Deeper

Paul set Lilia down.

She leaned against a stone pillar in the hall, her complexion a little better than before, though her ankle was still badly swollen. Two members of the search party sat on the floor as well. The younger of the two was gnawing on the rations Eris had given him, chewing slowly, as if he couldn't believe he was really eating.

"Stay here at the entrance and wait for us," Paul told Lilia. "We're going down."

Lilia raised her head to look at him, her eyes bright behind her glasses.

"Lord Paul... please, you must..."

She didn't finish. Paul had already turned away.

Eris pulled all the remaining rations and waterskins from her pack and piled them at Lilia's feet. "These will last you two days. If we haven't come back in two days..."

"Don't say something so discouraging." Paul looked back at Eris.

Eris glanced at Paul, then at me. I nodded.

The six of us entered the passage one after another. Paul was in front, with Eris and me close behind. Master Roxy followed in the middle, and Elinalise and Talhand brought up the rear.

The passage was fairly level at first, but after about five minutes, it began to descend sharply. The floor beneath our feet became rough stone steps, each one considerably taller than a normal step. The ancient patterns on the stone walls were denser than those on the fifth floor, and their gentle glow had become a glaring light that made our eyes ache.

The temperature in the air kept rising.

It had only been warm when we first entered the passage, but after more than ten minutes of walking, it became stifling. Sweat broke out on my forehead, and the back of my clothes was soaked, clinging uncomfortably to my skin.

The mana concentration around us is getting higher and higher. I thought that would be good news for a magician, that it would help me recover my mana quickly, but I was wrong. With my skin exposed to this environment, it hurts as though I'm being pricked by needles. The high-density mana in the space doesn't help me recover my mana at all. It's too dense; instead, I have to spend even more mana to sense my surroundings.

I spread my mana across the floor.

The density of the teleportation traps increased sharply in this stretch. There were four points of abnormal mana within three meters of my feet alone, nearly three times as many as on the fifth floor. I had to tread carefully with every step.

My mana was being consumed much faster than before.

Ever since entering the labyrinth, I had been covering the floor with mana to sense traps. On top of the long-range search for Lilia's location on the fifth floor, that had already depleted a considerable portion of my reserves. Now that the teleportation traps were denser on the sixth floor, the amount of mana needed to maintain my detection coverage had increased as well.

I only have half my mana left. That sounds pretty dire, but half my mana is probably more than ten times Master Roxy's entire supply. Wait, have I started using Roxy as a unit for measuring mana? Still, it should be more than enough for one intense battle. The question is whether I'll have enough left afterward to deal with anything unexpected.

"The mana concentration is much higher than I expected." Master Roxy walked behind me, the light from the tip of her staff looking especially faint against the blue stone walls. "The monsters in the deeper levels will only be stronger."

Paul walked at the front. His steps were slower than before, but still steady. His left hand gripped the hilt of his sword, his knuckles slightly white.

"No matter how strong they are, we have to go. Zenith is still waiting for me."

Nobody argued with him.

We continued downward. The passage grew narrower, and in some places it was so low I had to bend over to get through. The patterns on the stone walls began to change, the regular geometric shapes giving way to a network of lines like blood vessels. Blue light shone through them, flickering as if they were breathing.

The information coming back from my mana detection grew clearer and clearer.

About two hundred meters ahead was an enormous space. At its center, a mana signature so vast it defied description lay coiled and motionless. The mana was so dense I could almost "see" its outline: a flat, enormous body, with nine long, thick things extending from it.

Nine heads.

That must be the Hydra, in the space two hundred meters ahead. Does that mean Zenith is somewhere nearby too?

I slowed my pace.

I went over what Lilia had told us on the fifth floor again in my head. Nine heads, a giant snake, an S-rank monster. That was all. She had been trembling all over at the time, and that was all she could tell us. As for the fact that this snake shouldn't be a dragon, we knew nothing about what abilities it actually had.

We're going to fight a monster of this level without knowing anything about it. Back when we were on the Demon Continent, Rujierd probably would have said something like, "We don't have enough information," and retreated. But we can't retreat now, and there's no reason to. Zenith is in there.

I turned to look at the group behind me. Paul held his sword, his lips pressed into a thin line. Eris had drawn the Nameless Sword and held it across her chest. Master Roxy's expression was calm, but I knew her well enough to know that her calmness often meant she was thinking of a countermeasure. Mr. Talhand carried a shield wider than his entire body over his shoulder, saying nothing. Elinalise's rapier was already out of its sheath, gleaming coldly in the blue light.

All six of us were ready.

"Do you have enough mana left?" Eris asked from beside me.

She was walking half a step to my right. Part of her long, crimson hair was damp with sweat and stuck to her neck, but her eyes were fixed on the darkness ahead, unblinking.

"I have enough," I said.

I'd actually already used half of it, but she didn't need to know that.

She glanced at me. I knew that look; she was trying to tell whether I was lying.

"...You're not lying to me?"

"No."

Noticing how serious my tone was, she didn't press any further. She only tightened her grip on her sword.

The passage suddenly widened at a bend. A huge opening appeared ahead, with a vast expanse of deep blue light beyond it, so wide that even my mana detection couldn't reach its boundaries.

I stopped, and when I saw what was inside, the hair all over my body stood on end.

Nine thick, long necks extended from its body, each ending in a huge, snake-like head. The nine heads were curled up together, intertwined, their scales glinting dark green in the blue light. Like a mountain of flesh, it lay sleeping.

Behind it was a huge green crystal. In a daze, I thought I could see a figure inside.

The figure inside had closed eyes and long golden hair, with both arms folded over her chest, like Sleeping Beauty.

Zenith.

My heart was pounding, because Zenith, my mother, was right there.

Thank goodness. Now we just have to defeat this monster, and we can save Zenith. Paul...

Before I could react, Paul had already charged forward with a sword in each hand, shouting, "Zenith!" His voice was so loud it startled me, and the others didn't have time to react either.

"Father! Don't!" I shouted at him.

Eris was faster, grabbing Paul and pulling him back. Thanks to Eris, the Hydra wasn't disturbed. It merely raised one head, looked around, then drew it back and closed its eyes.

"Father, please calm down."