Chapter 215
Slipping out of Franz’s embrace, Leviathan used magic. A magic circle was drawn in front of its mouth, and soon the magic activated, shooting out a single beam of light.
It had been quite a while since he last saw Leviathan’s magic.
The last time was definitely when it filled the hole Behemoth had made in the north of the continent with water.
'It feels like it’s become somewhat cleaner…'
Although Leviathan was following him around like a pet, its essence was still one of the calamities created by the Demon God.
Its mana was dark and sticky, giving off an unpleasant sensation, not only when they first met, but also when it last used magic.
But now, it wasn’t like that at all. It was as if it had been purified. It felt like muddy water had turned into clean water.
He didn’t know exactly what the reason was, but the result was a good thing.
After all, he had had to endure that unpleasant sensation while carrying it around all the time.
If there were a problem…
Was it that, apart from becoming cleaner, the power of its magic was still terrible?
[T-These guys are sturdy, aren’t they?!]
Leviathan’s magic had barely managed to take down one of the ten or so orcs.
It was only natural, considering Franz was suppressing Leviathan with a contract so it couldn’t gather mana.
Even so, taking down one of them was probably a great feat.
“You said they’d be good enough to kill time?”
[I-I’m not particularly bored…!]
Leviathan burrowed into Franz’s arms like an arrow. Then it poked its head out through the gap in his open robe, looking exactly like a pet.
'Can I trust this guy…'
If he released the suppression on its mana, it would be able to live a little more freely.
But if it became a menace to the world, that would be entirely his responsibility.
Hmm-.
As expected, it would be better to wait and see a little longer.
There was nothing good about making a hasty judgment.
Having made that decision, Franz lightly snapped his fingers.
Snap-.
With a crisp sound, a magic circle was drawn in the air.
Since he had confirmed their level through Leviathan’s attack earlier, he just needed to use magic accordingly.
There was no reason to waste mana unnecessarily.
Soon, a beam of light as thin as a thread shot out from the magic circle.
The advancing beam of light didn’t stop even after popping an orc’s head, changing direction to pop another orc’s head.
In that fleeting moment, a whopping seven heads were burst, and the final, eighth orc breathed its last with a small hole pierced through its head.
The debris from the exploding heads mixed with sticky blood, turning the scene quite grotesque.
Though Franz, who had already experienced blood-splattering scenes of slaughter several times, was unfazed.
[Stupid fools. You should know your place before acting up.]
Leviathan, who had slipped out of his arms at some point, spoke triumphantly.
Had it already forgotten that it only managed to take care of a single one with its own power?
It seemed certain that its brain had shrunk along with its body size.
'Should I take one with me for now?'
Franz cleared away the remains of the orcs whose heads had burst and placed the one that had been cleanly dealt with into his magic bag.
Since it was a creature that hadn’t existed in this world, there were many things to investigate.
If he were lucky, its materials might bring about a great change in the world.
'Anyway, how did these guys know to come here…'
They had appeared right after he raised his mana.
Did they have the ability to sense mana, or was it simply an instinctive attraction?
As expected, there were far too many things he didn’t know.
This was why this moment was all the more enjoyable.
Franz slowly raised his mana. Then, he spread it all at once into the surroundings.
The mana that stretched out like a wave returned carrying information.
Countless pieces of information were neatly organized in Franz’s mind, materializing into a single 3D map.
It was the same method he had used earlier to map out the terrain of Ganiphus in his head.
With this, it would be easy to explain to the prince of Nostra as well.
It was when the extended mana reached the deepest part of the labyrinth.
Franz suddenly felt a shiver, goosebumps breaking out.
It was as if something there had noticed his mana detection.
He had the illusion that he had made eye contact with it.
Around the level of the Demon Lord’s Army’s Four Heavenly Kings, or perhaps even higher.
A monster of a level that would have been overwhelming even if he had fought it with his party in the past was lurking at the end of this labyrinth.
* * *
The magic tower, vacated by its master, was as ordinary as ever…
“The magic tower master is away.”
“I’ll wait.”
“You don’t even know when he’ll be back, though?”
“Then shouldn’t I just wait until that 'whenever'?”
Arian and Yustia were squabbling in front of the magic tower lord’s office.
This, too, wasn’t much different from usual, so one could say the magic tower was as ordinary as ever.
Yustia tried to slip past and enter the Magic Tower Lord’s Office, but Arian blocked her path.
“No.”
“The Saintess is saying she will wait for the Saint.”
“Then wait at the cathedral. This is the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.”
“Are you saying that while coming in and out of here as easily as you breathe?”
She wasn’t exactly wrong.
After all, Arian had run into Yustia right after coming out of the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.
Of course, if Franz had been there, he would have told her to come in without minding it…
Arian simply couldn’t tolerate it - others intruding into the space belonging to her and Franz.
“Fine. Then I’ll just wait right here.”
Yustia plopped down on the spot.
When Franz eventually showed up, he would see Yustia, and Arian would be scolded for making a guest wait on the cold floor.
Arian wasn’t so clueless as not to know what that action meant.
“That’s why you can’t even kiss the magic tower master…”
She ended up saying something she shouldn’t have.
She belatedly covered her mouth and gauged the reaction, but there was no crying over spilled milk.
“What did you just…”
“I said I kissed the Magic Tower Master. We drank wine together yesterday. If you’re curious, I can tell you more.”
Arian decided to act boldly. Since she couldn’t take it back anyway, she intended to just flip everything over.
Naturally, there was no way Yustia would stay still after hearing that.
“Who gave you permission to kiss him?!”
“That’s up to me, isn’t it? Or do I need to get the Saintess’s permission?”
“U-Ugh…!”
Jumping to her feet, Yustia ultimately couldn’t hold back her anger and grabbed Arian’s hair.
“A-Ah?! Let go of me!”
Even as she said that, Arian’s hands grabbed Yustia’s hair.
That was when it started. The two of them began to fight in earnest.
Didn’t they say, 'When the cat’s away, the mice will play'? The two of them looked exactly like troublemakers.
Since Arian wasn’t using magic and Yustia wasn’t using divine power, one could say they were keeping the line in their own way, but…
It was certain how Franz would react when he faced the two of them later.
“S-Seria, shouldn’t we stop them?”
“I think it’s okay to fight sometimes, Zenia.”
The two of them sighed as they watched fully grown adults fighting.
* * *
The characteristics of a labyrinth that Franz knew were as follows.
First, if you kill the boss-level monster, the labyrinth closes immediately.
Second, if you leave the labyrinth alone without clearing it, monsters will spill out.
Since these were facts he had learned from various subcultures, he couldn’t conclude they were the truth. They were strictly in the realm of possibility.
So, to find out the truth, he had no choice but to experiment himself.
The latter had many risk factors and couldn’t be tested right away, but…
The former was entirely possible.
[There’s an unusual guy inside.]
“I know.”
In front of Franz was a massive door.
The door was made of thick iron bars, and its rusted appearance in various places gave off a dreary atmosphere.
What lay beyond this was definitely that guy, the one who had detected his mana and sent a signal back.
The guy was definitely strong, to the point where the Hero’s Party of the past would have barely won even if they all attacked at once.
But that was strictly a story of the past. Now, he will be able to take it down all by himself.
So many things had happened since he subjugated the Demon Lord.
Subjugating Leviathan, who was currently hiding in his arms and only poking his head out, was one of them.
Huu-.
Letting out a sigh, Franz raised his mana.
The surrounding mana particles began to sparkle, and the flow of mana in the area changed as if swirling.
This was a kind of declaration of war.
It was a declaration of war that he had come to end its life.
Rumble-.
Manipulating his mana to effortlessly push the door open, Franz slowly took a step forward.
The place he arrived at was a massive cavern.
Thanks to the red torches placed all around, flickering and illuminating the surroundings, it wasn’t too dark.
At that moment, eyes even redder than those torches stared at Franz.
In the center of the cavern, a monster that looked like a mix between a human and a goat raised its body.