Miledi Reisen - A9

A/N: Don't take this fanfic volume seriously; it's just a writing exercise for me and to help me. Butttttt it's also an Artiferia fanfic with some Yugioh elements on the side.

***

Deep in the bottom of the Reisen Gorge, a horrific scene spread out in every direction. Mountains of corpses were scattered all around. Many creatures were burnt into shapeless black remains. Each had perished instantly, though in various gruesome ways. Only one group could venture into the gorge—dreaded by many as a disastrous execution ground—and leave such destruction in their wake.

"You know, it would be helpful if you guys could help," Anam sighed, once again casting a curse technique. A card glowed brightly in her hand before disappearing. She thrust her palm toward a pack of monsters, firing off a pinkish attack that obliterated waves of creatures chasing them.

A/N: Dark Magician Girl used Dark Burning Attack, doing it without chant would lower the power output.

Only Anam could properly take out waves of monsters here back to back with her curse technique. Yue would have to expend a lot of mana to pull off a magical attack, Shea was a close combatant, and Hajime was the only driver.

There wasn't much they could do about it. Hajime's car made a lot of noise and attracted a lot of monsters as they sped towards the unexplored areas of the Gorge, racing through parts Anam had already covered. 

"You want to drive?" Hajime was concentrating on driving. He occasionally helps by shooting down flying mobs if they do happen to survive Anam's magic attacks.

"Nope!" Anam quickly shut up. She tried to drive it once and almost hit something.

The monsters lurking in the gorge seemed oblivious to the lessons of their fallen brethren, striking at Hajime's group once more.

The open terrain offered little refuge as monsters closed in from all directions.

Anam, clicked her tongue and produced a card, tossing it outside where it landed face down, ready for activation. Once they were a safe distance away, she triggered it.

"Reveal face down card, Black Hole!" Anam's hand made a hand sign as she activated her curse technique.

The face-down card revealed itself momentarily before vanishing, giving birth to a swirling vortex that pulled and devoured monsters and debris alike, erasing them from existence. Yue and Shea watched in awe, once again stunned by Anam's unique ability. Even Hajime stole glances in the rearview mirror, marveling at her seemingly supernatural prowess.

For two days straight, this routine repeated. Anam single handedly takes care of all the monsters with the group not having to do anything besides Hajime driving. Truth be told, their smooth progress was entirely thanks to Anam.

Despite their exhaustive exploration of every new cavern and crevice they encountered, they still hadn't stumbled upon anything resembling an entrance. Even Hajime, usually the most composed, was beginning to show signs of impatience.

Even when the group complained, the four of them pressed onward. And so, three more days slipped by.

Their search for today also came to a halt since they didn't find anything either. It was approaching night time so Hajime decided to call it a day and set up camp.

Their search today yielded no results either, prompting Hajime to call it quits as dusk settled. Camp was swiftly set up, with the tent unfurled and dinner preparations underway.

Pulling items from his storage ring, Hajime laid out everything needed for camp - from the tent to tableware, food, ingredients, and seasoning. Thanks to his meticulous planning and the convenience of the storage ring, their camping trip was comfortable.

The pots and pans all heated up in proportion to the mana poured into them, removing any need to start a fire. Even the knives had been enchanted making them razor sharp. He'd also made a makeshift steam cleaner. They were all beloved creations that made his travels more comfortable. And because they were only useful to people who could control mana directly, no one would want to steal them.

"Ancient magic from the Age of the Gods sure is handy." Those had been Hajime's exact words when he'd created all these Artifacts. Any present-day practitioner of magic would have fainted upon hearing the relatively pointless things Hajime used his abilities to make.

"I want one…" Anam staring at Hajime's artifacts.

For dinner that night, they enjoyed Kululu meat boiled in a tomato soup—a dish popular in Tortus. Kululus, essentially flying chickens, offered meat similar in taste to regular chicken. With the meat marinated and vegetables prepared, they simmered the ingredients in a tomato-based broth, savoring the fruits of their labor.

After they finished their dinner, Hajime and the others settled down to chat for a while, as they did every night. Thanks to the stealthstone in the tent, they didn't have to worry about monster attacks.

When it was time for bed, the four of them would rotate the watch until morning.

Tonight, it was Hajime's turn to be on the first watch. The tent was furnished with soft futons as well, so they could sleep well even out in the wild. While Anam was asleep, Yue was poking her on her cheeks. Shea on the other hand walked out of the tent. Hajime gave her a questioning look, and she replied casually.

"...Just going to pick some flowers."

"There's no flowers down here."

"Ha-ji-me-san!" Her nonchalant facade crumbled and she glared reproachfully at Hajime.

"My bad," he said without remorse, realizing what she actually meant. Shea pouted angrily as she stepped out of their camp and trotted off.

A few moments later, her urgent voice pierced the night air. "H-Hajime-san! Anam-san! Yue-san! Come quickly! I found something!" Shea had forgotten about the lurking monsters in the ravine beyond their camp, and her cry for help carried a note of panic.

Hajime and Yue exchanged worried glances before rousing Anam from her slumber and dragging her outside, eliciting a confused "FWHA—THE HECK?!" before they dashed into the night.

Shea's voice was coming from where one of the boulders had fallen against the ravine wall, creating a small gap. She was waving her arms wildly right in front of it, her face filled with excitement.

"Over here! Look at what I found!"

Anam opens her eyes, trying to shake off the grogginess. "Okay, okay, I'm up! Just ease up a bit," she pleaded, attempting to free herself from Yue and Hajime's grasp, only to be pulled along by Shea with even more vigor.

"Owowowowowowowow! Shea, tone down the body strengthening, will you?! Just relax!" Anam winced, feeling the force of Shea's grip.

Yue sighed, feeling annoyed as Shea seized her hand, dragging the group deeper into the crevice. "...So annoying," she muttered under her breath. Hajime follows along, curious about what Shea was excited for.

Shea led them inside, Hajime saw that the wall had been hollowed out on one side, making for a surprisingly spacious room. Shea puffed out her chest proudly and pointed to a section of the wall that was halfway between the entrance and the back.

Anam, Hajime, and Yue looked at what she was pointing at and blinked in confusion. A rectangular signboard was carved directly into the stone wall. Written on it, in cute cursive letters, was this: 

—Welcome everyone! Welcome to Miledi Reisen's heart-pounding dungeon!~

[Hubby, this can't be—]

[It is.]

Anam moved closer to the sign, hoping to find some clue in its cheery message.

"The hell is this?"

"...What?"

Hajime and Yue spoke simultaneously. Except for Shea they all seemed to be unable to accept what they were seeing. The cute penmanship seemed oddly out of place against the backdrop of the desolate gorge.

"This is the entrance, obviously! When I was looking for flowers, I found it here by accident. To think Reisen Gorge really was the entrance to another one of the labyrinths." Shea explained her founding.

Anam pouted and sighed, glanced at Shea, who appeared to be extremely happy and nodding pleasantly at herself that she had done something amazing.

"Good job, Shea." Anam praised her with a warm smile. "You found something that even I couldn't find for months."

"Heheheheheheh" Shea giggles to herself feeling proud, her face filled with excitement.

Hajime and Yue finally recovered from their shock enough to stare at each other in disbelief.

"Yue. You think this is really it?"

"...Yeah."

"That was a long pause. What makes you think so?"

"...Miledi."

Hajime nodded, understanding dawning on his features. "It makes sense," he murmured.

For the pair, Oscar's meticulous notes had revealed crucial detail: Reisen's first name was Miledi. The name Reisen was famous, but most people hadn't known her first name. And so, the fact that it was written on the board made it highly likely that it was the entrance to the labyrinth proper. The only reason they were doubtful at all was because…

"What's with this stupidly cutesy writing?" Hajime thought back to the numerous life and death struggles he faced in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. Yue, too, had felt firsthand just how harsh a labyrinth could be, so she couldn't help but wonder if this wasn't just someone's idea of a prank.

"Well, it was written by a cute woman, right?" Anam answered.

"But there's nothing that looks like an entrance here. The cave just leads to a dead end further up..." Oblivious to their inner turmoil, Shea glanced around the cave and tapped the walls, searching for an opening.

"Hey, Shea. Don't..."

*Clunk!*

"Fugyah!?"

"Don't touch things carelessly like that" was what Hajime had been trying to say, but before he could, the wall Shea had tapped suddenly flipped around, dragging Shea toward whatever was on the other side.

"Shea!" Anam reacted instantly, rushing toward where Shea vanished.

"..." As Shea had just found a secret entrance, the words carved in the stone suddenly seemed more believable.

'So the entrance to Reisen's labyrinth really is here.' Hajime was already starting to miss the more serious atmosphere of Orcus' labyrinth. This felt more like an amusement park than a dungeon. With a sigh, he and Yue followed Anam closely behind.

Whatever mechanism operated the door activated, pushing Anam, Hajime and Yue to the other side of the wall. Darkness greeted them on the other side. The door stopped moving after its full turn and returned to its previous position.

Suddenly, a strange whirring filled the air as a barrage of arrows hurtled toward the trio. Activating Night Vision, Hajime could see them clearly. Arrows. They were painted jet-black to make sure not even a sliver of light reflected off them. But before he could react, Anam jumped forward, in front of the group. She had received a telepathic warning from Gojo, opening her simple domain and repelling all the arrows effortlessly.

Yet, more arrows were fired at Anam, who was standing out ahead in front of the group. Once more, she blocked this wave of arrows.

After the last arrow hit the ground, silence returned to the room.

"That's weird, where's Shea?" Anam's voice trailed off as she turned to Hajime and Yue.

"Ah." Remembering the remaining members of their party, Hajime quickly turned back to the revolving door. Since the door did a half-revolution with each activation, it was possible Shea had been sent back outside when they'd come in.

What worried Hajime was that she hadn't tried to come back in even though a good minute had passed. And so, he hurriedly activated the door again.

As the door turned around once more he saw... Shea. Stuck to the door.

"Uuuu... Hic... Hajime-saaan... don't look at meeee. But please take these off. Let me down, but don't look at me. Pleaseee." The poor little bunny girl. Shea must have been greeted by the hail of arrows too. Though she couldn't see in the dark, her sharp senses must have allowed her to dodge. But the arrows had skewered her clothes, pinning her to the wall in a comedic pose like those emergency exit signs.

Her rabbit ears were twisted in a weird zig-zag pattern, so it was clear that it had taken everything she'd had to dodge. The reason she was crying wasn't because she'd nearly died, though. The puddle at her feet was the cause of her distress.

"Oh yeah, you were in the middle of your 'flower picking,' weren't you...? Well, whatever. Happens all the time."

"No it doesn't! Uuu, why didn't I just finish my business before calling you guys over!" Shea wept uncontrollably. Not only had she wet herself, but she'd done it in front of the man she loved. Her rabbit ears twitched again. Though, considering how pathetic she'd looked when she'd first met Hajime, this was basically a drop in the bucket. That was why Hajime was more annoyed than disgusted as he gazed up at Shea. However, his look only served to hurt her feelings more.

'...Wow. Just how unlucky could she be?' Anam thought, feeling a pang of sympathy for Shea. It must be tough to be her, but... compared to before, Hajime was looking at Shea more… humanely?

As fellow girls, Anam felt sympathy while Yue felt a little for her, they quickly removed the arrows pinning Shea to the door.

Anam cringed at the thought of Hajime becoming a harem protagonist. It seemed to be something that was bound to happen since the girls of this world seemed to be forcibly trying to get into his pants.

"You should be able to handle threats of this level... Amateur." Yue scolded Shea.

"I'm sorry, I'll work harder from now on... Hic..."

"Shea, you are already working hard, what you just need now is more experience." Anam quickly helped comfort Shea with words. She quickly nodded her head at Anam.

"Hajime, we need a change of clothes." Anam glanced at Hajime.

"Got it." He pulled a spare set of Shea's clothes from the Treasure Trove and handed them over. Red faced with embarrassment, Shea quickly changed. Once she was ready, Shea spiritedly ran forward, only to stop when she saw the stone tablet in the center of the room.

Some lights were already lighting up the room when Anam started blocking the second wave of arrows. They were in a room about ten meters wide on all sides, with a hallway extending out of the far end. There was a stone slab in the center of the room, with a message carved into it in the same cutesy handwriting as before. As they read, it said:

—Hey, did I surprise you? Well, did I? I bet you peed your pants, didn't you? Hahaha. Any of you get hurt? Maybe someone in your party died? Fufu~—

Anam's eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in anger. "Who would write something like that?" she muttered, shaking her head.

"....." Hajime and Yue were in complete sync as they read the message. "What an annoying bitch."

Miledi Reisen was being purposely irritating. Had someone wandered in and actually lost a member of their party due to that trap, they would surely have been pissed.

Shea's bangs hid her expression as she read the inscription. After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly drew Drucken and swung it down with all her might. With a thunderous roar, the tablet shattered into a thousand pieces. The tablet must have been the last straw, as Shea continued to slam her hammer on the already shattered stone over and over again.

Once it was pulverized, new words carved themselves into the pieces of stone: —Too bad~ After a little while the stone regenerates~ Kukukuku—

"Graaaaaah!" Overcome with rage, Shea mindlessly swung Drucken down again. The entire room shook as if it were in an earthquake, and a massive shockwave spread out from the point of impact.

"Shea! Shea! Calm down! You mustn't destroy the labyrinth! Don't let it get to you, Shea. We've got more important things to focus on." Anam tried to offer a comforting smile. However, Shea seemed to ignore her and continued venting her anger on the hidden message.

Ignoring Shea, Hajime started talking to Yue.

"Miledi Reisen might have been the only Liberator that really was an enemy of humanity." 

"Agreed."

Unable to do anything, Anam walked away and let Shea continue her crazed outburst. It was only after an hour that Shea started to calm down a little.

During that period, Anam, Hajime, and Yue were going over what they knew about this labyrinth.

They found themselves in a strange room. The stairs, connecting passageways, and even the layout of the room was completely haphazard. It looked like a three year old had just randomly assembled a bunch of lego blocks. Not only that, this labyrinth was affected just like the Gorge.

They couldn't use magic properly inside. Whatever it was that dissipated the mana in the gorge was far more powerful down here. Yue was hit extremely hard by that. Any magic she casts is barely effective unless she expends what she considers a ridiculous large amount of mana. That was how much mana it took to do anything. Any normal person wouldn't have been able to cast anything at all in this dungeon.

Hajime was affected by this just as hard. Both his strong magic ability; Aerodynamic and Gale Claw required maintaining magical energy outside of one's body, so he couldn't use them very effectively, and even his Lightning Field was neutralized. Not only that but his pair of guns, Donner and Schlag operated at less than half of their usual power.

This meant body strengthening was extremely important if you wanted to clear this dungeon. Anam and Shea's area of expertise. As such, the reliable rabbit and the black magician of Hajime's party was…

"I'm gonna murder you... Once I find your hideout, I'm going to tear you limb from screaming limb!" Shea was screaming as she hunted her prey, a dangerous gleam in her eyes. She'd completely, utterly, totally, lost it. Even the way she talked sounded more feral. Miledi Reisen's love of teasing others seemed to have gotten to Shea. 

Hajime, and Yue understood the feeling all too well, so they didn't say anything. As long as Shea stayed comically enraged, they could maintain some semblance of composure by looking at her. It said a lot about their deteriorating mental state that they needed Shea's anger to keep them healthfully sane.

Luckily thanks to Anam, they managed to disable a lot of traps effectively, if given enough time. Anam was saving the group time and danger with this method. She could activate her abilities around the dungeon to give the group time to make a run for it. But it doesn't always help all the time since the owner of the dungeon can immediately 'reset' the traps which could effectively reactivate it.

"Jujutsu Curse Technique! Heart of the cards! Trap Jammer!" Anam made a hand gesture, and a card appeared between her hands before immediately dissipating when she finished the long incantation. Magic circles appeared in front of them, encircling all and stopping all the physical traps. After the traps were disabled, the group left the room immediately and exhaled in relief.

Anam had been relying on her trap jammers throughout their time in the labyrinth. This labyrinth was a trial to earn the qualification for the Age of God Magic, so speed running through it would defeat the purpose. However, effectively disabling the traps should be allowed, as it was considered a valuable skill, if you could pull it off in the first place.

She had already done this over two hundred times today. They had been scouring around the dungeon for around two days already and they still somehow magically end up back at the starting point and having to start the route again to find the 'boss room.'

They'd made decent progress since entering, but they'd always always always always always and always run into a number of frustrating traps and annoying taunting messages.

Because trap jammers don't work on 'pranks'. These pranks were newly added by the owner of the dungeon who seemed to be building a countermeasure to Anam's ridiculous ability that is somehow disabling physical traps.

As they entered a new room, they were greeted by a tunnel illuminated by linrock. As they walked through, some parts of the walls disappeared, launching pillows at the group.

Anam was reaching her mental limits. She dodged a pillow aimed at her head by tilting to the side, and immediately afterward, a mix of dummy arrows and real ones shot towards where they had been standing. They quickly moved out of the way.

There was a brief pause, no more than half a second, before lethal metal arrows rained down from the ceiling. This was the dungeon's countermeasure against Anam's strange magic. Although the dungeon owner didn't fully understand how her ability worked, it knew by mixing in with pranks repeatedly it could mess with Anam's abilities.

After she landed back on the ground, she noticed a tablet inscribed just for her:

—Tired? Tsk Tsk Tsk. If you only amount to this much, you might as well give up. It's okay, though! You guys are always meant to be beaten by a beautiful, amazing, gorgeous genius like me!—

[Hubby. Whoever the fuck designed this labyrinth has to be evil!]

[Honey~ You are doing great. Keep it up.] Gojo encouraged, watching through her eyes. He had nearly mapped out the entire dungeon floor in his mind. However, he refrained from advising her where to go to avoid hindering her qualification for the age of god magic.

"If only you could use your future sight to show us where to go," Hajime said, glancing at Shea while shooting down arrows Anam couldn't cover.

"Umm, I'm still not that good with it yet. I have been practicing, but..." Future sight was the only special magic Shea could use. It allowed her to see one of the potential futures that might unfold. But because of how much mana it took, she could only use it once a day. And because her strength was dependent on her body strengthening, without any mana she was just a worthless rabbit.

Warily, the group continued down the tunnel after that ordeal. They walked for a few hundred meters without incident. The tunnel's unchanging appearance made it hard to gauge distance, and they began to wonder if they were walking in place. Just as suspicion set in, they saw a spacious room ahead. The group relaxed a little, hurrying into the room... only to hear the familiar sound of another trap activating.

"Jujutsu Curse Tech—" Anam stuttered, accidentally biting her tongue and lip. She lost concentration and failed to cast her technique. She was mentally exhausted.

"Ah... the ceiling." Hajime looked up and turned to face Shea and Anam.

"Gather."

"Y-You got it!" Shea quickly latched onto Hajime while Anam huddled the group together.

Everyone looked up at the ceiling and saw that it was slowly coming down on them. It was cliche, as far as traps went, but as most of their magic was practically sealed, it was quite an effective one.

From the hallway, it would have looked like the room had suddenly vanished and been replaced with a wall. That was how fast the ceiling had fallen. The hallway they had come from was now a dead end. 

Silence filled the room. It seemed impossible that Hajime and the others had managed to avoid being crushed to death. The silence made it seem even more likely they were gone.

A few minutes later. Red sparks began flying off the wall opposite the one Hajime and the others had come in from. And after that, a hole large enough for a person to crawl through appeared. From within, Hajime, Yue, Anam and Shea all clambered out.

There'd been nowhere to run to, and they wouldn't have made it to the hallway on the far side in time as a group, so Anam and Shea had held up the ceiling for a dozen seconds, enough time for Hajime to transmute a hole directly above them at his maximum output.

Because of the unique properties of the labyrinth, he'd been forced to work four times slower, with his range reduced to only one meter around him. Worst of all, the whole ordeal had taken far more mana than it should have. They'd all huddled together in the small space he'd crafted for them while he slowly transmuted a path out.

'To think I'd have to dig through the walls again like this... I haven't felt such humiliation since I first fell into the abyss.' Hajime expressed his displeasure with a string of curses.

"God fucking dammit. I can't believe I've been reduced to this again. Worse, my high speed mana regeneration isn't even working. Hell, my mana's not recovering at all."

They didn't have the leisurely anymore to ask Anam to help the group recover mana since her curse energy reserves were already dropping to dangerously low levels.

As they all got out of the hole they noticed the vexatious words that popped up on the ceiling.

—Pupupu! You guys are starting to panic, how lame—

Miledi Reisen had spared no effort in making sure she annoyed her visitors at every turn.

~

Traps upon traps, room after room—they thought they had been through every possible place. Finally, Hajime and his companions seemed to find themselves in a long, rectangular chamber, its walls lined with numerous alcoves. Each alcove housed a statue clad in a full suit of armor, complete with sword and shield. At the far end of the room, a flight of stairs led to an altar, and beyond the altar stood a majestic door. Atop the altar rested a diamond-shaped yellow crystal, its glow casting an eerie light. Hajime frowned as he surveyed the scene, fully aware of the dangers that lay ahead.

"What a door. Does it lead to Miledi's secret base? If so, that's great news, but... am I the only one that's got a bad feeling about those suits of armor?" He asked.

"Oh, come on! Don't jinx it." Anam grumbled, she also judged that these things are annoying and can't be deactivated with trap jammer. If that is the case then…

"Doesn't that mean these things are going to jump out and attack us? Shouldn't we be worrying a lot right now?!"

Shea warily glanced around as they walked towards the center.

As predicted, when the four of them reached the center of the room, something happened. A very familiar noise reverberated across the chamber.

Clunk! They all came to a halt. 'Ah, fucking knew it,' the four of them thought simultaneously. The statues' eyes began to glow ominously. And with the sound of metal scraping against metal, the knights stepped out of their alcoves. There were roughly fifty of them.

The army of inhuman knights shuffled forward and encircled Hajime's party.

"Haha, I knew it. We should have destroyed them before walking up—"

"Jujutsu Curse Technique! Maximum output! Heart of the cards! Imperial Order!" Anam shouted, making a finger gun hand sign as a card emerged in her hands, emitting bright lights that didn't disappear this time. She used one of her strongest techniques in her arsenal.

Upon activation, Shea, Yue and Hajime felt their connection with mana sever. They couldn't use any spells.

However, the effect worked on the knights. The golem knights, about to charge, now stood still, staring at them. But Anam was breathing heavily. She had already expended a lot of curse energy on today's search and was now using her remaining curse energy to keep the powerful curse technique active against these golem knights.

"We are running straight for the altar!" Hajime commanded. He seemed to recognize that these things were trouble if Anam was willing to forcibly use this technique, judging by the incantation.

At Hajime's signal, they all turned and made a run for the altar. Because of Anam's ridiculous techniques, they were able to quickly avoid a useless fight in this room, which saved the group time.

Hajime smiled as he watched their seamless teamwork out of the corner of his eye. This is one hell of a group, he thought.

Upon reaching the altar, Hajime threw two grenades into the center of the room. The ensuing explosion and shock waves sent rows of knights crashing to the ground.

Yue approached the door and found it tightly shut and locked.

"It's sealed."

Even at a glance, it was obvious the altar and door were important. It made sense for them to be sealed, after all.

"It'll probably take me too long to break through that with Transmutation." Hajime turned to survey the room.

"I can't hold for much longer!" Anam exclaimed, sweating as she maintained her ability.

"Release it. The three of us here will stand guard," Hajime ordered, before giving a glance at Yue.

While Hajime could potentially break through with Transmutation, it would consume a vast amount of his mana in this dungeon. Solving the riddle of the altar and the yellow crystal seemed the better option for now. Since, Anam also seemed to lack the firepower to break through the door now.

"Okay... leave it to me." Yue replied instantly and shifted her attention to the yellow crystal. It looked like two pyramids had been joined together at the base, and upon closer inspection Yue realize the whole thing was actually made of interlocking three dimensional pieces.

She took the crystal in her hands and turned back to the door. There were three recesses on its face. After thinking for a moment, she started dismantling the crystal. She was hoping to rearrange the pieces into three cubes so they'd fit in the recesses.

While she worked, she examined each recess in greater detail. When she looked closely, she noticed each of them had writing so faint it could easily be overlooked. Written within was…

—Can you solve it? Well, can you? If you don't finish up quick, everyone's gonna diiiie! Don't worry if you can't, though! It's okay, you guys aren't geniuses like me! So just relax! Even stupid people can live... Well, I guess they can't, huh!? Too baaaaad! Pugyahaha!—

The same annoying insults as always. Even Yue couldn't help but be irritated. She resisted the impulse to punch the door, and continued working on the puzzle. Anam, Hajime and Shea were able to sense her shift in mood, but they decided not to say anything and continued beating down the undying army of golems.

With imperial order disabled the trio were using their mana to reinforce their bodies. Anam wielded her sword with absolute precision, each strike calculated to send knights falling down the stairs, obstructing the path for those behind them.

'Dark Magician Girl is like a hybrid, after using curse energy, she starts using mana…' Gojo thought to himself as he watched.

[I can hear you!] Anam telepathically commented.

The trio remained composed as they fended off the relentless golems, their movements becoming almost rhythmic.

Shea delivered another forceful blow, sending a golem tumbling off the staircase. Yet, more kept emerging, an unyielding tide.

"What in the world…?" Hajime muttered, his brow furrowing in suspicion as he continued to fire at the advancing golems. Despite their efforts, the numbers seemed to only increase.

Hajime and Shea had noticed it now. When they took a closer look at the battlefield, they realized the golems they'd destroyed were nowhere in sight.

"Are they…regenerating?" Hajime pondered aloud, his gaze scanning the golems for any signs of a core.

Anam, quick on her feet, delivered a swift kick to one of the armored golem knights, sending it tumbling down the staircase. "No, the dungeon is rebuilding them as we break them," she explained, her words punctuated by each strike she landed.

Hajime's eyes widened in realization as he examined the surroundings with his skill Ore appraisal. "Spirit Stones," he murmured, connecting the dots. "It's Reconstruction."

"No way! How are we supposed to stop them, then!?" Shea exclaimed as she swung her hammer at the golems.

"We don't," Yue interjected calmly, her voice cutting through.

"It's open." She puffed out her chest a little and reported her success.

"Wow, that was fast. You're amazing, Yue. Come on, let's go!"

There didn't seem to be anything too special about the room beyond. Regardless, Hajime turned around and started heading for the door. If they could reseal that door, they'd be able to halt the golem's advance. Yue ran through first, followed by Anam and then Shea. They stood on either side of the double doors, ready to close them the minute Hajime got through.

And in that moment, Anam and Shea slammed the doors shut.

Just as Hajime checked with Farsight earlier, the room was completely empty. Even if it hadn't been Miledi's room herself, Hajime had at least been expecting a damn clue, so the whole situation was rather anticlimactic.

"Is this another one of her tricks? Have this big old fancy door and seal, but put nothing behind it?" Hajime surveyed the room warily. 'Either way, this must be near the end of the labyrinth.'

"It's possible." Yue answered.

"Stupid Miledi! How long are you going to keep making fun of us!?" Shea's voice thundered.

"Please, no more signs." Anam whimpered.

They suddenly heard the noise they'd come to hate.

Clank!

The room suddenly started trembling. Suddenly, Hajime could feel G-forces from the floor. He planted his spike shoes in place to keep himself in place and brace himself against the impact.

They found themselves being assailed by G-forces from below. The unexpected shift made Yue bite her tongue, and she held her mouth with tears in her eyes. Anam was down on her knees. Meanwhile, Shea was sprawled across the ground like an upside down frog. The room kept going in all different directions for a good forty seconds before it came to a sudden stop, ignoring all laws of inertia.

Yue had clung on to Hajime the moment she'd realized what was going on, so she'd been fine.

"It's over now... Yue, you okay?" Hajime asked, concern etched in his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yue replied, her grip on Hajime easing.

Hajime untransmuted his spikes and stood up. He examined his surroundings, but nothing in particular stood out.

"H-Hajime-san, don't I get a word too?" Shea's voice strained with nausea as she glared at Hajime. She didn't look too happy about being ignored.

Anam, exhausted, remained silent, catching her breath in a daze. Her husband telepathically informed her a boss battle will happen and this is the only momentary break they will get.

While that argument was taking place about Shea being ignored by Hajime and Yue scolding Shea along with Hajime.

That's when it happened. While they were taking a break, they didn't notice the floors silently detaching from each other. The chamber in this room eventually reached the point it had no floors, leaving them standing on a square platform suspended ten meters in the middle of the room.

Still, unexpected surprises were this dungeon's specialty, so while they were still in the middle of their argument, the platform started moving.

Hajime activated his Farsight to scout out the room once more. But before he could get a good look, Shea yelled out a warning to him.

"Run!"

Hajime and Yue didn't hesitate. At Shea's urgent warning, they leaped to the side with lightning speed. Fortunately, a nearby floating block provided a landing spot. Anam followed suit, but her right arm and leg were torn apart in the process. She let out a cry of pain as she landed on the platform with Hajime and the others, her movements sluggish as she struggled to recover.

"Arrhhh!" Anam yelled out in pain as she fell onto the platform where Hajime and the others were. "Gaaahhh!" Her reaction has gotten slower and she is still trying to recover.

"Anam!" they all cried out in unison, their voices filled with concern.

Before their eyes, the platform they had just vacated was obliterated by a colossal impact, as if a meteorite had struck it. The force of the collision sent debris flying, and a surge of heat surrounded the falling remnants. Hajime shivered with cold sweat, realizing that without Shea's warning, they all would have faced the full brunt of the impact. That collision could have killed them all instantly.

Anam's near death underscored the danger they were facing in this dungeon, prompting Hajime to reassess its threat level to that probably equal to Oscar.

Rushing to Anam's side, Shea examined her injuries while casting a hopeful glance at Hajime, silently pleading for the precious God water he carried. Just as Hajime reached for the vials, a miraculous sight unfolded before their eyes.

'Force it out! Force it out!' Anam chanted in her mind. 'Push out all the remaining curse energy into positive energy!' She sobbed in pain.

Anam's lost limbs were slowly regenerating before them, a miraculous sight that left them all stunned.

"Wha—" Hajime stammered.

Gently, Shea placed her arms on Anam's shoulder, offering silent support and any hopes of comfort. It was a small gesture, but it spoke volumes of the bond that had formed between them.

As Anam's sobs gradually subsided and her arm and leg returned and she slowly got up while wiping her tears.

"I'm okay," Anam said, her voice steadier now.

Gojo, unable to transfer his curse energy to her, could only offer telepathic words of comfort and encouragement as Anam's curse energy reserves dropped to zero.

The trio fell silent. Moments ago, it seemed Anam would be crippled for life. Yet now, she stood before them, fully restored and healthy. Just how powerful was she? What kind of abilities did she possess?

'...It's kinda like my regeneration,' Yue noted mentally.

"Can you still fight?" Hajime asked, his eyepatch removed as he surveyed the surroundings.

"I can still fight, but my output has been lowered by more than 80%," Anam replied, looking down.

"That's more than enough." Hajime replied.

With the limited mana Anam had left, she could only reinforce her body, but even that would have to suffice.

"Thanks, Shea. You saved our lives." Hajime offered words of praise to Shea.

Yeah... good job," Yue added, nodding in agreement.

"Ehehe, thank goodness my Future Sight activated back there. Though I'm completely out of mana now..." Shea scratched her head, smiling sheepishly.

So the reason she sensed it before me was because of her Future Sight ability. Shea could use her ability voluntarily, but it also triggered on its own when her life was in danger. The damage Anam took could have obliterated us all, Hajime thought as he cautiously poked his head over the edge of the platform to take a look.

Peering down, he could faintly see something ascending at high speed. In the blink of an eye, it floated above Hajime and the others, its eyes glowing with a cold light as it stared at them.

"Man, are you serious?" Hajime muttered, clicking his tongue as he aimed his gun at the new threat.

"It's... so big..." Yue's outburst could probably have been interpreted in a not-so-wholesome way.

"Yue. Wording," Anam corrected, eyes fixed on the giant golem knight before them.

"S-So this is their boss," Shea stammered, her voice trembling.

They all gazed up in amazement. The golem was fully armored like the others they had fought, but this one stood twenty meters tall. In its right hand was a glowing red heat knuckle, the weapon that had destroyed the platform earlier and torn off Anam's limb. In its left was a flail, its fingers wrapped around the chain.

As Hajime and the others prepared for battle, the other golems started flying in, encircling them. They stood, or rather floated, at attention with their swords held upright in front of their chests, as if saluting their emperor.

Hajime and the others prepared themselves. But silence filled the room, and the tension was almost palpable. The moment one side moved, a fight to the death would break out. At least, that was the sense the atmosphere gave off until…

"Heyo~ Nice to see you~ It's me, everyone's favorite idol, Miledi Reisenchan~

The huge golem's greeting didn't match its look at all.

"Miledi?" Anam's head tilted as she stared at the giant golem.

The golem continued to bob its head happily, almost as if it were dancing. "Yes yes!~ Miledi! That's me!" It nodded vigorously, exuding a bizarre, almost comical joy.

[This is the final trial. Fight and win.] Gojo offered some words of advice.

She talked just like the messages they'd seen. Since she'd called herself Miledi Reisen, it was possible it was the Liberator herself, but she was supposedly long dead and a human. Hajime decided to try that angle of questioning first.

But wasn't Miledi Reisen a human? And isn't she dead? Anyway, we've never seen a sentient golem before, so we were a bit surprised... Sorry about that. Also, tell us what exactly you are. As concisely as possible, please."

"Hmm? Miledi was always a golem, you know? Whatever gave you the idea she was human?" When she said that numerous golem knights appeared surrounding all of us.

"Oscar's notebook. Don't give me bullshit like 'Oh, but I look just like a human, don't I?' Just keep it short. We'll be turning you into scrap soon enough. There's no need for any annoying banter, just tell us what we want to know."

Anam glanced around quickly and realized other platforms were hovering nearby, seemingly designed as footholds for our group. The giant golem, Miledi, was deliberately setting the stage for our coming fight. 'Like a trial.' she thought.

"O-Oh my. I finally get a chance to talk to someone, and this is how you treat me? And did you just say Oscar? Did you three perhaps clear O-chan's labyrinth?" Miledi was playing hard to get.

"Yeah, we've already beat Oscar Orcus' dungeon. But I'm the one asking the questions here. If you don't want to answer, that's fine too. We'll just move straight to the part where we crush you to pieces. It's not like I'm dying to know any of this information. All we're here for is the ancient magic." Hajime still has his gun Donner pointed at the massive golem to accentuate his words. 

Yue and Shea were ready to make a move at a moment's notice. Anam was silently preparing herself as well.

"Wow, nothing fazes you does it?" Miledi asked.

"If you want the ancient magic, does that mean you're going to kill the gods? Are you going to take out those conniving little bastards for us? If you got to the end of O-chan's labyrinth, then you must know what's going on, right?" she added.

"I told you, I'm the one asking the questions here. If you want me to tell you anything, you answer first." Hajime coldly demanded.

The three people recognized Hajime was buying time for the group so they could learn as much as they could if they could get anything out of their discussion.

"You really are a cocky little brat. Well, whatever. Umm where to begin... Ah, guess we'll start with my real identity. Umm..."

"Like I said, keep it short. I don't need an entire novel's worth like when I saw Oscar." Hajime interjected.

"Ahaha. I guess O-chan can be a little long-winded. He always did like to talk." The massive golem looked up at the sky, quietly reminiscing. She really felt more like a human than a lump of rock.

"Alright, so put simply... I am indeed Miledi Reisen. And the secrets of these golems lie in the ancient magic I can use! If you want to know more, then you'll have to beat me first!"

"That's not an explanation..."

"Hahaha. I mean, what'd be the point in making this labyrinth if you got all the answers before clearing it?" The Miledi golem wagged her finger like she was lecturing a small child.

Regardless, it seemed that whatever magic Miledi possessed, it wasn't going to help him teleport across worlds. Somewhat put out, Hajime asked his next question.

"Then what does your ancient magic do?" 

Hajime's only goal was to return home. It didn't matter if this spell controlled souls or spirits or golems or whatnot, it was of no use to him.

"Oh, interested, are we? Do you really wanna know that bad?"

Her expression couldn't change, but her tone made it obvious that she was grinning inside. Annoyed, Hajime waited for her to answer.

"If you wanna know... you'll have to answer one of my questions first."

Her tone suddenly shifted drastically at the end of her sentence. Her playful, cutesy voice was replaced by a dead cold serious one. Hajime and the others were taken aback a sudden dark turn.

Still, he didn't let it show on his face, "What?"

"What are you after? Why do you want to collect the ancient God of magic so badly?"

Her tone made it clear that she wouldn't forgive him for lying. It was possible this was her real personality. After all, she was a member of the group that had risen up against the gods for the sake of the people. She had plenty of reason to want to know what the person she entrusted her power to would do with it.

Unlike Oscar, who'd passed away and left only a video recording of himself in his dungeon, Miledi had spent a godly amount of time here waiting for a challenger to come and lay claim to her power. In a way, it must have been torture. Her crazy attitude might only have been a front, while the real her was someone with an inhuman amount of patience and a strong sense of responsibility.

Yue had picked up on that as well, so her expression shifted ever so slightly. Having spent centuries trapped in a prison of her own, Yue must have understood the suffering Miledi had gone through. And there was more than just sympathy in her eyes. After all, unlike Yue, Miledi had chosen to remain down here in the darkness for an unknown amount of centuries of her own volition.

[Sure reminds me of you, no?] Gojo telepathically tried lighting up the tense atmosphere with what Dark Magician Girl was feeling.

[...] Dark Magician Girl didn't answer as she felt she was similar to Miledi in a way.

Hajime's gaze met Miledi's, and he told her the truth.

"My only goal is to return home. One of your stupid mad gods summoned me and her to this world by force. I'm just trying to find a spell that can teleport me back... I have no interest in carrying on your crusade against the gods. I'm not going to risk my life for this world." As he finished, he gestured towards Anam, emphasizing his point.

"..." She stared at Hajime for a few seconds before turning to look at Yue, Shea, then finally Anam. Seemingly coming to some sort of understanding, she nodded curtly.

"I see," was all she said. 'She must have been someone extraordinary in her world then,' Miledi thought about Anam.

Then, her serious tone of voice vanished, and was replaced by the cutesy one she had been using before.

"Hmm... I see~ I see~ I understand now, you're not from this world. Yeah, that must have been tough for you~ Alright, let's duel! Beat me and then you get your hands on the power you seek!"

If Hajime had lied, she would have reacted differently. She would have unleashed her full fury, attempting to eliminate them without the need for any trial.

"I can't follow your logic at all, but... in the end, what is your ancient magic?"

Miledi only laughed gleefully and said "Well..." suggestively.

"Not telling!"

"Then die."

Hajime immediately let loose a barrage of missiles that he had prepared and fired shots from his gun. They left a trail of sparks as they slammed into the Miledi Golem and exploded. The explosion echoed loudly across the massive room. Smoke enveloped the space Miledi had been occupying.

"Did you get her!?" Shea exclaimed.

"Shea, anytime anyone says that the enemy's alive." Yue replied, dashing Shea's hope for a quick victory.

"This is a giant golem we're talking about. It probably has the same reconstruction logic." Anam added.

Refusing to let their guard down, Anam reinforced her body with mana. She grabbed Shea and Yue, leaping off the platform to land on another. Hajime followed closely, jumping without a backward glance, firing into the smoke to keep the golem at bay.

Ultimately, Anam's choice to move the group to a different platform was the right one. A burning fist punched its way through the smoke. Miledi swept her hand across, blowing away the smoke and obliterating the platform they had vacated just moments before.

As the smoke cleared, they saw that while Miledi's forearms were crumbling here and there, she hadn't taken any serious damage. The platform that was destroyed was used to restore her own body.

"Fufu, congratulations on landing the first strike. But I'm sure you can do better than that. Come on, I might have the spell you're looking for~ I'm pretty strong though, so try not to die." Accompanied by joyous laughter, Miledi fired the flail attached to her left arm at Hajime. Not swung, fired. There was no windup, so the flail attached to the end of an arm was just suddenly hurtling toward them. She must have been able to control the direction of her gravity like the other golems, so she made the flail "fall" at them.

Hajime and the others jumped once more to another nearby platform to avoid it. It shattered the block they had just jumped off of and, like it was swimming through the air, turned around and returned to Miledi's hand.

"Let's do this! We are all taking Miledi down!"

At Hajime's shout, the final battle of the Reisen Labyrinth, one of the Seven Great Labyrinths, began in earnest.

The golem knights that had been on standby until then suddenly sprang into action. Like they had in the hallway, they pointed themselves like bullets at Hajime and the others, then fell straight at them.

Anam repositioned in front of the group like a vanguard and landed punches and kicks on all of the Golems that were firing at them like bullets.

Yue on support duty, used the device that was given to her by Hajime and thrust one of her canteens forward, and swung it from side to side. The highly compressed water shot out with considerable force and cut through the golems like a laser.

"Pretty good as a group. But there's fifty of these infinitely regenerating golems and me. Will you really be able to get them all at once?"

With a wicked cackle, Miledi fired her flail again. Shea leaped out of the way and onto a pyramid shaped block above her.

Meanwhile, Shea leaped off her platform and swung Drucken down at Miledi's head.

Hajime was fired off his railgun at Miledi. Even the giant Golem couldn't ignore the railgun enhanced bullets. And so, seeing the incoming barrage, Miledi swiftly swung her flail at an angle, deflecting Hajime's shots.

"Ah, if only I had some curse energy left!!!" Anam muttered to herself, racking her brain for alternative strategies. Her combat instincts demanded versatility, but with her curse energy depleted and with the current environment, she felt stuck. Her other magic, reliant on mana, seemed useless in this situation. All she could rely on was close-quarter combat, reinforcing her body with mana.

Except…

[Hey, babe. You could know you could let me "I" "N" "C" "A" "R" "N" "A" "T" "E"]

Gojo's voice echoed telepathically from one of Anam's ears to the other, distracting her and annoying the Dark Magician Girl. How was he even able to communicate like that?

[NO! I can do this!] Anam snapped back, determined to prove herself.

After pulverizing all the golem puppets, she redirected her focus towards Miledi's golem. She was determined to unleash her frustration on Miledi in this dungeon, ready to pummel her into oblivion.

"Kuh, damn you!"

Gritting her teeth, Shea pulled Drucken's trigger. There was a concentrated explosion along the face of the hammer. The recoil of the blast allowed her to correct her trajectory. She spun around thrice before delivering a blow backed by the power of centrifugal force squarely into Miledi.

Miledi instinctively raised her left arm to shield herself, but Shea's strike packed such force that it shattered her arm completely. Yet, Miledi remained unfazed, effortlessly swatting Shea aside with her injured limb.

"Kyaaa!"

The force of the blow sent her flying. She somehow managed to stabilize herself by firing Drucken multiple times, then made an emergency landing on one of the floating platforms.

"Shea!" Anam's cry pierced the air, unintentionally alerting Miledi to her presence from the opposite side.

Nearly caught off guard, Miledi turned toward Anam, who lost the opportunity of her surprise attack. With her immense golem frame, Miledi hurriedly shifted to block Anam's assault with her remaining arm.

Anam's punch lacked the kind of force Shea had, but it still left deep dents in Miledi's arm. However, Anam wasn't finished. She unleashed a relentless flurry of punches in a combo assault.

"Skill activate! Consecutive serious punch!" Anam announced, improvising a name to throw off her opponent, while maintaining a continuous assault, even managing to push back the giant golem slightly, catching Miledi off guard.

Memories of Gojo's training advice flashed through Anam's mind. "If you can't use any more tricks, make them up on the fly! Creativity is one of mankind's most powerful weapons, depending on how you use em of course~"

As Miledi endured the onslaught for a mere heartbeat, she couldn't help but yelled, "HEY! THESE ARE JUST REGULAR POWERED PUNCHES!" before swiftly counter attacking with her other hand holding the flail.

As Anam halted her barrage of punches, she swiftly executed a beautiful flip, narrowly evading the flail hurtling towards her. With precision, she landed back on the outstretched arm of the Golem she was punching, pausing only momentarily before propelling herself upwards, her gaze fixed on a floating platform within reach.

"Wha—!?" Miledi was shocked, she just got juked.

"I know, right?"

As Miledi turned around in surprise, she saw Hajime. He had fired an anchor into the gap between her armor and found himself a foothold. In his hands was the railgun-accelerated anti-materiel rifle Schlagen, pointed directly at her heart. Sparks were flying down the length of Schlagen's barrel.

"This is where you are weak right?! The core is where a human's heart would be!" Hajime knew where her weak point was thanks to his demon eye ( prosthetic eye ). He was making a crazed psychopath smile.

"Wh-When did you—" Miledi was interrupted by the sound of a bullet being fired. The point blank rifle shot sent Miledi flying backward, obliterating the armor around her chest. With his Lightning Field weakened, Schlagen was only as powerful as Donner normally was. Still, that was more than enough to destroy metal armor. Even in this dungeon Donner was powerful enough to blow away the normal golem knights' armor, and since Miledi seemed to be made of the same material, the most she could have done to her armor was make it thicker.

Smoke billowed from her chest as she flew backward, and the recoil sent Hajime flying in the opposite direction. He fired another anchor off at a nearby platform and swung himself up onto it. Then, he took a closer look at what had become of Miledi. Anam, Yue and Shea jumped onto nearby blocks to take a closer look as well.

"...Did you get her?" Yue looked cautious.

"Stop asking that question." Anam gasped for breath during the momentary reprieve. Each punch she landed on Miledi carried the burden of her own exhaustion, the strain weighing heavier with every blow. Now she was experiencing a setback.

"I really hope this is the end." Shea seemed hopeful.

Hajime's expression, on the other hand, was unreadable. Meanwhile, Anam displayed unusual signs of weariness, a sight that puzzled him.

Anam's breathing steadied, but she couldn't shake the fatigue weighing her down. "Why am I getting so tired easily?" she mumbled.

She didn't want to give up, yet the exhaustion she felt wasn't merely physical. It was as if her spirit and mind were fatigued too, probably mentally worn out by the countless traps she had faced, many aimed directly at her.

She felt like she was on the verge of burning out, her consciousness flickering like a candle nearing its end.

[Ah, you're sick. Likely running a fever,] Gojo deduced, unable to conduct a physical examination but relying on keen observation.

Unfortunately, for Anam. When her cursed energy reaches zero, there's no bouncing back. Here in this world, all drops of negativity and malice emotions are siphoned from the depths of hell to sustain their realm. Thus, Anam's ability to replenish her cursed energy is tied to the maximum capacity she possesses. However, if her current cursed energy hits rock bottom, even the highest limits won't grant her recovery of curse energy.

[This is new. I didn't think you could fall ill even with my artifact.] Though Gojo dismissed it as not serious, not knowing the exact root cause lay in the absence of curse energy.

Even though Dark Magician Girl is physically alive, she was once a spirit, she felt her life slowly forcibly drain away, causing her a lot of discomfort and tiredness.

Unfortunately for them, it wasn't over. Miledi started drawing nearby platforms to her as if nothing had happened, and spoke to Hajime with a voice full of admiration.

"Maaan, that was close. I actually thought I was done for. If this dungeon didn't dissipate mana, and that artifact had been able to fire at full power, I really would have bit the dust. Yep, I'm a genius for spending so much time making my labyrinth like this!" All they heard from the Miledi Golem were words of admiration for herself.

The giant knight Golem appeared once more, behind her regular armor plating had been another set of jet black armor. Hajime's Schlagen hadn't even been able to scratch that.

Hajime remembered seeing that armor before.

"Hmm. So you're interested in this, huh?"

Miledi noticed where Hajime's gaze was directed and pointed to her jet black armor as she spoke gleefully.

"Well..." she continued suggestively, but before she could continue, Hajime spat out a curse and answered her question.

"Shit. It's Azantium."

Azantium was the hardest metal in this world. Plenty of Hajime's own equipment was forged out of it as well. Even a light coat of it would be tough enough to withstand a full power shot from Donner. No wonder Schlagen didn't do anything. Breaking through Azantium was next to impossible, which made Hajime furrowed his brows.

Anam frowned as she also judged it near impossible to break not without her abilities put at maximum output but she doesn't have an ounce of curse energy. At the rate this is going Anam feels she is going to be a burden. She felt she could only perform one more move before tapping out.

That was when there was a short conversation telepathically with her husband.

[How about I incarnate in your body?]

[...you know doing so means killing me right?]

[...I suppose so.] Gojo sighed, resigned.

[But… you won't die at least.] he added.

***