The wind stopped.
After erasing the ancient, yet enormous city in a single sweep with all manner of draconic spells and Breath.
She had even mixed in several Words to blow away the troublesome poisonous fog.
With all of that gone, the 58th floor was utterly desolate.
A space that was merely vast, with no structures at all, nor any ash-gray fog to obstruct one’s vision.
—Kraaaak!
Of course, there were Abyss monsters.
With nothing impeding sight or senses, they were even more clearly visible.
Countless Abyss monsters writhing underground before bursting out.
The ones on the surface had all been swept away by Freya’s draconic words and Breath, but those underground were still quite intact.
No, in truth, perhaps they were creatures that inhabited the underground to begin with, for their numbers were considerable.
Hio, who had been standing still and watching them, suddenly murmured.
“Freya, do you want to go back now?”
It was spoken in a voice so small that no one could hear, but it must have reached Freya.
Even so, there was no change in the slow flapping of her wings high in the sky.
She was pretending not to hear.
“You should hurry back and eat the bread that’s left, shouldn’t you?”
But the moment the word bread came out, that enormous draconic body visibly flinched.
She wanted to eat bread.
“You worked hard, Freya. Thanks to you, we’ll be able to clear this floor without taking any damage.”
When he added praise on top of that, her two legs began to twist shyly.
She was happy that she had been helpful.
Only then did Freya look down at Hio and nod.
At the same time, that enormous draconic body grew indistinct.
Since it was an incomplete summoning, if either side cut off the mana, she could quickly return to her original location like this, and she could not be summoned again for a set period of time.
Freya’s form gradually faded.
Her green eyes looked at Hio as if she had something to say, but in the end, she returned without uttering a word.
It was because they had agreed to do so beforehand.
Speak as little as possible and carry herself with gravity.
Imprint upon everyone present her majesty and presence as a dragon.
Since this was the first stage on which Freya revealed herself to the world, it was a rule they had decided upon so that she would not be imprinted with her original harmless and innocent image.
In truth, being summoned in human form to begin with had been an accident.
The initial plan had been for her to manifest in her true draconic body from the very beginning and display overwhelming force and presence.
Freya’s once-small soul had grown large enough to govern a dragon’s body, and her rank had naturally risen as well.
Since she had originally been a part of that soul, she had grown quickly under Regarda’s teachings.
And so they judged that the time had come for her to step into the world, and the words that Freya would reveal herself meant that Arilleiya would break her thousand-year seal and emerge into the world.
The cursed sea would become a peaceful ocean once more, and dragons and elves, whose very existence was little different from legend, would appear on the continent.
Great confusion and curiosity would arise, and to avoid suffering harm because of it, she had to show the majesty and power of a dragon.
All the more so because this was before an expedition filled with the empire’s most elite knights.
“Well… aside from her first appearance, I suppose it went fairly well.”
The sight of her stuffing her mouth full of bread and chewing away had likely been somewhat forgotten after the overwhelming power of a dragon that followed.
“A dragon… I did hear about it from you, but facing one before my eyes, its presence is tremendous.”
Vitalianus approached with those words.
His gaze did not come down from the sky where the dragon had disappeared.
That massive presence had appeared in an instant and vanished just as quickly.
“Looks like that terrible competitive spirit of yours has kicked in again.”
“…I cannot say it has not.”
“Still, hold it in. A spar won’t be possible.”
Leaving aside who would win or lose, if the two of them fought, the surrounding area would be destroyed.
And it certainly would not end like an ordinary spar, with no one getting hurt.
“Well, I am curious who would win, but…”
Vitalianus, who placed his will into his sword aura, and Freya, who freely controlled mana and wind.
He was curious who would win and what shape the battle would take, but it would have to remain merely in his imagination.
“Anyway, let’s wrap this up now.”
The place was presumed to be the Floor of Control.
The greatest obstacle, the ash-gray fog, had disappeared.
Furthermore, even the ghost city had been wiped clean away, so there should be no variables left either.
If they advanced like this, annihilated the remaining Abyss monsters, and found the floor’s core, the clearing would be a success.
It would be the fastest floor cleared since the middle section.
“Advance!”
“Reform the formation!”
“Get a hold of yourselves!”
As expected of renowned elite knights, they quickly recovered from the shock of seeing a dragon, gathered their wits, and formed ranks.
The place where, until just moments ago, a city surrounded by fog had stood.
The entire expedition advanced toward it.
—Kraaaak!
The Abyss monsters on this floor walked on two legs, but were only about as tall as a human waist, and one of their hands had transformed into a large club-like mass, which they swung at them.
They would suddenly burst up through the ground to launch surprise attacks, and the area where the city had been was filled with all sorts of traps, but with the city blown away, most of them seemed to have broken and did not activate.
If they had split their forces by the book and wandered through the fog, the damage would likely have been quite severe.
But there was no reduction of sight and senses due to the fog, no buildings obstructing their path, and all manner of devices and traps had been rendered useless.
Though the Abyss monsters bravely stood in the expedition’s way, they could not even hold them back.
“Clean them up quickly.”
It did not take very long to annihilate all of the Abyss monsters remaining on the floor.
Then the only thing left was the core.
A black sphere left standing alone in the vast space.
“Is that the core?”
No matter who looked at it, that was the core.
An ominous core, perhaps the condensed essence of Abyssal energy, covered in pitch-black darkness that admitted not a single speck of light.
“If this is the Floor of Control, wasn’t it said that two cores exist?”
“The core that controls the devices and the core that composes the floor. There should be two like that… but it seems the core controlling the devices was destroyed along with the city.”
Why was the Floor of Control called the Floor of Control?
Because there were countless devices and traps, and the clearing became easier only by finding the core that controlled them and taking control.
Control, not destruction.
If it was destroyed, one would be unable to deactivate devices such as the fog or traps, and would have to endure them in full while clearing the floor.
But before the overwhelming violence of a dragon, such petty tricks had immediately become useless.
“Then if we destroy this, the clearing will be over.”
All the expedition had to do was destroy the black sphere floating slightly above the ground.
The expedition gathered around the round black sphere.
Among them were Irina and the high priests of Rifue.
“It must be disappointing that there was not much for you to do.”
“Not at all. I am simply glad the matter was resolved well.”
“In any case, you have worked hard. The empire will not forget the aid of Hibernia and the Order.”
Vitalianus and Irina.
Hio and the Royal Knights.
Antiphus, and even the commanders of each knight order, all gathered before the core that composed the floor.
The first to step forward was Antiphus.
“I will… finish it.”
Antiphus stepped forward, drawing his greatsword.
Damon blocked him.
“Who decided that as you pleased?”
If the core was destroyed, the clearing would succeed.
Therefore, the role of destroying the core was a fairly meaningful one—the role of ending the 58th floor with one’s own hands.
It would remain in the records forever, and of course, the name of the one who personally finished it would become widely known.
That was why Damon blocked Antiphus when he stepped forward, but…
“Let him do it.”
Once Vitalianus gave his permission, Damon had no choice but to step aside.
In any case, the key to this floor was not something like the finishing blow.
Nor would the person who received the most attention be him.
It was the dragon.
The dragon of wind that had displayed an overwhelming presence.
And the mage who had summoned such a being, Hio Pavlenko.
The rumors related to dragons that had spread vaguely until now would be revealed as truth, and for at least several months, stories about this would circulate across the entire continent.
In such a situation, yielding the final moment was no great matter.
Moreover, what Vitalianus was concerned about was Antiphus’s eyes.
Those empty eyes that had lost their goal.
Eyes like that were dangerous. Even more dangerous because he could not know what the cause was.
Once this clearing ended, he would have to remove him from the expedition or force him to take a rest.
He was not certain what had left him so hollow, but there was no need to clash over something meaningless.
And so he did not stop Antiphus as he stepped forward, but cleared the way.
“Destroy it thoroughly.”
Without even answering Vitalianus’s words, Antiphus passed him and walked forward with heavy steps.
His unfocused eyes made it impossible to tell whether he was looking at the core or at something else entirely.
—Destroy it.
No one could possibly guess that an unknown voice was continuously ringing inside his head.
—It is something that must be destroyed anyway. You are merely doing it with your own hands. There is nothing strange about it.
Having reached the sphere, Antiphus raised his sword high.
Yet most gazes were not on Antiphus.
“It will remain in the records as the fastest floor cleared since we began the expedition.”
“A dragon, of all things. Who could have imagined it?”
“We must finish quickly and ask the Guardian Knight about it.”
“A mage who commands a dragon. That was truly something one could only read about in children’s storybooks…”
Everyone was convinced of victory and murmured among themselves.
Smiling, they praised Hio Pavlenko, who had once again played the greatest role on this floor.
“As expected of the Guardian Knight.”
“If not for the Guardian Knight, the traps and poisonous fog would have caused us quite a bit of trouble…”
Antiphus was not listening to them.
—Strike down, just like that.
The voice booming inside his head was too loud for him to have the presence of mind to hear anything else.
Even so, perhaps it was the last remaining doubt.
With his sword raised high, he thought for just a moment.
What would happen if he brought his sword down like this?
What would change?
Was destroying this not simply supposed to end the clearing?
Why did it have to be struck down directly by his sword, of all things?
Of course, that thought lasted only an instant, and black aura began to flicker around Antiphus’s sword.
Yet no one found it strange.
They had seen countless times that the color of Antiphus’s aura changed depending on the situation.
Even Antiphus himself, lost in other thoughts, did not notice the aura dyed black.
And so Antiphus’s greatsword fell toward the core.
Blackened aura descending toward the blackened core.
“Hahaha! You have all worked hard.”
“You are saying such a thing truly exists in Hibernia? I would like to visit sometime.”
“Before that, however, reporting about the dragon must come first.”
There was not the slightest trace of a monster nearby.
Nor had the success condition for clearing a floor ever been wrong before.
And so everyone was certain of success, laughing and conversing.
Outside the attention of most, Antiphus’s black aura at last touched the floor’s core.
It lodged itself in the black sphere.
Crack—
Even if it was a sphere as large as a person, Antiphus was someone who could cut it in two at once.
But far from being split in two, it was not even cut halfway before the sword was raised again.
“Now then, everyone, prepare to return.”
“But the core does not seem to be breaking cleanly.”
Crack—
Antiphus’s sword struck the same spot again.
From the gap in the cracked core, black smoke began to seep out little by little.
Crack—
He raised it and brought it down.
Like chopping firewood, he repeated the sequence of motions.
Crack—
By that point, everyone’s gaze was on Antiphus.
Antiphus, who was bringing his sword down mechanically with eyes that seemed somehow dazed.
The section where the sword lodged itself grew deeper and deeper.
“…Why is that not breaking?”
“Something feels strange…”
Crack—
The split grew wider and wider.
From top to bottom.
A vertical crack forming down the center of the black sphere.
Crack—
The sight of Antiphus striking the same spot over and over seemed closer to a sculptor than a knight.
A sculptor carving away at the sphere as if possessed by something.
And in that sequence of events, Antiphus’s greatsword at last reached the bottom of the sphere.
Crack—
The core still had not been destroyed.
Its center had merely been split deeply from top to bottom. Far from being destroyed, the black sphere had instead been completed.
What was completed by that final downward strike was—
Crunch!
An eye.
A vertically slit eye.
A jet-black eye from which the aura of the abyss leaked in strands.
【Heh, hehe.】
It rolled around and looked at Hio.
* * *
The imperial capital was still bustling.
If it had been busy with preparations before the raid began, now that the raid was underway, it was busy preparing to receive those who would return from it.
As it happened, the Gate this time had appeared near the imperial palace.
The residents had been evacuated, the area placed under control, and troops stood by for a raid whose end no one could predict.
There might be critically wounded to deal with, and since this floor in particular was said to be saturated with poison, they were making especially thorough preparations.
“Shall I rest for just a little……?”
Still, the meetings that had been happening day after day had lessened somewhat, so Sylvia had gained a brief moment of rest.
The moment she entered her room, Sylvia threw herself onto the wide bed.
The Death Knight Theordo followed her in as always.
“I’ll rest just a moment, then head back out.”
Just because she had a little time did not mean she could simply laze around.
The expedition force was surely fighting fiercely with their lives on the line; as emperor, how could she lie in bed?
“It hasn’t been long since they entered the Demon Realm, but they might succeed and come out surprisingly quickly, right?”
The plan she had heard from Hio just before they entered.
The day when Arilleia’s seal would be undone was not far off, and perhaps this floor might be the first step toward it.
If that plan became reality, they might clear this floor and emerge faster than any floor before.
After all, the last remaining dragon in this world would be able to unleash that vast power to her heart’s content.
“So, Theordo, wake me up after just a little while, okay?”
Sylvia sprawled on the bed and said so with her eyes lazily closed.
“…….”
Of course, as usual, no answer came.
He was a being incapable of speech.
An undead who conveyed his will through gestures and actions.
Even so, Sylvia was not worried.
The knight who had always lived only for her.
The knight who had rejected even death to remain by her side.
As always, he would be nodding and standing guard beside her.
It was so obvious that there was not even any need to check.
Before long, drowsiness washed over her, and her consciousness began to drift away little by little.
Then, suddenly—
“Ah, right.”
A task she had momentarily forgotten came to mind, and Sylvia’s eyes flew open as she sat up at once.
“This isn’t the time to rest, is it?”
She quickly got to her feet, straightened her disheveled clothes, and moved to leave the room.
But she had not taken even a few steps before she stopped dead.
“…Theordo?”
Because her one and only escort knight was nowhere to be seen.
“Theordo, where did you go……?”
He was not outside the door, nor in the corridor.
Her steps gradually quickened.
He was not in the office, nor in the conference room.
He was not in the training ground, nor in the kitchen.
Her brisk walk had, at some point, turned into a run as she searched the entire imperial palace, but Theordo was nowhere to be found.
In truth, she knew.
She knew that Theordo would never do anything that would make her uneasy.
That disappearing without a single word was something that could not happen by his own will.
That was why her heart was pounding so violently.
That was why she could not even think to wipe away the sweat running down her face and simply sank to the floor.
Theordo was an undead whose body was composed of death energy.
A being who, through a contract with a mage, displayed the power he had possessed in life.
For such a being to vanish as if he had evaporated—Sylvia knew of only two meanings behind that.
The mage who had brought Theordo back to life.
Either Hio Pavlenko had summoned him out of necessity.
“…….”
Or Hio Pavlenko was dead.