* * *

“No! Why me? Why do I have to take on that role?”

“Just bear with it a little longer, okay? You’re the only one who can do it right now.”

“My father can do it too!”

“Let me correct that. You’re the only fairy I can ask to do something like this.”

Cadel was busy calming down the furious Lydon as he tied a rope around his waist. It was too time-consuming for the humans to navigate the maze on foot. The stamina of the knights had already been depleted from several battles.

So, if someone could guide the right path from above while observing the maze, everyone would be able to escape quickly and easily. Therefore, Cadel planned to pass through the maze while following Lydon’s guidance, tying the rope connecting his wrist to Lydon’s body.

Of course, Lydon, who had been tasked with the guiding role, wasn’t thrilled. It wasn’t because of the hassle of leading the way, having to fly to avoid High Demons, or the need to deal with minor inconveniences that required mental calculation.

“I want to go through the maze too! I’m sure it’ll be super fun and exciting…… Why is everyone having fun without me? It’s so unfair!”

It was the anticipation of something he had never experienced—just like Lydon. He was protesting that excluding him from the fun because he had wings was unjust. While Lydon was whining beside him, Lumen, who had been tightening the knot of the rope, clicked his tongue in dismay.

“We didn’t come here to have fun, Lydon. No knight is crossing the maze just for the excitement.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to hear Lumen’s boring talk. And could you stop touching my body so casually?”

“I haven’t touched your body. I’m working hard not to touch it.”

“See, darling! Lumen is subtly trying to touch my waist!”

Once the noisy rope-tying was done, Cadel approached the uneasy Kash. Staring into his downcast eyes, Cadel tilted his head slightly.

“You’re going to find the exit with Lydon. And as obvious as it is, if you alert a High Demon or try to escape, the energy I implanted in your body will explode. But before that, Lydon will probably kill you.”

“Do I really have to go with him?”

“Yes, because it’ll be easier for Lydon to guide us without being noticed by High Demons.”

Was it the discomfort of deceiving his own kind to lead humans to the demon king’s castle? Kash hesitated, showing a troubled expression. Cadel, watching him, placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Kash.”

“Yeah……?”

“You’re a coward who clings to survival, weak in mind and body, and a traitor. To demons, you’re the worst kind of kin.”

“……”

“But to humans, you’re the best ally. Even though we killed your precious familiar and are now going to kill your king……”

Cadel’s voice, soft and whispering, contained calculated trust, a feigned gentleness, and an undeniable burning desire in his eyes.

“If you choose to stand by our side until the end, I will protect you to the very end. I won’t let anyone kill you.”

If the other members had seen Cadel in this moment, they would have easily recognized his hidden desires. But not Kash. He was completely deceived by Cadel’s performance and became firmly convinced that Cadel would throw himself into danger for him.

Cadel gently massaged Kash’s shoulder as he nodded absentmindedly, then slowly distanced himself.

“Alright. I’ll trust you, Kash. I might not trust others, but I trust you.”

With a kind smile, he turned back to Lydon. Left alone, Kash slowly clenched his fist and muttered to himself.

“Toto. I……”

* * *

As Kash had mentioned, after about ten minutes of walking, the entrance to the enormous maze appeared. In fact, without Kash’s hint, Cadel would never have guessed that this was a maze at all.

Cadel looked up at the grim walls before him, his mouth slightly agape. The height and width were beyond estimation. The maze’s walls loomed with immense size, rising like the walls of a fortress. Even the entrance that Kash had guided them to was shockingly grand.

“Did they carve such a huge entrance for gigantic monsters or demons to pass through?”

Garuel muttered in awe, brushing his fingers along the surface of the maze’s walls. After savoring the texture for a moment, he rubbed his fingertips together, frowning slightly.

“I can faintly feel demonic energy. As I feared, this doesn’t seem to be a normal maze.”

“……If it can sense the energy of those entering, it’ll be troublesome.”

If the maze was composed of demonic energy, it was likely equipped with some kind of trap. Cadel clicked his tongue, and Kash awkwardly interjected beside him.

“That probably isn’t the case. This maze is…… more like a gate designed to differentiate which demons are allowed into the castle……”

“How can I trust that? Don’t spout nonsense you can’t prove, demon.”

Kash fell silent, his face flushing in embarrassment at the sharp retort. Cadel, nonchalantly observing Kash retreat, offered a fabricated smile as he spoke.

“If Kash says so, then it must be true. He would know much more about the Demon Realm than we do. Let’s trust him and go in.”

At Cadel’s kind words, Kash straightened up, regaining some confidence. Cadel gently patted Kash’s back before smoothly stepping back and whispering to Garuel and Modeleine.

“I’ll conceal us with dark mana. As soon as we enter the maze, spread your mana. We need to check if there are any magic circles or special traps.”

Inside the maze felt like the path to a dark, cursed land. The pitch-black view, with not a single ray of light, was obscured by thick fog, making each step feel hesitant. Somewhere in the distance, a strange wind whistled, reminiscent of a mournful cry.

Cadel, carrying a small flame, cautiously moved forward, following the pull of the rope.

“I still don’t sense any traps, Knight Commander. It seems that demon’s words were true.”

“……Sir Modeleine, do you agree with that?”

“Yes. There’s nothing suspicious. Even considering that we’ve dispersed only a minimal amount of mana…… it doesn’t seem like there are any dangerous traps hidden here.”

“Wait a moment, Knight Commander. Are you saying you still can’t be sure from just my words? That’s a bit hurtful. Where else can you find someone you trust as much as me?”

Despite Garuel’s voice expressing disappointment, Cadel’s expression remained unchanging.

‘Did Kash really tell the truth?’

Even as he entrusted Lydon to him and relied on the rope to navigate the maze, Cadel still couldn’t trust Kash.

A High Demon who betrayed his own kind because he feared death. All the High Demons Cadel had encountered so far were those who wouldn’t hesitate to bite their own tongues if it meant liberating the Demon Realm.

‘Moreover, Kash was a new addition in Hell Mode.’

Even if he didn’t know the full details of the game’s story, he could tell that a demon siding with humans had never existed. If there had been such a demon, the company obsessed with sales would have made him into a card and sold him for profit.

If a new story had unfolded in Hell Mode, and Kash wasn’t the first demon knight in that script.

‘The system wouldn’t just let Kash help us enter the Demon King’s Castle.’

To the god of this world who needed an unchanging enemy to repeat wars, the union of humans and demons could never even be a possibility, let alone a seed of hope. That was why Cadel couldn’t stop doubting Kash.

‘He’s definitely going to betray us. The question is when that betrayal will happen……’

Even if they managed to escape the maze safely, it wouldn’t give Cadel any reason to fully trust Kash. In fact, it seemed more likely that Kash would strike decisively after they escaped the maze.

“……Continue the search. Garuel, you too.”

“Are you going to say that while leaving me feeling so hurt?”

At Garuel’s exaggerated tone of disappointment, Cadel’s gaze finally shifted. He reached out, adjusted the slightly crooked mask on Garuel’s face, and said with a faint smile.

“There’s no reason to be hurt. You know best how I feel.”

“……You’re being mean.”

“Cut me some slack. I just want to get out of this dreary maze as quickly and safely as possible.”

At Cadel’s subtle smile, Garuel’s lips naturally curled upward. Modeleine, who had been glancing at the two men exchanging smiles, narrowed his eyes, covering his mouth slightly. The sight of his former commander acting like a lovesick fool made his stomach turn.

“Cadel, I sense something nearby.”

Meanwhile, Yozen, who had been moving cautiously behind them, quickly approached Cadel and warned him. Immediately halting his advance, Cadel lowered his voice.

“Sensing something? How many?”

“One.”

“Does it seem dangerous?”

“It’s not so much dangerous as…… strange.”

“What’s strange about it?”

“I can’t fully perceive its form because there’s a limit to how much dark energy I can spread. But it’s definitely moving. The thing is, its position isn’t changing.”

“Are you saying it’s just jumping in place?”

“……Maybe that’s the case.”

In this damp and narrow maze, the thought of an enemy jumping in place sent a chill down Cadel’s spine.

“If it’s staying still, there’s no need to interfere. This is a place where monsters and demons roam, after all. Our paths might cross. For now, stay close and walk with me, Yozen.”

Cadel resumed walking, following the taut rope. Yozen, walking beside him, gauged the distance to the enemy he had detected.

The presence was still erratic in its movements, and it seemed to exude an aura of fear. It was clearly a demon from the Demon Realm. If it was now, it might not have noticed their human presence yet, but the sense of unease it emitted didn’t quite make sense to Yozen.

As Yozen’s confusion grew, the presence from beyond became clearer.

“……It’s nearby.”

“This is going to be troublesome.”

The path ahead was a straight line. There was no way to avoid an encounter with the enemy. Clicking his tongue, Cadel gathered mana. They had to take it down before the enemy detected them and sent out a signal.

But Yozen stretched out his arm in front of Cadel, stopping him.

“I’ll take care of it quietly. Stay here and wait.”

“……Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Concerns about whether the enemy might be strong or whether to take the others with him were unnecessary. Cadel said nothing more and allowed Yozen to proceed ahead. He lightly tugged on the rope, signaling for the others to stop moving.

‘Its position is still the same.’

Ten steps ahead, Yozen scattered his dark energy and began to assess the possibility of traps or ambushes. However, even when Yozen reached right in front of the enemy, it remained in place. No, it couldn’t move.

“……”

Yozen’s dark energy traced the shape of the enemy ahead. It was the lower half of a demon. The upper body of the demon was stuck in the wall, with only its two legs flailing wildly, desperately struggling. The short legs seemed to be slowly getting sucked further into the wall.

Yozen applied more dark energy to the wall. The more it engulfed the demon, the more the concentration of demonic energy emanating from the wall slightly increased. After a moment of thought, Yozen drew a dagger. The sharp blade wasn’t aimed at the demon’s lower half.

The maze’s wall. The dagger was cleanly driven into the wall of the maze, a wall that wouldn’t even be scratched by most attacks. There wasn’t even the slightest crack, and it went through as smoothly as cutting through bread. As Yozen pushed the dagger further into the wall, he slowly narrowed his eyes.