After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
Standing before me was a familiar face—a dark elf girl.
In her hand, she gripped a large knife dripping with blood.
"You're sturdier than I expected."
With cold eyes, Saisaria said that and swung her knife horizontally, aiming for my neck.
…but at the last moment, the blow was deflected by a kodachi.
Nene caught me and retreated with me in her arms.
The impact of landing made me cough up a bit of blood, but that was still better than losing my head.
"Sorry, Nene."
"Don’t talk! Rain-san, healing!"
"Yeah, I’m on it."
Rain rushed over, muttering a chant and placing her hand on my wound.
"The wound… it’s not healing well!"
"Of course not. It's a special make."
Looking closer, Saisaria’s large knife had a dark, wavy blade.
It looked familiar.
It resembled the cursed blade Simon used to swing around proudly.
"Saisaria, what the hell are you doing!?"
"I won't let you interfere with Lord Ilwen."
"You were working with him from the start…!"
We were careless.
I had thought Ilwen seemed too calm for someone facing this many people.
The idea that Saisaria was one of Ilwen’s agents was a bit unexpected.
"You really think you can stop us alone?"
"I was ordered to do so. Originally, the wooden puppets—those turned into ‘Treefolk’—were supposed to finish you off."
"So you lured us here, huh?"
"Yes. You were meant to either be killed or die miserably. But you’re proving troublesome. So now, I’ll personally see this through."
Sighing with a hint of sadness, Saisaria flipped the black knife into a reverse grip near her chest.
That sneak attack that nearly took me out, and now her calm stance against all of us… she’s likely very formidable.
"You brought this on yourselves, you know? For getting in Lord Ilwen’s way."
"What’s he trying to do?"
"There’s no point telling those who will return to the forest. But rest assured, Lady Silk will be happy. Isn’t that… wonderful?"
As she finished speaking, Saisaria vanished.
And in the next instant, she was face to face with Jamie.
"──…!?"
Seeing Jamie frozen in place, I cast the spell Glass Shield.
Just in time, the magic deflected the tip of her black knife.
Nene followed up by slashing at the dark elf, and Marina jumped in to shield Jamie.
Good. Very good.
Even without my instructions, they’re moving just fine.
"Yuke!"
Rain’s voice pulled my blurred consciousness back.
This might be bad.
There’s no pain, and my body feels cold.
"Rain, help support the others. I’ll manage somehow."
"B-but…"
"I’m fine. We’ve got to catch up with Silk, fast."
I smiled faintly, calling upon the pale blessing of the Undead King hidden deep within me.
It’s considered a curse, something a human should never use. But at this point, I had no reason to hold back.
A fragment of the goddess’s power that inverts life and death.
I let just a little of it loose.
"Urgh… gah!"
A wave of pain, exhaustion, and dizziness hit me all at once, and I let out a pathetic groan—but it looked like the power had worked without issue.
"Yuke?"
"Are you okay!?"
"You really shouldn’t push yourself!"
"Healing isn’t done yet!"
Drawing my rapier, I stepped forward—surprising not only my companions.
Even Saisaria, who had dodged Nene’s attack and stepped back, looked shocked.
"That should have been a fatal wound, impossible to heal."
"I’m a red mage. Trickery is kind of my specialty."
The pain was still there, and the fatigue from losing so much mana was intense.
It wasn’t something I could use repeatedly, but the fact that I had returned to the front lines was enough to throw her off.
"Saisaria, the tables have turned. Step aside."
"You’re naive. Disgusting."
Saisaria glared at me, no longer hiding her hatred.
It was a naive offer, I admitted bitterly to myself… but that offer had solidified my resolve.
It had only been a final check, really.
As adventurers, there are times we end up fighting not monsters, but people.
In Glad Shi-im, in the reversed labyrinth Tenebra, and just now with those turned into Treefolk, we had taken lives—but they weren’t truly human anymore.
We, as Clover, had never killed actual humans.
And if possible, I had hoped we never would.
"…Yuke."
Behind me to the right, Jamie called my name with a tone that seemed slightly admonishing.
She probably meant, “Don’t coddle us now.”
You were pretty worn out yourself that first day, weren’t you?
"I know."
"No, you don’t. I’m saying we’re doing this."
Gathering magic at the tip of her staff, Jamie fixed her determined gaze ahead.
"It’s too soon for those kids."
"That’s not true."
The one who spoke and stepped forward was Rain.
"Don’t baby us. And… look."
Following Rain’s voice, I looked ahead—and saw the backs of Marina and Nene.
The two of them were already facing off against Saisaria, radiating a killing intent as cold and sharp as a frozen flame.
"…Huh. So I’m the last one to get it. I see."
It was me who underestimated my companions' resolve.
We can’t stay in the roles of teacher and students forever.
Whether you call this growth or not, the truth is that they’re already full-fledged adventurers.
"……"
Saisaria, who had been watching us with cold eyes, vanished again.
The first time, it had caught me off guard—but when she went for Jamie, I figured out the trick.
And I’d figured out how she was disappearing from our sight.
"Light. Light. Light──…!"
Before any of my companions could move—and before Saisaria could strike—I fired a series of spells from my fingertips.
Basic magic that summons small orbs of light. One of the very first spells we all learn.
I lit up dozens across the ground, turning the plaza brighter than daylight—no, even brighter.
The lights came from all directions, eliminating every possible shadow.
And the one who had been hiding in those shadows was suddenly, defenselessly exposed.
Her face showed disbelief.
That kind of panic and hesitation is something you should never show on a battlefield—and none of us missed the opening.
"……"
"……"
At the same time, Marina and Nene’s weapons struck the dark elf.
Though she just barely dodged a fatal blow and leapt back, Rain and Jamie unleashed a barrage of offensive magic to follow up.
Saisaria’s strangled cry turned into a death wail as she collapsed… and didn’t move again.
"…Let’s go. We have to catch up to Silk."
Even if she was an enemy, she had been someone we knew. Shaking off the lingering weight of her death, I pointed toward the still-glimmering entrance to the World Tree.
You know how the saying goes... F around, find out.
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