Maou no Hajimekata

Now this is bad.

Aur quickly grabbed Mari by the waist and protruded the stone box.

H-Hey, what do you think youre doing in such a place?!

Dont waste time on stupid misunderstandings and hold on tight!

Aur runs on the pavement made by the box at high speed. All the time, spear like roots and branches were chasing after them, tearing some of Maris hair out.

Yan, my hair!

Worry about your life first! Here I go!

As he moved forward, more trees came to life right in front of them.

Geez, and just when I told you that Im going to be more careful!

Mari screamed as she commanded all four of her swords using magic. With precise movements, she cut down roots and branches as they were about to attack them. As humans have only two hands, one might think that dual wielding would be the peak of their abilities. But with magic, even something as seemingly impossible as wielding four swords at the same time was achievable.

However, all that she knew, Mari learned through trial and error. It was her own original fighting style that maximized effectiveness and discarded everything that was unnecessary.

It was Aurs first time seeing it in actual combat, but he knew right away that it was going to be a great asset on the battlefield.

All right Mari, were breaking through!

Eh? But!

Mari had no idea what exactly was Aur planning. They were running towards an area densely populated by trees that looked like a dead end.

As long as it was only from left and right, she was confident that she could counter their enemies without any problems, but it would be very bad if they were to be surrounded from three sides.

Dont be afraid, Mari. Just turn your swords forward and slash away at full power.

Thats all I need to do?

Yes, thats all.

Mari calms her breath, closes her eyes and then immediately snaps them open. For a moment, they shine with a brilliant red light.

All of her swords come together, and slash away as a single blade, cutting through the foliage like it was a piece of paper.

While protecting Mari from the branches with the box, Aur jumped into the hole that her swords made. Just as he expected, the attacks have ceased when they did that.

Good, we should be relatively safe for now.

Aur fixed Mar in his arms and looked back at what shes done. The hole she made was so big that it wasnt even regenerating. It was due to the fact that her attack was made using the power of Laws taught to her by Melizand.

Laws have an effect of nullifying magecraft and witchcraft. It is an absolute rule that cannot be overwritten. The wall of the labyrinth was no exception. When faced with a Law, it was just a normal physical object.

Are you sure they wont come after us here?

Mari voices her doubts while holding her swords up.

Those roots seem to be tightly connected to the ground in the forest. Moreover, the trees that act as walls and those that move and attack seem to be separate entities. So no, I dont think theyre going to come after us. Here, in my labyrinth, we are safe.

Aur commented as if it was something natural, something to be expected. Once again, Mari was amazed by how far his sight was reaching when it came to the matters related to creating Dungeons.

Now its your turn, Mari. Im expecting great things from you.

Therefore, Mari was surprised from the bottom of her heart when Aur asked her to lend him her hand.

M-My turn?

Yes. I believe the lord of this forest should be right in front of us. I can feel him magical power clearly.

Aur pointed at the thorny wall in front of them.

This forest possesses immense magical power, which means it must have a lord who controls it, and he must be up ahead. That would also explain why the Dungeon Seed was going crazy like that. So in order to confront him, we need to prepare, carefully and methodically. But I believe its also a good chance for you to learn a thing or two about the duties of a Dungeon Master.

In other words, Aur judged that she possessed sufficient abilities to help him with his duties. And as for fixing her shortcomings well, that can be done at any time.

Understood! Ill try to do my best!

Mari started to cut through the thorns. They mustve been just normal plants, because she could do it without imbuing her weapons with the power of the Laws.

Eh?

It was in the center of a hemispherically shaped thorny room. Mari didnt believe her eyes, so she had to blink a few times.

Several vines extending from every direction, holding the Dungeon Seed in place. But the biggest surprise was the fact that someone was clinging to it.

This is the lord of the forest?

Aur nodded, but he was clearly puzzled as well.

For all intents and purposes, their eyes did not seem to be deceiving them, but

But its just a baby.

Exactly. The lord of this forest was a newborn baby.