Swoosh

"We're almost there."

Karl sprinted forward as his group followed him from behind. Turning his head, he stared at them and urged them to quicken their speed.

".....One last push. We should be amongst the firsts."

Though he said that, he didn't believe that to be the case. They had wasted too much time trying to catch up with the leading teams.

'Monsters.'

That was all Karl could think of as he looked at the scores on his bracelet. From the start until now, the top two groups had maintained a steady lead.

It only had stopped recently.

Most likely, there were already people fighting against the boss monster.

'That's fine, they'll be exhausted by the time we arrive. We can steal their kill after all parties are exhausted.'

It was a feasible plan.

One that he planned on doing.

Or at least, originally planned to do.

"W-what is this...?"

Standing by the entrance of the main chamber, Karl looked around with an open mouth. The same was true for his team members who looked around with similar stunned expressions.

"....Threads."

They covered the entire space.

Was the boss monster some sort of spider? Such were Karl's initial thoughts as he looked around and spotted a few familiar faces in the distance.

"This..."

From Johnathan and his team to Aoife, and her members. Wearing similar grim expressions, they were all looking towards a specific direction.

Towards a certain man.

When Karl turned his head to trace where their gazes were directed towards, his eyes widened.

"....Ah."

Him...?

His appearance alone stood out from the rest. Karl was familiar with him. Having scanned him before the examination began, Karl didn't think too much of him.

"Why is everyone-"

And then he stopped.

He realized. A massive creature rested not far from where Julien was. No, rather... It looked lifeless.

All of a sudden, he recalled the expressions of the other groups.

Slowly, the pieces started to piece together in his mind and his expression yet again changed.

"B-but how...?"

Unable to believe it, he used his skill. He distinctively remembered Julien's aura to be average to above average.

How cou-

"Ah..."

Blink.

Blinking once, he made sure to check if he was seeing correctly.

He didn't, and as if the words were stuck in his mouth, Karl swallowed his saliva. A

"Haaa..."

All of a sudden, he found it hard to breathe.

Despite Julien not meeting his gaze, it seemed as if invisible hands clenched tightly around his throat, suffocating him to the brink of breathlessness.

Staring at him.

Or more specifically the aura surrounding his body, he felt his throat grow dry.

"....That."

The aura surrounding his body.

It was overwhelming.

***

Absorbing one's memories and emotions wasn't easy.

Not only did I have to deal with the aftermath of reliving their memories, but I also had to get rid of their lingering emotions.

Were I not to do that, then they'd remain stuck within me, making it harder for me to absorb.

It was for that reason that I had to do this.

"....."

But it wasn't the only reason I did it.

Regaining control of myself, I looked down at the creature beneath me. It was lying motionless, on its last breath.

Even so, it was still not dead.

It had only been weakened due to my curse magic. And so, without thinking twice, I stared at its inky black eyes before clenching my fist.

Puchi!

Blood splattered all over me.

[+5000 Points]

Shortly after that, my bracelet buzzed and I heard a low chime.

"....."

Keeping my gaze focused on the mammoth, I gradually raised my head to stare at the recording device and the other cadets.

There was another reason that I needed an audience.

....I wanted the world to understand that I wasn't the Black Star for no reason.

I was at a point where I needed to appear stronger than I actually was. I was in a position where I couldn't hide my strength. I had to do the opposite.

And glancing around, I could tell I had done a very good job at that.

So....

Turning around, I looked at my group.

Besides Kiera who was looking at me with a frown, they were staring at me with open mouths.

"Y-you...? Since when were you capable of making such a move?"

I ignored Josephine's question and took a deep breath.

"Let's go."

Passing them, I headed deep into the tunnel.

As I walked, I never looked back. It wasn't because I wanted to keep appearances up or anything of the sort.

....It was because my body was breaking down.

The side effects of the pill were starting to show. The pain was starting to become unbearable. I needed to get out of here.

Thankfully, I was sure that nobody would come after me.

I had made sure to put on a performance that deterred others from doing so.

And I was right.

[You have exited the Labyrinth; Team Julien and his sidekicks ]

[Your Team Score is 5670]

[Rank 1]

***

The surroundings were gray.

In the distance, a white sun hung in the air. Hands crawled up from the ground, reaching out for the four individuals within the world.

Bang!

"Damn it...!"

"I need a little help here!"

The four attempted to resist, casting various spells and wielding their weapons to fend off the grasping hands reaching for them.

But...

"Ah, crap...!"

It was a futile attempt.

Regardless of what they did, the hands would regenerate and keep coming back for them.

"...."

Not far from them, a figure stood.

In front of her were two other figures. Aziel, and another individual of similar strength to his. He went by the name 'Black' and was a Fiend-ranked member. A mindless soldier whose only purpose was to follow orders.

With their weapons drawn, they attacked her.

SHIIIING!

But that was a futile attempt on their end. With a casual wave of her hand, the space before them folded and the direction of their attacks shifted away from her.

"What...?!"

Delilah remained expressionless.

'How long has it been....?'

She had lost count by now. At first, it was just one person. He was strong, but he wasn't something that Delilah couldn't handle.

However, at the exact moment she extracted her domain, five other figures appeared. They weren't as strong as Aziel, but they were still rather strong. But it wasn't their strength that bothered her. It was their utter disregard for their own life that made things difficult for her.

With their combined efforts, they were able to hold her at a stalemate.

"Ha..."

Seeing the look on Delilah's face, Aziel sneered.

"It's been several hours now. By now, all the cadets should've died or suffered serious injuries."

"...."

"How unfortunate. In the end, all of this is because you weren't able to deal with us quickly. Watch what happens when the entire world sees their best cadets die at the hands of the boss."

Aziel spoke in a tone that was filled with self-assurance. As if the result was predetermined.

Throughout the entire exchange, he had been rather talkative. His mission was to stall for time. He wasn't here to defeat Delilah.

She was simply not someone he could beat.

Pointing his weapon at Delilah, a long spear, his body erupted with a powerful wave of mana. The result of his action caused the nearby hands to shatter as the spear in his hand started to glow brighter.

".....Remember. When everything ends, you'll become the focal point of the world. And not in a good way."

Before long, the domain started to show signs of shaking as faint cracks appeared all over the world.

This was all due to the influence of Aziel's attack.

As a lower seat, he was powerful. He was the same rank as Delilah, Tier 9. Although he wasn't as strong as her, he wasn't a nobody.

He was sure that his attack would at least do something to her.

And then, taking one last look at Delilah, he thrust his spear forward.

"Go and greet the cadets you care so much about."

SHIIIIING

As if the thrust sucked the entire space around it, the surroundings spun alongside the spear.

It was a devastating scene.

One which was accompanied by a gentle whistle that echoed in the air. Wherever the spear went, everything would shatter.

Crack! Crack!

"....."

In response to the attack, Delilah remained motionless.

Her eyes, which had become completely black were fixed on the spear as its image was reflected in her eyes.

Just as the spear was a few inches away from her, it stopped.

"Uh....?"

Aziel looked at her stunned.

His muscles tensed as he tried to thrust it forward, but it was to no avail. The spear. It refused to budge.

"....."

Delilah looked back at him with an empty look. Almost as if it was devoid of any life.

Then...

The world shrank.

Shlup!

Color flooded back into the world as the blackness receded from Delilah's eyes, and she found herself standing in a familiar environment.

"....."

Silence gripped the surroundings as she stood still.

Extending her hand, a black pearl appeared in her grasp. Within it, several figures appeared. Delilah's attention focused on one specific one. He was looking at her with a horrified gaze.

Staring back, Delilah tilted her head slightly before pressing her two fingers together.

Cr Crack

The pearl shattered in an instant.

Rubbing her fingers to get rid of the lingering shards of the pearl, Delilah turned around to face the entrance of the Labyrinth.

Bringing her foot up, she stomped the ground once.

A shattering sound akin to glass breaking echoed shortly after as an invisible film shattered under her step. Lowering her body, she opened the trapdoor that led to the Labyrinth. As she did, she extended her mana into the Labyrinth to see the current situation.

But...

"Hm?"

Her movements stopped when she did.

Blinking several times, she once again extended her mana around. Seeing that she got the same result as the first time, her eyes widened slightly.

"....Nothing?"

Delilah had originally expected to see a desperate situation upon entering the Labyrinth, but much to her surprise, everything was perfect.

Almost too perfect...

"What happened?"

To the point where she started to question whether something had truly happened or not.

Frowning, Delilah took out a small device from her pocket. It was a small cube the size of a small ball. Tapping on it, a small projection appeared.

A figure appeared the moment she turned on the projection.

"....."

A figure she was all too familiar with.

And...

He appeared to have ranked first.

Lowering her head to stare at the entrance, she looked back at the projection. Or more specifically, the cadet who appeared in it.

'Was it you...?"