"Hmph. Straight to the point, I see. Good, I don't feel like wasting words either." Ishtar walked into the control room, her gaze sweeping across Kali. "I'm here to inspect the merchandise."
"The merchandise?"
"That's right. I want to see the item you promised me. I want to judge its quality myself." Ishtar stated her demand as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"That item..." Thanatos immediately felt a headache coming on. He could only force himself to answer. "But Revis-chan has warned us over and over that it absolutely can't be brought out. If I make Revis-chan angry, I'll be the one in trouble."
"That's your problem." Ishtar wasn't moved in the slightest, merely sneering. "I've poured money into your operation for years. Naturally, I have the right to inspect what I paid for. Or..." She smiled coldly. "...would you rather I withdraw my funding?"
Thanatos let out a groan. This was exactly what made this goddess so difficult. Once she made up her mind, she refused to accept anyone telling her no.
Building the artificial labyrinth had cost an unimaginable fortune. The entire maze was constructed from super-hard metal, while countless gates were forged from ultra-hard metal. Over the past thousand years, the cost of creating this labyrinth had reached an astronomical level, and almost all of that money had come from Ishtar.
She amassed enormous wealth through her prostitutes, controlling an entire entertainment district. For a thousand years, her flow of money had never dried up. Without her financial support, the Daedalus family could never have completed this artificial labyrinth. If she really decided to pull her funding, they'd have a serious problem.
"What? You've been hiding something interesting?" Kali eagerly leaned forward. "And you didn't even tell this one? How rude! Bring it out! Hurry up and let this one see it!"
"...Looks like Revis-chan's going to chew me out." Thanatos looked helplessly toward the ceiling. With both of their allied gods demanding it, there was no way he could refuse. "...Fine. We'll use the Loki Familia as a test while we're at it. Let's see just how powerful the 'Bull of Heaven' really is."
---
'Clang!'
The sound of steel colliding echoed endlessly through the corridor.
Emerald winds howled violently. Ais drove the wind to its limit, wrapping it around her sword before swinging with every ounce of strength she had.
'Bang!'
Revis answered with nothing more than a simple swing of her black greatsword.
The instant the blades met, an overwhelming force surged through Ais' sword. Her slender arms shook violently. Numbness spread through half her body, forcing a pained expression onto her face as her guard collapsed in a single exchange. Without giving her any chance to recover, the red-haired woman stepped forward and casually swung another diagonal slash.
'I can't block it!' Ais made her decision instantly. Wind wrapped around her legs, launching her backward at high speed.
"Is running away all you know how to do?" Revis snorted, complete confidence written across her face.
Since the battle began, Ais hadn't managed to land a single effective hit. Instead, she'd been driven back the entire time.
"What happened to all that confidence you had the last two times?"
Ais could clearly see the satisfaction of revenge in Revis' expression. On the eighteenth floor, she'd barely managed to win thanks to Ryoji's help. On the twenty-fourth floor, after leveling up, she'd gained the upper hand. But this third battle, she was being utterly overwhelmed.
Revis had reached the terrifying realm of 'Level 7'. Even with wind strengthening her blade, Ais couldn't injure her in the slightest. Meanwhile, a single counterattack from Revis shattered both her offense and defense. There were no tricks, no techniques, just absolute strength crushing everything in its path.
Forced back by Revis' relentless assault, Ais could only flee through the corridor. Without the speed and agility granted by her wind, she would already be dead.
"...Damn!" Suddenly, Ais' expression changed.
An Orichalcum gate stood directly ahead. The passage was a dead end.
"Hmph." A confident snort came from behind her. "Die... Aria."
The air behind her suddenly exploded with violent turbulence. Even before the roaring wind reached her, every instinct screamed in warning. Ais spun around and raised her sword.
'BOOM!!'
It felt like being struck head-on by a speeding train. The overwhelming power instantly shattered her guard. Her small body was launched through the air and slammed into the Orichalcum gate behind her.
Pain. Agonizing pain. Every inch of her body screamed.
Ais struggled to stand, but collapsed immediately. The agony in both arms told her they were broken. Blood soaked through her dress and armor. Even blood from her forehead flowed down, staining her right eye red.
"It's over." The red-haired woman stopped in front of her. There wasn't the slightest trace of mercy in her eyes.
"...Ah..." For a moment, Ais' mind went blank.
She knew it herself, it really was over. Her body had been devastated, and even 'Desperate' had been knocked from her hand. She no longer had the strength to resist.
'Am I going to die here...?'
No one would come to save her. No one would reach out a hand. Rescue would never arrive. Just like... that day.
Without realizing it, her thoughts drifted back into the past. A past filled with blood and fire.
She had been seven years old. Monsters had invaded her village. Her father had gone to fight them, and her mother had fought beside him. By the time Ais understood what was happening, her mother fell first, then her father. Both lay in widening pools of blood while the village burned and the monsters' savage roars echoed all around her.
"I'm sorry."
When she was little, she had admired heroes. She had once asked her father to become 'her' hero. Her father had simply smiled, gently patted her head, and looked lovingly at her mother. Whenever he did, her mother would smile back with quiet happiness.
> "I'm already your mother's hero, so I can't be yours.
> But one day...
> You'll find a hero who belongs to you."
Driven by revenge and Riveria's relentless scolding, Ais had pushed her body beyond its limits. Again and again she had walked the edge of death. Again and again she slaughtered monsters, and again and again she grew stronger.
But that was right. Heroes didn't exist. There was no hero waiting just for her. She could only rely on herself; she had no other choice.
In the dim corridor, the golden-haired girl lay on the ground, covered in blood. Her empty eyes stared blankly ahead. The black greatsword descended mercilessly toward her neck. It would only take an instant. The world-famous Sword Princess would lose her head before she could even feel pain.
But at that very instant, a silver flash entered her vision. Like the first light of dawn piercing through endless darkness, it emerged from the darkness itself and stopped the darkness from advancing.
'Clang!!'
With a piercing clash of steel, a silver katana intercepted the black greatsword.
"Get away from her!" a stern shout rang out.
A second flash appeared. Born from the light, it shattered the darkness surrounding them.
'"One day... you'll find a hero who belongs to you..."'
As Ais gazed at that figure, those words echoed endlessly within her heart.
(End of Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 30 chapters on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/darkshadow6395