144 - - Six layers, and the lowest.

Everyone but Thor descends to the passageway to the sixth level, taking care not to touch the stone lid.

After descending diagonally down the long passageway, we arrived at a breathtaking view.

The space seemed to be a further extension of the upper room, lined with thick earthen pillars.

The ceiling is so high that its outline is not clear.

The barely visible side of the room had a step carved in the middle, and blackened doorways could be seen at equal intervals.

The areas that were not illuminated were covered by an enormous amount of darkness, and it was difficult to see clearly how far the ceiling went.

However, given the scale of the space, it is hard to believe that one can easily reach a dead end.

It was a huge corridor of ants secretly built deep underground.

"This ...... is amazing!"

Thor forgot to scratch the bottom of his chin and muttered to himself as he looked at the space revealed by the strange light offered by Ninessa.

A cavity this large had been created under the ground without his knowledge.

Just thinking about it is a frightening sight.

What arouses more instinctive disgust than anything else, is the presence of countless ants stirring in the darkness.

Long antennae peeked out from the holes in the sides of the room, and the deafening sound of their wings echoed from the ceiling.

There was such a horrifying feeling in the room that if an ordinary person who knew nothing about it were brought in, he or she would easily go insane.

However, there is no sign of an attack against the conspicuous lights, although there has been a presence since a while ago.

To Thor's questioning, the red-haired beauty smiled meaningfully and held up a cylinder in her hand.

"Thanks to this, they don't come close to me," she said.

The cylindrical object was an unusual glass container. Only the upper and lower parts were made of metal.

Inside, all that could be seen was a red fire blazing noiselessly.

Strangely enough, there was no fuel in the container, and there were no air holes of any kind.

Although it should have been completely sealed, the flames cast a peculiar glow to the surroundings.

This light was supposed to repel monsters, but there was a reason why it could not be used so easily.

Stuck in the bottom of the chamber, which was glimpsed at a glance, was a magic stone emitting a dull black color.

It was similar in color to the third-grade stone that had been taken from the storm sand giant the other day.

It was because of the new fetters from the sixth layer that we had to rely on such an expensive magical stone tool.

The curse of , the feeling of helplessness at the loss of magic power, is felt even more deeply.

Since the supply of magic power by Thor's had been cut off, the consumption of magic power had to be suppressed even if only a little.

"So, what are you going to do?"

The corridor looks too wide to be passable, but it would be suicidal to walk through it.

The one who answered Thor's question was Rummella, who was thinking about it with his index fingers on his right and left temples.

"Well, yes, it's almost the same. Then we should be able to use the same loophole as before.

The girl pointed to one of the entrances in the side of the building.

It was a narrow passageway for ants, though larger than a man, but the end of the side hole seemed to be heading back along the corridor, undulating in a complicated way.

Sometimes we returned to the corridor, and at other times we were forced to fight our way through a small room, which was about the size of the lobby of the Adventurer's Bureau, but it was connected to a small room on the way.

From the sixth layer, the ants had disappeared, and there were mainly two kinds of ants, red jade ants and blue jade ants, roaming about.

However, they were smaller in size than the labyrinth masters of the fifth layer.

However, they are not an opponent that can be defeated by carelessness.

Straccia's upper branch martial art, Enten Jizai, is capable of responding with super speed to enemies who enter the labyrinth, but conversely, it is not very effective against those who do not enter the labyrinth.

Of course, you can still move after activating it, but the drawback is that if you move too fast, it will be deactivated.

And because of its recoil, it is useless as a vanguard for 30 minutes once it is used.

In other words, it is not suited to the method of moving forward while destroying the enemy.

In the end, the only way to proceed is to get close to the ants and engage them in a cut-and-combat, and in that case, it is difficult for the ants with their hardened outer shells to penetrate.

So what do we do?

Straccia, with her white blade at the ready, slices off the blue wing of an ant that has lunged at her from the root.

--.

All you have to do is to use a lower level martial art.

But then, the scaly armor of the rotting dragon, filled with fighting spirit, would only serve as hard armor.

However, the light bullets from the red antennae were absorbed into the jet-black armor without a sound.

The red-haired swordsman steps forward with dancing steps, gracefully drawing curves with his twin swords that shine with white light.

His front paws are slanted, his jaws outstretched to bite, and he bites at the sky.

As if manipulated by the two blades, the junction between the red ant's head and chest is exposed.

Into the gap created by this moment, a light and deadly thrust is released - .

Fine cracks appear on the ant's shell from the area pierced by the flame-clad blade.

As soon as the blade is pulled out, a plume of white smoke leaks out.

As Straccia steps back, the head of the red jade ant, scorched by the high heat inside, falls to the ground, making a hard sound.

If I put all my fighting energy on my body, it would be absorbed by my armor.

Then, only gather the energy at the tips of your arms.

It sounds simple enough, but it is a technique that even the most skilled warriors have never been able to use in battle.

This is also why Straccia is called a genius.

The red-headed swordsman slaughtered two ants while Kugase was dealing with one of his own.

The girl moves around with her weight off, but she is no match for the speed of light.

The antennae of the red jade ants, which bobbed their heads, flickered and flickered as if blinking.

Kugase's shoulder is gouged by a series of red lights, and Rammera, holding out her staff, calls sharply to her.

I will heal you now!　O Lord of the Tree of Life! Shed tears of compassion on these wounded children--!

Immediately the flesh rises, and the parts that should have been burned regain their normal color.

The girl with the sweaty face stepped quickly and slammed her restored arm furiously against the red protrusion.

The red jade ants, whose firing parts have been snapped off, clap their jaws together in disgust.

Then, without a moment's pause, Ninessa fired a crimson fireball.

As the ants, whose paws had been melted off, fell to their knees, the girl who had reached out her hand immediately launched a magic move.

"Be heavy, !　One more time, !　The final !"

With a crackling sound, the ant's body is pressed against the ground.

Stratchia closes the distance to the monster, which can no longer move even its antennae, and swings down with his sword.

The severed head rolls away, and the last of the red jade ants finally stops moving.

The red-headed swordsman, who has just finished the job, unexpectedly thrusts his other sword at the monster's feet.

The shadow that had been impossibly pierced suddenly began to rise.

A pitch-black balloon that is rapidly swelling.

When it reaches knee-high, it pops without a pause.

Black fragments were scattered at a dizzying speed, all at once and without a sound.

Just before the sharp shards reached the ship, Thor, who had moved one step earlier, was in front of it.

He quickly pulls Ram Merulla and Ninessa into a protective hug.

One after another, the sharp fragments stabbed mercilessly into their backs.

"Hahaha ......, thank you for saving me, Thor."

Oh, my God. Let me see it now!"

"No, they'll get there first, before I do."

With a nonchalant look on his face, Thor shook the backpack he was carrying.

The black, sharp stones had sunk deep into his backpack and were not going to fall off easily.

The owner of the bag did not seem to have a scratch on his body.

However, it seems that the earth wielder, who did not have time to call out for a shield, was not so lucky.

Red blood was pouring out unceasingly from under the shards that had pierced deeply into his unarmored thighs and arms.

Ram Merulla rushes to the scene and hurriedly heals Kugasse, who is groaning in pain.

Stratchia, who was at the closest distance, was no match for Thor with her sword.

He knocked most of them down, and the few fragments that remained were unscathed by his scaled armor.

"By the way, what was that?"

"It's a troublesome one that comes out of this layer. I heard they're called obsidian ants. They're cheap but annoying."

After having the wounds dressed, he seemed to feel more at ease.

The girl's usual light tone of voice reminded Thor of the identity of the ants he had been told beforehand.

The two types of ants that had increased from the sixth layer both possessed unpleasant characteristics.

The first one is the current obsidian.

They are the same size as amber ants and not much harder.

However, the most distinctive characteristic of these ants is the dark technique they possess.

Lurking in the shadows of their fellow monsters, these ants secretly move from shadow to shadow during battle.

Then, when they are caught off guard, they suddenly appear from the ground and bite at their ankles.

Moreover, if its true identity is discovered, the ant will self-destruct, scattering sharp shards of debris in the process.

Another one also has the same ability to mimic.

Kugase approached the carcass to retrieve the red ant ball, but stopped just short of lowering his leg and jumped back.

In the space where the girl had been just before, something swooped through the air and made an unpleasant clunking sound.

"Oh no!　How could it be lurking in a place like this?"

It was the long, outstretched jaws of an ant.

It suddenly appeared in mid-air, and the girl slammed her fist down in anger.

There is a clear sound, and a part of the red ant's body is suddenly peeled off.

When it hits the ground, it regains its original golden-green glow.

The small ants, which had been hiding on top of the bodies of their dead comrades, are now known as golden-green ants.

These ants are about the same size as the amber ants, but they are several times harder.

Even more conspicuous are their long, protruding jaws, which occupy half of their length.

The most troublesome aspect of this ant, however, is the discoloration effect of its body.

Similar to the discoloration effect of the milky stone ants, the golden green ants have a stronger effect and are able to completely blend in with the ground and ceilings.

They then cut down their prey with their long jaws as they pass by.

"Hmph!　It's ten years too early to try to cheat on my horns."

The girl proudly lifted her forehead horns, whose hardness could be discerned, and thrust her fist down with all her might.

The ants whose heads were shattered immediately quieted down, but Kugase held her shoulders and moaned again.

"You idiot! What are you doing? Here, take some painkillers. Go ahead and take them."

Exhaling in exasperation, Rummella offers a pill from one of the leather sachets that line her waistband.

She then pulls the wooden stopper from the white tusk container and gulps down the restorative in one gulp.

Ninessa and Ram Merulla, who have been performing a series of magic moves, are still gasping for air in considerable pain.

Kugase, who is standing in front of the others, is still suffering from fresh wounds and cannot hide his fatigue.

Stratchia, who is letting his sword suck in his fighting spirit, does not seem to have the time to maintain his usual joking tone.

Numerous invasion curses are eating away at the bodies of the four men, draining their energy.

Still, none of them show any signs of stopping.

They just silently exterminated the monsters that stood in their way and moved deeper and deeper.

Thor followed behind them, the image of his companions continuing the battle etched in his mind.

Two hours later, the weary group arrives at a small room with a passageway leading into the depths.

The end of this cave was the lowest level, and the location of the true master of the labyrinth.