Chapter 60: Speed running the Divine Mountain Labyrinth

Izumi came back to the room, after some time, and knocked on the door.

"Kyouko, It's me. Can I come in?"

"Yeah." the boy heard.

Izumi entered the room and saw the girl sitting on the bed with her legs curled up to her chest. Her nose twitched when she suddenly smelt a delicious aroma. Looking up, she saw Izumi standing at the foot of the bed with many covered plates of food hovering around him.

"I...Izumi?"

The boy formed a small bed table and placed some of the plates on it before putting the table in front of the girl.

"W...What's this?"

The esper-mage gave an awkward smile,

"I asked the owner if I could use the kitchen which he agreed," he said before forming some utensils for the girl.

The smile disappeared before being replaced by a frown.

"And I wanted to apologize."

Kyouko lifted her gaze from the food and looked at Izumi.

"Apologize?"

Her boyfriend nodded,

"Yeah. I'm sorry that I didn't take into account your feelings. I should've noticed that you were uncomfortable about seeing them again. But, in my arrogance, I simply went ahead and did what I wanted. I should've asked you what you wanted. For that, I am very sorry." the boy said and bowed his head to show his sincerity.

Kyouko looked at the boy, who had his head bowed, and sighed. She pushed the table to the side and got up from the bed. She then walked up to the boy and looked up at him. Confused, the boy looked at her and saw that she only had a neutral expression. They stayed like that looking at each other for who knows how long before Kyouko broke the atmosphere by smiling. She then placed her hand on the boy's cheeks and kissed him catching him off guard. Soon he melted into the kiss and grabbed the girl's waist. What seemed like forever lasted only a few seconds when Kyouko finally pulled back from the boy's lips.

"Wha-" Izumi tried to say when the girl put a finger on his lips,

"Shuuuush. Stay quiet for a second." the girl ordered and the boy obeyed and she removed her finger.

"*Sigh* You shouldn't have apologized." She started.

"Bu-" Izumi started again before the girl placed her finger on his lips once more.

"Let me finish," she said.

Izumi nodded and Kyouko removed her finger once more.

"You shouldn't have apologized because there is nothing to apologize for."

At that, Izumi got confused.

"What? What do you mean?" he asked.

"Just like I said. There is nothing to apologize for. If anything, it's my fault."

"What! Why?" The boy asked in shock.

"B-Because I didn't tell you. I thought I could get over with." She let out a pitiful smile," As you can see, it didn't quite work out."

Suddenly, Izumi grabbed the girl's shoulder and looked straight into her eyes.

"Kyouko," he said with the most serious tone her could muster.

Taken back by the sudden shift of tone, Kyouko simply answered with a slight stutter,

"Y-Yes?"

"Never blame yourself for something out of your control."

"Bu-"

Now it was Izumi's turn to interrupt her,

"No, Kyouko! You have nothing to blame yourself for. It is not your fault that you were quite literally kidnapped into a whole new world. It was not your fault that you were forced to fight a war not your own. It is not your fault that you had to discover your heritage like this. And it is certainly not your fault that you were brainwashed for four months because some son of a bitch wanted to. Do you understand?"

"But Izumi-"

"Apapapapa." Izumi stopped her, "Do you understand? This whole thing is not your fault."

Now that he looked at her, he couldn't help but feel his heart twist inside. If he were to describe her situation, Izumi felt that the girl in front of him was experiencing signs of PTSD. He had read about it in his homeworld. The frequent rubbing of her wrist, the shudders she had when Ehit was mentioned, and the fact she was on guard of anything mind-related were mentioned. She had managed to hide it well, even from him. However, the fact that they visited the Hero Party and saw the familiar faces perhaps triggered something in her that broke the mask she was wearing. And Izumi wouldn't let her take the blame for this. No one should take the blame for the trauma that they have experienced. Especially, if they are caused by others.

The fallen angel looked hesitant as well as guilty before slowly nodding,

"Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"I... understand."

Izumi hugged the girl close,

"And understand what?" he gently whispered.

"T-That it's not m-my... fault." she also whispered with tears brimming her eyes.

"That's right. None of this is your fault. All of this is caused by Ehit."

"...Hn."

Kyouko wrapped her arms around Izumi and they simply stood there feeling each other's heartbeat through their bodies as well as basking in their warmth. Kyouko then separated herself and looked in Izumi's eyes before giving him a bright smile as if a weight had been lifted.

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

The girl nodded.

"Let's eat. The food is going to get cold. Although, I'm pretty sure it's already cold." she said.

Izumi grin,

"You don't have to worry about that. The plates keep the food hot and fresh so it tastes just like when they were freshly cooked.

"Really? Then I can't wait to see what you made."

They went back to the bed and Izumi lifted the covers infusing the room with many different kinds of mouth-watering aromas.

*Grumble*

Both of the teen's stomachs rumbled at the sight. Izumi created empty plates for both of them.

"Itadakimasu!" they both said and started to devour the delicious food in front of them.

As they are, Izumi gazed at the girl in front of him.

'I won't let anyone hurt you. Be it a devil or a god. Not even the Glorious Red God of Dreams will hurt you.'

***

It has been 2 days since Izumi and Kyouko crashed the class reunion. Hajime's party had already left Horaud for Ankaji, the day before, along with Kaori who decided to follow the boy out of love. Kyouko and Izumi were simply resting for these past days and now it was time to leave.

Kyouko was packing their stuff while Izumi was sitting on the edge of the bed with his eyes closed. Right now, he was scouting the Divine Mountain as well as finding an isolated place in it using (Memory Partition) as well as multiple drones. When he was in his homeworld, he read in the book that the Divine Mountain Labyrinth had three pre-requisites: to complete at least two Labyrinths, have no fate in god and defeat some effect powered by the power of god.

'Fortunately, I fulfilled all three conditions. I don't know about Kyouko though. Worst case scenario, I'll just take the magic and then transfer it to her using Mind Magic. But for now, let's find that damn magic circle,'

His drones flew up to the Divine Mountain and entered the Church by phasing through its barriers. Just like when he bypassed Dulio's barrier back in Japan, he adjusted his drone's mana frequency as well as their nature so that the barrier would easily recognize them without any issues. He then phased them through the walls and now he's in the church.

'Alright, now where to find that circle?'

Izumi remembered that Nagumo, Tio and Aiko were only able to find the circle after the illusion of Laus Barn appeared and guided them. It was like he knew that they had completed the three conditions. Was there some sort of mind-probing spell that allowed the creator of the Labyrinth to know about it or something?

'No matter,' Izumi thought as his drones proceeded to fly into the church. He didn't forget to make them invisible lest he wants some idiot to notice it. He remembered that in the story that the trio was only able to find the circle after destroying the church which means it must be at least on the ground floor. Izumi's eyebrows scrunched up as he concentrated on manipulating his drones to fly without being noticed. He had also activated the ability to sense magic on the drone. He continued to fly the drones all the while avoiding the members of the church.

After 20 minutes, he couldn't find it. Even after searching the whole church, he didn't find any clue.

"Unless it's hidden and only living beings can be guided to it." he suddenly said.

Kyouko, who had finished packing and storing everything in her subspace, asked,

"Huh? What are you talking about?" she asked.

Izumi turned to her and explained the situation.

"So, basically, you need to go to the Divine Mountain in person since you can't find the entrance. Why?"

"I have a feeling that the path will be shown if I go in person."

He hadn't told her about the knowledge that he wasn't supposed to have. Kyouko looked at him with narrowed eyes.

"Then, I'm coming," she said.

"Eh?"

Kyouko put her hands on her waist with a raised eyebrow.

"I said I'm coming."

Izumi looked at her,

"I didn't even say anything!"

"But you were gonna."

"No, I was not."

"Yes, you were."

"No!"

"Yes!"

"..."

"..."

Kyouko and Izumi looked at each other in the eyes for a moment neither backing down before Izumi relented.

"Yes, I was."

Kyouko gave a victorious grin,

"See!"

Izumi gave her a concerned look,

"But I was just worried."

Kyouko walked up to the boy and sat on the bed before leaning her head on his shoulder,

"I know. But, just like you said. It is not my fault. And I can't run away from it forever. I need to confront it and I think the best way is to face it head-on." she explained to him.

Izumi grimaced as he had an internal debate. After a minute, he sighed.

"Fine."

Kyouko was about to grin when the boy interrupted,

"But! If anything happens to you, the raid is off."

Kyouko nodded,

"Alright. But you don't have to treat me as a fragile girl, Izumi-kun." the girl said.

"*Sigh* I'm not treating you as fragile. I just don't want anything to happen to you. You literally learned about the supernatural world less than six months ago. When we go back to our world, your eyes will be open to a whole new world and I don't want you to have any problems."

"Then that's why I need to get stronger." the girl said as she took his hand, " So I won't have any problems."

Izumi nodded, accepting her reasonings,

"Alright. Then let's go."

Kyouko nodded,

"Let's"

After checking out of the inn, They covered themselves in their Dark Matter and flew to the sky before turning invisible. They then headed towards the Divine Mountain.

Soon after some time, they could see the Divine Mountain.

"We're here, Let's land and continue by foot," Izumi said to Kyouko through a built-in communicator in her suit.

"Alright!" she replied.

They soon arrived in the capital and landed in an area where no one would notice them. They would have used a portal, but now was not the time to alert the church of their movement.

"Why are we landing here?" Kyouko asked.

"Because if we go to the Church now, it would alert them. The fact that we may have already been branded as heretics will not help us. So it's better if we go in the night." Izumi explained.

Kyouko nodded.

"Then do we grab a room in the meantime?"

Izumi thought about it before nodding,

"Sure."

Soon they went to a nearby inn and grabbed a room.

***

A few hours later, the sun had set and the moon shone in the cloudless sky. Two figures exited from a window of a building and jumped into the air before bursting their wings open and taking the skies. With their midnight black armour, they blended into the night unseen by anyone below. The duo soon arrived in front of the Holy Church headquarters before stopping mid-air.

Izumi closed his eyes and unleashed his Observation Haki to its maximum. A 3d image of the landscape below him started to render in his mind as his Haki scanned the area. What Izumi was doing now, is trying to find an entrance to the Labyrinth without alerting the Holy Church causing them to raise hell and complicating things. However, to his surprise, at a distance, in the nearby mountains nestled close to the Divine Mountain. There, his Haki spotted something interesting.

Kyouko noticed Izumi looking at a distance.

"Is something wrong, Izumi?" she asked.

"I don't if there is something "wrong" per se. But I think I found something," he said.

"Is it something to do with the Labyrinth?"

"I think so."

"then why don't we check out?"

"Alright."

They soon changed directions and headed towards Izumi's source of curiosity. Izumi reinforced his eyes to increase their vision in the dark. They gleamed like two glowing blue orbs in the night Meanwhile, Kyouko naturally could see in the dark due to her nature as a fallen angel. After 5 minutes they reached their destination. Looking around, they could see that they had arrived in the middle of nowhere hidden in the mountain and away from the Divine Mountain. There wasn't even a dirt path for travellers. They could still see the Holy Church in the distance though.

"I don't see anything, Izumi-kun. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"

However, the latter shook his head.

"No, I'm sure I detected something."

Kyouko crossed her arms and looked around,

"By the way, how do you detect stuff?"

Izumi stopped and thought about how to tell her. he decided that there was no harm in telling the truth.

"I spread my spiritual energy or willpower in a radar-like manner all around me. It will then render a 3d image of what I'm sensing," he replied.

Kyouko took a moment to assimilate the information before asking,

"Like Haki?"

Izumi turned around in surprise,

"You know about Haki?"

She rolled her eyes,

"I may not be an otaku, but I still read manga and watch anime."

Izumi frowned,

"You don't have to be an otaku to do all that."

Seeing his expression, Kyouko smirked,

"Aww. Is Izumi-kun offended? Is It because you're an otaku yourself."

A tick mark appeared on the boy's forehead,

"I'm not an otaku."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Kyouko giggled.

It was then Izumi stopped and focused on what was in front of him. There on the side of the mountain. He found a small impression with a symbol on it the size of a hundred yen coin.

"Did you find something?" Kyouko asked.

Izumi nodded and pressed it.

*Click*

Suddenly, they heard a low rumble and a rectangle of around three meters tall and two meters large carved into the mountain wall before sliding open. This carving was what he had detected with his Haki and the fact that it was so close to the Divine Mountain where the Labyrinth is supposed to be had aroused his suspicion. He was glad he was right. The boy cautiously looked inside and saw a corridor. He turned to Kyouko and told her,

"Stay here. I'm just going to check something."

Kyouko knew now was not the time to play around so she stood there. Izumi stepped took a step in the corridor and, as soon as his head passed the entrance, he felt it. It was some sort like some sort of mental probe that touched his mind just like when the magic circles wanted to transfer his knowledge to the other Labyrinths.

Sensing no hostile intent, Izumi let it be. The prove then searched his memories. Not a second later, the probe ended and a white light flashed in front of him.

"Izumi!"

"Wait, Kyouko!" Izumi held a hand back.

Izumi closed his eyes due to the brightness and lowered the (Reinforcement) spell in them to adjust their vision. As soon as he recovered his visions, what he saw in front of him was a translucent figure of a large bald middle-aged man wearing some clothes which resembles some of what the men of the Church wore.

The man simply observed him with a neutral gaze before turning around and started walking away. Izumi stayed there in case something happened. The man continued to walk before turning back and looking at him again. Izumi nodded before turning to Kyouko,

"Okay try to come in, Kyouko." the boy said.

Kyouko stepped into the corridor and Izumi felt the familiar wave of magic now mentally probing his girlfriend. His heart was pounding g as he waited for the result. Suddenly, metal bars descended format he ceiling blocking the girl's path.

"Kyouko!"

"Izumi! What's going on!"

Suddenly another passage opened up beside her.

"Kyouko! Step outside, right now!" the boy suddenly ordered.

Without hesitation, the girl stepped outside and there was no further mechanism being triggered.

Silence reigned in the corridor with only the sound of frightened panting being heard.

'I guess she didn't pass the third condition,' though Izumi.

"Izumi, what happened!? Why are there bars!?" Panic began to escape her voice. Izumi could almost hear her heartbeat pounding through her chest.

"Kyouko, I need you to remain calm. Deep breaths. Deep breaths."

The girl followed his instructions and calmed down a little.

"Now, I need you to wait for me outside."

"What about you? And what about this passage."

"Do not go into the passage. Who knows what kind of thing awaits there and I am not risking us separating inside a dungeon. And I will follow this man since I think he means no harm."

"How do you know that?"

The boy gave her a reassuring simple,

"Call it a gut feeling."

The girl couldn't help but snort at the ridiculous claim, but somehow she believed him. He hadn't done anything to lose her trust until now.

"A-Alright. But you better come back quick," she ordered.

"Promise."

Kyouko nodded,

"Okay. Then go."

Izumi nodded back and turned to the man. He then started following the ghost.

After what seemed like a very long walk, The man stopped inside a room which Izumi followed.

Suddenly, a red glowing magic circle appeared in the room and the man pointed at it. Izumi analyzed the circle and saw that it was a simple teleportation circle. He then stepped onto it and the glow became even more intense, activating the spell.

Soon in a flash of red light, he appeared in a large white room. Izumi turned his (Reinforcement) spell off and looked around the room he was teleported in. It was a simple white dome-like room with a chandelier on the ceiling illuminating the whole room. It was then he noticed it, at the center of the room, was a large purple magic circle as well as a boom pedestal. The esper-mage stepped on the magic circle which glowed purple. Soon enough, after being mentally probed once more, knowledge began to be forcefully downloaded into his mind. At that, Izumi grinned, for she finally got the Age of God magic: Spirit Magic.

Spirit Magic allows the user to manipulate the soul of a living being directly. It's possible to revive a living being back from the dead (time restriction applicable), transfer the soul of a living being from one body to another, or even into a non-physical body as well, practically granting a living being immortality. The true power of this magic is the ability to 'interfere with the negative material possessed by living things. To be more specific, this magic could also interfere with things like energy inside the body such as mana, heat, electricity, then thought, consciousness, and memory. Those who have mastery over this magic can even create an artificial consciousness, and allow it to inhabit anybody they wish.

'I got a bootleg version of Heaven's Feel!' he thought.

Izumi nodded as a wide smile crept up his face,

"I know."

He soon walked up to the pedestal and saw a book and read that the designer of the Labyrinth was created by someone named Laus Barn.

"According to this book, there are three conditions to feel. One, we must have completed at least two other Labyrinths. Second, we must not have faith in god. Third, we must defeat something which received the blessing of god. This must be the condition Kyouko didn't fulfill."

Izumi picked up the ring and put it inside his subspace,

"Doesn't matter. I could always transfer the knowledge to her if she wants it."

Izumi stepped off the circled and snapped his finger. The space seemed to pixelate before opening a portal to the entrance of the Labyrinth. He stepped through it and closed it.

"Izumi! Are you okay!?"

He turned and saw Kyouko running toward him and then hugging him which he reciprocated.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that! Who knows what kind of trials you did!"

"I didn't do anything."

"Eh?" Kyouko asked perplexed.

Izumi then explain how he had obtained the magic.

"So I didn't fulfill the third condition, is that why the Labyrinth wouldn't let me pass."

"Yeah. Then you would have to complete some trials to obtain it."

"I see. Then what kind of magic did you get."

Izumi grinned,

"I got the magic to control souls."

"Souls!?" Kyouko exclaimed.

"Yup!"

"No way!"

"Yes, way!"

"That's so cool. I want that!"

"I can transfer it to you."

"I'm going to stop you there," Kyouko suddenly said while holding her hand up in a stop motion.

"Eh? Why?"

"I don't deserve it."

"Are you talking about the third condition?"

Kyouko nodded,

"Yes. I would leave a bad taste in my mouth if I didn't fulfill all the conditions. I don't want to be given a reward before working for it. Just like with Gravity Magic. I want to earn it."

"But does it really matter if you earn it or not? You're going to need it."

Kyouko shook her head once more,

"I still don't want it. I want to earn it."

Izumi looked into her eyes which showed fires of determination. So he sighed,

"Alright. However, I deemed that it was necessary for your survival. Then I will give it to you. No hard work bullshit at that moment, alright."

Kyouko nodded,

"Alright."

Izumi stretched himself,

"Alright, let's go to the inn then."

"Sure, I'm kind of hungry too. I'll see if I can whip you something up."

Kyouko drooled a little,

"Your food is always the best."

Izumi smiled,

"Thanks."

At that, the couple took the skies and flew to their inn.