"Catherine, let go of me!"

"I can walk on my own!"

Having been dragged forward like a kidnapping for a short while, Ronald struggled and shouted.

Catherine decisively let go, moved to Ronald's side, and leaned forward with a smile:

"What? Now you're willing to walk?"

"Weren't you the one being overly cautious and hesitant just a moment ago?"

Ronald immediately defended himself:

"What's with the being overly cautious! It's the dilemma brought by careful consideration, okay? We're walking on a high-wire now; one slip and there's no saving us!"

"Pfft—" Catherine burst into laughter.

"With all that caution, how come you're walking faster than me now?"

He couldn't say that he'd also gotten a rush of adrenaline and wanted to push forward courageously, could he?

Raising an eyebrow, Ronald started to argue with Catherine just to save face:

"If you want me to walk slower, don't push me next time."

"With you constantly nudging me forward, there's no way I could slow down."

Seeing Ronald in this state, Catherine was amused, nodding in agreement repeatedly:

"Alright, alright."

"It's my fault, my mistake!"

"..."

After fooling around for a while, their voices gradually grew quieter.

Playing around also consumed energy, and they didn't want to waste it further.

Next, more obstacles began to appear.

Apart from more branching paths and slopes, there were even absurd passages angled over ninety degrees. Ronald and the others often had to stack on top of each other to get someone up and over these tricky terrains.

Walking in this environment, saying there was no worry or nervousness was impossible.

But courage firmly supported them from within, and without hesitation, Ronald and Catherine just kept overcoming obstacles, doing everything they could to push forward.

Finally, after a steep, long staircase.

A completely different scene from before appeared ahead.

No more multiple-choice intersections, no walls obstructing their way, and no slopes suddenly veering upward. Instead, an expansive void unfolded at the tunnel's end.

—It's an opening!

—And an opening means a way out of the tunnel!

Seeing this change, Ronald and Catherine exchanged a glance.

Without saying a word, they charged forward almost simultaneously.

Bravery truly paid off.

They not only escaped the long and torturous climb but also saw the hope that symbolized victory.

Yet, just as they were about to burst out of the opening, Ronald and Catherine suddenly stopped at the same time.

This was also their tacit understanding.

Previously, when leaving a tunnel, they hadn't noticed the danger and ended up falling into a trap, captured by jellyfish, and thrown into the Digestion River, forcing them to face a life-and-death crisis.

Now facing a similar scene again.

They wisely stopped early, planning to check the outside before going out.

Indeed, this caution saved their lives.

Outside the expansive tunnel exit, there was not the imagined ground to walk on but a vertical cliff. Without any precautions, a free-fall would be their next obstacle.

But as the two peered out, the next scene was even more astounding.

At the tunnel's exit, they discovered the walls of the entire space were filled with similar outlets high and low, resembling niches in a temple wall at a glance.

Meanwhile, countless long white bridges crisscrossed the air, forming a mess like a bird's nest or the scaffolding at the top of a concert venue.

Gazing at the scene before them, Catherine began to boast:

"Ronald, didn't I say? Moving forward bravely is never wrong."

Ronald reluctantly nodded in agreement:

"It's all thanks to you."

Now everything was clear.

The previous maze's challenge wasn't about solving its puzzles with wisdom but rather possessing relentless determination.

For someone like Catherine, unwavering towards her goal, any amount of difficulty posed no challenge.

But if one hesitated in the maze...

The countless tunnels leading to these densely-packed exits could become a time-consuming demon, even trapping someone inside indefinitely!

With Ronald's recognition, Catherine was very happy.

Her gaze swept across the air, quickly locking onto a suspended bridge closest to their current opening, then she stepped back a few steps to build momentum for her leap:

"So... now we just find a path across these suspended bridges and jump up bit by bit?"

"Hold on a minute!"

But just before Catherine could act, Ronald stopped her.

Unlike Catherine, who was ready to continue facing challenges, Ronald, paying closer attention, leaned on the exit's floor, keeping his gaze downward, and discovered something significant.

"Catherine, look down first."

Relaxing her body and a little annoyed, Catherine came up next to Ronald and lay down:

"What's there to see?"

"It's just a deadly trap, and it might even move up, telling us that if we climb too slowly, we'll be..."

Suddenly, Catherine's voice cut off.

Because following Ronald's guidance, she found below not the expected trap but, in the far distance, a city of trees in ruins, lying at the bottom of this space.

"Isn't that Hamono?!"

Catherine immediately recognized the origins of this city.

"After being crushed and swallowed by the Dust Beast, it ended up inside its body?"

Ronald was equally incredulous.

But considering they were in a world based on the "Maze Picture Book," it was easier to accept.

"Catherine, it seems this time we're not climbing up but heading down. And notice, there's something at the city's center."

"..."

This time, Catherine fell utterly silent.

Because inside Hamono, trees and buildings were stained black, and at their core sat a black sphere.

How could Catherine not recognize it?

After all, in the current world, she was probably the only one who had made contact with it and left her mark upon it.

"Isn't that the Dust Beast's core?"

Just then, a voiceover resonated—

[Oh oh oh! After overcoming countless challenges, the adventurer and his assistant have finally conquered the obstacles and beheld the city swallowed by the terrifying beast!]

[However, the core of this giant monster now lies below.]

[Will they succeed in this final adventure and triumph in this perilous place?]