The assault on the 58th floor began a little later than on the other floors.
It was thanks to the information obtained from the advance party sent in to identify the floor’s type.
“This floor’s name is the Floor of Control.”
The advance party had logged out and relayed the information less than an hour after entering.
Considering that until now, they had sometimes spent anywhere from several hours to a full day to secure reliable information, it was an extremely brief reconnaissance.
Their pale, blue-tinged faces explained the reason.
“We are not certain. We made every preparation a small group could make, but there was a limit to what the advance party could ascertain.”
The advance party had trembled as they explained, their faces drained of color.
After hearing everything they had seen and experienced, the expressions of the possessed grew grave as well. Following a meeting among themselves, they gathered the related personnel and began the briefing.
“First, once you enter the floor, it will be difficult to secure visibility. A thick fog is spread throughout, and whether it is due to some special power or a strange phenomenon, it apparently does not disperse even when skills are used.”
The first reason this floor had been difficult to scout was that securing a field of vision was not easy.
At that explanation, someone from the Empire stepped forward and replied.
“That does not matter. The knights of the Empire are men who can see clearly with their keen senses even with their eyes closed.”
There was a subtle contempt beneath his tone.
As if to say that they and the knights of the Empire were different.
At the knight’s words, the possessed person giving the explanation as representative curled up one corner of his mouth.
“Those vaunted senses of yours likely won’t be of much use either. Did I not just say it? The fog was formed by some special power, or by an abnormal phenomenon. Tracking and scouting-related skills only operated faintly as well. They did not work.”
Visibility was difficult to secure, and the senses were also greatly reduced.
On top of that, scouting skills did not work either, which meant they had no choice but to move around the floor with their own bodies.
“That isn’t the end.”
And how could that be all?
If that had been all, the advance party would not have hurriedly logged out with faces gone pale, nor would the possessed have held a meeting with such grave expressions.
“The thick fog was, in truth, a dreadful poisonous mist.”
Not ordinary fog, but poisonous fog steeped heavily in poison.
There were several reasons they had realized it late.
Scouting skills did not work, and they had never before experienced poisonous fog so dense that it enveloped an entire floor.
Even in the game, floors related to poison had appeared, but they had been at a level that could be resolved with a single suitable artifact.
The advance party had trusted in such artifacts and ruled out the possibility of poison.
And the result was.
“They did realize they had been poisoned, but by then it was already too late.”
The death of a member of the advance party.
“One person failed to receive treatment and ultimately died.”
If it was fortunate that it ended with only one death, then it was fortunate.
But none of the possessed thought so.
Even with logout as a last resort, someone had died.
It was the first death among the possessed since the 51st floor.
If this fact became known, it was obvious that the first Awakened, who had finally steeled themselves and started joining the expedition again, would falter.
Each and every one of them was a precious fighting force, and if they became frightened and shut themselves away, the situation would only worsen as they moved into the latter half.
“…We will not forget his honorable death. It will remain long in the history of the Empire, and many will praise him.”
Even the knight who had been subtly engaging in a battle of nerves expressed his condolences at the news of the advance party member’s death in battle.
They, too, knew full well how dangerous a place the Demonic Realm was, and thus understood that it would not be strange for them to fall in battle at any time.
From the 55th floor to the 57th floor, there had simply been few major variables; the battles that continued had been just as horribly arduous.
“In any case, for that reason, the type of this floor is not certain. We can only assume it is the Floor of Control.”
“Then let us hear even that assumption.”
“The poisonous fog that the advance party saw. The presence of such unusual and troublesome mechanisms that block vision, diminish the senses, and even render scouting skills ineffective is a major characteristic of the Floor of Control.”
The Floor of Control was a floor with many mechanisms.
One had to avoid or break through all sorts of troublesome devices while dealing with Abyss monsters that sprang out from within them.
And while doing so, one had to find the core that served as the heart of all the mechanisms and bring it under control to complete the assault.
That was the Floor of Control.
“However, there are also many points that do not sit right. That is also why we cannot be certain it is the Floor of Control.”
An assault that had to begin with insufficient information.
They would have to purify the poison or drive away the fog as they advanced one step at a time.
The advance party had barely moved from the entrance gate before returning, so there was no way to know what lurked in the depths of the floor.
“First, we will need to contact Hibernia and request the Order’s cooperation.”
“To neutralize the poison, we will need the priests’ divine arts.”
“Numbers will not mean much on this expedition. It would be best for anyone below the fourth hierarchy not to participate.”
“That, too, remains uncertain. We cannot focus only on the poisonous fog.”
“But organizing a large-scale force would also be…”
That was the reason the assault had been delayed more than usual.
In order to receive direct support from the main body of Liphue’s Order.
Their divine arts were on a different level from the high-ranking priests of other branches, so on a floor like this one, where the power of priests was needed, they would surely be a great help.
Hibernia responded immediately to the Empire’s request for cooperation.
They answered that they would help with all their might and dispatched forces.
Fifteen high-ranking priests who could be considered archbishop-class within any Order.
One hundred and fifty paladins to protect them.
And as if even that were not enough, at the center of that procession was the holiest woman in the world.
“The Saintess is passing through!”
As if the Holy Kingdom of Hibernia intended to use this opportunity to engrave the existence of the Saintess deeply upon the entire world, they did not hide Irina’s presence wherever they passed, and the Saintess herself stepped forward to bestow blessings with her divine arts.
In truth, this was in line with Hibernia’s political calculations.
They would announce Irina, now fully prepared as a proper Saintess, to the world and spread the name of Liphue even farther.
And where could there be a better place for that?
Was it not the expedition force that the entire continent was currently watching?
A supremely extravagant expedition, in which every single name carried extraordinary weight.
A Saintess joining such an expedition when it found itself in trouble.
Moreover, if the Saintess could distinguish herself in their crisis and place them in her debt…
It was truly a perfect debut stage.
They had also confirmed safety.
After the name of the Demonic Realm had become known and the Empire began its assault in earnest, they had confirmed that there had been no failures, and only a few cases in which deaths had occurred.
They had also heard of the achievements of Hio Pavlenko, who had begun to be called the Guardian Knight in the Empire, the Saint in the Holy Kingdom, and a hero of the continent.
Through a private connection, they had also discovered that he would be participating in this assault as well.
Then what reason was there to hesitate?
A noble expedition force protecting the continent from the Demonic Realm.
An expedition where each and every member was a knight of renown, and where none other than the Sword Saint Vitalianus sat as commander. Hibernia would participate in that expedition with Saintess Irina at the forefront.
From the Empire’s perspective, it was news worthy of joy.
With the large-scale addition of high-ranking priests, the expedition gained greater stability, and with the addition of the Saintess, who had always been a symbol of nobility and sanctity throughout the long history of the continent, the quality of its fame and honor rose as well.
Their expedition had now become a holy path watched over by the Goddess.
Thus, although the start of the assault had been delayed, the morale of the expedition force was higher than ever.
Repeated success and the addition of the Saintess.
The reinforcement of the paladins who protected her.
Wasn’t this assault on the 58th floor more stable than any before?
Amid everyone’s thoughts and expectations, the assault on the floor presumed to be the Floor of Control began.
* * *
「Skill - Select the undead to register in ‘Death’s Sarcophagus.’」
「Select the undead you wish to take out.」
「List of undead registered in Skill - ‘Death’s Sarcophagus’」
「Slot 1 - Knight of Polluted Flame」
「Slot 2 - Knight of Polluted Flame」
「Slot 3 - Knight of Polluted Flame」
「Slot 4 - Knight of Polluted Flame」
…
「Slot 255 - Mass of the Ancient Lightning Spirit」
- Do you intend to collect all the bodies that appear on this floor as well?
At Purnell’s words, Hio gave a short shake of his head.
“I collected too many on the previous floors. There are no souls, only bodies packed full inside. Would there be any point in collecting more?”
- That may be so, but is it not a waste? Poisonous mist, you know. Since they are creatures that inhabit a place thick with poisonous fog, abilities or resistances related to poison must be engraved into their bodies. If you collected them, they would make excellent poison undead…
What Purnell and Hio were discussing was Death’s Sarcophagus.
Among the souls and flesh tainted by the Abyss, they had extinguished the souls and retrieved the bodies left behind, storing them in large quantities inside Death’s Sarcophagus.
From the 55th floor onward, they had continued nothing but brutally relentless battles without any particular variables, so hundreds of Abyss monster bodies that had lost their souls were being stored in Death’s Sarcophagus.
Their identities could be inferred from the names registered in the list window.
“In any case, I’m not going to store them in Death’s Sarcophagus indiscriminately. What good is an excellent body when there’s no usable soul?”
The stored bodies were excellent beyond question.
From a necromancer’s perspective, of course.
Beings that had likely been outstanding to begin with had been further strengthened by being tainted with the energy of the Abyss.
Their appearances had transformed in rather horrifying ways, but their physical abilities must have risen to an incomparable degree.
If only souls worthy of those abilities could be prepared, each and every one of them would be reborn as an excellent undead on an entirely different level from ordinary undead.
The problem was that he could not obtain such souls.
“I feel like my growth has stopped these past few months.”
It felt as though he had run into a wall.
The enlightenment needed to reach the 6th Circle was still distant, and he had yet to find a creed of his own.
There were over two hundred outstanding bodies inside Death’s Sarcophagus, but without souls to match them, he could not turn them into undead.
Of course, over the past few months, he had been able to greatly raise his stats, and his use of magic in combat had also become far more precise and fluid.
But beyond that, things still had not changed much from several months ago.
- Well, that is only natural. Have I not always told you? Your growth until now was what made no sense.
It was true that this had been foreseen.
Purnell had been telling him so all along.
That after the 5th Circle, he would no longer be able to continue as he had until now.
- Do not be impatient. If you continue on as you are, what is blocked will be opened, and the path will reveal itself.
“…I suppose I’ll have to hope so.”
- Clues are everywhere. Do not only run while staring ahead. Sometimes, look around you as well.
“What do you know?”
- …You insolent disciple.
Listening to Purnell mutter sulkily, Hio looked around.
“Don’t only look ahead. Look around you…”
Countless people were busily moving to enter the gate.
Since this gate had opened near the imperial palace, he could sense the presence of far, far more people in the distance.
He was receiving the expectations of so many people.
He was the hope of this many people.
And yet… how could he possibly have time to look around him?
“It’s hard enough just to keep running while looking straight ahead.”
As he was muttering that.
“Preparations are complete!”
A shout rang out.
The knights of the Empire, of course, as well as the guilds to which the possessed belonged.
The newly joined paladins of the Holy Kingdom, and the woman shining at their center.
“Irina.”
He answered Irina, who wore a gentle smile that had grown rather Saintess-like, with a similar smile, then turned his back without hesitation.
“It looks like everyone’s ready.”
Vitalianus was beside him.
No matter what anyone said, he was the one standing at the very front of them.
The hope that countless people behind him would be watching.
There could be no hesitation, no wavering.
“Let’s go in.”
And so he was the first to set foot toward the ominously rippling gate of the 58th floor.