The End of the World.
He had heard those words before.
He had heard them while following the memories of Abellar Pavlenko on the Floor of Breakthrough.
The operation that the Lord of the Magic Tower, Abellar Pavlenko, had forced through, even while ignoring his benefactor and mentor, Len Hank.
The migration of the city of Tetradia itself.
Back then, he had spoken of the End of the World.
He said he would go there along with Tetradia.
He didn’t describe it as an escape. He didn’t say he was retreating.
He simply said it was a necessary process, that it had to be done.
Where was the End of the World, what exactly was it, and what secrets or truths were hidden there to prompt such actions?
“Child. Hio Pavlenko. You are qualified. Although you are still lacking, you are qualified to know the truth and to set foot in that world.”
Kreutzvalt spoke mildly and gently.
As if truly soothing a child, or perhaps persuading him.
“You must be curious. You must have many questions.”
Naturally, he did.
There were too many unresolved mysteries.
Even though they were fighting the Abyss, no one knew exactly what the Abyss was.
“If you come with me, you will find out.”
Therefore, Kreutzvalt’s proposal was not a mere suggestion.
Will you go? Or will you not?
It seemed like two choices, but the only option Hio could choose was one.
“What will you do? Will you go with me to the End of the World?”
Hio raised his head and looked at Kreutzvalt.
His expression was consistently gentle, making it impossible to read his thoughts.
He held out his hand in that state.
“Or will you go back out and see for yourself if my words are true?”
Hio turned his head and looked toward the exit.
The countless people waiting for him outside.
He was worried about them, but…
As mentioned before, this was a problem with a predetermined answer.
So, he reached out and took Kreutzvalt’s hand.
“Let’s go. To the End of the World or whatever it is.”
He was interested.
Let’s go.
Let’s go and face it.
Whether what was hidden was the truth or a massive abyss, he didn’t know, but if he returned like this, destruction was the only thing destined.
He couldn’t shake that feeling.
‘Heh heh heh. Good. Can you get a bit closer to that gentleman and pass on my words? Tell him I respect him… or even ask about the theories of Necromancy…’
He skillfully blocked Furnel’s fuss and looked back at Kreutzvalt.
The man was looking down at Hio’s hand in his, letting out a hearty laugh.
After laughing for a while, he suddenly stopped and said, “I’ll tell you in advance, but you are the only one qualified to go to the End of the World.”
‘Well, of course it’s just me. Who else is here?’
“Heh heh… Yes, indeed.”
Hio let go of his hand and looked around.
The Abyss filled the surroundings.
Not ordinary darkness, but the true Abyss.
If the real Abyss, not just the Abyssal Curse, were released into the world, it would truly be the beginning of the end.
Therefore, he couldn’t go back through the floor to check if Kreutzvalt’s words were true or false.
Well, there seemed to be no particular reason for him to lie, so he had no choice but to believe it was the truth and go along.
Nevertheless, there was something he had to clarify.
“You can really force the floor to close, right?”
“Do not worry.”
“You have to be sure. The moment this is released into the world, there truly won’t be an answer.”
“Of course.”
“Tell me the general principle of how you’re going to force the floor to close. Only then can I follow you with peace of mind.”
He really had to be sure about this.
No matter how great of a Black Mage or Necromancer Kreutzvalt was, to be able to do something like this…
He, too, was just a human. How could such a thing be possible?
It made him seem almost like a god.
“Cluck cluck. You’re a sharp child. Come here. I’ll show you how to close the floor.”
Kreutzvalt beckoned, pointing beside him.
Hio stood next to him as told.
“…”
Suddenly, an immense amount of Magic Power surged once again.
The Magic Power spreading out from Kreutzvalt grew like a storm, filling the floor. As someone who could see the flow of Magic Power, Hio couldn’t help but be appalled.
How could a human accomplish this?
Seeing this only made his doubts soar higher.
As a person—no, as a Magician—his curiosity was unbearable.
How would he close the floor with this massive Magic Power?
Because he was so curious, he kept his eyes wide open to capture the flow of Magic Power.
And within that storm of Magic Power, invisible to ordinary eyes…
“The official name of this place you call the Abyss Gate is the Abyss Tower.”
Kreutzvalt’s voice could be heard low.
“Then, let me ask you one thing.”
At the same time, a pitch-black hole formed beneath their feet.
An unfathomable hole, like an abyss or a bottomless pit.
However, Hio couldn’t pay any attention to the hole that had appeared beneath him.
“In the first place.”
Kreutzvalt’s following question was…
Because the answer he could infer from it far exceeded common sense.
“Who do you think the designer of the Abyss Tower is?”
It was a completely unexpected question.
“Did you think it was a god?”
A hypothesis he had never considered.
“No.”
The Abyss Gate.
Whether it was a tower or another world.
The one who had created this space, where it was impossible to tell how many floors there were, was not a god.
“It was a Magician.”
With those words, Kreutzvalt and Hio were swallowed by the deep hole and disappeared.
**[A fatal error has occurred on Abyss 58th Floor]**
**[The floor is being forcibly closed]**
**[Abyss — 58th Floor is sinking into the deepest abyss]**
Only those system messages echoed in the empty space.
***
Truly.
He could truly swear that he had no intention of logging out.
The reason was simple.
He sincerely loved this world.
**[Would you like to use Logout Ticket (72h)?]**
Sirbert von Ernhem.
A top-tier Player, Rank 5 in Ventair.
On Earth, he was Nam Tae-min, famous as Korea’s Savior and the First Awakened.
He was a full professor at the Magic Academy of Imenia and the first Transmigratee to research how the locals developed skills rather than relying on the System.
Such was the man he was.
**[Using Logout Ticket (72h)]**
Even Sirbert could not help it.
What could he do?
He had done his best.
Even when the Abyss filled up, he had soothed the anxious Transmigratees.
When Strange Entities he had never seen before ran wild, he had tried his best to analyze them.
When Hio Pavlenko, who had been protecting the entire Expeditionary Force alone, collapsed.
When the Abyss rushed in through the collapsing barriers.
Even when the Strange Entities pounced at terrifying speeds, he had tried to stop them by mobilizing all his abilities.
But what was the point of all that?
His Telekinesis, spread to its limit, was barely enough to hold back a single monster.
Would it have been different for others?
Daphne seemed to be struggling a bit, but… there probably wasn’t much she could do either.
Meanwhile, the aura of the Abyss, that terrible darkness, was drawing closer.
The Strange Entities were ravaging the Expeditionary Force without hesitation.
It really couldn’t be helped, could it?
Jijoncheonma had fallen, and a massive amount of the Abyss had overwhelmed the Expeditionary Force.
Even if Vitalianus remained, he was a knight.
It was obvious that it would be impossible for him to escape while protecting everyone like Jijoncheonma.
So, he fled.
There was also a rational reason.
He was willing to risk his life for that world, but dying like this was a meaningless death.
It wasn’t a situation where the tide of battle would turn just because he put his life on the line.
And… his family, friends, and loved ones remained on Earth.
No matter how much he sincerely cherished and loved the Vental world, he couldn’t compare the importance.
He had to protect it.
Not that world, but this world.
“T-this isn’t the time…”
Sirbert.
No, Nam Tae-min, stumbled to his feet.
All the Awakened must have logged out.
If so, it was clear that this floor was a failure.
Horrible monsters and an even more horrible aura would spread throughout the world.
He had to prepare for that.
That was why he had logged out, and logout was a function that existed for this purpose.
Logout was a power to protect this world — Earth.
It was a divine arrangement to prevent the information gained with great effort from being lost in a vain death.
God’s plan to use the information and power gained to protect Earth.
This was the reason for logout’s existence that Nam Tae-min had only recently concluded.
“… It can’t be helped.”
He had thought about it for quite a long time starting a few months ago, and this was the conclusion he had reached.
So, it couldn’t be helped.
Ultimately, wasn’t it God’s will to protect his hometown?
How could a human go against God’s will?
If he couldn’t go against it, what should he do?
“I must gather all the Awakened and come up with a plan.”
Having finished his thoughts, Nam Tae-min quickly left the room.
It was to predict the failure of the floor and establish a countermeasure here on Earth, not in the Vental world.
It was a day later when unbelievable sad news was delivered along with the news that the floor had been conquered.
—
“Heh heh heh.”
A low sound of laughter echoed in a large room.
A spacious and luxurious room where not even a handful of light entered.
“Heh, heh heh…”
The laughter coming from inside was somehow a bit strange.
It cut off several times before being heard again.
By the time it repeated a few more times, it was impossible to tell if it was laughter or sobbing.
No, it was definitely closer to sobbing now.
“Heh… Hio…”
A man sat with his head bowed.
Covering his face with both hands.
The most famous person in America and the man known as the strongest First Awakened in the world.
Antipus Praman.
His original name was Phil Knight.
He was sitting alone at the top of a skyscraper, in his vast house, letting out something that was either laughter or tears.
“I… I didn’t know.”
That such a catastrophe would occur.
That monsters he couldn’t even fathom how to deal with would pop out like that.
He really didn’t know.
Hadn’t the voice in his head said so?
That only one person, Jijoncheonma, would die and that would be the end of it.
But how did it end up like this?
It was different from what had been said.
“… Is he dead?”
He must be dead.
Jijoncheonma, that is.
He could tell because he had been watching him the whole time.
He must have died.
He clearly saw him collapse, vomiting blood and shedding tears of blood.
Others might not have noticed, but Antipus had already noticed long ago that the gaze of all the monsters was fixed only on Jijoncheonma.
The voice in his head was wrong about only one person, Jijoncheonma, dying and it being over, but it was right about Jijoncheonma dying.
In that situation, since he had even lost consciousness, there was no doubt that his limbs would have been torn apart in an instant by those Strange Entities.
The moment he confirmed that, he logged out.
He was suffering from guilt because of it, but what was he supposed to do?
The deed was already done, and there was no way out.
“… Yes. This is an accident.”
It was an accident.
Except for the part where it said only Jijoncheonma would die, the voice had not told any lies.
Look.
Wasn’t there anyone who doubted Antipus himself?
Perhaps it really would have ended with only Jijoncheonma dying, but he had needlessly struggled and made things this way.
Yes.
That meant it wasn’t his fault.
Antipus’s muttering to himself suddenly stopped.
After some time had passed, Antipus calmly concluded in a much clearer voice.
“…… No. It is my fault.”
He immediately brushed away the foul thoughts that had surfaced.
It was right that he was the one who started it.
It was also true that he regretted it while fleeing toward the exit.
He should have ignored the voice. He shouldn’t have wavered.
So, he must not turn away.
It was true that he had done it to stop the growing penalty of the Dominion and to overcome the fear that he would never be able to surpass Jijoncheonma.
He must not ignore these facts.
A ruler must take responsibility.
“I will take responsibility.”
However, that didn’t mean he had any intention of stepping forward in front of everyone and revealing the truth.
That would be revealing the facts, not taking responsibility.
Taking responsibility meant that he would work harder and become even stronger.
He would now take over the role that Jijoncheonma was supposed to play.
The role of the true strongest in the world.
The role of a hero whom everyone looks up to and envies.
He just had to do that now.
Yes, that would be enough.
There’s nothing he can do, right?
It’s already happened.
“Yes. Then, first, the preparations for this floor…”
Thinking so, he stood up.
A corner of his heart was still uncomfortable, but the sense of relief was even greater.
The mysterious voice was no longer heard.
In any case, no one knew the truth of what had happened.
Jijoncheonma was dead.
There was no reason for his own abilities to decrease.
So, Antipus left the room to establish future countermeasures.
And what he let out for the last time before leaving could no longer be seen as a sob.
“Heh, heh heh heh…!”
It was a very clear sound of laughter.
Like Sirbert, sad news was delivered to Antipus a day later.
It must have been delivered to all Transmigratees who participated in the conquest.
Abyss 58th Floor, which had shown not a shred of hope.
The disaster floor where the floor type couldn’t even be guaranteed, and there was not even a sliver of possibility of conquest.
The massive Abyssal Curse and the Strange Entities that were too numerous and strong to count.
The news that arrived while everyone was expecting failure and continuing their countermeasure meetings completely went against those expectations.
“I heard that the conquest of the 58th Floor was successful and the gate has vanished.”
It was about the success of the conquest.
“Although most of the Expeditionary Force suffered minor and major injuries, there were almost no deaths…”
They even escaped.
From that hellish place.
There was only one reason why they were able to do so.
In that hell, there was only one person who had remained until the end to light the fire of hope.
“Hio Pavlenko…”
Jijoncheonma.
He had remained until the end to help everyone escape.
He had helped everyone escape, held back the Abyss and the Strange Entities so they couldn’t leave, and eventually vanished along with the floor and the Abyss.
Because of the shock that fact brought, because what one person had done was so heavy, no one who heard the news dared to speak.
And Antipus’s frozen face showed no signs of relaxing even after several days had passed.
Jijoncheonma.
Hio Pavlenko.
He was a true hero.
A hero who might have lit up the world brightly.
A hero who would have bloomed a bright light in the darkness full of the Abyss.
A hero who had unhesitatingly given his life for the sake of the insignificant.
Could he dare to take the place of such a hero?
Could he really do as much as he did?
He could not be sure at all.