Hio had summoned Freyja through the magic of Dragon Summoning.
Even after he had swept the floor clean with the dragon’s power, the faint Abyss energy spread throughout the entire floor remained intact.
But it was not powerful enough to cloud the expedition’s minds.
It might have been fatal to ordinary people, but were they not an expedition composed of the empire’s very finest?
Even so, they could not help but panic when their vision was suddenly plunged into darkness.
“Wh-what is this!”
“Bring up the lights!”
“Don’t panic!”
It happened immediately after Vitalianus split the abomination’s eye.
The thing was certainly strong, but on their side they had none other than the Sword Saint, the Guardian Knight, and even the Saintess.
They remained tense, but no one doubted their victory.
Just as expected, the moment the Saintess’s divine power reached it, the mage sealed the abomination’s movements, and the Sword Saint became a streak of golden light, cleaving the repulsive eye in two.
Booooom—!
From the rift where the abomination had been split apart, black smoke began to pour out like an explosion.
【Heh, heheh】
That same laugh rang out once again.
The exact same laugh.
Hio immediately realized what that familiar black aura meant, and with the veins in his neck standing out, he shouted toward Irina behind him.
“Irina!”
This was the abyss.
Not some half-baked Abyss energy, but the true abyss.
“Unfold the protective art to its maximum! You must not let that touch you!”
As if to prove it, messages were rising madly before Hio’s eyes.
「Massive mental interference has been detected.」
「Trait - ‘Can’t Live Without Style!’ activates.」
「Massive mental interference has been detected.」
「Trait - ‘Can’t Live Without Style!’ is active.」
「Massive mental interference has been detected.」
「Trait - ‘Can’t Live Without Style!’ is active.」
……
But was it already too late?
“Ah, aaah……”
“Save me…… please, save me……”
The abyss that had burst outward had already swept over the heads of the expedition.
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that Rifyue’s “Blessing,” cast by Irina and the high priests, was still spread out.
And.
「Skill - ‘Heaven Above (天上)’ activates.」
Hio’s Heaven Above had begun descending from the high heavens.
The golden hand and the pure-white blessing met and spread wide, and the territory they touched was one even the abyss could not dare invade.
Those who had been clutching their heads in despair quickly recovered their senses.
“Huh……? Why was I……”
“Ahem! I showed an unsightly side of myself.”
“Get a hold of yourselves and form ranks. Protect the Saintess above all else.”
Heaven Above and the Blessing enveloped the expedition, but the area beyond them had been completely surrounded by darkness.
The sky, which had resembled a violet cosmos under the influence of the Void Domain, was devoured by darkness, and the floor of the desolate level had also sunk into the abyss, no longer visible.
This place was already no different from the abyss.
“So this is…… the abyss you spoke of.”
At Vitalianus’s words as he came to stand beside him, Hio nodded.
“That eye from before must have been a device. A device that summons the abyss.”
“Hah. A mere device possessed that much power? Just what kind of existence is lurking in this abyss?”
“Who knows…… It’ll show itself soon enough.”
Vitalianus’s lament was one Hio could sympathize with.
The first black sphere they had thought was the floor’s core.
But it had been an existence of the abyss, and so they had joined forces to fight it—only to discover that it was nothing more than a mere device.
A device someone had designed, or perhaps a device created in the abyss.
Then what, exactly, would emerge through it?
He could not guarantee anything, but.
“At the very least, they’ll be as strong as that eyeball just now, or stronger.”
That was the best guess he could make.
“Not good.”
“It’s the worst. The entire floor has become the domain of the abyss.”
“An unreasonable environment beyond comparison with something like poisonous fog.”
The expedition had no choice but to face the enemy from within Hio’s Heaven Above and the Saintess’s Blessing.
And they did not even know what sort of enemy would leap out.
“If there is any small mercy…… it’s that this has become the abyss’s domain, not the abyss itself.”
“……I see. So that is what it means.”
It had been turned into the domain of the abyss, but it was not the abyss.
Hio explained how great that difference was, and Vitalianus understood.
The space Daphne and Hio had once entered had undoubtedly been a space of the abyss.
But here, the place where the expedition’s feet stood, was undoubtedly the 58th floor of the Abyss.
Beyond Heaven Above’s domain, the thick abyss hid everything from sight, but the ground beneath their feet was still that of the 58th floor.
The grotesque eye had been a device that called forth the abyss, not a device that transported them into it.
Of course, they still did not know what else it might have called along with the abyss.
“Let us withdraw slowly. As you said, the situation is not favorable.”
The best choice was to retreat. No, securing an escape route was the best they could do.
Even among the highest-grade skills, Heaven Above consumed a great deal of mana. He could not keep maintaining it while continuing to face enemies whose strength he could not even gauge.
And the most important reason was.
“We can’t let Irina die here.”
The focal point of the Holy Kingdom, and Rifyue’s final arrangement.
Since divine power was the only means of purifying Abyss energy, they could not lose the Saintess here.
Of course, every single one of the others was also a precious part of the future. If they suffered heavy losses here, it would become a massive variable in what was to come.
“I understand. We will withdraw to where the gate is.”
Gail Ainsidel, commander of the 1st Knight Order, who had been listening to Hio and Vitalianus’s conversation, immediately raised his voice and shouted.
“We withdraw slowly as we are! Our destination is the gate we first entered through!”
“Maintain formation! Protect the Saintess and the priests above all else!”
“Be careful not to touch the black aura!”
Their actions were as swift as their decision.
The expedition drew their swords, watched all directions, and slowly returned along the path they had come.
The priests were thoroughly protected by the knights, and Irina stood at the center of the safest part of the formation.
Rifyue’s Blessing and Hio’s Heaven Above moved slowly with the expedition as they advanced, illuminating the way.
Even the dense abyssal energy seemed to have no particular answer to this, and easily withdrew.
No, perhaps it was allowing them to withdraw.
In this situation, already riddled with every kind of variable, there was nothing they could be certain of.
For several minutes, they continued moving in that tension.
The expedition moved with the only light in that silence, without a single person opening their mouth.
What shattered it was truly an instant.
“It’s coming.”
Vitalianus’s low words.
To the expedition that had been moving in tension, they rang far too clearly.
Not even a few seconds after that.
Ruuuuumble—
A sound loud enough for everyone to hear came from the front.
Something was coming.
But they could not go out and fight.
Nor would long-range skills work.
Skills that had not reached a certain level would simply be swallowed by the dark abyss no matter how many were fired.
They would vanish, buried in the abyss without producing any effect.
Considering that even the highest-grade fire skill, Blue Flame, could only barely hold the abyss back, it was only natural.
So even though they knew something was approaching, there was nothing they could do but grip their swords tightly in place.
Ruuuuuumble—
The unknown noise reached right before them, and then at last.
Kwaaaang—!
It collided with the barrier of Heaven Above and erupted in a thunderous roar.
The highest-grade defensive skill, Heaven Above, was originally an evolved form of Shield.
It was a divine barrier that could not be pierced by any physical means, and into which nothing Hio did not permit could enter.
And yet.
Kwaaaaang—!
That barrier of Heaven Above shook madly.
“Guh……”
At the backlash, Hio clutched his chest with a small groan.
Until now, he had only ever used Heaven Above to purify Abyss energy.
In other words, this was the first time he had defended against such powerful physical impact with it.
Kwaaaaang—!
It felt as though that tremendous shock was being inflicted directly upon his heart.
Even so, Hio removed his hand from his chest as if nothing had happened, straightened his expression, and stared ahead.
Because he absolutely could not show weakness here.
Fortunately, if it could be called fortunate,
almost no one was paying attention to Hio.
Most were staring at the thing pounding on the barrier of Heaven Above.
They were simply looking up at it, almost dazed.
“Wh-what in the world is……”
It was a giant covered entirely in black. A black giant whose size seemed comparable even to a dragon.
What was grotesque, however, was that its arms and legs were abnormally long, and amid that smooth, all-black body, only its eyes and mouth glowed a vivid red.
Those eyes and that mouth were looking down, smiling in a way that sent chills down the spine.
It moved its strangely elongated arms and legs and swung at Heaven Above.
Kwaaaang—!
The entire domain of Heaven Above shook violently.
If that had been the only one, perhaps everyone would not have momentarily lost their senses.
The problem was—
Kwaaaang—!
Kwaaaaang—!
Kwaaaang—!
The same sound and similar impacts were coming from the front, back, left, and right.
A black body so enormous that only its outline could barely be made out.
And a smile formed by blood-red eyes and mouth, looking down below.
The number of those abominations surrounding Heaven Above was already seven—no, thirteen…… no, twenty.
Even at this very moment, they were gathering from somewhere, pounding the domain of Heaven Above with the same expressions and the same strength.
Kwaaaang—!
Kwaaaang—!
Similar explosions rang incessantly in Hio’s head as well.
The tremendous force of the abominations striking Heaven Above became like bombs going off without pause, shaking his heart and his mind.
Eeeee—
A ringing filled his ears.
The knights’ shouts and Vitalianus’s words seemed to come from far away.
Even so.
“Pick up the pace! Move as quickly as possible while maintaining the barrier!”
At least in his outward appearance, he was Hio Pavlenko as usual.
He looked exactly as he always did—the utterly dependable Guardian Knight.
“It is the Guardian Knight’s command! Pick up the pace!”
“Think only of securing our retreat!”
“Do not be afraid! Those things cannot break through the Guardian Knight’s barrier anyway!”
The expedition increased its speed, and the barrier moved with them.
Kwaaaaang—!
The grotesque things moved along with them as well, striking Heaven Above without rest.
Their numbers continued to increase, and before long, the area outside the domain was filled with them.
Kwaaaang—!
Kwaaaaang—!
The shocks inflicted upon his heart exceeded all limits.
The amount of mana being poured in as the barrier broke and restored itself had reached an uncontrollable level.
Cracks must have already formed throughout the barrier.
Even so, they had no choice but to keep running.
The moment he released the barrier, the expedition would be finished.
Some of the powerful ones might resist the abyssal energy, break through those abominations, and manage to reach the exit.
But that would be all.
The Saintess, the high priests, and the future of the empire, including Claire, would be devoured by the abyss.
Could he allow that?
Kwaaaang—!
Kwaaaaang—!
Something hot surged up from his heart, but he barely managed to swallow it back down.
“There is still plenty of time left for the raid, so let us withdraw for now! We will come up with countermeasures and re-enter!”
“Even if we retreat now, the demonic realm will not be unleashed upon the world outside.”
“If you heard that, then move faster! Think only of retreat! Look ahead and run!”
Listening to the shouts of the knight commanders and the leadership, Hio ran.
Their voices sounded distant, muffled and droning as though submerged underwater.
Thinking with that mind, the leadership’s judgment was absolutely correct.
It was impossible to fight in this state.
Had those abominations not already gathered beyond Heaven Above in numbers too great to count?
Leaving, devising countermeasures based on the information they had gained, and then re-entering—or seeking another method—would undoubtedly be the right choice compared to being annihilated here.
Of course, that was only if they could get out of here.
Kwaaaang—!
Kwaaaaang—!
The exit was still nowhere in sight.
But Heaven Above would soon shatter.
It had endured this long because it was together with the Saintess’s Blessing, but it had already gone beyond its limits.
Then what should he do?
Kwaaaaang—!
Kwaang—!
Kwaaaang—!
In truth, he already knew the answer.
“Are you…… all right?”
His head was dizzy.
His vision would not focus properly.
Even so, he could clearly feel Vitalianus’s golden eyes looking at him.
He could also feel the red eyes that must be watching him from somewhere, filled with worry.
And the Saintess’s clear eyes that must be turned toward him.
There were countless other gazes directed at him as well, and he could distinctly recognize the unease and concern contained within them.
Hio smiled and nodded.
He was the hope of many.
No matter how heavy, difficult, and at times even unfair it was, had the goddess who had fallen into a long sleep not languidly declared it?
Had the Goddess of Hope not shoved her own work onto him?
Had she not told him that he was her hope?
Having heard that, he could not do this halfheartedly.
A hope wearing a tearful face?
Such a thing could not exist.
And so Hio smiled once more.
Countless people were surely watching him.
His lips parted gently, to convey hope and reassurance to them.
“I’m fine.”
The blood that filled his mouth.
The small tremor of his hand, and the mana being forcibly dragged up.
Only Vitalianus’s eyes likely saw them.
“There is a way.”
It was the second misfortune to befall the expedition.