“Are you alright!?”
Anik rushed to Akito, who had fallen to his knees on the ground. Rui, Kaira, and the members of Peacock King (Mahamayuri) hurriedly followed.
Akito lowered Yuma, whom he had been carrying, and slowly stood up, sticking Gae Bolg into the ground. His clothes were scorched in places, and he had suffered burns.
As Akito looked like he was about to collapse from the pain, Anik called out, “Stay strong!”
“I’m fine, but more importantly, Yuma…”
Rui cradled Yuma, who was lying on the ground, and checked his breathing.
“…Good. He’s breathing, but…”
Rui frowned as he looked at Yuma’s condition. He had severe burns all over his body, and his right arm was missing from the elbow down. It was a miracle he was alive, or so Rui frankly thought.
“This is terrible. We need to treat him immediately. Rashi!”
“Y-yes!”
Rashi, a baby-faced girl who had been standing behind them, lowered the backpack she had been carrying and took out the tools for treatment.
Without a Messiah who could use Recovery Magic, they had no choice but to perform standard first aid.
“Tch! If Yuma were conscious, he could heal himself…”
Akito clicked his tongue. Yuma, who had lost consciousness due to his severe injuries, didn’t seem likely to wake up anytime soon.
Behind Rashi, who was treating Yuma, Kaira stood still.
“Did he really… defeat the Labyrinth Guardian?”
Kaira couldn’t believe what had just happened and could only stare at Yuma, who was being bandaged.
Below the cliff, at the bottom of the Dungeon, raging flames were consuming everything.
At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the “Itsuki” died. Once Yuma’s treatment was finished, Anik gave instructions to Rudra.
“Rudra, carry this one and transport him! It’s an important task, I’m counting on you!!”
“Y-yes, sir! Leave it to me!”
Rudra carried Yuma on his back and immediately headed for the exit of the floor. Seeing this, Rui lent his shoulder to Akito, and the two stood up together.
“Anik-san, thank you. For carrying Yuma.”
At Rui’s words, Anik laughed, “Hyah hyah hyah.”
“He’s a hero who conquered the Dungeon, so we can’t have him dying. We, Peacock King (Mahamayuri), will take responsibility for bringing him back, so don’t you be late either.”
“Yes, sir!”
Kaira and the Indian Seekers were still doubtful that they had really conquered the Dungeon, but they followed Anik and the Peacock King (Mahamayuri) towards the exit of the floor.
“Akito, let’s go too.”
“Yeah.”
Akito, who was somehow managing to walk with Rui’s support, glanced back. There, the Lightning Spear, Gae Bolg, which had lost its luster, was stuck in the ground.
“We have to take the spear.”
As Rui was about to go get the spear, Akito shook his head.
“It’s no good. That thing is useless now. After using 【Release】, it’s just a heavy piece of junk.”
“But…”
Rui hesitated, but Akito had no doubts.
“It’ll just get in the way if we take it. I’ve decided to leave it here.”
Hearing Akito’s words, Rui replied, “…Understood,” and started walking towards the exit. Just before leaving the floor, Akito looked back once more.
The ground was starting to collapse. The Itsuki Monster, the “Labyrinth Guardian,” was dead.
The rocky area near the cliff crumbled away, and the ground where the spear had been stuck also collapsed. The strongest spear disappeared into the sea of fire.
Akito glanced at the scene, then turned his gaze forward.
As he walked towards the exit, he muttered softly in his heart.
–Thanks, partner.
◇◇◇
The group escaped the lowest floor and was advancing through a quiet forest area.
Rui and Akito quickened their pace and caught up with the group walking ahead. Although there were no Monsters around, the ground was shaking slightly, and eerie sounds echoed through the dense forest.
Everyone could sense the Dungeon collapsing.
“Is this thing going to collapse and disappear within twenty-four hours? If so, won’t we be too late to escape?”
As Akito said anxiously, Anik, who was walking ahead, turned around.
“Don’t worry. Since this is such a huge Dungeon, it will take a corresponding amount of time to collapse.”
“Is that so? I thought all Dungeons collapsed in the same amount of time.”
Akito touched the burn on his cheek and frowned, saying, “Ouch,” as he voiced his question.
“That’s inaccurate information. Well, there are few Dungeon Conquests themselves, so it can’t be helped that you don’t know.”
“Does the time it takes for a Dungeon to collapse vary depending on the Dungeon?”
Rui asked Anik while supporting Akito.
“That’s right. When a Dungeon is conquered, it collapses in order from the lowest floor. Naturally, shallow Dungeons collapse quickly, and if the area is large, it takes longer to collapse. In other words, the time it takes for a Dungeon to collapse varies depending on the Dungeon that was conquered.”
“I see…”
Rui nodded deeply in agreement. Now that he thought about it, it made sense.
“But, if that’s the case, why did the story that they collapse within twenty-four hours spread? In Japan, that’s what’s generally believed…”
Anik stroked his beard, saying, “It’s simple.”
“Before Monsters overflowed around the world… the deepest Dungeon Conquest was the 150-floor Green Dungeon achieved by Flame Emperor Albert. That Dungeon collapsed in about twenty-four hours, so that’s probably why that story spread throughout the world.”
“Is that so… But how does Anik-san know so much about it?”
Anik chuckled and looked at Rui.
“It’s not just me. All Indian Seekers know about it.”
“Everyone?”
“There are many Dungeons in India. We conquer several Dungeons to suppress the Monsters, so we have inevitably become knowledgeable.”
Not only Anik but also the Seekers of Peacock King (Mahamayuri) nodded as if it were obvious. Rui realized once again that there were still many things he didn’t know.
After that, the surviving Seekers continued to walk through the shaking labyrinth without stopping.