The wind ceased.
With various Dragon Tongue spells and her breath, the dragon had erased the ancient, massive city in a single stroke.
She had even blown away the troublesome poisonous fog by mixing in several Dragon Tongue incantations.
The 58th Floor, now stripped of everything, was incredibly desolate.
It was a vast space with no structures and no grey fog to obstruct one’s vision.
— Screeeech!
Of course, the Abyss Monsters remained.
Since there was nothing to hinder sight or senses, they were even more visible.
Countless Abyss Monsters could be seen wriggling and bursting out from beneath the ground.
The creatures that had been on the surface were completely wiped out by Freya’s Dragon Tongue and breath, but those underground were relatively unscathed.
In fact, the number of creatures inhabiting the sub-surface was quite substantial.
Hio, who had been standing still and watching them, suddenly muttered.
“Freya, do you want to go back now?”
His voice was so small that no one else could hear him, but it would have reached Freya.
Nevertheless, there was no change in the slow flapping of her wings high up in the sky.
She was pretending not to hear him.
“You should go back quickly and eat the rest of the bread, shouldn’t you?”
At the mention of the word bread, the massive dragon’s body flinched noticeably.
‘I want to eat bread.’
“You did a great job, Freya. Thanks to you, we can clear this floor without any casualties.”
As he added praise, her two legs began to twist and fidget.
‘I’m happy I was helpful.’
Only then did Freya look down at Hio and nod her head.
Simultaneously, her massive dragon form began to blur.
Since it was an incomplete summons, she could return to her original location immediately if either side cut off the Magic Power, though she could not be re-summoned for a certain period.
Freya’s image grew increasingly faint.
Her green eyes watched Hio as if she had something to say, but in the end, she returned without uttering a word.
This was because they had agreed on it beforehand.
She was to keep her words to a minimum and maintain a heavy atmosphere.
She needed to imprint the dignity and presence of a dragon upon everyone present.
Since this was Freya’s first stage appearing to the world, they had established rules so she wouldn’t be perceived with her original harmless and pure image.
In truth, her being summoned in a human form earlier had been an accident.
The original plan was to manifest in her true dragon body from the start to display overwhelming martial prowess and presence.
Freya’s small soul had grown enough to govern a dragon’s body, and her status had naturally risen.
Since it was originally a part of a soul, it had grown rapidly under Regarda’s tutelage.
Thus, they judged it was time for her to step out into the world.
Freya making an appearance meant that Arilleia would soon lift its thousand-year blockade and join the world.
The Cursed Waters would become a peaceful sea again, and the dragons and Elves, whose very existence was nothing short of a legend, would appear on the Continent.
Much confusion and curiosity would arise, and to prevent any harm resulting from that, she had to show the dignity and power of a dragon.
This was even more important since she was in front of an Expeditionary Force filled with the Empire’s elite knights.
“Well… aside from the very first appearance, I suppose it went well enough.”
The image of her stuffing her mouth full of bread and munching away would likely be forgotten to some extent by the overwhelming dragon’s power that followed.
“A dragon… I heard about it from you, but facing one in person, the presence is immense.”
Vitalianus approached while saying those words.
His gaze did not descend from the sky where the dragon had disappeared.
It was a massive presence that had come and gone in an instant.
“It looks like that terrible competitive streak of yours has been triggered again.”
“…I cannot deny it.”
“Restrain yourself regardless. A duel wouldn’t even be possible.”
Setting aside who would win or lose, if the two fought, the entire area would be destroyed.
It wouldn’t be the kind of ordinary duel where everyone walked away unhurt.
‘Well, I am curious who would win…’
Vitalianus, who could imbue his willpower into his Sword Qi, and Freya, who freely manipulated Magic Power and the wind.
He was curious about who would win and how the battle would unfold, but he had to leave it to his imagination.
“Anyway, let’s wrap this up.”
This was the place they expected to be the Floor of Control.
The greatest obstacle, the grey fog, had vanished.
Furthermore, even the ghost city had been cleanly erased, so there would be no variables.
If they advanced like this, annihilated the remaining Abyss Monsters, and found the Floor Core, the conquest would be a success.
It would be the fastest clear since the mid-stages of the Abyss.
“Advance!”
“Reform the ranks!”
“Snap out of it!”
Like the elite knights they were, they quickly recovered from the shock of seeing the dragon, regained their composure, and formed their lines.
The entire Expeditionary Force moved toward the place where the fog-shrouded city had stood just moments ago.
— Screeeech!
The Abyss Monsters on this floor were bipedal, but they were only about as tall as a human’s waist.
One of their hands had transformed into a large club, which they swung around.
Some burst through the ground to launch surprise attacks, and the area where the city had been was filled with all sorts of traps.
However, most seemed to have malfunctioned or been destroyed when the city was blown away.
If they had divided their forces and wandered through the fog according to standard tactics, the damage would have been quite severe.
But now, there was no reduction in vision or senses due to fog, no buildings to obstruct their path, and various devices and traps had been rendered useless.
The Abyss Monsters bravely stood in the way of the Expeditionary Force, but they couldn’t even slow them down.
“Clean them up quickly.”
It didn’t take long to annihilate every remaining Abyss Monster on the floor.
Now, all that remained was the Core.
A black sphere sat alone in the wide-open space.
“Is this the Core?”
To anyone’s eyes, that was the Core.
It was an ominous object covered in pitch-black darkness that didn’t allow a single speck of light, as if it were a concentration of Abyssal Curse.
“Didn’t you say there should be two Cores if this is the Floor of Control?”
“The Core that controls the devices and the Core that constitutes the floor.
There should be two…
It seems the Core controlling the devices was destroyed along with the city.”
‘Why was the Floor of Control named as such?’
It contained tens of thousands of devices and traps, and one had to find the Core controlling them to take command of the floor to make the conquest easier.
It was about control, not destruction.
If you destroyed it, you wouldn’t be able to deactivate devices like the fog or traps, and you would have to clear the floor while enduring them entirely.
However, in the face of the dragon’s overwhelming violence, such petty tricks had been rendered useless immediately.
“Then if we break this, the conquest will be over.”
All the Expeditionary Force had to do was break the black sphere hovering slightly off the ground.
The Expeditionary Force gathered around the round black sphere.
Among them were Irina and the other High Priests of Liphyue.
“You must be disappointed that there wasn’t much for you to do.”
“Not at all. I am just glad that things were resolved well.”
“Anyway, you’ve worked hard. The Empire will not forget the help of Hibernia and the Cathedral.”
Vitalianus and Irina.
Hio and the Royal Knights.
Antipus and the captains of each knight order all gathered before the Core that constituted the floor.
Antipus was the first to step forward.
“I will… handle the finish.”
Antipus stepped forward while drawing his greatsword.
Damon blocked his path.
“Who decided that on their own?”
If the Core was destroyed, the conquest would be a success.
Therefore, the role of destroying the Core was a rather meaningful one—finishing the 58th Floor with one’s own hands.
It would remain in the records forever, and the name of the person who personally finished it would naturally become widely known.
That was why Damon had stopped Antipus as he stepped forward, but…
“Let him do it.”
Once Vitalianus gave his permission, Damon had no choice but to back down.
Anyway, the highlight of this floor wasn’t the finish.
The person who would receive the most attention wasn’t him either.
It was the dragon.
The Wind Dragon that had boasted an overwhelming presence.
And the Magician who had summoned such a being, Hio Pavlenko.
The rumors related to the dragon that had been spreading vaguely would now be revealed as truth, and stories regarding this would likely be told across the entire Continent for at least several months.
In such a situation, yielding the final blow was not much of an issue.
Furthermore, what Vitalianus was concerned about was Antipus’s eyes.
Those hollow eyes that had lost their goal.
‘Those kinds of eyes are dangerous.
They are even more dangerous because I can’t tell what the cause is.’
Once this conquest was over, he would have to either remove him from the Expeditionary Force or force him to take a rest.
He wasn’t sure what the man was so despondent about, but there was no need to clash over a meaningless task.
So, he didn’t stop Antipus and cleared the way for him.
“Make sure to crush it completely.”
Without even answering Vitalianus’s words, Antipus walked past him with heavy thuds.
His eyes were unfocused, making it impossible to tell if he was looking at the Core or something else.
— Smash it.
No one would have guessed that an unidentified voice was constantly echoing in his head.
— You’re just doing what has to be destroyed anyway with your own hands.
There’s nothing strange about it at all.
Antipus reached the sphere and raised his sword high.
However, most gazes were not fixed on him.
“This will be recorded as the floor cleared the fastest since the start of the expedition.”
“A dragon, of all things. Who could have imagined it?”
“I should finish up quickly and ask the Guardian Knight about it.”
A Magician who commands a dragon—it really sounded like something out of a childhood fairy tale.
Everyone murmured, confident in their victory.
They smiled and praised Hio Pavlenko, who had played the biggest role on this floor as well.
“As expected of the Guardian Knight.”
“If it weren’t for the Guardian Knight, we would have suffered quite a bit from the traps and poisonous fog…”
Antipus was not listening to those words.
— Strike it just like that.
The voice ringing in his head was so loud that he didn’t have the mental capacity to hear anything else.
Yet, was it the last remaining bit of doubt?
He thought for a brief moment while holding his sword high.
‘What will happen if I strike it like this?’
‘What will change?’
‘Wasn’t it supposed to just end the conquest if I break this?’
‘Why do I have to be the one to strike it down with my own sword?’
Of course, such thoughts were fleeting, and a black aura began to flicker on Antipus’s sword.
However, no one thought it was strange.
They had witnessed the color of Antipus’s aura changing depending on the situation countless times.
Even Antipus himself, lost in other thoughts, did not notice the aura dyed in black.
Thus, Antipus’s greatsword fell toward the Core.
The black-dyed aura fell toward the black-dyed Core.
CRUNCH—
Antipus was someone who could slice a sphere the size of a person in half with a single stroke.
However, far from being sliced in half, it wasn’t even cut halfway before the sword was lifted again.
“Now, let’s all get ready to head back.”
“But the Core doesn’t seem to be breaking as easily as I thought.”
CRUNCH—
Antipus’s sword struck the same spot again.
Black smoke began to leak out little by little through the crack in the broken Core.
CRUNCH—
He lifted and struck.
He repeated the series of motions as if he were splitting firewood.
CRUNCH—
By that point, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Antipus.
He was striking the sphere mechanically with somewhat vacant eyes.
The area where the sword was embedded grew deeper.
“…Why isn’t it breaking?”
“Something is a bit strange…”
CRUNCH—
The split crack widened further and further.
From top to bottom.
A vertical crack was forming in the center of the black sphere.
CRUNCH—
The sight of Antipus striking the same spot made him look more like a sculptor than a knight.
A sculptor carving a sphere as if possessed by something.
And during that series of actions, Antipus’s greatsword finally reached the bottom of the sphere.
CRUNCH!
The Core still hadn’t been destroyed.
Its center was merely split deeply and vertically.
Rather than being destroyed, it was a black sphere that had instead been completed.
The form completed by that last strike…
CRUNCH!
It was an eyeball.
A long, vertically torn pupil.
A pitch-black eye leaking streaks of Abyssal Curse.
[Hehehe.]
It rolled around and looked at Hio.
***
The Imperial Castle was still busy.
If they were busy with preparations before the expedition, they were now busy preparing to welcome those returning from it.
Coincidentally, the point where this Gate occurred was near the Huang Palace.
Soldiers were keeping citizens away and controlling the area while waiting for the conquest to end.
There might be critically injured people, so they had to prepare for that.
Especially since this floor was said to be one where poison was spread, they were preparing with extra care.
“Should I rest for just a bit…?”
Still, the number of meetings held day after day had decreased slightly, so Sylvia finally had some time to rest.
As soon as she entered the room, she threw herself toward the large bed.
The Death Knight Theodore followed Sylvia inside as always.
“I should rest for just a second and head back out.”
She couldn’t just keep resting simply because she had a bit of free time.
The Expeditionary Force would be fighting fiercely with their lives on the line, so she couldn’t just lie in bed as the Empress.
“It hasn’t been long since they entered the Abyss, but they might succeed and come out surprisingly early.”
She remembered the plan she had heard from Hio right before they entered.
He said the day to lift the blockade on Arilleia was not far off, and perhaps they might take the first step on this floor.
If that plan was realized, they might clear the floor and come out faster than any floor they had done before.
After all, the last remaining dragon in this world would be unleashing its immense power to its heart’s content.
“So, Theodore, you have to wake me up in just a little while, okay?”
Sylvia said that while lying on the bed with her eyes closed languidly.
Of course, as always, no answer came back.
He was a being that could not speak.
He was an undead who conveyed his intentions through gestures and actions.
Nevertheless, Sylvia had no worries.
He was the knight who had always been there for her.
The knight who had even rejected death to remain by her side.
He would be nodding his head and guarding her side as he always did.
That was so natural that she didn’t even need to check.
Before long, sleepiness washed over her, and her consciousness drifted away.
Then, suddenly…
“Ah, that’s right.”
She remembered a task she had momentarily forgotten, so she snapped her eyes open and sat up.
“This is no time to be resting.”
She quickly stood up, tidied her disheveled clothes, and moved to leave the room.
But before she could even take a few steps, she came to a sudden halt.
“…Theodore?”
It was because her only guardian knight was nowhere to be seen.
“Theodore, where did you go…?”
He wasn’t outside the door, nor was he in the hallway.
Her footsteps gradually quickened.
He wasn’t in her office, nor was he in the meeting room.
He wasn’t at the training grounds, and he wasn’t in the kitchen.
Her fast walk soon turned into a run as she traversed the entire Huang Palace, but Theodore was nowhere to be found.
In truth, she knew.
Theodore would never do anything that would make her feel anxious.
Disappearing without a word was something that could not happen of his own will.
That was likely why her heart was thumping so violently.
That was why she slumped onto the floor without even thinking of wiping away the sweat.
Theodore was an undead whose body was made of Death Aura.
He was a being who manifested his strength from his past life through a contract with a magician.
There were only two possibilities Sylvia knew of for such a being to disappear as if he had evaporated.
The magician who brought Theodore back to life, Hio Pavlenko, had summoned him out of necessity.
Or Hio Pavlenko was dead.