“The Crow. What the hell are we doing here looking for that thing?”

Riziel’s words were met with a frown as her partner Jonathan pushed an overgrown branch aside. Jonathan scoffed and adjusted his glasses.

“You have to believe, Riziel. According to my precise calculations after observing the windspeed, the bacterial growth, the weather, and the color of the underwear I chose to wear the day after we visited Magen, I can say with 50% certainty that ‘The Crow’ is right here in the Labyrinth of Sirius.”

Riziel stopped and rubbed her forearms. Something about the way her long-haired partner spoke always gave her the chills. Though the partner would probably blame her tank tops, she was sure it was the other way. She took out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it up.

“I just don’t get it,” said Riziel. “Why the hell did Commander Brown have to send us here?”

The two partners, Riziel and Jonathan were members of the decorated Claret Knights directly under the command of their leader, Volfram Brown. Moreover, they were members of the intelligence unit of the knights that the commander had painstakingly set up to work outside the bounds of the Empire’s intelligence.

Naturally, talented was too humble a word of praise for them. They were the type that only came around once in a while.

That’s right. Once in a while…

“I think it is because of how much he trusts us,” said Jonathan as he led the two through the forest. “Also, he didn’t ask us to come to this place, we came here on our own.”

Riziel couldn’t disagree with that. They had chosen to investigate Blue purely on their judgment. It was certainly not because Jonathan had heard that there was a bar that employed charming women to serve drinks to adventurers in Blue and he could spend the knights’ budget on it. It was also definitely not because Riziel had heard that the adventurers in Blue were rather feisty and would frequently fight for amusement and even give out great rewards to the winners, absolutely not.

They weren’t so shallow.

What was even stranger was that reports of missing people were flooding Blue by the time they reached the place. It was quite shocking. That wasn’t all.

Deaths in the labyrinth were higher than they had ever been as well. Numerous people frequently died challenging such places but never had so many departed at once. It was to a degree that one might be able to find corpses and items strewn about while walking around.

These reports had stumped the Temple of Eos, the only deity that was worshipped near the vicinity of the Labyrinth. Templars and Paladins were scheduled to be deployed, and the two knights decided to acquire whatever they could before and enjoy after.

As the two made their way through the forest, a soft rustle caught their ears. Both of them snapped to the side and noticed a boy in black robes walking through the forest with an ax, a sword, a bow, and six floating orbs around him. It was quite a strange sight, almost intense.

His balance, his eyes, and his every step exuded a pressure that could only be brought upon by days upon days of placing one in death’s jaws. Slowly, he passed through the forest.

“Hey, is that a solo adventurer…?” Hiding behind a bush, Riziel posed the question while lowering her cigarette. Her partner hiding right next to her nodded.

“He looks scary. He must be a powerful adventurer.”

Black. Black robes, black hair, black eyes. A strange connection formed in her head as Riziel slowly spoke up.

“Do you think he might be the Crow?”

Jonathan shook his head. “Judging from the distance between the end of your shorts and your knees, I believe that kid looks like a human and not a monster”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Judge that with your eyes!”

The boy passed them by. Riziel glared at Jonathan.

“How far apart are they?” asked Riziel.

“Three centimeters. You should try wearing stockings sometime—WAIT WAIT!”

Riziel immediately drew a sword and swung it at Jonathan’s neck. The man fell back and blocked her in the nick of time.

“Die today, you sick freak!”

“It’s not a choice! It’s the curse of the intelligent to be observant!”

The two knights tussled for a few moments when another rustle caught their ears. Riziel did not retract her blade, even as something tapped on her shoulders.

Riziel brushed the hand off.

“Today he dies! You can’t stop me.”

“S-save me! Helf! Helfff!”

—Tap tap.

Again someone tapped her shoulders. Annoyed, Riziel turned back.

There it stood.

A being with ashen skin, and scales running up its hands. On the top of its head, a small blood-red horn.

Riziel and Jonathan both stopped in their tracks.

The enemy of mankind.

The beings from beyond the borders of the free world.

The blasphemous followers of the devil.

A demon.

A demon was standing near them.

“H-hello?” the demon said. It opened its coat, revealing dozens and dozens of teeth studded along its body. At the center was a small crimson flame. “Would you mind… feeding my magic?”

***

Did I feel ready to fight the bear and the being in the cave? Definitely.

Was I ready to fight the bear and the being in the cave? Perhaps.

Was I going to fight the bear and the being in the cave? Absolutely not. Not one at a time, that is.

I waited with my arms crossed as I looked out toward the cave. Whatever being was inside had enough strength to destroy trees from a distance. It could accurately kill a tiny human-flesh-made grotesque rabbit without even coming out of the cave. It was certainly dangerous.

Fighting against the Skelians, I had figured out something important. Battles were as much about wits as they were about strength, so using wits became my choice.

The plan was rather simple. I would make my two enemies fight each other. The Cave-dweller was aggressive enough to attack anything, and the bear would fight anything that attacked it.

I planned to lead the bear here and make it fight the Cave-dweller. Tapping my feet, I waited for the sounds of the monster to reach me.

Not long after, the clacks of bones striking bones reached my ears—Followed by a loud growl. I stepped behind a tree to hide as the sounds grew louder.

Skelian 13, Skelian 9, and Skelian 11 were running over here while leading the Bear. Three arrows were lodged in its head and cuts littered its hands, but none of them seemed fatal at all, let alone fatal enough. The Skelians noticed me and waved, I glared at them and pointed at the cave.

With a low grumble, the Skelians nodded at each other and then separated in three ways.

The bear, growling, followed behind Skelian 9 who was at the center. Nine jumped and swerved through the trees and the bear pushed them apart with its raw strength, bulldozing through the forest.

Skelian 9 realized that anything it did now was futile. It was almost at the cave, it had served its purpose. With tears (not really) falling down its eyes (it didn’t have any) it smiled at the other skeletons (it couldn’t) and leaped ahead. With a final growl, the bear caught up and swung its claws.

Skelian 9 burst into tiny bone fragments and was shot straight into the cave. Its bones flew around, most of them falling into the entrance.

It made me wince. How cruel. So long, Skelian 9, until I summon you again.

Before Skelian 13 and 11 could mourn their lost friend, though, a dark air flowed out of the cave. The oppressive aura was a clear sign of mana overflow… no, maybe an intimidation spell? Some natural level of control? The possibilities which came to mind were numerous, but all of them pointed at the same thing.

Whatever was in there… was very strong.

I widened my gaze. Mana flowed into my eyes, a trick I had learned over the last few weeks. Whatever was going to happen was important. A great fight was going to break out… or so I thought.

With a single gust of wind, the bear was struck through the center of its body. Blood gushed out as the trees around it snapped apart. Again, the being had attacked without even revealing itself as it pushed the very terrain back.

My hair flew behind and some of the lesser Skelians flailed despite hiding behind trees. My eyes never left the bear. One gash, another, a third, wounds piled up on it as the terrain it had cleared just widened from the attacks of the being inside the cave.

The bear was pushed back but the attacks didn’t seize.

“It isn’t even in a fucking angle to the cave!?”

What kind of attack was this? A homing spell? It looked like the bear would collapse with one last hit.

Yet, before the cave-dweller could strike it once more, an arrow enchanted with a bright white light fell from the sky and went straight through the head of the bear. In the blink of an eye, dozens of arrows rained down on the bear and its vicinity.

My eyes widened once more. Behind the trees that had been cleared, the source of the attack came into view.

Dozens of people in pure white armor and robes. Magicians, knights, warriors, tanks, healers… All of them had the same emblem embroidered on their chests. An emblem I had seen very clearly back in the Palace of Crimson.

The people who sought my death.

The people who deemed me their enemy.

The Templars of one of the Septet, Eos, were here.