SWNOVELXO Chapter 103: Miledi Reisen
Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Reisen Great Labyrinth.
"Oh? You made it?" A feminine voice asked 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~."
Hearing that voice, Tatsuo, Sumire, Aletia, and Shea looked up to find the one who it originated from. However, because of all the floating blocks, they could not see anyone. Instead, they were distracted long enough for the door that was closing to reopen. And through the open door, more of the armors flooded into the room.
"Those things are back." Sumire said, looking back towards the door from over her shoulder. A moment later, her eyes widened in surprise before she continued. "And they're… flying?"
Just as Sumire said, when the armors reached the end of the corridor leading into the spherical room, they continued forward without falling like Tatsuo and the girls.
"[Rupture]." Aletia chanted as she aimed the nozzles on her wrists at the incoming armors. "[Rupture]. [Rupture]. [Rupture]."
*Pssh!* *Pssh!*
A moment later, the front most armors were bisected by the high-pressure jets of water Aletia fired. And the next few sets of armor met the same fate as Aletia continued to cast her magic.
"Ura~~~!" Shea shouted a war cry as she raised her hammer and dashed towards the end of the platform.
When Sha reached the end of the platform, with her body enhanced to its limit, she leapt towards the incoming suits of armor. Then, after deflecting one of their swords with the shaft of her hammer, she landed on top of the attacker, before kicking off powerfully, sending the armor shooting down towards the floor, and directing herself at another.
"Tatsuo-Kun, are you okay?" Sumire asked while holding Tatsuo, who was clearly still fatigued from his last [Blink].
"Yeah, I'm fine." Tatsuo replied. "[Mana Reactor] is taking care of replenishing my [Energy]"
'It will take me a few seconds more to be back in fighting shape, though.' Tatsuo muttered internally. 'But that's not the important thing, right now. Instead, Miledi is definitely in this room. But for some reason, I can't sense that big golem she used in the canon to fight Hajime and the others. And that's bothering me.,'
*Clang!*
While Tatsuo was lost in thought, one of the armors took it upon itself to attack from a distance, throwing its massive sword at the group of three who stood on the platform. And when Sumire noticed the incoming attack that was aimed at Aletia from a blind spot, she quickly let go of Tatsuo and put herself between Elicia and the sword.
*Clang!*
A moment later, Sumire deflected the sword upwards with her shield. Then, as gravity took hold of the large sword, Sumire spun on her left foot before kicking the pommel of the falling sword with her right and sending it flying through another one of the suits of armor.
Then, while riding the momentum of her kick, Sumire threw her spear, piercing another armor through the helmet. She then recalled her spear and prepared for any more sneak attacks. At the same time, Sumire noticed that neither of the suits of armor she had dispatched fell from the sky immediately.
They're not flying." Sumire said, loud enough for the rest of her party to hear. "I think someone or something is manipulating the gravity around them."
"Oh ho! Someone is quite smart!" That same female voice said echoing from above. "Not as smart as me, though. But even if you know that, how will you survive? Huh? How will you not die? Tell me! Tell me!"
Hearing that voice once again, this time it reminded everyone present of the messages that would pop up after every trap while they were exploring the labyrinth.
"Is that…?" Shea asked as her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Impossible." Aletia replied her annoyance palpable.
"Impossible~?" The voice asked playfully. "Are you sure? Are you sure?"
"Of course, you should be dead." Shea said as she demolished another suit of armor before jumping back to the platform where the others were standing.
"Oh, should I?" The voice asked in a sing-song tone. "Well, I'm not~. Everyone's favorite, Miledi is still alive and well!"
With that declaration, a suit of armor, at least ten times larger than all the others the group has faced descended from above, stopping to float in front of the platform where the party stood.
"Damn… That's big." Tatsuo muttered as he looked over the large golem floating in front of them.
'I knew the last boss of the labyrinth, the golem Miledi was controlling was supposed to be bigger than the others, but I wasn't expecting this.' Tatsuo muttered. 'And how did she hide something this big above us?'
Shaking off those thoughts, Tatsuo looked up into the helmet of the large golem where there was a red glow shining through.
"So, you're Miledi Reisen, huh?" Tatsuo asked as he finally recovered from his [Energy] exhausted state. "No, you're not. This is just a puppet you're controlling."
The red light in the giant golem's helmet dimmed as if Miledi had narrowed her eyes.
'Hahaha!' Tatsuo laughed to himself. 'Now that little prank at the end of the fight won't work.'
"You're quite impressive, boy." Miledi said, her playful tone nowhere to be seen. 'Over the centuries, many people have made it this far. Yet, none of them have seen through that. Tell me, why have you all come here?"
"To get out of this world." Tatsuo replied. "Hell, we didn't wanna come here in the first place. But the so-called god, Ehit, brought us here because he was bored."
"I see. That's a pretty good reason. And if you were to complete all the Great Labyrinths, there might be a way for you to go back to your home." Miledi said while nodding. A moment later, however, her tone turned playful once again. "But you have to live long enough for that to happen. Can you do that~?"
In the next instant, the large golem raised its right hand. As a result, the platform the group was standing on shot up towards the ceiling of the chamber at high-speed.
"Move!" Tatsuo barked as he grabbed Aletia around the waist and ran towards the edge of the platform.
Sumire and Shea also took off toward the edge of the platform, as well. Then, they all jumped.
*Boom!*
In the next instant, the platform slammed into the ones above it, knocking them all out of the way before slamming into the ceiling, causing the entire room to shake.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo, with Aletia in his arms, fell towards another platform. Then, when he landed he set Aletia down before jumping towards yet another platform while making his way towards the giant golem.
"Oh, aren't you brave~?" Miledi asked in an amused tone as she watched Tatsuo approach, the claws at the end of his purple dragon scaled -covered hands gleaming as he moved. "But bravery alone isn't enough~."
With that, a large metal ball attached to the golem's back floated into its right hand while a chain, that was connected to the ball floated into its left. Miledi then threw the ball with great force at Tatsuo.
Reacting quickly, Tatsuo shot the grappling line from his belt towards one of the floating platforms. Then, when it stuck into the side of the platform, he caused it to retract quickly. As a result, he was able to dodge the recking ball sized morning star. However, a number of the platforms in its way were sent flying or destroyed.
*Swish!*
However, before Miledi could pull the ball back by its chain, a jet of water severed the chain. At the same time, Shea, with her hammer held like a baseball bat, appeared next to the metal ball.
*Hya~~~~~!" Shea shouted as she swung her hammer.
*Clang~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
The sound of the collision reverberated through the room with such vigor that some of the nearby platforms were displaced from the shockwave alone. Meanwhile, the metal ball was sent flying back at the golem with even greater speed than when Miledi through it.
"Oh, that's pretty impressive." Miledi said in an amused tone as the golem lifted its right hand. Then, she continued as the hand of the golem started glowing bright red. "But it won't be enough~."
Miledi then manipulated the golem to throw a devastating punch at the incoming ball. The heat that caused its fist to glow distorting the air.
*Clang!*
"Huh?" Miledi exclaimed in surprise.
*Boom!*
However, before the fist could connect with the ball, Sumire's shield slammed into the underside of the golem's forearm, the force behind the throw causing the golem's arm to be knocked upwards. As a result, the ball approached unimpeded.
Luckily, Miledi had enough time to make the golem raise its left hand into the ball's flight path. Unfortunately, that was not enough to arrest the ball's momentum. As a result, the golem's left hand was forced back into its chest.
*Shatter!*
With that, not only did the golem's left hand break, but the armor around the golem's chest shattered. Still, that was not enough to take the golem down, as under the top layer of armor, there was a solid black plate. And despite the impact from the last attack, there wasn't even a scratch on it.
"Is that Azantium?" Sumire asked after recalling her shield.
"Mhmm." Aletia replied with a nod as she directed her nozzles towards an armor that was still harassing them during their coordinated attack on Miledi.
"Then, what are we supposed to do?" Shea asked as she swung her hammer hard enough to alter her falling direction mid-air and sent herself flying towards another platform.
"That's right, you can't do anything~." Miledi said cheerfully. "I'll admit, you put up a good fight, but that's it~. Good job, though."
"We don't have to do anything." Sumire said, ignoring Miledi's taunt.
"That's right~. That's right~." Miledi chimed in as she used the giant golem to grab one of the floating platforms. "The only thing you have to do is---"
"Because he'll take care of it." Sumire continued, once again ignoring the taunting from Miledi.
"Huh?" Miledi, confused by Sumire's response, made the giant golem tilt its head as she brought the platform she was holding towards the damage on the giant golem's chest.
However, before the platform, which was made of the same material as the outer armor of the golem and all the suits of armor, could make contact with the shattered chest armor, Tatsuo leapt from a blind spot on the platform while dropping another grenade. Then, with his claws glinting with a deep purple glow, he charged towards the Azantium plate.
"Oh, I forgot about you~." Miledi said while tracking Tatsuo's movements. "Still, there's nothing you can do against--- Huh?"
*Swoosh~~~~~~~~!* *Shoop!*
Before Miledi could finish taunting Tatsuo, who was still in his [Half-Dragon Transformation], she was dumbfounded when the platform in the golem's hand, the golem's hand itself, and nearly half of its forearm disappeared after a purple-tinted black sphere extended from platform, covered all the affected areas, and sunk into a single point before vanishing.
"[Spatial Slash]." Tatsuo chanted quietly.
Meanwhile, Tatsuo's claws ripped into the Azantium plate that was more than likely protecting the golem's core, with astonishing ease. But since he was tearing the space where the Azantium existed rather than the Azantium itself, it made more sense.
"You… You…. You're using [Spatial Magic]!" Miledi exclaimed as a hole was being ripped into the Azantium plate. "Did you already complete Naiz's Labyrinth?"
"Nope." Tatsuo replied with a refreshing smile as he reached into the golem's chest. "This is all natural baby~. I was just born with an affinity for this."
Judging by the way the glow in the golem's helmet flickered, it was easy to see that Miledi was dumbfounded to hear that. And that made Tatsuo's smile widen, as like everyone else, he had been completely annoyed by Miledi and all the messages she left throughout the Labyrinth. However, when he wrapped his hand around the golem's core, his eyes lit up as his smile stretched from ear to ear.
"Oh~, what do we have here~?" Tatsuo asked in a sing-song tone while dropping his [Half-Dragon Transformation].
At that moment, Miledi got over her shock. However, it was too late for her to do anything to stop Tatsuo, as he pulled his hands out of the golem's chest with a basketball-sized Divinity Crystal in his hands.
"Is that what I think it is?" Sumire asked, the first to arrive next to Tatsuo on the golem's chest.
"Yup." Tatsuo replied. "But it looks like this one doesn't have any Ambrosia left. But I could fix that once we get out of here."
"Or we could use it to make accessories that store mana." Sumire pointed out.
"Yeah, that's true." Tatsuo replied with a nod as he examined the Divinity Crystal in his hands.
"Ooh! What's that?" Shea asked as she landed next to Tatsuo and Sumire with Aletia in her arms. "It's so pretty."
"We'll tell you about it later." Tatsuo said with a smile. He then turned his gaze to the golem. "Why are you so quiet, Miss Miledi?"
"*Sigh* You already saw through my prank." Miledi said in a tone that made it clear she was pouting. "So, there's no point in saying everything I had been practicing for so long."
Hearing that, Aletia and Shea tilted their heads in confusion while Tatsuo and Sumire smiled.
"Even so, I want to ask one last question." Miledi said in a serious and stern tone. "Will you fight Ehit? Will you kill him?"
"Yes." Sumire replied solemnly. "He has managed to pull us to this world once. Who's to say he would not be able to do it again? Plus, he's targeting our friend here. And we won't let him steal her body."
While she spoke, Sumire gestured towards Aletia.
"Huh? Really?" Shea asked in a surprised tone. "That's awful. We have to stop him!"
Shea then lunged at Aletia and wrapped her in a hug, pulling the vampire princess's head into her bosom.
Meanwhile, Aletia struggled with all her might. However, Shea's physical strength was simply too much for her to contend with.
"Shea-San, if you keep that up, you're gonna suffocate her." Sumire pointed out with a smile on her face.
"Not that suffocation would be able to kill her, though." Tatsuo said with a shrug.
"Huh?" Sumire exclaimed in confusion as she loosened her hug.
Immediately, Aletia broke free of Shea's hold and ran to hide behind Tatsuo while glaring at Shea… More specifically, her breasts before looking down at her own flat chest.
"I see." Miledi said after processing what Sumire had to say. "Then, you've passed. I'll share my [Age of Gods Magic] with you."
With that said, the glow in the golem's helmet went out. Then, a spot high up on the wall of the spherical room lit up before that spot moved revealing a new passage. At the same time, one of the platforms moved towards the group of four, waiting for them to get on so it could transport them to the passage.
"*Sigh* I'm tired." Tatsuo said, slumping to lean on Sumire as the [Energy] exhaustion hit him once again, this time much more severe than the last. "But we can't stop to rest now. If we do, I'm sure that woman will start another long fight."
"As much as I want to say you're just being paranoid, I can't bring myself to do so." Sumire replied glumly as she wrapped her arms around Tatsuo's waist to support him. "Let's get going. That way you can get some rest. No, not just you, all of us. I know we all need it."
Tatsuo nodded his head in response. Then, Sumire jumped from the top of the giant golem to the platform with Aletia and Shea following shortly afterwards. Then, once the four were all settled on the platform, it began to move towards the newly opened passage.
After about a minute, the platform carrying the quartet entered the passage and moved forward at a steady pace. And at the end of the passage, there was a door identical to the one they found at the end of the True Orcus Great Labyrinth. And when the platform got close, it slid open on its own.
Finally, when the platform passed the open doors…
"Yahoo~! It's everyone's favorite, Miledi, at your service."
… that same voice, speaking in that annoyingly upbeat tone sounded from a small golem the size of an average woman wearing a white robe and mask and waving its hands vigorously.
While Tatsuo and Sumire smiled wryly, Aletia's and Shea's heads were lowered, their bangs hanging in front of their faces leaving their expressions impossible to see. However, it did not take a genius to know that the two were just one bad joke away from pouncing on the little golem and tearing it apart.
"Hmm? Hmm? What's wrong?" Miledi asked in her usual tone while tilting her head to the side as if she were confused. "Why the long faces? Why the glum mood~? Shouldn't you be happy to see me?"
"Sumire-San, I think you should hold them back." Tatsuo said while shaking his head. "I'll just sit down right here and try to recover as quickly as possible."
Nodding in response, Sumire helped Tatsuo take a seat on the platform. Then, she pushed herself to the limit of her speed and grabbed Shea around the waist while holding down Aletia's arms so that she could not aim the nozzles attached to her wrist at the little Miledi golem.
"Oh, good." Miledi said excitedly while clapping her hands. "You are glad to see me. I'm so touched~."
Miledi then stopped clapping before pulling a handkerchief from her robe and dabbing at the eye holes in her mask.
"I'm gonna destroy her." Shea said through gritted teeth.
"By the way, Miledi-San, how are you still alive?" Sumire asked, hoping to make Miledi stop pushing Aletia's and Shea's buttons… for a moment, at least.
"Oh, that?" Miledi asked as she tossed the handkerchief away carelessly. "Before we all died, I asked Oscar to build a golem for me. Then, I asked Laus to put my soul into the golem with his [Spirit Magic]. And wah-la, Everyone's favorite, Miledi, has lived to the present."
"I see." Tatsuo said in a tired tone. "So, are you gonna let us learn your [Age of Gods Magic]? It should be [Gravity Magic] if the way you made those armors, the golem, and those platforms float like that, right?"
"You really are perceptive." Miledi said while clapping her hands once again. "And yes, I will allow you to learn this great Miledi's [Gravity Magic]. I saw the way you cleared the Labyrinth, after all. So, I know you're worthy."
"Thank goodness." Aletia said in a relieved tone.
"Now, come here! Come here!" Miledi said in her usual, annoyingly upbeat tone. "Stand on this magic circle~. It will teach you the [Gravity Magic]."
With that, Miledi pointed at a magic circle on the floor. Meanwhile, the three girls helped Tatsuo, who was still exhausted, though he had drank another vial of Ambrosia while they were talking, off the platform. Then, they all stood in the magic circle. And just like when they stood on the one in Orcus' Abode, knowledge was crammed into their heads in a gentle manner.
Meanwhile, Miledi inched away from the magic circle. Then, when she was standing next to the wall, she pressed a spot, which activated a mechanism. And that mechanism caused a rope to fall from the ceiling.
'Damn it, she's gonna do it.' Tatsuo thought to himself while keeping track of Miledi's movements with his [Perception Skills].
Miledi then used her [Gravity Magic] to levitate up to the rope that fell from the ceiling while looking down at the group of four learning the [Age of Gods Magic]. Then, as soon as the magic circle deactivated, she took a hold of the rope.
"Well, you've gotten everything you can out of my Labyrinth." Miledi said, a mischievous aura radiating from her. "So, allow me to send you off. See you later~!"
Miledi then pulled the rope without hesitation.
*Swoosh!*
Immediately, the sound of rumbling water echoed throughout the Abode. Then, it started flooding into the chamber. At the same time, a hole opened up at the bottom of the chamber . However, the water was filling the chamber faster than it could be expelled through the hole. As a result, the room filled quickly while a vortex was formed in the center of the room.
"Wait, isn't this a…?" Sumire asked in a frantic tone.
"Yeah, she's flushing us like a toilet…" Tatsuo muttered in a defeated tone. "I swear, if I never come back to this stupid Labyrinth, it would be too soon."
The girls nodded in response as the group was swept away by the high volume of water before they were sent into the hole and sent out of the Labyrinth.
Shortly afterwards, the water stopped flowing into the room and the hole was sealed once again. Then, Miledi floated back down to the chamber's floor.
"I wish you all the best of luck." Miledi said, her tone deadly serious. "This world has been under the thumb of that despicable god for too long. But whenever you get to the point that you're ready for the war to come, just know that I'll be there to help."
Miledi then paused for a moment, and the solemn aura changed back to her mischievous one.
"But I guess you couldn't hear that, hu~?"