AKM Act 11-15

Act 11-15: Labyrinth of Knowledge
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :

Part 1

　Rasha, Mother of Myriad Deaths, advanced through the Forbidden Archive with her followers in tow.

　The Forbidden Archive was enchanted, and it uses all sorts of methods to drive out uninvited intruders like Rasha and her group.

　However, even in her weakened state, Rasha was still a god.

　Half-hearted interference wasn’t enough to drive her out.

　Sentient books fly through the air and cast spells, but none of them ever reach Rasha.

　When Rasha glared at them, the sentient books lost their power and fell to the floor.

　The wooden golems guarding the Forbidden Archive were swiftly dealt with by her attendants.

　It seemed there was no one in the Forbidden Archive capable of stopping Rasha and her group.

「Well, well. There certainly are a lot of interesting things here.」

　Zarth, the Sage of Death standing beside Rasha, spoke in a delighted tone.

　Zarth appeared as a girl clad in dark blue robes, holding a three-eyed skull with horns.

　The girl herself said nothing; it had been the skull in her hand doing all the talking since earlier.

　Which made perfect sense.

　The skull was the true body; the girl was merely being controlled by Zarth.

　Zarth was the God of Knowledge About Death and had a keen interest in the collections of Rugas and Totona.

「Zarth, leave it for later. My resurrection comes first. You could at least take a lesson from Zagart.」

　Rasha said this while turning her gaze to Zagart, the Blade of Death, who stood on the opposite side of Zarth.

　Zagart had the appearance of a large, burly human wielding a giant sword.

　The very same Zagart hadn’t said anything for quite a while.

　He was always quiet by nature and rarely ever spoke.

「Mother, Zagart has no interest in anything but battle, so it’s only natural that he rarely speaks. Mufufufu... With this many books... I’d love to take them all home if possible.」

　Zarth laughed timidly.

　Rasha heaved a sigh upon hearing that.

　Zarth, the Sage of Death, and Zagart, the Blade of Death, were twin Children of Reaper.

　However, their personalities were complete opposites.

　Their abilities didn’t quite measure up to Zafrada or Zalbuth, but they were still reasonably useful.

　Compared to Zand, who had power but spent all his time fooling around, the twins were at least better in that regard.

　They should have been more than sufficient as Rasha’s aides.

「Leave that for later. I have a bad feeling about this. Are those so-called Hero’s comrades really that much of a threat?」

　Rasha was tilting her head in confusion.

　Rasha also possessed foresight, though not to the extent of her younger sister, Casa.

　Rasha had been feeling a sense of foreboding for the last few days.

　She had no idea whether that premonition was related to the Hero’s comrades or not.

　Normally, she might have called it off, but after her vampire bat familiar was taken down, and sensing that Yarga and Chiyuki were attempting to locate her through past-vision magic, she decided it was better to act quickly, thinking that security around the Forbidden Archive might soon be tightened.

「Rumor has it they’re quite skilled. Even Father views them as a significant threat. However, the Hero himself isn’t present. I don’t believe it’s anything worth worrying about.」

　Zarth flashed a smile as she spoke.

　Surely, it was just as Zarth said—the Hero himself wasn’t here.

　The only one who came here was a lass.

　How could that be a threat to them?

　That was what Zarth thought.

　However, for now, she decided to press on.

◆

「A labyrinth...? Is this part of the Forbidden Archive’s defense mechanism?」

　Kuroki was walking inside the Forbidden Archive.

　Even though he had entered many times before, he still couldn’t tell where he was walking right now.

　The scenery around him was shifting non-stop, preventing him from advancing any deeper.

　It was just like the labyrinth city of Labyrinthos.

　The deeper one goes, the more important the books become, and it seems the archive was designed to prevent anyone from reaching them.

　This place, lined with books, might well be called the Labyrinth of Knowledge.

「But still, it doesn’t have to block me too.」

　It felt as though the labyrinth was trying to block Kuroki as well.

　Once the defense mechanism was activated, it would attempt to eliminate anyone, regardless of who they were.

　The moment he thought so.

　Something appeared right before Kuroki.

「T-Totona!? N-No, you’re not her, right?」

　Kuroki was really surprised.

　The one who appeared before Kuroki looked just like Totona.

　The only difference was the horns growing on both sides of her head, which were similar to a Daemon’s.

　What’s more, she appeared without any warning or detectable presence, so it was only natural for him to be surprised.

「This is the first time I’ve shown myself, Kuroki-sama. I am Dantalius, the Devil of Library in charge of this place.」

　The Totona lookalike devil who introduced herself as Dantalius bowed her head.

「Devil of Library? This library has someone like you? Come to think of it...」

　Kuroki had used the Forbidden Archive several times before, but he had never met Dantalyas.

　Forget about meeting, he didn’t even know about its existence.

　He sensed an enigmatic presence from Dantalyas.

　The other party gave the same impression as the dream entity he met in the Seard Inlet.

　Thus, he concluded that Dantalyas might be a transient creature created by this labyrinth.

「Yes, I wouldn’t have appeared if it weren’t an emergency. However, intruders showed up, and I have no choice but to take action.」

　Dantalyas replied while bowing her head.

「I see. I came to drive out that intruder. Can you show me the way?」
「No, regarding that matter, I have a request for you, Kuroki-sama.」

　Dantalyas shook her head as she replied.

「What kind of request is that?」
「I would like you not to fight, Kuroki-sama.」
「Eh?」

　Kuroki couldn’t hide his shock upon hearing Dantalyas’ request.

　He came to drive out the intruders. If Dantalyas was the administrator, then he should cooperate with her.

「The intruders are powerful, and I can’t drive them out with my power. It’s only a matter of time before they reach the deepest part.」
「Since that’s the case...」
「Yes, Kuroki-sama should be able to expel them. However, a lot of books are going to be destroyed if you fight inside...」
「....」

　Kuroki was at a loss for words upon hearing Dantalyas’ remark.

　Dantalyas’ request wasn’t to prevent the intruders from reaching the deepest part.

　It was to protect the books in this library.

　Therefore, simply driving the intruders out was far from enough.

　Even if they were driven out, if many of the books were lost, it was akin to putting the carriage before the horse for Dantalyas.

「What should I do then, Dantalyas?」
「I will observe them for the time being. If we can understand their objective, we might be able to find a compromise.」
「I see...」

　Dantalyas intended to let the other party do what they wanted for the time being.

　And it seemed she wanted them to leave promptly after achieving their goal.

　Naturally, there was a risk in taking this measure.

　The problem was that both Dantalyas and Kuroki had no idea about the intruders’ objective. Depending on their goals, compromise might be impossible.

「By the way, it seems possible to eliminate those intruders who entered after Kuroki-sama. Though, having the intruders who came in earlier take care of them is also an option.」
「Eh?」

　Kuroki was really surprised to hear that remark.

「Dantalyas, are there other intruders who came after me?」
「Yes. Judging from their behavior, they don’t seem to be allies of the intruders who came in earlier. Is something the matter?」

　Dantalyas tilted her head in confusion.

　The way she hardly showed any expression really reminded him of Totona.

「Hey, do you know what the new intruders who came in afterward look like?」
「Yes. I can see every part of this Forbidden Archive, and I can also project it. Would you like me to show you?」
「Yes, please show it to me.」

　After hearing Kuroki’s request, something like a mirror emerged from Dantalyas’s hand.

　And then, the mirror glowed and showed a certain image.

　What was shown there was Mitsuami, with Katakake chasing after her.

　Mitsuami’s expression seemed to be off, it looked like she was being controlled by something again.

　Katakake seemed to be trying to bring Mitsuami back to her senses. However, perhaps due to an injury, he seemed to be having trouble catching up to her.

「These individuals will likely come into contact with the previous intruders soon.」

　Dantalyas stated coldly.

　After he understood the situation, Kuroki made an on-the-spot decision.

「Sorry, Dantalyas, but could you guide me to the second group of intruders?」

◆

「Wait for me, Mitsuami-san!」

　Katakake was chasing after Mitsuami.

　He wanted to restrain her before she entered the Forbidden Archive, but he got blown away again.

　Mitsuami was more skilled in magic than Katakake, and it seemed impossible to overpower her by force.

（Can’t be helped I guess. Forgive me, Mitsuami-san.）

　Katakake took out a magic potion from his waist.

　Albeit being so weak, Katakake was a magician who was studying spiritual arts.

　Among the spiritual arts, it also taught how to make magic potions that calmed the mind.

　Katakake always carried that magic potion with him for emergencies.

　If he made her smell this magic potion and used sleep magic on top of that, it might work somehow.

　Using magic on a fellow magician without their consent was considered taboo.

　However, that didn’t apply in self-defense or other emergency situations.

　And this was that very moment.

　Katakake dragged his injured legs, taking out the magic potion as he walked toward Mitsuami.

「NOW!」

　Katakake pressed a cloth soaked with magic potion over Mitsuami’s mouth from behind.

　Mitsuami tried to use her magic to send Katakake flying again.

　However, Katakake used magic this time as well.

　Both spells invoked at the same time, Katakake got blown away by Mitsuami’s air bullet spell, while Mitsuami collapsed on the spot, falling into a deep sleep.

「Ouch... She didn’t resist much, so it looks like it worked.」

　Katakake sat up and checked on Mitsuami’s condition.

　He prayed that she hadn’t hit her head or landed in the wrong posture when she fell.

　Katakake approached Mitsuami and checked on her condition.

　At the very least, there were no visible external injuries.

　However, it would be best for him to bring her back to receive proper treatment.

　Katakake wasn’t particularly strong, but he had no choice, he had to carry Mitsuami himself.

「What the? I heard a noise and came to check, and it’s you, Katakake? Don’t tell me… You’re awake?」

　Katakake turned toward the direction of the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere.

　There stood Chijirege and a few other people dressed in white.