(This is similar to the giant skeleton that appeared on the surface last month, huh? Thinking about it, that magic circle that flickered for just a moment earlier also felt similar to the one when the skeleton appeared.)
"It's huge. The fur looks fluffy—petting it would probably feel amazing."
Hart-san mutters while looking up at the massive reddish-black wolf.
His tone lacks any tension.
That relaxed atmosphere shifts in the next instant to something ferocious.
"—But that color scheme... no good. Come back after changing your fur color!"
He spits out the words while directing blazing killing intent toward the wolf.
In contrast, Fuuka is cloaked in cold, sharp killing intent.
Both of them are clearly fired up—good to see.
We don't know the true nature of this magical beast, but there's no doubt the Order is involved.
In that case, extermination is the only option.
"A fitting opponent to cap off our labyrinth conquest journey. Let's do this, you two."
"Yeah." "Got it!"
Perhaps displeased with our attitude, the wolf lets out a howl. Mana gathers around it, and countless mana bullets are fired toward us.
Each bullet carries one of the attributes: earth, water, fire, wind, ice, or thunder.
(Tch, Schwarzhaese is too far away... In that case!)
I consider defending with a mana shield, but Schwarzhaese—currently transformed into chains—is restraining the Order members far away, so I can't pull it back to my hand.
"Fuuka! Can you cut through that barrage to reach the wolf?"
"Possible. But endure it just a little. Then I can disrupt the barrage."
Fuuka must already see the next developments.
"Got it. Leave it to you, Fuuka!"
Confirming Fuuka responds "Yeah" to my words, I focus entirely on evading the mana bullets. But the barrage density increases further, eventually catching both me and Hart-san.
The mana bullets that make contact explode.
We take the full impact.
The wolf lets its guard down slightly from landing direct hits on us.
—Unaware that Fuuka was waiting for exactly that opening.
The instant the attacks slacken just a bit, Fuuka uses shukuchi to close the distance in a blink and slashes the wolf's right eye with her sword.
A scream-like howl from the wolf echoes around us.
I leap out from the smoke caused by the mana bullet explosions and circle to the wolf's blind spot on the right while closing the distance to Schwarzhaese.
The reason I'm unharmed despite taking direct hits from the mana bullets is due to an application of ki.
During this labyrinth conquest journey, I learned even more deeply about ki from Hart-san.
One of the techniques is releasing ki outside the body.
By sandwiching released ki like a cushion between myself and the mana bullets, I was able to block them.
For me, releasing ki externally can at best protect parts of my body, but someone as skilled in ki as Hart-san can envelop his entire body in ki to create an invisible armor that covers all directions.
I intend to eventually master ki manipulation on Hart-san's level too.
"—[Land Type Mont Zex]"
Once close enough to pull Schwarzhaese back, I transform the jet-black chains into a demonic bow and grip it in my right hand.
I manifest converged mana and nock it as an arrow.
In my line of sight, Hart-san—who has moved above the wolf's head—
"Shut up with that annoying howl. Quiet down for a sec, mutt!"
To buy time while I prepare, he drives a heel drop into the wolf's forehead.
The wolf braces to keep its face from slamming into the ground, but a large crater forms beneath it, attesting to the power of Hart-san's attack.
While the wolf staggers from the powerful blow to its head, I follow up with the jet-black arrow.
"—Pierce Heaven"
The jet-black arrow—specialized for penetration—flies straight toward the wolf, piercing its right hind leg, abdomen, and the base of its left foreleg in sequence.
The line of fire also passes through the wolf's heart.
This strike should have turned it into black mist.
However, even after piercing the heart, the wolf's movements don't stop. It lets out another howl.
Immediately after, explosions and lightning strikes erupt across the entire dome-shaped deepest area.
"Tch! A self-damaging indiscriminate attack, huh!"
Destruction scatters throughout the dome.
I can predict attacks from mana movements, and Fuuka has [Future Sight], but Hart-san can't completely read this attack.
He can defend to some extent by cloaking himself in ki, but the power of these explosions and lightning strikes rivals special-grade magic.
"—[Five Type Mont Fünf]!"
I instantly move to Hart-san's side and transform Schwarzhaese into a mana shield to protect both of us from the indiscriminate attack.
"Sorry, thanks for the save!"
Hart-san's grateful voice comes from behind.
"Don't mention it! More importantly, Hart-san—do you know how to kill that thing?"
From their words and actions so far, it's clear Fuuka and Hart-san possess knowledge I don't.
Information and knowledge are 『power』 no less than martial prowess—I'm well aware of that.
Since they're my rivals, it's only natural they'd withhold some things, and blaming them for it would be unfair—so I haven't minded.
I ask this question expecting it might be brushed off again, but Hart-san answers seriously.
"...It's probably an improved magical beast."
(Improved magical beast? Come to think of it, in the Legliff territory, Ozwell said he 『recreated the black dragon』. It's not surprising if the Order has technology to artificially create magical beasts.)
"But as long as it's based on a living creature, the weaknesses are the same. Heart or head. If the heart doesn't work, crushing the head might kill it."
"I see, that makes sense. But if even your attack earlier couldn't crush it, we'll need something stronger. The preparation time for that... Fuuka will probably buy it for us."
While Hart-san and I are talking, Fuuka is already attempting to close in to decapitate the wolf.
However, the wolf's wariness toward Fuuka is extremely high—it fires an even denser barrage of mana bullets at her as she approaches.
In a barrage that I would declare impossible to completely evade, Fuuka dodges every single one effortlessly.
Moreover, she doesn't stop there—she counters by firing slashes through the gaps in the barrage with godlike skill.
Honestly, I don't feel like I could beat Fuuka in combat, but as an ally, she's incredibly reassuring.
The number of cuts on the wolf's body increases.
Though none are particularly deep, the wolf's aggro is now completely focused on Fuuka, allowing Hart-san and me to move freely.
"—[One Type Mont Eins]"
While Fuuka and the wolf exchange attacks, I transform the mana shield back into a demonic sword and begin converging mana into the blade.
Beside me, Hart-san compresses ki in his right hand—the area around it shimmers like heat haze.
"Hart-san, ready?"
I ready the demonic sword—mana converged nearly to its limit, distorting the surrounding space—and ask Hart-san.
"Yeah, anytime. Gonna smash that mutt's skull!"
Hart-san answers with a ferocious grin.
With this much power on display, the wolf's attention shifts somewhat toward us.
But against the overwhelmingly powerful Fuuka, diverting its focus even slightly is a bad move.
Still, being completely unguarded toward us wouldn't be a good decision either.
In short—this wolf is already checkmated.
Fuuka doesn't miss the instant the wolf's wariness toward her drops. She dyes her blade copper-red again and moves.
Even with ki activated, I couldn't track her movements.
All I saw was the copper-red trajectory drawn by her demon blade.
In an instant, it passes through the wolf's left hind leg and abdomen.
Immediately after, the wolf's left hind leg is severed, and a deep gash is carved into its abdomen.
Combined with my earlier Pierce Heaven and the self-damaging indiscriminate attack, the wolf is already too exhausted to move much.
But as long as it's alive, the possibility of a counterattack remains.
We can't let our guard down until it's finished.
"—Heavenly Flash!!"
I unleash a jet-black slash toward the wolf's face.
The converged mana diffuses, and its shockwave assaults the wolf.
My attack aims to damage the wolf, but its main purpose is to ensure Hart-san's decisive blow lands without fail.
Blending into the diffused jet-black mana, Hart-san closes in on the wolf.
"Die, mutt!"
Hart-san's fist—shimmering like heat haze—slams down onto the wolf's head.
The wolf's head caves in. Blood sprays from its mouth, ears, and eyes as it finally collapses to the ground.
I had prepared a follow-up spell just in case, but the wolf's body begins turning into black mist.
◇
"Phew, that was a tougher opponent than expected."
Once the wolf's body completely vanishes, Hart-san returns to his usual tone and speaks.
"Good work, Fuuka, Hart-san. I think its strength was on par with a Great Labyrinth deep-floor boss, so winning with only this much struggle is pretty impressive."
Fuuka's presence was crucial in gaining such superiority this time.
Without her handling the initial mana bullet barrage and drawing aggro, both Hart-san and I might have taken considerable damage during the fight.
Throughout the battle, Fuuka constantly maneuvered to make it easier for us to move.
If Fuuka had faced the wolf alone, she probably could have subjugated it more easily than this.
There really are people above even the best.
I need to keep working hard so I can eventually catch up to Fuuka.
While thinking that in the back of my mind, I head toward the Order members.
But they're already all dead.
And their state is gruesome.
Their bodies are completely dehydrated, shriveled into mummies.
Those red lines extending from them earlier must have been made primarily of their blood.
These people were probably used as disposable pawns to harm us with that giant wolf.
The "Cyclamen Order" really is a hopeless gathering of scum, as always.
"I don't feel any sympathy for them, but what a miserable way to go. At least spit out some information before dying."
Hart-san—who has come up beside me—mutters while looking at the Order members' corpses with emotionless eyes.
"Even if they were alive, I'm not sure they would've talked honestly."
Replying to Hart-san's mutter, I construct a formula and burn the four corpses with magic.
"Orun, here's the dungeon core."
While I was doing that, Fuuka brings me the dungeon core.
"Thanks, Fuuka. ——With this, the labyrinth conquest is finished. Thank you both. Thanks to you two, we were able to complete the conquests smoothly."
Receiving the dungeon core from Fuuka, I express my gratitude to the two as the conclusion of this journey.
"Don't worry about it. This was beneficial for us too."
"Yeah. We got to know what kind of person you really are, and it was a fruitful journey."
Once again, the two say something cryptic.
There were many such meaningful statements during the journey.
Since they always brushed off questions about them, I figure it'll be the same this time and don't press further.
"Then let's head to Daruane to report the completion to Her Highness Lucila."
And so, the labyrinth conquest journey by the three of us—Orun, Fuuka, and Hart-san—came to an end.
After this, I'll resume activities as an explorer of "Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky" in Tsutorail—the town with the Great Southern Labyrinth—while Fuuka and Hart-san return to being explorers of "Copper Twilight".
That's what I thought at the time.
I never dreamed that my next labyrinth dive as an explorer would be my last one...