Chapter 431: The Path

I caught my breath.

———–So far.

To think he could foresee this far ahead.

To think he would even try to foresee this far ahead……

[Of course, that said, all we can realistically expect is something along the lines of “Vysis, losing patience at some point, will probably leave the throne room she’s been in until now”. Maybe she’d use that black orb to strengthen herself beyond expectations, and depending on when she leaves the throne room, things could even turn against us.]

Loqierra crossed her arms.

[Even so, if it’s Vysis, I’m sure she engraved some kind of special reinforcement spell right there for the final battle. Just pulling her away from that place would be a big deal. I know a fair bit about reinforcement spells myself——— divine seals and all that. I can guess how much it would affect her, whether those spells, which must’ve taken time to stabilize, are in place or not. Either way, fighting her with or without them makes a huge difference.]

She was right. It wasn’t as if Vysis would conveniently move exactly according to our expectations.

Even so———– just dragging her out of the throne room would be significant enough.

Loqierra folded her arms again.

[So…… what’s your plan from here, Touka?]

[I want to gather as many of our scattered allies as possible at the site of the battle with Vysis.]

[Yeah, we managed to regroup to a minimum extent, but thanks to this whole labyrinthification, not everyone’s made it yet…… like Ayaka and the Takao sisters.]

[……Well, there’s no guarantee those three are safe either. Especially Sogou———-]

Touka didn’t finish the thought and instead shifted to the next objective.

[Taking that into account, we’ve decided on our destination.]

He intended to head toward the labyrinth’s exit———- the throne room.

Loqierra had also explained this before.

“The end point is set at the center of the labyrinth.”

If that was true, then the throne room’s position made it the most likely exit.

And……

“Unless someone on the raid side reaches the initially set end point, the Conceptual Magic cannot———– will not be lifted.”

In other words, if someone reached the exit, the labyrinth would vanish.

Touka looked toward the royal castle.

[If Vysis has left the throne room, then it should be much easier to reach the exit. Any obstacles left behind would probably just be leftover Sacramanets. Of course, if we run into her on the way, we’ll have to fight while the place is still in labyrinth state……] ṜＡℕǑBËŝ

If the labyrinth remained, our remaining allies might not be able to regroup as planned.

At that moment, I made my decision.

[I have one proposal.]

▽

I know this place.

After all, I served by Vysis’ side in this castle for a long time.

Even with the castle turned into a labyrinth, the basic structure of the royal castle hasn’t changed.

And surely———— among everyone in this raid team, I’m the one who understands its layout best.

When Vysis left the castle, what routes did she tend to take?

Conversely, which paths did she almost never use……

“The routes she used the least”

She might try to be clever and take one of those rarely used routes instead.

Then what about “something in between”?

A few of the paths she would sometimes use, and sometimes not.

If I consider those “middle” routes…… wouldn’t those be the ones she’s “least likely” to choose now?

“When people are cornered, their thinking tends to swing toward extremes.”

If that’s true, then the idea that she’ll take either “the route she uses most” or “the one she uses least”…… that seems reasonable.

I told Touka,

“If we take one of those “in between” routes…… I think the chance of reaching the throne room without running into Vysis is quite high.”

To that——— Touka nodded in agreement.

Then he added his own thoughts about the kind of route Vysis herself might take.

“If Vysis is right in the middle of her anxiety as we expect…… unconsciously, she might head somewhere tied to overcoming a crisis before———– when people are driven into a corner…… they sometimes move toward the place where they once broke through it. In other words, it’s not impossible…… she might choose the place of her most recent success……”

The Great Demon Emperor’s miasma, a power nearly equal to the Goddess’s natural enemy.

It was under the influence of this miasma that the treacherous Heroes had “overcome” that place……

“Yeah…… the place where she “overcame” the now-dangerous Takao Hijiri. Unconsciously, she might head there———– so we should include that as one of our possible projections……”

Then came the question of our own path.

“If the timing works out, we could even ambush her there…… No———- given how many things are still uncertain, it’s better to make that our primary target for now.”

Of course, there’s also the possibility that she exits through the rear gate on the opposite side.

Fleeing in the opposite direction to avoid running into Touka’s group.

If that happens, we’d chase after her while waiting for signals from whoever encounters her first.

That’s what Touka said.

“Still…… given her tendency to mock people from above for no reason, Vysis’ pride runs too deep. With a personality like that, I doubt her mind could bear any more humiliation brought by retreating……”

Even so, he concluded calmly,

“That said, like I’ve always said, there are no absolutes. All I can ever do is improve our odds. This time too, we’ll just have to keep making the best moves we can at each moment.”

“If we all move together, we might encounter Vysis before reaching the throne room.”

In that case, we might have to enter the final battle without being able to regroup with the remaining allies.

Or at the very least, it could delay us greatly.

But———- if we split into two groups, then at least one of us should reach our destination.

If things went that way, we could probably link up faster.

Touka and the others head for the throne room through “the path of Vysis had a successful experience”.

They assume there’s a high chance they’ll encounter Vysis along the way there.

Meanwhile, I aim for the throne room by a different route.

I assume there’s a low chance I’ll encounter Vysis along the way.

That had been my suggestion.

Judging by everyone’s reactions, it seemed they’d mostly agreed with it.

Only——— Touka looked somewhat reluctant.

The reason was———–

“……You’re Nyaki’s “Nee-nya”. When I think about Nyaki, you know…… I can’t help but hesitate to let you do anything too dangerous. Ahh, I understand it myself, really. But when it comes to Nyaki and Liz…… I just can’t help it. I get soft.”

Feeling grateful for his concern, I told him,

“I appreciate your thoughtfulness. But everyone who came here did so under the same terms. Each of us came ready to lose something dear———- Nyaki and I shouldn’t be treated as special exceptions.”

“……Can’t argue with that.”

Thinking about that moment, I couldn’t help but laugh a bit.

It slipped out without warning.

That Fly King, who always seemed so full of confidence and conviction……

It was a little surprising to see him react as if he’d been outdone.

And the laugh that slipped from me then was surely because———– I was happy.

After that, several people volunteered to “go with Nyantan”.

They were Eve, Gio, and Loqierra.

“If you will not stop Nyantan, then I will not stop myself from accompanying her. Let’s say this…… if we encounter Vysis on our side, someone will serve as a shield while the rest head towards Touka’s route. And if the plan fails, we’ll lead Vysis right to that location———- Agreed?”

“If there’s a chance there are still Sacraments in the throne room, it’s better to have a bit more firepower. And besides…… Eve and I might be quick on our feet, but we’re not in perfect fighting shape anymore. We’ll be more useful putting that mobility to work.”

“It’s not much, but I can tell when another Deity is nearby. Only within a really short range though. Still, by moving away from that presence, we can reduce the chance of meeting Vysis. And…… thinking about what comes after, I just feel like it’s better if I’m on Nyantan’s side.”

Touka hesitated a little but accepted their proposal.

And now———-

[We’ve arrived.]

At the “exit”, the royal chamber that connected to the throne room, Loqierra spoke.

We’d reached the target point———– without encountering Vysis.

[Looks like things went smoothly on our end.]

Loqierra said, gazing at the fading walls of the labyrinth.

[Now all that’s left———– is to hope things go well for you, Touka.]

■

Meanwhile—————- Within “that place Vysis had a successful experience”, where my own portrait hung proudly upon the wall.

The encroachment of the labyrinth had vanished, and the castle had regained its original appearance as a royal palace.

[…………But——— so what……? In this situation, even if you smugly erase the labyrinth———-]

Ahead of Vysis’s gaze, veins popping out of her forehead.

A glowing orb fell from the hand of the guy wearing the Late-version Fly King Outfit.

It had been intended for use back when the labyrinth’s manifestation was still out of the raid group’s expectations.

But……

“The Genesis Labyrinth absorbs sound.”

Because of that, it had been impossible to use until now.

No———- even if it had been used, it would have been meaningless.

A magic tool designed as a means of communication between those separated by distance.

The device that had even been used in the battle against the Alion’s Thirteen Cavalry……

Sound Orb.

And now, with the labyrinth gone————-

Sound travels.

The Sound Orb that fell onto the floor released an intense light———- a deafening sound.

The content of the signal conveyed by the resounding note varied.

Which sound meant what had been decided beforehand.

And now, the sound that had been emitted here meant—————

——————————– A signal of encounter with Vysis ——————————–

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