Episode 415: First-Class Angel
On the second day inside Orpheus—
Yuma and the others were steadily descending through the strata. The Israeli Seekers were taking the lead, defeating the Monsters, so Yuma and his companions hardly had to fight.
“Like they say, ‘familiarity breeds contempt,’ eh? Their route selection is perfect. We can leave it to the Israelis for a while,”
Akito said with a grin, carrying Gae Bolg on his shoulder.
Yuma agreed. The real battle would begin from the lower levels—or rather, the real show would be the fight on the lowest stratum.
They had entered Orpheus to defeat the White King.
Until then, they needed to conserve as much Magical Power as possible.
The group continued onward, and on the morning of the third day, they crossed the 100th Stratum and stepped into the “Abode of Angels.”
“Mitaka-san, please be careful. Powerful angels will attack from here on. The Four Archangels that appeared in the skies above Orpheus are also believed to have emerged from the depths of this area.”
It was Faybel, the leader of the Israeli Seeker Clan, who called out to them.
He was the only one who actively tried to communicate with Yuma and his group.
“Understood. If strong Monsters appear, we’ll take the lead, so please don’t push yourselves too hard.”
Hearing Yuma’s words, Faybel said, “Thank you,” and returned to his group. Rui, who had been listening from behind, spoke up.
“They say Orpheus has over 300 strata. It’s going to be a long way from here. I wonder if the Israelis will make it to the lowest stratum safely?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.”
Akito shook his head, looking annoyed.
“We’ve told them countless times how dangerous it is. If they still came, they’ll have to manage on their own.”
Akito said it dismissively, but Yuma couldn’t feel the same way.
Without them, they wouldn’t have been able to advance through the strata so smoothly, and they had also shared their food.
There was no doubt they were helping with the Dungeon Conquest.
—If possible, I’d like them to turn back from here.
But Yuma’s wish was not to be granted, and the group continued deeper into the Labyrinth.
◇◇◇
Yuma and his companions continued to advance through the depths known as the Abode of Angels. Certainly, many powerful angels appeared, but none that they couldn’t defeat.
Around the 200th Stratum, even Cherubim, which they had also encountered in the Hokkaido Dungeon, began to appear, but they were no match for Yuma and his group.
However, the Israeli Seekers were unable to win, and several of them died.
After all, it was difficult to fight while protecting everyone. Yuma felt helpless as he aimed for the deeper strata.
And on the sixth day—they reached the 250th Stratum. A region that no human had ever reached before.
A clear blue sky. A white expanse stretching as far as the eye could see. The ground was perfectly flat. Yuma crouched down and touched the ground.
It was covered in fine white sand, but underneath was hard soil.
It was a clearly bizarre landscape. The unnaturalness, unlike the strata they had seen so far, made not only Yuma and his group but also the Israeli Seekers look around restlessly.
An unusual Mana was overflowing in the surroundings.
Yuma held his Pickel in his right hand. Rui and Akito also put down the backpacks they were carrying and readied their respective weapons.
—Something is coming.
Everyone felt it. A powerful Monster had locked onto them and was now heading their way.
Faybel, who had been looking at the sky, shouted loudly.
“Th-There’s something there!!”
Yuma and the others reacted to Faybel’s voice. When they looked in the direction Faybel was pointing, there was indeed something there.
A small white dot. The dot was gradually growing larger. There was no doubt it was heading towards them. Everyone turned their bodies towards the white dot and readied their weapons.
After a while, they realized what it was.
An angel—with a white face and white wings, but with black parts on its limbs. Everyone understood it was an angelic Monster, but it was different from any angel they had encountered before.
It had six wings on each side and a large, beautiful halo above its head.
Most of all, the amount of Mana it possessed was terrifying.
Even though they weren’t on the lowest stratum yet, the angel was emitting Mana at the level of a Labyrinth Guardian, or even higher.
This Monster was beyond the Israeli Seekers’ capabilities. Yuma stepped forward, holding his Pickel. Rui and Akito followed suit.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
Akito replied, “Yeah,” to Yuma’s words, and Rui nodded silently.
The six-winged angel had come close enough for them to see it clearly. There were indeed black patterns on its limbs.
It looked beautiful, but it was quite large. Its height was over six meters.
It spread its arms, as if trying to cast some kind of magic.
“It’s coming!!”
Everyone scattered at Yuma’s shout. What the angel unleashed was Fifth Stratum Light Magic—a giant halo appeared, and countless Swords of Light rained down.
Yuma and Akito deployed Lightning Barriers to deflect the swords. Rui dodged everything with high-speed movement, swung his Katana, and summoned countless Birds. The Birds of Fire flew towards the angel.
Akito also fired Annihilating Flash. Yuma also swung his Pickel, creating a giant Tornado.
“Gooooooo!!”
Powerful Wind, Lightning, and Fire magic assaulted the angel in the sky.