Only seven times.
If he cast Blink just seven more times, he would be close enough to reach the exit.
Seven times, and he could escape this wretched Abyss and recover himself.
First, he planned to get outside, restore his stamina and mana, establish countermeasures, and then enter again a day later.
「Skill—‘Blink’ is being activated.」
Once.
「Skill—‘Blink’ is being activated.」
Twice.
「Skill—‘Blink’ is being activated.」
Three times.
And just before he activated the fourth Blink.
【Huu, hu】
A bizarre sound came from the depths of the Abyss.
A strange voice rode the energy of the Abyss, echoing ominously through the entire floor.
But Hio did not pay it much mind.
He did not know whether the others had noticed, but he had been hearing such faint sounds for some time now.
Only, now that it had come through clearly, he was certain.
As with the Watcher’s Eye and the Floor of Breakthrough last time, some being of the Abyss had crossed over into this place.
He had obtained valuable information, so he tried to hurry onward toward the exit.
He certainly had meant to.
【Why are you here, hu, huu】
【How dare you wag that filthy mouth of yours so carelessly.】
If it had not turned out that the strange voice was not directed at him.
If the voices he heard had not been different from each other, and if there had not been the bizarre phenomenon of them conversing with one another.
【Child. Stop for a moment.】
If that second voice had not felt so very familiar, he would have used Blink without the slightest hesitation and left the floor.
And wasn’t it even speaking to Hio in a tender tone?
There was no proof whatsoever that those words were meant for him, yet Hio was certain.
The second thing the second voice said was definitely addressed to him.
【I, I ask huuu once more. How are you h-here, hu, hu, huu】
【Noisy.】
Immediately after that exchange, the fine hairs on his body suddenly stood on end.
It was because an enormous amount of mana had surged up.
The source of the mana was quite far from where Hio was, and yet even the aftershock alone was this much.
What on earth was happening?
The flow of mana was so immense that his two eyes could not even take it all in.
Just how powerful a being’s mana could it be to...
After that mana burst forth, there was a great deal of crashing and banging for a while.
【That is what happens when a filthy race forgets its place and speaks.】
There was no answer in return.
Judging by the circumstances, the owner of the voice he was now hearing seemed to have dealt with the owner of that bizarre, chuckling voice.
Then he had to decide quickly.
Would he leave the floor as planned?
Or would he wait for the owner of that voice?
In truth, the answer had already been decided.
【I shall go there at once.】
A familiar voice he had heard once before.
A way of speaking that changed tenderly only toward Hio.
Someone who wielded a chillingly vast amount of mana.
“Kreutzwald.”
A great man who had been called the father of black magic and necromancers since long before Purnell’s era.
As expected, that guess was correct.
【Correct.】
With those words, a person abruptly appeared, piercing through the Abyss.
Needless to say, it was a face he had never seen before.
When he had received help in the labyrinth he entered with Daphne previously, he had only heard a faint silhouette and a voice.
- I-It really is him! It really is Kreutzwald! The great necromancer! The father of necromancers! Father!
‘Noisy.’
- You say that because you do not know! For us necromancers, the first thing we see upon initiation is that man’s portrait, and the first thing we learn is that man’s theory...
Hio pushed Purnell’s excited voice, which was going on at full throttle, into a corner of his mind and carefully examined the suddenly appeared Kreutzwald.
On the outside, he was a middle-aged man who looked a few years older than Hio.
But if he was truly Kreutzwald, then he was a monster among monsters who had existed since more than a thousand years ago.
He could not be judged by appearance alone.
“At last, we meet. Hio Pavlenko.”
“...You know me?”
Kreutzwald—or rather, the person presumed to be him—burst into a hearty laugh at Hio’s wary gaze.
“Of course I do. I know where you came from, how you have lived, and even what pain you carry.”
“...That’s a little embarrassing.”
Even after hearing those words, the wariness in Hio’s eyes did not easily vanish.
It was only natural.
Would it not be strange to blindly trust someone who had appeared out of nowhere?
He possessed a tremendous amount of mana.
Judging by the circumstances, he had personally dealt with a being of the Abyss.
And Purnell was making a huge fuss, guaranteeing that he was indeed Kreutzwald, but even so, Hio was somehow reluctant to believe him without question.
- Do not lie! Are you not also convinced in your heart that he is Kreutzwald? If not, you would have left the floor long ago!
...Yes. Honestly, Purnell was right.
He had felt that immense mana, the voice was familiar as though he had heard it before, and Purnell was vouching for him as well.
It was only that the timing was strange.
Why had he appeared now?
If he could show himself like this, could he not have shown himself sooner?
That was what Hio was curious about, and as though he had read those thoughts, Kreutzwald nodded and opened his mouth.
“You seem to be wondering why I appeared when the situation is not so terribly dangerous.”
To be honest, those words were correct.
When he had been suddenly dragged into the Abyss from the labyrinth last time.
Back then, it had clearly been a crisis.
Cheonsang had only just evolved, and it had also been his first time experiencing the true Abyss.
It had been a true crisis where, had Kreutzwald come to save him even a little later, he might have been devoured by the Abyss as he was.
But right now, it was not to that extent.
The exit was right in front of him, and after leaving the floor and resting for a day, he was more than confident that he could clear this floor.
Why would Kreutzwald suddenly appear at such a moment?
If he could reveal himself this easily, why had he not done so until now?
That was his question, and the wariness stemming from it.
“If I must explain, child, it is the moment you step outside through that door that is the crisis.”
“What?”
“Kkeul-kkeul. Seeing your reaction, it seems you truly knew nothing. The name of this floor is the Floor of Regret. There is no such thing as a time limit, and the moment everyone who entered either dies or turns back and leaves, it is considered a failure.”
“...The Floor of Regret? There was no such type.”
“Are you truly so certain?”
Kreutzwald’s eyes, their amusement gone, stared straight into Hio’s.
Kreutzwald’s black eyes, darker than pitch-black, were asking him.
Do you truly know everything?
Do you know the truth of this world better than I do?
Asked that, Hio naturally found himself with little to say in reply.
In reality, this world that had become real was far too different from the game Ventail, and every time he turned his eyes, all manner of variables popped out.
Even the division of the world into the middle and latter parts had merely been something rankers decided among themselves using floors as a standard.
Since even in the game they had never seen the end of the Abyss, what they had called the latter part might in fact be the middle part, or perhaps not even that.
That was why Hio could not answer, and Kreutzwald straightened his body, which had been leaning toward Hio, and burst into another hearty laugh.
“Of course, whether you believe me or not is your freedom.”
“...And paying the price for my doubt is also my freedom?”
“What a clever child.”
When he turned his head and looked back, he could see the exit.
It was not that far.
When he turned his head forward again, he could see Kreutzwald.
He was looking at Hio with a good-natured smile.
As if he would respect whatever decision Hio made.
No, perhaps he already knew what decision Hio would make.
It felt unpleasant to move according to his expectations... but what could he do?
He could not gamble with the lives of hundreds of thousands, millions of people.
However, there were many things he had to make certain of.
“Fine. Let’s say you’re right, Kreutzwald.”
“It is not a matter of saying I am right; it is the truth, child.”
- What is that way of speaking to our father! Hmph! This is why children these days...
Two old men came rushing at him in a chorus just because he had said one thing.
“...Yes, yes. In any case, if that’s true, did you come personally to clear the floor?”
Since he had decided to acknowledge him as Kreutzwald, he mixed an expression of respect into his words.
It was not because he did not want to hear Purnell’s voice squawking for ages about his way of speaking or anything... In any case, as a necromancer, the man was an immeasurably senior predecessor, so should he not show respect?
At Hio’s question, Kreutzwald shook his head.
“This floor has already become so tangled that it has reached a level where clearing it is impossible. We must forcibly close the floor.”
“Forcibly... close the floor? Is that possible?”
“What is there that cannot be done? However, if we do so, we must close the floor in its current state.”
“If the floor is closed in its current state...”
In other words, it meant forcibly closing the floor while Hio had not escaped.
This, too, was hard to believe.
How could a floor itself be forcibly closed, and if that was possible, why had it not been done until now?
And even if Hio went outside anyway, Kreutzwald would remain on the floor, would he not?
Then it would not be a failed clear, so if he simply closed the floor on his own...
- Ahem! How irreverent!
As though he had read Hio’s intentions, Kreutzwald gave him the answer.
“I am operating in the blind spot of perception, so you are the only one the floor recognizes, Hio Pavlenko.”
In other words, even if Kreutzwald remained alone, the floor would recognize that no one was left and it would result in failure.
It meant the Abyssal energy and the monstrosities filling this floor would be released.
‘...Come to think of it, I don’t see the monstrosities.’
The ones that had been stubbornly rushing at him had, at some point, vanished.
No, he could not sense them at all.
It seemed Kreutzwald had personally dealt with even those.
At least in terms of ability, he was certainly absurdly powerful.
“Then, for now, let’s say you can forcibly close the floor.”
“It is not a matter of saying; I can close it.”
“What about me? No, what about me, sir? Are you telling me to die along with the floor?”
- Your words to such a great person are irreverent, insolent, ill-mannered, and...
Perhaps finding Hio’s question audacious, Kreutzwald burst into hearty laughter once more.
“Would that be so? Hio Pavlenko. You shall come with me.”
“With you...?”
Kreutzwald nodded and pointed behind himself, toward some far-off place.
“To the end of the world.”
* * *
She drew out a thin thread of mana and made a pattern as though painting.
It was all the more difficult because she could not see it.
Feeling it with her sixth sense, imagining it, completing a perfect pattern, and engraving it around her heart.
And so, at last, it was complete.
“...Finally!”
The first ring.
Four heavy patterns formed an axis, and around them, a ring of mana slowly rotated.
Airaitz had taken her first step as a mage.
“Hehehe.”
This was something deeply meaningful to Airaitz.
It meant she had created a path to become stronger through means other than skills.
Now that she had almost let go of Fame Points, she had no choice but to develop her skills herself like the residents of this place, but to that, the means called magic had been added.
Of course, that was not why Airaitz was so happy.
“Now I can go with him.”
She had become a first-circle mage.
She still had to engrave a few more patterns if she wanted to cast magic, but in any case, she had created a circle.
Would that not mean she could go with Hio to a place called Tetradia?
She would be the only person moving together with Hio, and she would be the person who understood the most and could offer the most help.
That was what made her so happy, and that was what she had worked for over these past several months.
“I wonder when Hio will come...”
When he returned this time, she would be able to tell him proudly.
That she had become a proper mage. That they should move together now.
Hio, too, had watched her efforts from beside her, so he would praise her and acknowledge her.
That she had worked hard. Yes, let us be together now. I’m happy.
Savoring each tender word he would offer her, she would be beside herself with deep happiness.
“Heh... I hope he comes quickly.”
Thinking that, she looked at the firmly closed entrance to the fourth basement floor.
A space only Hio could open. The fourth basement floor of the mage’s house, where the portal was located.
Until now, only Hio had used that place.
But now, things would be different.
Before long, when Hio returned through that portal, from then on, she would be able to go with him.
Since it would be her first time using it, perhaps it would be all right to pretend to be a little nervous and frightened, and then subtly hold his hand.
“Hehehehe.”
At the thought, her mouth spread into a wide, foolish grin without her realizing it.
Thinking of the person one loved.
Being in love was such a happy thing.
It was a daily life that was joyful from imagination alone.
“This isn’t the time. I need to at least be able to cast Fire before Hio comes. Yes.”
As though to gather herself, Airaitz lightly patted both cheeks and focused to engrave a new pattern.
Her expression was so passionate and bright that no one could have imagined the Airaitz of the past.
The face of a woman in love.
A warm heart that wished to be of help.
The fervent expression of one with a goal.
In contrast to that, outside, it was midwinter.
Only when she heard a sudden knock and opened the front door did Airaitz realize that fact.
When she opened the door, the cold wind stirred through the warm interior of the house.
For a messenger covered in snow knelt there with an anguished expression.
When he wailed and lamented and poured out words too difficult to believe.
Only then did she realize it.
That because the area around her had been so warm, she had thought it was spring.
That winter had come to the world, and an icy wind had been blowing endlessly.
- Hio Pavlenko.
Had her happiness been too much?
As she had once thought, was love ultimately an emotion not permitted to her?
- Remained alone and held back the Abyss.
The coldest winter just before spring came.
The tragic news that arrived on a day when heavy snow piled up enough to rend the heart.
- Deceased.
It was the day the smile disappeared from Airaitz’s face.