Warning

The 52nd floor, the Floor of Conquest ruled by a conqueror.

A fifty-man expedition led by Antipus, composed solely of Rankers.

He had been certain no one could possibly climb faster than this.

They had found the entrance leading inside the ramparts quickly enough, and had advanced in a straight line toward the main castle without the slightest disruption.

Leaving the rest to the other Awakened, they had charged ahead, breaking through only the front.

A remarkable feat achieved with a mere fifty people.

Antipus Praman was certain this was something only he could accomplish.

The Supreme Heavenly Demon.

He knew Hio Pavlenko’s nature better than anyone.

So long as he was with the Empire, he would undoubtedly try to reach the castle without leaving a single person behind.

Foolishly, without realizing that it was an act of cutting away his own flesh.

While Hio wasted time looking after those useless people, Antipus would advance.

Until the name Antipus Praman stood before the name Hio Pavlenko.

Starting with this floor, little by little.

Like something washed away by water, the name Supreme Heavenly Demon would be erased, and in its place, his own name would be engraved.

Only then would all those fools in the outside world have no choice but to acknowledge it.

That in the end, the one who would rise to the summit, the one who could reign above them all, was none other than Antipus.

That even the Supreme Heavenly Demon had been pushed aside by Antipus.

And yet…… what on earth was going on?

He sensed that something was wrong not long after entering the main castle.

The main castle that existed on the Floor of Conquest should, by all rights, have been far more difficult than the outside.

But the interior they had entered was nothing more than an empty shell with its core missing.

There were no mid-boss-class Abyss monsters to be seen.

A structure that narrowed as they climbed.

The powerful monsters that should have appeared did not.

What he saw instead were shattered fragments of bone and the corpses of dead monsters.

They did not look as though they had been severed by sharp swords or powers like aura. It was not the work of structured swordsmanship, but rather looked as if they had been mercilessly hacked apart or destroyed by overwhelming force.

As though they had fought among themselves.

It was strange.

Why would Abyss monsters suddenly fight each other?

Because of that, not only did no mid-boss-class monsters appear, the difficulty had actually become easier than outside. All they truly had to do was climb the stairs.

And because he was climbing the stairs so comfortably, unease suddenly rose within him.

Even though he knew it could not be true, the closer he drew to the top,

the more he saw the corpses of destroyed undead monsters stretching along the staircase, the stronger that unease became.

And when they finally reached the top floor of the castle, the conqueror’s chamber, that unease became reality.

The doors to the boss room were already wide open, and from within came the presence of countless people.

And there, he witnessed a bizarre sight: every mid-boss-class monster they had not seen at all was gathered in one place, standing side by side with the knights.

There was no need to think about who had caused such a situation.

In the very center of the room.

Before a kneeling Death Knight stood a familiar face.

The Supreme Heavenly Demon, Hio Pavlenko.

Was he not lifting his staff with a delighted smile?

At that expression, so full of ease, emotion surged up in Antipus without him realizing it.

“Supreme Heavenly Demon……!”

How in the world had he arrived so far ahead of him?

Of course, Antipus himself still had stamina and mana to spare, so one could say he had arrived leisurely enough.

But at least in outward appearance, he was a mess.

He had spent nearly two days charging forward recklessly while fighting all the while.

Antipus was still better off, but the rest of the transmigrators were in an utterly dreadful state.

By contrast, Hio Pavlenko and the other knights were still clean, as though they had not fought even once.

They looked so relaxed that Antipus and his group, who had raced toward the castle like madmen, seemed like fools.

Not only had he arrived far ahead of them, he had already defeated the master of the floor as well.

Soon, his eyes met those of the Supreme Heavenly Demon.

「You have successfully cleared the Abyss.」

The moment their eyes met, the man’s smile deepened.

The smile of a victor, one that could be worn because he was strong, because he had won.

Antipus ground his teeth.

「The 52nd floor sinks into an unfathomably deep abyss.」

「The floor is collapsing.」

Fine.

Laugh all you want.

I will make that relaxed smile of yours rot away without fail.

You may have been lucky this time, but there was still plenty of time and opportunity left, and in terms of raw force, Antipus was surely stronger.

So this would be the last time he acted so arrogantly.

……Well, that was what he had intended to say.

He knew the floor would soon collapse, and he felt that if he at least said that much, this inexplicable anger would subside even slightly.

But the reason those thoughts did not become words was that, during that brief meeting of gazes, just as the Supreme Heavenly Demon’s joyful smile reached its peak,

his staff moved before Antipus could speak.

Mana surged.

A faint breeze born of mana blew outward with him at its center, and everyone’s eyes turned to a single person.

An inexplicable silence settled over the room, as though time itself had stopped.

And after that fleeting instant passed,

“…….”

Black wings spread out, filling the spacious chamber.

Blooming wide behind his back was an enormous pair of wings.

The moment they flapped broadly, space distorted.

With the Supreme Heavenly Demon at the center, the surrounding space broke apart as though it were being crushed and crumpled.

“What……!”

There was no time to let out a cry of shock.

His vision was seized by feathers scattering from those black wings.

In the midst of that dazzling scene,

“Silbert.”

The Supreme Heavenly Demon’s voice came from right beside him, by his left ear.

“Daphne.”

He could not react.

He should have reacted, yet he was overwhelmed by the splendor adorning his vision and the space warping before him, and could not move.

Black wings flapped beside him, and the feathers they shed whirled around.

He could feel the Supreme Heavenly Demon’s presence right beside his shoulder, but he could not turn his head to look at him.

Why was that?

For what reason had he been unable to turn his head and look at him?

It was something he truly could not accept, nor should he ever accept it, but perhaps it was……

“And Antipus Praman.”

Fear.

While his mind was stolen by those magnificent wings and the distortion of space, what would have happened if the man had sought to take his life?

For an instant, goosebumps rose on the left side of his neck, where he could feel the man’s presence.

Was this truly fear?

“……Supreme Heavenly Demon.”

……No.

That could not be.

He was not a man who had ever felt fear, nor was he a man who was allowed to feel it.

And so he turned his head and stared straight into the eyes of the Supreme Heavenly Demon who had appeared beside him.

The man, too, was looking into his eyes.

The enormous black wings were folded neatly against his back, and the distortion in space was gradually returning to its original state.

Antipus tried to speak to him as casually as possible, flaunting his composure.

But as if even that would not be permitted, the Supreme Heavenly Demon’s mouth opened first.

Even in that, the Supreme Heavenly Demon had been one step faster.

Those black eyes stared straight into his own.

The words he delivered with an unshowy ease were clearly,

“Be careful.”

A warning.

「You will be moved to your original location.」

A warning not to dare covet the sky.

* * *

「You will be moved to your original location.」

“Be careful. Damon trains every day saying he’s going to defeat you…… Damn it.”

Their long-awaited meeting was brief.

In truth, Hio and Antipus had only met often inside the game and had never seen each other in reality, so it would not be wrong to call this their first meeting.

So he had planned to ease the slight awkwardness by bringing up the Royal Knight Damon, who had been thoroughly crushed by Antipus, praising Antipus a little and opening the conversation with the subject of their sparring. But before he could, the floor had closed.

He had naturally tossed out a joking remark telling Antipus to be careful because Damon was training hard with the goal of defeating him, but the words after that had been cleanly cut off.

Unfortunately.

“Well, I’m sure I’ll see him again.”

This 52nd floor had been cleared almost two days after entry, so there was quite a bit of time left, but eventually, the 53rd floor would open.

He could meet him then and get to know him.

—It’s something I’ve been feeling little by little for a while now……

As Antipus’s existence was pushed out of his mind, Hio’s attention focused on Purnell’s words.

—The higher your realm of magic rises, the more the skill effects change.

“The effects change, huh.”

—The flashiness was already absurd starting from 1st Circle magic, but how should I put it…… It feels more realistic?

That was something Hio had also been vaguely sensing.

The higher his realm of magic rose, and the more high-difficulty magic was converted into skills, the more vivid the effects felt.

“Maybe even this is a hidden effect of the trait……”

It would have been an utterly useless effect if not for the hidden trait, “No Violence!”

But perhaps it had met Hio’s magic, revealing that hidden function.

It was probably best to think of it as illusion magic following him around like a passive effect.

As he exchanged such thoughts with Purnell, his vision, which had gone dark, gradually returned, and bright light entered his eyes.

Not the 52nd floor, where the aura of the Abyss hung like mist, nor the Fallen Necropolis overflowing with the energy of death, but the original world.

They had returned after completing the clear in two days.

Around him were Vitalianus and the knights of the Empire who had been with him.

“You truly are difficult to read.”

Those were the words of Vitalianus, who had likewise spotted Hio.

“You dislike drawing attention, yet you enjoy splendor.”

Among the countless people there, only Vitalianus had seen through to the essence.

The enormous wings that spread wide.

The space that warped the moment they flapped.

Even the scattering black feathers.

It was the height of splendor, but all of it was a beautiful illusion.

Vitalianus knew that it was a mirage dazzling the eyes.

“You hide the essence behind blinding brilliance. I am curious as to the reason…… but you are not one to act without cause.”

Vitalianus firmly believed Hio had some purpose behind it.

In truth, had it not been like that from their very first meeting?

He had floated blue flames like a bluff, and when Vitalianus scoffed at him, they had soon become real as if to prove him wrong.

As though rebuking Vitalianus, who at the time had judged only by outward appearance and failed to look within.

“I see. This time, too, you issued them a warning. With justice contained in dazzling brilliance.”

At that, Hio gave a vague smile and let out a light laugh.

“Hmph.”

He had no idea what nonsense this was, but he had realized that if he acted like this, Vitalianus would talk to himself and reach his own conclusion.

Beside Vitalianus, Frederick and the other high priests of the Holy Kingdom came swarming over.

As expected of priests mad for the goddess Rifyue, they approached Hio without hesitation, whether the Sword Saint was there or not.

There was one reason they approached with such excited faces.

“The Apostle has wings!”

“But black wings are somewhat……”

“Do not doubt! Wings are the goddess’s grace!”

“She must have commanded him to take in that wicked being and bestowed black wings upon him!”

It was because they had mistaken the effect of the Blink skill for reality.

“We must quickly inform everyone of the Saint’s magnificent form and the grace of Goddess Rifyue!”

“Is it only his appearance? We must not forget to spread word of his character, which takes pity even on lowly monsters!”

Hio’s small sigh was quietly buried beneath the fussing voices of the priests.

“Phew……”

Somehow, what came after the clear seemed more exhausting than the clear itself.

「The story of the ‘Saint of Black Wings’ spreads.」

* * *

There was no exact fixed time for when a new floor to be cleared would open, but there was a rough cycle.

Whether a clear succeeded or failed, a new floor to be cleared would appear roughly one month after the time limit had been fully consumed.

In other words, a new floor opened after roughly a month and a half to two months.

What did that mean?

Since they had cleared the 52nd floor extremely quickly, that much time remained.

It meant they had gained around a month and a half of spare time.

That amount of time was enough to accomplish many things.

For instance, learning more 5th Circle magic.

Or scheduling a coalition meeting where the Empire and the transmigrators would make official contact and discuss the future.

Or having the priests step forward and carry out purification work in regions damaged by the failure to clear previous floors.

Of those, Hio chose two.

Learning additional 5th Circle magic, and purifying the damaged regions.

There was no particular need for Hio to attend the meeting between the Empire and the transmigrators to establish future measures.

Silbert and Daphne would have prepared far more on that front, and Sylvia and the high nobles who blindly followed her were not easy people either.

Rather than waste mental energy on that side for no reason, it was better to learn one more 5th Circle spell.

There was still a long way to go when it came to the magic he had to learn, and its difficulty was incomparable to that of 4th Circle magic.

However, he did not focus solely on that either.

Purification of the damaged regions.

In a sense, this could be said to be even more important.

The cursed aura of the Abyss could not be given time.

Purification had to be carried out continuously, leaving it no chance to accumulate. Back when it was a game, Hibernia had fallen, making that impossible, but that was not the case now.

Learning 5th Circle magic.

That was for preparing for the future.

Going personally to the damaged regions and purifying the lingering aura with “Heaven.”

That was for making up for past mistakes.

Prepare for the future, and do not forget the past.

Plans for the future, preparation, worries, hopes, anxieties.

Regret from the past, reflection, misanthropy, remorse, anguish.

An ordinary day contains so many such things.

Those things accumulate, the present moves forward, and a day is completed.

A month was the kind of time that passed swiftly as such days piled up, one after another.