The barracks were erected in various spots around the command post situated in front of the Gate. The knights moved with disciplined coordination, their momentum tightly controlled.
The supporting troops moved quickly to prepare for the departure.
This was the scenery in front of the Gates that had been visible for a little over half a year, spanning from the 52nd Floor to the 58th Floor. However, the scene before the 59th Floor Gate was somewhat different. Instead of restraining their momentum, the knights were exuding a ferocious pressure without filtration. Even those who should have been busy preparing for other tasks stood still, frozen in tension.
The reason was simple.
“You filthy bastards with no shred of honor.”
It was because of the Group of Possessors who had reappeared just in time for the Gate raid.
Gail Einsidel, who had already been sharpening his blade for them, stepped forward without hiding his killing intent at their brazen behavior. The surrounding knights followed suit.
“How dare you set foot here again without a hint of shame!”
Though they did not know the exact details, every member of the Expeditionary Force knew the general situation. They knew the Guild bastards had used their own methods to flee the 58th Floor by themselves. As long as that fact was known, the Expeditionary Force would never welcome the Guild again.
Although fewer people had died on the 58th Floor than expected, that was only in comparison to the desperate situation at the time. In reality, it was the floor with the highest number of casualties since the Empire began the raids.
The number of those who suffered permanent, non-recoverable injuries was several times that.
‘In such a situation, who would welcome a deserter?’
‘Had they not fled and instead added their strength, wouldn’t the situation have been much better?’
“I will not punish you, considering your past contributions and the Commander’s final mercy.”
Gail felt as if his blood were boiling backward at the sight of the Possessors’ shameless faces, but through extreme patience, he did not draw his sword.
“So, get the hell out.”
They could no longer work together. An unreliable ally on the battlefield was more dangerous than a powerful enemy. If they planned a strategy based on the strength of these people, only for them to run away again because things got a little dangerous, what would happen to those left behind?
The same tragedy that occurred on the 58th Floor would happen again. Either they would all die together, or another hero would fall. If they had even a shred of shame left, they would leave without a word.
Gail thought so and turned his back, but…
“Bluffing won’t do either of us any good, Gail Einsidel.”
He was forced to stop in his tracks immediately. He replayed the words in his head to see if he had heard correctly, wondering what kind of nonsense had just been spat out.
“……How dare you.”
He slowly turned his body back around. The killing intent of the highest-ranking knight, second only to Vitalianus, surged visibly. The Possessors with weak mental fortitude and the ordinary soldiers forgot how to breathe and froze in place. They were like mice before a snake.
“You truly know no shame.”
Gail’s eyes moved like a serpent’s, quickly scanning the gathered Possessors. He soon found the person who had uttered such an absurdity. It was the man standing at their front. He was a Possessor who had once served the Imperial Household but had left for the Guild after Sylvia Verden’s inauguration.
“Antiphus Praman.”
Upon identifying him, Gail finally drew his sword.
“I opposed it even when they sat you in the seat of the Chief of the Capital Knights. You had eyes that cared for nothing but yourself.”
“Gail Einsidel. Think coolly.”
“If you want to teach me about being cool-headed, go learn about human shame and a knight’s honor first.”
A deep green aura exploded from Gail’s sword. The surrounding space fell under the domain of his aura, and simultaneously, every knight drew their blade. However…
“……At this point, right before the raid, there’s nothing to be gained by clashing with us.”
Antiphus continued to attempt dialogue without even unfastening the greatsword on his back. Had it been the old him, he would have stood his ground without retreating a single step, flaring his own momentum.
“We also deeply regret the catastrophe of the previous floor. That is why we intend to take responsibility and join the raid again.”
“The only thing I can tell you is that the reason you are still breathing is thanks to Lord Vitalianus. If I were the commander, deserters like you would have been executed the moment you were found.”
“Do you believe anything would have changed even if we were there in that situation?”
“Then let me ask you the opposite. Do you truly believe nothing would have changed?”
“……This conversation is going in circles.”
Gail continued to flare his deep green aura as if he had no intention of listening to Antiphus. It was an incredibly frustrating situation for Antiphus, who was trying to seek cooperation.
In the past, he would have resolved this by meeting force with force without backing down. No, he wouldn’t have even shown up here in the first place. He would have thought that they were the ones who would eventually come begging.
“Gail Einsidel. Calm down and listen. In the end, don’t you also need our information about the floor?”
But he couldn’t do that now. What had changed to make it this way? Thinking about it, only one thing had changed. The one person who had been above him for so long had disappeared. That incredibly massive presence had evaporated in an instant.
It was just that one thing, so why was it so heavy? Why couldn’t he act as he pleased, why did he have to swallow his anger even when he was furious, and why did he have to keep saying things he didn’t want to say?
“We also sincerely wish to clear the floor.”
There was only one reason. The nearly 100 high-rankers standing behind him, and the nearly 10,000 Possessors in total. Beyond them, the billions of people in the outside world. All their lives depended on his single judgment, his single action.
Now that Jijoncheonma was gone, it was a weight he had to shoulder entirely. The moment he realized that, his chest felt so tight. It felt as if his breath were being choked off.
“I have only one thing to say, Antiphus Praman.”
‘Why was nothing going according to plan from the very start?’
“Get out of my sight this instant.”
It was suffocating. It was annoying. Gail Einsidel, who couldn’t be reasoned with, and this situation where he had to bow his head. Nevertheless, he had to do something. There was no one to clean up the mess if he acted recklessly based on his emotions.
If he made a wrong judgment in a fit of rage, this world, as well as the outside world, would be engulfed in all sorts of misfortune and despair.
The situations he had only seen in games would become a reality. There was no one to lean on, no one to make decisions for him, and no one to take responsibility.
In that massive pressure, what was Jijoncheonma feeling as he burned his very life away until the end to prevent a hellish scene? Because his thoughts reached that point, Antiphus bit his lip as hard as he could.
“Gail Einsidel……”
He had to endure. This was merely the process of being reborn as a true ruler. He had to become accustomed to enduring the weight of the world on both shoulders.
“Fine. We will withdraw.”
So, for now, he would retreat. Gail was stubborn, and the reason he could be like that was likely because he had the Order of the Sword’s permission.
“I will try to obtain information from the other Gates in my own way and pass it along.”
“……”
This, at least, they wouldn’t be able to refuse. They might not trust the Possessors on the battlefield since they could flee at any time, but the information regarding the raid was real.
“Do not fail.”
Rather than causing a conflict here, it would be better to step back and at least deliver the information he obtained. That would be the best judgment in the current situation. It would be for everyone, not just himself.
Thus, Antiphus turned away from the Gate. He walked away just like that. It was clearly the best decision for everyone and the best he could do. But why was it…
“We’re heading back.”
‘Why did his chest feel so tight? Why was every breath he exhaled so heavy? What if his judgment was wrong? What if thousands or tens of thousands died because of the decision he just made?’
The burden on his shoulders, the eyes of everyone, and the lives of each and every one of them felt so heavy. It felt heavy enough that he wanted to collapse right then and there.
***
After Antiphus left, silence fell over the front of the Gate. The fiercely burning aura extinguished, and the directionless momentum wandered through the air before vanishing high into the sky.
The composition of the Expeditionary Force had already changed and the atmosphere was chaotic due to the many injuries, but with the sudden departure of the seventy-some Possessors who had been there from the start, the void felt significant. Especially since it was right before entering the Gate.
Until now, even if they were nervous, their morale and momentum had been high, but now the atmosphere was cold. It felt as if it had sagged.
Claire, who had been watching all of this from beginning to end, stared blankly up at the Gate that burned black. The atmosphere was the worst, and the situation was even worse. Even though they hadn’t started, it felt like the aftermath of a war.
And all this because just one person was gone.
The Group of Possessors and the Empire would likely never trust each other or work together as they had before. Because the one person everyone trusted, admired, and relied upon—both for the Empire and the Possessors—was no longer there. A gear with a missing tooth remains meaningless no matter how hard the other side spins.
‘That’s why I must find him.’
Inside that pitch-black Gate, within that hellish Magyeong, Hio was surely alive. He might be barely holding on, desperately waiting for someone’s help. So, she had to go in and find him as soon as possible. If he wasn’t on the 59th Floor, then on the 60th Floor. If not on the 60th Floor, then on the 61st Floor.
A small spark appeared in Claire’s hollow eyes as she looked up at the Gate. It was a tiny hope beginning to bloom again. Everyone thought he was dead, but she alone nurtured this extremely faint hope.
‘This time…… I will save you.’
Trying to melt her freezing heart with that thought, she moved her steps toward the Gate.
***
Airlights had rushed to the Imperial Capital immediately after hearing the news of Hio’s death. She had gone there with the intent to flip everything upside down and kill everyone involved, but her return was quite hollow.
Then where should she release this stifling heart? As she walked aimlessly while thinking, she eventually ended up here again.
The Magician’s House.
The ordinary two-story house where she lived with Hio. In fact, she had nowhere else to go. Airlights had no place to return to and no one to welcome her. This had been the only home she could return to, but now even that was becoming meaningless.
“……”
She stood blankly for a long time, looking at the house. Why did the home that was always warm feel so cold now? Why did she hate the idea of going inside so much?
However, she soon opened the front door and entered. As expected, there was only a silence filled with a chill.
[Hio ♡ Airlights’ Happy Home]
The only thing welcoming her was the slightly crooked nameplate. What should she do?
After a moment of hesitation, she habitually headed toward the basement stairs. Past the first basement floor and the second. When she reached the third basement floor, traces filled her vision.
Books and research materials scattered here and there. A thick blanket she had left for Hio, who often stayed up all night here. The chair and desk where Hio had sat. A single small oil lamp lit upon it. And in one corner, her own small traces of magic research, kept there so as not to disturb him.
As her gaze scanned the third basement floor, it finally rested on one spot. The place where the portal to Tetradia existed. It was the entrance to the fourth basement floor.
Since she was now a Magician who had formed a First Circle, she could probably use the portal to enter the Wizard’s Tower if she went to the fourth basement floor.
The entrance was closed. Hio had said only he could open it and only he could use it. Since Hio had reactivated the original Magic Circle to protect the fourth basement floor, it would not be easy to force her way in.
But it didn’t matter. No matter how solid a Magic Circle was, wouldn’t it eventually break if struck thousands or tens of thousands of times? Airlights’ skills were not suited for this, but her superior physical stats would make it possible.
So, she immediately moved her feet. She intended to break the entrance herself, go down to the fourth basement floor, and head to the Wizard’s Tower using the portal. She didn’t know why she was doing it or what meaning it had, but it was the only thing that came to mind right now.
She wanted to feel Hio’s traces just a little more that way, so she was about to smash the entrance, but…
— “Hio will hate it if he comes back and sees this.”
As if the raised fist were useless, the strength suddenly drained from her body. Why was she acting like this when she knew better than anyone what it meant that he hadn’t returned even though the Abyss raid was successful? Why had she clung to hope at those words? Even though she knew it was a terribly hollow hope.
“What…… what should I do…….”
She didn’t know what to do or how to do it. She just sat there blankly. There was nothing to do but retrace every moment from when she first met Hio in this world until now.
The moment she first discovered him and the moment she actually faced him. The moments they spent together in the Gray Castle and when she willingly chose death for him. The memory that arrived after passing through the moments they spent together since she was reborn by his power was the sight of Hio right before he left for the final raid.
The way he looked happy, saying he had finally found what he had been tracking for a long time. The words he said while opening the now firmly closed door to the fourth basement floor.
— “I found a clue.”
Airlights’ head turned naturally. A single book lay face down on the desk. The one book Hio had been reading until the very end. The clue he had been looking for right before heading to the raid would be written in this book.
Airlights stood up, approached the desk, and picked up the book that lay upside down. Turning it over to look inside, the first passage she saw was:
「……The Goddess of Beauty and Love.
Usoa Shin, a faithful servant of the Order of Venus and an official mage of Tetradia,
Ostrum said that the divine magic of love had reached near completion. Thus, we find that Usoa is in Randebur……」
A crimson glow flickered in Airlights’ eyes as she read down the book. She had finally found what she needed to do.