Gardenia’s Heart

Moving her head toward the light, Lily peeked out from beneath her hood at the several bees moving through the labyrinth’s sky.

The creatures, now only patrolling in groups of four, flew in rhythmic rounds, surveying the entire surface in search of the intruders in their territory. Just like the first one they had killed, each had weapons and shields strapped to their arms, their wings’ buzzing vibrating through the air like a small storm.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

Once again, in the few minutes they had been there, that irritated voice made Lily pull her eyes away from the bees and turn back to the inside of the small shelter they were now in.

Elarielle, pacing back and forth as if unable to stay still, had her fingers tightly wrapped around the handle of her axe.

“I should’ve sent Thelira back! I shouldn’t have let my emotional side cloud my decisions!” The queen growled, the foundation of her composure crumbling more with each passing second.

Letting out a quiet sigh, Lily removed her black hood and started walking deeper into the shelter. “If the two of us ended up together, then there’s a good chance that Nia is with Thelira. My wife will keep her safe.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel calm?” Elarielle retorted without even looking Lily in the eyes.

The elf’s sarcastic tone was something Lily had long since gotten used to. Leaning against the wall and crossing her arms, she reflected on everything that had happened.

The last thing she had heard from Nia before everything changed was that the magic Rhei activated had been a teleportation spell. If she and Elarielle had ended up together, then the chances that Nia and Thelira had landed in the same place were high. It was nothing more than a guess—but it was what she needed to believe right now.

Carefully, she placed her fingers on one of the tentacles wrapped around her waist. Lily could feel how tightly her wife’s gelatinous appendage clung to her, refusing to release her skin even in response to her touch.

It didn’t feel like Nia was in pain, but rather that she was desperately holding on to her, fighting to remain connected despite a difficult situation. Even her outfit, which always cleaned itself automatically—being made of Nia’s gelatinous material—now bore clear signs of dirt from their last battle.

Though she didn’t know why Nia couldn’t speak to her right now, Lily knew she couldn’t afford to dwell on that. They didn’t know exactly how long Nia could maintain this part of her body separated, nor what would happen if they exceeded that limit. Her priority had to be finding her as quickly as possible.

According to Nia’s own estimates, the maximum she could remain outside her body was about three hours. It was a hypothetical limit they had never tested, since Nia always returned to rest as soon as her fatigue pushed past a safe threshold.

Given the situation, Lily knew she should be agitated, but… what surprised her most was how calm she felt.

Her eyes drifted once again to Elarielle. She was worried—naturally. Her sister had disappeared. That alone was enough to make even someone as cold as her fail to hide her emotions.

Yet, even in the same situation, Lily’s mind was so calm and rational that she found herself surprised by it.

“To start with—what was that bee-woman?” Finally stopping her restless pacing, Elarielle turned to her and asked, pulling Lily out of her thoughts.

“The labyrinths were built by Sylvan and her followers to protect their treasures and knowledge. The page you had is part of the book we’re searching for—the Book of Truth. The guardians are those who personally protect these books.” Turning her head to peek once again outside the small cave, Lily watched the monstrous bees flying across the sky. “And they won’t hand it over easily.”

“Tsk.” Elarielle clicked her tongue. “That childish tale again?”

When the elf turned her face away in irritation, Lily didn’t try to continue the conversation. Believing or not believing in the existence of Sylvan wouldn’t help their current situation at all.

Lowering her heterochromatic eyes, what Lily really wanted to talk about was something entirely different.

“The wound on your arm... do you want to talk about it?”

When they were falling from the sky, Elarielle had taken a hit in Lily’s place because she had been slow to regain her senses, resulting in a wound that destroyed part of her armor. The elven queen had already healed the wound perfectly with her magic, but that wasn’t what Lily was referring to.

Even if it had only been for a moment, when she saw the part of Elarielle’s arm exposed by the torn glove and shattered armor, Lily noticed a large purplish bruise spreading from her elbow down to her fingers.

Thinking back, Lily realized that from the very first moment she had met Elarielle, the elf had never been without gloves—or at least something covering both her arms.

“I’m fine. Don’t meddle in my affairs.”

Pulling her previously injured arm out of Lily’s sight, Elarielle spoke in an irritated yet distant tone, tightening the bands that now served as makeshift gloves.

“I see...”

Turning her face away, Lily didn’t press the subject.

With time not on their side, Lily knew they had to act quickly. Pushing herself away from the wall, she examined the shelter they had found.

Throughout the mountainous terrain of this floor of the labyrinth, what she initially thought were several massive tree trunks were as wide as the huge trees she had encountered in the forest. Beneath them, in places where light couldn’t reach, it was a perfect place to hide.

“This is strange...” Lily muttered to no one in particular.

She had already seen hundreds of vegetations, and the many biomes of the elven forest made that a fact. However, she had never encountered something like this.

The trunks didn’t rise straight into the sky as was natural. Instead, they arched, twisted, and dipped at odd angles. Running her hand along the wood, she realized it wasn’t rough like an ordinary tree, but smooth—almost damp.

“There are veins and grooves, but no dry leaves or branches.”

Lily knew that such characteristics were more typical of roots exposed by erosion, so it made no sense for them to be here in such a place.

She then stared at the large black, twisted tree standing at the center of the floor. Even from this hidden spot, it was still clearly visible. Lily wondered if these roots belonged to that strange tree. Given all the bizarre vegetation she had encountered, it might make sense—but structurally, it resembled roots far more than an actual tree.

“We need to check if Thelira is here or not. After that, find the exit to this floor.”

Unaware of Lily’s thoughts, Elarielle declared this as if she were finally ready to move.

“Your plan?”

Trying not to argue about the fact that the queen had obviously ignored that they were also searching for Nia, Lily walked over to the elf.

“Guardian or not, a labyrinth is still a labyrinth. I couldn’t do this from outside because of that gravity force pushing me down, but it doesn’t seem to exist in here. Let’s fly above those clouds and try to find a passage or staircase in the ceiling leading to the next floor.”

As Elarielle explained, Lily raised an eyebrow.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go by ground? I might be quick enough to handle one of them, but if several surround us, that could be a problem.”

Even though she still had unlimited access to Nia’s dark mana, since the girl wasn’t responding, Lily doubted she’d get any help managing or creating spells.

She had gotten used to creating her wings, even using her own mana for it, but without Nia to correct her movements, any mistake during aerial combat could be fatal.

“No, we’ll go through the sky. The bees won’t be a problem.”

Tilting her head in doubt, Lily watched as Elarielle brought both hands to the back of her neck. With a subtle motion, she pulled her blonde hair back—without her crown shifting in the slightest—and tied it into a ponytail.

“Iris.”

As soon as her name was called, the cyan fairy hidden beneath her clothes glowed and darted toward her head. In a single second, the shining orb transformed into a small ribbon.

“So that’s the form of your fairy?”

The first time she had seen her, Lily remembered Elarielle having her hair tied up, but she hadn’t imagined that the ribbon holding it was actually her fairy.

Without answering the question, Elarielle walked toward her and placed one hand on her shoulder. A faint cyan aura enveloped their bodies. Lily wondered what was happening until she realized that even she was having trouble seeing her own form.

“Invisibility?” the silver-haired girl murmured, staring at her now translucent arms.

She had seen this once before. The group that ambushed her in the Stardust Spring labyrinth had included a mage capable of concealing both her presence and that of those around her. Since she was a mage from the capital, she had assumed the spell was either rare or highly difficult to perform, as she had never encountered anyone else who could use it.

“Don’t make any noise beyond what’s necessary. Iris can conceal our spells and presence up to a point, but the monsters will still notice if we make too much of a commotion.”

Nodding, Lily focused for a moment. Bluish wings, reminiscent of stormy lightning, formed on her back.

Her own mana reserves had already grown several times over thanks to her training, so Lily decided she should conserve her use of dark mana for when it was truly necessary—especially since she didn’t know how dangerous Nia’s situation might be.

Placing one arm around the elf’s waist, Lily left the small shelter and began flying toward the floor’s sky. Just as the queen had said, thanks to the fairy’s spell, none of the bees even noticed their presence, despite being in plain sight.

If Nia or Thelira were on this floor, it made sense to assume they were also in hiding. After all, if a battle had already broken out, all the bees would have swarmed in that direction by now.

“Look carefully. Just like the monsters, they won’t be able to see us,” Elarielle said, her eyes sweeping across the ground below.

Even though she was in a hurry, Lily couldn’t afford to rush and risk alerting one of the bees, so she flew cautiously.

Assuming that, just like the last labyrinth—which could change its layout after a certain period—this one also had a unique characteristic, Lily kept wondering what might be happening in this place. The entire floor was vast, perhaps as large as the city of Caligo, if not bigger. With such a high ceiling, there wasn’t the slightest hint of claustrophobia—but for a girl who had spent much of her life in a mine, that wasn’t a problem.

After flying near the ground for more than an hour, the pair decided to check the ceiling.

“These clouds are strange,” Lily muttered, narrowing her eyes.

As they ascended higher and higher, Lily braced herself to pass through a damp cloud layer. But when her body broke through the white mist, it wasn’t water that clung to her skin—it was dust and dirt.

Since she didn’t need to breathe, pushing through the cloud wasn’t an issue, but the grime that gathered around her face and mouth made her so uncomfortable that she had to stop several times to wipe it away.

“Damn it, the clouds are messing with visibility,” Elarielle complained.

Just as the queen had said, the entire ceiling was shrouded by the clouds, making everything as dense as the territories where the Demon King’s mist lingered.

“We just have to keep searching.”

Holding Elarielle more tightly to keep from dropping the elf from such a height, Lily flew cautiously, scanning for any kind of passage.

Ever since Nia had learned mana-location, Lily had barely needed to worry about analyzing her surroundings. Nia could detect hidden objects and enemies from great distances, making the task of searching for passages like this one take mere minutes.

Now relying solely on her own senses, the girl kept flying, feeling along the ceiling of the cavern.

“This is a problem. It’s solid earth and rock. If I try to break through and make an opening, everything could collapse,” Elarielle said, her fingers tracing the ceiling’s surface.

With no option to force their way through, they kept flying. Although the place was vast, as long as they reduced the area systematically, making sure not to check the same place twice, they would eventually find the exit—if they had the time for it.

“W-we need to go down.”

It was only a mental count, but she guessed that around two hours had passed since they’d arrived on this floor. They had been apart for this long before, but somehow the burden on her body now was far greater than she had expected.

The sensation had been creeping up over time, and Lily’d done her best to ignore it. But as it grew more intense within her body, she knew she couldn’t just push it aside anymore.

Her palms were slick with sweat, and she could feel the back of her neck and spine turning cold. It was just like when Nia was exposed to ivory herb—a discomfort that made her body seize up and her natural functions start to fail.

“Not yet. That big tree at the center is suspicious enough on its own. Fly over there,” Elarielle ordered, realizing that continuing to search here would be pointless.

Even though she wanted to stop and rest, Lily knew that this sensation wasn’t something that would improve with a break. Gritting her teeth, she adjusted her flight path toward the center of the floor.

“S-so that’s the nest of those things?”

The muttered words slipped out between heavy breaths—a habit she hadn’t needed for a long time—as Lily gazed at the scene below with a grim expression.

Along each twisted strand of the wooden structure, numerous small grayish cocoons—what Lily assumed to be hives, but each the size of a house—were arrayed.

Several bees were flying in and out of these structures. Those returning seemed to be resting and recovering their strength, while those leaving gathered in groups of four before resuming their patrols across the floor.

“Monsters that organize this well are always a damn pain to deal with.” Clicking her tongue, Elarielle studied the monstrous nest with an irritation so palpable it thickened the air around her. “There must be at least fifty of these things here, and probably double that number searching across the floor.”

While Elarielle’s focus was on the monsters, Lily’s attention was drawn to something else.

“Hey… that’s a root, isn’t it?” Lily frowned in confusion, cold sweat beginning to bead on her face.

“Root or tree, what does it matter?” Elarielle replied dismissively, continuing to search for some kind of exit from this place.

“It’s just… it’s… strange…?” Lily struggled to get the words out. “They’re… growing upward.”

From the moment Lily had arrived here, something had felt off to her. It was a sensation she recognized—as if something obvious was right in front of her, but she was just missing the one connection needed for her reasoning to click into place.

“We don’t have time for this anymore. Get back up to the ceiling—huh?”

Tightening her grip on her axe’s handle, Elarielle raised an eyebrow when Lily did the exact opposite of what she’d just told her, lowering their altitude instead.

“Why are you flying lower?”

She prepared to ask again, but suddenly the storm wings began to fade, vanishing little by little.

“What!?”

Shouting in surprise, Elarielle felt the hand holding her waist go slack. Lily’s whole body went limp in an instant, collapsing against her.

“Don’t tell me…” Elarielle started, only to confirm what she’d feared. “Shit, you’re burning up!”

With her pale face drenched in sweat and her eyes barely able to stay open, Lily was struggling just to remain conscious.

“I-I… I can’t… maintain the spell anymore…”

The sharp wind struck them once again that day, at the very moment the bluish wings disappeared completely.

With no time even to curse, Elarielle wrapped her left arm tightly around Lily’s semi-conscious body. She couldn’t afford to fall—crashing from this height would be a problem even for her.

She had to soften their landing. Whatever came after… would have to be dealt with later.

Her target? A group of four unfortunate bees directly beneath her.

Elarielle didn’t try to resist gravity—she let it carry her. A putrid green aura engulfed the blade of the queen’s axe, and a single swing of her hand was enough to obliterate the heads of all the monsters before they had any chance to react.

“Stealth won’t help anymore.”

Using the monsters’ bodies as stepping stones, without even bothering to wipe off the purple blood that began turning to ash as it touched the foul aura surrounding her, the elf bent her knees and leapt. A sonic boom echoed like thunder as her body struck the side of the massive roots.

The cloud of dust that rose was an obvious signal of her location. The threat had been found, and all the bees immediately began flying toward her.

“It’s going to shake a lot. Stay awake, even if it kills you.”

Seeing the faint nod of the silver-haired girl, Elarielle, with both feet embedded deep within the wood of the roots, glanced at the ground.

Twenty bees had already reacted to the first group’s death and were now flying straight at her. If she remained in that nest even one minute longer, they’d be completely surrounded.

“Tsk.” Clicking her tongue, Elarielle bolted.

Whatever this place was, the tangled roots connected sky and earth. She had a path toward the ground—all she had to do was follow it.

Her terrifying acceleration streaked the black trunk with purple blood. Neither the heavy bag on her back nor the girl in her arms hindered her axe as it mercilessly tore through everything in her path.

Fighting in midair was a problem—but now, she knew her enemy. With solid ground beneath her feet, it didn’t matter if she was a hundred or two hundred meters above the earth—she could kill them.

A putrid aura burst as Elarielle’s axe cleaved through the shield of one of the bees. The blade, still lodged in the monster’s exoskeleton, twisted along with the creature’s entire body as she hurled it at another bee approaching from behind the group.

The new monster’s spear pierced straight through the already-defeated corpse, the added weight dragging it down, making the bee lose lift and crash into the roots of the tree.

Elarielle didn’t know if that had killed it or not—there was no time to care. Not with endless hordes of monsters, unafraid of death, swarming toward her.

Focusing mana into her legs, she shot downward, gravity working in her favor as she ran.

But heading for the center of the nest wasn’t an option. She had to go somewhere else.

She was close to the ground—it had to be now. Without reducing her speed even slightly, she jumped. The spot where her feet had been just a second before crumbled into debris from the force as she launched herself a great distance.

Enveloping her body in mana, Elarielle cradled Lily tightly and let herself crash into the ground. Cuts and grime spread across her as she smashed through a dozen roots, but as soon as she finally stopped, she didn’t waste a single second—she kept running.

“Iris!” she called out forcefully, and instantly, a cyan glow enveloped her body.

The bees kept flying toward the destruction and noise. After creating disturbances in so many different spots, she had the perfect smokescreen to escape.

It took only five more minutes of running before she saw the last group of bees flying overhead, heading toward the place where they had fallen. Realizing that the creatures no longer knew their location, Elarielle finally allowed herself to stop running.

“Nhm…”

Lily, barely able to stay conscious, let out faint whimpers of pain from the discomfort, despite the massive impact she’d just endured.

“I’m going to start treating you now.”

Now hidden beneath the roots, Elarielle laid Lily on the ground. As she placed her hand on the girl’s forehead, her eyes widened.

“This is far more than any human could withstand without dying.”

This wasn’t just a fever. The girl’s body radiated such intense heat that, even through her gloves, Elarielle could feel her fingers involuntarily contracting.

She moved her open palm to cover the rest of the girl’s body. Not even the faintest breath escaped from Lily’s lips or nose, but the elf could still feel her heartbeat, pulsing against her wrist—she was alive.

The fact that Lily wasn’t an elf didn’t matter. Elarielle knew the human constitution. In fact, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say she understood the physiology of nearly every sentient race in the world—and this didn’t match any of them.

An unease swelled in her chest as Elarielle raised her right hand above Lily’s body. Slowly, a faint greenish aura flowed from her fingers, enveloping the nearly unconscious girl from head to toe.

The moment the light entered the girl’s body, Elarielle closed her eyes and began examining her from within, searching for the source of such an abnormal condition.

“It’s not in the bloodstream or the organs… Is it in the next cellular structure?” But before she could fully grasp it, a chilling shiver ran down her spine.

As someone who knew everything about the body, there was no way such a singular and powerful fact could escape her notice.

Every cell in Lily’s body was hers, consistent with her genetic structure—she was undoubtedly human. But something was interwoven within it. So firmly, so powerfully, that Elarielle couldn’t even begin to imagine how it was possible.

It wasn’t natural. It was something that made her fingers instinctively pull back and cold sweat run down her face as the conclusion dawned on her.

It was Lily—but there was something else. And as absurd as the words that followed might sound, it was that very thing keeping the girl alive.

“… A monster?”