"Ow."

A painful grunt escaped Hajime as soon as he woke up. For a blissful second or two, Hajime couldn't quite recall what had happened prior to the knock-out. But everything came back to him when the noxious metallic smell of blood hit his nostril.

Hajime shuddered as the image of the bear lashing at the entrance came back. It had left countless claw marks only a few inches away from his feet.

"Wait, what the…?"

Hajime blinked. He had two legs.

Deeply confused, Hajime shifted the right leg from one side to the other, then carefully ran his fingers over the thigh.

"It's not a hallucination," He deduced, but that only confused him more, "But how did this happen?"

Do you always speak out loud what you think? Because that's one of the many traits I do not tolerate.

"Gah!"

Hajime jumped so hard that he bonked his head on the ceiling of the cave he dug. He swallowed several curses, rubbing the throbbing top of the head and looked around. It wasn't surprising that there was no one nearby.

"So, you really did help me," Hajime muttered to the disembodied voice.

Of course I did. The voice scoffed. Unlike you humans, I value any pledge I make.

"Yeah, well…I'm not used to receiving support from others."

Hajime kicked a small pebble with his new right foot. The rock sailed through the air like a bullet and smashed into pieces against the opposite wall.

"Whoa!"

I promised you power, didn't I? The voice smirked. I've made you my consort.

Hajime's smile slowly turned into a scowl, "What do you mean consort? Like a slave?"

I do need some of those. If you are willing to be one, I'm not going to object.

"I'm not!" Hajime snapped back, "Who even are you? Why did you help me?"

He heard the voice snort inside his head, which only made him growl with frustration.

I don't understand why you are so upset. The voice said. You are the one that asked for help, wasn't it? You wanted power, I gave you power. All I did was help you.

"That's…" Hajime struggled to come up with a retort, but he couldn't think of any at the moment.

"Fine," He begrudgingly agreed, "But what do you want me to do? If you can do all these amazing things, I don't think there is much I can do for you."

Ah, you see. I am stuck in quite a difficult situation. You'll have to traverse through the Great Labyrinth of Orcus and free me.

Hajime rubbed his chin, considering the offer.

He didn't like the sound of traveling deeper into the Labyrinth. He'd rather go the other way—up—and figure out a way back to the surface.

On the other hand, he didn't want to anger such powerful being, whatever she might be.

If Kaori and Shizuku had been with him, he'd have a better—

His eyes widened with the realization.

"Where is Kaori and Shizuku? What happened to them!?"

He directed the question to the voice inside his head. However there was no answer. The voice either didn't know, or didn't care.

Hajime gritted his teeth—then realized something was different.

With a frown, he opened his mouth wide and carefully felt over his teeth. When he reached the fangs, he felt that they had become much bigger and sharper.

"What the hell…?"

His nose twitched at the smell of his own blood splattered around the cave. Only this time, instead of disgusting him, the scent made his stomach growl with hunger.

"Oh god."

Hajime looked down at his hands again. Due to the darkness of the cave, he had glossed over the sharpened and elongated nails over the fingers.

"I—I'm a—"

A Vampire! The voice shouted with delight. Well, technically a half of one, but Yes; It took huge effort, even for someone like me, but I improved your body by quite of a margin.

"What have you done to me?!" Hajime shrieked in horror.

Oh, please. The voice droned. Hajime could nearly picture her rolling the red eyes with exasperation.

'Wait, how can I tell the color of her eyes?'

Before you whine about not being the weakest species in history, why don't you check out your status? I'm sure you'll be thanking me before the day ends.

"You can't even tell day and night in here," Hajime grumbled.

But he at least agreed that it would be good idea to check his strength. Like it or not, he was stuck as a vampire now—or a half of one, whatever the hell that meant.

Either to escape or go deeper, if he was going to wander around the Labyrinth, he needed every assistance he could hope to get at the moment

With that uneasy mindset in heart, Hajime crawled out of the cave.

Immediately, he could tell that all of his five senses had been enhanced greatly.

Hajime could pick up the faint scent of the bear from several hours ago. Probably left behind when the bear sprayed its spit all around while growling and snarling.

He could detect how his shivering rippled across the air around him. His sight was clearer and more defined despite the lack of light, and finally, he could hear some growls and scuffling echoing from the ally.

A group of four of Twin-tailed wolves were inspecting the scene of the massacre that took place against their own kin. A Dozen wolves all torn to shreds.

The leader of the small group nudged the Captain Wolf, which was the only corpse still in one piece—although his neck was bent 90 like a scythe.

After making sure it was dead, the leader snorted in glee and barked at its peers that it was safe to feast.

The other three wolves barked in similar joy before picking their choice of meal and gobbled up.

"…!"

Unknown to the four wolves, Hajime watched the sight with shock and disgust.

It's the most primary rule down here, or anywhere, really. The voice said. It's eat, or get eaten. Which side are you going to choose?

"I, I'm not…"

Hajime tried to say, but his growling stomach interrupted him.

Unfortunately, the sound also alerted the four wolves of his company. They pricked their ears up in unison and sniffed the air.

It didn't take long for them to pick up an unfamiliar smell, masked under the smell of dried blood coated all over the corridor.

Hajime hurriedly stepped back. He had no idea what to do.

He realized with a panic that, as much as he didn't like the idea of getting torn to shreds, he didn't want to tear other living beings to shred either.

Coward. The voice jeered.

The leader wolf found Hajime. It quickly picked up his fear and deduced that this being would make an exceptional dessert.

"Agha!!"

Hajime scrambled up to his feet and ran.

He heard the wolf's jaw snap shut behind him, and the howl that followed made him pour on the speed.

The wolves were taken aback by their new prey's speed. However, it was nothing they couldn't catch up to.

They pounced in unison and sprinted after Hajime with their superior quadrupedal legs.

Once in range, the leading wolf leaped again and chomped on Hajime's ankle.

"Gaaah!" Hajime cried in pain and toppled forward onto his face.

Ignoring the disgustingly delicious blood pouring from his nostrils, Hajimee scrambled his fingers against the floor.

"Tr-transmute—"

But before the magic could take place, the wolf swung Hajime around and smashed him into the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

Hajime crumpled onto the ground like a rag doll, his vision hazy with red and his body throbbing with pain.

The four wolves surrounded him, learing down with their fangs sparking electricity.

Hajime held back a scowl as he was reminded of the Petty Four—technically, he made amends with the three of them, but at the moment, he didn't really care.

His stomach growled with hunger, demanding food.

The leading wolf lunged forward, ready to sink its teeth on the prey and finish it off.

But right before its teeth sank into the soft flesh, the prey suddenly vanished.

"Grrr?!"

The wolf stepped back in confusion, then realized the presence was above them.

It looked up just in time to see something swooping down, forming an arc into its neck.

Crack!

The leader couldn't even manage a yelp as its head was ripped off from its body.

The head, still expressing surprise, rolled away across the corridor while the headless corpse fell aside, spurting blood on the ground.

Remaining wolves yelped in shock and horror as the assaulter landed on all fours. He snarled menacingly and they scampered away with two tails between their hind legs.

...Hajime panted as he stood up.

The threatening aura which scared off the wolves diminished as he came back to his sense.

Hajime looked down at the dead body of the wolf in shock and awe.

"Whoa...where did that come from—!?"

However, his amazement was cut short when a sudden wave of hunger made him double over.

"Gargh..."

Hajime growled, clawing the ground from the intolerable famishment gnawed from the inside.

Sweat dripped from his forehead as his instincts brought him closer and closer to the lump of raw meat—the corpse of the wolf.

With shaking hands, Hajime grabbed one of the legs, the thigh rich with tasty flesh and muscles.

"N, no!"

Seconds before he took the bite, Hajime forcefully turned his watering mouth away from the dead body.

"I, I'm not a monster..." He muttered, stumbling upto his feet, "I, I will not...prey on anything else..."

Why not? The dreadful voice inside him asked That's what every living thing does to one another.

"..."

Hajime ignored the voice as he staggered as far as he could muster away from the dead wolf.

"...【Transmute】"

When his legs couldn't carry him any further, he dug a small hole through the wall, stumbled inside and sealed it off behind his back.

He kept remonding himself of the image where the wolves scavanging over their kin's slaughter sight.

He will not become something barbaric like that.

"I'm never giving up..." He muttered in the darkness, "I'll find a way out...without loosing my humanity..."

He expected the voice to retort or even jeer at his proclaim. However, the small cave was completely silent as Hajime looked up into the darkness.

His stomach growled again.

"...Shut up..."

Hajime muttered and closed his eyes, lulling himself into an uncomfortable sleep.

Shizuku didn't have a single clue what to expect after entering [The Great Orcus Labyrinth] for the secind time.

She didn't expect the first thing would be an ambush by a 2ft tall monkey with flaming eyes.

Eeeek!

"Ahh!"

Kaori shirked as an imp leaped for her face immediately with its talons drawn.

Shizuku quickly pushed her friend aside and drew for her saber with a slash, but to her astonishment, the imp was much faster than she expected.

It quickly spread its tiny wings and changed course in mid-air, dodging the strike and flying upward.

Eeeek! Eeeek!

Fireballs lit up witnin the imp's tiny claws, and the monster chucked them like baseball.

"【Light Wall】!"

Kaori held her staff aloft and enchanted a basic barrier magic. An half-transparant shimmering wall made of mana appeared over Shizuku as the two fireballs came sailing down.

The first fireball exploded against the protective wall and made a huge crack. The second one smashed through without too much effort.

"Shizuku, watch out!" Kaori gasped, surprised at how easily her defense magic was thwarted.

Shizuku dodged the fireball right before it hit her stomach. The ground of a foot radius from the landing point burst into flames.

The imp giggled gleefully and clapped its hands, enjoying the small carnage it caused.

"Why you little..."

With a short run-off, Shizuku kicked herself into the air from the wall.

The imp noticed Shizuku approaching and swiped at her with its talons grazing her shoulder, but Shizuku managed to hack at the imp's right wing.

Kyyaaa!!

The imp howled as it spiraled down to the ground. It fell with a small thud, followed by Shizuku landing with a stab through its back.

Shizuku was out of breath as she retreaved her blade.

Kaori hurridly came next to her and checked her wound. Thankfully, the cut wasn't too deep.

"[Divine Heaven, lend us thine blessing.]"

Shizuku sighed as the basic healing magic【Caring Hands】 healed her wound, leaving no scars behind.

"This is no joke," she muttered, staring down at the small corpse of the imp, "That little thing was more difficult to handle than a dozen of Rockmounts."

Kaori nodded, still quite shocked at how easily her magic was penetrated. But as she looked down at the blood oozing from the small imp, she couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for it.

Meanwhile, Shizuku noticed something at the back of the entrance door. It was a plate with a sentence writings on it.

【One must look in the mirror to find the right way.】

Shizuku frowned. She looked around, but there were no mirrors to be found.

She decided to push aside the clause for now, "Come on, Kaori. Let's get going."

"Right. I'm on my way."

Kaori hesitated for a moment, then quickly closed the eyes of the imp before following Shizuku's footsteps.

The two girls followed the winding path of the Labyrinth. The corridor was lit with torches every few steps, so there were plenty of light sources to go by, which was handy.

On the other hand, however, they quickly learned that those torches weren't placed there solely for their benefits.

Eeeek! Eeeek! Eeeek!

"There are three more coming from behind, Shizuku!" Kaori shouted.

"I'm on it!" Shizuku replied, but she was already busy dodging rains of fireballs from half a dozen imps on her side.

"[Devine Heavens, lend me thine speed!]"

A purple light enveloped Shizuku's thighs as a boost of speed allowed her to pirouette over the constant stream of fireballs.

Shizuku leaped into the air and swung her saber in a wide arc, slashing two imps across the neck and another acorss the arm.

The four imps shirked when two of its kin went down, and they fluttered away in a panic.

Shizuku landed on the ground and whipped around to aid Kaori, only to find that Kaori had bound the additional three imps with her magic.

"I never seen you use that magic before," Shizuku said with a smile, proud and glad that Kaori wasn't helpless without her.

Kaori wiped the sweat off her brow and smiled back.

"The magic is called 【Holy Shackles】. I learned in case Hajime..."

Kaori's expression darkened as soon as she mentioned Hajime's name. Shizuku lost her smile as well, but she pat her friend on the shoulder in comfort.

"...anyway, we'd better seek shelter for now," Kaori muttered, "We're both tired and low on mana."

"What do we even eat down here?" Shizuku wondered out loud.

The girls stared at each other as the horrific realization came to them; they had nothing to eat or drink down in the Labyrinth.

Shizuku glanced at the dead imp lying on the ground.

"No!" Kaori shirked, knowing what went through Shizuku's head. And she was firmly against the idea.

"We are not eating monsters, Shizuku!" She shirked, her voice higher than any imp they met today.

"I didn't say aynthing!" Shizuku complained. "But might I remind you, we don't have much alternative options."

"I don't want to think about it," Kaori sighed, massaging between her eyes, "Let's try find somewhere safe to set up camp first, then figure out our food situation, yes?"

Shizuku agreed. Truthfully, she wasn't fond of the idea of eating monsters they've just killed either.

The girls searched around for another hour or so to no avail. The corridor had many allyways and branching pathways, but none of them seemed to be safe enough for them to take a rest.

It didn't help that imps fed off the flames of the torch, which meant their shelter must be in the dark.

"How did anyone expect someone to go through 100 floors of this?" Kaori complained, but her anxiousness was growing inside her chest.

She was lightly protesting now, but it really did seem impossible for a regular man to stay alive in the Labyrinth for more than a day or two.

If Hajime had fallen somewhere even deeper than them, even if he managed to avoid the monsters, he'd die of thrust and starvation.

'No,' Kaori shook her head and gripped her staff, 'No, I believe him. Hajime will survive. He is alive down in this maze somewhere, all we have to do is find him...'

"Oof."

Kaori was thrown off her train of thoughts as she bumped into someone. Shizuku was standing still in front of a four way crossroad.

"What's wrong?"

"We were here before."

Shizuku pointed at the right side, where sure enough, rings of scortch marks dotted the corridor.

Kaori held back an exasperated groan, "You mean we went in circles?"

"Yes," Shizuku said, "I think this is a riddle."

Kaori's frown deepened, "A riddle?"

Shizuku explained the phrase she found at the back of the entrance.

"One must look in the mirror to find the right way..." Kaori muttered, "But there weren't any mirrors around here, were there?"

"No," Shizuku said.

She racked her brains for an answer—the riddle didn't seem like something too complicated, and there must be a reason why the creator put a riddle right at the entrance.

'It is impossible for a regular human to survive through the Labyrinth without food or water...' Shizuku thought to herself, 'If I was the genius creator of the Labyrinth, would I have looked over such an obvious flaw?'

"Shizuku?"

"Huh?"

Shizuku looked up at Karoi's voice, and found a reflection of herself looking at herself.

A shimmering wall of mirror was standing in front of her. Kaori stood behind the wall with a sheepish grin.

"I modified the refractive index of the 【Light Wall】...I think this works as a mirror, right?"

"It does," Shizuku agreed as she stared into the mirror. Behind her reflection, the four way crossroad was also visible.

'You must look in the mirror...to find the right way...'

"I've got it! We need to take the left pathway!" Shizuku exclaimed, making Kaori jump in her spot.

"W-why left?" Kaori asked, still confused.

"The phrase said we need to look in the mirror and find the right way," Shizuku explained, "That doesn't mean the correct way. Well, it does, but it also means—"

"The right side of the way in the mirror!" Kaori realized as well, "That's the left corridor! Shizuku, you're a genius!"

She gave her friend a big hug, which Shizuku returned with an embarrassed smile.

"Let's celebrate after we check out the theory," She said.

They took a left turn on the forkway, and not longer than 100 steps after, they were met with a deadend with a staircase going downward.

"This is good," Shizuku said, "We found a way deeper down, so it was the correct way...Kaori?"

She looked around and found Kaori examining a certain portion of the wall.

"Kaori?"

"Hold on, there is a rune engraved here."

Shizuku frowned, "A rune? What rune?"

She came next to Kaori, who was pointing at a small engraved drawing barely the size of her hand.

It was a drawing of a small angel holding two broadswords across their body. In a way, it reminded the silver woman who attacked them under the order of Hiyama.

"What's a mark like that doing here?" Shizuku asked with distaste.

The answer Kaori provided took her by surprise.

"It's the symbol of healing," Kaori said, "I've learned it in one of my first lessons."

"That's the symbol of healing?!" Shizuku exclaimed in outrage, "How can that be a symbol of healing?!"

Kaori shook her head as well, "I have no idea. It's said that the Devine Church selected the symbol... but I can also feel a slight trace of magic over it. Maybe it I..."

Kaori put her hand over the rune and injected a small portion of her mana to the rune.

The rune lit up in deep blue, which was Kaori's mana color, and to their surprise, the wall next to the rune slid open.

The girls gasped as a hidden room appeared. Shizuku gripped the hilt of her saber, but the room was no trap.

It was the size of a small hotel room with a single bed and a fountain sprouting aquamarine water.

Kaori gasped as soon as she saw the fountain, "No way...is that the 【Devine Nectar】?"

"A devine what?" Shizuku scowled, irritated that yet another concept she never heard of came out of nowhere.

But Kaori was too mesmerized by the fountain to answer Shizuku. She hurriedly entered the room, ignoring Shizuku's worried voice and took a small sip of the shinning water.

As soon as the liquid slid down her throat, Kaori felt her hunger and thirst being quenched significantly.

"It is!" Kaori said in delight. "Come take a sip, Shizuku!"

Shizuku was much more skeptical at the idea, but after some goading from Kaori, she finally gave in and tried a sip.

"...Alright, this is quite nice," Shizuku grudgingly agreed, "But what is this Devine Nectar ?"

"It's one of the 【Seven Wonderous Artifacts】throughout Tortus history," Kaori explained.

"The Devine Nectar is supposedly a gem of healing, used to cure illness and prevent starvation.

It has been a universal dream of Healers to find one! I can't believe a piece of it is in here..."

Kaori tapped at the base of the fountain, where a speck of aquamarine gem was shinning.

Shizuku nodded. She was aware of the 【Seven Wonderous Artifacts】as well, although she wasn't exactly glad that it wasn't a simple myth.

She found the concept way too fantasy-like, even though they were literally stranded on a fantasy land with magic and what not.

'Although, if one of them is real...then the rest might be real too,' Shizuku thought to herself, 'In that case, Sayaka might actually have the other artifact...'

"Shizuku?"

"Wha-?"

Shizuku looked up. Kaori had already picked a bed and was resting a few remaining supplies she had over the bedsheet.

"Is something bothering you?" Kaori asked.

Shizuku quickly shook her head, "It's nothing. I"m just tired...and amazed that the designer bothered to make a shelter for the challengers of the Labyrinth."

Kaori nodded slowly, looking around the room in amazement.

"Yes, it was awefully nice of them of him, wasn't he? What's his name, 【Oscar Orcus】?"

"Yeah, that's the one," Shizuku grunted as she lay on an empty bed. It was surprisingly comfortable.

All Shizuku had after the fall was the saber and its scabbard, which she propped next to her bed, so she could grab it quickly if needed.

Kaori gathered her belongings; A couple of coins, some herbs and a handkerchief and put them back into the pouch before lying on the bed.

"...I can't believe someone like that would...you know, sell humanity to the Demon Race during the last great war." Kaori muttered.

Shizuku hummed lightly, already getting drowsy due to the comfortable bed.

"Who knows what the【Seven Traitors】were thinking back during the war? Maybe they got mad with power after they built the Labyrinth."

"Maybe..." Karoi muttered, yet something didn't feel right about that explanation.

But as Shizuku fell asleep almost immediately, the repeated soft breathings from her made Karoi's eyelid heavy as well.

'...Hajime...I'll...definitely come find you...'

Soon enough, Kaori closed her eyes and fell asleep as well.

"...Hnng...grrr..."

...Having no clue that her dearest boyfriend was writhing in pain from hunger and thirst.

A/N:

This chapter may have been a bit too explanation heavy, but I still quite like it.

Again, I'd appreciate any and all reviews and comments!

I hope you all had a fun time reading, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!