"I assume that nobody was successful in finding Reid Astrea's Book of the Dead?" Omega asked as everybody reconvened at the stairs connecting the third and fourth floors.

"Unfortunately, you are corrrrrect!" Roswaal announced. Ram stood with her arms crossed, sneering as the clown said this.

Omega proceeded to look over at you and Meili, seeing if you had anything of note to say.

Meili nudged you on the side, signaling for you to give the answer. You nodded your head and reported, "We didn't find Reid's book, but we did find someone else's that we recognized."

"Oh, is that so?" Omega asked with a hint of intrigue. From the tone of your voice, she could tell that you found something noteworthy.

"Yeah," you replied. "This time, probably since I knew this person before they died, something weird happened. Back when I opened up Garah Thornwood's Book of the Dead, it was just like a normal book, but this time... My consciousness was sent into the book or something, and I saw that person's life."

Omega's eyes opened wide, and Roswaal raised an eyebrow. From what you said, the two of them realized that not only did the books in the Pleiades Library store a perfect recollection of each deceased person's past, but it held visual information about it as well.

While Roswaal worked to conceal his interest, Omega didn't see the need to do so.

"Well then, (Y/N)," she said excitedly as she started walking toward the stairs, "Please share more details as we descend to the fourth floor, for I would love to hear your experience in great detail. In fact, if you do not finish your recollection of events by the time we have arrived at the end of this staircase, please feel free to continue as we travel to the second floor! Of course, you do not have to push yourself to talk the entire time due to the excessive length of the staircases and your current condition, but-"

Omega stopped monologuing when she looked back and saw you deadpan at her. Usually, she would be able to pick up on your cues because of the mental link from the pendant, but since Reid broke it and now has possession of its pieces, she had no idea that she was excessively 'yapping' again.

"I apologize," she said as she calmed down, all excitement draining out of her body as she composed herself. "You may share or withhold the details in accordance with your discretion."

You knew just how excited Echidna was about this library and just how much she loved hearing new information, so instead of just summarizing your experience with Capella's book, you decided to actually go in-depth for once.

After all, Echidna wasn't able to see what you were seeing anymore, so this was your way of satisfying her Greed.

Meili offered you her shoulder to help you get down the stairs easier, and as you accepted it, you took a deep breath and began explaining what happened and what you had seen.

Time Skip

There was no staircase connecting the library to the second floor where the second Trial was, which was why everyone had to take the stairs back down to the fourth floor, where the only stairs leading up to the second floor were located.

Thankfully, the staircase to the third floor/library wasn't very long, but the staircase leading up to the second floor was at least three times longer.

With that said, it didn't take very long to descend back to the fourth floor, and even though you committed to telling Omega everything about the Book of the Dead that you found, your explanation was over before anybody could even reach the bottom of the third-floor stairs.

Thankfully, she was extremely pleased to learn about everything you had to say about it.

She did not reveal this to the group, but she was able to conclude that the Books of the Dead include deaths that aren't in the current timeline, since Capella's death and the events surrounding it occurred prior to Pandora rewriting reality to erase the surprise attack.

Secondly, seeing as your consciousness was transferred to an alternate space in which you witnessed Capella's life, Echidna was able to add credibility to a hypothesis regarding Od Laguna and how its functions are connected to the Pleiades Library. This would be something to share with you after some more research and thought.

In addition, she confirmed the condition required to unlock the true function of the Books of the Death: the reader must have known the deceased person in order to 'see' their life rather than reading the book as one would read any other.

"Thank you, (Y/N)," Omega hummed as she walked down the stairs and processed your recollection of events. "That information is extraordinary, and I must declare that your luck in finding these particular books is quite absurd."

You shrugged your shoulders as you carefully stepped down each step with a bit of Meili's assistance. "If my luck was actually good, then I would've found Reid's Book of the Dead."

"Thaaaat still begs the question," Roswaal interjected as he sped up from behind you. Now with his breath coming right over your shoulder, he asked, "Hoooow and whennnn did you become acquainted with the Sin Archbishop of Lust? Is this not sussspicious, Ram? Hmmm?"

You tensed up as Roswaal got closer to you and just had to escalate things by bringing Ram into the conversation.

The maid, at the very back of the procession, didn't seem to change anything about her expression. In her snarky manner, she replied, "We knew that he was suspicious ever since he fell into our care. He hides almost everything about his past, so why should I be surprised to find that he is almost as secretive as you are?"

Omega found it curious that Ram would talk about Roswaal in this manner all of a sudden, but unlike your partner, you knew that the oni had yelled at Roswaal when they got into the library. There was definitely something going on between them right now, so maybe Ram would stop being so angry at you for the moment.

"Naniiiii?!" the clown gasped dramatically, as if Ram's response was totally unjustified. "Now, whyyy would you-"

"Silence. You are wasting your breath." Ram interrupted Roswaal, and this time, he looked genuinely confused as to why she was acting like this. Even when she was mad at him, it usually took extraordinary circumstances for her to openly talk to him this way.

This was troublesome, so Roswaal shut up and began wondering if it was his fault somehow. After all, Ram had yelled at him about four hours ago, accusing him of this and that, so either she was going crazy with rage, stupidity, and possibly miasma-induced hysterics, or perhaps there existed a basis to her newfound depreciation of her master. If the latter were true, then he needed to find a way to redirect Ram's anger back at something else.

After all, Ram was still Roswaal's greatest asset, and it would be catastrophic if she decided to abandon her loyalty when it mattered most.

Sneering at Roswaal, Ram looked ahead to the front of the group as Omega reached the fourth floor.

"Are there any among us who wish to take a brief moment to rest before we ascend to the second floor?" Omega asked as everyone else made it off of the third floor stairs. "The staircase we must climb next is approximately three times longer than the one we just descended."

This question was mainly directed at you, but you knew that, even though you were still recovering from a close call with mana deprivation, Omega would still have a harder time going up these stairs if she didn't use any magic.

With that said, you were slightly out of breath, so you raised your hand. "Does a twenty-minute break sound good?"

Omega thought for a second before answering, "That is acceptable. I will locate Shaula during this time period, and I believe that she will be willing to assist anybody who requires support during the lengthy climb. Are there any objections?"

You shook your head. "Sounds good to me."

Agreeing with you, Meili said, "A break sounds good!"

"Hmph." Ram didn't object, but she didn't look happy about it either.

Roswaal remained silent.

"Okay then," Omega announced, "I will locate Shaula, and we will reconvene in ten minutes in front of the second floor stairs."

Time Skip

"You're the best, Auntie! I get to talk for a long time now, and I even get to hold you up again!"

Omega found Shaula rather quickly, and after getting the apprentice to abandon guard duty for the moment, the two of them joined the rest of the group before the break ended.

Now, not even halfway up to the second floor, Shaula was carrying Omega once more, but this time, she was carrying her Auntie piggy-back style.

The Witch of Greed didn't look happy about it, and justifying it to whoever would listen, she crossed her arms and futilely explained, "You see, I used magic for quite some time today to hover in order to see the books on the higher shelves. As I do not believe in wasting more mana than necessary, this was inevitable. This body is not suited for higher levels of endurance, so how can I be blamed for something out of my control?"

Shaula giggled at Omega's antics, and your contractor nodded to herself, assuring herself that there was no other way around her dilemma.

As she talked, you began to ponder something about Omega's body.

"Sorry if I'm just not understanding how this works," you started, "but like you told us before, your body is made out of mana, right? That's why you don't have to eat any of that mabeast meat."

"Indeed," Omega confirmed.

You took a moment to come up with a good way to phrase your next question as you also focused on keeping your legs moving up the countless stairs. "So... if your body is made of mana, how do you get tired of walking up the stairs? It's not like a normal body where your muscles get tired, so how does that work?"

"Fufu," Shaula chuckled, nudging Omega as she did so. "Auntie's really shy about this stuff, but I know that she secretly loves being carried like this, especially by me! I'm the bestest at carrying people, right anklebiter?"

Shaula looked down toward Meili, who enthusiastically nodded in agreement. To you, the ex-assassin exclaimed, "It's actually super fun! If you get tired, you should totally try it out!"

As much as you wanted to ignore it, you could already feel your legs beginning to burn, and you knew that the group wasn't even halfway up the stairs yet. Sooner or later, you'd need to get some help climbing the rest of the stairs, but you really didn't want to resort to that.

For once, it was a good thing the pendant was gone, because Echidna would be able to read your mind to see that the real reason that you were hesitant about letting Shaula carry you was because of just how much skin she was showing. With that much contact with her bare body, you were scared to see how your body would react.

Yeah, that sounded stupid, but Flugel knew exactly what he was doing when he gave Shaula that outfit. At this point, you were totally fine talking to females, but to have so much contact with her... you wouldn't be able to help it if your body naturally did its thing.

It didn't help that your desert clothes were a little tight on you. If they were loose, you could probably hide your... reaction, but as they were now, your pants would reveal everything.

At this point, you began questioning why you were even going to the second trial with everybody right now. If it came down to it, you weren't in any condition to fight Reid, and you definitely weren't there to be the smart person.

Sure, there might be really specific things that you would be best at handling, and Omega definitely wanted to pass the trials with you, but because of these new complications, you started questioning some of the decisions that were made.

"... does that make sense?"

Oh no...

You were usually good about this, but it seems like your thoughts completely blocked out Omega's explanation, and now she was looking at you, waiting for an answer.

"I'm gonna be completely honest here," you confessed with a sigh, "I didn't catch any of that."

From atop Shaula's shoulders, Omega shrugged her shoulders. "You are usually quite adept at listening, but I suppose you are getting quite tired..."

A sly grin spread across her lips, and she proceeded to declare, "Shaula, I believe you should carry (Y/N) now."

"Wait! I'm fine! Well, not really, but - oomph!"

Before you could protest, Shaula effortlessly swept you off your feet and began carrying you bridal style.

Feeling happier than ever, the Apprentice said, "Don't be worried! Auntie and the anklebiter love riding me, so you'll like it too!"

Alarm bells immediately flashed in your head at Shaula's choice of words, but you decided to keep your mind focused on other things.

"So, can you tell us one more time?" you asked Omega, not letting your voice sound flustered. "If you don't mind explaining, that is."

From behind you, Ram sighed. The scene before her was almost pathetic. Of course, she couldn't deny that it was a little funny, but she wasn't going to let any smiles make it past her scowl today.

Hearing the maid, Omega paused before answering you. Craning her neck backwards, she asked, "What is it, Ram? Could it be that you wish to explain this information to him?"

"Moving and using magic exhausts her mana. Less mana means she gets tired. It is quite simple," Ram muttered curtly.

Ignoring the tone of her voice, you nodded your head as you finally understood how Omega's mana situation worked.

"So... what happens if you get mana deprivation?" you wondered out loud, doing your best to keep talking to stop yourself from thinking about being carried by Shaula. "I know that people usually die, but would your body disappear too?"

Omega shrugged her shoulders. "I do not know of a precedent for that situation, but I would assume that this body would be destroyed, and this fragment of my soul would be sent to Od Laguna or wherever it is that Witches' souls go to if not collected."

"So you'd finally go to Hell?" Ram suggested aggressively. It seemed like, even though she turned her anger from you towards Roswaal, she was still not even close to being friendly with Omega.

"Oh? I did not consider you to be one who is religious," Omega replied nonchalantly. "If you are one of those who believe that souls do not return to Od Laguna, but instead to a Heaven or a Hell, then I suppose I would indeed go to the latter."

Ram scoffed. "I do not actually believe in a Heaven or a Hell, but if it means that Echidna would be subject to eternal suffering, then I would gladly accept their existence."

As she said this, you, Shaula, and Roswaal all stopped and glared at Ram.

Shaula was the first to say something, as she snapped back immediately. "Hey!" she growled, which came out as an almost inhuman sound, "You take that back, little miss moody! If I weren't holding auntie's friend right now, then I woulda punched you way down to the sixth floor for that!" This was the first time that you heard genuine anger come from within Shaula's hoarse voice, and you definitely heard some of the mabeast parts of Shaula slip out.

Roswaal, who replied next, clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "I agreeeee, Ram. I will not stand to hear such blasphemy towards Echidna!"

After both Shaula and Roswaal berated Ram, you could see her eyes begin to tick, and her fists began to clinch.

You definitely had some choice words for the oni, but instead of escalating things even more, you chose to save them for yourself. After all, Echidna didn't need anybody to stand up for her. If she wanted to scold the maid, then that was up to her to do it.

From atop Shaula's shoulders, Omega casually looked at Ram. The Witch of Greed was completely unfazed by the insult, and decided to not speak about it.

If anything, Ram was right. She had performed terrible experiments in the past, and many awful things had occurred as a result of her actions, whether they were purposeful or accidental. She knew that, as the Witch of Greed, she was undoubtedly evil, and that evil was shared by both Omega and Roswaal's precious Teacher. Throughout all of her counterparts, Echidna was definitely evil.

So she looked away from Ram and elected to pat Shaula on the head, calming the mabeast girl down before she actually threw punches at the oni.

"Now isn't the time for this," Omega announced firmly. "We must save our strength for Reid, so please save any petty squabbles until after we have cleared this trial and the sequential one."

You nodded your head in agreement, and Shaula melted at her Auntie's head pats. Meanwhile, Ram visibly struggled to restrain herself.

Roswaal stared at her silently, not offering any words to calm her down.

Thankfully, Meili, who had been quiet during this brief exchange, spoke up. In a calm and understanding tone that was almost unfitting from someone so young, she sincerely asked, "Rem-san is counting on us, so can we please get along? At least for her sake?"

Ram looked down at Meili, and a flash of rage flashed across her face, as if to ask Meili what she would know about her sister. However, the maid proceeded to close her eyes, and she even took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

This was because Meili was the only person here who could understand what her bond with Rem felt like. Even though Ram couldn't remember her twin sister, their bond was powerful enough to make itself felt. Ram's feelings for Rem transcended mere memories, and she hated the fact that she let her anger override her sense of duty to save her sister.

Even so, she couldn't force another apology from her lips. Not to Echidna.

Instead, Ram bit her lips shut and moved her sights upward, beyond the group and towards the edge of visibility of the winding staircase in front of her.

She could lash out at everybody later. For now, she just had to pass the next two trials. Once those were completed, she could find a way to cure Rem and regain their memories of each other.

Omega, who was still looking back at Ram, noticed the slight change in her demeanor. Seeing as the maid was going to keep her troublesome mouth shut for the moment, she declared, "Well then, shall we move on? As I said, we do not have time to waste."

Shaula, still feeling blissful from the head pats, began to skip up the stairs. This motion was rather jarring for you, especially since she was swinging her arms as you were being held in them.

You could hear echoes of footsteps as Meili scampered up the stairs behind you to keep up, but what you were more concerned with was the fact that the stone wall was getting too close for comfort as Shaula swung you around.

"Shaula!" Omega exclaimed, her voice bouncing along with Shaula's skips, "Please! Slow down and walk as you did earlier! Not only does this degrade my image, but you were carelessly endangering (Y/N)!"

"Aww... but Auntie~"

"No buts!" Omega asserted. "I will have to declare your carrying skills subpar if you continue to skip around and such."

Shaula gasped and stopped skipping right away. "You can't do that to my five-star rating! Was it really that bad, or are you being a tsundere again?"

From below her chest, you answered, "Yes, yes it was."

"In that case," Meili panted from behind, "you can carry me instead!"

Shaula ended up carrying Meili in one arm and you in another, and if you had to be honest, it was nowhere near comfortable, but if it meant saving as much energy as possible before facing Reid Astrea, then you wouldn't complain.

Time Skip

(Warning: Reid is gonna be Reid and will say Reid things. You have been warned :)

After about forty minutes of climbing stairs, the entrance to the second trial was finally visible.

The harsh, white light that filled the room spilled down onto the stairs in front of it, and knowing that Reid was directly ahead somehow made the light look menacing.

Shaula gently put you, Omega, and Meili down as her body already began to lock up from fear. Without waiting, Roswaal pressed forward and entered the room first.

Behind him was Ram, and then everyone else followed.

You didn't need to wait for your eyes to get adjusted to the completely white room to know that an unsheathed katana awaited a wielder in the center of the space, and on the other side of it was the monster who oversaw this Trial.

Roswaal impatiently walked up to the sword, and his hands twitched, wanting to grab the katana and begin the Trial immediately. Surprisingly, he didn't grab it. Instead, keeping in mind that Omega devised a careful plan of action, he waited for her to propose her challenge first.

If and when she failed, he was ready to take action.

"Reid Astrea," Omega called out, her voice being absorbed by the vast space that surrounded you, "we have come to challenge you once more. However, seeing as I am a mage and my magic cannot seem to harm you, would you allow me to propose a different method of battle?"

So far, Reid had been sitting still on the far side of the room, but as soon as Omega declared her proposition, the crimson-haired swordsman slowly stood up. "Huh? Why the fuck would I change my mind, you? I told ya fuckers to come at me, so are ya such pussies that ya won't fight me anymore? Huh?"

Reid's booming voice pierced the volume of the room, and the sheer power behind it gave you goosebumps. Right away, you began having flashbacks to your one-sided beatdown against him, and sweat began forming everywhere.

You looked around to your companions, and you saw that Shaula was trembling, and Meili looked like she was fighting the urge to run back to the stairs.

On the other hand, Roswaal stood unwavering behind the katana, and Ram was already tensed up, ready to fight.

Omega, who stood by your side, was also fearless. She had spent many years with Reid in the past, so she was not intimidated by his presence whatsoever. "Ah, is that how you see it?" she called out. "If so, you are gravely mistaken. I am not afraid of your strength; I merely recognize that your physical prowess is not something that we can overcome quite yet. I seek to level the playing field by challenging you to trivia about your own life. If I am incorrect, we all fail. If I answer correctly, then we all pass."

"That sounds stupid as fuck, you!" Reid bellowed in response to Omega's suggestion. "Trivia is borin' as hell, and I ain't givin' you a chance to use whatever bullshit you're hiding ta try an' beat me."

"Oh?" Omega replied, a mockingly false sense of surprise coating her voice. "Does this mean that you are 'too much of a pussy' to accept this challenge?"

The sound of cracking knuckles and reverberating footsteps bounced around the room as Reid began to walk towards you.

"That ain't it, ya piece of shit," he spat as he pulled a pair of plain chopsticks out of his crimson kimono, "I decide what we're gonna do here, an' I ain't about ta play some stupid-ass trivia."

As he approached Roswaal, the overseer of the trial came to a sudden stop.

"What is thisssss?" the clown taunted as he sized Reid up. "Are youuuu-"

SMACK*

Reid slapped Roswaal in the face, interrupting him and sending him tumbling to the ground. "Shut the hell up, ya stupid lookin' motherfucker. I didn't stop for ya."

He proceeded to point at Ram, who didn't look the least bit angry that Roswaal just got slapped. "Pinky" he announced, scratching the exposed part of his chest with his free hand, "You're flat as fuck, you... but that ass is lookin' mighty fine. I'll tell ya what, you let me get a handful of that, an' you can pass."

"Nani?!" Ram yelled, taken aback by Reid's condition to pass. His suggestion was the pinnacle of depravity, and the mere thought of letting him lay hands on her body was disgusting. "I would never-"

"Ram!" Roswaal exclaimed from his new spot on the ground. "You would not be so foolish as to ignore a chance to pass this Trial, woulllld you? Will you not agree in order to continue and save your deeeaar sister?"

"..."

Ram was struck speechless at the fact that Roswaal wasn't opposed to Reid's sexual harassment. Of course, she had argued with him earlier, but that was no justification for what he wanted her to do.

"So, what's it gonna be, you?" Reid demanded. "Are ya gonna let me get a feel, or are ya gonna stay back there and hide like a little bitch?"

Ram's mouth moved, but no words came out of it. She couldn't comply with Reid's suggestion, but the alternative was also terrible. If this moment was the difference between saving Rem and losing her forever, then how could she ignore this chance?

"That's gonna be a no," you said, stepping in between Ram and the first Sword Saint.

The maid was shocked to see you stand up for her like this, but she was even more flabbergasted to feel Omega pulling her back, farther away from the pervert.

Before Ram could say anything, Omega whispered to her, "Do not engage in combat with him for the remainder of this Trial. His hands have a way of finding themselves in places they should not be, so do not put yourself in a position that will allow him to do so."

"Is that how it's gonna be, you?" Reid asked forcefully. "Let Pinky answer. Hell, maybe she'll enjoy a good little fondlin'!"

"That is enough!" Omega announced firmly. "Just as you rejected our proposition, we vehemently reject your challenge."

"But do weeee?" Roswaal asked angrily. "Allow Ram to speak for herself! What do you say, Ram?!"

Ram looked from Roswaal to Reid, and then to you and Omega standing in front of her.

As she considered what words she should say, Ram dug near fingernails into her palm, and tears of humiliation and frustration began welling up in her eyes. She was now being protected by the people who she verbally assaulted over and over for the past few days, and the one who she believed in above all else betrayed her once again for the sake of his own goals.

She had been nothing but useless and a pain in the butt to everybody, and she wasn't able to change that here. Instead of paving the way forward, she was being shown a way backwards, shielded by those who had every reason to throw her into the flames of Reid's desire.

At this moment, Ram relented her hatred for Omega, because it was blazingly obvious who was actually evil here.

Whether this version of Echidna had ulterior motives or not, at least she was capable of showing some humanity. On the other hand, Roswaal had been nothing but cold-hearted and apathetic.

"Roswaal-sa..." Ram stopped and cleared her throat. With conviction, she continued. "Roswaal, my body does not belong to you anymore." Addressing Reid, she said, "Perverts like you deserve to die. You already died once, so hurry up and do it again."

"What the fuck are ya talking about, you? I've seen plenty of corpses, and I ain't one. Now, if you ain't letting me touch that ass of yours, I feel like beating the shit outa' somebody."

Reid looked down at Roswaal, and threw the katana beside him. "Pick it up, you." Reid commanded. "You've been wantin' ta fight this whole time, so come at me. I'm tired of all this bullshit, so let's get on with some good ol' sparrin'. I'll let ya pass if ya put up a good fight."

The crimson-haired swordsman malevolently grinned at Roswaal, clutching his plain chopsticks and waiting for the clown to engage in combat.

"Seeing as our strategy meeting this morning was completeeeely in vain," Roswaal said through gritted teeth, "I will accept this challenge."

Before he picked up the katana, Roswaal looked over his shoulder to glare at everyone else. "I am sure that we have maaany more ideas to deal with Trial, but I am terrribly irritated at the moment. You see, strategies mean nothing if you lack the resolve to see them through!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, Roswaal grabbed the unsheathed katana and cast Al Akra on himself.

He sprung forward with enough speed to create an afterimage of his body, and his attack was so fast that Reid would have needed to react in a hundredth of a second to prevent himself from being sliced open.

When the katana actually made contact with the legendary swordsman, Roswaal suddenly lost his balance, which confused the mage greatly. As the first Sword Saint's movements had finally registered from his eyes into his brain, Roswaal realized that the katana was stopped by a pair of chopsticks pinching it in place.

What had made him stumble was the sudden stop in his motion caused by the chopsticks. His entire body, enhanced with Al Akra, was thrown into the swing, but all of that power was stopped by the ordinary utensils that Reid wielded in between his fingers.

"Heh," Reid chuckled, amused by the futile attempt. "I can tell ya ain't all that good with a sword, you. Ya gotta do a lot more if ya wanna make this interestin'."

"As a mageeee~, I cannot-"

Mid-sentence, Roswaal freed one hand from the katana to strike Reid in the chest with his fist.

Without missing a beat, Reid easily stopped Roswaal's oncoming hand and smacked it away with minimal effort, as if the attack had been nothing more than something coming from an untrained child.

As the momentum of his body was slowly falling behind his center of gravity after the smack from Reid, Roswal released his other hand from the katana. He proceeded to let his body rotate along with his retracting fist, and he followed that motion into a powerful sweep kick.

Well, it was powerful to anybody except for the former Sword Saint, who took its full force without moving a muscle.

As Omega had explained before, Reid possessed the ability to redirect attacks out of his body, and now that you knew more about his abilities, it made sense to see that cracks formed on the ground. Some even came close to you, even though the two were fighting in the center of the massive room.

Although the attack had no effect, Roswaal was unrelenting. Next came a slew of attacks that combined lightning-fast combos with dozens of spells being fired mercilessly, each with the intent to kill.

No matter what you thought about the clown, his fight was definitely an amazing spectacle. You knew from the start that he was the most powerful mage in Lugnica, but this might have been the first time you saw him go all-out.

And honestly, what was even more impressive than the maelstrom of spells coming from Roswaal was the martial arts that he was using. You hadn't taken him as somebody who would be good at that kind of fighting, but from what you could see in the incredibly fast battle, you could tell that the margrave's repertoire contained more advanced techniques than anything you've done in training.

However...

None of that mattered, because as impressive as Roswaal was, Reid still looked bored. In fact, he was using his chopsticks to do tricks with the katana while simultaneously using them to cut through all of the spells coming his way.

The floor began rumbling as Reid continuously channeled physical blows into the ground around him, and seeing what the situation was deteriorating into, Omega grew very concerned.

"Shaula," she shouted over the intense sounds of the fight echoing around the room, "will the rule stating that we must not damage the tower be violated if this room is destroyed, or does that not apply since his room contains a Trial?"

The terrified Keeper of the Tower shrugged her shoulders. "I-I'm sorry Auntie! Master d-didn't tell me about anything like that! But we can leave i-if you're worried about that. R-right, anklebiter? Won't it be b-better to be farther away from that brute R-R-R-Reid?"

Meili was surprised to be mentioned, and she didn't know how to answer. Of course, things didn't look good right now, and Reid was both super strong and creepy, so her instincts cried for her to escape, but leaving right now was dangerous too.

Why did she have to be so useless here? With no mabeasts to control, she could only watch as you were beaten yesterday, and now as nobody could get past Reid.

"I see," Omega said through gritted teeth, not forcing Meili to answer Shaula. She put a hand on your shoulder to take your attention away from the battle, and even though she didn't need to, she got on her tiptoes so that her mouth was next to your ear.

In a voice that was only loud enough for you to hear, she hurriedly asked, "Although I regret to say this, I believe we should retreat once more. Would you be opposed to this, or do you wish to explore our options here?"

This shouldn't have been as surprising as it was, but you couldn't help but gape your mouth as Omega earnestly asked about retreat.

Leaning down to her, you questioned, "Are you sure? Maybe if we all attack at the same time, or if we can taunt him or something like we talked about this morning, we can win!"

"Do you really believe so, (Y/N), or are those just words of hope that you are clinging to?"

As hopeful as they were, you honestly believed in your words, but before you could convey this to Omega, you stopped.

This was because you could tell that something was off about her. Instead of looking calm and collected as she usually was, you saw that her breathing was slightly speeding up, and she was anxiously tapping her fingers on her side, something you had never seen her do.

Was her question less of a challenge to your words and more of an attack toward her own feelings? If only Reid hadn't destroyed the pendant, you'd be able to ask freely. In fact, you wouldn't even need to ask since Echidna would already know what you were thinking.

Noticing your pause and realizing that you saw through the change in her composure, Omega winced. She didn't want to admit it, but from recalling past experiences and seeing the display in front of her, she was rapidly losing confidence in achieving victory.

Physical attacks were useless against the first Sword Saint, magic was immediately cut apart, his intuition made tricks unlikely to succeed, and his twisted personality ensured that diplomacy or compromise would not be viable. So far, the only thing that he seemed to relent to was related to sexual harassment, but that was a line that the Echidna currently refused to cross.

"Now, what are you two whispering about? Something useful, I hope," Ram said from behind as she inched closer.

You looked down at Omega to see what she wanted to say, but she was stuck trying to find an appropriate response.

Seeing that your partner was struggling, you responded honestly. "Well, Omega was asking me if we should retreat or keep trying. What's your opinion, Ram?"

"Retreat?!" Ram gasped. She opened her mouth, ready to argue, but an extra loud impact cut through her thoughts as Roswaal was sent tumbling over to the group.

He stabilized himself and got back on his feet quickly, but it was easy to tell that he wasn't doing well. His face was already swollen, and he was holding one of his arms tenderly. "Ram," he sternly ordered in between ragged breaths, "come help me."

"I don't think so, you!" Reid aggressively shouted from his stationary spot in the middle of the room. "If ya can't give me a proper fight, get ya ass outta here, you! An' Pinky is scared of a little touch from a man, so let 'er pretty ass stay over there!"

At that moment, a gust of wind rose around Ram as she grabbed her wand from within her traveling clothes. From the looks of it, she snapped again, and there was nothing but bloodlust in her eyes.

She began walking towards Reid, and as Roswaal began walking beside her, she elbowed him in the gut, stopping him.

"I want nothing less than to help you," Ram growled at the clown. "Stay back here and accept that you lost both this challenge and my trust."

Roswaal sneered as Ram left him to face the overseer of the Trial alone. Turning to you, he muttered, "She loves throwing that word awound, noooo? Her 'trust' must be as fwagile as her temper~."

His lips were swelling up as they caught up to the damage that Reid did while not even being on the offensive, so his words were coming out slightly jumbled.

"No, you totally deserved that," you replied. "But that's not what I'm worried about. If Reid's only taking us on one at a time, we can't beat him. And if Ram's as angry as she was yesterday... she might do something really stupid."

Roswaal guffawed at your statement. "You undewestimate Ram, (Y/N)-kunnnnn. If any of us will defeat Reid, it is her. If anything, this is the moment I have been waiting fow!"

"I already told the oni to avoid combat for the remainder of this Trial, and I am firm in believing that she will only find a negative result here." Omega chimed in, reclaiming her collected demeanor. "As much potential as she has, Ram does not currently possess the conditions to defeat Reid. As for now, whether we all attack Reid at once and claim that we did so in order to entertain him, or force Ram to retreat, I see an all-out effort being our most feasible path to success. Our other option is to retreat and return to the library."

"Well, we can't exactly afford to leave empty-handed this time, so let's keep trying," you said. "If we attack him all at once, our teamwork will have to suddenly be perfect, but it's better than us watching from the sidelines as we lose one by one, and way better than retreating."

Roswaal clicked his tongue and pointed at the maid, who began her fight with Reid. "But Raaaaammm has not lost yet, has she?"

As the group's attention turned to Ram, it was obvious that she was losing.

The chopstick wielder was trying even less now, and even from where you were, you could see that he was only staring at one part of Ram, leaving him with plenty of openings that could never be exploited.

At that moment, your body jolted with energy as an idea sprung into your head. "If the condition to pass is only to make the fight interesting for him, we can just get him off the ground. Then, when he's airborne, we hit him with everything we've got! At the very least, he'll have to try a little harder against us in that moment, and in my books, that means we made things interesting!"

"That would be quiiiite a wonderful idea, (Y/N)," Roswaal aggressively noted, "if thewe existed a way to move Reid Astrea. We have both fought him, and pweeeease tell me, have we managed to make him take a single step?"

Meanwhile, Omega looked at you as if you were a genius. It took her a moment, but she was able to catch onto what you were planning.

"That is irrelevant," she told Roswaal, "for we will not force him upwards. Is that correct, (Y/N)?"

You nodded your head, not surprised that she was able to figure out your plan so quickly. "Exactly. This might be a gamble, but what if we destroyed the floor beneath him? From the looks of it, we aren't being punished right now for all these cracks on the floor, so I think we can safely say that any damage here doesn't violate the rule forbidding us from damaging the tower."

That, and the fact that you and Echidna knew that there was a secret fifth rule stating that it was not forbidden to destroy the Trials led you to this conclusion.

Omega nodded along with you and quickly explained the rest of the plan. "Reid cannot reasonably stop the floor from collapsing if we were to cause damage under the surface, and if he steps away from the eventual pitfall, he will have to relent to the fact that we forced him to move from his spot. Either possibility is a potential victory."

"In that case," you declared, "let's get started. We need to step in for Ram right away."

As if to prove your point, Ram began vomiting blood, even though Reid hadn't made contact with her yet.
"Al Akra!" you chanted, ready to run and hit Reid as hard as you could. As long as Omega or Roswaal did enough damage to the stone floor underneath Reid, it would break as soon as he channeled your attack down into it.

Reid, noticing that you were about to charge at him, smirked. "Are ya sure ya wanna come an' save Pinky's pretty lil' ass, you? She ain't the type ta let ya hit even after somethin' like that, if ya know what I mean."

In response, you sprinted forward and calmly said, "Rasengan."

Just as you imagined, a spinning ball of mana formed in your hand, and to ensure that you could do as much damage to the ground as possible, you used your Al Akra - buffed legs to jump upwards so that you were set to fall right onto the Sword Saint's stationary spot.

If this didn't work, you would be down to about a fourth of your mana remaining, so you had a few options, but you couldn't afford to think about failure in this moment.

As your body began its downward trajectory toward Reid, Omega silently cast a variation of Dona to destroy the stone underneath the surface of the floor, with the damage set to reach her target at the same moment that you would make contact with him.

Seeing you approach rapidly, Ram used a burst of Fura to propel herself back at Reid, and she began throwing a flurry of blows in order to keep his arms busy and away from blocking you.

You weren't sure how, but Ram was moving more intensely than anything you had seen from her before, and this all-out effort earned the first Sword Saint's gaze drifting away from her backside up to her fists.

At a speed even faster than yours, Roswaal dashed toward Reid, and he prepared to destroy the floor on his own, without touching the overseer.

Letting his intuition take over, Reid closed his uncovered eye and raised his chopsticks into the air.

As if there wasn't anybody attacking him, the crimson-haired swordsman swiped down with his pair of ordinary chopsticks, and this single motion stopped everything in its tracks.

Your Al Akra and Rasengan were cut, making your oncoming punch absolutely useless.

Ram's body faltered, as if something interfered with her strength.

The multitude of spells that Roswaal prepared to cast were slashed away.

And finally... the damage being done to the floor was cut into nonexistence. The entire concept that the ground would break from below was sliced apart by the simple swing of the chopsticks.

Reid flicked your body away as you fell onto him, and you used the parkour skills you learned from Clind to make the landing somewhat softer.

Even as you landed, your impact didn't seem to make a noise, as did everything else in the examination room. A dead silence suffocated the massive space, as if Reid's chopsticks had even managed to cut sound itself.

This deafening silence was the sound of yet another failure, and the first thing you could hear again was the blood roaring through your head.

Next, you could hear the sound of your ragged breathing return as you realized that your lungs were yearning for air, and as soon as you could feel your senses coming back, your legs abruptly gave out from beneath you.

The combination of yesterday's mana deprivation and the physical strain you had just put yourself through was enough to bring your muscles back into a state of failure.

Failure... that must've been the theme of this Trial, because there was no shortage of it here.

Omega cautiously scampered over to your landing spot to give you basic healing, and as she began using Water magic on your exhausted body, Reid sighed.

"That was a pretty dirty fucking thing ya tried, an' it wasn't all that special," he began. "But..." his face transformed into a malicious smirk. "One of ya passed."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Nani?!"

Everybody looked to the examiner in shock, and as a crude hint, he stretched a hand out and performed a squeezing motion with it.

Ram, who was still near him, gasped in rage as the realization dawned on her, her face turning as red as Reid's hair. "Scum! When did you do such a thing?!"

Wind rose around her weakened frame, and Reid swiped it away once again with a casual flick of his chopsticks. "When these fuckers decided ta barge in an' interrupt our special little fight, I figured I'd fuck around too. But ya know, I was pretty damn gentle-like with it, Pinky. Ya didn't even feel it when I grabbed your ass, so I'd say we both got a hell of a deal there."

"I'll kill yo-"

As Ram swore these words, another surge of blood forced its way out of her mouth, and she could only gasp for breath.

You heard this exchange, and you couldn't help but feel anger rise up inside too. Not only was Reid the absolute worst kind of person, but he had just clowned on everybody and had the nerve to let someone pass after doing so.

Speaking of clowns, Roswaal used this opportunity to cast Al Akra once again, and he summoned all of his strength into his legs as he pushed off of the ground next to Reid and bolted toward the staircase heading up to the first floor.

Without turning around, Reid made a backwards swiping motion. In an instant, blood gushed out of Roswaal's back as he plummeted into the ground and was stopped before he could make it remotely close to the stairs.

"Ya didn't pass, dipshit," the former Sword Saint carelessly shouted. Looking back to you and everyone else who didn't pass, he impatiently asked, "Anyone else got some bright fuckin' idea they wanna try?"

"Since you asked," you grumbled as Omega quizzically glared at you, "Only gay people let just one person pass, so how about letting us all pass?"

In response, Reid stared at you with murderous intent. "If ya wanna call me a gay man, then ya best be ready to feel your ass get groped a lot harder than Pinky's. I don't fuck around with words like that, you."
Your hairs stood up on their ends, and a shiver ran down your spine. This was a good time to stop talking, so you resigned yourself from any more attempts.

Seeing as your body was failing, Ram was coughing up blood, and Roswaal was bleeding profusely on the other side of Reid, Omega stood up and announced, "That will be all. Reid, can you assure us that Ram will not lose her qualification if she were to leave this room and return later?"

"Ya think I'm a liar? An' stop fuckin' calling me by my name like ya know me! That's creepy as hell, an' we ain't buddy-buddy, you!"

Omega nodded her head in compliance. "My apologies. Now, if you do not mind, I will gather my allies and exit this room promptly."

"Hmph." Reid huffed and began adjusting his eye patch. "This shit is boring as hell. I sit here all day, an' when I finally think some decent entertainment comes, it's just a bunch of fuckups who talk big game but can't do a damn thing."
To herself, Omega painfully whispered, "I know."

Time Skip

Since Shaula didn't faint this time, she was tasked with carrying Ram and Roswaal, while Omega used Murak, the gravity-decreasing spell, to help you walk down the frustratingly long stairway back down to the fourth floor.

After some time, Meili started to get exhausted as well, so Shaula crouched down and let the Mabeast User climb onto her shoulders.

At the moment, Roswaal was unconscious, and Ram was slipping in and out of sleep. The two of them had received healing from Omega, but they needed to rest in the Green Room to properly recover.

"So," you asked Omega, breaking the defeated silence, "What's the plan now? If it's late in the afternoon right now, maybe we can let everyone rest while we keep looking for Reid's book, and have Ram check out the third Trial tomorrow."

"I have been considering such a course of action," Omega said in a reserved voice, "but we must consider that, with every additional hour we spend in this desert, miasma contamination grows as a threat to our party. Between the necessity of proper rejuvenation and the danger of miasma, there lies a fine balance that we must heed."

"And that means...?"

Omega sighed. "Forgive me for my declining confidence, but even if I were to calculate the most efficient course of action, there is an alarming 'gray area' where our multitude of issues overlap, so there is no certain path to success."

"Well," you replied, "before we even knew that things would get this bad, we knew that there were a lot of risks in coming here. So even if it's risky, I completely believe in whatever it is that you come up with."

Omega gave you a side eye. "Is that so?" she asked. "Do you happen to remember the events at Roswaal's previous mansion, in which you failed several times to protect everybody from... the imminent threats? In a situation with far easier win conditions, I failed you several times. We only achieved our specific outcome because of Subaru's ability, which is not available to us here."

Since Meili and Shaula were present, and Ram could have woken up at any moment, Omega had to dance around any specific details about Elsa and Meili's attack on Roswaal's mansion and the several loops you spent countering it.

Even so, you understood what she meant. If it wasn't for the fact that Subaru had died in the Sanctuary and triggered Return by Death, then you would've been stuck with failing tragically on the first and only loop at the mansion.

Shaula, not understanding what Omega said but still getting the gist of it, commented, "You just said a bunch of stuff that I didn't understand, but you're starting to talk kinda like how you did after Satella went berserk. Please don't get sad again, Auntie! I'll cheer you up if you need it!"

You were so surprised to hear Shaula bring up the past that you missed Omega momentarily biting her lip.

"I know that you were the Witch of Greed and everything, but it's still weird to think that I know somebody who was alive when the Great Calamity happened," Meili noted with amazement from atop Shaula's bouncing shoulders.

"Indeed," Omega responded dryly, no longer displaying any emotion on her face.

Seeing that your partner was only getting in a worse mood after being reminded of the past, you brought the topic back to where it was before. "Remember, you're the Witch of Greed. You're the smartest person in the world, and even if things don't look the best right now, there's nobody else I'd rather be with right now.'"

A small smile finally reached Omega's lips. "Since when did you begin speaking with hints of eloquence, (Y/N)?" she playfully asked. "That must have taken considerable effort on your end, so I suppose I will lighten my mood for you."

"Hey, no fair!" Shaula objected. "I wanted to cheer you up first!"

"Is that so?" Omega retorted. "In that case, are you implying that you would rather see me upset than having (Y/N) do the same?"

Shaula took this very seriously.

"Of course not! It's just that... I-I wanted to-" She began sniffling, and Omega sighed as she realized just how bad she still was at predicting people's emotions.

"Shaula, I was merely attempting to tease you," she explained. "Now, in order to make the most efficient use of our time, I have committed to simulating as many outcomes as possible in order to construct a spectrum from which we can select the proper balance of factors such as risks, resting, and the allocation of our time and effort. You may talk amongst yourselves for now, but I will be largely unresponsive until we exit this staircase."

Omega seemed to go into autopilot mode after saying this, and even though she gave everyone permission to talk, neither you, Meili, or even Shaula had much to say at the moment.

Several minutes passed like this, and after hearing nothing but the droning pitter-patter of footsteps for a while, a groan from Ram interrupted the monotony.

"Uggggh..."

The oni raised her head, and it took her a few moments to realize that she was being carried by Shaula.

Even after receiving healing from Omega, Ram's breathing was ragged, and she winced whenever Shaula bounced too much between steps.

Despite this, or maybe because of Shaula's unintentional roughness, she demanded, "P-put me down, Sage. I do not need to be carried around like a baby."

"Hmm?" Shaula hummed. "It's so weird, hearing that people outside call me the Sage. Even when people said it to Master, it didn't sound right to my ears. I mean, Master is Master, right? And I'm just his cute apprentice!"

Ram groaned again and put a palm on her head. Shutting her eyelids and gritting her teeth, she forcefully said, "Omega, you helped me during the Trial. I will not deny that, and as much as I loathe you, I am thankful. However, you must command this girl to put me down. This is humiliating, and she is clueless as to how to properly hold us!"

There was no response from Omega, and Ram's face began turning red once she realized that she wasn't getting any acknowledgement for what she had just said.

Before a misunderstanding could form, you spoke up. "Hey Ram, Omega said that she was going to figure out the best course of action from here, so she's kind of stuck in her head for the moment. I'm not sure if she heard you or not, but she told us that she'd be unresponsive until we get off of these stairs."

"Of course she is," Ram grumbled. "And if she is so concerned about our future, then why am I being carried away from the third Trial? As smart as she is supposed to be, did she not consider that I can face the last Trial now that I am awake? If anything, we are wasting time right now."

As she finished insulting Omega, a rough step from Shaula made her wince again, and you noticed Ram's guard drop for a split second as she did so.

She had been hiding it pretty well, but in that moment, you saw from her face that she was in a lot of pain, and it looked like she was forcing tears from forming.

As soon as Ram let this show, she hid it once again behind her mask of irritation. "Put me down!" she repeated.

You knew that Ram was in no condition to walk, but at the same time, Shaula was doing just as much harm as she was helping, and she didn't seem to have any understanding or sympathy for the pain that the oni was feeling. If anything, Shaula might have even been apathetic to it, since Ram wasn't anybody named Flugel or Echidna.

There were probably a few ways to sort this out, but the first one that came to you was...

"You're not in a condition to walk, so you can either stop complaining and stay with Shaula, or I'll have to carry you. Which will it be?"

"HUH!?" Ram cried out. "This is outrageous! I need no pity from you! I will walk on my feet if it kills me before I am carried by-"

She was interrupted as Shaula jolted her in what seemed to be a rather intentional way, and she was left biting her lip again to keep a sob from escaping her lips.

"No can do!" Shaula hummed obliviously. "Auntie told me to carry you all the way back down to the fourth floor, so be a nice little girl and let me follow her orders."

Now, Ram looked at you without pride or anger in her eyes. This time, she looked like she was genuinely pleading for your help.

It was a bad idea for you to use magic to help Ram walk on her own, and she would still be hurting a lot if you helped her walk, so you were left with the option of carrying her for the remainder of the descent.

Ram seemed to understand that, and in another rare occurrence, she threw her firm pride away and silently gave you permission.

You nodded your head, and to Shaula, you suggested, "I know that Echidna told you to carry Ram, but since you're carrying so many people already, what if I took her for you? It might be the fact that you're only holding her with one arm, but I don't think it's very comfortable for her."

"Hehehehe," Shaula chuckled, "I knew you couldn't tell, but I've been doing that on purpose! This angry girl keeps on insulting Auntie, so I'm getting my payback!"

While the Apprentice's reasoning wasn't completely wrong, the fact that Ram had to humble herself to get out of feeling so much pain told you enough. In addition, she had her own semi-justifiable reasons for lashing out like she did, so this was more than enough punishment for now.

"Well then, what would Flugel have to say about this?" you challenged. "From what I can imagine, he wouldn't want you to hurt pretty girls."

Ram huffed at the word 'pretty,' and she scowled when Shaula began giggling uncontrollably at your question.

"I can't really tell the difference between how you people look, but even if this girl is pretty, Master always said that he advocated for true gender equality!"

You sighed, since this was unsurprisingly on-brand for Flugel. To be honest, this stance was pretty based, so you respected it, but the fact that Shaula wouldn't relent was getting tiring.

Because of her persistence on keeping Ram, you had to resort to petty strategies. "I'll tell Echidna that you were acting up and being mean to Ram if you don't put her down," you threatened.

Shaula gasped. "You wouldn't dare!"

You nodded your head, and Meili chimed in to back you up.

"Yeah, naked onee-san. (Y/N) is nice, but he'll get you in trouble if you don't stop acting like a stubborn meanie."

This was the final blow, and now that she was defeated, Shaula carelessly let go of Ram, and you almost had to dive to stop her body from falling and rolling down into the darkness of the thousands of steps still below you.

The oni gritted her teeth as you caught her in a princess carry, but she didn't berate you since this was already significantly better than being held captive in Shaula's freakishly strong arms.

Instead, she warned, "You best be careful where you put your hands, (Y/N). I remember that you had feelings for me in the past, so don't get any funny ideas."

"Don't worry," you assured her, "I'm not like Reid. And besides, it's been at least a year since that happened, so I've been over it for a while now."

She mouthed, 'thank you,' and turned her head so that her face wasn't facing directly at yours. Being carried like this was beyond embarrassing, but she couldn't deny that you were helping her tremendously by doing so.

The fact that you were being considerate and as gentle as possible meant a lot to her, and even though she would never confess this, Ram was glad that there was somebody who would help her like this - without ulterior motives and in spite of how she acted toward them.

This was yet another reason why she started to realize that she should be more upset with Roswaal.

As much as you lied and hid the truth of Echidna from her, at least you were a good enough person to feel sorry about it and actually try to make up for it. Roswaal kept trying to lie about his ignorance about Omega's real identity, and he didn't even try to hide the fact that he was only here to use everybody to make sure that his ultimate goal was achieved.

With this Ram thought... maybe she could be nicer to you for now.

Just maybe.

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

First of all, I want to apologize for being gone for so long again. To be frank, I haven't had any good time to write since May. Over the summer, I was working 50-60 hours a week, and I'm currently back at school, where classwork and other commitments keep me busy all week.

Even so, I write when I can, and the good news is that is only about half of the chapter I've been working on, so that means that I've already gotten quite a lot of work done on the next chapter. I really wanted to end this on the cliffhanger coming next time, but I figured that you guys would appreciate a sooner upload and not having to read 15,000 words, so here we are! I estimate that the next chapter will be out in a month or so, but I can't make any promises.

Now, since I've been gone for a while, feel free to ask any questions about things you might have forgotten from previous chapters, or anything else you might want to ask me!

Before I leave you guys again, here's a short teaser for the next chapter, which was recommended by RUo25x! (I've never done one of these, so I hope it doesn't seem like too much of a spoiler.)

Next time...

"I am not so weak that fatigue would wear me down!"

... she was completely hunched over, and her body had been rag-dolling...

"Miasma."

"It's a trap!"

"Where's Rem?!"

"...so hungry!"

The sounds... the curdling shrieks of the [redacted], the distant tremors, the shouts of pain and terror, the sickening crunch of [redacted], the thick dripping of blood... It was too much...

AAAAAHHHHH! I'm so excited to write what's about to come!

I honestly can't wait to get the next chapter out for you guys to read, so I'll see you next time!