Songs in the Void

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, True Orcus Great Labyrinth, 2nd Floor. 

Three days passed quickly. In that time, Tatsuo got used to his new pistols. On top of that, the number of magic beasts roaming the first floor of the Labyrinth were reduced significantly. Sumire had also fallen in love with the spear Tatsuo made for her. However, she did not request that he made a new shield for her, as well. 

The reason for Sumire not wanting a new shield was strange to Tatsuo. Sumire said that the Taur Stone was too strong. As a result, she would not improve her shield technique because she would just be able to stand behind it and guard against any incoming attacks. 

'That's what a shield is for though, right?' Tatsuo thought to himself as he decided to follow Sumire's wishes. 'That shield is going to get too light for her eventually, though. Although Stats seem to rise rather quickly in this world, they're only about ten percent as effective as the Stats from the ICDS Universe. So, Sumire-San isn't growing as much as it seems.' 

As previously mentioned, Sumire's stats had grown by quite a bit since she entered the True Labyrinth. Even so, because she was already stronger than the average person, they did not make her feel much stronger. They would have to see the difference between the statuses when she got back to her world before they would be able to tell for sure, though. 

On the morning of the fourth day, Tatsuo and Sumire, who had packed everything of use in their shelter, including the Divinity Crystal, into Tatsuo's [Inventory], made their way to the slope leading down to the 2nd Floor of the Labyrinth. 

When they arrived on the 2nd Floor, the first thing they noticed was that it was pitch dark. So dark, in fact, that their eyes did not adjust to the darkness no matter how long they waited. 

"Well, we expected something like this." Tatsuo said as he walked forward cautiously. 

"Yeah." Sumire added. "It would be a lot worse if we didn't have the Green Light Stones or mana dispersal, though." 

"You're right." Tatsuo replied. "And I'd rather not light up one of those stones, to be honest. I mean, we'd basically be drawing every monster on this floor's attention to us thanks to the light." 

*Swoosh!* 

While Tatsuo was replying to her, Sumire, who had picked up something after dispersing mana around her surroundings, lifted her spear and took aim. Then, once she was sure she would hit the presence she was feeling, she threw her spear with all her might. 

*Splatter!* 

*Hoo!* 

*Clang!* 

"I hit something." Sumire said with a smile. 

While cheering for herself, Sumire reached out to where she threw her spear. Then, she flexed her mana, causing it to communicate with the magic circles carved into her gauntlet and spear. As a result, the spear, which, if the sound was any indication, had been lodged into a wall, quickly returned to her hand. 

Once the spear was in her hand, Sumire ran her left hand along its shaft. A moment later, she felt a feathered monster hanging off the shaft just below the spearhead. 

"Oh, it feels like a bird." Sumire said while running her hands all over the magic beast. 

Though Sumire gave it the generalization of a bird, Tatsuo, whose draconic bloodline had awakened, could see it clearly. The bird-type magic beast was an enlarged owl. Then, he remembered what he had read back when he read the web novel version of Arifureta. This owl-like magic beast was able to shoot its feathers, which would become hard and sharp after leaving its body, as projectiles to hunt its prey. 

"Anyway, let's put that away." Tatsuo said. "We'll have to see what kind of Skills we can get from eating it later." 

Nodding in response, Sumire pointed her spear, which was still lodged in the owl's head, at Tatsuo. Tatsuo, on the other hand, touched the owl with his left hand while drawing a pistol with is right hand. 

*Zap!* 

*Bang!* 

Then, while illuminating the area with [Lightning Clad] and channeling the electricity into the pistol, he fired under his outstretched left arm, hitting a lizard that was watching the two while crawling across a wall, in the head, splattering its head all over the wall and floor. 

"Huh?" Sumire intoned in confusion at Tatsuo's sudden action. 

"There was a lizard monster over there." Tatsuo said, responding to Sumire's confusion. "I think that's the basilisk-type monster from the canon. So, it's better to get rid of them as soon as possible. Don't wanna get turned to stone, after all." 

"Yeah." Sumire replied with a nod, though it was clear she was still a little shaken. 

"Let's get going." Tatsuo said as the owl disappeared into his [Inventory]. "I really don't like it down here. If it weren't because of our phones, which don't need to be charged anymore after having the chat installed on them, we wouldn't even know how long we've been down here." 

"Right." Sumire replied, nodding her head once again as she did so. 

With that, the two continued exploring the 2nd Floor of the Labyrinth. And three days quickly passed. During that time, they encountered many more of the owls and basilisks. On top of that, they came across a strange cat-like magic beast with six legs. 

Also, at the end of the first day, Tatsuo [Transmuted] a shelter similar to the one they stayed in on the 1st Floor. During their time in the shelter, they ate the magic beasts they hunted. And they were granted three Skills, [Petrification Resistance], [Presence Detection], and [Night Vision]. Though, only Sumire received the third. 

On the third day, Tatsuo and Sumire found the slope leading down to the next floor. And they wasted no time heading down. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, True Orcus Great Labyrinth, 50th Floor. 

The Labyrinth Exploration continued for a while after that. Spending an average of three days on each floor, Tatsuo and Sumire were making fairly good progress. 

On the 3rd Floor, the two had to contend with monsters that could conceal their presence, making the skill they had just received from the owl monster on the previous floor useless. On top of that, they had to navigate through a floor that was covered in tar that was made from a mineral with a low melting point. To make things even worse, the tar was highly flammable, bursting in high-temperature flames if introduced to temperatures at high water's boiling point or higher. 

At least they did not have to deal with walking through the tar, thanks to the fact that Tatsuo used [Transmutation] different form this world's version. So, instead of dealing with the tar, Tatsuo simply raised the cave's floor and created paths wherever he and Sumire went. 

Those paths Tatsuo made' made dealing with the many monsters that would jump out of the tar to attack much easier. Even if they were quite resistant to physical harm. However, when he and Sumire used [Air Claw] to augment their weapons' cutting power, they were easily dealt with. 

The magic beasts on this floor also gave a Skill, [Presence Concealment]. Though, like [Night Vision], only Sumire received it. Tatsuo's [Stealth] Skill was of higher grade, after all. 

After the 3rd floor, most of the magic beasts they hunted did not give any Skills. They did help to raise Sumire's stats, though. As for Tatsuo's Stats, they were rising steadily thanks to fighting and circulating his [Energy] through his heart. As a result, his [Agility], Dexterity], and [Intelligence] rose to C+ while his [Perception] was raised to B-. he even suspected that his [energy] would rise by a rank by the time they left the Labyrinth. 

On the 22nd Floor, the duo came across the next floor that granted them skills from the magic beasts. However, this floor was quite tough on Sumire, as it was filled with a poisonous mist. Luckily, Tatsuo seemed to be unaffected. Though, he did not have [Poison Resistance], he figured that the poison was just too weak to deal any damage to him. 

Luckily, after eating a certain beast from the floor, a large, multi-colored frog, they both gained [Poison Resistance]. They also gained [Paralysis Resistance] from a moth that spread spores all over the floor that induced paralysis. 

The next interesting floor the couple came across was the 46th. On this floor, they found an entire rainforest biome, complete with trees, swamps, rivers, grass, and high humidity. 

After their first day, Tatsuo found his lust, that was growing thanks to his draconic blood, hard to control when he saw Sumire with her clothes sticking to her because of sweat. Luckily, thanks to some of the conditioning he went through as a captive of DOATEC, he was able to control his emotions and desires to a large amount. Though, eh did not know how much longer that would last. 

As for the monsters on the 46th Floor, they consisted of cockroach like creatures, large centipedes that would separate into individual monsters when a section of the centipede was damaged, and treants. 

And while the insect and bug like monsters on this floor were unnerving, Tatsuo and Sumire looked forward to the treants, as they threw the fruits growing from their branches at their enemies. And contrary to expectations, these fruits were not dangerous in any way. 

Instead, the fruits were incredibly delicious, tasting like watermelons while looking like apples. They seemed even more delicious because the only things the two had eaten over the last four and a half months was magic beast meat. 

And because of these fruits, Tatsuo and Sumire spent a lot more time on this floor than they did on the others. And by the time they left, the treants were almost extinct while Tatsuo's [Inventory] was filled with their fruit. 

Unfortunately, they did not gain any new skills on this floor. In fact, Sumire's stats did not grow either. And the reason for that was simple, they did not eat any of the monsters on the 46th Floor. 

Neither of them wanted to eat cockroaches or centipedes. And the treants were made of wood, which was inedible, as well. So, they left that floor empty handed. Though, Tatsuo was curious to know if he would gain the ability to make clones if he ate the centipedes. But he just could not bring himself to do so. 

"Finally, we're halfway through this dungeon." Sumire said while standing next to Tatsuo. "Why does every dungeon we've been to have a hundred floors, anyway?" 

"It's an easy number to remember, maybe?" Tatsuo replied while shaking his head with a smile on his lips. 

"I guess." Sumire said. "It doesn't change the fact that there are too many floors." 

Tatsuo could not help chuckling at Sumire's gripe. 

"Anyway, it's time to save the vampire princess." Tatsuo said while turning his gaze away from Sumire and focusing on the door in front of them. 

The large door Tatsuo was looking at was made of stone. Also, there was a spherical indent on each door. And to the side of each door, there was a cyclops relief carved into them. 

"Hey, Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said, drawing Tatsuo's attention away from the doors. "Can you let me fight them?" 

"If you want to." Tatsuo replied with a shrug. "it's not like they'll be able to hurt you at this point." 

Smiling in response, Sumire grabbed Tatsuo's arm, burying it between her breasts before pushing herself up onto her toes and pecking him on the cheek. 

Over the last four and a half months, Tatsuo and Sumire had gotten much closer in terms of intimacy. Though, that only referred to kissing more often. They had not actually gotten past second base. Though, there was quite a bit of over the clothes action when they laid down to sleep, or when they woke up in the mornings. 

'*Sigh* By now Tatsuo should be sixteen, right?' Sumire thought to herself in frustration as she released Tatsuo so that he could activate the door guardians. 'I mean, he spent five or six months in my world right after turning fifteen. Then, he spent another month in his, and now it's been almost five months in this one. That should count as being sixteen, right?' 

Unaware of Sumire's thoughts, Tatsuo stepped forward while having similar thoughts. 

'Mom told me to wait until I was sixteen to have my fun, but…' Tatsuo thought to himself as he reached the door. Then, his thoughts continued as he put his hands on the door to use his [Transmutation]. 'But I've spent almost a whole year in other worlds. Plus, how would she know? I could just tell er that I'm still a virgin, right?' 

As soon as Tatsuo had that last thought, he felt a chill down his spine, causing him to look around cautiously. And although he did not know what that feeling was, he decided he would put away those ideas for now. 

Void Multiverse, Higher Dimension. 

Meanwhile, The Void Empress, sitting atop her throne, was glaring at Tatsuo through the scrying spell that was set up so that she could watch his adventures whenever she wanted to. And although she had no intention of reading his thoughts, she had a bad feeling. 

"I know you're thinking something bad, my son." The Void Empress said in a stern, motherly tone. "And I would suggest you stop that dangerous train of thought. Sixteen is the optimal age for you. Otherwise, you would lose some of your essence before it could solidify." 

After saying that, the Void Empress could not help but chuckle when she saw Tatsuo shudder before looking around cautiously. 

"At least his sense for self-preservation is pretty good." The void Empress said while smiling. "No matter how old you are, my son, you would never be too old for me to put you over my knee to discipline you." 

The Void Empress chuckle turned into full blown laughter when she saw Tatsuo stiffen while covering his butt with his hands. 

Arifureta Universe, Tortus, True Orcus Great Labyrinth, 50th Floor. 

"Tatsuo-Kun, are you okay?" Sumire asked while tilting her head in confusion. 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Tatsuo said, his tone not very convincing, while he continued to look around and cover his butt. "I just felt like I was in danger for a second. But it's gone now." 

"Uh… okay…?" Sumire replied, completely confused by what Tatsuo said, especially since nothing in the Labyrinth so far had been strong enough to harm him in the slightest. 

"Anyway, you ready to go, Sumire-San?" Tatsuo asked after shaking his head vigorously to get his head back in the game. 

"Yes, I'm ready." Sumire replied while nodding her head firmly. 

"Alright, then here we go." Tatsuo said as he placed his hands on the doors once again. 

*Zap!* 

Sparks of purple lightning, emanating from Tatsuo's hands, cover the door as he tried to [Transmute] them with the [Alchemy] from the world of Fullmetal Alchemist. However, contrary to his expectations, instead of the power rebounding onto him like what happened to Hajime in the canon, the doors were rearranged, making a space the size of a normal door for him to walk through. 

"Huh?" Tatsuo intoned confusedly. 

*Growl!* x 2 

However, he did not have the opportunity to think about what happened for long, as the relief sculptures on either side of the wall roared in anger while trying to pull themselves free of the walls. 

Jumping away from the new entrance quickly, Tatsuo ended up standing next to Sumire, who had raised her shield and spear into her fighting stance. 

"Tatsuo-Kun, this is different than what you said." Sumire said while not taking her eyes off the two monsters who awakened just now. 

"Yeah, I'm not sure why, though." Tatsuo replied. "Anyway, we can figure that out later. For now, you've got a couple of things to take care of." 

During that short conversation, the two cyclopes had pulled their upper bodies away from the wall. At the same time, when their hands broke away, they each held a gigantic greatsword, as well. 

"Alright, I'm going." Sumire said as she hoisted her spear. 

*Swoosh!* 

*Splatter!* 

She then threw her spear at the cyclops on the right. In a split second, the spear travel the distance between the two, penetrating through the cyclops's eye, its tip continuing forward to pierce through the back of its head, and pinning the monster to the wall. 

"You're getting good at that." Tatsuo said casually. 

However, Sumire did not respond. Because, as soon as the spear left her hand, Sumire dashed forward to close the distance with the other cyclops, who was looking at its companion with disbelief in its eye. 

*Roar!* 

A moment later, the cyclops roared loudly, clearly enraged as it quickly pulled the rest of its body out of the wall. Then, it raised its greatsword over its head with both hands before singing it down with all its might. 

*Swoosh!* 

*Clang!* 

Yet, Sumire, with masterful handling of her shield, met the downward slash. Though, she did not meet it head on, as it was obvious that the cyclops was physically stronger than her, even if not by much. So, she angled her shield slightly while bracing it with her free hand. 

*Bang!* 

As a result, the cyclops's greatsword slid off the edge of the shield before slamming into the ground, its tip cutting into the stone floor. 

At the same time, Sumire removed her free hand from her shield, held it out towards the spear that was still imbedded in the wall, and recalled it using the magic engraved into it. 

*Spatter!* 

Thanks to the force with which the spear dislodged itself from the wall, the cyclops' head that it was impaling was ripped apart. However, Sumire did not let the gory sight bother her. Instead, she thrust her spear at the side of the greatsword the other cyclops was recovering from the floor. 

*Ting!* 

As a result of Sumire's actions, the cyclops' balance was thrown off, its sword being pushed wide to its right. Then, using her shield, Sumire slammed it onto the inside of the cyclops's left knee. And considering the fact that the cyclops was more than twice as tall as she was, it was easy to do so. 

However, instead of destroying the cyclops' balance even further, the portion of the cyclops' leg where the shield landed lit up with a yellow glow. Then, Sumire's shield was rebounded at the same speed it slammed into the monster's leg. 

"Hmm… This looks more like force rebound than damage mitigation." Tatsuo muttered while watching Sumire's fight. "But I guess eating it won't give a one for one Skill. We've already found that out from the basilisks on the 2nd Floor." 

Too focused on the battle, Sumire did not hear Tatsuo's analysis of the situation. And although she was caught off guard by the rebound force, she ended up using it to her advantage, as she spun her body, narrowly avoiding the cyclops' retaliation, while swinging her spear at the monster's eye. 

*Splatter!* 

*Roar!* 

*Clang!* 

As a result of the timing, Sumire's spear cut through the cyclops's eye. As a result, the monster released its greatsword and quickly covered its eye with its hands. 

Unfortunately, this made it impossible for Sumire to attack its only weakness, as attacking the cyclops' hands would undoubtedly trigger its defense. 

"Hmm… What to do?" Sumire asked herself whiles he studied the cyclops's current posture. 

"Well, that sucks." Tatsuo muttered, his words finding their way into Sumire's ears. "That's gonna make finishing it off much harder unless you can move its hands." 

Hearing that, Sumire's eyes lit up. She then used the Skill, [Flicker], a sub-skill from the Kickmaster Rabbit's [Divine Step] Skill, to appear above the cyclops's head in an inverted position. Then, she kicked off the air with [Air Walk] while slinging her shield onto her back. 

In the next instant, Sumire shot downwards past the cyclops's face, grabbing the monster's hands as she did so. As a result, the cyclops's hands were pulled down and away from its face. However, Sumire felt as if her left arm would be ripped off thanks to the rebound force, as she fought to not let herself be thrown back into the air. 

Despite the pain in her arm and shoulder, Sumire's objective was completed, giving her the opportunity she was looking for. 

*Swoosh!* 

*Splatter!* 

Not missing that opportunity, as soon as her feet landed on the floor, Sumire thrust her spear up into the cyclops' destroyed eye, the spearhead sinking into its brain. Then, just for good measure, she spun the spear's shaft to make sure that it died instantly. 

A moment later, after the momentum from the spear spin dissipated, Sumire pulled her spear out of the cyclops's wound and stepped back. 

*Bang!* 

Then, the cyclops crashed to the floor, lifeless. 

"Not bad." Tatsuo said as he approached Sumire. Though, he was not looking in her direction. "That's pretty close to how I would have handled it if I had your skillset." 

Upon reaching Sumire's side, Tatsuo raised his hands and put them on Sumire's left shoulder. Though, he was still not looking at her. Then, he started massaging her strained muscles and joints. 

"Tatsuo-Kun." Sumire said softly while blushing slightly with a smile on her face. 

"But you know, if you had used Guardian, you wouldn't have had to deal with the rebound force… probably." Tatsuo continued, having not noticed Sumire's blush. 

Hearing that, the smile on Sumire's face froze. She had actually forgotten about the [Guardian] Skill from her own world completely. Because thanks to the differences in energy in this world, she was unable to use it upon arrival. And despite the fact that she could now manipulate her mana freely in this world, she had not found a need to use it in the True Orcus Great Labyrinth. 

After having his realization, Sumire looked up at Tatsuo with an embarrassed expression on her face. However, when she noticed that Tatsuo was not even looking at her, she frowned slightly. Then, she followed his line of sight. 

Where Tatsuo had been looking since the end of the battle was through the opening he had made in the door before the whole encounter with the cyclopes started. And through that door, Sumire could see a pair of red eyes looking at them through the darkness. 

"Well, it doesn't look like there's anything in there." Sumire said as she reached up and grabbed Tatsuo's left arm. "We should get going and head down to the next floor." 

As her words ended, Sumire took a step away from the doors, trying to drag Tatsuo along with her. 

*Smack!* 

"Kya!" Sumire yelped. 

However, before she could even take two steps, she felt a stinging pain from her butt. And when she looked back, she saw Tatsuo's right hand moving away from it. 

Although she did not need to look back to know what happened, and the fact that it excited her a little bit was a secret she would take to her grave… probably, Sumire glared at Tatsuo reproachfully. 

"Stop messing around, Sumire-San." Tatsuo said while smiling wryly at Sumire's clear unwillingness to add another girl to their party. "We can't just leave her there." 

With that, Tatsuo turned his hand so that he could grip Sumire's hand, as well, before interlocking their fingers and dragging her into the room where the vampire princess they had mentioned on several occasions was sealed.