74-74 I'll pari the blue light




...... What's up? You're not coming back?
 Sets ............ Sets ......[Saves] ────

[moment]. [moment]. [Momentary] Sigil.

 I was a little confused in front of the six of them who were gradually talking less and less.
 I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.

...... Sorry, we're going to have a little talk here. Do you mind?
Yeah, yeah.

 The six of them gathered in one place and began to have some sort of strategy meeting in a low voice.
 This is about the third time they've done this.

...... Hey, what's going on?
 I'm sure you're not the only one.
 Is the Sixth Saint really this strong ......?
...... No matter what, it's crazy.
 I'm not sure what to make of it.
Oh, he's not even showing his full potential yet. ............
 Your eminence wants us to take him alive. ......?
No, from my point of view, he's probably even better than the Six Saints.
 I didn't know that guy was still in obscurity. ......

 They seemed to be discussing something seriously, but even through their masks, you could see a hint of fatigue.

 The combination of the two women's magic, the four men's sword and spear attacks, and the intricate coordination of these attacks, the hospitality they showed was remarkable, and at first, they attacked us with a sense of breathlessness... At first, they attacked us in a breathtakingly good way, but ... after all, they seemed to be tired after performing so many brilliant acrobatics in a row.

 They performed completely different tricks at every turn, and I was really starting to enjoy it, but ...... I guess they were about to run out of material.

 I've gotten so overzealous that I've poked a lot of holes in the ground. ...... Maybe it's time to move on.

"Sigil. I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
 ...... You don't have to do this.

 I'm not sure if you've seen this before, but I'm sure you've.

Oh, ......, sorry, looks like we're done here.

No, you have nothing to apologize for. It was a lot of fun.
 No need to apologize.

 I thanked him, and the man in the strange armor sighed and put his twin swords, which had been slightly chipped by the black swords, in their sheaths at his waist.

"...... Let me ask you something. How strong are you in the kingdom?

"...... Me?
 To be honest, I'm probably on the weak side.
 I don't know much about you, but I'm sure there are a lot of people stronger than me.
 Why do you ask?



I see.

 With that, Sigil turned his back on me.

...... Let's take a break.

Sigil. Are you disobeying your high priest's orders?
Don't get me wrong.
 We were only ordered to capture him.
 We just need to get into position and try again.
But ────
What are our chances of winning? It's ...... frustrating, but I think it's pretty clear now.
"Tsk. ...... Okay. It's a shame, but it's the mission. Let's ask Leyva to help us.
You're just gonna leave him here?
Yeah. Even if someone stays, who's gonna stop it?
 And he can't get out of here on his own.
 It's probably best to leave him here.
 ...... There's nothing else we can do.
"............ You're really pathetic. The Twelve Saints.

 When Sigil and the others were discussing something together again, they called out to me.

"Hey, [Stake].
 We'll go get some people.
 You stay here and wait quietly.
 ...... okay? Don't move.
 Even though we've already done a lot of research, there are still some traps out here that are still alive.

...... Yeah? Okay.

 They gave me a warning and went back the way they came.
 It looks like I'm going to be left here. ...... Are they still going to entertain me?
 They are really serious people. I'm telling you, you don't have to do this.
 Well, they say they'll bring people, and I guess I'll just wait here.


"...... Hey, why is he so straightforward ......?
...... is a little creepy. Does he really know what's going on ......?
And, hey, Sigil, ...... if he goes down there on his own, can you be responsible?
...... There are multiple layers of warding installed by His Eminence himself.


 No one can get through that thing. If you touch it, you'll die instantly.
Yeah, that's true, but ......
I don't know if ...... is the 'evil' we should be slaying in the first place.
 I don't think so.
 I'm not sure what to make of it.
Are you questioning your eminence ......'s orders?
I'm just checking. I'll ask your eminence about the true meaning of the capture.



 And so I was left alone in the open space.

............ Stay where you are, huh?

 When I looked around, I saw a lot of interesting things.
 Some of them looked like stone monuments made of materials I had never seen before, and if you looked closely at the floor, you could see strange shaped coins that sometimes fell out of the stones.
 To be honest, this is unknown territory for me, and I feel like looking around right now.

 But I think I'll follow their advice here.
 They say this is an old labyrinth.
 They say there are still living traps, and it wouldn't do much good to touch anything.

That's good enough for me.

 I looked around and found a stone of the right shape right next to me.
 Not that I was tired, but I decided to sit on it and wait, to calm down a little from the excitement of their hospitality.
 After all, I had a history of stepping through traps that were supposed to be inoperable in the warehouse that used to be part of the labyrinth. I really thought I was going to die that time. .......
 It would be a problem for them and for the leaners if they were to come to a foreign country and accidentally set off a trap.

You have to be really careful not to touch anything weird.

 So, as I carried the black sword on my shoulder and sat down on the square stone, I heard a ──── thud from somewhere.

"────────?

 I looked around, but nothing had changed.
 I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea.

 Is this ......?

"──────────────mmmmmm ......?

 The stone I was sitting on was sinking as fast as I could see.
 Could this be ────?
 Maybe.

 Then, with a violent shock that shook the entire building, ────

 ──── roar.

 The ground began to crumble noisily.

Oh, no. ────────!

 Oh no.
 Very bad.

 Apparently what I was sitting on was part of some kind of trick.
 It didn't look like it at all, and I'd heard that this area was being investigated, so I let my guard down.


 No, maybe the ground collapsed because I had cracked it in various places.
 At any rate, my body was helplessly falling along with the collapsed stone floor in an instant.

 My body was thrown out into the pitch-black space, and I felt like I was floating in the air.
 Then, I immediately hit something, but the fall gave me a lot of momentum, and I fell further, shattering what seemed to be the floor.

 Darkness spreads below me.
 I can't see anything.
 It's a good idea to take a look at a few of the most common types of shoes that you can find.

 ...... For some reason, I even feel as if the black sword is pulling me deeper into the darkness.

 No, it's not my imagination.
 The power seems to be getting stronger and stronger with each fall.

 ──── Apparently, I'm being pulled downward right now.

 As I continued to fall through the floors for a while, wondering why and how, ...... I suddenly found myself thrown into a large space.

"...... bright ......?

 It was very bright there.
 There was a light that illuminated the entire space.
 Thanks to that, I could see all around me.

 The place was filled with a strange blue-white light.
 The same blue-white light that those six had released.
 It seemed to cover the entire space.

 A wall of pale light that shone much brighter and stronger than the one I had just seen spread out in front of me as I fell.

 If I keep going like this, I'm going to hit it.

 ...... What should I do?

 It's not a good idea to touch that light, as I found out when I touched it earlier.

 ──── for now.

Parry.

 When I struck the pale wall of light with my black sword, the wall of light turned into dazzling particles of light that instantly scattered all around.

 The moment the sword hit the wall of light, I felt a great shock in my hand.
 If I had hit it like that, I would have been in trouble.
 Apparently, I had made the right decision.

 And so I plummeted downward, smashing all the layers of light below me with my sword.
 As I broke down the pale walls of light, the area was filled with dazzling particles of light, which made the surroundings much brighter.
 Then, as I could see the floor in the distance, I managed to regain my position in the air and landed.

Somehow, I survived.

 When I was finally able to stand up on the floor, I looked around and saw that the dazzling light that had been scattered in the air had quickly disappeared, and a deep darkness immediately surrounded me.
 After all, it was the light that kept me bright.
 I was lucky. But then again, .......

──── Where am I?

 I wonder how far I've fallen.
 I feel like I've fallen a lot.
 I can't remember, but there must have been more than ten floors I've fallen through.



 Strangely enough, the black sword doesn't seem to be pulled any further.
 Just a moment ago, the black sword in my grip had indeed been pulled downward strongly.
 I think that was part of the reason why it went through the thick stone floor so easily.

 At any rate, it's too dark to see anything at this point.
 When I tried to turn on the light with the [Petit Fire], ...... I noticed something strange again.
 In the darkness, I felt the black sword move slightly again.

"............ What is it?

 I thought it might be my imagination, but it was definitely moving.
 This time, it seemed to be pulled in a certain direction, as if to indicate the position of something.
 It's a strange feeling.

 Could it be that this sword is trying to tell me something?
 I wondered if that was possible, but as I stared in the direction the sword was pointing, I realized that there was a hollow space in the back. A small amount of light is leaking from there.

Is there ...... something in there, or ......?

 Thinking that there might be a staircase or passage leading up, I followed the light I saw and went deeper. I followed the light and went deeper, and soon found myself in a large space with a huge blue-white crystal-like glowing stone floating in the air.

 It was bright and I could see very well.
 But looking around, I didn't see any exit or stairs leading up.
 I was a little depressed, but interested in the blue stone that was floating in the middle of the space.

It's pretty big.

 As I got closer, I saw that it was a rather huge stone.
 The width was much larger than the length of my hands, and the height was twice as tall as I was.
 The blue transparent stone seemed to be floating in the air.
 I peeked down to check, but it didn't seem to be supported by anything, and it really looked like it was just floating.

 Even more strangely, I feel that my sword is clearly being drawn to it.
 Even if I try to point my sword in another direction, it tries to point straight at the center of this stone.
 It's a really strange stone.

What the hell is this stone?
 Is it a light? ...... It's in a bit of an odd place for that.

 Just as I was reaching out to touch it to see what it was.

 Suddenly, I felt a strong pull on my body.  

"What ──── is my body ......?

 My body was sucked into the blue crystal, and as soon as I touched it, I was swallowed into the stone, and my consciousness went blank.







 The next thing I know, I'm standing in a strange place.

 I found myself standing in an unfamiliar place. There was a woman lying on the ground and ──── behind her, the huge, eerie skeleton from the painting I had seen upstairs was sitting on a golden chair, wearing a robe covered with glittering jewels.