Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The Labyrinth of the Yoke.

It was an ancient structure built by Fulgardt many years prior to his death. It held countless treasures that he had found in his lifetime.

It also held his prime legacy, the power of the Insurgent Magnus. The power to wield both purity through [Just Light] and evil through [Evil Darkness].

This was as much as most who challenged this dreadful place knew. The Labyrinth was to them a place where they could party up and obtain riches and power while exercising some manner of caution.

Of course, the majority of people who hunted these legacies were reckless or desperate warriors. Their deaths were guaranteed.

The layout and mechanics within the Labyrinth were vastly different to expectations.

The Labyrinth was larger than most would even know. It was incredibly vast and filled with many stages and rooms that held specific purposes beyond the thoughts and dreams of mortals.

Even the purpose of the brutal and seemingly unending killing spree that all challengers were subjected to was unknown, as no one had been able to reach the legacy of Fulgardt. This prompted many to feel discouraged, their yearning for his treasure waning with time.

Many didn't know anything about this man and his machinations save for a handful of beings, but Fulgardt wouldn't have made such a about of them.

One of these beings happened to be a bald giant that was peeking at Benzard with terrifying red eyes that bound the poor soul's will to fight.

Sause crawled into the dark space where a beheaded humanoid creature lay silently in a pool of blood.

Benzard shook.

The sight of the giant that held Reon in its hand reaching in and its cheeks puffing up to blow away the darkness within the space was paralysing.

Soon, the room was clear, and Benzard saw the already mortifying picture of the enemy more clearly; he dropped his sword, trembling.

'What is this?! What is it doing with Reon?! Is it another opponent?!' Benzard bombarded himself with a barrage of questions he couldn't answer.

He had slaughtered four opponents from four different paths that he had chosen in a span of several hours.

It had been a rough trip.

Ever since he had discovered that he could manipulate the thick darkness around him, defeating the man-beast - his first opponent - had been easy.

After defeating it, he found his comprehension of the darkness to grow drastically. He could sense it with greater accuracy than before, which prompted him to spend a few hours familiarising himself with it and incorporating it into his fighting style with the sword.

This was the essence of a swordsman.

A Truebright Swordsman, as was Benzard's Advanced class.

Light and lightning made up the core of his arsenal and wielding their combination in conjunction with his sword was supposed to be a top tier package, yet...

He had been failing to accommodate light into his attacks and maximising the core of his class.

If he used it, it was usually a fluke.

Him using darkness and finding it easier to use than light made him think that perhaps he may have acquired a class that wasn't suited for him.

He relished in the feeling, gaining more confidence about his ability to cut down enemies now that he found out that using darkness was extremely effective.

Unfortunately, even with that... even with his opponents' handicapped, he hadn't been able to win so easily.

"Interesting. So you're the one with the blue thread, ahaha," Sause said. "Why don't you introduce us, Reon?"

Reon who was within the giant's grasp still wore a pale face. The speed with which the giant had been travelling had left him utterly speechless and almost soulless.

He could barely see anything even when the giant took a momentary pause.

Hours had felt like seconds just from when he saw the surroundings warping by like an endless stroke of dark colours. The giant would sometimes easily slaughter a ridiculously powerful opponent bound by a yoke for no reason and Reon had had a front seat to the carnage, barely comprehending it.

Even with all this - even while frozen in terror - when Sause gave a command, Reon still answered.

"Don't worry, Benzard. Sause here is a good acquaintance of mine."

'What?!' Benzard exclaimed internally. 'Acquaintance my ass!'

"Indeed we are," Sause said, giving Benzard his full attention. "Reon told me lots of things on our way here. Do you happen to have a Key?"

Benzard was going to avoid giving an answer until he fully understood the situation but...

"Yes I do."

...!

His mouth moved on its own!

"I see. So the other Key is with that other one, right? Aha ha! He's rather far from this side of the Labyrinth, unfortunately. You two seem to have already been in the same quadrant of this enclosure, which is why it was so much easier to find you. However, this one might be a bit harder to get to," Sause said with a carefree expression.

He used Reon as some kind of tool to emphasise his points.

The giant's large frame sat down with its knees facing the ceiling.

Sause's private parts had been dangling ever since his appearance, but his unsettling pressure was even more terrifying than the picture of his huge private goods.

"Hmmm. You have quite the able body. Potential is practically leaking out from you like a river. It'd be waste to kill you. You're more refined than this friend of yours. Tell me, why are you here?"

Benzard's mouth opened wide and he rendered an answer that he did not wish to speak of.

"My town was destroyed by bandits who wanted to escape from a nobleman they had offended. They were many of them, but my people, my friends and family fought against them to protect themselves, yet it wasn't enough. The bandits set fire to my town, aiming to distract their pursuers long enough for them to escape; the town was in the nobleman's domain, after all. Everyone died except me.

I was picked up by Knights under that nobleman. I was tempered to become strong, but I never forgot the helplessness I felt that day."

"Unreasonable criminals and fiends only need the sword to be put down. I need adequate power to stop such people from doing whatever they want with precious lives."

Indeed, this was Benzard's motivation. This was why the Ideal Ark had been a cause he was more than willing to join.

Once again, a group of criminals without a care for the value of life had risen, and he wanted strength. He wanted the strength to vanquish the Green Neolists!

Sause shifted in excitement.

"This was a lengthier explanation than I expected but very efficient. You want strength? Good. I can see it from that tenacious body and spirit," Sause gazed at Benzard's wounds.

Benzard's heart sank when he blurted out his background like some exhibitionist protagonist.

Reon looked at him with surprise, wondering in his mind if this was what truly drove Benzard.

"Let me make you an offer. I'd simply compel you to agree but that doesn't work when I need a rock solid answer fashioned from your own resolve," Sause said with a grin.

Benzard's breaths hastened.

An offer?

"Since all you need is power, how about giving up on Fulgardt's Class and letting me impart you with a very powerful one of my own, aha ha?" Sause said with a grin.