“Mmm... It’s fine. Besides, I believed you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Wait, does that mean...”
“Because I knew Hajime would stop you.”
“I see...” Kouki’s hopes were dashed instantly. He let out a hollow laugh and trudged away. Shizuku gave him an exasperated look, wondering why he’d even thought for a second Yue might have been into him.
“Now we just need to find Tio and Sakagami... If they’re in the same state as Yue, then maybe we should hurry.”
If they’d been turned into monsters too, it was doubtful other monsters would attack them. However, they were still powerless in the middle of a labyrinth, which was never good.
At Hajime’s words, the others steeled themselves once more. They left the scorched section of forest behind and resumed their search.
Ten minutes later, they spotted something.
“Hajime-san... Even I can tell that must be Tio-san.”
“Yeah, it’s gotta be her.”
“Mmm... No one else acts like that.”
“Looks like we’re all in agreement.”
Hajime stared coldly at the spectacle in front of him. Like he was looking at filth. Shizuku and Suzu, on the other hand, were disgusted, while Kouki found the sight too repulsive to even look at.
“Gugyaaah! Gigyaaah!”
“Higiii!?”
“Gobuuu! Gobbb!”
“Buhiii!?”
Hajime and the others found themselves in front of a group of goblins. The swarm had ganged up on one of their own and were beating it mercilessly. However, they seemed more intent on tormenting the lone goblin than actually killing it. In fact, the goblin being ganged up on had no major injuries to speak of. Had that been all, Hajime would have just assumed it was a case of infighting, or bullying or something.
“She’s... really enjoying it, isn’t she?”
“A goblin making that kind of face is just wrong... That’d have to be censored if it was in an anime.”
“Nagumo... I admit my defeat. You’re a far more accepting man than me.”
“Please don’t put it like that, Amanogawa. You’re making it sound like I actually approve of her perverseness. The truth is, I’ve just given up on curing her...”
As Shizuku had so aptly pointed out, the goblin being tormented had an expression of ecstasy on its face. The only person who’d look that happy being beaten up was the party’s resident perverted dragon.
“Tio, you really... Sorry guys, it’s too late to save her. It’s a shame, but we’ll have to let her go.” Hajime shook his head sadly and turned on his heel. Yue and the others followed suit without hesitation. Even Kouki, who’d normally yell out “You’re going to abandon your own comrade!?” or something to that effect, remained silent. He still couldn’t bring himself to look at Tio.
“Gug? Gyagyaaa!” The perverted goblin finally noticed her comrades were here. She crawled out of the throng of goblins and rushed toward Hajime and the others on all fours, an expression of pure rapture still on her face. She looked more like a cockroach than a goblin, and even her fellow goblins backed away in disgust.
“Guygayagyagya!” Goblin Tio closed in on the party and leaped joyously at Hajime. She’d gone from looking like a cockroach to resembling Lupin when he did his Lupin Dive. Though her goblin speech was unintelligible, Hajime guessed she was saying something like “Master, I missed you dearly!” So, naturally, Hajime’s response was blunt and to the point.
“Get away from me, you pervert.” He gave her a merciless uppercut with his prosthetic arm. There was an ominous crack, and Tio spun through the air four times before crashing into a thicket behind her. Unsurprisingly, she’d been smiling even as Hajime had hit her.
“Is she dead?” Goblin Yue peeked into the thicket and found goblin Tio lying motionless on the ground. Yue picked up a branch and poked Tio a few times. She twitched a little. Then, after a few seconds, she jolted upright and nonchalantly got to her feet. It appeared not even a labyrinth’s spells could cure Tio’s perversion.
“Gyagyagya! Gogogo Gugu! Gugya!”
Though Hajime couldn’t understand Tio’s goblin-speak the way he could Yue’s, it was easy to figure out what Tio was trying to say. After all, the way she shouting and the fact that she was blushing and cupping her cheeks said more than words ever could. Plus, she kept sneaking glances at Hajime.
Now this is just blasphemous. Hajime reached for Donner. With some reluctance, Shea stopped him. Before Hajime could do anything more, Kaori hurriedly handed Tio a telepathy stone.
“Oh, a telepathy stone. Can you hear me now, Master? Thank you so much for greeting me with that exquisite uppercut.”
“Tch, so you’re just as sturdy in this body, huh? If only you’d died...”
“Mmm!? How merciless! Please, insult me more. Haaah... Haaah... As I suspected, I can’t reach the true heights of ecstasy unless it’s you, Master. Your faithful servant has returned. Feel free to berate and scorn this ugly creature to your heart’s content!”
For her, being transformed into a goblin was just another fetish to indulge in. In a way, Hajime was right. It was too late to save Tio.
Tio threw herself at Hajime’s feet and shouted, “Boil me or bake me as you please!” Hajime, however, ignored her and slaughtered the group of goblins that had been beating on her. Once he was done, he silently walked off. The rest of the party had no desire to talk to Tio either, so they followed after him.
“A-Abandonment play? Oh, Master, you tease. Wait, are you truly planning on leaving me behind!? Stop, I cannot walk that fast! I’m still dizzy from your previous attack!”
Tio’s pleas rang out through the sea of trees. However, no one stopped for her.
Large, whip-like branches assailed the party. Razor-sharp leaves filled the air. Nuts and seeds bombarded everyone. Roots lunged up from the ground, their tips pointed spears. Each attack was powerful enough to be fatal.
The monster the party was currently facing was practically the same as the tree-monsters they’d faced in the Great Orcus Labyrinth. Apparently, it was called a Treant. However, the Treant they were facing here was much larger than the one they’d fought in Orcus. It was easily ten meters wide and thirty meters tall. Currently, the only people in combat were Kouki, Shizuku, Suzu, and some ogre-like creature.
“Graaaaaah!” The ogre let out a primitive howl and swung a boulder-sized fist at the Treant. Said ogre was, of course, Ryutarou.
During the course of their search, Hajime and the others had found a pair of ogres locked in a duel to the death. After observing them for a while, they’d come to realize one of the ogres was Ryutarou. The karate-inspired martial arts he’d been using had made it easy to tell him apart from the actual ogre. That, combined with the fact that he’d chosen to accept the other ogre’s challenge instead of run away, had convinced everyone that was Ryutarou. Only he could be that straightforward.
Furthermore, he’d been in such bad shape that had they found him any later, he might really have died. It was only thanks to Kouki jumping in and intervening that Ryutarou hadn’t had his skull bashed in. Once the other ogre had been defeated, Shizuku had given Ryutarou a long lecture about being reckless. It had been quite the sight, seeing a beat-up ogre sitting formally and hanging his head in front of a little girl. The whole incident had been so surreal that Suzu had burst out laughing.
After they’d successfully met up with Ogre Ryutarou, Hajime and the others had resumed their search. Eventually, they’d found a large tree growing next to an altar. Upon their approach, the tree had sprung to life and started attacking everyone, leading to the present situation.
Judging from the Treant’s strength, and the location they’d found it, it was likely this floor’s boss. If the party wanted to advance to the next floor, they’d have to defeat it. The reason Kouki and the others had taken on the challenge alone was because he wanted to prove he could be useful. However, because of how strong their foe was, Kaori was providing hea
ling support from the rear.
“Nnnnnngh! It hits like a truck!” A branch as thick as a tree trunk sliced through the air and headed straight for Kouki. He blocked it with his sword, but the force of the blow made him groan in pain.
Shizuku was unable to assist, as she had her hands full striking down the flying shuriken leaves. Suzu had to use her full arsenal of barriers to keep the party safe, while Kouki frantically searched for an opening from which to strike.
“Gah! It’s no use. As long as Kaori’s here we won’t get worn down, but...” Shizuku unleashed shockwaves one after another, slicing down any leaf or branch that drew close. But she grit her teeth as she realized that she wouldn’t be able to push any further.
Now that they’d experienced firsthand just how ferocious a labyrinth could be, they realized Hajime had been right when he’d said they would die if they challenged one on their own. Shizuku knew that without Hajime’s help they would have died long ago. The confidence they’d built up during their time in the Great Orcus Labyrinth had been torn to shreds. Shizuku weighed her options, then yelled out her plan.
“Kouki! Use Divine Wrath!”
“I can’t! It takes too long to chant!”
“Don’t worry, we’ll protect you! Trust in us!”
Kouki hesitated over whether or not to agree to Shizuku’s plan. The Treant they were facing was stronger even than the monsters the demons had brought with them. It was only thanks to Kaori’s support that they hadn’t been wiped out. But even with her help, a moment’s lapse in concentration would see them killed. No sane person would leave themselves defenseless in front of such an opponent.
However, it was also true that their current strategy lacked the firepower to defeat the Treant. At this rate, they would eventually lose.
Besides... Kouki thought back to Hajime and Yue’s reunion. About how absolute their trust was in each other. Despite Yue’s goblin form, Hajime had instantly realized who she was. Yue, too, had possessed absolute faith that Hajime would stop Kouki from killing her. Honestly, he’d been a little jealous of their unwavering devotion to each other.
It was that jealousy that drove Kouki to his final decision. After all, he had comrades he trusted too. This was his chance to prove his bonds were just as strong as Hajime’s.
“Alright, I’m counting on you guys!”
“Yep, just leave it to us. Ryutarou, Suzu, tighten your defenses!”
“Roger!”
“You got it!”
Kouki raised his sword high and stopped moving. As he was concentrating solely on casting Divine Wrath, he was defenseless. The Treant wasn’t going to let such an opportunity pass. It shot branches at Kouki from both sides, while raining a torrent of leaves from above and firing a barrage of nuts from the front.
“Reject all malice and let this be a holy ground that denies thine enemies passage! Hallowed Ground!” Suzu had been ready for the attack, and she pulled out her strongest barrier to defend against it. Cracks appeared in the dome as it weathered the Treant’s initial barrage.
“Mrrrrrrrrrgh!”
The continuous assault eventually proved too much for Suzu’s Hallowed Ground, and it shattered. Suzu was thrown backward from the impact, and Shizuku and Ryutarou rushed in to fill the gap.
“Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Uoooooooooh!”
With spirited cries, the two of them unleashed every technique at their disposal. But even their best wasn’t enough to let them survive unscathed, and the two of them were quickly covered in deep cuts. Blood spurted from their bodies and dyed the ground red.
“Holy Blessing.” Kaori cast a single spell, and Shizuku’s and Ryutarou’s wounds vanished instantly.
Holy Blessing was an intermediate-class spell, but with Kaori’s ungodly mana reserves, she could easily power it up to an advanced-class spell. Her healing spells worked so fast that it was like they were rewinding time. Even factoring in the increase in power being in Noint’s body gave her, Kaori was an unbelievably skilled healer.
Suzu once again cast Hallowed Ground, buying the party another few seconds. Shizuku and Ryutarou regrouped, ready to fend off the next assault. The cycle of Suzu erecting a barrier, it shattering, Shizuku and Ryutarou guarding for a few seconds, Kaori healing them, then Suzu recasting her barrier repeated three times.
By now, Kouki had nearly finished casting. A massive amount of mana was concentrated within his sword, which was glowing brighter than the sun. He tightened his grip on the hilt and sucked in a deep breath.
“Alright everyone, let’s do this! Divine Wrath!” After saying that, he swung his sword down, unleashing his most powerful attack. A dazzling shockwave of mana ripped across the ground, obliterating any leaves, branches, and nuts in its wake. It then slammed into the Treant’s main body in an explosion of light.
“We did it!” Kouki yelled jubilantly.
Hajime, who was waiting safely in the rear, muttered, “Ah, that’s a death flag...” and Kouki had stepped right on it. The light faded and the dust cleared, revealing a wounded but still very much alive Treant.
“You’re... kidding me...” Kouki gasped, dumbfounded. He wasn’t the only one surprised. Shizuku, Suzu, and Ryutarou were just as shocked. Until now, there was nothing Kouki’s ultimate attack hadn’t been able to kill.
Divine Wrath was the most powerful offensive spell in existence, the hero’s trump card. When he’d just arrived in Tortus and been low-leveled, it might have been possible for something to withstand Kouki’s Divine Wrath, but not after he’d gotten so much training in.
And yet, the Treant remained undaunted. Sure, it had been damaged a fair amount, but those wounds only made it more ferocious. This whole time, Kouki had believed himself capable of clearing a labyrinth. He’d been certain he’d be fine. After all, Hajime had done it. To Kouki, it seemed impossible for there to be something Hajime could do that he couldn’t. However now, he was forced to face reality. Even his most powerful ability had failed to bring down a labyrinth monster.
No, this can’t be real. There has to be some kind of mistake! Kouki shook his head in denial. Just then, Shizuku shouted to gain his attention.
“Kouki, look! You didn’t land a direct hit!”
“Huh?” Kouki followed Shizuku’s gaze and saw a mountain of wooden splinters and tree trunks. It appeared the Treant had used a bunch of trees as a shield to guard against Kouki’s Divine Wrath.
Where on earth did it get all those trees from? There wasn’t anything right before I attacked... Kouki’s question was answered seconds later by the Treant. The monster glowed with a faint light, and seconds later trees started sprouting from its roots.
“Th-This is its special magic!?” Suzu gasped. Her guess was spot-on. The Treant’s special magic was “Regrowth.” It allowed it to sprout as many trees as it pleased, and control them freely.
“O-Oh no! Let this be a— Hallowed Ground!” Suzu quickly realized her full chant wouldn’t make it in time, and shortened it. A shimmering dome of light surrounded the party just as a flood of attacks came in.
Sharpened branches and roots slammed into the barrier one after another. This time the attacks weren’t coming just from the Treant, but also from the trees it had created. Branches filled the air, blotting out the sky. The barrage was so thick Suzu and the others couldn’t even see the Treant anymore. A makeshift Hallowed Ground had no chance of withstanding such an attack. Cracks had already started to appear all over the barrier, and it would shatter in another few seconds. And this time, it seemed unlikely that Kouki and the others would be able to hold out long enough for her to cast it again. Kouki himself knew it was far too optimistic to think they could.
“I can’t... hold on any longer...” Suzu grit her teeth as her mana drained away at an alarming rate. Watching her struggle to hold on snapped Kouki back to his senses. In a way, he was relieved. It wasn’t that his trump card was ineffective, it had just been blocked. But regardless, the fact that it had meant that Suzu was n
ow suffering.
Kouki banished the worries and hesitation he’d felt until now. And prepared to use his second trump card, Limit Break. Using up two of his trump cards this early in the labyrinth wasn’t a wise move, but Kouki realized he’d been naive in thinking he could survive without them. Before he could activate the skill though, Kaori intervened.
“Transient Infinity!”
Transient Infinity was a restoration spell that maintained a person or object in its original state for as long as the caster supplied mana. Silver light enveloped Suzu’s cracked Hallowed Ground, returning it to the pristine condition it had been in upon being cast. No matter how much the Treant hammered on the barrier, it was unable to put even a dent on it. Any damage dealt was instantly reverted thanks to Kaori’s spell.
“Whoa, thanks Kaorin!” Suzu glanced over her shoulder, and Kaori saw the tears in her eyes.
She must have been really scared. Or maybe she’s just really relieved now. Kaori smiled at her and nodded reassuringly. Kouki and the others relaxed a little as well and turned back to see how Hajime was doing.
Like the three of them, Hajime and his party were also surrounded by an army of trees, but they were having no trouble whatsoever dealing with the onslaught of wood and leaves. Hajime had deployed four of his Cross Bits, and they’d formed a pyramid-shaped barrier around everyone. Since the barrier was made of spatial magic, it was nigh impossible to penetrate. Not even the Treant’s strongest attacks could crack it. He’d created an impenetrable fortress for himself.
“Looks like they’re at their limit. I thought they’d be able to do a bit better, but...” Hajime muttered to himself as he gauged the expressions on Kouki and the others’ faces.
“Hmm, if that hero guy used Limit Break, won’t they be able to manage somehow?”
“Maybe. If he uses that powered-up version of it, definitely. But the recoil that comes afterward will be a problem... Even healing magic can’t do much for the exhaustion that comes with using Limit Break.”
“Mmm... Restoration magic should be able to, though.”
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Vol. 8 Page 11