Four days have now passed since the Five Saviors entered the labyrinth.

The food and supplies are depleting slowly, but the heroes still press on.

However, they will not have to wait long. The end of their journey is closer than they think...

*****

Currently, Kris and his companions are fighting a giant insect that resembles the upper body of an ant on top of the lower body of a scorpion.w

This insect is the final guardian of this floor. Behind it is the exit which leads to the next level. If the heroes wish to proceed, they must first kill this hideous creature.

"Yahh!" (Kris)

Kris charged in with mithril-iron swords in both hands.

"Kris! Watch your left!" (Lily)

"I'm on it!" (Gale)

The guardian tried to sweep Kris away with one of its pincers, but Gale rushed in and blocked the attack.

“Winter’s Wind!” (Lily)

Before it could recover, Liliana finished preparing her ice magic and shot her spell at its legs, freezing them on the spot.

Kris used the opportunity to slice off its right pincer while Gale swung his axe at the other one, crushing its armor and sending the dismembered limb scattering across the ground before dissolving.

With its offensive power limited to just the stinger on its long tail, Eliza and Sylvia rushed in for the kill.

“Sylvia, watch out for the stinger on its tail! It’s poisonous!” (Eliza)

“...Understood.” (Sylvia)

The guardian tried to stab Sylvia with its poisonous barb before she could close the distance, but she easily dodged it by jumping and rotating her body midair so the stinger misses her body by a small margin.

The stinger stabbed into the ground, but when the guardian tried removing it, it was too deep to pull it out immediately. The heroes gratefully exploited this opening.

While the stinger was still imbedded in the ground, after imbuing her right arm with mana, Sylvia's fist that was hardened with dragon scales delivered a solid punch to the stinger. It shattered completely and the remains fell to the ground below.

The guardian went into frenzy and whipped its tail trying to crush the Drake princess. However, just as the tail was about to hit, a silver blur flashed at the base of the tail and it fell to the ground. Sylvia evaded the severed limb and retreated.

The owner of the attack was none other than the Demi-human Savior, Eliza. The guardian let out a cry, but before it could react, the White Wolf girl ran along its back and sliced its neck from right to left.

Its head fell to the ground, followed shortly by the rest of its body. After twitching for a few seconds, it dispersed into mist, a common event that had been repeated with every single monster the heroes have faced.

“Good work everyone! Now we can move on.” (Kris)

After reaching the other side of the room, Eliza and Sylvia joined together with the rest and the group continued on towards the next passage.

“Hey Kris! Did you see that attack? I was great, right!?” (Eliza)

Eliza tugged on Kris’s arm while looking up at him excitedly.

“Just barely. Your movements are some of the fastest I’ve ever seen. You did really good.” (Kris)

“Hehehe.” (Eliza)

Eliza showed a delightful smile and hugged his arm even tighter. He tried to shake her off as gently as he could, but her grip was unbreakable. Of course, being squeezed so tightly against her chest allowed him to feel her wonderful bosom, but any longer in this situation and he thought he would go crazy.

Actually, Eliza has been acting like this since our talk…

Being the strongest of her village, the villagers gave Eliza immense respect and admiration, but at the same time, she was not like them and so she could never fit in with them.

Growing up, all she wanted was a normal life with friends she could play with, but Eliza was constantly reminded of her race when she would excel in everything, from simple games to combat practice.

As time passed, the other children started avoiding her until she was very lonely. Only through fighting could Eliza have fun, but no one proved to be an equal match for her.

At least, not until she met Kris and the other Saviors.

Kris could sympathize with Eliza’s upbringing. Being the son of a Drake, who were the descendants of ancient dragons, he felt an immense responsibility to live up to his father’s heritage.

When it was discovered he had inherited his father’s enormous strength, he felt very honored, but at the same time it isolated him from the other children. He was too strong to play normal games and his father's ethnicity made the other kids slightly afraid of him. All he wanted was to enjoy life with his family and friends, but he became depressed because he couldn’t fit in.

He was not a Drake, but he was not entirely Human either.

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With no alternatives, he turned to swordsmanship in order to control his strength. Having a low aptitude for magic, Kris felt he had finally found something he can excel at, while also feeling like he was not letting the power he inherited go to waste. However, Kris soon began to realize his strength was too great for even the most experienced swordsmen in Valeria. Nearly invincible, Kris felt no one would be a worthy opponent.

Fortunately, he received the summons to the Elven capital Druien to be the Human Savior. Finally, Kris felt he would have the opportunity to face challenges befitting his superior strength.

Kris was glad he was able to find a common bond with Eliza, but he hoped this wouldn’t cause a hindrance later on. Although it’s fine to relax when you can, their current environment was a hostile place that would take advantage of any carelessness.

“You two seem to be getting along rather well.” (Lily)

Lily’s words brought Kris out of his thoughts and he turned his head to reply to her.

“Well, it felt good to fine someone who shares a similar childhood. Of course, I consider everyone here to be a trusted comrade as well.” (Kris)

“We all feel the same way.” (Lily)

Lily showed a gentle smile and continued her words.

“That being said, Kris, as your ‘trusted comrades,’ I feel like you forgot to tell us something important about yourself.” (Lily)

Uh oh, this can’t be good…

Although she had on a lovely smile, Lily’s eyes held Kris in their grasp, as if they were saying, “You know what I’m referring to, right?”

Kris knew there was no point feigning ignorance now, but still, he wanted to satisfy his curiosity on how Lily was able to find out.

“...First, may I ask how you were able to find out about me?” (Kris)

“Well, I had been curious about your skills since the tournament in Druien. No Human has ever displayed that kind of strength before so I assumed there was more to you than meets the eye. I was never able to fully find out what your origins where... until a couple of nights ago.” (Lily)

“So you were eavesdropping on us that night?” (Kris)

“All of you were making a ruckus so I wanted to know what the commotion was about. Little did I know I would find out the reason for your mysterious powers. I was very surprised indeed.” (Lily)

While Lily seemed very pleased with herself, Kris could only sigh at how she did not think to mind other people’s privacy.

“Ummm...am I the only one not knowing what’s going on?” (Gale)

Being the only one of the group oblivious to Kris’s heritage, of course Gale was confused. So, for the third time in only a week, Kris relayed his backstory to his companion.

Gale’s face could not hide his disbelief, but seeing as how everyone had accepted it as the truth, Gale could only sigh in amazement.

“Kris, you shouldn’t have hid something this important from us. I understand you may have mixed feelings over what our reactions might have been if you had told us at the start of the journey, but it wouldn’t have mattered. We’re a team, and nothing will change that.” (Gale)

Gale’s words seemed to be the combined sentiments of the group as everyone nodded their heads. Even Sylvia showed a faint smile.

Kris was extremely happy, and opened his mouth to give his thanks, when suddenly he was hit with an enormous pressure.

Kris immediately turned his head back to the front. They had just exited the passage and entered a large hall.

“Kris, do you feel that?” (Lily)

“Yeah, it’s definitely the same sensation, but it’s never been this intense before…” (Kris)

Lily sensed the sudden change in the atmosphere as well and her previous expression was replaced with a vigilant look. Gale understood something was troubling the two and took a defensive stance while drawing out his dual-sided axe. Sylvia furrowed her eyebrows and copied him.

Kris could feel his left arm trembling and looked down to find two familiar hands wrapped tightly around his.

Eliza’s entire body was shivering and she was clutching onto his arm as if it was her lifeline.

“What’s wrong Eliza?” (Kris)

“T-there’s...s-something...wrong...I...c-can feel…d-danger ahead…” (Eliza)

Eliza could only let out a stutter when she tried to reply. Her white skin was even paler than normal and all of the blood had drained from her face. Her wolf ears were quivering as they drooped low to her head, while her tail was tucked between her legs.

Kris patted her head lightly and was about to give her words of encouragement when-

[YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE COME, HEROES]

A booming voice bellowed all around them. Before the heroes could respond to those words, dreadful noises resounded above them.

Kris looked up and his entire body froze.

The ceiling had cracked above where the group was currently stopped, and large pieces of rubble began to fall towards the heroes below...