That was… the person I least wanted to meet at this timing――no, it was the person I had never even thought of meeting in the slightest.
“Is it here?”
With the sound of a message being received, what appeared in the chat window that appeared in my field of vision were hieroglyphs that were impossible to read as they were――the automatic translation function immediately activated, and the characters were translated into a silly archaic language.
Above all, as the rain of Harpoon missiles fired to destroy the wings of fire and ice began to fall, I stood on the battleship Nagato’s aircraft――I was planning to use the Type-0 water observation plane to jump into the Labyrinth Dragon’s mouth. For that reason, when I looked back from the rangefinder to the rear deck, I saw something unbelievable.
It’s a crack――
Beyond the huge rock wall that was destroyed by the brightly colored breath released by Labyrinth Dragon, a blood-red crack had appeared in a place that coincided with the northern boundary of the User World. .
It was probably about 3 to 4 meters in size――a crack floating in the empty space.
The problem is that through that crack, I could see a different world, and it’s neither my User World nor the natural world―― And just as I was looking into the other side, I could also see a giant eye looking at me from the other side. Her large black eyes were bloodshot, her eyelids were wide open, and she looked gaunt and thin, as if they were clinging to her bones, and when I looked at her eyes alone, I felt the terror as if I just saw a real ghost.
“My love, my child, is it here?”
The Mad Goddess――trapped in the intersection of the worlds, the birth mother of the labyrinth and the master of the labyrinth.
It was right in front of my field of vision. At the same time, a rain of harpoon missiles rained down on Labyrinth Dragon, and the sound of an explosion was heard as the area where the wings of fire and ice were growing exploded. Even though I felt the heat of the hot air on my back and neck, I couldn’t bring myself to check the results of the missile attack. I couldn’t avert my gaze from eyes of hatred and madness that overflowed from the crack.
“Come save me, come save me.”
On the other side of the crack, Mad Goddess’ big eyes twisted and laughed.
“My beloved child, pray help and save Mother.”
The mad Goddess was struggling to get into the crack while repeatedly slamming her huge face into the crack from the other side. When I was shown that image, I was unable to make any sound other than the sounds of gunfire and explosions.
“The time hast come to unite mother and child and envelop them all in flames of hatred!”
Help…? Ah, I see… The mad Goddess exists neither in this world nor in my user world, but in a world in between. I’ve only been close to that world once before――on the other side of the shooting range. At that time――I was afraid that if the walls of the world were torn down, the mad Goddess would invade our side. However, I didn’t know how to make the mad Goddess cross over the world.
Is this the answer――?
The mission assigned to the labyrinth and its master is to annihilate all living things in the natural world. For that reason, the labyrinth cannot be kept in one place. That’s why there is a way to absorb the labyrinth core placed in one’s own labyrinth and exit the labyrinth, and the skill <Create Labyrinth> exists.
However, this is only one of the missions of the master of the labyrinth. Our original mission is to increase the power of the labyrinth and search for other dungeon masters. Now, I’m convinced of the real reason why I was dropped into this world――Trespasser is a detonator and a nutrient for growing the labyrinth――or, to put it more casually, like chemical fertilizer.
The reason why the mad Goddess drops beings like me from another world into this world is to obtain a system powerful enough to destroy the world’s walls. Then, the two grown labyrinths collide, killing each other――when the two collide violently, the resulting energy should be enough to destroy the walls of the world.
If you think about that, you can see the purpose of the Creator God. While cutting a wedge with the labyrinth, it holds back the beings that have fallen into this world――while eliminating the risk of the world’s walls being destroyed, it conveniently leaves a presence in the world that can compete with the grown labyrinth.
Originally, it may have been the champion of the natural world――the dragon, who was supposed to take on that role. But as if it’s a joke――the defense mechanism the God prepared didn’t work, and was even taken into the labyrinth, causing it to evolve into a powerful being.
The roar of joy that the Labyrinth Dragon let out was no wonder.
Labyrinth Dragon and I each possessed great power. And in reality, the richly colored breath that collided with the boundary line of the User World, it was most likely meant to create a crack in the wall of the world.
Waiting beyond that is the resurrection of the mad Goddess――I can’t afford to waste my time.
If the third breath hits that area, the crack will become even bigger. That one blow might create a big enough hole for the mad Goddess to return to this side, and it might even be the fourth one.
“――I have no intention of helping you…just continue to be jealous of the living who lives in this world forever.”
As the explosion echoed, I couldn’t tell if the voice I was trying to make reached the mad Goddess. But, it doesn’t matter whether she heard it or not. It is important to vocalize my decision to part with the mad Goddess.
I strongly expressed my will not only in words but also in my action――I controlled the aim of the two 41cm twin guns mounted on the front deck of the battleship Nagato as the Labyrinth Dragon slowly lowered its head, perhaps in order to get ready to fire its breath. I aimed for the moment when the head began to fall and fire the main gun.
The twin 41cm cannons on the rear deck were aimed at Mad Goddess’s large eyes peeking through the crack, but given the possibility that this attack could widen the crack, it would be unwise to launch an attack so easily.
My priority right now is to defeat the Labyrinth Dragon. If the boundary between the worlds is to be destroyed by a collision between two labyrinths, it would be better to just annihilate the labyrinths themselves, as I had originally thought.
From the sight monitor of the 41cm twin cannon, I could see the Labyrinth Dragon shaking violently from the impact of the bullet hitting the head. The mad Goddess’s eyes saw right through me, and I couldn’t move as if my legs were frozen, but by saying my intention and restarting the battle, I was able to take a step forward, even though I was trembling.
Walking slowly one step at a time――at the same time, it was an act of getting closer to the Goddess who had slowly gone crazy. Despite being just one step away, the insanity that seeped through the crack increased tenfold. Even though I felt so intimidated that I wasn’t even allowed to blink, I closed my eyelids to block out the fear and madness beaming from her eyes.
What spread out in my field of vision was a world of darkness and HUD information that never disappears, and the aim monitors of each battle object chase the monsters, and no matter how many I fell, they continue to bombard me, even though I don’t feel like they’re decreasing.
And what I saw on the other side of the darkness was the figure of my beloved. Her red-gold hair shines even in the darkness, and her smile, staring at me, erasing all my fears and anxieties.
With my eyes closed, I moved to the rear of the rangefinder and put my hand on the fence.
“Doth thou not love me, my child?”
As if the insane Goddess also felt what had happened, the anxiety welling up through the cracks reached my skin.
“――Fuu.”
Just looking at her face made me feel stupid for being afraid of such a Goddess. Her eyes widened as I looked directly at the mad Goddess again, no longer feeling any emotion in her eyes. I didn’t even need to say anything――I laughed at the figure trapped on the other side of the crack, and jumped from the rangefinder to the catapult of the Type-0 surface observation aircraft installed on the rear deck.
“My child? ! Where art thou going?!”
I’m tired of hearing your voice. I turned my attention to the hieroglyphs displayed in the chat window and selected the reject function, which is one of the communication functions.
“Off to the Blacklist you go.”
When I landed on top of the Type-0 surface observation plane, the chat window became completely full at the same time as it was thrown into Blacklist.
Burning Feathers 