* * *

“I, I don’t know! I told you! I’ve never crossed the maze myself!”

Kash’s voice, filled with desperation, seemed to tighten around his throat. With a look on his face as if he might burst into tears, he pressed himself against the wall, having nowhere else to retreat.

“I didn’t think he’d actually get eaten. How would I know how to get us out of this?!”

“If you’re so upset, instead of raising your voice, you should calmly explain your situation. It’s unpleasant to listen to.” 

“I’m curious if there’s ever been a case where a demon that was eaten managed to get out again. You obviously can’t answer that.”

“……You’re right.”

“I can’t understand why I should keep such an ignorant existence alive.”

“What, what do you mean? I guided you to this maze……!”

“Lower your voice. I become more sensitive when there’s too much noise.”

Trying to be considerate so that Kash wouldn’t stutter even more in front of everyone, Lumen attempted to speak with him privately. But it was useless. Kash remained as useless as ever.

With a short sigh, Lumen ran his hand through his hair and glanced behind him.

‘If we don’t find a way out soon, we’ll end up leaving the maze without rescuing Leader and Yozen.’

If they stayed in the maze any longer, they might be eaten again, just like before. They had to hurry to find the exit to lead the allied forces to the garden.

‘But if we break through the maze recklessly, both of them inside might get hurt.’

But outside of breaking through the maze, it was hard to think of a way to get them out of the walls. Even considering the risk of injury, destroying the maze might be the best option. No, the best option would have been for Kash to give them some useful information before taking such a risk.

Lumen’s impatience was clear from his actions. His hand gripped the hilt of his sword as though he might strike at any moment, and the veins on the back of his hand stood out. Kash, glancing nervously at that firm hand, shrank back slightly.

Cadel, who had promised to protect him, was swallowed by the maze. Lydon, who had grown cold, seemed to have forgotten their promise and showed signs of hostility. Was he really going to lead the humans into the maze only to end up getting killed himself?

Tears welled up in Kash’s eyes as fear gripped him, but Lumen’s sword never came for him.

“Sir Lumen, did you gain any useful information?”

Ector, who had approached, alternated his gaze between Kash and Lumen as he spoke. When Lumen shook his head gravely, Ector let out a pained sigh and facepalmed. He stared into the air for a moment, showing his discomfort before speaking.

“Let’s depart. We can’t afford to waste more time here.”

“How can you say we should leave Commander behind? Aren’t you worried about him? What kind of situation do you think Commander might be in right now? Has he been injured? Has he found a way out……?”

At Lumen’s suggestion to escape the maze with the allied forces, Van angrily challenged him. He insisted that he would not leave the maze until he confirmed Cadel’s safety. Lydon felt the same way.

“Why should I guide a bunch of humans out of the maze without Cadel? Why should I help these worthless people who aren’t even trying to find Cadel?”

Lydon shot a cold glance at the humans as if he wanted to freeze the entire maze right then and there. A victory in the war meant nothing without Cadel.

Lumen’s call to leave was supported only by Garuel.

“Knight Commander, from the beginning, intended to search for Sir Yozen alone. Meanwhile, we, including the allied forces, were told to leave the maze ahead of time. ……30 minutes. The time Knight Commander mentioned was 30 minutes. So, we should move with the allied forces. That’s his will.”

Garuel was trying to carry out the order Cadel had left before he was consumed by the walls of the maze. While Lumen and Garuel did not care any less for their disappeared commander and comrades, they, as members of Cadel’s team, were trying to make the best decision.

Van and Lydon could not understand this choice. They believed that rescuing the commander from the danger was the top priority, not following his orders, which they thought were now secondary.

It was a difficult situation where they could not clearly decide what was right or wrong. While the Scarlet Scales Knight Order was in a state of opposition, Hyron, who had been surveying the area, returned. He seemed to have heard the conversation from afar and immediately approached Lydon.

“If you want to stay and search for Cadel, then do so, Lydon. I can take over guiding the humans. But before you do, there’s something you should know.”

He lightly tapped the walls of the maze with his knuckles and turned to face the knights.

“There are no traps in this maze. At least, there are no magic circles that I can find. Do you understand what that means?”

Silence fell as Lydon kept his mouth shut, and Garuel answered in his place.

“Does that mean there’s no way to extract the humans from the inside?”

“Yes. There’s no way to save Cadel from here. We could try physically breaking the maze, but even if we do, I’m not sure they’ll make it out safely. They might just disappear along with the maze.”

“If what Lord Hyron says is true, then we need to stop the allied forces from breaking through the maze. Even if we try to stop them, Knight Commander……”

“Perhaps there is a way to escape inside the walls. If not, Cadel and the other humans who were consumed will remain trapped forever…… inside.”

It was a desperate hypothesis, but there was no other choice. Hyron, too, was worried about Cadel and wanted to rescue him right away. After all, he was the only human who had fought for the fairies and the person his son loved. But no matter what, the truth didn’t change. There was no way to get Cadel out of here.

Hyron’s words drained the color from Van’s face. He bit his trembling lip before his eyes flashed with a dangerous gleam as he spoke.

“If that’s the case, I’ll just be eaten by the maze. If I go in, I might be able to meet Commander. I’ll find a way to escape with him.”

“You don’t know when the ‘meals’ of the maze will start again. Are you planning to just rub yourself against the walls and wait?”

At the calm question, Van shot Lumen a sharp look. Lumen quietly accepted Van’s glare without a word.

“In the end, you’re just like everyone else. Just like those nobles in the back—do you think it’s fine for a few people to be sacrificed for the greater good? Does that change even if it’s Commander? ……I thought you were different.”

Van showed an overwhelming sense of betrayal toward Lumen, who insisted on escaping the maze with the allied forces. Lumen didn’t bother to explain himself. Saying that he would follow Cadel’s orders meant abandoning Cadel’s safety in favor of fighting demons with the others.

“Even if everyone else tells us to abandon Commander, we should never do that. We should hold on to him until the very end. Am I wrong? Am I the only one making foolish, reckless decisions?”

It wasn’t the case. Lumen and Garuel, who had decided to leave Cadel behind, also cared about him deeply and wanted to bring him back. Van understood their feelings, but that only made their choices even harder for him to accept.

Silence descended between them, and soon the signal to leave came from behind. The ranks were closing in, but the Scarlet Scales Knight Order couldn’t move hastily.

Finally, unable to hold back anymore, Van cursed under his breath and turned around.

“This is the Demon Realm, Sir Van. We can’t scatter.”

Garuel said, grabbing Ban’s wrist. He tightened his grip on Van’s wrist and then looked toward Lydon, whose expression had fallen.

“Knight Commander is with Sir Yozen right now. Both of them have the ability to get through any crisis. We’ve seen that with our own eyes, haven’t we?”

“……”

“So, we’ll follow Knight Commander’s orders and leave the maze with the allied forces. And until Knight Commander and Sir Yozen return, we’ll do our best to prevent the maze from collapsing.”

If this were the Human Realm, Garuel wouldn’t have stopped Van and Lydon from leaving. He might have even entrusted them with the task of retrieving Cadel and Yozen.

But now, they had stepped into the Demon Realm. In this dangerous underground world filled with peril, he didn’t want to risk them facing danger alone. Now was the time to stay united.

“No one can get hurt until Knight Commander returns. We have to stay together, no matter what.”

“……”

“Sir Van.”

“……Fine, but let go of my wrist. It’s disgusting.”

With a low sigh, Van shook off Garuel’s grip. Garuel gave a small smile, knowing that for now, they could only trust Cadel and Yozen.