No matter how they thought about it, the situation was not good, and their instincts were strongly warning them.

Hajime and the others launched a more violent attack, trying to stop the cockroaches from forming a magic circle, but waves of cockroaches used their bodies as shields to protect the magic circle.

That was a true meat shield. The corpses of the cockroaches killed by the explosion fell like heavy rain, but there was no sign of their number decreasing.

After a short while, the magic circle seemed complete. Nearly fifteen meters in diameter, it hovered in the air, emitting a strong, dark red glow. Simultaneously, the sphere in the center—what looked like an egg at first glance—began to stir, making a thumping sound like a heartbeat. It moved as if something were pushing outward from within, constantly changing shape.

Then, the sphere exploded, and a giant cockroach, about three meters long, appeared. However, unlike the ordinary oval cockroaches flying around, its shape was different. Instead, it resembled a twisted humanoid, a terrifying shape.

Its body has six thin limbs with thorns. Although it looks like a cockroach at first glance, the front ends of its limbs have structures similar to human fingers, and its fingers are all as sharp as blades.

It has pure black eyes on its face, a huge and sharp beak, three pairs of six transparent wings on its back, and a tail near its waist.

Whether it's the oppressive feeling it releases or its terrifying appearance, it makes people believe that it should be the last guard of this big maze, as well as a trial.

“Ji-Ji-Ji-Ji!!”

The "humanoid" let out an unpleasant cry, and its entire body was covered in a layer of dark red phosphorescence.

Then, cockroaches gathered around the "humanoid" and began to form a magic circle again.

It seems that the "humanoid" can freely control other cockroaches.

In the center of the new magic circle, several smaller spheres began to form. While not as large as a human, they were clearly large, unique cockroaches.

“Tsk! Don’t even think about succeeding—!?”

"……Uh-huh!?"

When Hajime and Yue were about to launch an attack on the magic circle, they suddenly felt a huge torrent of magic power under their feet and stopped.

The two of them immediately looked down, and at first glance, there was nothing unusual on the ground beneath their feet.

However, Hajime possessed mystical eyes that could see magic, and he clearly saw that below where he was standing - on the inner side of the tree branch path that served as the square, cockroaches had gathered and were forming a magic circle.

Perhaps they had first blatantly formed a magic circle right in front of them, and while Hajime and the others were focusing on the magic circle in front of them, they were quietly arranging a magic circle below.

At the moment when Hajime thought something was wrong, a magic of unknown origin was activated.

Dark red magic power penetrated the square and shot straight into the sky, erupting in a spiral like a tornado.

Because of the strong light, Hajime and the others shielded their faces with their hands.

A flash of light like an explosion enveloped the surrounding area, and only a patch of light could be seen.

After just a few seconds, the light dissipated.

However, Shi and the others were not hurt and seemed to be completely unharmed.

"...What's going on? Yue, what do you have—"

"Is it unusual?" Before he could utter the three words, the voice suddenly stopped.

When Hajime saw Yue, he was speechless.

Was Hajime still fascinated by it at a time like this?

No, quite the opposite.

The emotion that welled up in my heart was neither the relief for Yue's safety nor the usual love and pity, but...

——Feeling of disgust.

Disgust, no, perhaps it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was hatred. Hajime felt that deep, dark emotion towards Yue.

Yue seemed to share the same sentiment. Yue stood beside Hajime, looking up at him, his expression twisted with hatred, his eyes even filled with murderous intent.

"moon."

"……beginning."

They called each other familiar names and expressed their displeasure at the same time.

"...I hate you."

"...I hate you so much that I want to kill you."

When they came to their senses, dark emotions had already erupted, and without realizing it, they both had murderous intentions. Hajime pointed the muzzle of Donal's gun at Yue's face, while Yue ignited a blue flame in her hand and pointed it at Hajime.

In their memories, Hajime and Yue barely managed to stop themselves from moving, their instincts warning them that this situation was not normal.

If it weren't for this strange feeling, Hajime and Yue might have already launched fatal attacks on each other.

"Hey, what are you two doing?"

The tension between Hajime and Yue was about to flare up when someone shouted at them angrily. It was Shia, who hurriedly tried to stop the two from suddenly starting a fight...

"You're still fooling around in this situation, do you want me to kill you?"

No, she didn't try to stop him. Instead, she threatened him as if she wanted to join the battle herself.

Shia's eyes were filled with intense loathing for Hajime and Yue. The way she tapped Drukken on their shoulders conveyed murderous intent, as if to say—I'm enduring this now because we're on our way to conquering the Great Labyrinth, otherwise I would crush you right now!

"What? Who do you think you're talking to? You sorry bunny."

"...Be careful or I'll tear off your rabbit ears and chop them into pieces, okay?"

Hajime harbors negative feelings towards Shia, which are similar to the murderous intent he feels towards Yue; Yue is probably in the same situation, as her hand seems to be ready to reach for the rabbit ears at any moment.

Having said that, this is a battlefield, in a large maze.

Hajime urged himself, who was about to be swayed by his emotions, to look around at the situation.

As he did so, he saw a very wonderful scene.

Tio and Kaori also looked at Hajime, Yue, and Shia with hatred. Hajime himself felt strong negative emotions constantly surging in his heart when facing the two of them. The emotions were so strong that Hajime wanted to pretend to accidentally shoot them.

Hajime felt a strong sense of strangeness. After all, as far as he could remember, he had never held such negative emotions before. They had overcome difficulties together and should have built a strong bond of trust. Even so, even the memory of the past made Hajime feel hatred and disgust.

Hajime's irritability was growing, but at this moment he heard an exceptionally enthusiastic voice.

“Hey, hey, what are you planning to do to Nagumo?! If you plan to do something to Nagumo, I won’t just sit there and watch you do it!”

It was Guanghui, Guanghui was helping Shi speak, and he glared at Yue and the others fiercely.

From the look in Guanghui's eyes, one could sense his strong affection for Hajime.

Hajime was frightened by him, because he had neither dislike nor affection for Kouki. It was this extremely calm feeling that slightly calmed the negative emotions that suddenly surged up.

Taking advantage of the moment when Hajime and the others were clearly distracted, the cockroach army attacked again. Fortunately, Yue and Ling's "Holy Destruction" was still in full swing.

Outside the barrier, the "humanoid" created several magic circles and black spheres, gradually creating miniature humanoid cockroaches. Compared to the "humanoid", the miniature cockroaches were distorted and mismatched, and their fit with the normal cockroaches—the "small" ones—was also loose.

It's probably a degraded version of the "humanoid," perhaps a "half-humanoid," and "half-humanoids" are currently in mass production. If the "humanoid" is a leader and the "small" is a soldier, then the "half-humanoid" should be called a knight.

The reason why Hajime and the others were still able to stir up trouble among themselves was partly because the "humanoids" were still preparing for battle, but the main reason was still due to Yue and Ling's outstanding barrier technique.

Hajime's mind, which had been seething with negative emotions, finally began to function.

In this way, he could probably speculate the cause and effect of this unusual situation.

Judging from the current emotional changes of myself and my companions, my guess should be correct.

"...It seems the magic just now reverses emotions, with the strength of the spell changing based on the original emotion's intensity."

"...Well, while I don't want to agree with you...yet your judgment is sound."

Despite showing a disgusted expression, Yue still agreed with Hajime's speculation.

The other members seemed to be in the same mood. Although they looked disgusted, no one objected.

"I see. This is a test to see if you can rely on memories and bonds to overcome the reversal of emotions and return to your original state; or if you can still trust your past self even with negative emotions and face difficulties together... What a sinister test. The worst part of this test is that the deeper the bond, the greater the aversion when things reverse, and..."

Tio was talking about the purpose of the trial, but she suddenly stopped mid-sentence and stared at the "small" crawling on the outer wall with a blush on her cheeks.

Attracted by Tio's gaze, Hajime and the others also looked at the cockroach swarm, but the difference between the emotions in their hearts and the emotions in their memories was too great, leaving them speechless. Kaori had an indescribable expression on her face and murmured:

"...Looks so cute."

That’s also a problem, no, that’s the biggest problem.

Facing a black demon that was both an enemy and something they didn't need to ask why they disliked, Hajime and the others all found it cute. As far as I remember, I hated cockroaches so much that I would kill them whenever I saw them.

The speculation about emotional reversal is indeed correct, and this is the best proof.

Because of the deep bond between companions, they hate each other; because of the disgust towards the enemy, they feel distressed and cannot take action.

This must be the enemy's plan. They've specially prepared cockroach-shaped monsters, presumably because the cockroach's appearance is supposed to disgust people.

At this rate, Hajime and the others would not only be unable to coordinate with each other, but would even hinder each other. They would either be swallowed up by the "small" tsunami, or they would become soft-hearted towards the "humanoids" and the "half-humanoids" that were being born one meter long, and become their prey...

Generally speaking, this should be an extremely dangerous situation.

...But the people here cannot be generalized.

"Yeah, it's so cute. Why would I be so eager to kill such a cute creature?"

"...The twitching tentacles, the glossy body, the bustling movements of the arms and legs—they're all so beautiful."

Both Hajime and Yue showed gentle expressions of care for cute animals.

Of course, their gaze was fixed on the countless "small ones" and the "humanoids" commanding the "small ones".

Hajime and Yue felt a special affection for the "humanoid," the ultimate evolved form of a cockroach.

The two of them, no, everyone present, felt that cockroaches were creatures to be cherished and loved—like puppies, kittens, or even bunnies, creatures that evoked a desire to protect. Who could resist these little creatures with their round eyes, begging, "Leave us alone, please?" and "Play with us!"? Much less harm them?

and so--

"Yeah, it's really cute—then, go to hell."

"...Mm, very beautiful—Anyway, go to hell."

——Electromagnetic acceleration anti-object sniper cannon Shurajan.

——Space Magic·Sky-shaking.

Hajime and Yue launched a vicious attack at the same time.

The crimson bombardment, with enhanced penetrating power, advanced in a straight line, destroying all obstacles in its path: the barriers of the "Holy Slayers," the numerous "Small Ones," and the "Demi-Humanoids" that stood in their way to protect their king. All were shattered like pieces of paper. And the target of the bombardment, of course, was the "Humanoid."

“——!?”

The humanoid uttered a silent wail and fled, dodging with all its might, not even considering defense. However, the Thurajan's electromagnetic cannon, capable of reaching its target instantly, ripped away part of the humanoid's left side from the initial impact, sending it flying.

The red flash even shattered the branch channel in the path of the march, opening a deep hole in the far opposite wall.

Then the space began to shake.

It was not the vibration of the bombardment, but the space itself was shaking violently.

The surrounding cockroaches tried to launch an attack as soon as the "Holy Spell" disappeared, but were blown into spheres.

However, what was blown away were only wreckage. The "small" one could not withstand the shock wave generated by the vibration of space and was literally shattered to pieces. The "half-human" one was also blown away without leaving any trace of its original form and its body flew out.

"Eh? Eh? Eh~?"

Ling cried out in confusion. The barrier had clearly been accidentally destroyed by our side, and just as she was getting anxious, she realized her surroundings were completely empty, the black figure vanishing completely.

Of course, the cockroaches that were blown away were only those around Hajime and the others. Compared to the total number of cockroaches that existed in this underground space and were currently pouring out from the walls and the ground, they were actually only a very small part.

Having said that, so what?

"How sad! As long as you're not enemies, I don't have to kill you."

"……Pity."

Yes, these little creatures are of course lovable and cute. If possible, I don’t want to kill them, and I even want to make friends with them.

Having said that, they are enemies after all.

The enemy must be killed without mercy.

When dealing with enemies, there is no room for emotional likes or dislikes, and no need for mercy.

Hajime's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and a proud smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Yue's expression disappeared, revealing the cold side of the vampire princess.

"...Hey, little one, I'll kill that guy, so stay out of my way."

"...Who do you think you are? You should step back. If you dare to stand in my way, I will kill you."

The two seemed to be unhappy with each other and said "Hmph!" to each other.

At the same time, Hajime bent his knees and Yue floated up.

Ahead, they could see the resurrection of the black tsunami, now rushing towards Hajime and the others. In the center of the tsunami, they could see a "human figure" gradually regrouping.

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