Chapter 581

Chapter 588: Reuniting with Comrades… (Please Subscribe!)

In the final moments, a life-or-death struggle unfolded within the labyrinth.

This term was usually applied to humans or adventurers. The monsters born from the labyrinth had nothing to do with it…

But now, Ryu and the others could only use such words to describe the scene before their eyes.

Despite losing its optimal mobility, Zaggnat refused to give up.

The monster plunged its bony right arm deep into the ground with tremendous force.

Shocks and tremors followed, cracks spreading across the floor as sharp bone spikes emerged.

—Bone Spike Barrage.

Izay had seen a similar attack before.

From Udaeros, the unnamed monster of the thirty-seventh floor.

One was made of stone, the other of bone… but there wasn’t much difference between them.

Izay charged forward without hesitation, ignoring the spikes altogether.

These super-durable bone spikes that could nullify any adventurer’s attack were effortlessly cut down by Izay.

Kishou slashed through the air, leaving trails of silver light, while the rising spikes were instantly weakened by Izay’s manipulation of rock crystals around him, making them brittle. They were then swiftly cut down like ripe rapeseed flowers.

“———!”

In an instant, pure dark silver surged toward the monster like it was devouring light itself.

From bottom to top, Kishou’s spear tip scraped off Zaggnat’s arm embedded in the ground, scattering shards of pale white bones everywhere.

Its prideful claws were torn away, the shockwave from the spear’s impact traveled through its shoulder and lifted the entire body into the air.

As Zaggnat’s skeletal form soared upward, Izay suddenly remembered something.

“The final attack shall be called ‘Starlight’.”

With his words, a magic circle suddenly appeared directly beneath Zaggnat.

A brilliant blue light formed an eight-pointed star.

The next moment, a dazzling light akin to the night sky erupted, overwhelming magical energy colliding against the monster’s entire body.

Knocking it upward with no chance for retaliation or even a dying scream, the pillar of magical light consumed Zaggnat whole.

When the light finally faded, fine particles resembling starlight floated gently down from the sky.

After a while, the dimness returned to the area.

The chilling atmosphere brought the girls back to reality.

“Is it… over?”

Alice murmured as if awakening from a dream.

“…Yes, it’s over.”

Until now, Ryu had been watching Izay intently. Only after hearing Alice’s voice did she slowly respond to the situation.

“That guy is way too strong… Even though he looks about our age…”

Forgive Leila for not knowing Izay’s name; she could only refer to him as “that guy.”

The small humanoid girl’s words resonated with her companions nearby.

Victorica, the only “outsider” present, didn’t join in the chorus but instead clasped her hands beside her cheek and looked at the spirit who had crossed paths with them.

“It seems this life-and-death crisis has come to an end, huh? Miss Ryu, it’s your turn to take center stage now~”

To clarify matters to her comrades and satisfy their curiosity.

This was precisely the moment for Ryu Ryang to showcase her abilities!

The witch declared one-sidedly that explanations should not involve her—it was too troublesome.

Ryu: “…”

Among the Astrea Familia group, the Ryu from five years ago also turned her gaze.

She instinctively reacted to her name but realized upon turning around that she didn’t know Victorica at all…

“Ah, right… What exactly happened here? Was another Ryu the one who saved us?”

After a brief burst of excitement, the girls fell silent again due to Victorica’s words.

At this point, all signs indicated that the Astrea Familia had faced a near-total annihilation during their exploration.

However, three fellow adventurers had come to their rescue at the critical moment.

It seemed like a normal act of kindness…

But the question lingered: Why was one of these strangers someone they recognized?

Ryu Ryang, don’t think cutting your hair short and dyeing it will make people forget your face!

The girls’ gazes shifted back and forth between the two Rokus.

A few seconds later, a dwarf girl from the front line approached the Ryu from five years ago and poked her slender waist.

“Ryang… Do you have any twin sisters at home? Is this person your identical sister?”

“Don’t joke around, Asta. I don’t have any older or younger sisters.”

The elf with her natural hair color shook her head firmly, certain that she was an only child.

“I feel… things might not be so simple,” said Kaguya, closing her eyes slightly.

In the hands of the beautiful black-haired woman, two identical weapons had appeared out of nowhere.

“Short Blade: Twin Leaves.”

This was the second-tier armed equipment commissioned by Kaguya from the Gubernue Familia, which was originally crafted as a single piece.

Yet now, there were two.

Though one had some incomprehensible patterns on it, overall, they were the same.

The elf who saved them looked just like Ryu, shared the same name, and wielded the familiar weapon everyone knew.

Kaguya believed this already explained quite a lot.

While the Astrea Familia girls were speculating, Ryu wasn’t idle either.

Suppressing her complicated emotions temporarily, she began organizing her thoughts, pondering how to explain time travel—a tale that sounded like pure fantasy—to Alice and Kaguya.

…

In the shortest possible way, Ryu confessed her origins to everyone.

Listening to Ryu’s explanation, Alice and the others displayed expressions more colorful than a pie chart.

Three parts astonishment when hearing about time travel, one part stupor and confusion upon learning about the Astrea Familia’s annihilation, and one part disbelief…

As for the various indescribable complex emotions, they all converged into the final four parts.

Meanwhile, Izay, having returned after the battle, chose to stay quiet, giving the Astrea Familia girls their time.

He stood beside Victorica, observing Ryu’s predicament with amusement.

To be precise, these were two people who didn’t want to help explain anything and were instead gloating from the sidelines~

“By the way, Mr. Izay, have you ever considered?”

“Considered what?”

“Changing the past, would it affect the future… And if so, how exactly would it influence it?”

Victorica watched Ryu painstakingly explaining to her past comrades, trying to convince them of her identity, and couldn’t help but smile.

At the same time, she also thought about this uncertain matter, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention to them, and quietly discussed it with Izay.

“To be honest, I’m unclear about this myself right now. We can only take it step by step and hope for the best…”

Izay sighed lightly and replied in a low voice.

Yes, for now, they could only proceed step by step.

If this time-travel event were viewed as a system mission,

Then perhaps the answer would be revealed when the mission was completed.

However, how to complete this side quest still remained uncertain.