This Isn’t an E*otic Game?

"Open fire! Keep shooting! Don’t let them get close!"

The expeditionary force continued to unleash relentless gunfire at the approaching enemies.
The Golden Company.
The Hunters.
All of them—firing with desperate resolve.
“We must protect the Saint! No matter what—he must be protected!”

Rifle bullets and heavy machine gun rounds rained down on the Bicorn, Lucifer, and Valram like a monsoon—but the three of them only smiled.
“It’s useless. You know well enough this resistance is meaningless.”
The bullets veered midair, their trajectories warped by some invisible force.

Rounds that should have hit were sent flying harmlessly into the void or slammed uselessly into the stone floor, leaving behind countless shallow craters.
At that, Old Ban waved his hand.
“Cease fire! Stop wasting ammunition! It’s no use!”

The torrent of bullets came to a halt.
Once things calmed down, Ban slowly stepped forward.
“Mr. Ban!”
Mayor Lagote and the heads of the Hunter Guilds shouted something at him from behind, but Ban just waved them off with a gesture that said he was fine.

Then, as the representative of the expeditionary force, he approached Valram.
“What do you want? If you haven’t attacked us outright, it means your side doesn’t want an unnecessary battle either.”
But it wasn’t Valram who answered.

It was the giant figure, nearly three meters tall, with the face of a goat.
Lucifer slowly raised a finger—and pointed it at me.
[Amayel. Hand over the Saint to me. Do that, and I’ll let the rest of you live.]

Old Ban let out a dry, mirthless laugh and slowly stepped back into the ranks of the expedition.
“Go fuck yourself, you son of a bitch. That deal’s off the table.”
Once more, the expedition raised their guns.

Lucifer let out a low chuckle.
[Amayel. You really are a persistent thorn in my side. I came here with thousands of followers… and you’ve killed most of them. Impressive. But surely even you know you’ve pushed yourself too far. The power you wield is far too great for a single human body.]
His voice—an eerie mix of divine tongue and guttural speech—echoed through the vast, hollow expanse of the seventh floor.

[Surrender yourself to me. You cannot win against us as you are. Never. You don’t want to watch the people you love be ripped apart before your eyes, do you? Do you want to watch the entire expedition die?]
My grip tightened.
My breath grew ragged.

Slowly, I turned my head to look at the people around me.
Golden Company troops.
Hunters.
People who had crossed the brink of death by my side, even if only for a short time.
I couldn’t bear to see them all die just to protect me.
But that didn’t mean I could hand myself over to Lucifer, either.

The moment I did, Hell would win.
And if that happened, the entire human realm would be lost.
There was no way I could let that happen.

Asmodeus.
Slowly—
I reached out to the divine authority of the Goddess of Life embedded in my soul.

Can we win?
The answer echoed through my mind at once.
[Master. You will break.]

Is there any way to make this work—without destroying my body? Can’t you do something with your powers?
Asmodeus went silent for a moment.
Then, she began to lay out her plan.

She offered me two options.
One: a way for me to escape alone—guaranteed survival.
The other: a slim chance that everyone could make it out alive.

[Master. You’ve already pushed yourself too far. The expedition exists to protect you. It may sound heartless… but escaping alone is the smartest decision. You don’t have to do this.]
I don’t have to do this.
She’s right.

I didn’t have to do any of this.
When I saw the prophecy that the world would end—
I didn’t have to save Erpha.

It wasn’t like I had any lingering attachment to this world anyway.
I didn’t have to put my body through hell just to save Eomene and Almene.
I didn’t—

I didn’t have to save Kanya.
But I did.
Because it was the right thing to do.

By my own will, I slowly gripped the pure white chain that formed in my right hand.
I gave my command to Asmodeus.
[…If that’s truly what you want.]

The moment she answered, I let out a raw scream.
“Lucifer’s weak points are the two horns and the Dragon Hearts in his chest and abdomen! Aim for those spots and fire!”
According to what Asmodeus told me, that wasn’t a true incarnation.

Just as I had pushed myself beyond my limits—
Lucifer had taken on enormous risk and was also in a forced state.
That meant if I pushed just a little more—

Just a bit more—
Divine power burst from my body.
It surged outward, instantly flooding the mana stones hanging from the expedition members’ necks.

The expedition’s stones lit up with brilliant golden light.
“Enchant your bullets with divine power and shoot! That’s the only way to actually damage them!”
With that, I nodded.

Clenched my teeth.
And then—
[Amayel? …Amayel!? Hey!! You crazy bastard!! Don’t you dare!! What are you doing!!]

Corn’s shriek rang in ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) my ears—
As a portal opened behind my back.
A massive rift leading straight to the Labyrinth.

Even as it felt like my body was being torn apart—
“We can’t win!! Not like this—not against that! We have to escape! Live to fight another day!!”
I screamed it with everything I had.

 
****
Hunters had to be quick on their feet.

It was a profession where slow judgment meant certain death, so this kind of reaction was second nature.
The moment the Saint’s voice rang out, the Hunter Guild leaders and Old Ban sprang into motion.
“Light 'em up! Suppressive fire—keep them at bay!”

Gunfire burst from their muzzles.
Divine power, channeled through radiant golden mana stones, surged into the bullets as they fired.
“Target the goat-head’s horns! And his gut and chest! That bastard—he’s using those mana stones to house fragments of divinity! Destroy those, and it’s over! Keep shooting—don’t stop for anything!!”

The clink of brass casings on stone.
Gunshots like a torrential downpour began to fill the seventh floor.
And unlike just moments before—Lucifer, the Bicorn, and Valram could no longer deflect the bullets so easily.

Bullets infused with divine power weren’t bending midair like before.
One by one—
They began to hit.

Valram’s brow furrowed.
“Father. Let me handle this. I’ll summon my demon beasts and—”
Lucifer snapped his hand with irritation.

[Fall back, Valram. This isn’t your stage. Stay on defense.]
Valram’s face hardened—but after a brief pause, he nodded and stepped back.
Lucifer stepped forward.

Even as divine bullets pelted his body, he took it all without so much as a twitch.
[You’re being foolish, Amayel. I know exactly what state your body is in.]
Lucifer raised his arm.

In an instant, overwhelming magical energy gathered at his fingertips. The two horns growing from his head began to resonate, amplifying the spell.
Then—magic burst forth.
Something barely visible shot toward the expeditionary force.

And in the blink of an eye—it swallowed dozens of Hunters at the front line.
There wasn’t even a scream.
They disintegrated into dust.

And the moment that happened—
the Hunters reacted without hesitation.
“All you young ones, fall back!! Old bastards, with me!!”
Old Ban shouted as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The older Hunters began moving to the front.
The younger ones stepped aside—without a word, without resistance. It was simply understood.
The veterans at the front unleashed desperate volleys of fire.

And while they bought time—
“Move! Get in! Evacuate, now!”
The expedition began returning to the Labyrinth through the portal I’d opened.

[Amayel!! You crazy son of a bitch!! Stop!! You're going to destroy yourself!! You'll die, you bastard!!]
Corn screamed in my head, but I couldn’t even respond.
A mouthful of blood surged up and spilled from my lips.

[Master! Amayel! Please!!]
Asmodeus was screaming too—but I just clenched the white chains in my right hand harder and pulled.
“Hold the portal open. That’s your order, Asmodeus.”

Just a little longer.
I just had to hold out a little longer.
No one in this expedition was unscathed.

So it had to be me.
I had to save them.
I couldn’t go through what happened on the sixth floor again.

“Just a little more. Just a little more...”
Divine power was eating away at my body.
I couldn’t even stay standing anymore.

I collapsed—but I gritted my teeth and endured.
The portal was massive.
It could accommodate dozens of people at a time.

About half had made it through.
Just a little more.
Just a bit more…

“Golden Company! Escort the Saint! Take him through the portal—get to the Labyrinth!!”
Captain Jerome shouted the order, fixing a bayonet to his rifle.
He looked at me and grinned.

“It was an honor to fight beside you, Saint.”
“You fucking… go… just go already…”
I reached out toward Captain Jerome—but he didn’t listen.
He simply charged forward with his rifle.

A few Golden Company members rushed over to me, quickly pulling me up and trying to drag me toward the portal.
[Amayel. I won’t allow this.]
Even as bullets rained down on him in the thousands, Lucifer stretched out his hand.

He began to prepare a spell—targeting me.
At the sight of it, a few of the veteran Hunters who’d been at the front screamed and lunged at him.
One of them—a bear beastman—grabbed Lucifer’s arm and forced it aside.

The spell twisted off-course, hurtling harmlessly into the Crystal Forest.
“GO!! NOW!!”
The bear beastman shouted—and then exploded into dust.

Just like that.
It was hollowing.
And I hated myself for it.

Why was I always so damn powerless?
So many lives I wanted to save—but I always failed to save all of them.
But I couldn’t waste the chance their sacrifice had given us.

“MOVE!! NOW!!”
The Golden Company members began dragging me toward the portal.
The Hunters evacuating alongside us gathered around me in formation, protecting me as we moved.

The Hunters ran.
The Golden Company ran too.
Just one more step.

One more step, and I’d be in the Labyrinth.
I stepped into the portal.
No.

I tried to.
[VALRAM!! NO!! DO NOT MOVE!!]
“Father!! We have to move!! We have to stop him!!”

With a furious shout, something tore into the flank of the retreating expedition.
A massive body.
Two horns sprouting from its forehead.

The Bicorn.
[That fucker!! NO!!]
Corn let out a shriek and launched a burst of psychic energy—but it wasn’t enough.

With an explosion, every Hunter and Golden Company member around me blew apart at once.
A brutal scene, born from a shockwave of overwhelming telekinetic force.
Corn had managed to shield me, at least.

I didn’t explode.
Instead, I was hurled away—tumbling across the floor like a ragdoll.
“Protect the Saint!!”

“Stop them!!”
I could hear Hunters and Golden Company troops who’d already exited the portal rushing back in—but they were cut down helplessly by the magic of Valram and the Bicorn.
That was the last thing I saw.

[Don’t come near!! I said DON’T COME NEAR, YOU BASTARD!! STAY—STAY THE HELL AWAY!!...]
“Oh, that cute little psychic… I knew I’d felt it somewhere before.
Ponyboy. That you?”
The Bicorn’s mocking voice rang out—

And then came a surge of psychic force, barreling toward me.
My consciousness cut out.