Chapter 6: Only He Noticed
Ichiro Yamada carried the unconscious Eris on his back as he descended into the Fifth Layer of the Sealed Labyrinth… or so he thought. However, the place he arrived at was not the Fifth Layer at all.
“Wait, what?”
He found himself at the entrance of the Sealed Labyrinth—the Cave Entrance where the Sealed Shrine was located.
“Why!? How is this happening!?”
In the midst of his confusion, he spotted Sensei sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
—Why is this happening?
A wave of intense absurdity blocked his path, leaving him in a state of utter bewilderment. Yet, a part of him, having faced countless challenges before, continued to analyze the situation with a cool head.
First of all, there had always been a lingering doubt within him.
Why had the Liquid Lifeform (Fog Slime), which Sensei claimed had not appeared last time, shown up now?
What was the difference between the last time and this one?
Even without a clear answer, the pieces of the puzzle began to take shape in his mind.
This realization intensified as he encountered the boss monsters that appeared with each advancing layer.
The boss of the Second Layer of the Sealed Labyrinth was a monster based on the Crystal Humanoid. The Crystal Humanoid was the boss of the Mirror Labyrinth, which Yamada had explored for over six months, one of the newly constructed ultimate labyrinths.
At the very end of that labyrinth, the monster awaited him, possessing the ability to reflect magic and lethal power capable of severing a human with just a touch. It had tormented both Yamada and Saintess Mika.
During the fierce battle with the Crystal Humanoid, Yamada had come perilously close to death countless times before finally defeating the monster. It was easy to imagine that this experience had been one of his most challenging ordeals.
Then, in the Third Layer of the Sealed Labyrinth, the boss that appeared was a monster based on the Angel, which he and Angelica had faced together.
The Angel was the guardian of the Light Labyrinth’s innermost chamber. This monster had the special abilities to nullify physical attacks and resist light magic, making it a true Yamada killer. The Angel’s ultra-fast barrage had pushed Yamada to the brink, almost overwhelming him. However, thanks to Angelica’s valiant efforts alongside him, they barely managed to secure victory.
Indeed, both monsters were deeply connected to Yamada and his former party members.
Was it possible for completely unrelated labyrinth bosses to appear consecutively like this? At that point, he couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility that it was merely a coincidence.
Then what about the boss of the Fourth Layer of the Sealed Labyrinth?
The answer was a monster based on the Dragonbone Swordsman, whom Eris had once faced in his living form. This monster, known as No-Skill, was a flawless swordsman and the boss of the Blade Labyrinth. It was also one half of the boss monster that Yamada and Eris had fought to the death in the Blade Labyrinth.
So, what did this mean? All three bosses that had appeared in the Sealed Labyrinth were monsters closely tied to Yamada and his companions. If this was mere coincidence, the odds would be astronomical.
Given this information, along with what Sensei had shared, there was only one person in the world who could connect the dots at this point—Ichiro Yamada himself.
And so, he alone arrived at a singular possibility.