Chapter 605 – City of the Deep Layer

—The next day. We had arrived at the labyrinth’s entrance.

When I asked Claudia about it last night, she told me there would be no problem with visiting her castle. However, she requested that we stay close to her since there were monsters guarding the castle.

She said if we wandered off alone, we might be mistaken for enemies and attacked.

Considering that the monsters in her castle were there to protect Claudia, that made sense. I didn’t want to fight the guards protecting her either.

“Are you all ready?”

Claudia stood before the stone monument and asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What about everyone else?”

When I looked around at everyone, they nodded quietly.

“Then—shall we go?”

With Claudia’s words, we were enveloped in light.

And after a moment—we found ourselves in what appeared to be a tunnel made of plants, with tree branches and leaves forming an arch on both sides that stretched endlessly.

The area was dark. The same Fairy Lights that grew in the Dusk Forest were scattered about, faintly illuminating the tunnel. It was a truly fantastical sight.

It was a single path. With a slight slope, we couldn’t see what lay ahead at the end of the tunnel.

“This way. The upper path leads to the Sealed Door of the Moonlight Temple, so I don’t think we can proceed that way at the moment.”

Saying this, Claudia walked unhesitatingly downward along the tunnel. Belius followed her. The rest of us trailed behind Claudia.

“So beyond the Moonlight Temple is Lady Claudia’s territory, correct?”

“Meaning, from the Sealed Door in the deepest part of the Star Sphere Garden where we first met Marl… skipping the Moonlight Temple, the passage beyond leads here.”

“That’s right.”

Claudia nodded in response to Grace and Rosemary’s words.

“It’s a beautiful place,” Ashley said, looking around. Marlene nodded vigorously in agreement.

“Hehe. Thank you.”

With Claudia leading the way, we proceeded through the tunnel of fantastical beauty until we could see its end.

Stepping out of the tunnel—we found ourselves in a stone plaza.

There was a stone monument in the center of the plaza… but it seemed to be deactivated, not enveloped in phosphorescence like the others. Probably, after the Last Guardian’s rampage, teleportation using the stone monuments to this location had become impossible.

Giant stone pillars with jade-like hues floated in the air, illuminating the surroundings.

“Wow. Amazing scenery.”

“Truly…”

As Sheila spoke, Irmhild murmured in agreement.

Beyond the plaza—a massive gate loomed before us, so large we had to look up at it. The gate was adorned with intricate decorations, giving it a solemn impression.

Around the gate… castle walls or outer walls extended far to the left and right. Though, the starry sky we could see and the distant scenery probably weren’t real. We didn’t know how far we could go along the walls either. Likely, we couldn’t enter except through this gate.

“There are gatekeepers, but if I’m with you, they won’t attack.”

Saying this, Claudia crossed the plaza and stood before the gate. Then, with a clattering sound and vibrations as if something were activating, the massive gate began to open.

As the gate opened, a heavy iron giant stood motionless, holding a great spear at the ready. It was probably about six meters tall… Upon confirming Claudia’s presence, it greeted her with a subordinate’s bow.

“So this is the gatekeeper?”

“Is there a Giant inside?”

Claudia shook her head at Seraphina’s question.

“No, it’s empty. They might be relatives of the Armors from the Blazing Fortress.”

A giant Living Armor, then. We moved forward as if being seen off by the Iron Giant Soldiers. Passing through the outer gate—we found what appeared to be a castle town. The architectural style itself resembled Termwills’ central district.

The castle towering beyond the main street also… gave me the impression of being somewhat similar to Seorem. Though, the architectural styles of the town and castle themselves were different from Termwills.

The impression was different from Termwills. Though the sky was dark with twinkling stars, the light illuminating the town was bright. But it probably wasn’t because it was night.

The biggest difference was… what floated in the sky wasn’t the moon. Beyond the castle’s spire, we could see a blue, blue celestial body larger than the moon.

Everyone was speechless. We were captivated, staring dumbfounded at the sight.

“…That is…”

I understood. The reason it was night here, and the reason a blue star floated in the sky.

“That blue star is Runegard. The appearance of this land as seen from the lunar capital where I was born and raised.”

That’s right. This must be a recreation of the world where Claudia was born and raised. It reproduced the scenery seen from the moon.

This explained why it was brightly lit despite the dark sky, and why the blue star—Runegard—floated in the sky. This would be the scenery from when Claudia was still living in the lunar capital.

Speechless, we remained captivated by the sight for a while. While mesmerized, I noticed something else. What was different from Termwills?

There were no people around. Not a single soul in sight—a deserted town. There were patrolling soldiers, but they were empty inside. Just Armor. Only the sound of iron footsteps patrolling echoed through the quiet town.

However… Fairy Lights grew here and there, and there was the reflected sunlight from Runegard floating in the sky… It was a fantastically beautiful town.

“Long ago, I welcomed people to this town and had them live here. But—”

The calming of the Magical Storm, the betrayal of Claudia and the Last Guardian’s rampage, the discord between humans and monsters… Due to various circumstances, it probably became impossible to keep people in this town.

The ancestors of the Verdgar royal family were entrusted with Termwills by Claudia, gathered the people, and emerged onto the surface.

If Termwills was on the surface. If the labyrinth was functioning. Then there would be no inconvenience for people to live there.

The town felt desolate. The inorganic sound of patrolling footsteps emphasized the silence even more. For Claudia, this should have been her original scenery. Even though the town’s structure itself should resemble Termwills, the atmosphere changed so drastically just from the absence of people.

If only the town had vitality, this scenery might have been familiar to Claudia, something that would calm her heart.

Marlene looked at Claudia with a worried expression, but she shook her head.

“I’m fine. It’s true this town has a somewhat lonely atmosphere, so I used to avoid visiting before…”

Gently stroking Marlene’s hair, Claudia said.

“But now—I have all of you. There are still residents in the Labyrinth Village connected from here too, so I’m completely fine.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

When I nodded and smiled at Claudia, she returned a gentle smile.

“Welcome to Ende Wiles. I welcome you.”

Saying this, Claudia proceeded along the main street. So that was this town’s name.

The town of Ende Wiles was illuminated here and there by fantastical lights—like the glowing stone pillars we saw earlier in the stone plaza, and Fairy Lights—making it incredibly beautiful.

Then we crossed a drawbridge and entered Claudia’s castle. A massive corridor continued deep into the castle. Numerous thick pillars stood in succession, with carvings and decorations lining the walls.

The impression from outside certainly resembled Seorem, but… the interior impression was quite different.

While there was a luxuriousness to the intricate decorations that made one sigh in admiration, it was based on elegance without any ruggedness or crudeness.

From deep within the magically lit corridor, we heard the footsteps of those clad in metal armor. Monsters dressed like knights, fitting for a castle, appeared.

However, the monsters stationed within the castle didn’t seem to be empty armor. Their faces were—lions, black panthers, bears, and wolves. Their Weapons also differed—Greatswords, Spears, Greataxes, and Bows.

“These people are fine. They’ll continue as usual until given orders.”

When Claudia gave commands to the beastly knights who appeared, they bowed respectfully—unbefitting their fierce appearances—then turned on their heels and disappeared deeper into the corridor.

“Hmm. They look quite strong…”

Cait Sith’s Pietro watched their backs and voiced that impression. …It was my first time seeing these monsters too, but they seemed quite capable.

Others we saw were maids with a bronze-like texture. There were more of these than knights, giving the impression of being closer to Golems.

They were probably correct as attendants, but… they gave off the atmosphere of being capable in combat too. They likely served both to care for Claudia’s personal needs and to eliminate intruders.

“Though the knights each have different appearances, they’re collectively called Beast Knight monsters. The ladies-in-waiting are Sword Maidens.”

“Can they not go outside like Belius?”

When Grace asked, Claudia made a slightly troubled expression.

“Yes, well. I would have relied on them as combat forces if they could. But they’re basically the same as regular labyrinth monsters. Though they’re definitely much stronger than other sections.”

Hmm. Indeed, their overall strength seemed high, but… they appeared to be constructed differently from Guardians or Sub-Guardians. In any case, Claudia’s castle was quite interesting in various ways.