Chapter 83
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: The 27th Floor
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It was about time for him to activate the key.
*'But can I really do it?'*
Kashmir clenched his fists tightly.
He had to. For his mother.
If he didn't follow the order, his mother would die.
But looking at Christian, who was grinning at him, he found his hands wouldn't move.
The one who had approached him first and acknowledged him for the first time in his life.
How could he possibly drive such a person to his death with his own hands?
Just as his heart was withering from the maddening conflict of being unable to choose either side.
Suddenly, Christian frowned.
"Wait, what's this? Something's strange?"
"What?"
"Everyone, be careful!"
"!!"
A sudden anomaly occurred.
The ceiling of the Underground Garden's 7th floor began to ripple violently.
Space distorted, as if a vortex were forming.
Kashmir's eyes widened.
*'This is a teleportation phenomenon?! Why all of a sudden?'*
Teleportation.
It was a secret of the Underground Garden discovered not long ago.
With the key to a floor, one could instantly move a target to a connected floor.
The problem was that the 7th floor was connected to the 17th floor.
A floor where only a Majin of at least 6-Star rank could survive.
It was an environment where no one present could possibly survive.
If the teleportation activated, everyone would die.
*'Why is the teleportation happening when I haven't even activated the key? Someone activated it from the outside!'*
Kashmir realized something and his face turned pale.
Grand Prince Schwarz.
He must have activated the key through some means.
"Everyone, get back!!"
But it was too late.
*Fwaaaaaah!!*
A great light began to descend upon them.
An unavoidable situation.
Just then, another anomaly occurred.
"Everyone, raise your Magi!!"
It was Chris's shout.
At the same time.
*Kwwaaaaang!!*
A violent explosion erupted in front of the others.
The pressure from the sudden explosion swept over their bodies, flinging them away.
Sprawled on the floor, Kashmir lifted his head with a trembling body.
*'Did Young Lord Christian save us?'*
If it hadn't been for that timely explosion of black magic, they would have been swept up in the teleportation.
*'Then what about Young Lord Christian?'*
Back there.
Christian could be seen standing right where he was.
"Ah, no..."
Did he sense Kashmir's gaze on him?
Christian grinned.
*Fwaaat!*
The teleportation activated.
"No!!"
And just like that, Christian disappeared.
Leaving everyone behind.
* * *
In the darkness.
Chris closed his eyes.
It was a familiar feeling.
*'It's not the first time. I moved like this with the Hero's party, too.'*
Back then, the ability to teleport between floors in the Underground Garden wasn't a particular secret.
Now, keys have only been found for a few floors, including the 7th, but back then, keys for most floors had been secured, saving time in conquering them.
*'Anyway.'*
Christian cracked his eyes open.
- No!!
- Christian!!!!
He could hear their voices calling for him from beyond the subspace.
Urgent cries, as if he were dead.
Chris tilted his head.
*'I can understand Kashmir, but why are Jupien and Marisa acting like that? Didn't they both hate me? There's no need to worry so much.'*
In truth, this whole situation was a setup he had orchestrated himself.
Kashmir had looked conflicted, on the verge of confessing everything without activating the key, so Chris had secretly activated it himself.
*'I already knew how to operate the key from when I came here with the Hero's party.'*
In any case, Chris looked around.
Pitch-black darkness was streaking past him like light.
*'If I keep going like this, will I end up on the 17th floor?'*
Chris observed the subspace surrounding him.
A space of nothing but darkness.
*'The Underground Garden's teleportation works on a similar principle to a gate.'*
The principle of spatial movement itself was simple.
You pierce the backside of space to enter a subspace, and from there, you pierce the backside of your desired location to emerge back into real space.
The problem was the subspace that served as the intermediate passage.
Subspace was filled with infinite, unexpected variables that were impossible to calculate with formulas.
The role of a gate was to eliminate those subspace variables.
This "teleportation" in the Underground Garden was the same.
Normally, the moment one stepped into subspace, all sorts of unexpected variables should have appeared, but it was as calm and serene as being in a silent universe.
This meant one thing.
*'It means I can use this item.'*
Chris took out an item he had prepared from his coat.
The Spatial Scissors made by the Archmage Lenin.
Normally, it was a useless trinket, unusable due to the variables in subspace, but not now.
Because the "teleportation" activated by the "key" was blocking the subspace variables.
Using these scissors, he could cut through space and move to a desired location.
*'Of course, if I miscalculate the coordinates, I'll become lost in space, so it requires immense calculations.'*
The required processing power was enough to overwhelm even an Archmage.
But for Chris, it was simple.
His genius shone through in his computational abilities as well.
When it came to pure calculation, no one in this world could surpass him.
*'Now!'*
Chris swung the scissors.
Based on mind-boggling calculations, the precise coordinates were set.
A momentary rift was revealed.
Chris didn't hesitate and threw himself into it.
The shock of leaping through space briefly blacked out his vision, and soon, cold air touched his skin.
He had succeeded in teleporting!
*'Did I arrive at the right place?'*
The answer came immediately.
A chilling.
An irresistible pressure crushed down on him.
It was different from the pressure he had felt when meeting the Old Lord.
Spiritual pressure.
He felt a weight as if a being of a different class of existence was stomping on his very soul.
It felt as if his soul was screaming in terror.
Forcing himself to ignore it, he barely managed to lift his head and saw it.
Its entire body bound in chains.
A "being," pierced by what looked like tens of thousands of holy nails, restrained so it couldn't even twitch a finger.
Chris swallowed hard and whispered the "being's" identity to himself.
*'A demon from the 4th Realm of Gehenna.'*
That's right.
This was the 27th floor of the Underground Garden.
A floor prepared for the 9-Star Demon King-class Majin.
* * *
Meanwhile, back on the 7th floor.
Those left behind wore looks of utter bewilderment.
"What in the world just happened?"
Marisa's face was as white as a corpse.
Out of nowhere, space had distorted, and Chris had vanished.
If Chris hadn't pushed them away, they would have met the same fate.
*'What happened to Chris? Could he be... dead?'*
Thump, thump, Marisa's heart pounded.
Her consciousness reeled.
Just then, Jupien did something unexpected.
*Chaaang!*
She drew her sword and aimed it at Kashmir's neck.
"Young Lady Jupien? What are you doing?"
"This was his doing."
"!!"
Jupien spat out coldly.
"After we came to the 7th floor, this guy. He's been acting suspiciously the whole time. Speak. What did you do?"
Marisa's face also turned venomous.
*Fwaat!*
Poisonous energy began to seethe from her hand.
It was a poison meant for torture.
"Is it true, Young Lord Kashmir? If you don't answer, you'll find yourself in a state of neither life nor death, experiencing endless agony as every vein, nerve, and intestine is torn apart."
Kashmir still wore a dazed expression.
He didn't resist, even as Jupien's sword dug into his neck, drawing blood, or as the poison began to seep through his skin.
"...It's already too late to save Young Lord Christian."
"What do you mean?"
"...I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
Kashmir bowed his head wretchedly and revealed the whole story.
Hearing his story, Jupien's and Marisa's faces hardened.
"If it weren't for Young Lord Christian, we would all be dead too. Ha, to think I caused the death of such a person."
Jupien frowned.
*Smack!*
She slapped Kashmir's cheek with all her might.
Whoosh, Kashmir's cheek flushed red.
"Shut up, you pathetic whiner."
"......"
"Christian isn't dead yet. I'm sure of it."
At Jupien's confident declaration, Marisa and Kashmir looked puzzled.
"I've never seen anyone as vile, obnoxious, and cunning as that bastard Christian. So, even on the 17th floor, he'll find a way to survive."
It was a groundless...
...but strangely persuasive opinion.
Marisa also agreed that Christian, that obnoxious bastard, wouldn't die so easily.
*'No, he has to be alive. If he dies so pointlessly, I'll never forgive him. I'll sprinkle poison on his grave.'*
Marisa ground her teeth.
Jupien said.
"Then open the gate again."
"Yes, but... if you go to the 17th floor, you'll all die."
But Jupien spoke firmly.
"He may be an obnoxious bastard, but he's still my younger brother, sharing the blood of my family. I can't just let him die like this."
"...I'll go too."
Marisa said reflexively.
In truth, it was not a wise choice.
As Kashmir had said, the 17th floor was beyond their capabilities. They wouldn't survive setting foot there.
But.
*'If Christian dies like this, I'll feel awful. Unbearably so.'*
Most importantly, during the previous incident.
And this time as well.
They had escaped danger with Christian's help.
How could she call herself a proud Majin if she ignored such a debt?
Thus, Marisa rationalized her decision.
"I..."
Kashmir bit his lip hard.
His heart seethed.
He, too, wanted to go save Christian.
But if he didn't return from this place, his mother would face death.
*'Dammit, why am I like this.'*
Though it had been a short time, the words Chris had said to him came to mind.
The one who had truly acknowledged him.
The one who had called him a friend for the first time.
*'Damn it all.'*
In the end, Kashmir also made his decision.
"...I will go with you."
He might regret it.
But for once, Kashmir decided to follow his heart.
But an unexpected voice stopped them.
"Hold on. For the three of you to go alone seems unwise."
"Head Butler!"
Jupien looked surprised.
Simon, a handsome vampire with a pale complexion, had appeared behind them at some point.
"Hmm. This is troublesome. I had anticipated something might happen, but I didn't expect this. The 17th floor is no easy place, even for me."
Simon wore a troubled expression.
His level was 6-Star Lower.
The 17th floor, on the other hand, was a place challenged by Majin who had reached the Middle stage of 6-Star, a level where one could masterfully handle 'Will-Thought'.
Therefore, opponents who could perfectly handle Will-Thought would surely appear on the 17th floor.
An opponent difficult even for Simon to handle.
*'What should I do? This doesn't seem profitable.'*
Simon narrowed his eyes.