Chapter 122 : To the Labyrinth (8)
"What on earth is this......!"
Luna's astonishment did not last long.
-Screeeeeech!!!
The enraged anomaly tried to rush towards us.
"That bastard......"
"Step aside."
"......Huh?"
Leaving the dumbfounded Luna behind, I immediately grabbed Lion by the shoulder and poured Demonic energy into him.
"Hrrrgh......!"
-Screeeeeech!!!!
As Lion and the anomaly screamed simultaneously, the anomaly's body slowly scattered.
"Wh, what? What did you do just now?"
"It is exactly as you see."
When I withdrew the Demonic energy I had poured into Lion, Lion, who could not overcome the pain, collapsed as he was.
"Lion!"
"There is no threat to his life."
"What did you do just now? Why is Lion like this? Just what is going on?"
The conclusion drawn from the information given so far was concise.
"Lion is one body with the anomaly."
"......What?"
"To be precise, it would be correct to see Lion as the anomaly itself."
Luna's eyes, reflected beyond the plague mask lenses, opened roundly.
"......What does that mean?"
"I haven't grasped everything either. But it is almost certain that at least Lion has the same existence as the anomaly."
Even while saying that, the entire body of the fainted Lion rippled along with the space.
As if trying to return to original state after driving out the Demonic energy that invaded his body a while ago.
Not long after all such restoration ended, Lion regained consciousness.
"Ugh......"
"Lion! Are you awake? Are you okay?"
Lion, who raised his body, looked back at me and Luna with a somewhat frightened expression.
"I think you can tell us now. What is your identity?"
"That is......"
Lion shook his head.
"......I am sorry. Honestly, I don't know well either."
"What does that mean?"
"I really don't know. I don't know when, but from the moment I woke up, I was inside the labyrinth."
"Then why did you run away from that monster?"
"......I felt it instinctively. That if I get eaten by that monster, I would no longer be me. So I ran away."
No longer be me......
"Do you have absolutely no guess?"
"......Sometimes, certain memories come up."
"Memories?"
Lion's lips twitched.
"Yes. It is clearly me, but they are memories that are not me. In those memories, I live in a familiar world, and also live in a strange world. I cannot understand the things in that world, but I understand them. I don't know what to call this but...... yes."
Memories that are not mine......
I felt like I was gradually approaching Lion's essence.
"Then is the fact that you used chopsticks also thanks to those memories? Is it your first time using them yourself?"
"......Yes."
I synthesized the given clues.
Memories that are not mine.
A familiar world and a strange world.
Chopsticks that he used well even though it was his first time.
'I roughly know where the memories originated from.'
I know now.
What kind of existence Lion and the anomaly are?
"......Did you find something?"
Luna, who was quietly watching the situation, asked as if she noticed that I realized something.
"Yes."
"So, what is...... Lion?"
Luna's voice trembled.
"You can see it as a sort of cluster of thought forms. That is why he possesses the memories of those who visited Akiro's Labyrinth, because he is an existence created by those memories clumping together."
"......A thought form? Can something like that exist?"
"If it were normal times, he wouldn't have been born. But the rumors about the Divine Sword this time must have made it possible."
"What does that mean?"
That was obvious.
"The opportunity for Lion and the anomaly to be born is likely because too many humans flocked to Akiro's Labyrinth in a short period. Because there has been no precedent like this in Akiro's Labyrinth until now."
"......Then you mean the thoughts possessed by those many humans clumped together and became Lion?"
"For now, we have to see it that way. However, that is merely the root of Lion and the anomaly; I don't know why they were born."
No matter that it is due to an abnormal phenomenon occurring in Akiro's Labyrinth, a thought form called Lion and the anomaly wouldn't have been created just because many people gathered.
There is definitely a reason other than that.
'Players gathered......'
Players are all special beings without exception.
Even within that specialness, there must be one common point that could create Lion and the anomaly.
'Hmm.'
I feel like I'm grasping a clue, but it barely eludes me as if I'm about to catch it.
"Let's move for now, since we can't stay in the middle of the desert forever."
"Ah, okay."
Like that, Luna and I took a step, but Lion stood still on the spot and bowed his head deeply.
"Huh? What are you doing, Lion? Aren't you coming?"
At Luna's words, Lion hesitated and said.
"......Can we go together too? Even if I'm not a human?"
"What is this kid saying......"
Luna spoke as if it was absurd, but Lion couldn't hide his gloomy expression.
"......You don't need to do that because of me. I am, I am a monster."
"Lion, what are you talking about? Why are you a monster? You aren't."
"......Thank you for saying that to someone like me. However...... I am a monster. I am sorry for deceiving you until now."
Luna tried to say something but was speechless and shifted her gaze to me.
Luna's trembling eyes.
Luna was hoping for help right now.
"Lion."
At my call, Lion answered with his head bowed deeply.
"......Yes."
"I promised to go with you. In that promise, whether you are human or not is not very important. What is important is that I made a promise."
"But......"
"If you won't go until the end, I have no intention of forcing you along. However, if you intend to go on your own, there won't be a case where I break the promise first."
Lion's eyes looking at me trembled roughly.
"Really...... Is that allowed?"
"Yes."
"Even though I'm not human?"
"It doesn't matter."
"You will be troubled because of me."
"I am already troubled enough."
Lion tried to say something continuously but soon, as if he was choked up, he poured out tears as big as large beads from his eyes.
"Thank, thank yooou......"
Lion cried sorrowfully.
Inside Akiro's Labyrinth where everything is fake, at least those tears were real.
***
The walkthrough of the 2nd floor of the labyrinth continued.
【Lv.5】
【Sand Swarm】
As befitting a desert zone, desert-type demonic beasts blocked our front not long after, but there was no way mere level 5 demonic beasts could stop us.
"What is this?"
[Kuek!]
There are many things to be careful of in the 2nd floor desert zone, but if one sets the direction properly, one can break through easily for the most part.
Right, as long as we don't encounter the man wearing a smiling mask, who is the existence to be most careful of on the 2nd floor of the labyrinth.
"It's hooot...... Can't I at least take off this mask? There are no people around anyway."
"Considering the gathered crowd, there must not have been a few people who climbed up to the 2nd floor of the labyrinth. It means it wouldn't be strange to run into them at any time."
"We can just use it when we see them."
"By then, it will be after our identity is already exposed."
Luna said as if she was fed up.
"......It's too excessive. Who on earth recognizes Cain to act like this?"
"I am preparing for the 'what if'."
"Ugh, this is practically a celebrity disease."
Luna whined, but she didn't intend to walk around without the plague mask even so.
Because variables were bound to occur in unexpected situations always.
"Endure just a little more. It's the safe zone soon."
"Is there water in the safe zone?"
"Enough, since it's an oasis."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"......But since we can't take off the mask when we go there anyway, how do we drink water?"
"You can scoop it up and drink, can't you."
"Aha."
If there is one advantage the plague set including the plague mask has in this sweltering heat, it would be the point that one can breathe comfortably even in the sandstorms that frequently occur in the desert zone.
Of course, everything other than that was a disadvantage, but thanks to that anyway, we were able to reach the 2nd floor safe zone safely without any particular accident.
"That's it, right?"
"Yes. It is not a mirage."
"Finally!"
Luna's voice, who finally discovered the oasis glowing with blue light, was soaked with emotion.
As we entered the 2nd floor safe zone, not a few players were already settled down just like on the 1st floor.
Of course, the number was far fewer than the 1st floor safe zone, but it wasn't a small number even so.
"More came."
"Plague mask? Why are they wearing something like that in this heat?"
"......Weirdos came again."
The existing players showed interest toward us, but it didn't last very long.
Since those who came to Akiro's Labyrinth at this point implicitly considered each other as competitors anyway, there was no need to get along closely.
"By the way, is there no separate reward or something in Akiro's Labyrinth? Even though we suffered like dogs to break through the 1st floor, there wasn't any separate reward."
"The reward structure of Akiro's Labyrinth is a structure where settlement is made at the exit when leaving the labyrinth. Since we chose to climb to the 2nd floor, the reward payment was postponed."
"Ah, is that so?"
"Yes. It will be comfortable to think of it as a sort of comprehensive evaluation type reward."
"I see. Then what reward do you receive if you break through all the way to the 5th floor? Have you ever received it?"
"Well...... Because the reward system of Akiro's Labyrinth is connected to the activities within the labyrinth, it is difficult to see it as a specific reward being fixed."
"That's peculiar."
"That is why it is a labyrinth."
***
When people gather, accidents always happen.
And that wasn't very different even at the only oasis in the desert zone.
The incident happened when Luna and I were preparing a meal.
"Oi, I saw earlier that you seem to have some food, share some with me?"
A middle-aged man whose equipment level wasn't bad approached a young man who was eating alone and spoke.
It seemed he was perceived as good prey since he was alone without a party.
"I am sorry, but I don't have enough to eat by myself."
"Did asking to share look like a request? Hand it over when I'm asking nicely."
The young man also did not back down.
Because backing down without food in this situation was the same as dying soon.
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then you have to die."
Between the middle-aged man and the young man, an energy that was like a symbol of current players began to ooze out.
It was Demonic energy.
"Hey, let's go."
"Tsk, it's going to be noisy again."
"Let's not get involved."
As a domineering and extremely ominous energy began to cover the area, those who remained in the safe zone hurriedly began to leave the safe zone.
They judged that nothing good would come from getting swept up in that fight for no reason.
"I warn you. Back off even now."
"If you hand over everything you have, I will at least spare your life."
"You are a person whom conversation doesn't work with. As expected, is it because you are an old geezer."
"O, old geezer? A brat whose blood on his head hasn't even dried yet......!"
Further conversation was unnecessary.
They raised each other's Demonic energy, and a clash occurred while holding their respective weapons.
Boom!
"......So noisy. What should we do? Should I just go and clean them all up?"
When Luna was grumbling, I discovered a somewhat strange phenomenon.
Some of the Demonic energy that surged from the two players vanished beyond the space like smoke.
'What is it?'
I awakened my senses to the maximum and examined where on earth the Demonic energy disappeared to, but the remnants of the Demonic energy vanished too cleanly.
As if the space itself swallowed it.
'Mm?'
Is it just my feeling?
Momentarily, the space rippled and Lion and the anomaly looked overlapped.
'Wait......'
I finally know.
What Lion's identity is?
And what the Demonic energy harbored by the players who gathered in Akiro's Labyrinth created.
'Spirit.'
A Spirit born as the Demonic energy harbored by the players who entered the labyrinth tangled together in addition to the special environment called Akiro's Labyrinth.
That was the identity of Lion and the anomaly.