In the depths of the Illumination Labyrinth, located in one of the most feared provinces of the Demon Continent, a flash of white light streaked through the floors at absurd speed, fleeing desperately.
The Illumination Labyrinth was famous — and feared — in that region. Composed of more than forty floors, it was considered extremely dangerous even when compared to other Rank-S labyrinths.
Its interior was a tangle of interconnected caverns, formed of blue and black rock resembling ice, although they emitted a constant heat instead of cold.
Above the Labyrinth, exactly at the point that marked its main entrance, stood the castle of the Demon King who ruled Casvet Province. That labyrinth was his absolute domain — at least in theory.
The flash of light, which weaved through curves, narrow tunnels and irregular declines, illuminated everything in its path as it crossed the labyrinth.
It was being pursued.
As it advanced through the lower floors, it passed beside monsters similar to sentient stone golems, massive creatures whose joints dripped scalding lava, almost like a natural lubricant that ran down their arms and legs.
Their bodies were slow, but powerful and huge, and although they had low speed, their perception was sharp.
As soon as they felt the presence of the light, the monsters reacted violently, striking the beam with direct attacks. Each impact generated waves of destruction that echoed through the tunnels, cracking walls, breaking rocks and spreading lava everywhere.
The flash, however, dodged with familiarity, reacting as one who had already traveled that path many times.
But something was following the white flash closely.
A red silhouette crossed the group of monsters seconds later, moving so fast it almost seemed like teleportation.
A sharp metallic whistling sounded through the air.
The silhouette's blade described a perfect arc.
And, without even being able to understand what had happened, all the golems were sliced in half, cracking into several pieces, as if the stone were melted butter.
The only martial art capable of doing that with such ease was the Sword God Style — and the technique that had been used could be none other than the Longsword of Light.
The shockwave generated by the cut only hit them a moment later, exploding the monsters into fragments of molten rock, spraying lava like rain and fracturing the ground. But the silhouette did not slow down for a single second.
It was a woman.
A warrior with vibrant red hair. Her fitted leather garb followed the classic style of swordsmen who valued mobility above all else. She was like a beast, and she moved as such.
Using the walls and jutting rocks of the cavern, she advanced on all fours, propelling her body like a wild animal.
The blade she carried was clenched between her teeth, while her four limbs gave her speed.
The Sword Emperor, Eris Greyrat, chased the flash as if she were on a hunt.
And she was.
The distance visibly decreased.
The flash changed its route desperately, but Eris only accelerated, leaping from rock to rock, cutting across the way.
With a feline movement, she launched herself in a final jump — like a tiger's pounce.
The flash, sensing the imminent attack, panicked. It stopped abruptly, dimming for an instant.
But it was too late.
When its body began to emit light again, Eris was already in front of it, blocking the escape route with a smile stamped on her face.
She raised the sword, now in her hands.
"I GOT YOU!"
The flash trembled.
Its form began to contort, and there, revealed through the light, was the true fugitive.
The Shimmering Demon King, Samedynomedy, trembled before the presence of the woman who blocked his only escape route.
Samedynomedy was not an ordinary Demon King.
His entire body exhaled a constant white glow, and it was so dazzling that it became uncomfortable to look at directly.
The light was so strong that it swallowed his silhouette almost completely, making it impossible to see specific details of his appearance — all that could be discerned was his general shape.
He had three horns, two curved back, longer, and a small solitary horn right in the center of his forehead. His height was also curious — about one and a half meters.
Small for a Demon King, but not enough to be considered a dwarf.
No clothing could be seen — or perhaps there was, but totally swallowed by the white light that surrounded him. Still, his appearance was visibly humanoid, elbows and knees sharp like thorns, and prominent claws that shone like blades within the light.
Eris took a deep breath, filling her lungs completely. Then she let out a cry that reverberated through the whole cavern:
"RYGAAAAAR! I found him!"
The voice echoed off the cavernous walls, resonating from corridor to corridor.
The effect was that some nearby monsters, shapeless masses of mud without definite form, began to crawl in the direction of the sound.
The Demon King let out a scornful chuckle:
"Huhuhu! You still think your companion is alive, crazy girl? Not even the Demon Kings dare face the boss of this labyrinth! He may very well be buried right now!"
The tone was taunting, but behind the light one could feel Samedynomedy's unease.
He said that as if he were in control, but everything in his posture indicated he wanted only one thing: to leave. He needed to escape that swordswoman immediately.
But to his misfortune, Eris didn't buy a single word.
"Heh! Do you really think something of that level can defeat Rygar? It's just a slightly larger golem!"
She spoke with a fully convinced smile.
"Rygar told me not to kill you, but tearing off an arm or leg shouldn't be a problem. After all, he can heal you!"
In the next instant, before the Demon King could react, Eris assumed the Sword God Style stance. Her figure vanished from Samedynomedy's sight.
Realizing he had no way to avoid combat, the Demon King activated his power to the maximum.
The light around his body exploded, expanding like a small sun inside the cavern.
The sudden luminosity blinded Eris's vision for an instant, preventing the continuation of the finishing attack.
Taking advantage of the gap, Samedynomedy shot forward like an arrow, trying to pass by her.
The confrontation began immediately.
The two exchanged blows at high speed while the Demon King tried to flee at all costs.
Eris pursued him tirelessly, slicing the air with the blade at perfect angles — but because of the blinding light surrounding Samedynomedy, her strikes always missed by inches.
The Demon King spat beams of white light from time to time, trying to push her away or create space. But despite the glare that hindered her vision, Eris still had the advantage.
She had visibly more battle experience than that Demon King. In the few seconds of combat, it became evident that Samedynomedy could not defeat Eris.
The fight advanced through the corridors of the labyrinth. In some spots, mud monsters appeared in the middle of the path, trying to devour the two.
But they ended up being taken down at once — some by Eris's cuts, others by Samedynomedy's luminous attacks. The result was a chaotic sequence of explosions, light and evaporated mud while both pressed on without stopping.
Desperate, the Demon King tried to use words as a weapon:
"Hey, girl! Let's make a deal! Let me go and I'll tell you where to find a huge treasure in this province!"
But Eris only had one answer, shouted in frustration:
"STOP RUNNING, YOU ANNOYING FIREFLY!"
Seeing that she would not yield, Samedynomedy, completely out of options, pulled out a magic scroll in hopes of turning the combat.
But before he could activate it, a casual voice sounded from the side:
"Lightning."
He barely had time to turn his head.
A thick blue lightning struck him violently. His small body was thrown against the wall like a projectile, bouncing, ricocheting and trembling in pain.
A jet of blood escaped his mouth while his organs twisted inside him.
Slowly, his consciousness began to fade.
The last thing he heard was Eris's irritated voice:
"What an idiotic light! Rygar, how do you turn this off?!"
And then everything went dark for him, despite the light that still emanated.
---
Some time later, the group kept a steady pace, advancing through the final tunnels toward the exit of the Illumination Labyrinth.
Ahead, Eris hopped as if returning from a pleasant stroll, showing an unusual mood for someone who had just chased a Demon King.
This Labyrinth had many hostile monsters, and Eris was very happy to feel what it was like to explore a real Labyrinth.
Behind her came Skoll, carrying on his back a shining prisoner — Samedynomedy — tied with a chain and covered by a dark cloth to reduce the radiated light.
Beside Skoll walked Rygar and Verdia.
Verdia watched attentively the ore Rygar held.
"So this is Ravennite ore? It looks like the inside is liquid…"
Her tone was curious.
Rygar smiled and said, "I hope so. We can confirm when this guy wakes up… but it matches the description."
The ore really drew attention. On the outside, the rock had the smooth, rigid texture of a transparent black glass.
On the inside, however, there seemed to be a deep blue liquid, always in motion, flowing in a pattern that resembled ocean currents. But there was no real liquid there.
When someone broke a piece of Ravennite, the inner layer disappeared instantly, and more black glass regenerated on the outer part — as if the mineral "sealed" the blue liquid.
It was precisely this material that was missing to complete the Sköllvindr Armor, one of the main objectives of the trip to the Demon Continent. Now, one more step was finished.
Eris, though excited, still seemed a bit irritated.
"Rygar, why are we taking this guy? His light is so annoying!"
She snorted, crossing her arms. Samedynomedy's natural glow really was unbearable in a frontal fight — and she still hadn't forgiven it.
Rygar answered:
"That light of his is exactly the reason. It is a necessary component for the second version of Skollvindr. We don't yet have a way to forge it because of other items, but nothing prevents us from starting to collect the materials now."
He put the ore into a large bag fastened to Skoll's back.
Verdia frowned and touched her lip with her index finger, thinking aloud:
"But how can light be a material for forging?"
Eris immediately looked at Rygar, agreeing.
Rygar shrugged.
"I don't know exactly, but it has something to do with turning light into a liquid form. I should be able to do that with a magic registered in the Guide. So it's fine."
At that moment, Verdia suddenly stopped as she felt a slight magical pulse. She put her hand in her pocket and took out the Magic Word.
"Huh? It seems Aisha discovered what the power of Aurora's Demon Eyes is."
Rygar's attention turned to that at the same time.
Eris also turned, interested.
"Oh? And what is it?" she asked.
Verdia read the message and then said:
"It seems to be a tracking method. Aisha discovered it when she saw Aurora following Leo without even being able to see or hear him. So Aisha followed her silently and deduced it."
Eris wasn't particularly impressed.
"Tracking, huh? Doesn't seem that useful."
Rygar shook his head.
"Well, we don't know the limits yet. My eyes have more than one ability, and tracking can have many uses."
Eris then asked, with a subtle gleam of hope in her eyes:
"And Iris? Did she do anything new?"
Verdia sighed and replied:
"It doesn't mention anything here. She was trying to learn to walk like the siblings, but… apparently she still hasn't managed."
A trace of disappointment passed across Eris's face, but she didn't show it openly.
They continued walking, talking about what was happening in the Kingdom of Gaia and about their children — updates, small problems, training progress and things Moore had relayed.
At one point, Eris asked directly:
"Rygar… when will we have more children?"
Rygar became thoughtful. Verdia looked at him, also curious.
After a few seconds, he answered:
"I don't think soon. We have many problems to deal with at the moment… although I don't want those problems to get in the way."
"I see…" Eris murmured, pensive.
Verdia commented:
"I think when we resolve the threat of the Fighter God, we could go back to normal. Maybe just avoid the three of us getting pregnant at the same time?"
Rygar agreed.
"Sounds like a good idea. Let's do that, then."
They continued talking until they finally left the labyrinth.
At one point on the way, Samedynomedy woke up. But as soon as he remembered the blue lightning that knocked him out in the fight, he immediately fell silent.
He asked only a few basic questions and proved to be a fairly cooperative prisoner.
Outside, Ezkalor was waiting for them.
Some demons tried to rescue the captured Demon King, but Eris knocked them all down with ease, without even losing the rhythm of the conversation.
With the problem solved, the group set out for their final destination on the Demon Continent.
They were going to meet the Demon Empress, Kishirika Kishirisu. Moore had just informed that he had found her — she was currently at Fort Necross.
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