Beyond the fully opened door lay a dim expanse bathed in pale blue light.
The space was as large as the hall outside, perhaps even larger. The ceiling reached so high it forced one to crane their neck, and candelabras flickering with blue flames were set into the walls at regular intervals.
A massive magic circle was carved into the floor, and at its center, two shadows moved.
"—!?"
My feet came to a sudden halt.
One of them was gargantuan—a black iron giant standing nearly five meters tall. It was a humanoid monster encased in heavy armor, swinging a black iron battleaxe with terrifying force.
The other was a white shadow, darting around the room as if toying with the monster.
Long white hair trailing behind her, the girl’s slender frame lunged deep into the giant’s reach.
"...A girl?"
Someone’s voice drifted through the air.
Without a word, the girl swung the sword held in her right hand.
Sparks erupted as she scraped against the black iron plating, but she couldn't cut through. Seemingly indifferent to the scratch, the monster swung its massive battleaxe.
The blow descended with a roar, but she kicked off the floor and evaded it by a hair’s breadth.
The sheer refinement of her movements left everyone in our group speechless.
"...She's a veteran," I muttered.
In that instant, the girl’s gaze shifted toward us.
Red eyes peeking through the gaps in her white hair caught sight of our group, and for a fleeting second, they widened in surprise. That moment of distraction was all the monster needed—the black iron giant swung its massive arm.
"—Look out!!"
The shout left my throat instinctively, but I was too late.
A dull thud echoed through the hall as the girl’s body was launched into the air.
Her white hair drew an arc as her fragile form bounced several times across the stone floor before slamming into the wall near the entrance, right by us.
"..."
She didn't move.
Blood trickled from her forehead, and she lay there limp, like a marionette with its strings cut.
The black iron monster stared at her for a few seconds through the red slit of its helmet. Then, as if losing interest, it turned its baleful gaze toward us.
Girrind—!!
We were its next targets.
"—It's coming!" Elysia’s voice rang out.
The armored giant hoisted its battleaxe. The mere motion made the air howl, and when the blade finally fell, a thunderous boom rocked the chamber.
"Aaaaggghhh!!!"
The students in the vanguard were sent flying all at once.
A shockwave ripped across the ground, and the magic circle on the floor flared with sudden brilliance.
"Scatter! Don't bunch up in front of it!"
Following Elysia’s orders, we scrambled to get clear of the monster’s front.
As we moved, I saw Lene charging the creature's flank.
She closed the distance with incredible speed, leveled her greatsword, and dropped her center of gravity low.
Then, with a step powerful enough to crack the floor, she twisted her entire body into the strike. A horizontal sweep, backed by her full weight, slammed into the monster’s exposed leg with a roar.
"—Guh!? It's too hard!?"
Her blow sent a cascade of sparks flying, the high-pitched shriek of metal on metal echoing through the hall.
She didn't manage to sever the limb, but the armor was gouged deep.
"If the surface won't break, then—!"
Ciel dove in from the monster's rear.
A flurry from her twin swords struck the creature's joints, forcing a mechanical, wordless screech from the beast.
Skreeeeee—!!
The red light in its eyes flickered.
Ciel’s blades bit into the gaps of the joint armor, making the black iron groan.
"It's working! Aim for the joints!" someone yelled.
The next moment, the monster’s knee snapped upward. It was a kick intended to brush away a swarming insect, and it was aimed straight at Ciel.
"...Kuh!?"
She managed to twist her body just enough to avoid a direct hit, but the impact sent her tumbling across the floor.
She rolled several times before finally coming to a stop against the far wall.
Without a pause, the monster’s battleaxe swept out in a wide horizontal arc. The blow seemed to cleave the very air, and the students caught in its path were hurled against the walls.
Many of them spat up blood, unable to stand back up.
Skreeeeee—!!
The battleaxe was hoisted high once more.
Its target—the vanguard, including the downed Ciel.
"Not on my watch!!"
I lept in front of the monster and dug my heels in.
I gripped my hilt with both hands and held my blade at a diagonal.
(If I try to block this head-on, my sword will snap like a twig! Don't catch it—deflect it!)
As the axe blade fell, I thrust my sword into its path at an angle.
A bone-shattering shock traveled up my arms, and a pained cry escaped my lips.
"...Guh, uooooohhhhhh!!"
Sparks exploded at the point of collision.
My sword shrieked, and my arms went numb. Facing a mass that felt like it could crush the world, I twisted my body, forcing the battleaxe’s trajectory to the side.
The axe head grazed over Ciel’s head and slammed into the floor beside her.
The stone shattered, sending fragments flying. The resulting shockwave hit me like a physical wall, throwing me back several meters.
"God, what kind of insane strength is that...?"
I thrust my sword into the ground to kill my momentum as I tumbled.
My arms were vibrating with numbness. My grip was failing, and I couldn't help but let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh.
"I've fought plenty of monsters as an adventurer, but this is a first. I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from the Primal Labyrinth. It’s not going to make this easy."
The armored giant slowly wrenched its axe from the floor.
The red glow in its chest and eyes pulsed with renewed intensity. It wasn't over. In fact, it looked like it was just getting started.
"Yuu! Get back!"
The moment I heard Elysia’s command, I reflexively leaped backward.
"Fire!!"
A roar came from the rear guard.
Fireballs streaked through the air one after another, slamming into the giant.
The monster was engulfed in a series of explosions, and its black iron armor began to glow cherry-red from the heat.
"Next! Keep the pressure on!"
A water torrent rushed across the floor.
The roaring stream coiled around the giant’s legs, dousing the heated metal and causing thick white steam to billow upward.
The room was instantly filled with a blinding fog.
With its vision obscured, the monster’s red eyes wavered, and the light in its chest grew erratic.
In that opening—
"Now! Get the wounded!"
The students held in reserve behind the vanguard rushed forward.
They reached their fallen comrades, hoisting them onto their shoulders and dragging them back to safety.
"Can you stand!? Lean on me!"
"Stay with us!"
Two students reached Ciel by the wall and hauled her up.
Wiping blood from her lips, she forced her eyes open.
"...I can... still fight..."
"Don't be a moron! Get back!"
They ignored her protests and pulled her toward the rear.
One by one, the other casualties were dragged away.
All the while, the bombardment continued. Fireballs, lightning spears, water torrents, and wind blades slammed into the target without a second of rest.
Explosions erupted, steam swirled, lightning arched across the black iron, and wind ground away at the armor. Against any normal monster, this would have been the end.
Yet the creature still stood.
"...!"
Through the steam, I heard a sound like a heavy heartbeat: thump, thump.
The monster groaned as it swung its axe in a massive arc to clear the area.
The mist was blown away, the fire scattered, the wind blades shattered, and the lightning dissipated.
Visibility returned in an instant.
The monster was now glowing red from head to toe.
The cracked pattern on its chest was pulsing violently, and red light bled from the damage on its legs.
"...This is bad! It's drawing in mana!" someone screamed.
The magic circle on the floor began to hum with a low, vibrating drone.
The giant gripped its battleaxe with both hands and slowly raised it above its head. The runes engraved on the weapon flared with blinding light.
"Everyone, defensive formation!!"
As Elysia’s roar filled the hall, shimmering light walls appeared between us and the monster.
The geometric barriers overlapped, forming a massive, multi-layered shield.
Then, the axe fell.
The air itself seemed to detonate. A circular shockwave rippled out from the giant, shattering the light walls one, two, three at a time. I barely managed to withstand the gale-force winds that bypassed the shields by clenching my teeth and burying my sword in the floor.
"...That was too close."
When the dust settled, the hall was in ruins.
Every light wall except the very last one had been reduced to shimmering dust. The magic circle on the floor was webbed with cracks, and deep fissures ran through the walls.
The students looked on with pale faces.
If those light walls hadn't been there, none of us would be standing.
—But our persistence had paid off.
The monster’s movements were now visibly sluggish.
The arms supporting its axe were trembling, and the red light leaking from its legs flickered sporadically. Even the pulsing pattern on its chest had lost its rhythm, becoming ragged and weak.
It wasn't a heartbeat anymore; it was the flickering of a dying candle.
"Don't let this chance go! Hit it with everything!"
Elysia’s command cut through the air.
The rear guard unleashed a final, desperate volley. Throwing caution to the wind and depleting the last of their mana, they rained spells down upon the giant, further staggering its massive frame.
The monster swayed, its balance failing.
"—Hah!!"
Lene’s shadow blurred as she closed in on the giant’s feet again.
She stepped in with her greatsword leveled, aiming for the exact same spot she had struck before.
She dropped her weight, coiled her strength, and unleashed a devastating swing.
The metal let out a high-pitched shriek. A waterfall of sparks erupted as she sheared through the monster’s leg from the knee down.
Red light sprayed from the stump, and black particles began to drift into the air.
Skreeeeeee—!!?
Having lost its support, the monster collapsed, its axe falling uselessly from its grasp.
"Now!!"
I charged forward, matching Elysia’s roar.
I kicked off the broken floor and leaped high into the air, landing right in front of the fallen beast. I gripped my sword with every ounce of strength I had left and drove the blade toward the flickering core in its chest.
The moment the tip made contact, the cracked pattern groaned.
The resistance was immense, pushing back against my palms.
"...Shatter!!"
I threw my entire body weight into the lunge, forcing the blade deeper.
A sharp crack echoed through the hall. Fissures raced across the armor, and a burst of red light exploded from within.
A blinding flash filled the room, followed by a thunderous roar as the black iron armor finally disintegrated.
The giant’s strength vanished completely.
The flickering pulse stopped, and its massive form began to dissolve into a cloud of black particles.
A moment of absolute silence followed.
"...We did it."
The murmur was quiet, almost trembling.
Then, as if a dam had burst, a deafening cheer erupted.
"We took it down!"
"We actually won...!"
"We did it!"
Some held their swords high, others collapsed to their knees in relief, and many more were pounding each other on the back.
Inside the half-destroyed hall, the students' shouts of victory echoed against the stones.
The crushing tension finally snapped. Everyone was gasping for air, but through the exhaustion, they were all smiling.