Something That Isn't a Monster

From early morning, there was a flurry of noise.

When Azu woke up and looked out the window, Spartian warriors were in the middle of hauling in monster carcasses.

She could see several carts filled to the brim.

With that many monsters, the magic stones alone would be considerable.

The meat and hides were also processed without waste. This was the biggest reason Spartia was so prosperous.

Gems were merely a byproduct.

A hole that endlessly spawned monsters would normally threaten a nation's survival.

However, this country held it back with overwhelming military force and gained great wealth from it.

In exchange for facing the great hole, they also secured food aid from neighboring countries, giving them a presence on the continent second only to the great powers like the Kingdom and the Empire.

… This was all secondhand from her Master, Yohane.

She wiped her face with a damp towel and fixed her appearance.

Shortly after, all four had finished preparing.

Breakfast was barley porridge. However, it came with a generous helping of meat stew, and the serving was large.

There was also a small plate of pickles.

It was a hearty breakfast.

They finished it off and headed for the Crystal Grotto again.

To conserve magic, they avoided combat as much as possible while proceeding to the top floor.

Moving without fighting was fast.

They arrived in less than half the time of their previous visit.

The sphere was still visible through the crystal door leading to the room.

And the heat was still present.

Heat like standing before a blazing fire sapped their strength and caused them to sweat.

After hydrating, Alexia and Elza pushed the door open.

A hot wind blew at the four of them, making their hair flutter.

Opening their mouths would dry them out instantly and hurt their throats.

They sent glances and nodded to signal each other.

Azu covered her right eye with her right hand and drew upon the Apostle's power. She felt a rainbow shimmer rise.

At the same time, the Water Elemental manifested.

It drew magic from Azu, and its spherical liquid form grew larger.

"Please."

Covering her mouth to keep out the hot air, Azu quietly pleaded with the Water Elemental.

The Water Elemental expanded as it headed toward the room, and the moment it collided with the floating blue sphere, water burst forth.

Steam filled the room, and there was a bubbling sound like boiling water.

Ignoring that, the water continued to expand and filled the room.

Then the scorching heat began to subside.

"I'll cool it with ice magic. I'll buy as much time as I can, so finish it while I do."

Alexia said this, held both hands out in front of her, and concentrated on her magic.

Cold air began to envelop the surroundings.

The three besides Alexia nodded at her words and dove into the water.

The first thing Azu felt was the lukewarm temperature.

The magic made breathing no problem.

She pushed through the water toward the sphere.

Azu felt her magic draining rapidly.

Even with the Apostle's power boosting her, she wouldn't last long.

Her wet clothes clung to her and made moving difficult.

As she approached the sphere, she could tell the water temperature was gradually rising.

Fortunately, it was only as hot as a heated bath, and with Elza's blessing, she could endure it.

Finn, who was good at swimming, reached the sphere first.

Bubbles were constantly rising around the sphere.

It must have been extremely hot.

Finn tried placing a stake against the sphere and striking its head with her dagger's pommel.

But it didn't budge at all.

Part of that was the difficulty of moving underwater, but it also seemed to be incredibly hard.

Elza wound up and drove her mace into the stake.

There was a dull sound, but not even a scratch appeared.

If even Elza's strength wasn't enough, there was only one option.

She gestured for the two to move away, then slowly drew the Sealed Sword Grungaus from its scabbard and readied it.

… The water temperature was rising, becoming like hot water.

They couldn't stay long.

Azu redirected all the magic she was sending to the Water Elemental into her sword and swung with all her might.

The sword touched the sphere.

Even with the power of the Creator King's Apostle, it only left a scratch on the surface.

But the true value of this sword was what came next.

Consuming all of Azu's remaining magic, a follow-up slash was unleashed.

By some unknown principle, this slash ignored the hardness of objects.

The more magic behind it, the more powerful the slash.

Kiyo, an undead she had once encountered, had created a large depression in a rock wall with a single swing of this sword.

The sphere resisted for a while as if fighting back against the slash, but the outcome was decided before Azu's magic ran out.

The sphere split in two and fell to the ground.

With no more magic coming from Azu, the Water Elemental stopped expanding and returned to its small original form.

The water that had filled the room vanished as if it had never existed, leaving three soaking wet people and Alexia, who had rushed over to them.

The two halves of the sphere lying on the ground no longer emitted any heat. It looked like just an ordinary blue stone now.

No magic stone had dropped either.

So it hadn't been a monster after all.

Just as Azu was about to slowly pick up the sphere, Elza grabbed her shoulder.

Her face was unusually pale.

It was as if she had seen something terrible.

"Um, is something wrong?"

Azu asked, somewhat intimidated by Elza's unusual demeanor.

This was the serious Elza she hadn't seen recently.

The hand gripping her shoulder was very strong. It hurt a little.

"Um, Elza-san. That hurts a bit."

"What's wrong?"

Finn approached, puzzled.

Alexia was with her.

"This is a labyrinth people don't visit, right?"

"That's what I heard, but…"

"So that's how they were multiplying them. They were using the labyrinth's magic."

Elza released Azu and picked up a fragment of the sphere.

Then it crumbled away like sand and disappeared.

"It disappeared. So it wasn't a monster or a magic tool? Then what was it?"

"Who knows?"

Alexia shrugged.

Elza brushed the powder from her hand. She was back to her usual self.

Just to be sure, they explored the room and found a treasure chest in the back.

Finn licked her lips, pulled tools from her waist, and deftly opened the chest.

Inside were two short swords. They seemed to be made of crystal, with translucent blades.

"So, shall we head out? Azu's out of magic anyway."

Finn collected the crystal short swords and turned away from the treasure chest.

The other three looked at her with somewhat surprised expressions.

"… What? Is it that surprising that I opened a treasure chest?"

"Behind you, behind you!"

The instant Azu pointed it out, Finn leaped forward.

A Crystal Snake appeared there.

At the same time, the door closed.

"There was no sound or presence at all."

"That's the kind of monster it is. It probably came out because that sphere is gone now."

"This snake is probably the real labyrinth master."

"Then let's defeat it and go home."