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Holy White Fired – Part 02

After defeating the ten-legged Golem, Hikaru’s group made swift progress. The reason was simple: after clearing the cavernous area, they only found endless staircases and straight corridors with no forks.

When Hikaru had previously returned to the surface from the 37th floor, the route had been vastly different. He had navigated through sprawling natural areas like wastelands, grasslands, and seas, each teeming with creatures.

She must have sealed off all those areas as a precaution, Hikaru mused.

Still, the endless, straight path was mentally taxing. They couldn’t afford to lower their guard, especially in such narrow confines where a Golem could appear at any moment. They had been walking for what felt like a full day, but without any view of the outside world, their sense of time started to blur.

If it comes down to it, we might need to enter one of those areas.

Though the corridor seemed monotonous and unchanging, Hikaru’s Mana Detection picked up faint traces of hidden passages leading to various areas. These magical signatures were incredibly weak, so it was unlikely anyone but Hikaru could detect them. He had no idea which floor they were on or what kind of areas lay ahead, though.

“What is this corridor, anyway?” Serika grumbled from behind.

The Four Eastern Stars and Paula had been chatting non-stop as they walked. Listening to them made the monotonous journey more bearable. Even if Hikaru was just a listener, it eased the strain on his mind.

For high-ranking adventurers who spent days in dungeons, maintaining mental stability was crucial.

“This is probably a maintenance route,” Hikaru replied, glancing back.

“They have something like that?”

The path was a straight line with no traps, and the hidden passages led to different floors, so it was likely a route meant for the Saak family. Hikaru hadn’t mentioned the hidden passages. Doing so would require him to explain his Mana Detection level, and he hadn’t shared details about the Soul Board with the Four Eastern Stars.

“Managing over seventy floors would require it.”

“But we just passed through a cave-like area, right? Isn’t it weird that we ended up on a maintenance route?” Sara asked. A valid question.

“It’s probably because the labyrinth is flying,” Hikaru said.

“What do you mean?”

“Normally, no one would figure out a way to infiltrate a floating dungeon, let alone actually doing it. Right now, the labyrinth is in a safe state, safe enough that even exposing the maintenance route isn’t an issue.”

“But there were adventurers inside already. Didn’t they think about that?”

“They likely assumed the Golems could handle any intruders. A strong adventurer might take down a few, but that massive Golem we defeated isn’t something the average adventurer could take down.”

“Oh yeah… that thing was awful.”

“So, Silver Face. Where does this corridor lead?” Selyse asked, using his alias instead of his name.

“To the deepest part.”

“What?”

“If we keep going, there’s a good chance we’ll reach Soaarunay Saak.”

“No way.”

Selyse’s surprise was understandable. It seemed too straightforward. But considering the difficulty of reaching the floating island and the strength of the Golems, the path they took wasn’t exactly easy.

Besides, whether the journey was simple or not, as long as they achieved their goal—as long as Hikaru could cast the spell for crossing worlds—the process didn’t matter to him.

“It looks like it’s going downhill from here.”

Hikaru raised the magic lamp, its light revealing stairs descending into the darkness. Even from the top of the stairs, the bottom was out of sight.

“It’s really deep… which means,” Sara grinned, and Hikaru nodded.

“Yes, we should be able to get much closer to the deepest part.”

The lively conversation faded as the group followed Hikaru down the stairs.

Stay vigilant. Keep Mana Detection active. If anything unusual happens, I’ll notice.

They continued descending, quietly and steadily.

Seconds turned into minutes, but the bottom remained out of sight. Then, without warning, something changed.

“Silver Face, I see a light ahead,” Selyse said from behind, pointing.

Though it was far below, a small light was indeed visible. Hikaru sensed mana coming from that direction.

“Let’s go. Keep your footsteps as quiet as possible.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

---

A wavering blue light of magical energy filled the room.

This was the control room at the heart of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. The screen in front of her displayed only the night sky and the dark ground below.

In the room stood Soaarunay, the master of the labyrinth and a descendant of the Saak family. She stared intently at the screen. There was no need to consult the map at her side. She knew. The floating island was drawing closer to the location of the Man Gnome village.

“Just a little more, just a little bit longer… and this long, absurd history of war will finally come to an end!” Soaarunay’s voice trembled with excitement.

Could they see this floating island from below? Perhaps. If anyone was watching from a mountaintop, they might catch a glimpse.

If that was the case, then something in their direction—something that would reveal the location of the Man Gnome village—should become visible as well.

Soaarunay’s eyes darted across the screen, searching for any sign of it.

The screen’s darkness was frustrating, but it was still the early hours of the morning, so it couldn’t be helped.

“I wonder what their village looks like.”

She licked her cracked lips with her tongue. Throughout their long history of conflict, neither side had ever discovered the other’s stronghold.

“Underground, probably.”

That was her guess.

“Just like this labyrinth.”

After all, the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas also moved through the earth. In the end, they were both thinking along the same lines.

What kind of place could it be? What kind of technology did they use to hide it? The Saak family had long suspected that the Man Gnomes possessed some form of long-distance transportation device—perhaps even something like teleportation—but the exact method remained a mystery.

Soaarunay was thrilled. The joy of discovering the unknown was incomparable.

“Oh, yes… yes… Once I wipe out the Man Gnomes, I’ll take all their soul-powered devices and study every last one of them!”

“But first, there’s something you need to do.”

“Huh?!”

Soaarunay’s neck was suddenly grabbed from behind.

“Y-You!”

“It’s been a while.”

Behind her stood a boy wearing a silver mask—Hikaru.

---

Hikaru was taken aback.

What was this massive screen? The image it displayed seemed to be a view of the outside. He’d never seen sorcery like this before. It didn’t take long to realize this was Soaarunay’s doing, something she must have devised thanks to her time in Japan.

But right now, none of that mattered to Hikaru.

“It’s been a while,” he said, his voice carrying more anger than he expected as he tightened his grip on Soaarunay’s neck.

He was relieved Paula and the Four Eastern Stars were waiting outside; this wasn’t a voice he wanted them to overhear.

“How did you get in here?” Soaarunay demanded.

“It was a straight shot, not exactly difficult.”

“That’s not what I meant! How did you even manage to board this flying labyrinth? And what about my Golem guarding the way?”

“I never actually left the labyrinth,” Hikaru lied, not interested in explaining the Fire Drakon. “I wiped out all the Golems.”

“Stop lying.”

Soaarunay’s eyes darted to a distant table. Several pieces, inscribed with magic circuits, were set on it. One large piece had lost its glow and lay still.

“You defeated the multi-legged Golem.”

Hikaru guessed that piece represented the Golem’s status.

“You mean the big one with ten legs? Yeah, I took it down.”

“How?!”

“Not important.”

“Hngh!”

Hikaru tightened his grip on Soaarunay’s slender neck.

She tensed up. “Ugh… It hurts.”

“Remove the web of mana covering this world, or I’ll kill you.”

“If… If you kill me… no one can undo the spell.”

“Then I’ll crash this labyrinth into the ground and destroy it completely. That should break the spell, right?”

“No, you can’t!”

Soaarunay suddenly twisted free from his grip with surprising strength, her eyes blazing.

“You can’t! This labyrinth is the culmination of the Saak family’s wisdom. It’s a treasure of this world! Only a fool would destroy it!”

“Then dispel the net.”

“…”

“Or I’ll destroy everything.”

The tension in the room was thick.

Hikaru tried to read Soaarunay’s intentions. Killing her now would be plain stupid. The reason was simple: when he had asked her to send him back to Japan, she hadn’t said “No” or “I refuse.” She had said, “I can’t.”

Hikaru didn’t understand the real reason behind it. It could mean she didn’t know how, or it could be connected to maintaining the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. But there might be another reason, something beyond his comprehension.

Right now, Hikaru could easily end both her life and destroy the dungeon itself, but understanding why was his priority.