83
Chapter 83
The Ascension Ritual.
Just as the whole world knows that the chain letter started in the United Kingdom, it was a glaringly obvious fact that Yoo Parang's turbulent life story began with the Ascension Ritual.
'Come to think of it, I guess I really didn't pay much attention to it.'
Even so, the fact that Parang still knew so little about the Ascension Ritual was equally undeniable.
But then again, Parang had her own excuses. She had been given barely any information to begin with.
'I should just be glad that I can finally learn a little about it now.'
Not dwelling on the negative at times like this was one of Parang's strengths.
She was currently watching the Slayers as they were ascending.
Looking down, she could catch glimpses of the ocean through the clusters of light.
It meant the ascension had just begun.
'Then, pretty soon.......'
Crack, cr-crack.
'It's this scene, of course.'
The bodies of all the Slayers cracked open, and a brilliant golden light spilled out from within the fissures.
It was the awakening of the flesh.
This phase was already factored into the Slayers' calculations, so they didn't show any particular signs of surprise.
"It feels quite bizarre......."
And their Artifacts, too, cracked apart and fell into the ocean with loud splashes.
This was also expected, so no one was overly shocked.
"What a shame. I'd grown quite attached to it."
"Eyra, I didn't know you were the type to get attached to objects."
"It wasn't just an object, it was a gift. One that you made for me."
Hunter Han Siwoo offered a sheepish smile.
And so, the familiar progression continued. The Slayers went further and further up.
"Oh, right, Siwoo."
"Yeah?"
"Your current quest is 'Ascend', right?"
Hunter Han Siwoo glanced briefly at the empty air before answering.
"Yeah, why?"
"Then what does it say the reward is? Come to think of it, I don't think I ever asked."
Hunter Han Siwoo's [ Great Journey ] was a Personal Skill that provided sequential quests, giving rewards for completion and penalties for failure.
It was the final quest to appear in the story, and also the very last piece of knowledge Parang had of the Original Work.
Though knowing that the Original Work had changed meant she couldn't rely on it too heavily.
"It just says '???'."
"I see. What a letdown."
Whether it was a relief or not, this part was exactly like the Original Work.
Russell chimed in to ask a question.
"What the hell, shouldn't they be a little more surprised when question marks suddenly appear on a perfectly normal quest? Why are they reacting like that?"
Parang kindly answered him.
"Important quests often show up as question marks. It's not an unprecedented phenomenon. In fact, it happens pretty frequently."
It was the same when she read the Original Work. Among the fans, it was often mockingly referred to as the FQA (Fucking Question marks Again).
"I see. That's a pretty annoying Skill. But how do you know about that?"
'Oops.'
"Uh......Cylo told me."
"They sure know a lot of random things. Anyway, let's keep watching."
The Slayers didn't seem too impressed by the reappearance of the question marks either, as there was only a brief murmur among them.
And then, about twenty minutes later.
The Slayers completely broke through the clouds and ascended into the sky.
Since it was the sky of a modern fantasy world, the scenery that unfolded was vastly different from Earth, Parang's home.
First off, there were two layers of clouds.
The clouds the Slayers had just burst through were at the bottom, while a layer of golden clouds exuding an overtly divine aura sat at the top.
The lower clouds were engulfed in blazing blue and red flames, and pillars of fire would occasionally shoot up to connect the top and bottom.
An eight-winged golden dragon, an eagle the size of a house with five heads, and all sorts of other holy beasts flew between them, while seven bolts of lightning struck from the golden clouds above every single second.
Humans named this place Purgatory, and ordinary people wouldn't even dream of coming up here.
Because of this hellish environment, it was virtually impossible for anyone other than Cylo to launch a space launch vehicle.
Furthermore, a sort of pseudo-boss battle for the Slayers had taken place right here.
"To think we'd end up coming back here. And so soon, too......."
"It's only been a week, hasn't it?"
"It's been so fast that I haven't even had time to properly reflect on it."
They chuckled and exchanged jokes.
Watching them, Parang felt a pang of wistfulness. Regardless of what happened, it was still a story she loved.
And they went further, up and up.
Finally, the Slayers reached just beneath the golden clouds.
Eventually, they broke through the clouds and passed the threshold.......
Whoosh-
The space above the golden clouds revealed itself.
"Wow, it definitely deserves to be called Heaven."
A paradise stretched out above the golden clouds.
A massive palace made of gold and marble stood tall in the center, apple trees with platinum branches and golden leaves grew everywhere, and pure white milk and golden honey repeatedly surged and settled between the clouds.
Clear, ringing bells chimed occasionally, while rabbits, doves, deer, and squirrels made of glass happily frolicked upon the clouds, and looking up, countless stars and the Milky Way were densely embedded in the sky as if they were going to pour down.
However, there were no gods or Angels to be found anywhere.
That's because the Slayers had killed them all.
And if things went according to their expectations, the Ascension should have ended here.
But as we all know, the Ascension didn't stop there.
At first, even they, who had pictured a happy life in Paradise, gradually realized the strangeness of the situation as the Ascension wouldn't stop.
"Eyra."
"Yeah."
"According to our calculations, we should have stopped by now, right?"
"Right. I'm also quite flustered."
"Things in life never seem to work out so easily. I suppose my sins from my past life must be quite grave."
A woman with her eyes closed wearing a Shrine Maiden Outfit shook her head.
Regardless, the Ascension showed no signs of stopping, and their upward speed only grew faster.
They eventually broke out into the Universe, finally confirming with their own two eyes that the Earth wasn't actually shaped like a dinosaur.
At this point, everyone realized something had gone wrong.
"We're in trouble. We don't even have our Weapons."
"No need for words. We just have to cut down whatever comes our way."
"Why is everyone so pessimistic? There's no guarantee that a fight will break out."
"It's all about statistics. Usually, when something goes wrong, fighting whatever appears in front of us solves it."
The Slayers simultaneously finished their battle preparations.
They didn't know what went wrong, but they anticipated a battle soon.
Well, it's not something to criticize them for by calling them muscle-heads or battle maniacs, because that was just the path they had walked.
After all, it came down to their genre. Even though the causes of the problems they faced varied, the solution always culminated in a battle.
And then, snap, their vision blacked out.
"Here it comes......!"
A brief moment of silence passed.
"What......!"
"What is, this......!"
"E-everyone, stay calm!!"
Unable to contain his curiosity, Russell asked again.
"What the. What's the situation right now?"
"They probably got teleported underwater shortly after their vision went dark. They must be panicking because they can feel their bodies submerged in water while their vision remains pitch black."
Bertea made a clear deduction.
Since the sense of touch wasn't shared, Oceanus couldn't feel it, but since the Slayers went from the Universe into the water, they definitely would have recognized that something changed.
"Then why is their vision still dark?"
"Think back carefully. Do you remember when we saw Alexandra's memories before? The very first place the Slayers were teleported to was inside that mysterious Pit."
That was certainly the case.
"Even so. How on earth does the Ascension Ritual lead straight into that damn Pit? No matter how you look at it, they fell right into a trap."
If that were the case, it would definitely explain why their vision was dark right now.
"Let's keep watching for now."
"Got it."
The memory started playing again.
"I think we've been teleported underwater. Everyone, keep your guard up. Let's gather first, then slowly head upwards."
Hunter Han Siwoo calmly issued instructions.
The others also positioned themselves skillfully, then slowly closed the distance between one another.
Right then.
Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-"
The area vibrated violently, and a bizarre sound that couldn't possibly belong to a living creature filled the surroundings.
Perhaps this entire Pit was vibrating and making that sound.
With the entire space trembling and screaming, even the Slayers looked flustered.
Even sudden changes in a situation should have limits, and this had definitely crossed the line by a mile.
While they were hesitating in the confusing situation, someone spoke up.
"Siwoo, look up!!"
"Huh?"
Glug, glug, glug-
A Bubble created by someone somewhere drifted straight up.
Turning their gazes towards it, they could see a very faint light seeping in from high above.
"Up there, do you see it? It's highly likely that's the way out!"
"It is. Everyone! Let's head over there for now!"
The Slayers swam towards the source of the seeping light.
"A bunch of rookies."
"Tell me about it."
Russell and Elvira clicked their tongues.
You should never trust lights seen in the ocean. How naive of them to just follow it.
Parang was also about to express her disappointment at this part......when she stopped.
'Wait, this.'
Isn't this just a reincarnated Character belittling the protagonist of the Original Work?
'T-that absolutely cannot happen!!'
As far as Parang knew, no Character who acted like that ever met a good end.
Barely managing to keep her mouth shut, Parang praised herself for her amazing self-control.