When they opened the door to the corridor, there was another corridor. When they opened the door to that corridor, another corridor. The endless succession of corridors left the two men in confusion.

“Ugh, I’m dizzy……”

“The sense of reality is fading. Could we have fallen into a trap?”

It was unclear. There were no suspicious devices to suggest they’d fallen into a trap and no sign of a trapmaster. Could it be a maze-like floor? In the end, Cadel stopped opening doors and sat down against the wall of the corridor. After going around in circles with the same scenery, both his body and mind were exhausted.

“Where could everyone be? The Demon King should be on the top floor, so they must have passed through here. How did they get through?”

“……I don’t know. Maybe they didn’t get through after all. They might still be on this floor, like us.”

“They’re on the same floor? But we saw Sir Sorin. Sir Sorin died fighting the Demon King. If our allies were fighting the Demon King here, we’d surely see them, right?”

Cadel was certain that everyone must have escaped this strange corridor and gone up to the next floor. However, Garuel had a different thought.

“On the first, second, and third floors we ascended, there were many signs of battle, but no enemies were present. There were no obstacles preventing us from finding the stairs either.”

“That’s true.”

“If our allies had defeated the enemies and cleared the area, we would have been able to ascend the stairs without trouble. So, if they made it to the fourth floor, these strange corridors should have disappeared, and regular stairs would have appeared.”

“Hm…… That makes sense.”

“The fact that this peculiar force hasn’t disappeared means that our allies didn’t manage to ascend the floor. They failed to defeat the enemy that created this corridor.”

“Then…… That means the Demon King is here, not on the top floor.”

Garuel nodded gravely, and Cadel, with a serious expression, quickly stood up. Garuel’s reasoning was persuasive. If their allies had ascended safely, they would have removed the force maintaining these strange corridors.

To confirm the truth, asking Kunra would be the quickest route. But since Kunra still showed no response, Cadel decided to trust Garuel’s hypothesis.

“The Demon King created this space.”

“That seems likely. There’s no particularly strong demonic energy, but that could be due to the peculiar structure of this space. The corridors we open—whether they lead to new corridors or loop back into the same one—figuring that out seems to be the priority.”

The two men carefully crossed the corridor. No matter how far they walked, the end of the corridor remained dark, and they could not discern what lay beyond.

“If this is the Demon King’s domain, she must have noticed our intrusion by now. The fact that she hasn’t shown up yet is a little unsettling.”

“Could our allies be holding the Demon King back?”

“Lumen is in a dangerous situation, so they can’t hold her for long. We need to join them as quickly as possible. How can we get into the same corridor?”

Even though they tried hard to understand the nature of the space, answers didn’t come easily. Why was the Demon King trying to trap them here? Was she hoping they’d slowly wither away in this maze? Or perhaps she intended to eliminate the others first, then ensure their deaths, as the last two left.

Cadel continued to ponder these grim thoughts while trying to find a way out.

* * *

“……You’re quite something. I had a feeling since you were facing my clone, but your skills are impressive.”

“Is the Demon King praising me? Just know, I don’t feel flattered in the slightest.”

Until Modeleine’s healing magic awakened everyone, Mamil decided to hold onto Emilia’s ankle while protecting them. Even if he were to die here, he felt that if his life could save the hopes of many, the flames of war would not be extinguished. He had a premonition of this.

And his desperate resistance was gradually making slight changes to Emilia’s plans.

“Mamil Kipa. Your mana flow is a mess. If you keep facing me like this, you’ll go berserk, you know? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“No need to worry.”

“With your level of magic, I think I could easily deal with the humans without lifting a finger if you were to go berserk.”

“I won’t go berserk. Even if that were to happen, there won’t be a self-destructive ending for my side, so don’t get your hopes up.”

The corridor was filled with brightly colored flames. Only a narrow patch of ground where Emilia stood was outside the reach of the flames. She slowly looked around at the beautiful flames surrounding her, then shifted her gaze back to Mamil.

The aftermath of the strained mana vessel was clearly visible on the old, pitiful human. Even in such a state, he refused to give up the fight, and it created a rather troublesome situation. The fact that the enemies behind them were waking up didn’t bother her. Even if they woke up, they wouldn’t be able to kill her. The real problem was.

‘Cadel Lytos really has arrived. And Lawrence’s nephew too. I need to bring those two in right away, but if I let them join here, things will get complicated.’

Cadel Lytos, who wielded the power of the Scarlet Dragon, and Garuel Hywyl, Lawrence’s nephew. If Garuel arrived, the recovery speed of those who had regained consciousness would become uncontrollable.

Normally, Emilia wouldn’t have been so cautious about Garuel. But the power of Garuel in her space was far greater than she had expected. It might have something to do with Lawrence’s disappearance. If he poured his energy into more than just human recovery—into regeneration—it would become an even more dangerous situation.

Therefore, Emilia had been directing Cadel and Garuel to continue wandering through different areas, far from the corridor where she was. As long as the power maintaining this space didn’t crack, they would never be able to set foot here without her permission.

‘Unless my clone dies suddenly, the space won’t break. Mamil Kipa…… I tried to keep him alive to break Cadel Lytos’s mind, but I can’t help it, there’s nothing I can do now. I’ll have to kill everyone and throw their bodies at him.’

She no longer saw the need to keep them alive. Emilia effortlessly dissipated the surging fireballs with a simple wave of her hand, then began drawing up demonic energy. The black demonic energy enveloped her entire body, and in an instant, the corridor, once filled with flames, was consumed by the dark energy.

Spreading her demonic energy over the fire wall Mamil had created, she spoke.

“It’s about time you die.”

* * *

It was strange. He was in so much pain that it felt as if he were on the brink of death, yet no attack seemed to affect him. Despite the overwhelming fatigue, he kept rising, wielding not even a sword but its scabbard, holding on stubbornly. It felt as though he was possessed by something. His bones cracked, and his dislocated joints screamed in agony, but strangely, his body felt light.

He had vomited blood from a blow from the clone, his head slammed into the ground dozens of times, his vision blurry, yet with every repetitive pain, he felt a thrilling fear, as though he had stepped into a new world as an explorer.

The clone had broken Lumen’s body, but the more it happened, the stronger Lumen’s inner self became, like steel tempered by fire. All this violence was an opportunity for growth for him.

“If there was a mirror, I would really want to show you how you look now.”

The clone, holding a demonic energy sword loosely, sneered. In front of her stood Lumen, barely able to stand, facing her in a haggard, bent-over posture. His legs, unable to straighten, wobbled pitifully, and his arms, damaged to the point where their range of motion was severely limited, hung limp. He didn’t even have the strength to lift his head anymore and could no longer look ahead. His confused gaze remained fixed on the cracked floor.

He seemed to have no consciousness left. With every relentless attack, he moved instinctively, yet even so, he was unable to avoid the blows, helplessly being struck and sent flying. That was all Lumen could do.

If he simply closed his eyes and died, he could escape to the corridor where the others were. But why was he so stubbornly resisting? Emilia couldn’t understand his determination, her fragmented soul in confusion.

“You’re like a sword ghost, about to disappear.”

She murmured softly, looking at the pitiful Lumen. He hadn’t moved from his place, still stumbling slightly. Was he waiting for the next attack? Or perhaps he was already dying. She dismissed her demonic energy sword and crossed her arms, lazily opening her eyes.

“Are you dead yet?”

His limp arm followed the swaying scabbard, his body shaking with the recoil. Blood-mixed saliva dripped down beneath his lowered head. His once tidy appearance was completely gone, now resembling that of a beast.

Emilia’s dry gaze slowly scanned Lumen. He hadn’t died yet, so he probably couldn’t leave this space. What a frustratingly resilient human.

“I have no intention of waiting for your peaceful death.”

Even though he would probably die on his own, she didn’t want to waste any more time waiting for a mere human’s death. Just as the clone thought that, Lumen took a step forward.

“I…… am……”

Lumen, practically a corpse, spoke. The clone reflexively halted, furrowing her brow. His head, which had been bent like a broken doll, slowly began to lift.

“I…… am…… certain……”

Half-lidded, bloodshot eyes, with no focus, and blood trailing down his chin. It was the last words of a dying man. Emilia’s face twisted with disgust. If he were to die, she would be the first to take his sword.

But Lumen raised his sword as if to defy her. His trembling arm lifted the scabbard with one hand, the handle with the other. His unfocused eyes locked on the clone. And then, in the next moment……

“I am certain…… that I can kill her…… and protect Cadel……”

Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the tightly sealed sword began to be drawn. The scabbard, which had been stubbornly shut for many years, opened, and through the narrow gap, a blinding light began to pour out.

“The sword of Kelligan……”

A flash of light filled the field of vision. The divine response filled the wide plains, and the clone’s eyes widened in astonishment.