirit that was entirely different from the Ellie I knew.
Yet despite her small stature, she was somehow managing to keep pace with Ellie.
The purple mist dulled Ellie’s movements, causing her punches to miss, while the other heretics summoned a distorted blessing, barely completing it after a struggle, desperately pouring it out in an instant.
And it was not just the power of the Goddess of Love that they wielded.
A piercing purple crystal spear shot through the air, and behind them, a warrior shimmered violet, swinging their sword, while strange flames flickered at their feet.
From the feeling of divine power radiating from all of it, they were clearly unleashing powers from different gods, though I have no idea where they got it.
Even still, they couldn’t inflict harm on Ellie.
The crystal spear only scratched Ellie’s body, the translucent warrior’s head was knocked off by Ellie’s punch, and the flames spreading across the ground were extinguished by a single stomp.
Ellie steadily closed the distance, neutralizing the power of the diminutive figure.
It seemed it would take a bit of time, but it wasn’t dangerous.
Only after assuring victory did I let out a relieved sigh and shifted my gaze to the shimmering Lemon and Apple on the floor.
Their eyes sparkled unnecessarily. I just wish they weren’t shimmering all the way down to their pants.
Our eyes met as the Lemonade Dispenser and plain Apple opened their mouths.
“Jonah! You came to rescue us, right?!”
“Just like I expected, it’s Jonah!”
“No. I was captured too.”
“???”
“???”
The two of them looked confused.
When they looked at me with those eyes, I couldn’t help but want to betray their expectations.
