**Day 35? The Farthest Labyrinth 56F**
We got the scout report and held a meeting.
We were planning to pull back, but the Mummies on 57F are just overwhelming in numbers—turns into pure attrition no matter what.
Even if we come back later, we'll get worn down on 57F again and waste more time.
So we decided: wipe out 57F at least. Make the next push easier.
That was the call.
But there was no "next." 57F became our final floor. The end of our run in this labyrinth.
"Mummy Lv57. Tons of them, but they're just strength-only mummies. Slow, die quick."
"But the sheer number, man…"
"Let's just thin them out. No respawns anymore, so keep chipping away."
"They've got 'Yellow Springs Return' skill, so holy magic or fire to finish them."
"""""Roger!"""""
Just like intel said: numbers only. Attrition fight. Blitz them, wipe, retreat.
Strong hits, but sluggish movement. One swing can take out multiple. Just endless bodies.
Purify downed ones with holy magic, incinerate with fire.
Easy. Annoying floor, nothing more. Everyone thought so and went wild for the finale, mowing them down.
Unleashing full power, scattering them, almost to 58F—then it started.
Purple light flashed somewhere. Before we could react, the ground shook. The dead stirred.
Way too many. Retreat path cut off. Only way left: down.
Down isn't safe either. But staying here, pushing up into that undead sea—total wipe guaranteed.
No strategy, no tactics anymore. Only escape route is downward.
No point regretting now. Just get everyone out.
Endless mummy legions spawning. Endless intercepts. Still, an ocean of mummies as far as the eye can see.
Blades break, arrows run dry, mana depletes, shields shatter, armor cracks, spears lost. No way left to fight. Nothing left at all.
Can't even stall them anymore. Just crawling escape.
We blew past limits ages ago. Everyone injured, mana gone, gear destroyed, potions empty, stamina spent, willpower flickering out.
Still, drag the wounded, carry the fallen, keep fleeing.
There—the exit to 58F. The stairs ahead. Our one hope.
It wasn't granted. Never was.
A monstrous god blocking the way. Unpassable statue. Nemes headdress, pharaoh face, lion-king body. Sacred symbol of kingship, guardian of gods and kings alike. Sphinx.
Not something you "fight" or "defeat." Not killable by humans. No escape anymore.
Sphinx's eyes glow eerily. Fallen mummies rise again. Yellow Springs Return.
Not even true immortality. Holy magic useless. Burn them, kill them—again and again they return.
Slash, sweep, smash, burn, pierce, crush, thrust, shoot—still they rise. Again. And again.
The sole retreat path guarded by a temple sentinel that lets no one pass. Sacred monster with lion body and king's face.
One by one we fall. Soon barely anyone can even move.
Pinned from both sides. No winning. Just pray to save even one. Sacrifice ourselves to open a path. Charge in, break through, shatter on impact…
But even that was denied.
Suddenly, a white-silver armored knight descends amid black winds of death and terror. One slash severs the head of the worst magical beast, the most vicious incarnation—Sphinx. Arrives here.
Something unstoppable. Something you're not even allowed to resist. More dangerous than death, making even demons kneel. Not of this world. Labyrinth Emperor. Ruler of all. Sovereign of gods and demons.
No one can beat him. No one can stop him. Not even allowed to step on his shadow. But I'll stop him. Even if it costs my life. Even for one second.
Even that thought was denied.
In an instant, white-silver radiance stands at the front line. Slaughter rages around, yet time freezes. Flow of moments halts. Fate itself stops. Only dead silence remains.
On the Sphinx's corpse, countless uncountable red lights blanket the sky, twinkling. If that flame-rain poured down like a storm, every life would be erased in a cruel blink.
There stood Death. The solitary, absolute black Death incarnate.
So I laughed and muttered.
"Welcome back. You're late, you know? Everyone got tired of waiting."
Time resumes. Crimson storm lashes sideways—red-light rain rages, engulfing the monster horde. They burn, scatter, blaze and shatter.
Overwhelming slaughter. Overwhelming violence. Overwhelming massacre. The same red-light rain I saw in the forest when we braced for death, crushed by tragedy—the meteor shower of flames that butchered our despair.
"Just got back? Like… seriously, what day is it even?"
Saying that, a black-death shadow appears. The figure we all longed for, yearned for, now massacring death itself.
"Gonna finish cleaning up. Pull everyone back."
One step forward—then he leaps into the horde. Slashing, butchering, exterminating, crushing.
Gleaming white silver and pitch-black darkness dance, sprint, whirl, frenzy, ecstatic madness. All around: death. Only death scattered, lives fluttering down.
Same as always.
Slaughtering our despair.
Butchering our sorrow.
Massacring our tragedy.
Killing every death coming for us.
Silencing death itself without a word.
"Long time no see～? Wait, what time is it even?"
Same as always.
He came back.
Welcome home, Haruka-kun.
Everyone's tired of waiting, you know?