Tatakau Shisho Volume 8 Chapter 2 Part1

The one to first notice the abnormal situation was the Armed Librarian Mattalast Ballory.

He came to know of it at the deepest parts of Bantorra Library’s underground, in the Second Sealed Labyrinth.

But let us put that aside for a while.

During the same time as Mattalast came to know of the abnormal situation something else happened in the Acting Director’s Office at the top of Bantorra Library.

An iron blade suddenly appeared in the air. There was nothing to warn of it. It appeared as if some movie’s special effect. The diamond-shaped blade was about three centimeters long. It had no handle or any decorations.

It moved as if sliding through the air and stabbed into Hamyuts’s desk. Then, along with a grinding sound it started carving letters atop the oaken surface.

After engraving a short sentence of two lines, the diamond blade completely vanished without a trace.

During that time Hamyuts was asleep on the sofa in the break room next to the office.

During the same time…

In the faraway capital of the Ismo Republic, an event also happened in the headquarters of the New Indulging G.o.d Cult led by Minth Chezine. On the second floor of the small building, a diamond-shaped blade appeared above Minth’s desk the same way.

It also carved letters and then disappeared.

There was no one in the headquarters during that time. Because of the time difference, it was midnight at Ismo. The False Men or other workers were not there, and Minth was resting in a room on the third floor.

Both Hamyuts and Minth kept sleeping without noticing anything.

After Mattalast, the next one to notice what happened were the new Armed Librarians Rizzly Kalon and Tena Tarno, as well as the veteran Luik Hartaine.

They were at the center of Bantorra Library - the back of the Sixth Sealed Archive, connected to the Sealed Labyrinth’s entrance.

“Hmm. Am I the first person today?”

Cracking his neck, Luik came down to the Labyrinth’s entrance. In one hand he carried the leftover applications for browsing Books. On his back was a huge spear made of steel that weighed over 100 kilograms.

“Well then, I wonder if today’s gonna be tough.”

Luik said and started some light flexing exercise in front of the door.

He was the biggest among the Armed Librarians. He weighed about as much as three average adult men and was tall enough to reach the ceiling of a normal house. Furthermore his body was covered by thick, black hair, so he seemed like a clothed beast carrying a spear. Just by slightly warming his body up, his fuzzy skin started raising some steam.

There was no excitement nor tension in his expression. Entering the Labyrinth was a mission that risked his life, but for him as a middle-cla.s.s Armed Librarian, this was all in a day’s work.

“Tena went inside before.”

The new Armed Librarian Rizzly spoke to him from inside the telegraph room. He was a short boy who didn’t even reach Luik’s chest. With a slender body and a puppy-like face he didn’t look like an Armed Librarian at all. Only the rapier and small gun hanging from his waist made him seem like a warrior at all.

He had been stationed in the telegraph room since yesterday. His current job was to monitor any changes within the Labyrinth.

“Ooh, she got up early. Getting up early is good.”

“I hate it though… Ah, I’m so sleepy. When will Mirepoc-san come already…”

Rizzly said and yawned.

“Don’t complain about staying awake for a day or two. How weak.”

Saying so, Luik put a hand to the door.

“I’m fine being weak.”

Well then, shall I play with the Guardian Beasts today as well? Thinking this, Luik opened the door. At the other side was a wide staircase that went on for long, next leading to a s.p.a.ce about as large as three tennis courts. From there were about twenty corridors all connected to the routes of the Fifth Labyrinth.

The moment he set foot inside, Luik was surprised.

“Oh, so sudden!”

Just before he had opened the door the Guardian Beast known as Cavalryman was already waiting for him. Even among the Guardian Beasts protecting the Fifth Layer, it was the weakest kind. It was still obviously a lot stronger than normal people, though.

“Are you fine?”

“Obviously.”

Luik stopped Cavalry’s spear with one hand and lifted him up. Just like that he threw him from the staircase into the hall. Cavalry, despite weighing over 500 pounds, started rolling down the staircase. Luik didn’t even need to use the large spear on his back.

“Recently the Guardian Beasts are also quite enthusiastic about their jobs. I want them to set an example to the Director.”

Saying so, Luik went to check whether he finished it off or not.

Guardian Beasts - the monsters protecting the Labyrinth Archive. Among those officially confirmed, they were the one and only kind of fantastic living creatures in the world. Fighting against them was the daily job of Armed Librarians.

But the Guardian Beasts were not the Armed Librarians’ enemies. They only existed to protect the sealed Books from any and all intruders.

The Guardian Beasts were protecting Bantorra Library ever since it was created 2000 years ago. They wandered around the Sealed Labyrinth, indiscriminately attacking every intruder they could find.

Those who could not win against them were not ent.i.tled to touching Books. Only warriors who could break through the Guardian Beasts were allowed to handle them. Meaning, just the Armed Librarians.

The deeper one went into the Labyrinth, the more important the Books sealed inside were. Accordingly, the Guardian Beasts also grew stronger.

If talking about the Guardian Beasts protecting the Fifth Level, those around the level of Cavalryman, Rhino, or Needle Wolf, then about several dozens of heavily armed normal humans would be able to beat them. The Fourth Level’s Elephant Soldier or Blade-Haired Lion could crush tanks and armored vehicles.

In the Third Level, even mid-cla.s.s Armed Librarians would have to risk their lives. Trainees or intelligence agents had no chance of winning there. Reaching the Second Level, one would find Guardian Beasts equal in strength to Armed Librarians like Volken or Kyasariro.

It was probable that if all Guardian Beasts were to a.s.semble they would be stronger than the entire Armed Librarian forces combined. They might even be able to rival all the armies of the world.

They were certainly strong enemies. However, recalling the fights they had against the Indulging G.o.d Cult, the Guardian Beasts almost seemed cute. They never got out of the Labyrinth. Neither would one encounter them above their determined level.

For the Armed Librarians, the Guardian Beasts were strong enemies but also their comrades at the same time. They helped the protection of Bantorra Library after all.

“Mm?”

The collapsed Cavalryman tried standing up again. From its reaction Luik could see it lacked the power to fight, but it seemed oddly tenacious. He was puzzled.

“Hmm, have I grown lax over the holidays?”

“Haven’t you been drinking too much at New Year’s? You’ve stuffed your belly too full.”

Rizzly mocked him.

“No way. I have abs of steel.”

Luik beat his fist on his stomach that was as hard as cement.

“There, there, what’s wrong? Are you excited?”

Cavalryman charged again. Luik spoke in a tone as if lulling it to sleep, and lightly knocked it down.

At that moment, Rizzly noticed something strange.

“Luik-san, another one’s coming.”

He raised his head and looked at the hall ahead. Now it was the Guardian Beast known as Rhino. It rushed up the staircase of the entrance, its footsteps echoing around.

It was a rare situation. There were not many Guardian Beasts in the shallow parts of the Sealed Labyrinth. They would fight more than one at the same time only about once a day. Furthermore, Luik had no memory of encountering that in the very entrance.

But at the time he didn’t think of this as abnormal. He simply considered it something unusual.

“I’ve been growing dull from sitting all day, lemme help you.”

Saying this, Rizzly drew his rapier this time. Although he was a novice he still had considerable fighting strength. He also displayed a belligerent expression not fit for his face.

“I don’t need ya.”

“Don’t be so reserved.”

“Hey, these are my prey.”

Luik voiced his dissatisfaction, but Rizzly prepared his rapier facing Rhino without listening to him. He looked like a man who would fight while dancing around magnificently, but it wasn’t so.

He lunged directly at Rhino’s charge. From the tip of his sword a shockwave far exceeding a tank shot in power was unleashed. A big hole the size of a fist opened up in Rhino’s head, piercing all the way through his rear.

“Oops, I tried holding back.”

The overenthusiastic shockwave stabbed into the floor of the Labyrinth, gouging a hole in it.

“Stop messing up the Labyrinth.”

“Ahaha, I’ve been scolded.”

Rizzly lent no ears to the voice shouting at him. He lacks education after all, thought Luik, but at that moment…

They heard another voice. Another Guardian Beast has appeared.

This time they were two Beasts together - a Rhino and a Needle Wolf.

“…”

The reason both Luik’s and Rizzly’s faces changed color was not due to any sense of crisis. Even if ten Beasts appeared in front of them they would probably be able to handle them.

However, it was rather unusual that four of them would appear in so short of a time. Normally the Guardian Beasts would roam around the Labyrinth by themselves. They were never organized or attacked together with their comrades.

Four Beasts in about ten minutes. This was too much without a doubt.

Something was greatly amiss. These words clearly rose to the pair’s minds.

It was then that Hamyuts woke up in the break room.

Ever since the new year started there was several days where she was busy working for the first time in a long while. She was taking care of the procedures meant to pa.s.s her position as an Acting Director to Yukizona.

Recently there had been voices of dissatisfaction in various places about Hamyuts’s att.i.tude towards her work. It wasn’t just the Armed Librarians or the normal librarians; she received protests even from leaders around the world and the Present Management Agency as well.

That was only natural. Hamyuts barely did any Acting Director-like work recently. Yukizona was essentially already working as the Director.

Even her just sitting in her chair almost reached her limit. Hamyuts had no choice but to make a judgment call.

“Haa… even handing over my seat is nothing but trouble. And I can’t leave it to Matt.”

In addition to pa.s.sing along her work there were other formalities like invest.i.ture and the inauguration ceremony, all sorts of formal work and complicated procedures.

I just need to have a bit more patience, thought Hamyuts while spending her days.

Even after pa.s.sing the baton, Hamyuts planned on staying at Bantorra Library. Her reason was of course in order to fight.

Although Kachua had been defeated, perhaps some of the remnants were still hiding. She also had no idea how Olivia and her successor’s rebellion would develop from now on.

There were still the seeds of trouble planted in the Library. She couldn’t leave the best place like that.

“Mm… my shoulders are all stiff.”

Saying this, Hamyuts sluggishly entered her office. The moment she thought of getting some coffee, her eyes settled on the abnormal condition of her desk.

There were scratches she hadn’t seen there before going to sleep.

At first she thought it was simply someone’s prank and looked at it lightly.

“…!”

The next moment, she ran to the table as if to cling to it.

When she saw the written words her body trembled.

“Ruruta…”

Hamyuts muttered. She then unleashed Sensory Threads from her entire body. All of them were turned underground.

At first they came in contact with the normal librarians who finished their night s.h.i.+fts. Next, Luik and Rizzly in front of the Labyrinth. Then Tena and the Guardian Beasts inside.

Then Mattalast who was deeper inside the Labyrinth.

And…

“…A…ahahaha.”

Hamyuts started laughing. She understood it all in a moment.

“Ahahahah, I see, I get it Ruruta. I’ve been surprised since you said it so suddenly. You should’ve told me it earlier, right, Ruruta? Do you hear me?”

Laughter. She shook while laughing.

Hamyuts Meseta was s.h.i.+vering with fear and shock.

Two Guardian Beasts were charging up the stairs. Luik spoke while attacking them.

“Is the Labyrinth today off limits?”

“Is that even a thing?”

“Who knows.”

Luik caught Rhino’s body and crushed it with both hands. Rizzly decapitated Needle Wolf using his rapier.

The two exchanged glances, then exited the Labyrinth. They left the door open so they could see the situation inside.

“What should we do? Should we report this to the Director or someone?”

Rizzly said. Luik hesitated; was this an incident or just a coincidence? If it was an incident, was it big enough to report? Thinking about the fact they simply battled four Guardian Beasts it wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Still, it would be better to report this for the time being. Luik then asked Rizzly.

“Is the Director coming today? She might be slacking off.”

“The Director’s still in the Library, probably. But she might have woken up and gone home on a whim.”

Saying so, they both sighed. Frankly speaking, they wondered just when Hamyuts would finally quit.

“What about Mattalast-san? I don’t expect to see him though.”

“Matt-san… I don’t know. When have you last seen him?”

“I think I saw him around the town three days ago. Only a glance though.”

“I haven’t met him ever since the new year. Hadn’t he gone somewhere after the party was over?”

They both thought about their two unreliable superiors.

“Then Yukizona. Should we wait until he comes to work?”

“Yeah.”

While they were talking of this and that, the body of the Cavalryman first beaten had been regenerated and it stood up. They haven’t noticed that. Cavalryman operated its twisted legs, readied its broken spear and started running. Finally, the pair turned their eyes to the Labyrinth’s entrance.

“…!”

Just before Cavalryman left the door Rizzly instantly tore it apart using the shockwave from his rapier.

The two gasped in silence. This wasn’t at the level of something unusual anymore. It was a completely abnormal event. The Guardian Beasts attacked all those invading the Labyrinth, yet the pair was outside the door to the Fifth Labyrinth.

“Right now… it tried to attack us despite us being outside.”

Rizzly told exactly what he saw. However, Luik had denied exactly what he saw.

“No way. Guardian Beasts attack only invaders inside the Labyrinth.”

That was his common sense as an Armed Librarian. His common sense and what he saw in front of his eyes clashed. People usually believed in their common sense during these times.

“But right now…!”

“Nah, that’s impossible.”

Even Luik couldn’t understand what was happening at all. Just as Rizzly had said, the Guardian Beasts came charging at them.

“Wait. I’ll go check the situation.”

Saying so, Luik entered the Labyrinth and went down the stairs. He approached the Cavalryman collapsed in the plaza. At that moment, a new Needle Wolf appeared from the road to his right.

It came for a surprise attack from Luik’s side. He prepared to meet its attack. However, the Needle Wolf acted outside of his expectations.

It turned in a right angle just before meeting Luik, running towards the stairs leading to the Sixth Archive and to the door beyond them.

Caught by surprise, Luik didn’t move. And Rizzly, who was outside the Labyrinth, couldn’t respond in time either.

It happened for only a split second. Just an instant before Needle Wolf was blown to smithereens by Rizzly’s shockwave.

A Guardian Beast exited the Labyrinth. For the first time recorded in the last 2000 years, a Guardian Beast got out.

“Rizzly! Sound the alarm!”

Luik regained his composure. However, Rizzly who was shaking in fear could not respond. After all it was something that seemed impossible, something that must never happen.

“Rizzly!”

Responding to Luik’s noise, Rizzly ran inside the telegraph room. Behind Luik, the Guardian Beasts he supposedly defeated rose up. Several other Guardian Beasts came towards the Labyrinth entrance.

In the telegraph room, Rizzly flipped the switch of the recently installed voice device. It could send his voice throughout the entirety of Bantorra Library.

“An emergency! An emergency! All Armed Librarians and trainees please gather in front of the Labyrinth!”

Rizzly’s voice echoed from behind. Luik stood in front of the door.

The Guardian Beasts protecting the Labyrinth and the Armed Librarians challenging it; that relations.h.i.+p, continuing without any change for 2000 years, was reversed at this time. It was the impossible situation of those Guardian Beasts coming to the Armed Librarians who protected the outside world.

Luik drew out the giant spear on his back for the first time that day. There were already more than ten Guardian Beasts at the plaza.

What was going on? And what should they do now? He swung his spear relentlessly while holding these questions.

“When will the reinforcements arrive?!”

Luik shouted, but Rizzly didn’t reply.

A while pa.s.sed. No one had come to support them. No one responded to their shouts.

And at the next moment… Luik could see it. Tena came rus.h.i.+ng from the other side of the Sealed Labyrinth. He saw one of her arms stained in blood and half of her face gouged out.

Tena, who despite being a novice could be said to be a perfectly good warrior, was fleeing in such an unsightly manner.

“…Tena.”

Luik muttered. He could hear heavy footsteps from behind her. There were no Guardian Beasts who could make such footsteps in the Fifth Labyrinth. It should be something around the level of Elephant Solider from the Fourth Level.

“Tena! What’s wrong?!”

“…El…Elephant Soldier, and Iron-Fang Mouse, are coming to the Fifth…”

Her ribs perhaps broken, she spoke while spurting out blood. He could see from behind her that a large amount of Guardian Beasts was breaking through.

Also, they were the stronger Guardian Beasts that protected the deeper areas.

“Tena! Run away to the Sixth Archive! The entrance is not safe!”

“Y-yes, I get it…”

Leaving the b.l.o.o.d.y Tena to her own, Luik took up position on the stairway connecting to the Sixth Archive. He readied his spear and stood in their way.

“…Until everyone comes…”

Luik muttered.

“…Will I be able to hold on?”

Half an hour pa.s.sed.

Mirepoc arrived running to the Labyrinth. Some time pa.s.sed since she heard Rizzly’s emergency call. It was quite shameful, but since it was her first battle in a long while, Mirepoc forgot where she had left her gun and sword.

Although Mirepoc rushed without a moment’s delay, she still arrived late. She hurriedly got into the Archive.

She found Tena being treated by the trainees in the entrance to the Sixth Archive.

“Tena! Who did this to you?!”

She exchanged her morning greeting with her just an hour ago. She heard that she was about to go shelving in the Fifth Archive. It wasn’t a job that would lead to those kind of injuries.

“…I-Iron-Fang Mouse and Elephant Solider, at the Fifth Labyrinth…”

Tena answered, gasping for breath. Iron-Fang Mouse was a Guardian Beast that appeared in the Third Labyrinth. It was an enemy only a central figure in the Armed Librarians could be a match for. Mirepoc had never seen it.

“Mirepoc! Quickly!”

An angry voice shouted at her from the Sixth Archive. She ran down there.

“…s.h.i.+t, those Guardian Beasts…”

“Don’t lower your guard, they’re coming from below!”

The angry roars of Armed Librarians and trainees echoed through the wide Sixth Archive.

The Sixth Archive had a huge cylindrical center from which countless of small rooms extended. On the central isle was a long, spiral staircase and its middle was a wide atrium.

The lowest part in the middle of the floor was a staircase going down, leading to the telegraph rooms meant for Armed Librarians as well as to the Fifth Sealed Labyrinth.

“…What the…”

She heard what was happening from Rizzly’s emergency call. Still, she involuntarily gasped at seeing Guardian Beasts run around the Sixth Archive, where even normal librarians could work.

There were Armed Librarians wielding their swords and guns here and there on the floor and in the spiral staircase. The Guardian Beasts were destroying the atrium.

The existence of the Guardian Beasts inside the Labyrinth usually felt rea.s.suring.

Still, seeing them run amok like this made her feel physical repulsiveness. Non-humans were endangering humans. She didn’t know such a scene could be so terrible.

“Kh!”

A Needle Wolf ran to the top where Mirepoc was. She kicked him with the soles of her boots and finished him off using her rapier. Then she grabbed its tail and threw it off to the atrium.

There were a lot of Armed Librarians and trainees on the spiral staircase. As to not get caught up in their fight, Mirepoc leapt to the center of the staircase. Then she rushed down the stairs connecting to the Sealed Labyrinth.

“…!”

The door connecting to the Labyrinth had already been destroyed. One of the double doors had been blown backward and the other was distorted. In front of the door two Armed Librarians were stopping the invasion of the Guardian Beasts from the bottom.

One was Luik. He used his own body, which was harder than steel, as a s.h.i.+eld.

Behind him was Marfa, who was comparable in power to Kyasariro. He controlled a whip about 100 meters long covered in flames. The whip freely moved, avoided Luik’s body and a.s.saulted the Guardian Beasts.

“What did you come here for, Mirepo?!”

Marfa shouted. This situation didn’t call for Mirepoc, someone who lacked fighting power. She would be in danger. However, she was aware of this and had something else to do.

“I’m here to close the Labyrinth’s barrier walls!”

Mirepoc advanced while bending her body. Marfa’s whip almost grazed her overhead.

Proceeding while desperately fending off the Guardian Beasts, she touched the door to the Sealed Labyrinth. In the Labyrinth were part.i.tion walls that could be closed down with the authority of an Armed Librarian. During Mokkania’s Rebellion they had actually sealed it.

The several hundred walls to be created in the Labyrinth shouldn’t be broken down easily even with the power of the Guardian Beasts. With this they should be able to seal their movements to a certain extent.

“Get down Mirepo!”

“You’re in the way!”

Luik and Marfa shouted. Mirepoc shouted back without minding them.

“Armed Librarian Mirepoc! Despite my lack of authority I appeal to you, seal all part.i.tion walls!”

When operating the equipment in the Labyrinth, there should be a response of magical power. However, Mirepoc couldn’t feel anything. She didn’t feel anything happen.

“I’m saying you’re in the way!”

Luik’s spear cut down the enemy trying to attack Mirepoc. Thinking about it, it was obvious. There’s no way Luik or Marfa wouldn’t have tried something anyone could have thought about.

Mirepoc turned her back to them and ran away. Her job was not fighting there.

Coming back to the Sixth Archive, she heard the voices of her comrades.

“Mirepo! What’s the Director doing?!”

“What about Yukizona-san? Or Mattalast-san?”

Only now that she was told this she noticed. Neither the Director, Mattalast or Yukizona could be seen anywhere. Kyasariro wasn’t there either.

“I’ll contact them now!”

Mirepoc’s job was connecting the Armed Librarians. While running to a safe spot, she invoked her Thought Sharing to call the comrades she couldn’t see right now. First was Bonbo. He was currently  monitoring the ceasefire in the vicinity of the Princ.i.p.ality of Meliot.

‘Bonbo-san? Are we connected?’

‘I received contact from a trainee. I’m flying at my top speed and will reach you in about three hours.’

‘Roger, return as soon as possible.’

Contacting Bonbo had been nothing but a formality. In this situation he would probably not be very useful. If he were to activate his power - controlling whales - inside the Labyrinth, Bantorra Library would be destroyed.

The other three people were more important. Mirepoc ran up the stairs while connecting her thoughts.

‘Director!’

Her thoughts connected. However, while Hamyuts could receive it, she wasn’t able to respond. It was completely unilateral from Mirepoc.

‘This is an emergency, and not the time to think of it as troublesome or whatever, please come quickly!’

Her thoughts should have been connected. However, she couldn’t tell where Hamyuts was and what was she doing. Next, she sent her thoughts to Yukizona.

‘Yukizona-san!’

‘I’m coming soon. Please wait for ten minutes.’

Mirepoc was surprised hearing this. She was late as well, but what did him being even more late mean?

‘…Just how much time do you think pa.s.sed ever since the emergency call?!’

‘I have not been wasting my time.’

‘What’s going on?!’

‘…I cannot tell you even if you ask.’

Mirepoc grinded her teeth. All four people who were said to be the strongest among the Armed Librarians weren’t rus.h.i.+ng at this situation. Leaving Bonbo aside, what were the three remaining people doing?

‘Mattalast-san! Where are you right now? It’s an emergency!’

She connected to Mattalast’s thoughts. She hadn’t seen him for a while. She wondered if he was lazing around in the town area. In the worst case he might even be hanging out at the cinema capital of Fulbeck. If that was the case she thought of shouting at him.

However, Mattalast wasn’t playing around.

‘…,…’

She felt something that she had never felt before. It felt as if she was connected to something not human but to something like a rock. The inside of their mind was as vague as sand.

‘…Mi…repo?’

After a while, Mattalast finally replied in his thoughts. Just what happened to him?

His thoughts were weak. It wasn’t like he just woke up, and it was also different than being under the influence. Rather than his thinking abilities, it was more like his very soul was growing weaker. The thoughts of people about to die probably felt like this.

‘…Mattalast-san? What’s wrong!’

She held her head and stopped in place without noticing. The spear of a Cavalryman came to attack from behind her as she was careless.

“Watch out!”

Kalne thrust Mirepoc away. She rolled down the stairs and rose up while frowning.

‘…Mirepo? What’s going on? Is there… fighting on the surface?’

‘What’s going on?! Mattalast-san! Where are you now!’

‘Mirepo… I’m sorry…’

His thoughts were severed. She didn’t feel Mattalast dying. However, she only knew that he was in some serious situation.