Jayr POV - Tortus, Haltina's Labyrinth - 2013

  After being teleported by the magiation in the huge tree once more, the pce we find ourselves in is slightly ued, it is inside of aree, but different from the usual ones, in this ohere is a doorway leading to the outside and it is already open, showing us a glimpse of the outside sery.

  Then after a quice at my panion to firm that everyone is present and that no one was repced, we look at each other to firm our iion, and cautiously move toward the exit, while being bathed by the light that es from the outside.

  Oside, Eri excims in wonder "Woah... Amazing!" at the same time, I'm also surprised by the spectacle in front of us.

  Oside, I quickly realize that we all are standing atop a really huge branch, and looking back, I see the huge wooden trunk that goes back so far that I 't see its end.

  The tree we found ourselves in is truly too big, this branch alone is 5 meters wide, but I also see branches protrude from the tree iwining here and there.

  Moreover, when I look up, I notice that there is a stone ceiling, which means that we are still underground and that this tree branch is very likely to be a part of the Great Tree above.

  It seems that Eri and the others realize the same as Eri asks, "…Great Tree?" to which Freid nod and says, "It's likely this is a space just uhe Great Tree." Tio nods and adds, "It seems that the Great Tree grows branches also below the ground. The real roots might be much deeper underground. What we saw above could easily be only the tip that's visible, it might be just a small part of a really titanic tree."

  I take a step forward, then stop, as all of a sudden, my senses pick up the presence of enemies closing in, so I quickly warn my panion, "Be careful! I hear something ing! And they are numerous!" then I walk on the edge of the brand look down to verify the identity of our new enemies.

  The area below is very dark so much so that normally nothing be seen, but with the abilities I gained from the Orcus's monster, such as Night Vision, this isn't truly a problem for me, so, I activate Night Vision and narrow my eyes to catch a glimpse of the ining threat, while my ears start to better pick up the noise caused by them.

  Then I finally see them, a, I let out a sigh and ask, "So... How bad are you guys with is?" they all tilt their heads, and Freid quickly replies, "I have no problem with any kind of creature or monster, no particur fear or dislike..." followed by Tio who uedly says, "This one is fih most of them, but there is one in particur that this one 't stand!" followed by Eri that simply says, "I too stand most of them..." then she shudders and adds, "But I truly hate the enemy of humanity..."

  I once agai out a sigh and say, "Well... it appears that our ehis time is a swarm of cockroaches... and their number is very high, in fact, it is at least in the millions..."

  As soon as they hear that, both Tio and Eri shudder, moreover, the leathery unpleasant sound of their bodies rubbing against each other finally be heard even by them, making goosebumps appear on their skins.

  I tio look down at the sea of cockroaches and think, 'Millions...? More like tens of millions... This could be bad, the cockroach is truly an absurd being... Even in my former Universe which is a totally normal ohey are one of the most adaptable and resilient races... No matter how much humanity tried to get rid of them, they adapted, evolved, and thrived... A magical equivalent of that be a very scary thought...'

  Then Tio decres, "This one will burn all of them down!" and Eri nods and pulls out her staff to start ting, but Freid asks, "It might be better to stop that thought... with that number? ... what if they flew in rge quantities?" and that makes them both stop ora silence as they think about a such sario where thousands of cockroaches ing flying up at them all at once.

  And to break this gloomy atmosphere I suggest, "If we don't fall, I think it's okay. I'll advance first and stop any that e up quickly. They might only attack wheop, what do you think?" and everyone nods with a serious expression accepting my proposal.

  And so, while the others follow behind me, I start to move forward on top of this thick branch, I advance along the road aiming at the joined branch passage in the distance, meanwhile, the roaches had not jumped up or been startled and they had made it from the entry branch to the branch aisle until we reae kind of scaffolding.

  Things looked good, until the dreaded sound of their wings fpping is heard, and quite a number of them are doing it, and looking below, I firm what I just heard, a brown tsunami is ing stretg out and rising as fpping hordes of cockroaches emerge with a furious spectacle, and at the same time, the girl raises a cry of disgust as they prepare for the biggest attack of their lives.

  Without hesitation, I bring out the Tactical Arms in its Gatling Form and start to unleash a storm of bullets at them, while Eri fires off her Hellfire, and Tio her Spiral Fme, while Freid summons his familiars, Uranos and the Ash Dragon, which quickly start to fire off their Breaths.

  The bullets that rip them apart, the bck fire serpent that obliterates everything in its path, Tio's spiraling magic fmes that turn all the roaches into ashes, together with Freid's familiar relentless breath, it isn't an exaggeration to say that all these attacks are enough to raze to the ground an Empire.

  However, the attacks didn't dent the blossoming bck tsunami ing towards us as their numbers are too overwhelming, and soon they are quickly getting closer and closer, but just as they are about to swallow us, I step forward and unleash a directed Omnipotens Dis (Almighty Push) toward the sushing them all bad giving us a moment of respite.

  Seeing that, Eri and Tio let out a sigh of relief, but I quickly warn them, "Don't lower yuard! I just brought some time... They are still there!" and ihe bck swam makes its presenown once more, but this time we are more prepared, and quickly Freid and I create a spatial barrier around us and his Familiars and watch as the cockroaches crash against the barriers with suentum that many end up crushed sprinkling their fluids, while the survivors crawl all over the barrier wall.

  Right now ht of the outside is almost all covered in bck as the cockroaches crawl all over the barrier, but still, this is all within my pn, and soon we all start to focus and gather ic power to unleash our stro spells so to cut down their number by a lot or even totally extermihem.

  However, before we could do that, I see that the cockroaches that flocked around the barrier draw back all at the same time, and the moment, the waves of cockroaches flies up and start to move into the shape of a sphere in mid-air, produg a circur ring, then they superimpose further circur rings oer periphery of the giant circur ring they formed.

  After that, the cockroan begins to sequence around the ring, and gradually, the sight begins to form a familiar kind of geometric pattern in the air.

  Seeing that, I 't help but question, "Hey guys... It is only me or are they f a magiation?" Tio nods and says, "Master is right! That is for sure a magiation... We 't allow them to plete it!"

  And so, we focus on simultaneously attag the cockroaches f the magiation, however, another wave of cockroaches lies ahead and forcefully stops our attacks with their bodies.

  It is a literal meat wall, all our attacks are obstructed by it resulting in the dead bodies of cockroaches falling down in a torrential downpour, but even so, their number doesn't seem to decrease at all, and in the end, the cockroaches are successful and the magiation is plete.

  It is close to fifteeers in diameter as it floats in the air, and is emitting an intense red and bck light that grows brighter and brighter, and the moment, it bursts and a tral sphere which sists of cockroaches begins to rise and ge shape, it is a huge cockroach of about three meters at full length, at least.

  But rather than taking the oval form as cockroaches around it, it has a needle-like tail and a torso simir to a tipede, plete with 10 legs, its fro have sharp finger-like khe face has bck eyes, and a sharp , along with three pairs, for a total of six, translut wings, this is for sure the boss cockroach.

  As soon as it makes its appearahe boss cockroach emits a loud unpleasant cry, then the cockroaches gathered around, begin to form aniation, smaller than the ohat summohe boss cockroach, but still, it gives me a very unpleasant feeling, then I remember what it does, and yell, "Be careful guys! That magic will reverse all the feelings you have for the people here... It means that if you love someone, after the spell you will hate it, and the same is applied to your enemies, if you hate them, you will start to love them! But even so, your memories of your real feeling will remain! So focus on them!!"

  Hearing that, Freid yells, "I don't like this! Better keep my familiars away!" then he ts, "I desire the end and walk the heaven ah. My hands reaothing and drift beyond dreams. Then I shall seek a fissure, a break in the seamless world. I break a hole in the boundaries and create a corridor into the divine realm. ic Rift!" and with this spell he opens a gate that leads outside the Labyrinth and makes his familiar pass through it.

  At the same time, a torrent of magic is geed by the magiation and quickly starts to move through the various intereg branches, and soon, I realize that these branches are also part of the magiation, and in fact, we are standing right in it, seeing this I think, 'Luckily this magiation only reverse our feelings... If something like this is used for something more deadly, it could easily be one of the most devious traps...'

  While I was thinking that, red and bck magic is transmitted through the branch passage along the scaffolding we are standing on, and the bright light is s that I y eyes and protect my face.

  After the fsh of light exploded, I open my eyes and look at the others, and as expected, as soon my gaze nds on them, feelings of hate start to well up within me, especially when I look at Eri and Tio the feelings are especially strong, but even so, I remain calm and do not ay feeling and think, 'This is disgusting... F me to ge my feelings like this... Even thinking of Seika, Saori, Shaina, a all I feel is a strong hate... Ok, that settles it after I'm doh this word this Labyrinth will cease to exist!'

  My gaze thes Eri and in her eyes, I see such a strong and pure abhorrend malice that I'm surprised that she didn't attack me on sight, then look at Tio ahe same pure look of hatred on her face, while Freid is just looking at us with strong dislike, something that even in my current state almost puts a smile on my face, as it means that he truly ehe time spent with us.

  Then I look back at Eri, and ready for aual attack, I say, "...Eri..." I see that she keeps her gaze trained oally ign everything else, then she says with familiarity, but with a sort of disfort as well, "...Jayr... I feel nothing but hate... disgusting..."

  Then we tinue looking at each other in silence, but I clearly see her murderous iioing stronger and stronger with each passing moment, but even so she doesn't a them.

  While this happens, the swarm of cockroaches tries to catch us off-guard during this abnormal moment to create more of the boss cockroaches while the swarm tio attack us, but luckily the double spatial barrier is still standing strong, giving us enough time to adapt this situation.

  After a few seds of sileio starts to analyze the current trial, "The extent of this trial… You still remember your inal feeling, but the emotion has been reversed. It's difficult to shake off what you remember against how you feel. It's a disgusting ordeal. The deeper the bond, the more it'll try to tear it apart..."

  Then she blushes as she looks at the cockroaches crawling oer wall, clogging her words, and says, "... look so pretty."

  Indeed, not only are our feelings for those we hold dear reversed, but the same be said for the feelings we have for our enemies, 'Luckily, I feel nothing for these cockroaches, no disgust, hate, or enmity, I'm totally indifferent to them, they are only an obstacle I have to destroy... But the same 't be said for Eri and Tio, their strong hate and disgust for them as been reversed in love and fondness, and it is only thanks to their memories that they tio keep their guard up.'

  While I was thinking that, all of a sudden, Eri decres, "I'm gonna obliterate that mountain of lovely cockroaches no matter what..."

  Her gaze bees fiercer and fiercer, as she tinues "...Because..."

  Then her shadow starts to expand until it passes through the barrier, and from it, tless Undead Puppets start to emerge from it as Eri says with a crazed light in her eyes, "... I want to love him and be cherished! I won't allow anything to take away the happiness I finally found!! I'll curse, torture, kill anything that tries to do so!!!" and under her and, the Undead Puppet starts te the nearby cockroaches.

  And as her wrath gushes out, hot like magma, I think with a scowl on my face, 'She still remembers her previous feelings, and the cockroaches had messed with them. No one should trifle with those important feelings... Especially in the case of someone like Eri...'

  Indeed, because of what the cockroaches did, her wrath is s that it even overwrites the feeling of fondness induced by the cockroaches' magiuch that the only thi behind is pure unaltered malice, all directed at the culprit behind this situation.

  But she isn't the only one, I'm also very angry, and so opening a hole in the barrier, I start using the stro form of Body Enha Magid as a red glow surround my body, I quickly leap from the passage like a single bullet, leaving behind a crater in the middle of the branch where my feet previously were.

  Using the Tactical Arms in its Sword Form, I sughter every cockroa my path while aiming directly for the boss cockroach with the i of destroying it.

  The boss cockroach couldn't eve, as I swing the huge sword with such force that the i ends up crushed in many pieces by the air pressure before the bde could even cut it, and the same happens to the nearby cockroaches only the head of the boss cockroach remains, then I use Air Walk to create a foothold so that I stand on air and check the situation below.

  Meanwhile, on the ground, the others also started fighting the cockroaches, Freid, the calmest among us, ts, "Shake the foundations of this world, whieither a dragon's roar, niant's hammer, nor the marg of a thousand armies hope to touch. Only the sighs of the gods may make the earth scream out thus! Lament and despair your iable destru. Void Fissure!" unleashing a Spatial Magic that forcibly tracts, then rapidly expands spa a certain area, geing strong shock waves.

  The resulting shock waves caused explosions that 't be defended by regur means, and that makes all the mid-sized cockroaches assaulting the group explode, clearing an area around them, at the same time, Tio is unleashing an array of beginner and intermediate magic spells, fog on proteg Eri that is now closing her eyes as she focuses on her magic power as she ts her stro and most dangerous spell, "Chaotic sorcery of the Wise Neancer answer my call. Imbue your subject with your wrathful power. Lay waste of my enemy until nothing is left behind but a desote dead world. Hellfire Armaggeddon!!"

  As soon as she cast her spell, from under her a huge bck magic circle spreads until it covers almost all the space, then all the Undead Puppets under Eri's and bee abze in dark bck fire a out a creepy silent enraged roar, before rushing toward all the cockroaches in their viity.

  The enhanced undead, quickly start to decimate the cockroaches, and for every ehat they kill, their flesh is quickly ed by the bck fmes, and the sed, the dead cockroaches raise again this time with bck fmes surrounding their bodies and start to attack the other cockroaches.

  While the fiery hellscape caused by Eri's fury tinues expanding, I notice that the boss cockroach that I crushed is still somewhat alive, and just as I'm about to finish it off, the boss cockroach makes an unpleasant cry sound while swinging its damaged antennae.

  And in response, a group of cockroaches immediately swarms around the boss cockroach, dissolving into its form in an instant, assimiting and g the injuries the boss had sustained, seeing that, I realize, 'As expected of a cockroach extremely hard to kill, as long as the small cockroaches remain, they'd be able to keep fighting indefinitely...'

  Soon the boss cockroach is as good as new, in fact, it seems even bigger now, and its gaze is trained ohe culprit behind his wounds, then it lets out another unpleasant cry, and a moment ter, red and bck light begin to emit from the boss cockroach.

  And a great number of cockroaches appear behind me, and with a dreadful speed, they form into a magiation, which starts to emit a bck smoke that es at me with furious speed, and in response, I tio use Air Walk to get away, as that smoke gives me a bad feeling, and I'm indeed right, as soon I notice that the wood exposed to the bck smoke is colpsing in some kind of grey mush, indig the corrosive nature of that bck smoke.

  At the same time, the boss cockroach's six wings begin to shake at a high speed as it takes off at high speed with the clear i of getting away from me, but before it could get too far, I raise my hand and t, "Saecuria Viverra! (Wordly Pull!)" and with it, I manipute the attractive force to pull the fleeting boss cockroach towards me and o is close enough, I cast a Spēion Mikron Bary Men, f a small bck hole-like orb that obliterates it into nothingness in an instant.

  Then I quickly move to deal with the other boss cockroach summoned while we were adjusting to the sudden reversal of our feelings, at the same time, I notice that the situation below took a turn for the worse for the cockroaches, as Eri's army of bzing Undead Puppet tio grow in number verting more and more cockroaches, and now, Freid and Tio are left with simply proteg Eri and dealing with the struggler, at the same time, I notice that as the number of living cockroaches decrease, my feelings are also returning normal, as my hate for Eri, Tio, Seika, Saori, and the others is slowing disappearing.

  Fog bay task, I reach a boss cockroach the same bck smoke as before, and seeing it in this state, I finally realize the true attributes of these cockroaches, 'They are made in such a way that they imitate the abilities of the Apostle... The bck smoke for their power of disiion, the reversal of feeling for their ability to brainwash and manipute the masses against you!' anyway, I quickly deal with this boss cockroach the same way as the one as before, a quick Saecuria Viverra and a Spēion Mikron Bary Men, and it is gone.

  After dealing with the st boss cockroach, I mutter, "Really after Ice Magic, I've grown really familiar with Gravity Magi fact, among the Age of God Magic is the one I find I'm most patible with... that aoration Magic, but until know there wasn't a o use it..." then I notice that Eri and the others are almost dooo, and so I move toward them and o Eri who looks at me and says, "...Jayr..." I look at the burning mass of Undead Puppet chasing after the st group of cockroaches, and ask absentminded, "...What?".

  But Eri hugs me and says, "Oh... Jayr..." soon after she rubs her fay chest and tinues "Jayr... Jayr... Jayr... Jayr..." her tourning more and more lovely each time, and realizing what is going on, I hug her bad ask, "Back to normal?" and with a smile on her face she replies, "...Un... Everything is perfeow!" then she lightly kisses me.

  At the same time, I hear Tio mutter, "Ahh~ This ooo!", then she also hugs me and Eri, followed by Freid that says, "Please... Spare me... Do you guys realize hoard is for me? Between you guys and Miledi and Oscar, I almost feel like I'll die of diabetes one of these days..."

  I look at Freid and with a thumb up, I say, "Don't worry with me here the only thing you die of is old age, and that only if you want to...", but Freid scoffs, "Please, did you fet that I too have learned Restoration Magic?"

  Blinking, I let Eri go, and showing an i face, I ask, "You were there too? I didn't notice your presence-" but I'm interrupted by a small fireball aimed at my face, which I avoid by simply tilting my head, then I hear Freid yell, "You Bastard! Not only I was there, but I also had to ehat whiny bawling hero wannabe kid the whole Labyrinth! I tell you that I would prefer to challenge Frozen Caves again han spend some more time with that kid! For some reason, I really 't stand him!"

  Hearing that I grin and say, "That is probably because he reminds you of your whiny self-" but once more Freid fire off a small fireball, but this time aimed at my crotch, which I obviously dodge and terattack with a small water ball to the face, and so another epic fight start.

  While we were messing around, Eri's Undead Puppet finally eradicate the st cockroaches and after pleting their objective they all turn into ashes, and soon after I hear a woody sound, and notice a giant branch that beings to grow from the ceiling and a little by little it grows until it es to ect to the joined point we are standing on, and soon after it takes the form of a stairway leading to the ceiling.

  After a brief look at each other, we follow the newly formed path, but Eri is still ging to my right arm, and Tio on my left, and what is more strange is that Eri isn't saying anything about it, while Freid mutters something like, "Ugh... Why I'm always surrounded by lovey-dovey lovers... Cattleya and Mikhail, Jayr and Eri plus Tio, Hajime and his harem, Miledy, and Oscar... and I always end up feeling like a single dog... Maybe I should find someooo..."

  Odyin