Is it Falcon ...... or ......?

　Falcon the Brave.
　The man who was supposed to have left me in the Millennium Corridor of the Abyss and become a prisoner of the Demon King Gandalf was there, transformed into a mixture of a dragon and a distorted form.

''You Gah!　Raw Kitteh!　Why!　We are!　Aaaaahhhh!

　With a scream, flames erupt from the gaps in his fangs and the wounds on his chest and back.

　Why did the Falcon turn into a monster form - I don't need to think about that.

　I don't even know how, but it must have been 'remade' after being captured by the Demon King.

''Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!''

　The Falcon's chest, which had lost its armor, swelled up, and fresh blood and fire flooded from the wounds pierced by several distorted sword blades.

　In the next moment, a fierce fire breath attacked in a straight line.

''Kukko......''

　He tried to intercept the flames by swinging his baboon kane's flank.

　But either the timing wasn't right or the power was too great, the flames that couldn't be prevented burned the skin mercilessly.

''...... gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ......!
Gaaaaaahhhh!

　A beastly roar pierces the residue of the flames, and a left arm in the shape of a dragon's forelimb grabs me by the head.

　My vision blurs vertically at high speed.
　An intense pain hits my forehead and a raw, warm sensation spreads across my face.

　It's only after I'm woken up by the forcefulness of my head in my grip that I realize my face has been slammed into the stone floor.

'...... haha. I knew you were no match for me in a head-to-head match .......

　With half of his vision stained with blood, he looks straight into the face of the Falcon mixed with the dragon.

　It's so close that the burning breath sears my cheeks.

　The eyeballs with the same texture as the dragon are staring at me with a light of hatred.

"You are the one!　You!　You!　We are!
'Hey, hey, ...... don't joke about it, brave sama. I was a douchebag who couldn't do anything about it.
Shut up!　You!　Hide your father...　Inakeleva!
----

　I was so completely caught off guard that I forgot to react.

　After a short pause, what came out of my mouth was not a word, but a laugh.

'...... is, haha. Hahaha, hahahahahaha!
You!　What a funny thing!

　He was slammed face-first into the stone floor again, as if he was going to throw it with all his might.

　This time I heard a crack in a bone somewhere.

　Still, I couldn't suppress the laughter that was bubbling up from the depths of my stomach.

　Even if it was because I didn't know what was going on, it was a terrible mistake.

　More than the indignation of being badly beaten up, the misunderstanding between me and Falcon was hilarious.

...... I wasn't hiding anything. I'm just a slightly higher skill level than others [repair] skills. That was all I had: ......

　With the armpits and magic crystals clenched in each hand, I twisted and changed my position on my back.

　Out of the corner of my eye, the Falcon that turned into a dragon man is looking down at me.

　Perhaps it was the Demon King's order to attack the construction site first.
　The next time he found me and attacked me, it was probably out of anger and outrage at me for surviving in five bodies.

　And after that - the reason why he ignored the fortress and continued to chase me this far underground must be a backhanded resentment from a misunderstanding.

The only time I was able to heal my wounds and break down the walls was after you guys left me behind. You struggled and struggled and struggled and struggled and struggled to survive...... and at the end of it all, before you knew it, you were able to do it...... and that's all there is to it.

　For the first time, an emotion other than anger flashed across Falcon's face.

　Confusion, frustration, or upset.

　Falcon had a vicious habit of doing terrible carelessness and pride, but the fundamental intelligence itself was not bad.

　That's why he realized.
　The existence of a definitive misunderstanding he had held.

　If Luke of the White Wolf Forest had revealed his hidden abilities from the beginning, they would not have to go through this - a convenient blame shifting error.

If the ...... five of us had made it this far without incident, ...... I'm sure I would have suffered the same thing. You understand?　Brave Samaritan.
...... shut up ......
'You have no one else to blame for this happening to you but yourself. You have destroyed yourself, you!
'Shut the f*ck up!

　Falcon swings his legs up to crush my head.

　I pulled out a large amount of magic power from the magic crystal while lying on my back and slammed the magic power of 【Degradation】 into the stone floor.

　The stone floor shatters in an instant.

　Crumbling scaffolding.
　It's as if the bottomless darkness cracks open its mouth and tries to swallow the rubble and us.

"......!

　I thrust the Wakizashi, which is a [composite] of Hihiro-kane and steel, into the cross-section of the large hole, [fused] with the rock to secure it, and avoid falling by hanging on to it.

　The sword blade bends under my weight and seems to break in a flash, but I manage to keep it in shape by incessantly [repairing] it.

　At the time I first [Analyze] the floor, I knew that there was a hollow space underneath a layer of rock about a few meters long.

　This is the 'last resort' left to me.
　And the Falcon--

Aaaaahhhh!

　-- one wing spread out to its fullest extent, desperately stretching out its arms, but its hands were unable to grab anything.

　The distorted sword blade that had pierced his chest had crushed the base of one wing, robbing the Falcon of its ability to fly.



　The last cry left by the brave man who is falling into the endless darkness.

　It wasn't anger towards me, or hatred towards the Demon King, but the name of a lover who wasn't here.

　A few seconds - or a dozen seconds - passed, and a faint sound of water came from far away.

'Underground Lake ......? I'm sorry, brave sama. Looks like it's my turn to leave you behind this time.

　It's ironic, really.

　I, who was left behind in the labyrinth, came back alive with new powers, and the brave man I left behind was changed into a monster form and crashed deep underground.

　Raising my gaze, I gathered up the rocks and dirt around me to [repair] the large hole and returned to my original place without looking back.

'............ Finally, it's done.'

　I lie on my back on the cold stone floor.

　The magic crystals that were clutched in my left hand are crumbling down, discoloring to black.

　There was nothing like the elation of victory, but instead an inexpressible sense of fatigue filled my chest.

　I'm not sure if it's because I've overworked my body and mind to the extreme.
　I'm not sure if it's because of the fact that I've been in the same boat as him, or if it's because of the fact that I've felt sorry for him.

　...... Honestly, it doesn't matter which reason it is.
　I'm not going to be able to get the same thing done.

　This is undoubtedly the bottom of the labyrinth. But it's completely different from that time.

　I can go home right now.
　And there are people waiting for me to return.

　That's the only thing that made me unbearably happy.