The deeper they ventured, the larger the artificial labyrinth became.
The passages grew wider, the rooms more expansive, and the traps increasingly numerous.
The mechanisms within the pitfall traps were originally endless, but upon sensing the red gemstone, all of them fell silent.
"How many floors down are we now?"
Eiji asked over his shoulder as they ran through the passage.
"I don't know."
Alicia could only shake her head, as expected.
The labyrinth was filled with countless ascending and descending passages and staircases, making it impossible to determine their current floor or depth. Their sense of direction had long since been lost.
"Um... I think we're around the seventh floor!"
The rabbit-eared girl timidly raised her hand and spoke.
"Oho! Rakta, are you sure?"
"Y-yes, I think so!"
Rakta seemed to lack confidence, always shrinking back nervously.
But after carefully reviewing the path in her mind and flipping through the map in her hands a few times, she confidently gave her answer.
The map she held was one she had drawn during their two previous entries into the labyrinth. It looked incredibly intricate, enough to make Alicia dizzy just looking at it, but Rakta organized it with ease, her thoughts perfectly clear.
Rakta had an exceptionally strong spatial awareness, giving her a natural talent for mapmaking.
That was why this special team, composed of at least Level 4 adventurers, had deliberately slowed their pace to include her, despite her being only Level 3.
"The seventh floor... and we're encountering more and more members of the Evilus!"
Eiji swung his magic sword once more.
A ferocious blaze roared forth, reducing the black-robed figures in the passage ahead to ashes.
This was a Crozzo Magic Sword, one Eiji had replicated when he observed Welf's forging of a magic sword last time. Its power far surpassed that of ordinary magic swords, making it trivial to breach fortresses and conquer cities.
No wonder the kingdom of Ares had once relied on these to achieve unstoppable victories—though they had also earned the curses of the elves for burning down countless forests.
This was something he especially couldn't let Alicia know. As an elf, she would surely fly into a rage if she learned that this weapon, which had slaughtered so many of her kin, had been revived.
"Stop them, quickly!"
Eiji's ears twitched.
He seemed to hear someone shouting.
Immediately afterward, a swarm of black-robed fanatics surged from the other end of the passage, each one crying out the name of the evil god Thanatos as they charged forward with glowing firestones in hand. At the same time, a large number of black-robed figures chanted in unison, unleashing a curse—"Bloody Dance."
Could curses really be mass-produced like this?
There was definitely a highly skilled curse caster in this labyrinth!
"Ais, protect the team!"
Eiji barked an order.
In an instant, he shot upward, sprinting along the side wall at blinding speed, effortlessly bypassing the incoming red curses and exploding flames.
"—Tempest!"
Ais leaped out from the center of the group.
A fierce gale instantly howled into existence, blocking the flames while also blowing away the mass of black-robed figures. The red curse waves couldn't even reach them.
"Found him!"
Meanwhile, Eiji landed behind the black-robed attackers and immediately spotted the man standing at the end of the passage.
In his hand, he happened to be gripping a red jewel engraved with the letter "D"!
The man was horrified at the sight of Eiji rapidly closing in and hastily retreated into the passage behind him. At the same time, he quickly activated the jewel, attempting to lower the gate above his head.
As long as he could retreat behind the gate, no one would be able to harm him!
This was the confidence of a high-ranking member of the Evilus!
What? Why didn't he fight back?
If he could actually win in a fight, would he still be stuck commanding from the rear?
Although the Evilus had deceived many civilians under the banner of the evil god Thanatos, they had only been developing for five years. Powerful adventurers were extremely rare among them—Level 3 was enough to qualify as a high-ranking member. Those like Valletta, who were Level 5, were remnants of the previous generation and naturally held top positions.
In terms of direct combat strength, the Evilus couldn't even compare to the Loki Familia, which had been developing for decades!
"Don't even think about escaping!"
Eiji's steps were swift as the wind.
In an instant, he unleashed a speed invisible to the naked eye, crossing dozens of meters in the blink of an eye. His sword thrust straight toward the man's chest!
Too fast!
It was so fast that there was no time to react. Even though the distance had been at least thirty meters, it felt as if he had merely taken a single step!
The man met his end beneath the blade, his face filled with despair.
"Second key!"
Eiji returned to the group, now holding two keys.
The black-cloaked enemies around them had been almost entirely wiped out, without even a single injury among their own ranks.
"As long as we guard against their self-destruction and curses, they're easy to deal with!"
"We didn't even need Miss Ais to step in!"
Narvi and the others excitedly discussed.
Their previous expedition into the dungeon had left them with deep psychological scars—the memory of being forced to close their eyes and wait for death was still a nightmare that could jolt many awake in the middle of the night.
But now, after charging in and fighting, they realized the Evilus's true strength lay only in their control of the terrain. In terms of combat power, they were nothing special—this was an overwhelming advantage for the Loki Familia!
Once they had the keys, the artificial dungeon would surely fall!
"Don't celebrate too soon."
Eiji handed the other key to Ais, then motioned toward a branching path with his chin.
"A strong enemy is already on its way."
Click-clack, click-clack!
In the distance, a tide of crystal spiders surged forward, their eight legs skittering across the ground at such speed that even Level 4 adventurers paled.
Unlike the thick-skinned man-eating flowers or the highly corrosive green caterpillars, the crystal spiders—also a new breed of monster—were specialized for direct combat. Their speed was terrifying, and if surrounded, even an Level 5 would struggle to handle them!
"Charge forward!"
"Wha—?!"
The group had initially planned to retreat, but at Eiji's words, they gasped in shock.
They had come down here to seize the keys—every second counted. Was it really necessary to engage with such troublesome enemies?
"If crystal spiders keep endlessly appearing in this artificial dungeon, it means there must be a nest breeding them!"
Eiji rushed forward, swinging his magic sword wildly.
"As long as we destroy those nests, the Evilus's forces will be further weakened! Hurry, we don't have time to waste. If they realize what we're doing and send reinforcements to guard them, destroying the nests will become much harder!"
"I see!"
"Follow him!"
"Let's make things easier for the later assault!"
It was only then that everyone snapped back to reality and charged forward without hesitation.
At the end of a passage, they came upon a room overgrown with vines. Egg-shaped crystal spiders were being spat out from giant flower stamens, rapidly growing as they absorbed the surrounding green nutrient fluid.
"Burn them!"
"Burn everything!"
"Leave nothing behind!"
Gripping their magic swords with murderous expressions, the group set the entire room ablaze, reducing every vine and stamen to ashes.