Songs in the Void

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom, Royal Capital. 

After Meld made his announcement, the students stayed around to talk about it for a while. In then, they all returned to their rooms to get cleaned up before dinner. And James was no exception. 

"*Sigh* It's already been two weeks since we got to this world... Tortus." James said as he lowered himself into the tub of hot water a maid prepared for him upon his return to his room. "What do you think, Ddraig?" 

["It's a good thing this world wasn't connected you your world."] Ddraig said. ["Some greedy god would have set their eyes on it a long time ago. And that fake god, Ehit... That's what they call him, right? Anyway, he would have lost his toy box a long time ago."] 

"I guess." James replied as he leaned against the edge of the tub. "His soul would have probably become an experimental subject for some god, too. I can only imagine what Loki would have done if he got his hands on that guys soul. Maybe he would have made him fuck the horse instead." 

["Uh... Loki was the horse that got... fucked... as you put it."] Ddraig said in an awkward tone. 

James and Ddraig fell into silence for a moment after that. 

"Hahahaha!" James laughed uproariously, surprising the maid that was waiting to attend to him after his bath. "I forgot about that. Or... I think I tried my best to put it out of my mind. Thanks for reminding me, Ddraig." 

["Yeah, yeah, I'm sure he'd be really mad if he heard our conversation."] Ddraig said, giving the impression that he would be shaking his head if he had one. ["But more important than that, did you notice it?"] 

Hearing Ddraig's tone, James stopped laughing immediately. Instead, his amused expression was replaced by a solemn one. And although there was no context to Ddraig's statement, James knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"You're talking about Tatsuo, right?" James asked solemnly. "His dragon aspect, right? Yeah, I noticed. In fact, I noticed as soon as I met him. But it was so weak that I thought I was sensing things wrong." 

["I understand."] Ddraig replied. ["At first, I thought it was because he was wearing an accessory that gave off the aura of a dragon. But as his magic power increased due to the training, so, too, did his dragon aspect."] 

"Yeah, I noticed that, too." James said as he raised his head to look at the ceiling. "And although it's really weak, it makes me feel uncomfortable. Like I should bow down to Tatsuo." 

["Same here, Partner."] Ddraig said. ["And the worst thing about it is that I don't even think he knows it himself."] 

"*Sigh* You're probably right." James muttered. "But he's definitely human, right?" 

["Undoubtedly."] Ddraig replied. 

"Then, I wonder what it means." James said absent-mindedly. 

["Maybe there's an issue with his soul."] Ddraig said. ["He could be like us. It's just his [Sacred Gear]-like object hasn't awakened yet."] 

"Maybe." James replied. "*Sigh* If we weren't in this weird world, I would be able to figure it out with my [Soul Sight]. But this stupid world restricts me way too much. I can't even call you out or use your abilities. Hell, Senbonzakura can't even be used without the proper magic circle engraved on my weapon, either." 

In James original world, the Devil Bloodline Ability of his clan, Senbonzakura, was exactly what fans of bleach expected. With the use of a spiritual mark, the Alaverus Clan, which only consists of three members, James, his father Cassiel, and his younger sister, Aaliyah, have the ability to break down an item into a thousand cherry blossom petal-shaped blades that they can control at will. 

Yet, because neither humans nor demons can use magic power without the use of magic circles, barring certain circumstances, James is unable to use his bloodline ability without a magic circle engraved on his weapon. 

On a side note, not long after Tatsuo helped Hajime create a crossbow, he also forged a pair of katanas for James. And although it could not compare to his main weapons, Sixth Sense or Carnage, they were more than good enough for his current condition. 

["Well, if you weren't restricted on these so-called missions, you would just steam roll your way through them."] Ddraig replied. ["And that would probably defeat the purpose."] 

"Well, it would have been nice to know beforehand." James muttered in annoyance. "And what purpose could these missions even have?" 

["To train that kid."] Ddraig replied. ["But that's just my guess."] 

"Whatever." James said as he stood from the tub of hot water. "I plan on inviting Tatsuo and the others to train with Master at some point. So, when I can see him without all these restrictions, I'll be able to take a good look at him." 

["That's true."] Ddraig replied. ["With enough patience, we'll be able to figure out what's going on eventually."] 

After leaving the bath and getting dressed, James left his room to join everyone else in the dining room. Then, after a sumptuous meal, the entire class returned to their rooms, calling it a night to be well rested for tomorrow's trip to the Orcus Great Labyrinth. 

The next morning, just after dawn, all the students and Sumire were gathered outside of the castle's gates. In front of them, a squad of knights, led by Meld, stood before a group of carriages that would make up the Hero Party's convoy. Then, after a short speech, Meld instructed everyone to board and the group set out. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Heiligh Kingdom, Horaud. 

Around the time the sun began setting, the Hero Party's convoy of carriages pulled into Horaud, the town where the Orcus Great Labyrinth was located. Horaud was a small town situated between three cliffs. There was only a single road that stretched from the town's entrance to the entrance to the Orcus Great Labyrinth. 

On either side of the road, there were many street vendors selling equipment and other items. There were also several stores such as restaurants, taverns, blacksmith shops, and general stores to meet the needs of all those who come to explore the dungeon. 

Also, Horaud's Adventurer's Guild was built into one of the cliff faces adjacent to the labyrinth's entrance. And the Adventurer's Guild was exactly what those familiar with fantasy novels would expect. A place where those who sold their skills for money, to complete posted tasks by civilians, organizations, and governments. 

Lastly, there were a number of inns where people could stay when they were not exploring the labyrinth. And one of those inns was the convoy's final destination. 

Once all the carriages came to a stop at the inn, the knights and the other worlders quickly disembarked. However, before the youngsters could run off to explore the town, Meld stopped them. 

If you wish to explore the town, that's fine." Meld said, drawing attention to himself. "But be careful. In a place filled with adventurers, all sorts of people gather. And not all of them are the good sort of people. So, don't cause trouble, and try to avoid attracting it, as well." 

Hearing that, most of the other worlders decided to cancel their plans. They had no idea what kind of people adventurers were. So, keeping to themselves was the best choice. The exception was Tatsuo's group of four, namely, Tatsuo, Sumire, James, and Hajime. 

Kaori also wanted to insert herself into the group . However, just before she could make her move, Kouki stopped her to ask some questions. And by the time the conversation ended, Hajime and the other three were nowhere to be seen. And because of that, she stomped her foot in frustration while glaring at Kouki. 

Naturally, Kouki had no idea what Kaori was upset about. So, he just wore a confused expression. Meanwhile, Shizuku could only shake her head at her best friend's luck. 

"So, where are we going?" Hajime asked curiously. 

"Just to take a look around." Tatsuo replied. 

"Yeah, just staying in the inn would be boring." James added with a smile. 

"*Sigh* Why do I get the feeling that you two plan on getting into trouble of some kind?" Sumire asked while shaking her head. 

"Get into trouble?" Tatsuo and James asked in unison. "Us?" 

"*Sigh* Sumire could only sigh and shake her head once again at the two's antics. 

"Anyway, don't worry." Tatsuo said with a smile that charmed all the female adventures on the street. "I just wanna check out the restaurants in the town. I mean, the food in the palace was good, but it was too..." 

"High-Class." James said, finishing Tatsuo's sentence. "A countries commoner food is the real way to see there culinary standards, after all." 

"That makes you sound like you've been all over the world to try different foods, or something." Hajime said with a chuckle. 

"Oh, I have."" James replied. "If you knew the half of it, you wouldn't be able to close your mouth for a while, probably." 

"Seriously?" Hajime asked in a dumbfounded tone. 

'Well, if you include going to all the different realms in my world, then yeah.' James thought to himself. 'I actually haven't been to too many countries in the Human World, though.' 

"Anyway, let's just pick a restaurant and grab a bite." Tatsuo said. "It's not like we know what kind of food they'll be serving, anyway." 

Just like that, the group of four headed into the first restaurant they saw and ordered a table full of food. James even ordered a few drinks, which Sumire protested to in her capacity as a teacher. On top of that, she was still holding a grudge over James calling her old, despite the fact they were the same age, a few days ago. 

And when James offered Tatsuo a drink, Sumire was almost ready to start a fight right then and there. 

Luckily, it never came to that. And by the time they were done eating, it was fairly late at night. So, they decided to return to the inn to get some rest for tomorrow's adventure into the Orcus Great Labyrinth. 

"*Sigh* The fact that there are no bathrooms in the rooms sucks." Tatsuo said while on his way back to his room after taking a trip to the bathroom before bed. "But I guess I shouldn't expect there to be toilets in each room in a setting like this. I should just be grateful that they have plumbing at all. Otherwise, this town would smell like shit." 

While talking to himself, Tatsuo turned the corner. However, just as he did, he noticed Kaori, wearing a white night gown and an unbuttoned cardigan, walking down the hallway. And the direction she was headed was towards Hajime's room. And as it just so happened, Hajime was the only student in the class who had their own room. 

"Oh, I guess that does happen tonight, huh?" Tatsuo muttered to himself as he activated [Stealth] and followed Kaori. "I wanna see if that dickhead, Hayama still plans to go overboard in the labyrinth tomorrow, or if our presence in this world was enough to change things for the better." 

With that said, Tatsuo blended into the shadows before finding a good place he could watch the surroundings from. And just as he expected, Kaori stopped in front of Hajime's door and knocked softly. Not long later, Hajime opened the door and was surprised when he saw that Kaori was his late-night visitor. Still, he let her into the room. Then, Tatsuo's waiting game began. 

Shortly after Tatsuo made himself comfortable, James appeared next to him in a burst of speed. 

"What are you doing?" James asked with a bottle of mead in his hand. "I could sense you sitting here for a while now." 

"I was just coming back from the bathroom." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "But on my way back, I saw Shirasaki-San go into Nagumo's room." 

"Oh, shit..." James said with his eyes lighting up. Then, he offered the bottle of mead to Tatsuo as he continued. "You think Nagumo's gonna get some tonight?" 

"Of course not." Tatsuo replied as he took the bottle from James and took a swig. Then, after swallowing, he scrunched his face in disgust. "How can you even drink this shit? By the way, Sumire-San will be pissed if she finds out you let me drink, you know?" 

"What she doesn't know won't hurt us." James replied with a shrug as he took the bottle back. "But seriously, I just wanted to try it. I mean, I don't really drink that much, anyway. And when I do, it's always the really good and smooth stuff, like the stuff in Sera-Tan's stash." 

"Serafall, huh?" Tatsuo muttered. "She doesn't really strike me as a drinker based on the stuff I've read in the novels." 

"I've read those, too." James muttered. "But since they're from Ize's point of view, you really don't get to know what anyone does in their own time, you know?" 

"I guess that's true." Tatsuo replied. 

Like that, the two continued to chat for a while. However, their attention was drawn away from their conversation when they saw Daisuke leave his room and head towards the bathroom. 

"*Sigh* I guess it's gonna go like it did in the canon." Tatsuo muttered while shaking his head. 

"Well, we could always just..." James said as he raised his hand and drew his thumb across his throat. 

"Nah, I need an excuse to go down to the true labyrinth, remember?" Tatsuo asked. 

"Damn it... Why do you get to go down there while I have to stay up here with these kids and that dipshit Amanogawa?" James asked in a frustrated tone. "Even Sumire gets to follow you down there. But I gotta baby sit these damn kids." 

"Because we need someone to keep an eye on Nakamura." Tatsuo replied. 

"But does it have to be me?" James muttered disgruntledly. "I mean, she's already on guard against me, you know." 

"And that's the reason why." Tatsuo said with a shrug. "Because she hates you so much, she's bound to make a move at some point. But because you're so strong, all her schemes will probably be useless." 

"What do you mean probably?" James asked in a tone that suggested he was offended. "You think that chick could ever hurt me?" 

Before Tatsuo could reply, Daisuke came back from the bathroom. At the same time, Kaori left Hajime's room and started making her way aback to the room she shared with Shizuku with a smile on her face. However, Kaori was completely unaware that anyone, let alone three people saw her coming out of Hajime's room so late at night. 

Neither did Daisuke know there were two people, who did not belong in this world, who saw the vicious expression of jealousy and hatred that appeared on his face when he realized whose room Kaori just exited. 

"Well, let's do things the way we planned tomorrow." Tatsuo said as he threw an arm over James' shoulder and pulled him towards their shared room. 

"Damn... I really wanna go challenge the real labyrinth." James whined while being dragged along. 

The rest of the night went by peacefully. And before long, the sun rose, shining its rays over the town of Horaud. And the Hero's Party rose along with the sun, having their breakfasts and taking the time to inspect their equipment before venturing into the Orcus Great Labyrinth. 

Eventually, Meld, his squad of knights, and the Hero's Party reached the entrance to the labyrinth. When they did, Meld stopped everyone to remind them of today's plan. 

"Remember, we'll only be going down to clear the twentieth floor." Meld said while scanning the crowd. "And I want you all to look out for each other while we're inside. I know that not all of you get along, but you're a team. Remember that." 

As he made his last point, Meld made a point of glaring at Tatsuo, James, Hajime, Daisuke, and Kouki, the students most likely to get into arguments and confrontations in the class. 

In response, Tatsuo shrugged uncaringly, James raised his thumb in Meld's direction with a dazzling smile on his face. Meanwhile, Kouki seemed to have no idea why Meld was looking at him like that while Daisuke completely ignored Meld and glared at Hajime. 

Lastly, there was Hajime, who scratched the side of his head while smiling sheepishly. Out of the five people Meld glared at, he was the only one who never started any trouble on his own initiative. However, because he was involved in so many of the troublesome matters between students, he was guilty by association. 

"Okay, now let's go inside." Meld said after he realized that his glare had very little effect. 

Just like that, the group walked towards the labyrinth's entrance. Before they entered, however, they were required to register with an employee from the Adventurer's guild. That way, it would be easier to keep track of the death tolls among those exploring the labyrinth. 

Once everyone was registered, the group finally made their way to the first floor of the labyrinth. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Orcus Great Labyrinth, 1st Floor. 

Although there was no lighting in the labyrinth, visibility was not disturbed in the slightest. Through magical means, there was a soft glow that lit up the entire corridor they found themselves in. 

"Let me remind you again, don't go anywhere unless we've told you that it is clear of traps, understood?" Meld asked as he led the group through the labyrinth. "And also stay alert, you never know where the magic beasts could come from in here." 

As if they were waiting for him to say that, a group of grey blurs scurried out from small cracks in the walls of the corridor. When those blurs stopped moving to confront the group, it was revealed that they were bipedal, muscular rats known as ratmen. 

"Damn it... ratmen again." Tatsuo muttered as he looked into the red eyes of one of the ratmen. 

Hearing that, Sumire, who was walking next to Tatsuo could not help giggling. 

"Kouki!" Meld said loudly. "Take your team to deal with these pests." 

"Okay." Kouki replied as he unsheathe his sword and stepped forward. 

Along with Kouki, Kaori, Shizuku, Ryutaro, Eri, and Suzu all stepped forward, as well. Though, Kaori, Eri, and Suzu stayed further back, acting as ranged support. 

The four ratmen that showed themselves did not last long after the fighters stepped forward. In fact, Kaori, Eri, and Suzu even over did it when they finished off the last of them with a concentrated storm of flames. 

After the battle ended, the group continued onwards. And every time the party faced a group of ratmen, Meld would send up a different team to deal with it. Eventually, it was the last team's turn, the only team that had fewer than six members, Tatsuo, Sumire, James, and Hajime. 

And their fight ended even faster than any of the other fights. 

Shortly after the ratmen appeared, Hajime pressed his hands against the floor. 

"[Transmute]." Hajime chanted. 

In the next instant, the floor around the ratmen's feet began to squirm. Then, it rose in an attempt to bind all their feet. Unfortunately, two of the four ratmen reacted quickly enough to evade the binding. But the other two were left completely stationary. 

Taking advantage of the fact that his foe could not move, Hajime then took his time to line up a shot with his crossbow, before sinking a bolt into one of the immobilized ratmen's head. 

At the same time, as soon as she heard Hajime's crossbow fire, Sumire dashed forward with her spear and shield. Then, as soon as she was in range, she thrust her spear into the other immobilized ratman's throat. 

Meanwhile, Tatsuo and James were leisurely walking back towards the rest of the group with smiles on their faces. At the same time, James was sheathing one of the katana Tatsuo forged for him. 

"Damn, these things are slow." Tatsuo muttered. 

"Yeah, they haven't even realized their dead yet." James added. 

As Tatsuo and James said, the ratmen they attacked were still screeching because of the deaths of their companions. However, if one were to look closely enough, there was a line leaking blood on each of their necks, the result of Tatsuo's and James' swift attacks. 

*Click!* 

At that moment, James finally finished sheathing his katana. And just as he did, the ratmen's heads popped up with a geyser of blood. 

When the rest of the class, including Hajime saw such a gory scene, most of them felt like their breakfasts wanted to come back up to say hi. Even so, the expedition continued. And the group eventually reached the twentieth floor. 

Arifureta Universe, Orcus Great Labyrinth, 20th Floor. 

Though the trip took most of the day, the end of today's training excursion was in sight, as the party only needed to clear this floor before they could return to the surface and get some rest. Unfortunately, things would not be as easy as they had been so far, as the corridors on this floor were much more narrow than those on the higher floors. On top of that, Meld's warning at the beginning of the floor made things even more tense. 

"The monsters on this floor, Rock Mounts, have the ability to camouflage themselves in the surroundings." Meld said in a solemn tone. "So be careful." 

"Don't worry, Meld-San." Kouki replied with is uselessly bright smile. "We've been able to handle everything so far, I doubt there will be a problem as long as we continue to work together." 

While this short conversation went on, the party walked forward in their designated groups, with Kouki's team in front. However, just to be safe, instead of Tatsuo's team bringing up the rear, they were second in line. This made it clear that Meld was unsure if Kouki's team would be able to handle everything on their own this time. 

A few moments later, just as Kouki passed a certain area, the walls that he just passed seemed to shimmer. In the next instant, a gorilla like monster with grey fur blurred into sight on either side of the corridor. On top of that, twon ore appeared in front of Kouki int eh same fashion. 

"Those are Rock Mounts!" Hajime shouted. "ON top of being able to blend in with thier surroundings, they're really strong, too." 

"Don't worry, we'll take care of them." Kouki said as he drew his sword. "Ryutaro, Shizuku, you take care of the ones behind me. I'll take care of the two in front." 

"Got it." Ryutaro replied as he dashed towards the closest Rock Mount. 

"Understood." Shizuku replied as she dropped into an iaido stance on reflex, before she frowned at the fact that she was using a western sword. 

'I should have just asked Soramoto-Kun to make a katana for me, too, when I saw Alaverus-Kun's.' Shizuku thought to herself as she drew her single-edged western sword. "But no~~~~, I wanted to get more experience using different kinds of swords to improve my own swordsmanship. I could just kick myself from back then.' 

"Here, catch." James' voice sounded from behind. "It's obvious that you're uncomfortable with that thing. Use mine until we can get you a katana made, okay?" 

Gratefully, Shizuku caught the katana that was flying towards her. Then, she lowered it to the left side of her waist. And just as the Rock Mount she was facing stepped into her range, Shizuku drew the katana and sliced it in half from its right hip to its left shoulder. 

"Wow!" Shizuku exclaimed at how effortlessly the sword cut through the monster. 

In fact, Shizuku was so impressed by the katana that she did not even notice the Rock Mount that dove over herself, Kouki, and Ryutaro towards the team's back line. 

A few moments ago, while Ryutaro was exchanging punches with the Rock mount he was responsible for, Kouki was facing off against the other two. However, before he could engage them in combat, the one to Kouki's left looked at Kaori, Eri, and Suzu. And when it did, its nostrils began to flare abnormally while it exhaled heavy breaths. 

Then, while completely ignoring Kouki, it ran forward and jumped high into the air, almost touching the corridor's ceiling, and performed a Lupin dive. Seeing the perverted expression on the Rock Mount's face, Kaori, Eri, and Suzu were shaken completely, as they stopped chanting mid-incantation. 

"Kya~~~~~~!" x 3 

"Watch out!" Hajime shouted as he brought his crossbow up to his shoulder. 

"Swoosh!* 

In the next instant, a crossbow bolt was buried right between the Rock Mount's eyes. Unfortunately, that was not enough to stop its forward momentum. So, even though Hajime managed to kill it, it would still end up landing on the three girls. 

*Clang!* 

*Boom!* 

Luckily, Sumire was not too far behind the three girls. So, she was able to rush up and deflect the Rock Mount's rather large body with her shield. Causing its corpse to slam into the floor hard enough to make the corridor shake. 

"Huh?" Kouki exclaimed in confusion after pushing the Rock Mount who decided to engage with him back. 

Once he had some room to breathe, Kouki looked back and saw the frightened faces of his teammates. And that sight of their scared expressions angered him immediately. So, in a rage, Kouki turned back towards the Rock Mount he was fighting and raised his sword over his head. 

"You dare... sneak an attack on those girls...?" Kouki asked angrily as his sword began glowing intensely. "Myriad Soaring Wings, Reach the Heavens..." 

"Stop it you idiot!" Meld shouted after realizing what skill Kouki was about to use. 

Unfortunately, Kouki had no intension of listening to Meld's reprimand. Instead, he swung his sword down with all his might. 

"[Soaring Flash]." Kouki said, finishing his chant. 

With that, the light surrounding Kouki's sword was shot forward along the path of his swing. AS a result, the flying slash cut the Rock Mount in front of Kouki in half. However, it did not stop there. Instead, it carved out a gash on the floor before slamming into the wall behind the monster. 

*Boom!* 

Upon impact, the wall collapse, kicking up a dust cloud. Meanwhile, Kouki, with that uselessly bright smile on his face again, turned around to try and console Kaori, Eri, and Suzu, who he correctly guessed were scared by the Rock Mount who bypassed him, yet was completely unaware of what scared them exactly. Luckily, Ryutaro was able to take advantage of the brief distraction the Rock Mount he was facing when the collison occurred. 

*Bang!* 

"Are you guys--- Oh!" Kouki said before he was interrupted. 

However, just as he started, Meld rushed up to Kouki and struck him in the head with his gauntleted right fist. 

"What were you thinking?" Meld chastised angrily. "You could have caused this entire corridor to collapse on us. Never, ever, use moves like that in such a confined space. Do I make myself clear." 

"Ah! I'm sorry." Kouki exclaimed in realization. 

"Look, I understand how you feel." Meld said after seeing the genuine remorse on Kouki's face. "But you have to stay calm. And look there..." 

Reaching that point, Meld pointed back towards Sumire and Hajime. 

"Like I said when we came in, you're a team." Meld continued. "And your teammates stepped into help at just the right time." 

"Hey! What's that?" Yoshiki Saiko asked, interrupting the conversation while pointing at something shining behind the dust cloud Kouki's attack kicked up. 

Saito's shout drew everyone's attention to what he was pointing at. And when the dust settled, everyone saw the brightly glowing water blue gemstone that shone through the collapsed wall. 

"Wow! It's so pretty." Kaori said with her eyes shining. 

"Those are Grantz crystals." Meld said after taking a good look at the gemstones shining through the cracks. "They're quite popular with the youngsters in the capital. Usually, they are given as gifts to express ones feelings to their beloved. Most commonly, they are given when asking your special someone to marry you." 

"That's so sweet~~~~!" Kaori said as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. 

While speaking, Kaori's eyes shined even brighter. At the same time, her cheeks reddened as she stole a glance at Hajime. Luckily, not many people noticed her little gesture. Only Shizuku, Tatsuo, Sumire, and James noticed. Everyone else was too focused on the Grantz crystal to pay Kaori any attention. 

Yet, there was one person in the crowd who wanted to show off after hearing Meld's explanation. 

"If that's the case, we should bring some back!" Daisuke shouted before sprinting towards the Grantz crystal as quickly as possible. 

 It took a moment for anyone to react to Daisuke's dash. But the first one who did was Meld, and he immediately began running after Daisuke to stop him. 

"Hey, stop!" Meld shouted in a frantic tone while trying to catch up to Daisuke. "What did I tell you before we entered. Let us make sure it's free of traps first." 

Unfortunately, Daisuke pretended as if he could not hear Meld as he reached the wall and started climbing so that he could reach a loose piece of Grantz crystal that he could see. 

At that moment, one of Meld's subordinates paled rapidly while checking a small magic device used to detect traps in the labyrinth. 

"Commander! It's a trap!" the night shouted at the top of his lungs. 

Unfortunately, his message came a little too late. Because at the moment, Daisuke finally laid his hand on the piece of Grantz crystal he had his eyes on. 

*Flash!* 

And as soon as Daisuke touched the Grantz crystal, a magic circle that was hidden in the crystal was activated. As it turned out, this trap was set for anyone who was too greedy to resist the allure of the Grantz crystal. 

"Get out of here right now!" Meld shouted. 

Unfortunately, his order came a little too late. 

A moment after the magic circle activated, a bright light flashed from the crystal. And that light quickly enveloped the entire area, which included both the knights and the Hero Party. Then, like when the Hero Party arrived in this world, they had vanished from where they stood when the light was gone. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, Orcus Great Labyrinth, Unknown Floor. 

*Thud!* 

An instant after the light swept over everyone, they were all thrown to the floor. While rubbing their backsides, everyone slowly took a look around their new environment. At the same time, Tatsuo, Sumire, James, Kaori, Shizuku, Kouki, Ryutaro, Eri, Suzu, and the knights immediately jumped to their feet so they would be ready for anything. 

Currently, the group found themselves on a wide, about 30' or so, bridge. On either side of the bridge, there were stairs that led upwards to higher floors. However, instead of a body of water below the bridge, there was only darkness. An abyss that no one could see the bottom of. On top of that, there were no railings on this bridge. The sides of the bridge were even round and smooth. Meaning, if one were to stumble over the edge, there wouldn't even be anything to grab onto. 

"Everyone get up!" Meld ordered loudly. "we need to get out of here, now!" 

Meld's loud shout brought everyone to their senses, as they all scrambled to get to their feet. However, before they could even start running towards one of the stairways, magic circles appeared in front of each stairway. To make things worse, monsters started rising from the magic circles, as well. 

"Summoning Circles." Meld muttered quietly. However because of the silence on the bridge, everyone heard him clearly. "This is worse than I thought." 

Reaching that point, Meld looked in the direction of the two Summoning Circles. When he saw the skeletons wielding swords and shields rise from the first one, he became even more apprehensive. However, when he saw the large monster rising from the circle on the opposite side of the bridge, he paled immediately. 

"It can't be… a Behemoth?" Meld mumbled in a tone filled with horror.