No one's POV

The Grand Gruen Volcano. It was approximately 100 kilometers north of Ankaji. It was around 5 kilometers in diameter at its base, and rose to a modest height of 3000 meters. It wasn't conical like most volcanoes, but shaped more like a dome. Its summit was flat, however, unlike most domes. Its slope was so gentle that it seemed more like a hill than a mountain. A really, really big hill.

Though the Grand Gruen Volcano was one of the only well-known labyrinths aside from the Great Orcus Labyrinth, it wasn't nearly as popular. It was more dangerous than the Orcus Labyrinth, and the monsters that roamed its depths had less valuable mana crystals inside them. However, the main reason for its unpopularity was how difficult it was to reach. It wasn't just that it was in the middle of a desert.

Shea: I'm so glad we didn't decide to do this trip on foot.

Tio: Even someone as sturdy as me wouldn't enjoy marching through that.

Shea and Tio murmured their appreciation for Brise as they stared out of the windows at the howling storm before them. They wouldn't be able to take their time conquering this labyrinth. The stillstone deposits on the surface of the volcano weren't large enough to cure all of Ankaji, so Sora would need to harvest the stone deep below as well. If this was anything like the other labyrinths, there'd be a shortcut leading outside at the center of the labyrinth. It'd be faster to conquer the whole thing than to fight their way halfway down, then double back. Once they were out, making it back to Ankaji would be easy.

Sora wasn't that invested in saving the lives of Ankaji's citizens, but if it was possible to save them without risking himself, then that sounded good to him. If nothing else, it would spare him from having to see Kaori's and Myu's tears.

Hajime gunned Brise's accelerator and charged into the storm.

Once inside, their vision was blocked by a wall of brown that surrounded them on all sides. Just like the mist they'd seen in the Haltina Woods, the sandstorm cut their visibility to practically nothing. And since the sand could physically harm them, unlike the fog, it was even more dangerous. Even with magic barriers and good equipment, breaking through this wall of sand while surviving attacks from monsters was no easy feat.

The sun's rays didn't penetrate down here either, so the only illumination was the green glowstone headlights Hajime had turned on. He slowed down to about 30 kilometers per hour. At that speed, he estimated they'd be out of the storm in another five minutes. Shea's bunny ears suddenly perked up, and a second later Hajime's eyes narrowed.

Hajime: Hang on tight!

Hajime yelled, before gunning the accelerator. Seconds later, three sandworms burst from the ground behind him. Hajime swerved from side to side, dodging their attacks. Once he was clear, he started speeding up again.

With Brise's speed, it made more sense to push straight through the sandstorm than try to fight all the monsters that got in their way.

Two more sandworms erupted from the ground on either side of Brise, bearing down in a pincer attack. Their aim was perfect, and they were headed straight for Brise's side doors. While the impact itself wouldn't have been able to break the car's armor, Hajime wanted to avoid getting flipped over. He was just about to turn hard into a drift when Yue, Aishia and Tio stopped him.

Yue: Hm, leave this to us.

Aishia: Indeed.

Tio: We can handle this, Master.

Hajime nodded and straightened the steering wheel. The sandworms were so close that the party could see them with the naked eye. However, just before they slammed into the truck, they were stopped.

Yue, Aishia, and Tio: Wind Blades.

They summoned a barrage of wind blades that cut through the sandstorm, heading straight for the sandworm on the left. The blades sliced right through it, cutting it in half. Blood spurted everywhere as the sandworm was split down the middle.

Sora: A wonderful display, Aishia, Yue. You executed your magic magnificently.

Shea: You're pretty good too, Tio. I didn't think you could use the sandstorm's winds like that.

The three sandworms that had popped up earlier caught up to Brise. Their underground speed was truly impressive. Annoyed by their persistence, Hajime activated one of Brise's weapons. There was a loud clang from the back of the truck, and a couple of black, round objects rolled out from underneath it.

The moment they got close to the sandworms trailing behind Hajime, they exploded. The ground shook from the force, and chunks of sandworm flesh flew through the air. Hajime threw out another handful of grenades, finishing off any survivors. One of the sandworms was blown in half, and its head whirled through the sky before it was swallowed up by the sand.

Shea: Wow, that was amazing. Hajime, how many different things did you and Sora add to Brise?

Shea watched from the rear window as Hajime's grenades decimated the sandworms. He grinned wickedly as he responded.

Hajime: It can also transform into a giant human-shaped golem to fight.

Everyone:......

It sounded unbelievable, but knowing Hajime he might really have actually done it. Shea, Yue, Aishia and Tio all started looking around the car, searching for hints as to how it would transform.

Sora: He's kidding. Even I wouldn't go that far...

Hajime: Though I did want to.

Hajime added with a smirk. The girls were certain he'd do it eventually, even if he hadn't already.

As they drove further into the storm they found themselves being attacked by giant ants and giant spiders as well. But the combination of Aishia, Yue and Tio's magic, and Brise's built-in weapons, made short work of all of them. The monsters didn't even have a chance to fight back.

Shea sulked in the back, lamenting her own uselessness. She keep pestering Sora about it and Sora reminded her that he too haven't done anything yet. In that instant, Shea smile happily and hugged his arm tightly. Sora and the others ignored her, breezing through the sandstorm that was the bane of so many adventurers.

After a few more minutes, Sora and the others burst through the other side of the sandstorm. Up close, the volcano looked an awful lot like Ayers Rock, just scaled up. The center was surprisingly silent. Without the wind whipping the sand everywhere, they had a clear view of the dazzling blue sky. So this is what the eye of a storm is like, then?

The entrance to the volcano was at its peak, so Hajime began driving Brise up its gently sloped side. The dark red rock sizzled and sputtered, vapors of steam rising here and there. Though it was an active volcano, it had never once erupted. Chances were, it had something to do with the fact that it was a labyrinth. Finally, the mountainside grew too steep for Brise, and Hajime reluctantly put it away. They'd have to finish the trek on foot.

Sora: Whoa...

Hajime: I-It's hot.

Yue: Mhm...

Aishia: Yeah. The stone's even hotter than the sand was. Even if we didn't have a time limit, this is one place I wouldn't wanna spend much time in.

Shea: I will become a cooked rabbit if this keeps up.

Tio: Hmm, personally I find this temperature quite agreeable, but... it certainly is a shame I cannot suffer the heat as you can.

Hajime: Want me to drop you in some magma? Then you can suffer too.

Everyone except Tio found the volcano's temperature suffocating. The effects of the heat were made even worse because of how stark a contrast it was from the air-conditioned car they'd been riding in so far.

Hajime: I probably shouldn't have spent all my life in Japan holed up in my air-conditioned room.

Sora: You reap what you sow. That's why next time I asked you to hang out, listen!

Hajime: Yes, boss!

Aware that the clock was ticking, the group hurried up the mountainside, complaining about the heat all the while. They reached the summit in less than an hour. At the top they found a disorganized mess of boulders strewn all about, creating a complex rock maze. The juxtaposition of jagged, glossy boulders with polished, smooth ones made it look like a rock exhibit in a science museum. Also, the sandstorm looked close enough to touch.

One boulder stood out far more than the other among the mass of stones. It had been shaped in the form of an arch, which was at least 10 meters high. As he approached it, Sora spotted a staircase heading deeper into the volcano right beneath the arch. He stopped at the top of staircase, looked back at Hajime, Yue, Aishia, Shea, and Tio, then gave each of them a confident nod.

Sora: Let's do this!

Hajime: All right!

Yue: Okay!

Aishia: Of course!

Shea: You got it!

Tio: Very well!

(Timeskip)

Hajime had thought the insides of the Great Orcus Labyrinth and the Reisen Gorge had been ridiculous, but they both paled in comparison to the absurdity of the Grand Gruen Volcano. The monsters weren't tougher or anything, but its construction was absolutely awe-inspiring. It was like nothing he'd ever seen, and what he was most surprised by was...

The sight of magma floating in the air, which filled up the whole space in front of him. It wasn't like the treetop aqueducts Hajime had seen in Verbergen. Instead, there was quite literally a river of magma floating in the air. It snaked and swerved like an actual river, making it seem like a giant red dragon was flying through the volcano.

The passageways and rooms had magma flowing here and there as well, so challengers to the labyrinth had to be wary of lava both beneath and above them.
Furthermore—

Shea: Kyaa!

Sora: Whoa, you okay?

Shea: Hawawa, thank you, Sora. I didn't think lava would spew out like that... It took me by surprise.

As Shea had said, there were spouts in the wall from which magma erupted at irregular intervals. There was no warning either, so it was hard to prepare for. Nature had provided the perfect traps for this labyrinth.

Sora(mind): Thank god I have the Sense Heat skill.

Without it, they would have had to take the labyrinth very slowly. However, what really made this labyrinth grueling was the heat, not just how hot all the surfaces were, but the atmosphere itself. Because of the abundance of magma everywhere, it felt like they were inside a superheated sauna.

Hajime: This must be what an egg feels like when it's getting cooked.

That was the most dangerous part of the Grand Gruen Volcano. Sweat poured off the party in buckets as they headed deeper into the volcano's bowels. They had to be careful to avoid drops of falling magma from above and spouts of it from the side, but they made steady progress. After some time, they arrived in a room that was clearly man-made. The room had been hollowed out by a rough tool, likely a pickaxe, and there was a glowing pink jewel slotted in one of the walls.

Sora: Hm? That's... stillstone, right? That glowing thing?

Tio: Indeed it is, My King.

Tio answered, drawing upon her vast library of knowledge. It appeared this was the excavation site most adventurers used to harvest stillstone.

Yue: Isn't it...

Aishia: So small.

Shea: All the others are only as big as pebbles, too...

Indeed, all of the remaining stillstone that the party could find came in chunks no bigger than their pinkies.

Sora: I guess that means this section's been almost completely harvested. Guess we have to go deeper than anyone has ever been to mine a lot of this.

There was no way they'd be able to get enough in time only searching the upper floors. And so, their best bet was to make it all the way to the bottom and find a large stash of it somewhere.

Hajime used his Ore Appraisal on the stillstone just in case. His magic confirmed what Tio had said, and the party grabbed all the stillstone that was easily obtainable before hurrying onward.

They descended another seven floors, their irritation at the heat growing stronger with each new passage downward. According to the records Hajime had read, the seventh floor was as far as any adventurer had gone. Or at least, as far as any adventurer had gone and returned alive. Steeling themselves, the party descended the staircase leading to the eighth floor.

As they stepped into the eighth floor, the party was buffeted by a searing gust of wind. A second later, a massive gout of fire bore down on them. It shot toward them in a spiral, illuminating the corridor's orange walls.

Aishia and Yue: Spatial Severance.

Aishia and Yue instantly reacted with a defensive spell. A swirling black sphere materialized in front of Sora and the others. This was another one of Aishia and Yue's gravity spells. However, this one wasn't used to attack anything.

The conflagration, hot enough to melt even bones, was sucked into Yue's sphere and vanished without a trace. Actually, "vanished" wasn't the proper term for what had happened. Their big, black gravity sphere had exerted a gravitational field strong enough to suck its surroundings in. Yue had calibrated it so it wouldn't affect those she was trying to protect, making it an ideal shield.

With the flames no longer blocking their line of sight, Sora and the others were able to see who'd shot those flames at them.

It was an ox monster. Magma covered its entire body, and it was standing in a pool of the stuff. Its two curved horns were wickedly sharp, and each breath it exhaled was accompanied by a small gout of fire. I don't care how strong you are, nothing should be able to survive being slathered in magma.

The Magma Ox kicked angrily at the ground, sending drops of magma flying. It prepared to charge, angry that its flames had been repelled.

Yue snapped her fingers. Her gravity sphere sped toward the beast. Once it got close, it shot out the flames it had sucked in back at the monster who'd cast them. Those flames had been compressed by Yue's gravity sphere, and they came out like a barrage of flaming lasers, with far more force than the cow had sent them.

Yue's flame bombardment spoiled the Magma Ox's charge. It was rather ironic that it would be stymied by its own flames. There was a loud boom and the magma the cow was standing on was blown away by the force of Yue's bombardment. The ox was blown away with the magma, and it flipped through the air a few times before crashing into the wall behind it. It screamed in pain, but quickly got back up and charged again. It wouldn't let these intruders live.

Yue: Mrgh... I guess fire won't work on a fire monster.

Hajime: I mean it's already surrounded in magma, so... yeah?

Sora: We'll handle it.

Yue sounded unhappy. Smiling wryly, Sora and Hajime made to pull out their weapons, but Shea stopped them.

Shea: Sora, let me handle this!

Shea had already unsheathed Drucken, and her breathing was rough.

Sora: Oh, you want to try the new things?

Sora picked up which part of Drucken Shea was sending her mana to, and realized she wanted to try out the new feature he'd added to it. After a moment's hesitation, Sora nodded to her.

Shea: Alright, say your prayers you cow!

Shea leaped fearlessly at the charging ox, which had closed a good bit of the gap between them already. Then, she spun around in the air, adding centrifugal force to her swing before coming down on the charging ox. Her aim was on point, and Drucken slammed into the Magma Ox's skull. Ripples of blue mana spread out from the point of impact, each one a powerful shockwave. The Magma Ox's head went flying as if it had been blown off.

Shea used the force of her swing to flip over the headless beast, who was still carried forward by its own momentum, and landed safely on the ground.

Shea: Sora, this new feature is actually so powerful it scares me.

Sora: Yeah, looks like it. I wasn't sure how well the shock converter would work, but this is...

Even Hajime, Aishia, Yue and Tio were impressed by the attack Shea had just pulled off. Her increased strength was all thanks to the shock converter Sora had added.

Shock Conversion was a derivative skill of Mana Conversion that Sora and Hajime had acquired from one of the new monsters they'd eaten. It allowed the user to convert their mana into pure force.

It had come from the horse-headed monster Sora and Hajime had saved Kaori, Shizuku and the others from back in the Orcus Labyrinth. When Hajime'd recovered his pile bunker from its corpse, he'd taken some of its meat with him as well.

Normal monsters had long since stopped giving Sora and Hajime new skills, or even improving their stats. But as the horse-headed monster was something Kouki hadn't been able to defeat even while he was using his Overdrive, Sora had guessed it must have been stronger than most others. And as he'd expected, it had indeed possessed a new skill for Sora to absorb. His stats hadn't seen too much of a jump, but the new skill had been worth it.

Then, with his creation magic, he'd added Shock Conversion to Drucken. Sora wanted to examine the ox's head that Shea had knocked off, but Aishia hurried him onward.

As they continued down the floors, the monsters grew more varied. They encountered bats that shot burning hot magma from their wings, eel-like things that swam through the walls, melting them as they passed, porcupines that fired flaming spines, chameleons that attacked with whip-like tongues from inside the magma, snakes that swam in the magma rivers and could ignore gravity... The list went on. Not only did their magma coating provide an excellent defense against most lower-level spells, they could use the magma as camouflage to launch surprise attacks. What made them truly dangerous, though, was that just touching one would kill most humans. And because they could utilize the magma in their surroundings, everything was a potential weapon for them. On the off chance the battle went poorly for them, they could use the magma as a cover to hide in, too.

Even adventurers who could clear the sandstorm wouldn't stand a chance against magma monsters like this. Now Sora understood why no one had made it past the seventh floor. Not only was it dangerous, but the reward didn't match the risk. The monsters themselves were no stronger than the ones found on the 40th floor of the Great Orcus Labyrinth, they just had magma to enhance them. However, that meant their mana crystals weren't that large, and the amount of stillstone to be found wasn't that much higher than what was harvestable on the higher floors.

Worst of all, though, was that the heat kept growing.

Aishia: Sora, I can't take it anymore. I'm resting inside you.

The pink haired girl immediately turned into her spirit form and rested inside Sora's body.

Sora: -_-

Hajime: Hey! That's not fair! Don't just cool of in his body!

Shea: It's so hot...

Yue: Shea, Big Sister it's only hot because you think it is. That's all just water flowing around. Look, so cool...

Sora: Well, she's broken.

Tio: Her eyes have glazed over!

Sora: Good for you, you seem fine.

Aside from Tio, everyone was taking most of their damage from the heat. Sora and Hajime had taken out all of the cooling artifacts that they possessed, but it was like trying to push back a storm with a fan. Drenched in sweat and barely conscious, Sora, Aishia, Yue, Shea, and Hajime were nearing their limits.

Sora: We're going to need a break soon.

Sora said as he wiped sweat off his chin. In the next room they found, Hajime went to the wall furthest from any magma and transmuted himself a hole. Once everyone was inside, Hajime closed it up, leaving just a small hole for air to come in. He then used Ore Desynthesis and Compression Synthesis to coat the walls with a superdense metal. That way stray eels or jets of magma had no chance of getting into the room.

Sora: Phew... Aishia, get out here and can you make some ice for us? We'll take a short break here. If we keep going like this, we'll probably slip up sooner or later.

Aishia: Mmm... Okay.

Aishia return back. Though her eyes were still glazed over, she easily summoned a massive block of ice in the center of the room. Sora then cast some basic wind spirit art to circulate the cold air around the room. The temperature quickly began to drop.

Shea: Oh, that's cool. I feel alive again.

Aishia: Fwah~

Yue: This is Heaven.

Aishia, Yue and Shea sank to the floor, enjoying the cold breeze wafting over them. They looked like half-melted snowmen.

Sora and Hajime pulled towels out of their Treasure Trove and passed them out to everyone.

Sora: Aishia, Yue, Shea, you can relax all you want, but wipe yourselves off first. If you don't, you'll get too cold.

Aishia: Okay~

Yue: Fnn~

Shea: Roger~

Once he'd passed out the towels, Tio walked up to Sora and Hajime.

Tio: Master, My King, you two seem relaxed.

Sora: I wouldn't say that. You're probably the only one who's not affected by it at all.

Hajime: But. Man, this heat's killing me. I should have made some better cooling artifacts.

Tio: Hmm, if this has an effect even on you, Master, My King, perhaps it's the concept of this labyrinth.

Even Tio, who hadn't been affected by the heat at all in the beginning, was starting to sweat. She wiped herself off with the towel Hajime handed to her as she talked.

Hajime: Concept?

Sora: What do you mean?

Tio: Indeed. From what you both told me, Master, My King, the labyrinths are all trials, correct? Trials to determine who is worthy to challenge the gods... From the way you described them, it seemed as if each had its own theme. For example, the Great Orcus Labyrinth is filled with a large variety of monsters, and is designed to help challengers obtain different kinds of battle experience. The Reisen Great Labyrinth is designed to force challengers to clear obstacles without the aid of magic. And it appears this Grand Gruen Volcano is designed to see how well challengers can keep their focus and respond to constant surprise attacks while under extreme stress. In this case, that stress is heat.

Sora: I see. I figured I'd have to clear them all eventually, so I didn't give it that much thought before, but... now that you mention it, the trials certainly seem like lessons the Liberators left behind for us.

Sora and Hajime nodded in agreement. Underneath her perverted exterior, Tio was quite the scholar. On top of that, she was exceptionally beautiful, with her golden eyes and long black hair.

Hajime(mind): It's a shame her personality puts all of that to waste.

Hajime watched as a bead of sweat trailed down Tio's neck and vanished into her voluptuous bust. Embarrassed, he turned away. Unfortunately, on the other side sat Yue and Shea, their clothes so drenched with sweat that he could see the skin underneath. This time, he was captivated by Yue's alluring figure. She'd unbuttoned the top of her white shirt to wipe off the sweat underneath. Because of the heat, her skin was slightly flushed. Glistening with sweat and panting slightly, Yue looked extremely seductive without even trying.

Hajime found himself unable to look away. After a few seconds Yue looked up, and her gaze met Hajime's. Hajime mentally berated himself for letting his lust distract him and tried to look away. However, Yue's captivating smile held him in place. He couldn't turn away even if he wanted to. Shirt still unbuttoned, Yue crawled toward Hajime. Her back was arched like a cat's. Hajime's eyes darted between her inviting gaze, her flushed cheeks, and her nearly exposed breasts. Once she was next to him, Yue looked up and said something in a pleading voice.

Yue: Will you clean me up, Hajime?

Those were dangerous words. Hajime silently accepted the towel she offered him. He still couldn't look away.

Hajime(mind): Crap, I'm screwed now. There's no way I can get myself out of this one.

Hajime smiled bitterly to himself and moved his hand toward Yue's neck. But before he could do anything, Sora interrupted them.

Sora: Do you have to get horny in the Labyrinth of all places?!

Hajime: I just can't ignore my Yue.

Yue: And Hajime is cute now that I'm staring at him. But shouldn't you be focusing on Big Sister.

Sora: Huh...?

Sora glanced at his girlfriend and saw that Aishia was only wearing her bra and panties. It seems that she had stripped her clothes since it was made out of Spirit Art instead of normal clothes. Unlike the rest, Aishia had only gone bra and panties shopping but never clothes shopping. Seeing this Sora immediately turn away with his face all red.

Sora: The fuck! Aishia! How many times do I have to tell you not to stripped like that?! Just like when we were sleeping, I told you to use shirt but you always sleep naked! Don't just strip here as well!

Aishia: But its comfy. You don't like it... Touching my skin I mean...?

Sora: Ugh... We need to get you some real clothes instead of you using Spirit Art.

Sora blush covering his eyes with his hand. The scene is becoming to unbearable to see. To his left, he had Yue and Hajime who were horny. To his right, he had Aishia who is naked and wiping her sweat with the towel he gave her.

Shea: Also, how come you look at Aishia but don't look at me like that, Sora? I was sitting right next to Aishia, all drenched in sweat too... Hic... I'm starting to lose confidence in my looks. Come on Tio, you say something too.

Tio: Hmm, I mean Master and Yue, along with My King and Aishia seem quite deeply in love with each other to me. I'm not sure there's anything to say. After all, I too wish to be berated no matter the place or time. Besides... it seems as if Master is at least a little interested in my breasts. For me, that is more than enough. Gufufu.

As always, Tio's masochistic nature shone through. However, she had shrewdly noticed Hajime's interest in her breasts.

Shea: WHAT?! Come on, Sora! Wipe down my sweat, pretty please! Especially in between and under my boobs. I want you to see my boobs!

Yue: Big brother's had already seen my boobs first. Then Big Sister.

Shea then looked completely and shocked, as she grabbed Sora, shaking him.

Shea: WHAT?!?! YOU EVEN SAW YUE'S BOOBS?! YOU DON'T EVEN GLANCE AT MINE!

Sora: She was naked when I met her. Not like I had a choice in the matter.

Shea: Fine! Take just one good look!

Shea wailed, and began stripping then and there. Wanting to join in on the fun, Tio started stripping as well. Hajime stopped them both with a rubber bullet from Donner.

Sora(mind): Thank god Kaori isn't here to see this.

Shea was writhing on the ground, her breasts in plain view. With Sora trying to force Shea to wear her clothes. Aishia ignore the rest and continue wiping herself down naked. Meanwhile, Tio was squirming in pleasure as Hajime continue wiping Yue down.

(Timeskip)

Sora guessed that the Grand Gruen Volcano was likely fifty floors deep.

Coincidentally, that was about how many floors they'd gone down already. As for why he only thought it was "likely" despite having gone down that far, well, that was because their current situation was a little unique. It was hard to tell exactly what floor they were on. Why? Because currently Hajime and the others were riding a dark brown boat down one of the volcano's magma rivers.

Hajime: This reminds me of an amusement park ride....

Hajime muttered to himself as he marveled at the absurdness of his situation.

As for how they'd ended up like this, well, that had been Hajime's fault. A little while ago, they'd been progressing through the floors, harvesting stillstone wherever they found it. At some point, Hajime had noticed the magma that was surrounding them would occasionally move in strange ways.

Hajime: We collected the Stillstone, but I lost my cool because of the heat... This was completely my mistake... I didn't think we get caught in a magma stream...

Shea: W-Well, maybe there's a shortcut. Let's stay positive...!

Despite the fact that there were no boulders, the rivers parted around the air as if there were, and at places the flow slowed, though there was nothing to slow it down. Plus, it dripped down from above only in certain places.

Normally it had only dripped in places away from the path, where it wouldn't be an obstacle to their advance, so Hajime hadn't paid too much attention to it. However, at one point he'd used his Ore Perception skill near where a section of river was dripping and he discovered that it was stillstone that was causing such unnatural behavior. The magma was being propelled through the air with mana, and the stillstone neutralized that mana whenever the river got too close to a deposit of it. That was what was causing it to act erratically.

Of course, it then stood to reason that places where the river was dripping was where there were large quantities of stillstone. Upon investigation of those locations, Hajime found out his idea was right on the money. Thanks to this new discovery, the party was able to quickly collect enough stillstone. In order to get a little more so they'd have enough to spare, Hajime and the others headed to where they assumed another deposit was.

They'd seen the river giving this section of wall a wide berth, so Hajime figured it contained stillstone. He had transmuted a makeshift staircase toward that section of wall and his Ore Perception had found that there actually was a large quantity of stillstone in the wall.

Hajime quickly used his Ore Desynthesis to take the stillstone out of the wall. However, the constant heat, and the routine way in which previous extractions had gone, caused him to drop his guard. He hadn't been paying attention to what was inside the wall.

It was only after he'd put the harvested stillstone into his Treasure Trove that he realized his mistake. Without the stillstone to stop it, a huge fountain of magma burst through the wall.

He'd instantly jumped out of the way, but there had been a lot of magma dammed up on the other side. More and more started bursting through the walls, flooding the area.

Surrounded by magma on all sides, Hajime and the others had acted fast. Aishia and Yue had erected a barrier to protect them temporarily, while Sora and Hajime fashioned a boat for them to all ride the flood in. The magma's extreme heat burned through the boat at a fast rate, but Sora used Diamond Skin's derivative skill, Diamond Protection, to strengthen the rock. With that, the boat was able to ride the magma without melting.

The flood of magma joined up with the magma river, and soon the party was taking the express route down to the volcano's center. After braving a few magma rapids, Sora and the others arrived at the section of the river they were traversing now.

On a side note, when Sora and the others had first started riding the magma, the boat had threatened to sink, so Shea had used her gravity spell, Fluctuator, to make it float. Fluctuator let Shea regulate the gravity of anything she touched, much like she did with her own weight.

Shea: Sora, another tunnel.

Tio: Altitude-wise, we're right around the base.

Sora: Yeah...

Sora looked over in the direction Shea was pointing and saw a massive hole in the wall, which had the magma river running through it. The magma doubled as illumination, so everyone could see that the tunnel was angled downward. So far every time they'd gone through a tunnel they'd found themselves one floor lower. One good thing about riding the magma river was that it was much faster than descending normally.

The party nodded grimly to each other as the current carried them through the tunnel. On the other side they found their floating magma river snaking its way down the center of a massive cavern. The magma's flow continued to slow as they descended, until finally it stopped at a curved section... where it suddenly turned into a magma waterfall.

Sora: Not this again...

Hajime: Everyone, hang on tight!

The girls nodded and hung on to the edges of the boat, or to Sora or Hajime. Sora's stomach churned. It was just like riding a water coaster, except the water here was fatal. Finally, they reached the end of their slow descent and plunged down the falls.

The wind roared in their ears as they fell. Shea's gravity magic and Tio's wind magic kept stray splashes of magma from pelting the party. They found themselves accelerating at a breakneck pace, even though magma was supposed to be viscous. Sora uses Spirit Art at the bottom of his shoes to hold him in place as he examined his surroundings. He didn't want to be caught off guard by anything. Knowing the Liberators, this was the point where they set up an ambush.

Sora: Tch, I knew it.

Hajime: The pest have come.

Sora clicked his tongue, raised his arm, then quickly took aim and fired some light orb. A flock of magma bats had swooped down to attack them. On their own, the bats weren't much of a threat. They could fly pretty fast and fire magma fireballs, but that was about it. For Hajime and the others, they were basically small fry.

In a group, though, they became somewhat more of a threat. Where there was one, there was sure to be more. They swarmed out of the walls like cockroaches, dozens of them appearing from every crack and crevice. Hajime had shot down three of them, but he heard many more flapping toward them. There was enough of them that the sound of their wings drowned out the roaring of the wind.

Aishia: Sora, leave the left and the back to me and Yue.

Sora: You got it. Shea, Tio, make sure our boat doesn't fall apart.

Shea: Roger!

Tio: Sure.

Sora: I'll make sure that no Magma will hit us, so focus on driving this boat, Hajime.

Hajime: Leave it to me.

Aishia, Yue, Hajime, and Sora stood back to back, angled diagonally from the sides of the boat. As always, they were in perfect sync. The flock of magma bats bore down on the party in a single coordinated rush. They were so close to each other that they looked like one giant flaming dragon. Their burning red wings melded into each other seamlessly.

As they approached, the bats split into two groups. One attacked from the front, while the other circled behind them. Weak as they were individually, when they came en masse like this they made for a formidable foe. Most people wouldn't have enough ammunition to take them all down even. Unfortunately for the bats, they were facing one of the most overpowered parties in existence. They'd fought a far larger group of monsters back in Ur.

Hajime: Don't think you can take us down with just that much.

Sora: Fight numbers with numbers. Eat lead, you flaming freaks.

Hajime pulled his gatling gun, Metzelei, out of his Treasure Trove. Then, he braced it against his hip, took aim, and pulled the trigger. The distinctive ratatatata of machine gun fire echoed throughout the cavern as Hajime mowed down the magma bats. The deadly hail of gunfire pierced through even the waves of monsters furthest back. Metzelei fired with such force that the wall behind the bats was riddled with holes.

However, there were more magma bats than even Metzelei could handle, so Hajime pulled out Orkan with his free hand and started firing rockets into the bunched up group of monsters as well. The rockets left a trail of sparks as they struck clumps of magma bats, blowing dozens of them into smithereens. The bats never stood a chance. A torrent of bat chunks fell to the ground. Hajime had quite literally made it rain blood.

Some of the bats were glaring warily at Sora. Then, after communicating with a shared look, they all leapt at Sora at once.

Bats: Geeheehee!

Sora:...

A cannonball of magic essence coated in wind spirit arts had just burst from the tip of Sora's murasame. The single shot traveled past the wall at the speed of sound.

Bats: Geehee?!

The monsters that had leapt at Sora were blown away by the aftershock, and the cannonball of essence wrapped in wind ripped through the bat army with precision.

Sora: I'll do one more push, just in case.

With that, Sora poured essence into his sword again. A windstorm raged from his sword. Sora closed in on the bats at the front and slammed the storm into the monsters.

Aishia: Hah!

Aishia roar quietly before dashing off. Aishia was in a different location, closing in on a revenant from the side. The revenant didn't notice Aishia's approach and was swiftly slayed. With the revenant fighting before them suddenly cut down. Aishia, closes in on the next revenant and slaying it.

She continued to exterminate revenants one after another by coming up from behind and the side to surprise them. The magma bats behind Aishia suffered a similar fate at Yue's hands.

Yue: Storm Serpent.

A giant green globe of wind appeared in front of Yue's outstretched hand. The globe elongated and sprouted wings, transforming into a dragon. The dragon eyed its prey for a moment before opening its maw wide and charging forward.

The bats split up into smaller groups, trying to avoid the deadly storm dragon. They pelted it with fireballs as they flapped out of the way. However, Yue's dragon was composed of gravity magic. It couldn't be hurt by fire. Wind blades swirled around inside the dragon, trapped there by Yue's gravity magic. Once it had set its sights on something, it wouldn't let it escape.

Like with Yue's Draconic Thunder and Sapphire Serpent, Storm Serpent exerted a gravitational field that drew enemies to it. The magma bats were sucked into the dragon, where the wind blades ripped them to shreds. Yue had chosen a wind dragon this time because the bats were resistant to heat, and ripping their wings off with wind seemed the most efficient way of dealing with them.

Once the dragon had swallowed up most of the bats it flew to the center of the room and burst apart. The trapped wind blades flew out in all directions, cutting down the few bats lucky enough to avoid being sucked in.

Tio: Hmm... Master, My King, Yue, and Aishia's destructive abilities and teamwork are as frighteningly devastating as every time I see them.

Shea: I expect no less!

Tio and Shea exchanged a glance as they continued to steer and fortify the boat. Hajime put Metzelei and Orkan back into his Treasure Trove, patted Yue, who was puffing her chest out proudly, on the head, then turned to see what lay ahead of them. Meanwhile, Yue once again started keeping watch.

Sora: 💢 If you two don't stop flirting this instance, I won't hesitate to throw you two off this boat!

Hajime and Yue: W-We're sorry!

Sora and the others had little difficulty dispatching the monsters that tried to attack them as they made their way down the magma rapids. After a few minutes, though, something changed. The magma river began angling upward instead of down.

After climbing for a few dozen meters, the party could make out a light in the distance. It was the cavern's exit. Unfortunately, the river came to a dead halt right before it.

Hajime: Hang on, guys!

Everyone once again clung to the edges of the boat. They fell down their steepest drop yet as their boat rushed toward the cavern exit. Their descent was so fast that Hajime felt weightless for a few seconds. However, he quickly reoriented himself and examined his surroundings. The room they'd found themselves in was even vaster than the floating arena they'd fought Miledi in.

But unlike that arena, this room wasn't spherical. It seemed to follow the natural contours of the rock, making it difficult to grasp the exact size of the space. The floor was covered in magma, with a few boulders jutting out here and there to provide footholds.

The walls also had protrusions large enough to stand on, and in other places the wall had sunken in to form alcoves. Numerous magma rivers crisscrossed each other in the sky, each of them spilling into the sea of magma below.

Fountains of magma occasionally spewed from below. If there was a cauldron in hell, chances are it was based off of this. Hajime and the others exclaimed softly in wonder.

Still, what was even more amazing than this marvel of nature was the island sitting in the center of the room. It was made from the same rock as everything else, and rose a good ten meters above the boiling magma. That alone didn't make it anything special. What was special about it was the fact that there was a giant dome of magma on it. From afar, it looked like the island housed a mini-sun. It certainly wasn't a sight one saw every day.

Tio: Updraft!

The fall had tossed the boat nearly upside-down, so Tio righted it with her magic. Once it was in place, Hajime and the others leaped through the air back onto the boat. Then, Yue adjusted the boat's speed with her own Updraft. As they floated across the magma sea, Sora and the others warily examined their surroundings.

Sora: A magma dome?

Yue: What if that's the hidden home of the Maverick?

Hajime: Considering how far we've descended, it seems likely. But then that also means...

Aishia: This is where we will have to face the guardian of this place?

Aishia finished Hajime's sentence, her eyes scanning the room like a hawk. Shea didn't let her guard down either, but she tried to take a more optimistic view of their situation.

Shea: Maybe we skipped past it because we took a shortcut here?

Tio: Things are going too well, aren't they?

Sora turned to where Shea was looking and saw a staircase that ended at one of the raised platforms above the magma sea. Chances were that was where they would have come out had they taken the normal way down.

As unthinkable as it might have been for the labyrinth's designer that anyone would try and ride the magma rivers, Sora doubted they would have been careless enough to let anyone skip the final guardian. Even Shea didn't really believe they'd somehow slipped past it. Unfortunately, Shea was right to be skeptical. Without warning, bullets of magma shot out of the sea, heading straight for the boat.

Tio: Hmph, let me handle this!

Tio summoned her own balls of magma from the sea and fired them at the oncoming bullets, neutralizing them. However, that first attack had just been an opening volley. As the shattered magma bullets dropped to the ground, another salvo came at them. This time they came not just from the sea, but also from the rivers above.

Sora: Tch, everyone scatter!

If they stayed on their boat they'd be burned to ashes in no time. Sora and the others leaped off the boat and onto nearby boulders. A second later, their boat was bombarded with magma, and sunk into the fiery ocean.

As the party landed on their respective footholds, they began beating back the barrage of magma balls. While the waves of bullets weren't so numerous that they couldn't handle them, Hajime and the others soon began to grow irritated at the endless hail of magma. Part of the reason for their irritation was the heat. The sky had grown so thick with magma that it had begun to blur.

Sora knew he needed to do something fast. He fired a light orb to clear the bullets closest to him, while also shooting down the ones that had been closing in on Aishia behind him. Aishia realized what Sora wanted her to do without him having to say anything. She used the reprieve he'd granted her to cast one of her gravity spells.

Aishia: Spatial Severance.

A black sphere materialized at a spot directly in between where the four of them were standing. It then began sucking in all of the magma balls the room was shooting out. Once inside the sphere, the magma was crushed by the immense pressure. Now that he no longer had to worry about fending off magma bullets, Sora was free to move. He flew through the air with Flight, heading for the central island.

The most dangerous thing about this endless barrage was that they could see no obvious way to halt it. This was obviously the final trial of the Grand Gruen Volcano, but unlike the other labyrinths Sora had conquered, there was no actual guardian to defeat. Because of that, he had no idea what they needed to do to clear this one. Their only clue was the strange island in the center.

As he sped toward the island, Sora spoke to the others via Telepathy.

Sora: I'm going to investigate the central island. Cover me.

Hajaime: I'm going as well. With my Demon Eye, it should be much faster.

Aishia: Okay.

Yue: Yes.

As Sora and Hajime left the effective range of Aishia and Yue's Spatial Severance, magma bullets started heading toward him again. Aishia and Yue shot them all down with their own magma balls, maintaining her Spatial Severance all the while. Tio backed the two up, supplementing Aishia and Yue's magma balls with a few of her own. Shea helped as well, shooting down the bullets with Drucken's shotgun mode. With everyone's help, Sora and Hajime was able to progress quickly. However, just before he could make the final leap onto the central island, he was interrupted.

???: Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Sora: Ah!?

Hajime: What the?!

A bestial roar shook him to the very core. A second later, a giant magma serpent flew out of the sea, its jaws open wide. Because of how hot their surroundings were, their Heat Perception hadn't been able to sense it at all. And because the entire magma sea was filled with mana, their Mana Perception skill hadn't been able to sense it either. For the first time since leaving Orcus' labyrinth, both Sora and Hajime had been caught truly by surprise.

Sora and Hajime reacted with superhuman reflexes. They twisted to the side and just barely managed to dodge the serpent's jaws. It flew past them, its mouth closing over the spot the two just been in.

Sora uses flight to flew away with ease while Hajime used Aerodynamic to flip himself around in the air and fired at the serpent as it passed. His bullets sped toward the serpent's head, each one finding its mark.

Hajime: What!?

Hajime yelled out in surprise. The serpent should have died, but it hadn't. Hajime's bullets had passed straight through the serpent's head, dislodging a bit of magma as they'd done so. The thing was hollow. All of the other monsters Hajime had faced so far in the volcano had possessed physical bodies underneath their coating of lava. This was the first time he was facing a creature created purely from magma.

He quickly recovered from his surprise, and tried shooting at other sections of the serpent just in case. Unfortunately, the rest of its body was hollow as well. As he'd feared, the whole thing was made only of magma.

Hajime: Man, what a pain. I don't have time to be dealing with you.

Hajime fired enough bullets through the serpent so that it could no longer maintain its shape. Once it was rendered impotent, he slipped past it and once again sped off toward the central island. Still, the serpent wasn't done with Hajime yet. Though the magma comprising its head and much of its body had been shot away, it could still move. It lurched toward Hajime, trying to tackle him.

Sora: Hajime!

Sora flew in grabbing his best friend by the shoulder trying to gain as much distance as possible. Not even a second later, multiple magma serpents shot out of the sea below, each of them chomping down where he'd been nanoseconds before. Sora beat a hasty retreat and landed on a nearby platform. Aishia and Yue alighted next to the two. The storm of magma bullets had stopped once the serpents had shown up.

Yue: Are you alright, Hajime?

Hajime: Yeah, no problem.

Aishia: It's True form has appear.

Sora: Looks like this is gonna be the real test.

Aishia placed a hand on Sora's arm. He kept his gaze fixed straight ahead, but he did put his own hand on top of hers. More and more magma serpents popped up.

Tio: It seems like that island is the goal. It's like they're saying "defeat us if you want to get through".

Shea: But didn't they just regenerated? Can we take them down?

There were more than twenty of them now, and they had Hajime and the others surrounded. Just as Shea said, the first one Hajime shot holes through had already begun to regenerate. Back when they'd found the regenerating golems in the Reisen Gorge Shea had been in a panic, but now she had enough experience to calmly think the problem through. Her rabbit ears flopped back and forth as she considered their options. Sora smiled, proud at how far Shea had come. Then, he offered a suggestion of his own.

Sora: I think they're like that giant slime we fought. There should be a core somewhere that's controlling the magma.

Hajime: But because there's mana in everything, I can't use my Demon Eye to search for it... We'll probably have to smash everything and hope we get it.

Everyone nodded at the same time the twenty-plus snakes attacked. The magma serpents spat out fireballs that shone as brightly as a solar flare. The fireballs closed in on them from all sides, followed closely by the serpents themselves. Any normal party would have been swallowed by the flames and burnt to a crisp.

Tio: It's been some time since I was able to go all out! Behold my power!

Jet black mana swirled around Tio's outstretched hands. She compressed it into a single point and fired off a pitch black laser. She was using her prized dragonbreath.

It was the very same ability that had managed to force Hajime on the defensive. The black stream cut through the fireballs and vaporized the magma serpents in front of her. She slowly turned, her breath cutting through everything like a massive black blade. Within seconds eight serpents lay dead. Sora and the others used the opening she'd created to escape their encirclement.

They had thought that if they vaporized the serpents in their entirety, then they'd be sure to destroy the mana crystal powering them too. Sadly, things were never that easy in a labyrinth.

The remaining serpents crashed into the platform the party had been standing on seconds before, pulverizing it, and sank into the sea. When they emerged once more, their depleted numbers had been replenished.

Hajime: You've gotta be kidding me. I saw their mana crystals shatter. Does that mean defeating them's not the goal?

Hajime tilted his head as he thought. He'd used Riftwalk to watch the moment Tio's breath ripped through the serpents in slow motion. He'd definitely seen a mana crystal inside each one, and he'd definitely seen her breath vaporize them. Sora pointed to the central island and shouted, breaking Hajime out of his musings.

Sora: Hajime, look at that! The boulder's glowing!

Hajime: What?

Hajime turned to look and saw that part of the boulder was indeed glowing. He hadn't noticed before, but there were some strange rocks buried within the island's boulder, a few of which were now shining bright orange.

Hajime: What the...? Are those shining rocks embedded into the rock walls?

Hajime used his Farsight to examine the island more closely. It seemed there were more of those rocks buried at regular intervals within the boulder. They were almost the same color as the island, so it was hard to make out the ones that weren't glowing. The island was cylindrical in shape, and Hajime guessed based on its circumference and the distance between each rock that there were around one hundred in total. Of those hundred, eight were glowing right now. And Tio killed eight of them earlier.

Hajime: I see... So we have to kill a hundred of these things to clear this trial.

Sora: So it's meant to be a battle of endurance in the heat. That's the concept of this Great Labyrinth.

Anyone who made it this far would have been exhausted from the constant surprise attacks and the ever-present heat. And yet, this final trial required more concentration and focus than any up to this point. It was just like the Liberators to ramp up the difficulty at the very end.

Even Sora and the others, overpowered as they were, were beginning to grow weary. Still, they were all smiling. As long as they knew how to clear the trial, they were confident they could beat it.

Knowing what the goal was had revitalized everyone. They readied themselves for the magma serpents' next charge. The barrage of magma bullets began once more and the serpents began acting unpredictably, keeping the party on their toes.

Sora and the others split up again, deciding it would be easier if they all counterattacked individually. Tio sprouted dragon wings from her back and took to the skies. She then unleashed a tornado that shot out wind blades in a deadly barrage. She'd cast the intermediate-rank wind spell, Infinity Gust.

Tio: That's the 9th! I'm in the lead right now!

Tio looked down at Hajime.

Tio: Master! If I beat the most enemies here, I demand a reward! Of course that includes a night to ourselves!

Tio shredded her ninth serpent with a smile. Hajime tried to tell her he wasn't going to do that even if she did destroy the most, but Shea cut him off.

Shea: Wha!? It's no fair if only you get a reward, Tio! Let me join the contest too! Sora, if I win you have to spend a whole night alone with me instead!

Shea leaped into the air as she said that and smashed Drucken down on the head of one of the serpents. Blue ripples spread out from the point of impact, creating shockwaves. The force of the blow was so great that even some of the magma sea below was blown away. Glimmering fragments of the serpent's mana crystal floated in the air for a few seconds before falling into the sea below. Shea's shockwaves had been enough to shatter it.

A magma bullet hurtled toward Shea, who was still hanging in mid-air. However, she fired Drucken's buckshot and used the recoil to dodge out of the way. Still, one of the magma serpents had predicted she would leap backward and was waiting with open jaws, putting her in danger.

But Shea didn't seem worried. She focused her mana into her boots. The metal plates inserted in her soles began to glow, and shockwaves of pale blue light spread out from under her feet. Shea leaped off the mana platform she'd created and soared through the air.

Since Shea was the only one who couldn't fly through the air naturally, Hajime had created boots enchanted with Aerodynamic for her. And because she could render herself weightless with her gravity magic, she could utilize it to even more effect than Sora.

The magma serpent passed harmlessly by. As it did so, Shea took aim with Drucken and pulled the trigger. It wasn't her usual buckshot that came out, but instead a high-caliber shotgun slug.

It wasn't just any shotgun slug, either. Hajime had crafted it out of a special material and enchanted it with Shock Conversion. It unleashed powerful shockwaves on impact. In terms of pure power, it was more destructive than his grenade launcher. The slug round slammed into the serpent, blowing off both its head and body in a massive explosion. Fragments of another shattered mana crystal flew through the air.

Sora: Hey, you two. Don't just go deciding that on your—

Yue: Then if I win, you have to go on a date with me, Hajime.

Aishia: I'm the one who's gonna win. And have my night with Sora like usual.

Aishia and Yue interrupted him before he could finish, stating their desire to participate in the competition as well. With how many comrades they had now, Yue rarely had the chance to spend time alone with Hajime. And Aishia rarely had a chance to sleep with Sora alone since Shea was always there.

Yue: Draconic Thunder.

Aishia: Vortex serpent.

Smiling faintly, Aishia and Yue once again proved that those two were a mage to be feared. Yue pulled out her favorite spell, Draconic Thunder. And Aishia pulled out her Vortex Serpent. But instead of just one dragon, Yue summoned seven. While Aishia summoned 8 serpent. Their practice were finally beginning to pay off. Each head picked a target and flew off. Their howls shook the walls. The hunter became the hunted as the magma serpents heading toward Aishia and Yue all found themselves swallowed up by heads larger than them. Their mana crystals were all burnt to a crisp.

Shea: Yue and Aishia really are the strongest!

Tio: Those two are definitely acting up! This is completely out of line!

Shea: But I won't lose! I can still keep going!

Tio: I can't afford to lost since I was the one who insisted on this...!

Grumbling to themselves, Shea and Tio began launching even more ferocious attacks. They were not going to let themselves fall behind.

Sora: Seriously those girls...

Hajime: I guess it's fine. Everyone looks like they're having fun at least.

Sora and Hajime shrugged their shoulders and sighed. Those two shot down the magma serpent closing in from behind without even turning around. The bullets and light orb all landed at once, their shockwaves blowing away the serpent's magma body. Its mana crystal flew through the air, exposed. Hajime nimbly dodged its head as he shot the falling mana crystal with Donner.

Shea: Sora! Hajime! Maybe clearing this area is gonna be easy!

Sora: Maybe...

Hajime had loaded shockwave shells similar to the ones he'd given Shea into Schlag. These ones lacked Drucken's power though, as he'd had to make them small enough to fit into Schlag's chambers. If he'd wanted power, he could have always pulled out Schlagen. However, he'd wanted to see how well these new bullets worked with his handguns first.

Sora: With the way we're going, we'll be fine. Let's just finish this as fast as we can.

Hajime: Yeah!

Yue: Mhm!

Aishia: You got it!

Shea: Okay!

Tio: Sure!

Sora then flipped through the air, dodging two more magma serpents that tried to attack him. Then, he took aim with murasame who is surrounded by his essence while upside-down, and fired. There was only a single wind slash, but Sora had fired four times. The serpents didn't even have time to notice Sora wasn't there before Sora's wind slash scattered their bodies.

Hajime fired Donner twice, accurately destroying both of their exposed mana crystals. He glanced down at the central island and was surprised to see that they only had eight more serpents to kill. Barely ten minutes had passed since they'd begun fighting.

If, as Tio had suspected, the theme of this labyrinth was to see how well challengers could handle a prolonged battle requiring intense concentration under strenuous conditions, then Hajime and the others must have completely surpassed the creator's expectations.

Tio's breath mowed down another magma serpents.

6 more to go.

Shea's shotgun slug took another serpents at once.

5 more to go.

Another team of serpents tried to pincer Yue. But found themselves stopped short by another one of Yue's thunder dragons, which had coiled itself around her and were summarily destroyed.

4 more to go.

One magma serpent was instantly cut down by Aishia.

3 more to go.

A magma serpent rushed up to Hajime and fired a barrage of fireballs at him. Hajime danced through the air like a leaf riding the wind, dodging the fireballs. He fired on it with Schlag as it opened its maw to swallow him. The serpent was blown back, and Hajime shot down its mana crystal without even looking.

1 more to go.

The last remaining serpent tried to launch a sneak attack from beneath the magma sea. Sora leaped up with Aerodynamic and fired light orb into its open mouth. Yellow shockwaves spread out from the point of impact, pushing the magma serpent back. Its mana crystal glinted in the red light. Sora took careful aim with Murasame. Hajime and the others watched with satisfaction as Sora finished off the trial.

Sora: And now it's over.

Sora glanced over at the others before launching a wind slash that signaled the end of the Grand Gruen Volcano's trial. A second later, an aurora of light poured down from above.

Sora(mind): What the!? Crap, I won't be able to dodge in time—

Sora's eyes were glued to the light. It looked just like the rainbow-colored light that had nearly killed him back in the Great Orcus Labyrinth.

Sora(mind): Judging by how bright this is, it might be even more dangerous...

It felt as if the very air was being torn apart by the light. The labyrinth's creator had purposely timed this trap to activate when everyone was at their most defenseless... right when they thought they'd won. The light of destruction swallowed Sora whole, and he vanished without a trace.

Aishia: S-Soraaaaaa!

Aishia let out a bloodcurdling scream. Hajime and Yue were just as shock. Shea and Tio had just been standing in place, stunned. It was Aishia's scream that had brought them back to their senses. They'd never heard her so much as raise her voice before.

The giant wall of light swallowed up the remnants of the magma serpent Sora had just killed and crashed into the sea below. The impact sent magma flying everywhere, and for a second, the base of the volcano was visible.

The light grew fainter as it bore through the rock. Eventually, it faded entirely, vanishing without a trace, leaving not a speck behind. Aishia flew through the air, rushing to see what had become of Sora. As the light faded, she saw him, still floating in the air. His clothes were a tattered mess. He'd used his arms to protect his face and torso, keeping his vitals intact. However, he no longer had the strength to remain airborne, so he plummeted toward the magma.

Aishia: Updraft!

Aishia used her magic to keep his limp frame afloat. From the looks of it, he'd lost consciousness. Once she got close, she grabbed him and carried him over to a nearby platform.

Aishia: I got you. Everything's okay now.

She embraced him gently, wrapping him up in a healing light.

Sora:...