The maze was built starting with the mother skeleton replenishing its magic.

"Am I too late?"

Harvey gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping over the corpses of Nick and Delon.

Neither Puck, the leader of the "Morning Star" squad, nor Reina was seen.

He couldn't tell which of the two men was the monstrous beast before him.

"Where's Lena!" Harvey shouted at the monster.

Upon hearing his voice, the ferocious beast instantly clutched its head and let out a painful roar that shook the entire third floor.

Then, the monstrous beast shot out from its spot like a cannonball and attacked Harvey.

It was an attack without any strategy or method; it was more like a reckless rampage than an attack.

[Refined to LV5]

Harvey slammed his hands on the ground, splitting the earth beneath him into several pieces, causing the beast to lose its footing and swing its claws in the air before it could even touch Harvey.

Then, the surrounding land rose up, forming a cage that imprisoned the calamity beast inside.

"Answer me! Where is Lena?!"

Harvey did not harm him; he merely restrained him.

His voice acted like a catalyst, causing the beast to roar continuously, its power increasing once again.

Instead of attacking Harvey, he charged up his strength and broke through the cage in front of him, plunging headfirst into the stairs leading to the second floor.

Harvey pursued relentlessly, and the two of them passed through three layers of ruins, through the second layer of mine, and arrived at the first layer of open underground cavern.

No, if we go any further, we'll leave the maze and head to the surface.

We must stop him here.

......

"Mr. 3413, do you think we should go up and help?"

Glenn hid under a giant mushroom tree, watching the fierce battle between adventurers and monsters on the first floor, and quietly asked a question.

"Glenn boy, remember this: a gentleman never puts himself in danger." 3413, standing on his shoulder, raised his hands, speaking with the air of a seasoned veteran.

"But with my strength, I can't be of much help," Glenn muttered, turning his gaze back to the battle.

This is something that someone of his level shouldn't be involved in at all.

Although the black-clad adventurer's skills are flashy, including creating walls and shaping forms, he doesn't seem to be a match for the calamity beast.

Why would a monstrous beast appear in a maze?!

Why don't we temporarily abandon the Skeleton King's mission and take advantage of the black-clad adventurer holding back the beast to leave here and inform the Frey Church?

If only Miss Lilith from the church were here at a time like this.

Ah!

Miss Lilith really did appear.

......

Lilith rushed out of the maze entrance with a look of anxiety on her face.

After inquiring about "Lena" at the Adventurers' Guild, the girl at the counter told her that Lena and a small group of adventurers had been preparing to venture into the depths of the labyrinth a day earlier.

Lilith didn't even have time to go back and report the news before she hurriedly headed to the maze alone.

As she got closer to the labyrinth, the scent of the "blood curse" grew stronger, and Lilith became increasingly uneasy.

As it turned out, her worst fears came true.

Just as Lilith had guessed, a monstrous beast appeared in the labyrinth.

This suggests that Lena has very likely become Belzaha's witch and is unable to control her powers.

Without any hesitation, Lilith drew her longsword and quickly joined the battle.

Her superb swordsmanship and years of experience fighting witches allowed her to gain the upper hand and suppress the monster in a very short time.

"I am a knight of the Church of Frey!" Lilith shouted, brandishing her sword. "Adventurer, please retreat immediately! Leave the rest to me!"

Harvey did not speak.

One reason is the fear of having one's voice recognized.

Secondly, the clue to Lena now lies with this monster.

Lilith severed the claws of the calamity beast and jumped back to create distance.

Seeing that Harvey had no intention of leaving, she exhaled and took out a ribbon from her pocket, tying her smooth blonde hair into a high ponytail.

"Thank you for your help, adventurer."

"Note that you must maintain inner strength when dealing with this monster," Lilith said solemnly. "Any feelings of pain and despair will be devoured by him and transformed into power, even his own pain."

Harvey almost rolled his eyes.

No wonder the monster's power would increase after each painful roar.

In other words, the monster must be defeated in one go, which is too difficult for Harvey, who is not a combat professional. He must rely on Lilith's power.

Before them, the calamity beast had recovered from its previous injuries and was now roaring in even greater agony.

Just as it was about to attack the two humans in front of it, its right foot had just stepped forward when it seemed to have missed a step, and its huge body fell straight down, stiff and trembling.

After a moment, there was no further movement.

Is he... dead?

He just died like that?

A chilling aura suddenly descended, and Harvey felt as if all his strength had been drained away. Even just standing up exhausted him, and he gasped for breath.

The pressure was even greater than that brought by the calamity beast; the hairs on his skin stood on end, and he could vaguely feel something on... his head?

Harvey suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Then Lilith frowned, planted her longsword in the ground for support, and looked up, first showing surprise, then almost squeezing out the words:

"The Witch of Belzaha".

Clara's figure suddenly appeared in the air above the two of them, and she floated down slowly as lightly as a feather.

Klara was now wearing an old black and red robe with a dark red belt around her waist. Since she was not wearing shoes, her smooth feet were exposed.

She had long, dull flaxen hair and wore a simple crown of thorns made of some kind of metal on her forehead, the tips of which were worn and rounded.

Clearly, no one but her could appear out of nowhere and bring down a monstrous beast so suddenly.

As for why she is so elusive—the Frey Church has yet to capture her.

Clara ignored Harvey and the others, floating beside the corpse of the monster. With a gentle flick of her right hand, she separated the unconscious Rena from the flesh on her back.

The little girl, with her eyes tightly closed, still had a furrowed brow, as if she were having a nightmare, and floated beside Klara.

Lena!

Harvey's eyes widened, and he instinctively called out his sister's name.

But he found that he didn't even have the strength to speak. He could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, only able to lift his head with difficulty to look up.

Klara merely glanced expressionlessly at the two who had reached the bottom, then looked again at the mushroom forest not far away.

He didn't speak the whole time, but reached out and stroked Lena's hair, beginning to absorb her power as a witch.

Everything is proceeding according to plan. Lena has absorbed a lot of energy, saving Klara a lot of trouble.

but......

Why is my strength decreasing as I absorb more power?

Lilith felt the pressure on her body begin to lessen, and only then, supporting herself with her longsword, did she manage to stand up, gritting her teeth as she looked at Klara:

"What exactly did you do?!"

"I am absorbing her power as a witch."

"Then why did it turn out like this!"

Lilith showed unusual panic and loss of composure.

Before their eyes, Lena, floating in mid-air, began to gather crimson energy around her. That energy almost materialized, eventually forming flesh and blood that enveloped her, resembling a giant, beating heart.

The entire first level of the maze was shrouded in blood mist, and the flesh-and-blood heart continued to grow larger.

An ominous red light emanated from it, spreading outwards in concentric circles until it enveloped the entire maze.

Klara frowned.

Lena is absorbing her power in reverse.

Both are now Beelzaha's witches, and their powers are essentially from the same source.

The witch's power comes from Belzaha's authority, which is pain and despair.

Rena's ability to absorb Klara's power in reverse proves that Rena is currently closer to Izaha than Klara.

In other words... Reina's pain was greater than hers.

Clara pondered for a moment, then she realized something.

It seems like... things went too far.