Sirvert van Ernhem.
By his Korean name, Nam Taemin.
The mission given to him was simple.
In exchange for not participating in the Abyss raid, he was to minimize the damage if the raid failed.
Of course, it was not a mission given only to him.
Those whose fame and status in this world were firmly established.
Those who, for that very reason, could not move recklessly, but who were positioned in places that were just as important.
It was a mission entrusted to such people.
In truth, officially speaking, there were only two of them.
Sirvert, a full professor at the Academy, and the Rank 2 who would be in the capital.
It applied only to those two, and naturally, it carried no compulsion.
Among the ten thousand possessors, they stood at the highest place. Who would dare forcibly issue orders to Rank 2 and Rank 5, who stood at the very summit?
No matter how solid Daphne’s foundation and support were, even she could not do such a thing. Thus, rather than a mission, it was closer to something undertaken voluntarily.
Even so, Sirvert did his utmost.
For he truly loved the position of Academy professor that he had attained by his own efforts, and he truly loved this world.
「Abyss - You have failed to clear the 51st floor.」
「Two dimensions will be connected.」
「The ‘Abyss’ will appear.」
When messages like these appeared, he was certainly startled, but he responded swiftly.
Because Imenia Academy was vast, and within it, there was one Gate.
“Evacuate the civilians as far away as possible, and use all available forces to surround the Gate!”
There were almost no possessors at the Academy.
That was the usual situation, and now that the raid had failed, they had all logged out to protect their original world.
“Hurry!”
But Sirvert had prepared even for this, so he was able to respond quickly.
Since the days when the new empress had still been an imperial princess, he had aligned himself with her.
He had helped her escape from the imperial castle in a time of crisis, and had been the one to connect her with Hio.
Sylvia had repaid him for that in full, and thanks to that, his standing at the Academy, already high before, had risen even further.
“Only the graduating class will stand by in the square as reserve forces in case of emergency. Everyone else, fall back!”
Even as he made preparations, his mind was filled only with questions.
The previous 50th floor had been dangerous because the difficulty had suddenly spiked, and because they had failed to prepare for the special type of floor that was a labyrinth.
Had he not heard that the 51st floor was believed to be in the form of an ordinary raid?
On top of that, the members participating had been so splendid as to seem excessive.
“……There may be variables, so do not let your guard down!”
It seemed some sort of variable had come into play.
When that thought occurred to him, worry rose again.
What about the outside world?
Should he log out even now and stop what was happening there?
In truth, there were far more things he needed to protect there than here.
“……Focus.”
He shook his head, casting aside the stray thoughts.
Had he not already experienced it once?
Before the overwhelming crisis that was Ataolf, what choice had he been about to make?
Since that day, when he had held the logout ticket in his hand while leaving behind the students who trembled in fear and screamed, how much self-loathing had he suffered?
Once was enough for something like that.
In order to leave no regrets behind, this time he would protect them without fail.
That was the vow he made.
Less than a day later, signals began to come from the Abyss Gate stained black.
“Prepare……!”
Sirvert was tense, but at the same time, he was confident.
After the Black Fang’s attack on the Academy, their forces had been reinforced, and he himself had grown as well.
Moreover, there was only one entrance, and they were in the position of blocking it.
Sirvert’s telekinesis exerted tremendous power against multiple opponents, so this was an overwhelmingly advantageous battle.
“They’re coming!”
Just as he had expected, the beginning went smoothly.
Grotesque monsters, their bodies stained black and twisted here and there.
The things called Abyss monsters were crushed by Sirvert’s telekinesis the moment they crossed the Gate, and even if they were lucky enough to avoid that, they were pierced through by countless swords and spears.
The vast numbers pouring out endlessly were as formidable as the Abyss Gate’s infamy suggested, but that was all.
The forces surrounding the single Gate were also sufficient.
It was an environment where Sirvert could fight while conserving his mana.
There were not many things capable of breaking through Sirvert when he fought in a prepared environment.
Still, as expected of an Abyss Gate from the middle floors.
Monsters incomparably stronger than those from the failure on the 1st floor continued to pour out in numbers beyond comparison.
When the one-sided slaughter continued for hours, even Sirvert’s mana began to dwindle little by little, and the stamina of the troops was also worn down.
“There isn’t much left! Hold out just a little longer!”
He would not be the only one having such a hard time.
There were Gates all across the continent, and even in the capital alone, including the Academy, there were several. The Sword Saint, that Rank 2 bastard, and everyone else must be fighting fiercely as well.
So Sirvert could say with confidence that he did not lose focus until the very end.
At least, until several hours passed, and a truly absurd variable arrived.
* * *
“……Did we get them?”
Before the Gate, which had fallen silent as if in response to someone’s mutter.
But Sirvert did not let down his guard.
“Not yet!”
If it were over, the Gate, having poured out all of its Abyss energy, should have shattered.
And yet it was still intact.
Not merely intact; its energy was surging even more violently, as if it were preparing something.
And just as Sirvert had predicted, the rippling of the Abyss Gate grew more and more intense, and when it reached its peak—
A certain being walked out through the Gate.
At the appearance of that extraordinary presence, Sirvert concentrated his telekinesis the moment it emerged and gave the others a similar command.
“Attack all at once! Don’t hold back your skills—pour everything into it!”
Kwaaaang—!
With the convergence of all kinds of skills, violent explosions erupted one after another around the already devastated Gate.
Kwaaaang—! Kwaang!
How long did that continue?
Even though no one gave a separate order, the attacks gradually came to a halt.
“……Did we get it?”
Along with someone’s mutter, the cloud of dust began to clear.
And the figure revealed through it was—
“A person……?”
The appearance of a person, hard to call an Abyss monster.
Long, slender arms and legs.
Facial features arranged as if according to a classical ideal, and long straight hair.
At a glance, it almost looked as though they had poured attacks onto a woman of dazzling beauty.
What was peculiar was that the whites of her eyes were entirely black, and her ears were long and pointed.
That pitch-black plants had grown around her and blocked every attack.
And—
「A powerful mental attack has been detected.」
「A powerful mental attack has been detected.」
「A powerful mental attack has been detected.」
「A powerful mental attack has been detected.」
……
The moment his eyes met the woman’s, messages rang out madly.
It was instinct that made Sirvert turn his head away from her eyes.
Because he did, he was able to see it.
“A g-goddess. A goddess…….”
“Wow…….”
“Urk…….”
Those who had instantly stiffened like stone.
No, those who had truly become stone statues.
Everyone who had met eyes with the woman who walked out of the Abyss Gate had turned to stone and frozen in place.
“W-what is this…….”
Sirvert could only mutter as he kept his head lowered, unable even to think of raising it.
“…….”
There was no answer at all.
There had certainly been countless troops surrounding the Gate, and yet at some point, not a single sound could be heard.
All that reached his ears was—
—Kieeeek!
—Kiaaaaaah—!
Only the screams of countless Abyss monsters pouring out behind the woman.
“……We’re screwed. Seriously…….”
A trickle of cold sweat ran down the back of Sirvert’s tightly clenched fist.
Of course, his lowered head did not rise in the slightest.
* * *
“Professor! ……No, Taemin hyung! What do we do now?!”
At someone’s shout as they ran between the Academy buildings, Sirvert shouted back.
“How the hell should I know, you bastard!”
As if wanting to join in on their conversation, another reply came from right behind them.
—Kieeeek!
An Abyss monster with a black body and a twisted head. Its two arms had bent and become legs, and its original legs had also twisted grotesquely, making it walk on all fours.
It was so fast that it closed in on the two of them in an instant.
「Skill - ‘Advanced Telekinesis’ is activating.」
It was immediately slammed into the ground and crushed.
“First…… we have to lure that insane monster somewhere else!”
A black-haired woman leisurely walking some distance away from them.
No, a monster.
Presumably, an Abyss monster that served as the boss of this Gate.
Of all the countless Gates, why did a boss-level monster have to appear here?
It should have appeared where the Sword Saint or that bastard was.
“Hyung! Even if you use telekinesis at full power, it won’t work?”
“It won’t! You saw it earlier!”
Sirvert had sensed the ominousness the moment she appeared. He and most of the skill users had poured out their abilities at once, but every single attack had been blocked by the mass of pitch-black plants that kept moving around that thing.
To pierce through that, they would need at least a highest-tier skill.
And among those, it would have to be a skill even more specialized in destructive power than his telekinesis……
“Damn it. Daphne should have come here.”
With Daphne’s legendary armament, Rafflesia, perhaps it might have been possible to damage it.
In any case, that was not what mattered right now.
“That thing keeps following only us.”
The boss-level monster was ignoring the people already frozen like statues and was chasing only them directly.
“No, have you ever seen a boss monster that looks that much like a person? This is my first time!”
The one shouting as he fled desperately beside Sirvert was one of his guild members.
Kwon Ubin, the second-in-command among the founding members who had built the guild together. In this world, his name was Kemen.
Though unknown in this world, in the outside world, he was the first Awakened and just as famous as Nam Taemin.
His combat power was also among the stronger ones, but…… before that monster beyond all expectations, he was useless.
“Hey, use that. Your appraisal skill.”
“What? Are you crazy, hyung? If I meet its eyes, won’t I die too?”
“Then just use it without meeting its eyes! Are we going to keep running like this? We have to find out something if we’re going to solve this!”
“No…… Ah, damn it…… This is seriously terrifying……!”
As if trying to shake off his fear, Kemen let out one loud shout and turned his head to look behind him.
“Uwaaah! Appraisal!”
Whether he had seen it properly or not, it took less than a second for him to face forward again.
“Huuuuurk! That was scary as fuck!”
“……Are you sure you saw it properly?”
Kemen drew in a deep breath, then answered with a sigh.
“I did see it properly, but…… it’s a name I’ve seriously never seen before in my life. Was there ever a boss monster like that?”
“What does it say?”
At his following answer—
“The Elf Who Was Once the Noblest…… it says?”
Sirvert’s doubts only deepened further.
* * *
The graduating class, known as the Academy’s reserve force.
It was not a place one could enter simply because the years had passed.
Only ability mattered.
To graduate from the Academy meant being assigned to a key post in the Empire, and it meant living as a proper imperial official or knight.
In other words, only students prepared to that extent entered the graduating class.
So it was not all that strange for Claire and Roland to be here.
Of course, being in the graduating class did not mean they would graduate immediately next year.
They were here together because their abilities had been recognized as comparable to those of the graduating class.
“Nothing’s going to happen, right……?”
Even among such people, tension hung heavily.
Among students who normally would have been laughing and joking, silence had settled like a weight.
Because they knew.
The misery and cruelty of war.
Because only a few months ago, they had experienced the grief of losing friends and comrades.
But this time was different.
They had experienced it once. They had experienced that despair, sorrow, and helplessness…… and so, though they were tense, they did not run away.
Though they were afraid, they did not avert their eyes, but looked ahead.
Because if they ran, the friend beside them would die.
Because during the last attack, they had keenly realized that if they did nothing but tremble in fear, they would be able to do nothing at all.
And perhaps that state of mind was looked upon with favor.
“The encirclement’s been breached! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
As if to test their resolve, the crisis came at once.
—Kieeeeeek!
An unsettling shriek rang out from far away.
Even at a rough listen, it was a cry not of this world.
The silence sank even deeper, and the dense tension permeating the air spread through the students like an infection.
“……Stupid Claire. If you’re scared, why don’t you run away first?”
“Pathetic Roland. It seems to me you’re the one who’s scared.”
“No? Not at all?”
“Me neither?”
And amid all that, the ones who stepped forward calmly were Claire and Roland.
To them, it was only natural.
Claire’s goal was not in a place as low as this.
Having vowed countless times to stand shoulder to shoulder with Hio, she could not allow her body to freeze at something of this level, so she walked forward with composure.
And Roland walked forward with her, unwilling to lose to Claire.
Claire looked up to Hio.
Roland looked up to Silvert.
In that they admired one person and strove to follow after him, the two girls were exactly alike.
“Don’t overdo it! The academy’s own knights and the professors are strong, so don’t go too deep—hold your positions and fight!”
At the supervising professor’s shout, the monsters began to appear.
They were pitch-black, their arms, legs, and necks twisted in bizarre ways.
And on top of that, their speed was faster than anyone had imagined.
“S-stay together and fight! The professors will take care of everything!”
But there was already a strong uncertainty lingering in the supervising professor’s shout.
……And several hours had already passed since then.
Nothing had been resolved.
The situation was simply racing toward the worst.
* * *
—Kiaaaaaak!
A monster, engulfed in flames, vanished with a chilling scream.
“Haaah…… Hooo……”
Claire and Roland gasped for breath.
The situation was not good.
The chain of command had fallen into chaos and could no longer be controlled; the battle had become something close to a melee.
Where had their initial resolve gone?
At the attacks of monsters that charged with speed beyond imagination, the students scattered in an instant.
Even the professors meant to command them seemed to be having a hard time dealing with each individual monster.
Why on earth had such a phenomenon occurred?
How were these grotesque monsters, found in no book, so strong?
There was nothing they could know.
Even so, Claire summoned flames without a single complaint.
“Roland, get ready.”
“Hoo…… You ill-mannered Claire.”
Roland, too, straightened her bent body once more.
As a user of wind skills, Roland made quite a good pairing with Claire.
—Kieeeeeek!
“They’re coming.”
The fireball blooming above Claire’s head gradually grew in size.
Like the blue flames she had once seen.
Like the will of its master, who wished to resemble him, it swelled larger and larger.
Of course, compared to that, it was still at a cute level—but by the common sense of this world, it was a fireball with more than enough power to be called remarkable.
—Kkeeek! Kkeeeeeek!
With Roland’s wind added to it, its power was multiplied.
The monster struck directly by it let out a chilling, high-pitched scream as it vanished.
The number of monsters they had taken down like that was already in the dozens.
And yet the end was nowhere in sight, and the inexplicable sense of wrongness only grew stronger.
It was clear there was something else here besides these twisted monsters.
If this was all they were, there was no way Professor Silvert and the academy’s knights would have been broken through.
What confirmed that certainty was—
“……There’s another one over there.”
Stone statues were found here and there in the alleys, in wide gardens, and along the main roads.
Their expressions and gestures were horribly vivid, as though to show that they had been alive until just moments ago.
Faces frozen in place after seeing something, twisted with terror.
Or expressions swept up in ecstasy.
Just what sort of being had created those things?
What terrible calamity had appeared here, and what was Silvert fighting against?
Each time they came across one of those statues, their unease rose little by little.
She could feel that she had little mana left.
She could feel that her stamina was nearly gone as well.
Even after working so desperately, it still was not enough.
If she wanted to make excuses, she could say there had not been enough time.
After all, it had only been a few months since Black Fang’s attack on the academy.
This much growth alone was extraordinary enough to be counted on one hand in the history of the academy, so hoping for anything more here would be greed……
“……I can still do more.”
Greed, nonsense. She was still far, far away.
“……You reckless Claire. We need to stop at a reasonable point and run away too. You and I both barely have any mana left, don’t we?”
“I’m nowhere near done yet.”
She said that, but she was in no normal state.
They had fought for hours on end, moving violently here and there.
Both her mana and stamina were drawing close to their limits.
“You greedy Claire. Have you not considered that if this keeps up, we might run into the monster that turns people into those lumps of stone? What do you think you can do against an opponent even Professor Silvert is struggling with? Know your place.”
“…….”
When she looked around, they were somehow in front of the practice building.
When had they come this far in?
At first, the graduating class’s reserve forces had been gathered in a plaza quite far from the gate. It had been the consideration of the faculty, telling them to flee without hesitation if things became dangerous.
Yet Claire and Roland had instead pushed inward.
Being in front of the practice building meant they were practically at the center of the academy.
Their reason for entering was nothing grand.
It was simply for the sake of improving their own abilities.
If she only followed behind others and hid safely, her goal would only grow farther and farther away—so she had advanced ever forward, ever deeper.
But did this not seem to be the limit?
—Kieeeeeek!
What came from all directions were cries that should not exist in this world.
—Kuaaaargh!
Mixed among them, now and then, were screams that seemed to belong to humans.
The deeper they advanced, the more frequently those horrifying statues appeared.
So now, it was impossible.
“……Let’s get out.”
In the end, Claire had no choice but to say that.
It meant she had no choice but to bite her lip, support the limping Roland, and turn around.
And at that moment—
“What a mess. A total mess.”
What she heard was a voice far too familiar.
A voice she had longed to hear so much that it had sometimes reached her even in dreams.
“The world is such a total mess.”
At that unbelievable voice, Claire’s head snapped around.
From the practice building, there emerged a man in an extravagant outfit that had now become familiar to her, leaning on a large staff and looking around as he walked.
Her goal, her idol, and at the same time……
At any rate, that kind of man.
And beside him was some little child wearing a hat pulled low, a hat that looked just like his, waving a hand back and forth.
The hat was so large compared to the child’s small body that it was half the size of their torso, and above their head, some words floated, flashing splendidly.
『A mess! A mess! ╭( •̀ •́ )╮』
The sight was quite comical, creating a somewhat jarring contrast with this brutal, fierce scene.
Putting the finishing touch on that sense of dissonance was Hio’s mouth, opening calmly.
“Watch closely, Freyja.”
At that, the little child pushed up the hat and revealed emerald eyes.
“I will tell you their weakness.”
Soon, along with Hio Pavlenko’s voice, leisurely as ever—
“Celestial.”
The staff moved.