「Transcendent Skill—‘Dimensional Transfer (次元轉移)’ is being activated.」
After activating Dimensional Transfer, I hesitated again.
For some reason, an uneasy feeling lingered.
The feeling that I had forgotten something.
“Hmm…”
Let’s think about this one more time.
Is going straight to the Magic Tower really the right move?
It’s true that there’s a lot to do at the Magic Tower.
It’s also true that all of it is extremely important.
But what I need to consider isn’t the importance of the work, but its priority.
Once I enter the Magic Tower, it will likely take quite some time before I come back out.
Because there will be much to investigate and learn.
If I’m going in anyway, shouldn’t I come out with results?
So, regrettable as it was.
“Let’s go to the Magic Tower after I properly sort things out outside.”
It seemed right to postpone my reunion with Purnell a little longer.
Claire had told me that the empire was fine for now, but I didn’t know for certain just how far that “fine” extended.
Rather than leave behind this nagging unease, I judged that the proper order was to clean things up thoroughly, then clear up to the 71st floor, and only then enter the Magic Tower.
And that cleanup also included the matter of Airaitz.
Airaitz, whose whereabouts and actions I couldn’t even begin to guess.
—Airaitz… said she was going to revive you, Hio. Something about becoming a god and bringing you back, or whatever…
Had she found a clue about another god?
Hio had received Authority directly from the goddess Lipue and had slowly, naturally attained divinity, but now that I had obtained this power myself, I knew it was not something a mere human body could contain.
It wasn’t something that could be obtained without any preparation.
“…It makes me uneasy.”
First, I would have to find her and talk to her.
And so, another brief moment of deliberation followed.
“Airaitz, or Vitalianus.”
Who should I go to first?
Which was the priority?
「Please set the destination point for Transcendent Skill—‘Dimensional Transfer (次元轉移).’」
The deliberation was short.
Vitalianus, well, even without Hio, he would manage anything on his own, but Airaitz was not like that.
I was worried about where she might be and what kind of trouble she might be causing right now.
And I also wanted to find out what that clue was, the one about becoming a god.
“Take me to Airaitz’s side.”
I wondered if it would activate even like this, but Dimensional Transfer, true to being a Transcendent Skill, did not disappoint.
「Setting complete.」
「‘Continent of Verden’—‘Empire of Verden’—‘Northern Borderlands’」
「‘Dimensional Transfer (次元轉移)’ is beginning.」
A violet rift tore open.
* * *
It was just as the golden lion tore apart the scarlet energy.
Just before those savage, razor-sharp teeth ripped into the witch’s throat.
From some unknowable depth far beneath the earth to the lofty heavens above, an utterly straight violet line came into being.
A linear rift opened.
Between the golden lion charging in and Airaitz, who was wrapped in scarlet light.
A violet line appeared precisely between them.
Charrrk—
Space began to fold.
As empty air receded, what appeared was an unreal gap between dimensions.
And from within emerged an overwhelming presence.
It was as if time itself had stopped.
No, time was flowing.
It had simply been crushed beneath the one who appeared.
And so, it had merely slowed.
Vitalianus’s sword was still thrusting toward the witch, but the witch’s gaze was not on it.
She was savoring the existence emerging from the split space, that deeply missed sensation.
Vitalianus’s gaze also slowly turned.
Black wings spread wide.
Black pupils moved swiftly within slowed time, as if trying to grasp the situation.
A face that was exceedingly familiar and welcome.
Hard to believe, yet more reassuring than anything.
It was the mage.
Hio Pavlenko.
A hero had returned to the continent.
Yet even after realizing it, he could not stop.
The sword had already been thrust, and the enraged golden lion’s intent already held enough power to sweep up both the witch and the mage right beside her.
No matter how great Hio Pavlenko was, he would not be able to immediately block a full-powered strike of his.
The mage, too, seemed to recognize the sword that had come right before his eyes, and reached out toward it.
A foolish act.
He could neither dodge nor block it.
That was what the lion’s intent was, what a hero’s sword was.
…He had certainly thought so.
“Heaven.”
What surged from the outstretched hand was pure white light.
And blooming within it was a bright red flower.
Vitalianus clearly saw a single flower blossom red.
A marigold that had endured and endured until it turned crimson.
A single flower blocked the lion’s sword.
For the red marigold that had endured all its life could withstand even the conviction of the lion who had reigned all his life.
Intent collided with intent, and the impact shook space itself.
Kwaaaaaang—!
An explosion loud enough to tear the eardrums.
A raging aftershock swept out.
“……”
As he withdrew his intent, the form of the golden lion gradually faded.
The red flower that had stood in his way also grew indistinct.
The smoke of the explosion quickly receded.
And when it cleared, the first thing visible was a pair of black wings.
The massive wings sprouting from Hio Pavlenko’s back were folded around his body, and within those wings was the witch as well.
Gone was the sight of her raging as she freely wielded scarlet energy.
Instead, she was nestled in his embrace with the happiest expression in the world.
Had the witch and the mage known each other all along?
Vitalianus slowly drew back the sword he had thrust out and straightened.
Unable to understand what was going on, he looked to the mage for an answer, but.
“What… is this situation?”
Hio, who was supposed to provide that answer, was merely scratching his cheek as well.
* * *
“Well, this is… hard to make sense of.”
The fact that I had agonized over whether to go to Airaitz or Vitalianus first now seemed pointless, because the two of them were together.
And they had been fighting as if trying to kill each other, at that.
What were all these ice golems strewn across the ground, and what was this scarlet energy spread in every direction?
This was almost… a power akin to Authority.
Even when I tried to ask what on earth had happened, Airaitz was simply clinging to my back as if she were being carried.
She wasn’t saying a single word.
However, the emotions pouring from her were so vividly palpable that.
“Sigh… First, put on some clothes.”
I took out a robe, covered her body, and smoothed down her disheveled hair.
Even during all that, Airaitz only kept rubbing her cheek against me.
Looking around, I could see the scarlet energy being brought under control in an orderly manner.
Vitalianus was withdrawing his army, and the ice golems, imposing at a glance, had already retreated far away at Hio’s command.
“She’s definitely become something…”
When I lowered my gaze again, Airaitz was now clinging to one of my arms, rubbing her forehead back and forth against it.
The elevated rank of her soul and flesh could be felt clearly.
No, even aside from that, not a single trace of Kreutzwald-style necromancy remained.
Her body was no longer that of the dead flesh of the noblest elf from a thousand years ago, but an appearance much closer to Airaitz’s original self.
Only her hair and eyes had changed to a bright scarlet.
“Airaitz?”
“Mm.”
When I called her, she answered readily enough.
At the same time, emotions beyond words poured out from her, making me feel both a little embarrassed and deeply grateful.
Vitalianus must have sensed these waves of emotion as well, which was why he was obediently withdrawing his forces.
“Did you obtain Authority? Where, and how?”
“……”
But when I asked anything else, she gave no answer.
Perhaps she could not answer.
She buried her face in my chest, sniffed, and rubbed her cheek against me, but she did not answer.
I had known from the start that she wasn’t in a normal state.
If she had been normal, no matter how much she was Airaitz, she would not have tried to invade the empire while leading a legion of golems.
On top of that, the emotions leaking out from her were, at a rough estimate, a mixture of several dozen different things.
It would be appropriate to call it a state of chaos.
“How is her condition? Well… she seems the same as ever.”
After giving several orders, Vitalianus returned to Hio and asked. Hio pointed to Airaitz, who was hanging onto his back, and shrugged.
“It looks like she’s not in any condition to talk yet.”
“I was certain she was a witch. But to think she was that woman from back then…”
“…She has changed quite a lot.”
Vitalianus had seen Airaitz before, though only once or twice.
However, she was so different now from back then that he had failed to recognize her.
Hadn’t the rank of her soul and the vessel of her body risen in an instant to a degree that even Vitalianus could not fully gauge?
“It seems she inherited the Authority of an old god… but we won’t know the details until Airaitz comes to her senses.”
“…The Authority of a god, is it. So that was the source of that dreadful power. It is difficult to believe even after hearing it, but with two pieces of proof right before my eyes, it is also difficult not to believe.”
Vitalianus looked back and forth between Hio and Airaitz.
He had realized that the power Hio held was even more immense than Airaitz’s.
“Let’s talk about the details while we move. I need to see Sylvia too, and there’s a lot to do.”
“I agree. I have so many things I want to ask that my mouth is itching.”
“…Yeah. It’ll be a long story. I found out who the master of the Abyss is.”
“By master, you mean…?”
“The master who governs the Abyss and the aberrations. In the end, only by killing him will this tiresome war end.”
A war that had continued for a thousand years, and from even far earlier than that.
In the end, it had seemed to conclude with the mutual destruction of the god and the master of the Abyss, but that had not been the case.
Kreutzwald had become the new Abyss, and the old gods had foreseen it.
This was the chance to end the war for real.
Of course, having faced Kreutzwald directly, I did not think I could defeat him with my current Authority alone.
I would likely need to gather more of the old gods’ Authority before attempting it.
The key question was whether Kreutzwald would wait until then…
“For now, let’s continue the conversation while we move.”
In order to make the best use of the information obtained, the empire’s active cooperation was essential.
So I would have to meet Sylvia as soon as possible and discuss what came next.
Just as I was about to move quickly for that purpose, a knight hurriedly approached.
“We received it belatedly, but there was a message from Lady Claire.”
“A message?”
“Yes. It is…”
The knight swallowed hard, as if nervous about the news he had to deliver with his own mouth.
“She says the Saintess will soon die.”
“…When was that information delivered?”
“It has not been long since it reached our side, but quite some time has likely already passed since it was first obtained…”
“That’s a real emergency.”
Considering the symbolism the Saintess possessed and the divine power she held, she was an absolutely critical figure who must not be lost.
“What will you do?”
At Vitalianus’s question, Hio let out a small sigh and swept back his hair.
“…Looks like I’ll have to go there first.”
Airaitz, hanging onto his back, rubbed her face against him with great enthusiasm, as if in agreement.