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Reiji and the others could feel the atmosphere shift. A moment later, the class fell to the ground with a thud. Landing on his feet next to Hajime, Reiji surveyed the new area in wariness.

Hajime groaned in pain as he felt his aching butt, then looked around. Most of his other classmates were still on the ground, but Captain Meld and his knights, along with Kouki and Reiji and the other vanguard fighters, were already on their feet, examining their surroundings.

The magic circle from earlier must have contained a teleportation spell. Magic from The Age of the Gods was remarkable because it could easily do things that no modern-day mage could.

Hajime and the others had been teleported onto a massive stone bridge. It was around one hundred meters in length. The ceiling also towered a full twenty meters above them. Below the bridge was not a river, but instead a dark abyss with no visible end. The gaping chasm resembled the very pits of hell.

Though the bridge was ten meters wide, it had no railing at all, so if someone slipped, there would be nothing to catch their fall. Hajime and the others had been sent to the middle of the bridge. One side of the bridge was a passage heading further in, while stairs leading upward were at the other end.

After confirming the situation, Captain Meld curtly barked out orders. “Everyone, get up and head for the stairs! Now!” His voice boomed louder than thunder, and the students hurried to follow his orders.

However, the labyrinth’s traps were not so easy to escape. They would not be allowed to retreat so easily.

New magic circles suddenly appeared on either side of the bridge, accompanied by a swirling torrent of dark red mana. The magic circle on the passage side of the bridge was ten meters wide. The ones on the side of the stairs were only one meter each, but there were many.

The dark red magic circles resembled pools of blood and gave off an ominous feel. They pulsed once, and waves of monsters began pouring forth.

From the countless magic circles near the stairs came a horde of skeletons wielding swords, Traum Soldiers. 

Their empty eye sockets gleamed with the same blood-red light as the circles they came from, and they rolled around like real eyes too. Within seconds, the stairs were teeming with nearly a hundred of the creatures, and more were still pouring out.

Despite their numbers, Reiji thought what was coming out on the passage side of the bridge was far more of a threat. From within the ten-meter-wide magic circle emerged a monster as big as the circle that summoned it. 

It stood on four legs and had some kind of helmet on its head. To Reiji, the closest thing it resembled was a triceratops. However, unlike a triceratops, its eyes glowed bright red, and as it clacked its wicked sharp claws and fangs together, flames sprouted from the horn on its helmeted forehead.

Everyone stared at it in slack-jawed horror, and Captain Meld’s terrified whisper resounded surprisingly clearly throughout the room.

“Oh my god... It’s... a Behemoth...”

A wave of unease washed over the students when they saw Captain Meld, the reliable captain who’d always been their reassuring pillar of support, break out in a cold sweat.

Kouki realized he was up against a truly fearsome opponent and turned to ask Captain Meld about its properties. However, the Behemoth, a monster that had even the kingdom’s strongest knight quaking in his boots, refused to grant Kouki the luxury of time. It sucked in a huge breath, then let out a guttural roar, signaling the start of the battle.

“Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Huh!?” The roar brought Captain Meld back to his senses, and he quickly began barking orders.

“Alan, take the kids and break through the line of Traum Soldiers! Kyle, Ivan, and Bael create a barrier! We have to stop that thing, no matter what! Kouki, head to the stairs with the rest of the students!”

“Please wait, Meld-san! We’ll help too! That dinosaur thing is really bad news! We’ll also—”

“Idiot! If that thing really is a Behemoth, you kids don’t stand a chance! It’s a monster that shows up on the sixty-fifth floor! Even the legendary adventurer, who everyone called the strongest in the world, couldn’t stand against it! Now get out of here! I definitely won’t let you kids die!”

Kouki faltered momentarily at the intensity in Captain Meld’s gaze, but he refused to leave. Captain Meld opened his mouth to yell at Kouki, but before he could say anything, the Behemoth roared again and charged... straight toward the retreating students.

In order to protect their summoned heroes, Heiligh’s strongest warriors chanted together in an attempt to form a barrier.

“Grant thine protection to your beloved children, O God! Reject all malice and let this be a holy ground that denies thine enemies passage! Hallowed Ground!” The spell was four verses long, inscribed on a magic circle two meters long, and drawn on the highest class magical paper. On top of that, it had been invoked by three people in tandem. 

Though it had only one use and lasted for only one minute, it created an impenetrable barrier that could not be broken. A glowing dome of light materialized, stopping the Behemoth in its tracks. A huge shockwave spread out as it crashed into the barrier, pulverizing the ground near the impact. 

Despite being made of stone, the entire bridge shook precariously. The retreating students screamed, and some of them fell down. Traum Soldiers were powerful monsters that appeared on the thirty-eighth floor and deeper. They were far stronger than anything the students had faced so far. 

As a horde of ghastly skeletons blocked their path ahead, and a lumbering beast threatened from behind, panic gripped the students. Amidst the chaos, Reiji observed the situation with an impassive expression, carefully assessing the unfolding events. 

‘The class is in disarray, the formation has crumbled, and the knights are unavailable for assistance,’ he noted internally. His gaze then settled on Kouki, who, instead of leading his class, stayed behind to help Captain Meld despite his orders to retreat.

Looking at the situation at hand, Reiji knew he would have to step in, at least until someone else could. Observing Hajime, he noticed that the boy wasn't as scared as he had anticipated. In fact, Hajime appeared to be more observant and had gained some sort of revelation.

"Hajime," Reiji addressed, "I'll stay here and rally our classmates. I need you to find Kouki and bring him back here. While I may be strong, I can't handle this alone. If we want to survive, Kouki needs to lead us out of here."

Nodding, Hajime sprinted off towards Kouki, while Reiji brandished his spear and charged into the chaos. Of course, he didn't mean a single word he said. Hajime was unaware of Reiji's true capabilities, and though hiding his abilities was becoming burdensome, he wouldn't have to do so much longer. Reiji's stats were almost on par with Captain Meld's, and he would only grow stronger within the labyrinth.

Amidst the panic, someone shoved one of the female students from behind, and she fell forward. She groaned in pain and looked up, only to see a Traum Soldier brandishing its sword right in front of her.

"Ah!" Simultaneously, she let out a gasp as the soldier swung its sword down towards her head. However, the anticipated pain never arrived, and instead, she heard the sound of metal colliding. 

"Calm down, you're safe," Reiji reassured her as he struck his spear in an uppercut motion, shattering the skeleton's defense and piercing through its skull. Grabbing her hand Reiji pulled her up to her feet. She silently let herself be pulled up, still in shock, and Reiji gave her a small smile.

"Hello, are you there? If so, then get back into formation if you don't want to die." Nodding with a flushed face, she quickly ran off to rejoin the group. As she made her way back, a horde of skeletons closed in on Reiji, their swords, and shields raised menacingly.

Without uttering a word, Reiji tightly gripped his spear and launched his assault. Seven skeletons were surrounding him, and though they were stronger than any foe they had encountered thus far, they were still significantly weaker compared to the hero's abilities. Their strength stemmed mainly from their overwhelming numbers and relentless summoning.

Approaching the first skeleton without hesitation, Reiji skillfully twirled his spear in a circular motion before thrusting it forward, piercing the creature's skull. With impeccable reflexes, he swiftly evaded an incoming attack from another skeleton. His footwork was refined, his movements fluid, as he continued his relentless onslaught. Utilizing his spear as a catapult, he leaped into the air, simultaneously casting a spell.

"Fireball," Reiji muttered, conjuring a blazing sphere of flames in his hand. With precision, he launched the fiery projectile toward the group of skeletons. They watched helplessly as the sphere descended upon them, its radiant light blinding them momentarily, while its engulfing flames reduced them to mere ash.

As Reiji landed on the ground he heard a massive shockwave from the Behemoths' locations. He quickly positioned his gaze over there and saw Hajime instantly transmuting the ground to make a stone wall, but the shockwave shattered it with ease, sending everyone flying. 

His wall had managed to lessen the force a little... but then the Behemoth let out a huge roar and the dust cleared, only to reveal Captain Meld and the other three knights lying on the ground, moaning in pain. The shockwave had robbed them of their ability to move.

Kouki and the others had fallen to the ground, but they swiftly regained their footing. Positioned behind Hajime's protective wall and shielded by the knights, they had managed to avoid sustaining significant damage. 

Reiji observed as Kouki's group rose from the ground, their resilience and determination truly remarkable. However, he couldn't help but find their decision to stay and confront an enemy that even Captain Meld couldn't overcome as foolish.

"There's no reason to intervene yet. Not yet..." Reiji thought to himself warily. He had been feeling that same gaze from earlier, and the unsettling feeling he had experienced in the library returned with full force. 

Amidst the chaos, he couldn't identify the source of that gaze, and the presence of a powerful monster threatening to single-handedly overpower the group only heightened his unease.

“Gah... Ryutarou, Shizuku, can you buy us some time?” Kouki asked. It looked like they were in pain, but they still stepped forward. Since the knights had been defeated, they had to do something about the Behemoth themselves.

“Not like we’ve got a damn choice!”

“...We’ll manage somehow.” The two of them charged the Behemoth after uttering those responses. As they were distracting the Behemoth, Kaori was healing the knights, and Captain Meld and Hajime were right beside her, creating a large border wall to keep attacks from hitting them.

Meanwhile, Kouki began chanting the strongest spell he knew

.

“O Holy Spirit! Bring ruin to all that is evil with thine divine light! By the breath of God, may these clouds of darkness be swept clear, and the world bathed in sanctity! By the mercy of God, may this strike redeem the sins of man! Divine Wrath!”

Auroras of light poured out from the holy sword. The skill Kouki had used was of the same category as the Celestial Flash he’d unleashed earlier, but this one was far more powerful. The bridge creaked ominously as the rays of light gouged furrows through the stone while racing toward the Behemoth.

Ryutarou and Shizuku retreated the moment Kouki finished chanting. They were in bad shape and wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Though it had been a scant few seconds, they’d suffered quite a bit of damage in fending off the Behemoth.

The bombardment of light crashed into the Behemoth with a thunderous roar. It was covered in a coat of white as the light enveloped it. Cracks began appearing in the bridge.

“That should have been enough... Haah... Haaah...”

“Haah... Haaah... Yeah, that had to have killed it, right?”

“I’d like to think so, but...” Ryutarou and Shizuku fell back to where Kouki was standing. He was panting hard after casting such a powerful spell. That last attack had been Kouki’s ace in the hole. It had used up almost all of his remaining mana. Captain Meld stood up behind him, his wounds healed.

Gradually the light began to fade and the dust surrounding the Behemoth cleared. And the Behemoth... didn’t even have a scratch on it.

It let out a low growl, and the dark red mana that was unique to monsters began pouring out of its body. The murderous glare it aimed at Kouki was so intense that Kouki felt he might die just looking at it. 

Then it raised its head high, and its horn began letting out a high-pitched buzz as it glowed red hot. The red spread to the rest of its helmet until it seemed like its entire head was a glowing ball of magma.

“Don’t just stand there! Run!” Captain Meld’s shout brought Kouki and the others back to their senses. Finally, over the shock that Kouki hadn’t managed to even scratch it, they prepared to run. But it was at that moment the Behemoth chose to charge. Before it reached Kouki, it leaped into the air and hurtled toward them, head down, like a burning meteor.

They were able to leap to the side to avoid a direct hit, but the shockwaves from the impact bowled Kouki and the others over. They rolled across the ground like toppled pins and were covered in wounds from head to toe when they finally stopped.

Captain Meld was still somehow able to move and he ran over to the others. The rest of the knights were still being healed by Kaori. 

The Behemoth braced its legs and tried to pull its head out of the hole it had smashed into the bridge. “Can you guys still move!?” The only responses Captain Meld got were groans. Their bodies had been paralyzed by the shockwaves, just like Captain Meld’s team had been a while ago. Their internal organs had taken quite a pounding too.

Captain Meld turned around to call Kaori over. But the words died in his throat when he saw Reiji approaching him instead. “Kid! Get Kaori to help you carry Kouki out of here!” Meld decided to ask Reiji instead.

Scratching the back of his head, Reiji responded, "Come on, Captain, take it easy. Yelling your lungs out won't solve anything or make the situation any better, now will it?"

Gritting his teeth, Meld glared at Reiji, infuriated by his nonchalant response. He was in no mood to be trifled with, especially not in this critical situation. Just as he was about to reprimand Reiji, Hajime emerged with a determined expression, offering a plan.

However, it was an insane, reckless plan with chances of success that were beyond slim. And to top it off, Hajime himself would have to play the most dangerous role. Captain Meld hesitated for a few precious seconds, which was enough time for the Behemoth to get its head unstuck. Its helmet began glowing bright red once more. Meld was out of time.

“...Are you sure you can do it, kid?”

“I am.” Meld laughed and broke out into a grin when he saw the resolve in Hajime’s gaze.

“Never thought I’d trust my life to you of all people... I promise I won’t leave you behind. So... don’t let me down, kid!”

“Yes sir!” Captain Meld finished talking and walked up to the Behemoth. He unleashed a weak spell at it, provoking its ire. It appeared that the Behemoth tended to focus on whatever was attacking it, which was why it had aimed for Kouki earlier. The spell did the trick, and the Behemoth’s gaze locked onto Captain Meld.

As Captain Meld confronted the Behemoth, Hajime turned towards Reiji, his gaze filled with determination. "Reiji, I require your assistance in this. I cannot face it alone, and... I want my friend and mentor by my side.”

“I have witnessed your strength, maybe not your true strength but I know more than the others since I was the closest to you. I don’t know why you helped, not why you held back. Although I do not understand these things, it is not my place to question them. But at this moment, I need you," he emphasized, his eyes burning with resolve.

"I need the person I trust to help me."