Escape from the Wind Labyrinth

"Azu? Are you alive? Answer me. Azu."

Azu woke some time after losing consciousness.

Alexia was shaking her, pulling her back to awareness.

Alexia and Elza were both there. Elza was using a healing miracle on Kazusa.

Color had returned to Kazusa's face, and her breathing was calm and steady.

She looked like she'd be fine.

"You both seem all right. What happened? There don't seem to be any monsters on this floor."

"Um, where do I even start…"

That was when Azu noticed. The Skeleton called Kiyo was gone.

No trace of his presence, either.

Had he left?

Azu explained everything that had happened since they'd fallen down here to Elza and Alexia.

Neither of them had crossed paths with Kiyo.

The two of them had landed one floor above and made their way down while avoiding combat as much as possible.

They'd run into a Mirror Monster and spent a long time defeating it, which was why it had taken them so long to get here.

"A Creator King temple, huh. I thought there weren't any left on this continent."

"Hehe, there are actually a fair number scattered around. Though I've never heard of one at the bottom of a labyrinth. So, Azu-chan. What was this Apostle of the Creator King like?"

As a priestess of the Creator King faith, Elza was naturally interested in the Apostle.

She'd been visibly disappointed to hear Justitia was already gone.

When Azu described her in detail, Elza listened with rapt attention.

"I see… so Lady Justitia left something in Azu-chan… Pardon me a moment."

Elza peered into Azu's eyes.

Elza's irises were a deep purple, still as beautiful as ever. Azu's heart fluttered a little.

But why did she feel that Elza and Justitia were so similar?

Then Elza pulled back.

"… Something was definitely done, but I can't tell what. I really wish I could have met her. Did Lady Justitia say anything else?"

"Now that you mention it—she said, 'My King. Was I of any use?'"

"I see… I see. I hope she can rest in peace now."

With that, Elza returned to treating Kazusa.

Azu caught sight of the female figure carved into Elza's rosary.

It was a different woman from Justitia.

What was the Creator King faith, really?

What had happened in the past? What had the Sun God faith done?

Azu didn't have much interest in either the Sun God faith or the Creator King faith.

Religion had never helped her.

The only one who'd ever extended a hand to her was Master, and if there was any being she might place her faith in, it was him and him alone.

She sided with the Creator King faith only because Elza was a priestess of it and Master didn't much care for the Sun God faith. Nothing more.

They waited for Kazusa to wake, then left the Creator King temple behind.

There were stairs leading further up beyond the temple.

They'd already confirmed there were no monsters on this floor, so they recovered what gear they could along the way and climbed.

Once all four of them had ascended, the staircase vanished.

As though it had served its purpose.

Elza made the sign of the cross toward the temple and offered a prayer.

The gesture was earnest.

Like bidding farewell to a friend.

From there they headed upward, and curiously, they didn't encounter a single monster.

Magic stones and elements lay scattered here and there, so Kiyo had likely cut his way through while heading for the exit.

The monsters on the deeper floors were formidable. Azu's group would have preferred to avoid fighting them, so this was a godsend.

"That Skeleton did all of this? That's insane."

Alexia eyed the slash marks as she spoke.

His strength had rivaled the Ash King's. Had he appeared as an enemy, Azu's party would have been slaughtered in an instant.

Kazusa's backpack was ruined, but just the items they picked up on the way back made for a solid haul.

When they finally emerged from the Wind Labyrinth, Azu drew in a deep lungful of fresh air and let it out.

She felt alive.

Her eyes met Kazusa's, and Kazusa flashed a grin.

Azu grinned right back.

"Hey, don't drop your guard. Save it for after we get back."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Alexia's words snapped Azu back to attention.

What a day. Way, way too much had happened.

They returned to the town where they'd taken lodgings without incident.

As promised, they split the loot evenly four ways.

There were exactly four elemental crystals they'd picked up along the way, one apiece.

After settling accounts, Kazusa and Azu shook hands, then hugged.

Close in age, the two of them had bonded fast.

Kazusa was actually Azu's first friend near her own age.

Back in that destitute village, there'd been hardly any other children. Just adults who took and took and took…

Azu banished the ugly memories.

That was over now.

She said her goodbyes to Kazusa with a "See you."

She'd heard that even after factoring in the ruined backpack, the haul had more than covered the cost, which was a relief.

Elza stroked Azu's head.

It seemed a few tears had slipped out.

"We can't exactly be friends her own age, can we."

"I'm fine. Really."

"Azu-chan, your life is just getting started. I guarantee it."

"We're slaves, though. Master is good to us, but still."

"With that master, it'll be fine. At his core, he's a good person."

Azu could agree with that.

Master could never fully commit to being a villain. That was exactly why Azu was where she was now.