"So. Why did you hurt them?"
I unleashed the fury I’d been desperately suppressing and demanded an answer from the group.
"Are you the Dragon Slayer? Yes, you certainly look the part."
A voice drifted from the robed figure whose gender remained hidden. Judging by the tone, was it a woman?
"I'm the one asking the questions. Answer me."
"Oops, my apologies. You asked why we hurt them? Simple: because they are associates of the Dragon Slayer. I figured that if we had their corpses, the Dragon Slayer might come running."
"……In other words, they didn't do anything to earn your ire. You hurt them simply because of their connection to me?"
"To put it bluntly, yes. Though, I must say, I didn't expect you to arrive quite so soon."
"Don't screw with me..."
"That’s my line! You show up out of nowhere and blow me away? I’m going to kill you!"
The giant of a man scrambled to his feet, radiating pure bloodlust toward me.
"I see. ——Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. I’ll make you experience a pain far worse than death. Consider yourselves warned."
"Hah! We’re specialists in anti-personnel combat, and it’s four against one! You don't stand a chance!"
The scrawny man was making a racket, but I felt no obligation to acknowledge him. I should, however, be grateful they were giving me time for spell construction.
"——! Everyone, deploy Magic Barriers!"
The robed woman must have realized what I was doing, as she suddenly barked an order.
She’s sharp. ——But too late.
I activated [Weight Up] on everything the four enemies were wearing.
"Guoh..."
"Kya!"
"Ugh... What is this? Suddenly so heavy—"
The robed woman managed to block it, but the spell took hold of the other three. The sudden weight of their own gear sent them stumbling, their balance shattered.
"……[Earth Shock]."
I sent an electric current surging through the ground toward them. It wasn't powerful enough to be lethal, but with their feet planted on the floor, it was nearly impossible to avoid and served as a perfect distraction.
The robed woman anticipated it and dodged, but the current surged through the other three, knocking them unconscious instantly.
Now, only one remained.
I cast [Hide] on myself, blending into the background before closing the distance to the robed woman. Once within range of my blade, I applied [Sharpness Zero] to Schwarzhase and swung.
"To think all three would be taken down in an instant."
The robed woman muttered something to herself even as she effortlessly parried my strike with a staff she had produced from nowhere.
She shouldn't be able to see me, yet she blocked that?
"——!"
Before I knew it, a thick white mist was swirling around me. I immediately recognized it as [Blizzard] and leapt backward. The spot where I’d stood a heartbeat ago froze solid.
The freezing speed was incredible...!
The moment I landed, over twenty [Ice Javelins] manifested around me, closing in from all directions.
She cast that many advanced spells in the heartbeat following a special-grade spell?!
I deployed a Magic Barrier, reinforcing it with [Mana Convergence] while activating [Impact] at the moment of contact to shield myself. Furthermore, I used [Reflective Wall] to redirect one of the ice spears, sending it hurtling back at the robed woman.
She attempted to intercept the spear with her own Magic Barrier, but I applied [Impact] to the redirected projectile, allowing it to pierce straight through her defense.
Just as I thought it would strike home, she evaded with an astounding display of reflexes. She didn't dodge it entirely—the spear grazed her flank—but it was far from a fatal wound.
She’s a mage, isn't she? What incredible agility.
I marveled at her movement, which was easily on par with an A-Rank front-line explorer. I immediately circled to her side and swung Schwarzhase, but her staff was there to meet it again. I launched a relentless flurry of strikes, but she parried every single one.
After about ten exchanges, a Magic Barrier suddenly materialized between us. Simultaneously, I felt a bizarre flow of mana right in front of my face.
"——!?"
I threw myself backward just as a violent explosion erupted where my head had been.
She constructed the formula for [Explode]—even if it was a simplified version—while parrying a series of invisible attacks? And what was that mana flow? ——!
The explosions continued, following me. As if she were reading my escape route, blasts erupted one after another wherever I tried to move.
Tch, I can't even interfere with the mana infusion; the magic activates before I can get a grip on it. More importantly, what is this magic? It’s like she’s bypassing the process of mana infusion entirely... If that’s a Special Ability, what kind of power is it?
I managed to evade the blasts by sensing the flow of mana before they triggered, but I felt like I was being herded. By the time the chain of explosions subsided, a significant distance had opened between me and the robed woman.
There's no point in [Hide].
I deactivated the spell and revealed myself.
"Surviving my attacks unscathed? You’re quite impressive, Dragon Slayer," the robed woman said.
She looked as though she still had plenty of strength in reserve. It could have been a bluff, but I couldn't afford to be optimistic. She was strong—likely among the most powerful people I had ever encountered.
Then I noticed something else. It wasn't just the wound on her side that had vanished; even her robe had been restored. Setting aside healing, I had never heard of magic that could repair clothing. Was it original magic, or perhaps her Special Ability?
"……You're with Amunzaas, aren't you?"
I deduced this from the scrawny man's boast about being "interpersonal specialists" and the woman's sheer combat experience.
When thinking of professionals in anti-personnel combat, the first candidates are usually national militaries. Soldiers are the primary strength of a royal family or a lord, tasked with maintaining order or fighting wars. Their training is built around fighting other people. That’s exactly why explorers like us were sent to deal with the dragon two months ago instead of the army.
In the Nohitant Kingdom, the military is divided into the Central Army, under the crown, and the Territorial Army, under the lords. Because of their roles, soldiers rarely enter the Great Labyrinth.
That left Amunzaas—the organization known for the mass slaughter of explorers.
"Correct. You have quite the intuition. Looking at you reminds me of an acquaintance. They died as a child, but had they grown up, they might have become someone like you."
The distance between us was bad. Keeping my distance from someone who could chain-cast special-grade magic was a losing strategy. I had no desire to chat with the people who had hurt my students, but I needed to buy time to close the gap.
"……Why do you kill explorers?"
"I don't particularly enjoy killing. But this is the only path left for us. The Original was slain, and the Replica fell into enemy hands. All we can do now is buy time while clinging to a sliver of hope."
Original? Replica?
The terms were concerning, but I couldn't dwell on them now.
"Typical terrorist talk. If this is your only path, then just give up already."
"Tch, shut up...! You vermin nesting in this world! It’s people like you who are bringing the world closer to its ruin!!"
For the first time, the robed woman’s composure cracked, and her emotions boiled over.
……Damn. Even in her rage, she doesn't leave an opening.
"——Phew. I suppose you won't be baited into charging recklessly. Well then, I believe that's enough time-wasting, don't you?"
Just as quickly as she had snapped, she returned to her aloof, airy demeanor. She had known I was stalling for time and had entertained my questions anyway. She’d left me with more questions than answers.
"Shall I predict your next move? You’re going to use [Space Leap] to close the gap in an instant, aren't you? By explorer standards, you're a front-line attacker. You have no hope of winning at a distance against me, a rearguard attacker. Where will you appear? Behind me? To my side? Or perhaps a bold frontal assault?"
The robed woman predicted my move with absolute confidence. Using [Space Leap] to strike while the opponent was distracted by conversation—it was certainly the most logical tactic.
——However, that was the wrong answer.