Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"But I can't get arrested either."

Thirty-six strategies are the best strategy.

Baka kicked the floor backward, and Ais caught up with him at an even faster speed.

But he was just one step away from reaching it. The moment the man darted into the side passage, the hardest metal "door" slammed down.

"Ugh...!?"

Seeing the metal door blocking her way, Ais's expression twisted as she turned back along the passage.

She looked down from where Baka had been standing, at the hall where her companion had disappeared.

"Everyone……!"

★

Inside the maze where the light source is cut off.

"We're locked up here...?"

"I got separated from Grace and the others too..."

After crashing to the ground, Tiony and Tiona, along with the rest of the group, stared blankly as they looked around at the labyrinth that had sunk into darkness.

"Mr. Grace...!?"

"It's time to change our mindset and just admit it. We were the ones who were hunting, but now we've become the ones being hunted."

Surrounded by a large group of monsters, Grace answered the crew members and put her helmet back on.

"Commander! Commander!?"

"...Lao, you...you come and direct...to escape from here..."

The bleeding wouldn't stop, and his breath was barely a whisper.

Seeing their leader teetering on the brink of death, Raul and his troupe members cried out in despair.

Finn opened his eyelids slightly in Raul's arms, gazing helplessly at the dark, enclosed ceiling.

"Brother Bert, which way should we go...!?"

"How should I know?! Smell with your nose, listen carefully with your ears, find it! Nothing else matters, we need to find clues to meet up with Finn and the others!"

Bert didn't even know where he was. He wandered through the maze, roaring at the orcs who followed him.

"Lefia, find the exit first! It must be somewhere!"

“Okay, okay!”

Isolated, Lefia, in order to rescue her companions who were trapped in trouble, also runs through the chaotic labyrinth with Philweis.

After that--

"Although the Fiora got away... at least Thanatos's request has been fulfilled."

Baka shook off his pursuers and walked alone through the dark passage.

"Valeta and the others should have finished their business... everything is ready."

Before his eyes, all the "doors" obeyed his commands.

Passing through several doors, the red-eyed wielder moved freely through the maze, silently declaring:

"Transform into the 'Man-Made Labyrinth of Knossos'... the cornerstone of our ancestors' masterpiece, [Loki's Familia]."

Darkness bared its fangs and claws.

Sword Oratoria 7 Side Story Chapter 3: Death Feast

"No! There's a 'door' falling down ahead... We can't go any further!"

The group members' heart-wrenching screams echoed through the secret passage.

The location was the Loki Familia camp where Riveria and the others were stationed. The adventurers, who were on high alert at the entrance to the labyrinth, were immediately thrown into an uproar when they heard this report from the scouts sent inside.

Seven hours had passed since Finn and his companions entered the maze.

Such a long period of time was enough for them to be convinced that something had happened to the invading force that had been out of contact.

"Finn and the others are locked up inside... I knew this was possible, but what do you think, Rivera?"

"Even if they were blocked by the 'door' made of the hardest metal, Grace should have broken through the super-hard metal wall to escape if necessary. The fact that he didn't do so means... I think there's only one possibility: they've fallen into a trap inside the labyrinth."

As Rivera stared intently into the darkness, she concluded that Finn and Grace could not possibly have misjudged the timing of their retreat.

Ignoring the wavering of the group members around her, Pei Cui Se narrowed her sharp eyes.

"Let me put it this way, if they fall into a trap or something... do you think Finn and the others can escape on their own?"

"If it were an ordinary maze, I can assure you this would be a piece of cake for them, but..."

Rivera walked to the edge of the maze wall and struck it directly with the end of her long staff.

The inside revealed the luster of an extremely hard metal, and she picked up a fragment of the stone slab.

"really……"

"What's this? Is there something mixed in there?"

"Yes, it's the 'Obsidian Soldier's Body Stone'."

Loki leaned over to look, and Riveria told her the name of a "dropped item".

"Obsidian Soldiers" are monsters that appear on the 37th level of the Deep Layer, possessing bodies made of obsidian. These monsters have properties similar to "exorcising stones," weakening the effects of "magic."

These "dropped items" can fetch a good price when brought back to the surface, and blacksmiths often use them to craft excellent magic-resistant shields or armor.

"It can be inferred that the stone slabs covered with the super-hard metal were all mixed with these stones. Not only are they strong, but they are also resistant to 'magic'."

Her fair, slender fingers tightly crushed the obsidian in her palm.

Rivera frowned and said:

"Even if we use 'magic' from the outside, it will only damage Daedalus Road or the underground sewers. Even I cannot completely destroy this labyrinth, let alone from the inside. ...Finn's 'gun' couldn't do it either."

Hearing the deputy leader calmly and fluently explain his views, the surrounding members all gasped.

Loki also said, "Really? Is that true?", slightly opening his eyes as he looked towards the maze.

"This labyrinth is unprecedented. Of course, I don't know the historical background of its construction... but one can imagine that it must have involved a delusional obsession beyond our comprehension."

Riveria asserted that continuing to view this place simply as an enemy secret base would be tantamount to suicide.

Based on this, she worked with the main god to clarify the situation in order to break through the status quo.

"Hmm~, Rivera, I remember your magic circle seems to have a detector (radar)-like ability?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, but... the second-tier attack spell (Sword of Victory) can identify all humans and monsters within the magic circle. However, it's limited to the 'horizontal' range and cannot identify floors below."

"In other words, I'll have to trouble you to deploy your full wide-area attack, interrupt it before the fire breath, and then repeat it over and over again... It's incredibly mana-intensive and extremely inefficient, but I'll give it a try anyway. Just check this floor."

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Upon receiving Loki's command, Riveria immediately began the chanting process.

As the massive emerald green magic circle unfolded, Loki gave further instructions:

"Alicia, could you please bring a few people to prepare a map of the surrounding area? I don't know how big this maze is, but I need to have Riveria move around and use the magic circle to explore it."

"I...I understand!"

After watching the elf Alicia depart with several other members, Loki put on a serious face.

The silent deity's profile was illuminated by the emerald light rising from beneath his feet.

★

A hazy blue phosphorescence illuminated the two figures carrying a thin layer of darkness.

"I did as you said and pushed the Loki Familia down to the 8th floor."

"Thank you, little brother Baka, you've done me a huge favor."

The handsome Sanatos was talking with Baka, who had come to meet him.

It was one of many halls, located in a deep, secluded spot within the labyrinth, particularly inaccessible to intruders. Inside were intimidating-looking swords, guns, and other weapons, and figures in robes moved in and out through several passageways. This place had been renovated later; it was a stronghold of a dark faction within the labyrinth.

The room is almost devoid of magic stone lamps, filled with the darkness favored by the gods (Sanatos).

"I'll be going out for a bit. I'll leave that operation to you."

"knew……"

Watching Sanatos walk out of the hall, Bacca stood in front of a pedestal.

The stone pedestal is shaped like a tree stump, with layers of vines winding around it, and at first glance, it seems to blend into the plant. A layer of pale water film on the pedestal is reminiscent of moonlight.

A crimson jewel is placed in front of the pedestal, the same type as the jewels inlaid on the hardest metal "door," but this one is a size larger than the ones on the "door."

This is a device, a particularly important device in the maze.

Only Baka, who has special "pupils," and a very small number of people can use this equipment.

"—The artificial maze (Knossos) seems unusually noisy today."

Those "very few people" appeared around Baka.

It is a tall, sturdy human.

A gruff smile played on his lips; one could tell at a glance that he belonged to the thug class.

The goggles worn on their faces are made of smoky quartz.

Beneath the dark-tinted colored lenses, Hongtong's left eye was faintly visible.

"What are you up to? Hmm, bro?"

"Shut up, Dix."

Baka's indifferent gaze revealed his disgust for the man who came from the hallway.

"We were born from the same woman's womb, so you're not allowed to call me brother anymore."

"Just kidding, just kidding. I feel the same way. The thought that a 'cursed' servant like you is related to me by blood makes me want to vomit."

The man called Dix also spoke with a mocking smile and disdain.

Baka seemed to have lost interest and turned his gaze back to the pedestal.

"So what's all this arguing about? We can't even safely move the monster outside."

"I've placed the Loki Familia, who were peeking at us, into the artificial labyrinth (Knossos)."

"Hey... I haven't heard anything about this. They've got their eyes on by a bunch of troublemakers again."

In the water film on the pedestal, besides the deserted passage, you can also see Ais's anxious profile as she runs down the steps, and Tiona and the others looking around in the darkness, reflecting various scenes within the maze.

Pale flowers are scattered throughout the maze, hidden in the eyes of eerie statues or in reliefs.

The 24th-level grain storehouse, whose appearance has been completely altered by the giant flower, also blooms with the same flower.

The image captured by this flower can be clearly seen through the water film on the pedestal.

This technology for creating artificial mazes didn't exist originally; it was introduced by eccentrics like Rives.

"Perfect timing, Dix, do me a favor."

“Ah?”

"It's all Valetta's fault for being careless and letting the wolf (dog) that escaped the trap and the two goblins run around... I need you to deal with them, it's also for the sake of our ancestors' wishes."

"Aren't there monsters and female monsters? Just tell those guys to figure out a solution."

"That disgusting weirdo (woman) is also acting on her own... so she can't hear anyone's instructions."

The scene shimmered in the water, showing the werewolf driving away the monsters he encountered, the two elves moving together, and Rives moving silently on her own.

"If these people cause a ruckus here, the monster smuggling and your 'low-class pleasures' will probably all be off the table..."

Baka stared into Dix's eyes and told him; Dix shut his mouth and finally laughed.

"I have no choice but to do it. Although the last thing I want to get involved with is the Loki Familia... this is our home (headquarters). In terms of location, we definitely have the upper hand."

Knowing the maze's vicious nature, the man chuckled and looked up.

"Give me a new gun. That's what I came here for. I went too far and broke it."