Chapter 155 Into the Untrodden Depths A Servant’s Loyalty and the Speed of Devotion
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Yuuri ran flat-out through the primeval jungle. Rescued from the petrification prison, this, he realized, was his very first true mission. Across an unpredictable landscape littered with boulders taller than a man, he surged, cutting an erratic but ultimately singular path.
(Ah, I’m so fast. Much faster than I was then. Thanks to being admitted to the lowest seat among the Servants, I have been refined even further!)
Before, she had been forced to scatter and flee ignobly after catching a glimpse of that petrifying gaze. But compared to the sheer terror of being chased by a monster as her body slowly seized up, her current lightness of foot and heart was an unbelievable blessing. To fully utilize her strength, bathed as she was in the multiple layers of skill blessings, was utterly exhilarating. Furthermore, the honor of leading the vanguard once more in a dungeon raid—one that no one had followed up on for a long, grueling eighty years—gave her a high that was beyond any comparison.
As Suzuri strained toward the anticipated location, her reverence for the single person who made this possible was unstoppable. For a scout who must maintain complete situational awareness, such emotions could easily lead to a fatal lack of focus. Yet, the added cognitive buffer from his divine protection allowed for even this kind of stray-thought-laden solo run.
—*Mm, a hit on [Enemy Sensing]. Is this one already aware of me?*
For a while, even when she spotted the enormous bodies of Basilisks on occasion, she chose not to engage them. She prioritized avoiding unnecessary fights, sometimes passing right in front of them without a second thought. Especially during her masters’ time-sensitive dungeon assault, it wasn’t a scout’s duty to engage in displays of force, neglecting the primary mission of reconnaissance. The petrifying gaze, once a grave threat, she simply brushed off without even slowing her pace, speeding past.
—*So fast. And a sensing ability that can pinpoint my location from such a distance… Annoying, but it must be that thing, all right.*
But the monsters inhabiting the fifty-ninth layer aren’t just the large-bodied Basilisks. The untrodden depths of the jungle, where she deliberately avoided venturing until properly prepared, are naturally overrun with other demons.
”Shyaaaaaaaahh!”
”—And you thought that would be enough to catch me off guard!” Suzuri challenged.
The concentrated mass of hostility that had been bearing down on her from the front vanished just as it was about to make contact. This was likely the standard surprise attack method, leveraging the monster’s high mobility. With its superior compound vision and reaction speed, it could instantly pinpoint the direction its prey was focusing on and swiftly circle to the blind spot.
However, Suzuri was entrusted with this task precisely because speed was her specialty. In addition to her accumulated experience, the various sensing skills demanded of her by her overly worried master and her sisters allowed her to foresee the strike on her unhanded left flank right from the enemy’s initial movement.
It must have judged that flank to be weak, but to be unable to counter such a maneuver meant she had no business undertaking this solo run. She instantly generated a kunai with [Darkness Wrap] and hurled it.
Yet, the enemy was cunning. It changed its trajectory at a perfect right angle mid-air, avoiding even the pursuit of her cherished blade, then immediately retreated out of range and stopped perfectly still in the air.
”It’s you, after all. You always make things complicated for me.”
As if understanding her cursing thought, the monster blocking her path clicked its vertically split jaws, unafraid of the blade she pointed at it. It was a Libellula, a monster similar to the dragonfly found in the shallow layers.
But like the black Ligia (the water beetle) found on the fifty-seventh layer, the difficulty correction for being placed deeper meant its body was roughly twice the size. Its patterns had grown more complex, seemingly increasing its intimidation factor against any who opposed it.
”I thought the same thing with the Ligia (that brute)—if only growing bigger made you sluggish, I’d have no complaints.”
Suzuri knew it was a pointless grumble. The essence of a monster lies in using magic power to enhance its body. Generally, the larger the body, the more magic it holds, making it faster and stronger. Therefore, its immense size was a self-evident consequence of it being an enhanced individual. If anything, she was being totally unfair, as she herself benefited from similar augmentations via a stacked multiple-skill loadout.
However, while the ground-crawling Ligia was one thing, watching the flying Libellula move as if it defied inertia was highly unacceptable to someone proficient in aerial combat, even if it was primarily through jumping.
”Is it releasing magic power from its wings, or some other method? Either way, it’s uncanny.”
Not understanding the principle behind the opponent’s peculiar movements was almost frustrating. But if defeat was the ultimate imperative, she couldn’t be concerned with the truth. The movement was visible, even if the principle was a mystery; all she had to do was figure out how to deliver this blade.
”Hyaah!”
She immediately changed her mindset and slashed at the charging Libellula.
However, its physical structure must be fundamentally different from a human’s. The monster accurately discerned the trajectory of her slash, pausing for an instant right before it entered her reach, and then resumed its charge immediately after she swung through. When she finally managed to intercept it with a kunai, it swiftly flew upward, resetting the entire engagement.
”Damn it, I don’t have the leisure to be tied up with a single minor foe!”
Barely, the situation had stabilized into a battle of attrition. She couldn’t pin the enemy down, but at the very least, within her effective range, she had enough leverage to force it to retreat. Still, she never anticipated being cut off from her speed-reliant combat avoidance right at the start of a deep-layer assault. The thought that every layer from here on might be populated with monsters that surpass her in speed was utterly discouraging, yet she didn’t want to dwell on it.
”…But I still have a way to deal with one like you.”
She had already engaged the Libellula several times. Given that she was currently resuming her solo run, the result of this battle was already decided.
”Farewell then.”
Her tone was merely indifferent. However, since the enemy surpassed her in agility, she needed to wait for the exact right moment. She deliberately feigned a repelling strike, knowing it would be dodged, and then easily fled in her original direction of travel.
”Giiiii!”
From the enemy’s perspective, it must have believed it could win a battle of attrition by cautiously cornering her. Its speed was the very tactic that made its strategy viable. Even if the prey turned its back and fled, the monster could overtake and attack from the rear, which was much harder to defend. Therefore, the prey—which had been precisely fending off its attacks—suddenly choosing such a foolish strategy utterly confused or mocked the demon, causing it to shriek briefly, completely caught off-guard.
”Haaah, *Sei!*”
Suzuri fended off the Libellula that bore down on her rear two or three times. She couldn’t waste too much time, as she risked drawing in other individuals. But she had already successfully convinced this demon that she was simply prey that could be quickly dispatched.
From the opponent’s perspective, the prey was a fool who chose the wrong move. Furthermore, since its range and attack patterns were one-dimensional, all the monster had to do was pressure her from just outside her maximum reach and wait for a decisive mistake. Luring the previous Libellulas had been deceptively easy in this manner.
”In the end, you are all just insects, like the Ligia.”
After a few more times of pointlessly striking at the Libellula charging from behind, the monster had grown too complacent to bother dodging left, right, up, or down. It hovered a few centimeters from her blade’s tip, staring intently with its countless compound eyes, as if telling her to just give up already.
”Those magnificent eyes seem to have been for show, then.”
”Gih!?”
Insect-type monsters are often said to be formidable foes. This is because, compared to those with fur or scales, their extreme lack of waste in their bodies allows them to achieve higher functionality relative to their size. But this was also a double-edged sword: any hit would result in a definite reduction in their combat ability.
—[Jinkai] (Dust and Ashes).
In the instant she swung her cherished blade, she enveloped the sword’s body in a mist of absolute annihilation. It instantly transformed the blade’s length into that of an *ōdachi*, causing the monster’s body on the extension of the tip to disappear from within.
A sickening SPLAT!
”Gih, Gii…!”
Suzuri deactivated the skill the moment she swung, sheathed her beloved blade, and ran off. A dramatic crashing sound and a weak shriek reached her ears from behind, but she didn’t even bother to look back.
—*There is no longer any value in finishing it off.*
Her goal was strictly to search for the “Safety Area” on the fifty-ninth layer. Even if the Libellula somehow clung to life for the next few hours, its high-speed maneuverability was undeniably lost. Thus, if it couldn’t keep up with her speed through the jungle, it could drift aimlessly in the air or crawl on the ground for all she cared.
”Ah. Yuuri, my Master. Thank you, thank you so much!”
Eighty years ago, even if she had managed to nullify the petrification, could she have completed a scout mission on this layer? She probably could have tracked the movement and chased it off with her blade. However, exactly as the Libellula had intended, if it had devolved into a battle of attrition, she would have been the first to be exhausted, with no means of dealing with it. Above all, its excellent ability to sense and approach her from a distance was a significant nuisance.
Most likely, even if the petrification was countered, the tactics used by her former comrades would have hit a dead end here. They would have been forced to retreat, leaving behind the scout who never returned. Thinking about that makes her feel that her survival, preserved as a stone statue until Yuuri found her, was fate itself.
”*Mufū*, now even that dark prison seems almost nostalgic.”
It’s surprising even to Suzuri that only about a week has passed since her master’s intense invitation. Yet, she is fully convinced that those years of vacuous nothingness, which was more than mere suffering, were necessary for this magnificent encounter.
And so, she once again immersed herself in these stray thoughts as she sped through the jungle. After repelling the Libellulas she encountered a few more times, she finally reached her destination.
”—There is no ‘Safety Area’ in this direction.”
Even scanning the horizon from the top of the highest tree in the vicinity, she could not see even the edge of the distinctive chalk-white roof or wall.
—*Each layer of the labyrinth is impossibly vast, holding enough resources to support an entire nation.*
However, the “Safety Area” that leads to the next layer is known to be in a relatively close location, with a consistent rule governing the distance. If the “Safety Area” were thousands of kilometers away, simply based on the layer’s size, it would be difficult to even discover it. Moreover, if dozens of layers followed this pattern, it would contradict the Goddess’s intention to allow those who overcame the trials—as taught to her by Yuuri—to use the labyrinth.
”Well, it should be somewhere on the circumference at this distance.”
Looking back from the treetop in the direction she came, the previous layer’s “Safety Area” on the fifty-seventh floor was also invisible, blocked by the trees and terrain. But it was certain that the exit existed somewhere along the arc of a circle, centered on the entrance, stretching out to the left and right.
—*Just like the exit to the second layer, which I had looked down upon so many times, standing far across the gently sloping plain from the entrance of the first layer.*
That distance was about five hundred meters, and thereafter, approximately a hundred meters was added for every layer. In short, the increasing difficulty with each layer wasn’t just due to the strength of the monsters or the peculiarity of the terrain, but also the length of the journey. Based on the rule applying up to the fifty-seventh layer, the predicted location of the fifty-eighth layer’s exit would be somewhere on the circumference six thousand two hundred meters from the entrance.
This location—six thousand two hundred meters directly opposite the entrance—was spectacularly wrong. If there had been no cover, she probably would have been able to spot it from the roof of the entrance, searching in all directions, but the labyrinth isn’t that forgiving. Both the entrance and exit “Safety Areas” are generally hidden by the surrounding terrain and are specifically placed so they cannot be seen directly from each other. Therefore, there was no choice but to travel out to the predicted distance and meticulously search the area from a few hundred meters to a few kilometers that wasn’t blocked by the terrain.
”*Uun*… Perhaps it would be better to return to the workshop and report, as we agreed?”
When she was assaulting the labyrinth with her former comrades up to the fifty-seventh layer, once they reached the circumference, they would find the “Safety Area” by circling along the arc. This was, of course, because making multiple round trips on the radius was inefficient. The method hadn’t changed even now that she was a Servant and could make an instant and safe return to the workshop. Still, considering the possibility of confirming the “Safety Area’s” presence over a range of a few kilometers from the circumference, the overall travel distance only increased by a few tens of percent.
The advantage to counterbalance this was the ability to give frequent reports and notifications of her next destination to her comrades waiting at the entrance, and, most importantly, knowing the conditions of the route for when the main party advanced. Safety with effort, or efficiency with known danger? Though they were pressed for time, Yuuri had said that the former was just a target goal and not worth the life of even one useful Servant.
Then, what she should choose now isn’t to risk danger, but to alleviate the anxiety of the master who sent his Servant into untrodden territory.
”Yes. Even I am now blessed with the honor of being a Servant. Since this body is entirely the property of that person, I must take the safer approach.”
Occasionally, when comparing herself to her past self, Suzuri felt like she was being spoiled to the point of being underestimated. But every night, when she was laid out alongside her sisters and obsessively claimed without reserve, she felt the painful truth that her beloved Master feared the loss of a Servant above all else.
And when she was pierced by that hot rod and made to swear to attend him for a long time, she realized that the old her, who clung to former methods even when a decision was entrusted to her alone, was long gone.
”*Haah*. Come to think of it, seeing that person’s face of relief every time I return is the greater reward anyway.”
She was so close to reminiscing about last night’s intimacy that she almost gave into the urge to indulge right there. The body tempting her toward moral decay is the only slight dissatisfaction with being a Servant, as it threatens to impede her Master’s wishes—but that is simply something she only needs to worry about until nightfall.
”Well, let’s go back.”
This is the fifty-eighth layer of the Royal Capital Labyrinth, untrodden ground without an official name. Feeling the definite promise of crossing it, she grew even more proud of herself for belonging to the Workshop faction. The thought of the relieved and congratulatory expression she would see soon, once she delivered this new information, made it impossible for her to stay put.
And with a single thought, the surrounding scenery fractured into countless pieces, instantly scattering in all directions.
—
Summary:
The nameless Servant plunges into the untrodden 58th Layer of the Royal Capital Labyrinth, relying on her enhanced speed and skill blessings from her Master, Yuuri. She faces a fierce, high-speed skirmish with an enhanced Libellula demon, a formidable insectoid foe whose uncanny agility is finally overcome through a cunning feigned retreat and a decisive strike using the Jinkai annihilation skill. Despite the pressing need for speed, the Servant prioritizes her Master’s emotional well-being over raw efficiency, realizing that the sight of his relief is the ultimate reward, cementing her absolute loyalty and her new identity within the powerful Workshop faction.
—
Character Insight:
The Servant’s internal world is a blend of exhilaration from her newfound power and an obsessive devotion to Yuuri. Her time in the ‘petrification prison’ is now re-contextualized as a necessary prelude to her glorious life of service and intimacy. Her strategic decision to return and report, despite the efficiency cost, demonstrates that her unwavering loyalty and the desire for her Master’s emotional comfort now fully dictates her actions, superseding the practical logic of her previous existence as a scout. She openly acknowledges and enjoys the moral ‘decay’ her new life permits, viewing it as another thread in the tapestry of her servitude.
—
Behind the Scene:
This scene establishes the new baseline difficulty for the deep layers of the Royal Capital Labyrinth, showing that speed-based combat avoidance is no longer a viable primary tactic. The Servant’s status grants her a key strategic advantage—the instant, safe return to the Workshop—which allows her to choose safety and communication over the desperate, high-risk solo methods of her past. The Libellula acts as a gatekeeper, demonstrating the new level of enhanced mobility and cunning in the deep-layer monster population, ensuring the main party will face a substantial challenge when they follow the scout’s path.
—
T/L:
1 Ligia is often a genus of aquatic or littoral woodlice/isopods, here described as a ‘black water beetle’ (funamushi in original), which generally refers to a form of scavenging insectoid in fantasy. ↩
Notes:
• Ai – The recently-formed sub-divinity/ego who manages the world’s Skills. Her sudden, intense burst of divine will (‘ki’) almost bleached Yuuri’s wicked thoughts. Called Yuuri ‘Elder Brother’ and declared genuine affection and trust based on his efficiency with her Skills.
• Suzuri – A scout who braved the labyrinth and lured a petrifying monster to protect her friends. Tall, statuesque, flawlessly pale skin, powerfully toned yet soft and feminine, with long, flowing black hair identical to Marina. Her body is exaggerated hourglass—strong, trained muscles in her core, shoulders, and limbs paired with extremely generous curves. Her breasts are very large, full, high-set, and overtly described as “too big for her frame,”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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