The faint sunlight of early winter shone through the dark-colored street trees, dragging shallow shadows on the stone floor. The sparse number of people walking in the alleys of the starting town combined with the feeling of infinite expanse of the town makes the impression of desertion linger.

Asuna, fully armed, and Zhang Yu, who was holding Yui, walked briskly through the streets under the guidance of Liyeer.

Of course, Asuna originally wanted to entrust Yui to Sasha's care. But no matter how much she appeased, Yui stubbornly said that she would go with her, and finally had to bring her here. Zhang Yu naturally did not object, because in his heart, Yui was the protagonist of this incident.

Yuriel said as she walked.

"The labyrinth we're going to is here."

Asuna tilted her head in wonder. Zhang Yu has known for a long time, but he doesn't know where the specific location is.

"...... here?"

"In the ...... of the Beginning Town In the middle of the ground, there is a large labyrinth. Xinka ...... Should be in the deepest part of ......"

"Really?"

"The entrance to that labyrinth is in the Black Iron Palace, which is the underground of the army's base camp. This labyrinth is probably the type that opens up with the progress of the upper level of the raider. It was discovered after the Tooth King took real power. He planned to be monopolized by his own faction. All the while, Xinka, and of course me, were kept in the dark......"

At this time, Yuriel's tone carried a little joy.

"But for the grassroots players, the difficulty of that maze is very high...... The monsters with the basic configuration alone have a level of about the sixtieth layer. The advance team led by the Tooth King himself was swept home, and in order to save his life, he had to use the transfer to escape, and I heard that there was a serious deficit caused by the excessive use of crystals. ”

"Hehe, that's really shooting yourself in the foot."

When Asuna and Zhang Yu heard this, they both smiled slightly.

Yuriel responded to their laughter with a smile, but her expression immediately sank again.

However, it is also difficult to rescue Sinka now. The cloister crystal used by the Tooth King seems to have been recorded when he ran into a very deep place to escape from the monsters...... Xinka was further down the record site. It's a monster I can take down single-handedly in terms of level, but I can't fight continuously - I'm sorry, but I ...... you two."

"Ahhh......h

"No problem."

After taking Asuna's words, Zhang Yu nodded. The labyrinth configured on the sixtieth floor of the strategy requires a level of 70, Asuna has now reached a level of 89, and Zhang Yu is level 100.

Yes, at his terrifying leveling speed. Having reached level 100 and never increasing his experience bar, Zhang Yu was already thinking about when to challenge Akihiko Kayaba.

In the middle of the conversation, a huge building glowing black appeared across the street ahead. It was the largest facility in the Beginning Town, the Black Iron Palace.

After entering the gate, the square that appears in front of you has a roster of all players, [Monument of Life]. While anyone was free to enter and exit, the area that stretched deeper was almost entirely occupied by the military.

Instead of going to the main entrance of the palace, Yuriel walked around the back. The towering walls and the deep ditches that surround them stretch as if to repel intruders, and are completely unpassable.

After a few minutes of walking, where Liel stood was a staircase descending from the road towards the water of the ditch. On closer inspection, the stone wall on the right side of the staircase opens an entrance to the dark path.

"From here into the sewers of the palace, you will be able to enter the entrance to the labyrinth. It's a bit dark and cramped inside......"

Yulier stopped at this point, and glanced at Yui in Zhang Yu's arms with worried eyes. Yui looked a little dissatisfied, frowning, advocating:

"Yui is not afraid!"

Asuna couldn't help but smile at this look.

Regarding Yui, she only explained to Yuriel that "we live together", and she didn't ask again. But sure enough, I still feel uneasy about taking Yui into the maze with me.

Asuna said in order to reassure her.

"No problem, this kid looks stronger on the outside."

"Well, in the future, I will teach Yui to be a great swordsman."

In the face of Zhang Yu's speech, Liye and Asuna looked at each other and smiled, and nodded loudly.

"Let's go, then!"

"Puff, puff——!"

The long sword in Zhang Yu's hand slashed across the monster's body.

Constantly ravaging the hordes of monsters that run out one after another. Asuna, who is holding the yui, and Yuriel, who is holding the metal whip, have no chance to play at all.

As soon as the enemy group composed of a huge frog-type monster covered in slimy skin and a clam-type monster with a giant claw glowing black light appeared, Zhang Yu used his almost invincible group killing sword skills to kill the enemy in a storm.

Although Asuna thought in her heart, "Really", watching Zhang Yu's berserk warrior behavior, Yuriel was dumbfounded. This scene must be very different from the battle she knew. Coupled with Yui's innocent shouting of "Daddy, come on", the tension thinned even more.

It has been dozens of minutes since entering the labyrinth made of black stones from the dark and damp sewers. Although it is deeper and wider than expected, the number of monsters is also large. But because the sword in Zhang Yu's hand continued to advance with sword skills that disrupted the balance of the game, the two female swordsmen did not feel tired at all.

"This, this...... I'm really sorry I didn't make ......a move at all."

Asuna smiled wryly at Yuriel, who was hunching her neck because she was sorry, and replied.

"No, that's a pathology...... Let him be. ”

"Well, I just vented a little."

Zhang Yu, who came over after sweeping away the group of monsters, keenly heard Asuna's words and shook his head helplessly.

"Let me vent a little bit then, okay?"

"How can I let my wife take action in person for this kind of thing, it's enough to have me."

Asuna and Yuriel looked at each other and smiled.

The silver-haired whip makes him wave his left hand to call out the map, revealing a point of light that represents Shinka's current location with his friend's mark. Because there is no map of this maze, the road to the point of light is blank, but it has already filled about 70% of the total distance.

The group stepped out and went deeper.

When you first enter the labyrinth, the monster group, which is mainly water creatures, changes into zombies, ghosts, and other horror systems as the floor descends. Although Asuna was terrified by this, Zhang Yu didn't mind slashing with her sword and slaughtering the enemies that appeared in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, an hour had passed. The group also closed the distance between the current location marked on the map and the safe area where Sinka was located at a steady pace. After countless black skeleton swordsmen were shattered and blown away by Zhang Yu's sword, they finally saw the passage that flowed out of a warm light.

"Ah, it's safe!"

While Asuna spoke, Zhang Yu, who had completed the confirmation with the enemy-searching skill, also nodded.

"There's a green player in there."

"Xinka!"

As if she couldn't bear it anymore, Yuriel screamed, and ran out with steps that made the metal armor rattle. Zhang Yu, who was carrying a sword, and Asuna, who was holding Yui, also followed.

After running towards the light source for a few seconds on the passage that curved to the right, I finally saw a small room in front of the Grand Crossroads.

The room was filled with a blinding light that blinded eyes accustomed to darkness, and a man stood at the entrance. Although he couldn't see his face clearly because of the backlight, he was waving his arms violently towards it.

"Yuriel ——!"

The moment the person was confirmed, the man shouted his name. Yuriel also waved her left hand and increased the speed of her run.

"——! Sinka "

As if to drown out the crying voice, the man shouted—

"You can't come——! ...... over there! ”

Asuna was startled and immediately slowed down. But Yuriel didn't seem to listen anymore, and just ran straight to the room.

"Smack......

Zhang Yu, who appeared behind Yuliye at some point, grabbed her hand. Yuliye looked at Zhang Yu in a daze, not understanding why she was blocking herself.

Zhang Yu already knew the place when he saw this scene. Naturally, you can't watch Liel go to death. Sprinting at a very exaggerated speed and grabbing her.

"Miss Julielle, the next step may be a bit dangerous. Please don't be impulsive, there is a boss in front of you. ”

Yuriel also relieved her mind and looked ahead. Zhang Yu saw her calm down, so he let go of his hand.

Then. A few meters in front of the room, a yellow arrow suddenly appeared in the dead corner on the right side of another road that crossed at right angles to the passage where the trio were running. Asuna quickly confirmed the name, displaying it as "ThcFatal-scythe"—

The definite article added before the proper noun meaning the scythe of fate is the proof of the boss monster.

What everyone saw was floating in the depths—a black figure about two and a half meters tall and covered in tattered black robes.

Deep in the hat and on the arms sticking out of the cuffs, all wrapped around the dense darkness swayed. The eyes embedded in the face of darkness were full of lifelike veins, and they were turning to look down at the crowd.

In his right hand he held a long, large scythe, and drops of red viscous water continued to drip from the menacingly curved blade. Overall, it's what death looks like.

【Scythe of Destiny】

The Demon King, who is hidden in the underground labyrinth on the first floor of Ayn Grant, is very powerful because he is entrusted with the important task of guarding the GM console. has the strength equivalent to the ninety-layer guard boss, and among all the players, except for Zhang Yu and the open Kayaba Jingyan, no one can eat it three times.

"I've always done things in the safest way possible, but there are some things that I have to face. I could have avoided you, but if I had to run away from you, what qualifications would I have to face Akihiko Usaba. Not to mention guarding Asuna, even becoming the living dead herself. ”

"Come on! I'll use you to measure my strength and see if I'm qualified to continue living. ”

Zhang Yu clenched the long sword in his hand, and his deep eyes were firmly fixed on the tall figure. A sharp gaze, as if to pierce it.