Songs in the Void: A Multiversal Score

{A/N: So, I took a suggestion from one of the comments and kept the name but added something with the word, "Multiverse," in it. So, what do you think of the extended title?}

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Reisen Great Labyrinth.

Three days have passed since Tatsuo and the girls entered the Reisen Great Labyrinth. In that time, they have been through all kinds of rooms with all sorts of traps. And all of them ranged from teeth clatteringly annoying to life threatening. For the average human, at least.

For example, while climbing down a long flight of stairs, after a certain point, all the stairs shifted, turning the stairway into a long slide. Then, before they could reorient themselves, a slippery, viscous liquid oozed out of small holes in the stairs and coated the entire slide, causing everyone to start sliding down the slope uncontrollably.

At the end of the slope, there was a pit filled with scorpions. Luckily, Tatsuo, Sumire, and Aletia were attentive enough to save everyone from falling into the hazard, as Sumire, with all her strength, threw her shield, which was forge from Azantium, the hardest metal on Tortus, into the wall opposite the end of the slope, lodging it into the wall. Then, she jumped from the slope just as she reached the end to land on the part of the shield protruding from the wall.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo, with Shea cradled in one arm and Aletia holding onto his back, let himself slide over the edge. However, before he fell too far, he activated one of the gadgets he created durin the stay at the Abode of the Liberators in the Tre Orcus Great labyrinth, a grappling line attached to his belt, and shot it into the ceiling over the pit. As a result, he, Aletia, and Shea ended up hanging over the pit.

But what made that particular trap even worse, because they were creeped out by seeing so many scorpions, they looked up at the ceiling. When they did, they saw a gentle glow that stood out in the darkness of the Labyrinth. And that glow spelled out a message that read:

"These little cuties don't' have lethal poison. But, that doesn't mean they won't paralyze you. Hehehe! Hahaha! Hohoho! So, please be satisfied by taking a nap with these little cuties. Fufufu!"

Luckily, on one of the walls leading down to the pit, they saw a tunnel. However, they were unsure where it would lead. Unfortunately, going down was not an option and going back the way they came seemed like an exercise in futility. So, that tunnel was the only way forward.

But as they expected, that passage only led them to another room, much like the one they just escaped, and it was, too, rigged with a trap. At least this one did not lead to a pit full of scorpions, though.

Instead, when they had climbed about a quarter of the way down the stairs that made up the room, a mechanism sounded before a boulder that took up the entire height and width of the room started rolling after them, causing them to run down the stairs like a scene from an Indiana Jones movie.

And every other room they entered had traps, as well. In one room, the ceiling fell in an attempt to crush them. Luckily, with Tatsuo's, Sumire's, and Shea's combined strength, they were able to hold it up long enough to escape. Then, there were multiple rooms that shot poison arrows or had pitfalls. One room even turned the floor into an antlion's nest. However, they eventually reached the room Tatsuo was looking for. A long corridor with around fifty armors lining each wall.

"I hate this place." Shea grumbled in a weary tone. "I wanna go home."

"Good, go back home." Aletia muttered. "Your tribe probably misses you."

"No! That's not what I meant!" Shea exclaimed as she reached out to hold Tatsuo's arm, sandwiching it between her breasts as a consequence. "I just meant that I don't wanna be in this labyrinth anymore!"

"It's okay, Shea." Tatsuo said as he reached up to pat Shea's head, calming her down almost instantly. "We knew what you meant. I don't like it here, either."

"Yeah, Aletia-San was just teasing you." Sumire said as she looked at Shea with a smile. She then turned her smile in Aletia's direction. "Right, Aletia-San?"

"Hmph!" Aletia snorted as she turned her head away. Though, she did not deny it.

"Anyway, let's keep moving." Tatsuo said as he pulled away from Shea before putting a spatial mark on the wall nearest to the entrance.

"O-Okay." Shea said, her aggrieved expression turning into one filled with conviction.

'I just hope we were fast enough to make it before the Labyrinth reset.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'That way, I won't have to worry about bringing us all back here.'

"Hey, what's that?" Shea asked while pointing at the opposite side of the corridor.

Looking in the direction where Shea was pointing, the group could see a large, heavy metallic door. There was also a pedestal position in front of the door with three pyramid-shaped objects floating above it.

"We can worry about that when we get to the other side." Sumire said as she pulled her shield off her back and flicked her wrist to extend her spear. "for now, those armors are starting to move. And there's no way in the world I'd believe we don't' have to fight them."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Tatsuo replied while equipping his pistols. "For now, let's just worry about getting to the door. I've got a bad feeling about this room. Especially since there aren't enough of those armors to make it a challenge."

The three ladies nodded in response. Then, with Tatsuo in the lead, considering that his movement speed was the highest, the group rushed into the group of armors.

Now that he was a little closer, Tatsuo finally noticed that there were large swords and shields positioned next to each of the armors. And they picked up such heavy looking weapons as if they were light as a feather.

'If I remember correctly, these armors will put themselves back together using the materials in the walls, floor, and ceiling when they are destroyed. So, there's no reason to destroy all of them.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'If it wasn't for the magic suppression in this stupid Labyrinth, I would ask Aletia to round them all up and just leave them somewhere. But that's not possible.'

*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*

With that thought running through his head, once Tatsuo was in the midst of the group of armors, he slid to a stop. Then, he fired his pistols in rapid succession at their shields. However, he did not use [Lightning Clad] to increase the bullets' power. Instead, he calculated the angle of each shot to ricochet the bullets, causing them to get stuck in the armor's joints, which slowed their movements.

Unfortunately, Tatsuo was the only one capable of stopping the armors in such away. The others did what would have been expected of any other person in this situation… Destroy.

"Yahh~~~!" Shea bellowed a war cry.

*Boom!* *Clang!* *Boom!* *Clang!* *Boom!* *Clang!*

The next to arrive was Shea, who, using her strong legs and [Body Enhancement Magic], leapt high above Tatsuo and the crowd of armors before landing in their midst while swinging her hammer down with all her might, crushing the moving armor that she landed on. Then, she spun around while holding her hammer outwards, sending the armors it struck flying into other armors and the walls of the corridor.

Then, when all the armors in range of her hammer were dealt with, she activated the mechanism that released the hammer's head and swung it around as a morning star, repeating the earlier process with a greater range.

Meanwhile, Sumire moved with Aletia, making sure that none of the armors could get too close to the vampire princess. And while Sumire deflected incoming attacks and dispatched the armors in range of her spear, Aletia used the water from the back on her back to cast [Rupture].

And with every utterance of the spell's name, a high pressure jet of water would be ejected from the nozzles affixed to Aletia's wrists, tearing through the armors with little effort.

It did not take long for the group to move more than half way through the corridor. Unfortunately, other than the few that Tatsuo incapacitated, the other armors were repaired using the metals in the room. And even those were slowly being taken care of by armors that were not close enough to the action as time went by.

"We can't keep going like this." Tatsuo said loud enough for the rest of his party to hear. "No matter how many of these things we take care of, they just keep coming."

"Wha? What should we do?" Shea asked as she ducked under a sword before swinging her hammer to send the offending armor flying.

"We need to get to the door." Tatsuo replied. "Shea, take Aletia with you and jump over all these tin cans. Sumire-San and I will follow behind you soon."

In response, Aletia nodded her head. She had travelled with Tatsuo and Sumire in the Orcus Great Labyrinth for half of its floors. So, she knew just how strong the two otherworlders were. She then maneuvered through the armors, cutting several down with [Rupture] before jumping to grab onto Shea's back.

"Wha.. wha… wha…" Shea, not used to having anyone hanging on her back, was slightly taken aback. However, she regained her senses quickly enough. Then, she looked towards Tatsuo and Sumire with worry.

"Sumire-San, give them a boost." Tatsuo called out as he shot off the heads of the armors in the way.

Responding quickly, Sumire rushed through the path Tatsuo made for her before she turned around after passing Shea and Aletia. Then, she set up her shield as a platform and shot a gaze at Shea that said: "Step on."

Hesitating for a moment, Shea moved quickly after a bullet flew between her ears and knocked off the head of an armor that was about to slash its sword down on Sumire's back. Then, she leapt and landed on Sumire's shield. However, before she could adjust her posture, Sumire raised her shield with all her might, throwing Shea and Aletia towards the door in the distance.

A second or so later, Shea landed in front of the door. However, she lost her footing when she did. As a result, she tripped and rolled, face first, into the door.

"Ow~~~~." Shea groaned as she rubbed her face after pulling away from the door. "that really hurt."

"Clumsy Rabbit." Aletia said in a dry tone.

"Miss Aletia, can't you say something comforting?" Shea asked in a whiny tone as she picked herself up and prepared to defend Aletia from the armors that had broken off from the rest of the group to pursue them.

Luckily, Aletia, as soon as Shea touched the floor, jumped off. So, she was not caught up in the Clumsy Rabbit's up close and personal meeting with the heavy metal door. Then, instead of replying to Shea's request for comfort, she inspected the door and the pedestal with the three floating pyramid-shaped objects. And she quickly understood the mechanism.

Seeing that there were three cube shaped indents on the door, each with a different size, and that the pyramids could be disassembled, Aletia got to work trying to solve the puzzle immediately.

A moment later, Tatsuo and Sumire appeared next to Shea just before the first armor was in range. However, Tatsuo looked rather fatigued, having had to use a substantial amount of [Energy] to [Blink the short distance between where he and Sumire were and the pedestal without a spatial marker.

"Tatsuo-Kun, are you okay?" Sumire asked, catching Tatsuo before he could stumble.

"I'm fine." Tatsuo replied as a vial of Ambrosia appeared in his hand from his [Inventory]. Just used up too much [Energy]."

Tatsuo then flicked the stopper off the vial and downed its contents in one go. And the Ambrosia worked its magic, refilling his reserves to a point where he could fight once again in only a second.

'Damn, I really underestimated just how draining that would be.' Tatsuo muttered to himself. 'Even with the spatial markers, I would be out of commission for a while if I teleported everyone after the reset.'

While having that thought, Tatsuo once again started handling the armors alongside Sumire and Shea. However, he was broken out of his musings when he heard Aletia grunting in annoyance.

Taking a quick look back, Tatsuo could only put on a sympathetic smile when he saw glowing sentences blinking in and out of existence around Aletia while she tried to solve the puzzle on the door.

{I wonder can you solve it~. I wonder~.}

{You'll die if you['re not fast enough, you know~?}

{Well, it can't be helped if you can't solve it~. You're just a normal person. Not a genius like me, after all.}

{Don't worry, even if you're not smart enough, you'll be able to survive. Oh~! You won't be able to survive, will you? How regrettable~.}

Hearing those grunts and seeing the way Aletia's lips twitched every time one of those messages appeared, Tatsuo would not have been surprised if Aletia tried to revive Miledi just so that she could kill her.

'I should probably remember to hold her back after we finish this labyrinth.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'I don't' know if we'll be able to get the [Age of Gods Magic], otherwise.'

"You know, I'm pretty happy right now." Shea said, pulling Tatsuo out of his thoughts, as she blew away several armors.

"Seriously?" Tatsuo asked in an incredulous tone. "I mean, I can understand being relaxed or refreshed at blowing off steam like this. But happy?"

"Uh huh?" Shea replied with a nod of her head. "I'm getting to fight side by side with you, Tatsuo. And that's what's making me happy. And I know if I do well, you'll reward me by patting me on the head. Or maybe with a hug. Ooh! A kiss would be nice, too. And if I do really well, maybe even… Hehehe!"

Hearing the tone of Shea's giggle, no one present had to ask where she was going with that.

"Umm… Shea-San…" Sumire said while smiling awkwardly as s ducked under a sword strike before transitioning into a shield bash that knocked off the head of the attacking armor.

"Hehehe--- Huh? Uh… Yes?" Shea replied as she was brought out of her perverted fantasies.

"Tatsuo-Kun is only fifteen, you know.?" Sumire pointed out.

"Huh? Wha~~~~~~~!?" Shea exclaimed in surprise. "He's younger than me? But he's so--- Wait! Does that mean I have a thing for younger boys?"

*Thump!*

"Stay focused." Aletia scolded after jumping up to hit Shea on the head. She then turned to Tatsuo and Sumire before continuing. "It's open."

Hearing Aletia's words, Tatsuo and Sumire, while continuing to keep the armors occupied glanced behind them. And sure enough, the large door, which turned out to be a pair of double doors were open. Past them, they could see a short corridor leading to what looked like a much larger room.

'Good, the switch hasn't been initiated yet.' Tatsuo thought to himself while narrowing his eyes. 'But that rotten woman could start it at any time. We need to hurry.

"Good job, Aletia." Tatsuo said as he kicked an armor away. 'Sumire-San, Shea, disengage. I'll make some room for us to retreat."

"Got it!" Sumire shouted as she pushed an armor back with her shield before turning around, picking up Aletia, and running towards the open doors.

"But you…" Shea started to protest. But when she saw how quickly Sumire distanced herself with Aletia in her arms, she too ran towards the open doors.

Meanwhile, Tatsuo continued to fight until he was certain the three ladies were through the doors. Then, he materialized a spherical object from his [Inventory]. And anyone familiar with military weapons would know that it was a grenade. However, this was no ordinary grenade.

"Alright, I'm gone." Tatsuo said while pushing the button on the grenade.

Tatsuo then dropped the grenade and [Blinked to Sumire's side. Meanwhile, the armors, not knowing exactly what the small spherical object was, rushed forward to continue their attack. However, before even a quarter of the armors could pass the grenade, it went off.

*Swoosh~~~!* *Shoop!*

However, instead of exploding like a rag or incendiary grenade, A blackish-purple shimmer expanded from the grenade, engulfing the front half of the chasing horde of armors before it retracted to the point of origin at high speed. By the time it was done, the armors, the floor they were standing on, and the walls closest to the point of origin were no longer there.

"Wha… What was that?" Shea, who looked back to check on Tatsuo, was just in time to see what happened.

At the same time, Tatsuo reappeared next to Sumire and Aletia. However, like the last time he used [Blink] he was once again out of breath. However, because he had to activate the grenade, as well, he was close to the point of collapse after using so much [Energy] in such a short period of time. Yet, when he saw the [Notification] he received, his lips curled into a tired smile.

{[Notifications]

Skill, [Blink], has increased in rank from C to C+}

'I guess the harsher conditions in which I use my skills, the faster they'll rank up.' Tatsuo thought to himself as he pulled another vile of Ambrosia out of his [Inventory]. He then looked back towards the end of the passage they were in. 'Are you fucking kidding me?'

At the end of Tatsuo's line of sight, he could see the door closing.

'That bitch is trying to make us go through all that shit again.' Tatsuo roared in his mind.

A moment later, purple dragon scales started to surface on Tatsuo's cheeks and neck followed by his hands and forearms. And with the surfacing of those scales, Tatsuo ignored his fatigue, threw back the small vial of Ambrosia, grabbed Sumire, Aletia, and Shea in his arms, and dashed as fast as he could towards the closing door.

"Huh?" Shea exclaimed in confusion. "Tatsuo, what's wrong with you? What are those scales, and why are you running? We don't have to--- Ow!"

"Don't talk or you'll bite your tongue." Tatsuo said, his voice taking on a deeper pitch and a more beastly tone.

"I already did." Shea replied while covering her mouth with a tear-filled tone.

Meanwhile, although he did not have the time to check his [Status], Tatsuo could tell that his [Strength], [Agility], and [Dexterity] should have increased after taking on his [Half Dragon Transformation]. But without seeing the [Status] screen, he had no idea by how much without a bit of testing. Even so, the increases were more than enough to get himself and the girls through the doors before they closed.

Unfortunately, things were not so simple after making it through the door. Because, just past the door, the floor dropped out from beneath Tatsuo, as the room was a giant sphere. Luckily, there were a number of floating platforms that looked like metal building blocks floating around the spherical space. So, with the help of Tatsuo's grappling line, Aletia's [Wind Magic], and Sumire and Shea's strength, they were all able to land safely on one of the platforms.

"Oh? You made it?" A feminine voice said in a playful tone from above the platform the quartet was standing on. " You really made it? You really, really, made it~? And you have a dragonman with you, too? How curious~."