The Floor of Eternal Night (1)
Crack! Crackle!!
At the Nameless Chapel on the Floor of Beginnings, violet sparks erupted in midair. Space itself began to warp and twist, and a moment later two figures tumbled out through a rent in reality. The girl broke into a coughing fit as she found her voice.
"Cough! So? How was my teleport magi— cough, cough!"
"Are you all right, Master?"
"Ugh, I'm fine. I haven't used magic in ages, so the Restriction is— cough!"
"...Someone is approaching at high speed."
There was no time for a leisurely pat on the back. Sensing the threat, the Maid drew her tonfas at once.
A roar of flame split the air. The startled girl whipped her head around — and saw a woman wreathed in fire striding toward them.
Tower Rank 89, Wildfire Ifrit...!!
"I came because I sensed an unusual surge of mana, and sure enough — an infiltrator. What business do you have here?"
Travel within the Tower was ordinarily handled through gates or return scrolls, and in those cases there was never a problem. Even if a given floor had a manager, the system automatically reported who had arrived, when, and from where. Enter by any other route, however, and you became an unknown — identity unverified, purpose unclear. An infiltrator.
"I'd advise against trying anything clever. Unless you'd like to burn alive."
The hostility in that voice drew a deep sigh from the Maid. I told her we should just walk. Why did she have to use magic...!!
The vast majority of infiltrators visited a floor with ill intent, which meant they were treated as threats by default — exactly like now. The Maid bit her lip. Unfortunately, the other party had every right to be suspicious. The wise move was to explain themselves first, calmly and clearly...
"You're Wildfire?"
"And if I am?"
"Hand over the book!!!"
"...??"
"A truly magnificent explanation, Master."
The Maid could not help but marvel at her master's outstanding rhetorical gifts — namely, the gift of skipping every relevant detail and leaping straight to the point.
In a stroke of accidental luck, however, that outstanding explanation was enough for Ifrit to recall a certain someone. She studied the girl in silence. Small frame, violet hair... the description was a match, at least.
There's only one way to be sure. Appraisal.
◆ Skills:???
Just as she'd thought.
Ifrit clicked her tongue. Most who climbed to High Ranker did so on the back of raw ambition and a hunger for the fight. Every so often, though, you got the eccentrics — people who reached that same height simply by doing whatever they pleased.
Violet hair, petite frame, and purple lightning to match... This has to be Purple Lightning Violet herself.
Purple Lightning Violet. In her field, she was as close to the pinnacle as a person could get. She had never particularly wanted to become a High Ranker. She had simply hunted monsters for the sake of her research — and those accomplishments had carried her all the way to Tower Rank 98.
"I didn't expect Purple Lightning Violet to show up on the Floor of Beginnings, of all places."
"See? I told you I was a pretty big deal."
"It's fortunate that Lady Wildfire responded with composure. Had she not, the two of us would already be piles of ash."
"That's not the point. Wildfire, was it? I heard you received a book from the Saintess of Beginnings."
"I did."
"Give it to me. I'll interpret it and give it back. If you want, I can even throw in a translated copy."
"And the cost?"
"Don't need one."
It was, admittedly, not a bad offer. Her attitude was insufferable, but she was volunteering to interpret a book that no one had ever managed to decipher — and she wasn't even charging for it. What possible reason was there to turn down a golden opportunity that had quite literally dropped out of the sky?
"I can lend you the book, but I can't hand it over entirely. It might turn out to be a powerful skill book."
"Then I keep the translation. Deal?"
"Deal."
The two of them aligned their interests in a matter of seconds, and the long-suffering Maid was finally able to breathe again. If the negotiation had fallen through, there would have been no winning. In the old days, perhaps — but her master could not draw on her full power as she was now.
Violet, utterly oblivious to the Maid's fraying nerves, simply stared at the book with sparkling eyes and a delighted grin.
"So this is the unknown ancient tome...!!"
"Handle it carefully. It's a legendary item you'll never get your hands on again."
"Noted. Anyway — where's the Saintess of Beginnings?"
"She's not on the Floor of Beginnings right now."
"What? An NPC? Where'd she go all of a sudden?"
"Where do you think..."
Ifrit smiled as she answered.
The first thing that greeted a fledgling adventurer who had safely left the Floor of Beginnings was a breathtaking night sky. Strewn with countless stars, the dazzling expanse was enough to steal anyone's gaze before they even realized it.
That was the trap. Beneath that beautiful sky, something always waited in the dark.
Heh heh. She fell for it!
The black-and-white veil draped over platinum-silver hair swayed — surely because she had lifted her face to the heavens. Those unusual cross-shaped pupils held the starlight as if they had fallen into it completely. To any observer, she looked like nothing more than a wide-eyed novice. The thing in the dark launched itself without a second's hesitation.
"Kieeek!"
Red eyes flashed from the shadows. The moment its prey was lost in the stars was the perfect instant to strike — a trial far too cruel for an adventurer who had only just left the first floor. Unfortunately for the ambusher, it had picked the wrong target.
CLANG!! Metal rang against metal. The creature's crimson eyes went wide with shock.
"That arm — it's steel?!"
"A filthy kobold, daring to go after Sis...!!"
A wet, shearing sound.
"Kieeeeeek!!!"
The instant its worn pickaxe caught on the steel prosthetic, a blaze of pain ripped through it, and its own head went tumbling across the ground. The last thing it saw was a black-haired girl sprinting toward the silver-haired woman. Then everything went dark.
Zion, for her part, clicked her tongue inwardly. A fraction of a second slower and that pickaxe would have been buried in her skull.
Not that my defense would actually fold to something this pathetic... but that doesn't mean I particularly want to test the theory with my own head.
Even so, she had no interest in playing the martyr just to find out what a kobold's pickaxe felt like against her forehead.
Rin, having taken the kobold's head in a single stroke, rushed over and immediately checked Zion for injuries. The steel prosthetic was, of course, unharmed. There was not so much as a scratch on it, which was unsettling in its own right.
"Thank goodness. On the second floor, one wrong move can get you killed instantly."
"I see."
"Ah — I'm sorry, Sis. You'd know all of this far better than I would..."
Zion might have been staying on the Floor of Beginnings for the time being, but she was, as far as anyone knew, the legendary hero who had conquered the 120th Floor and slain the Demon King. Explaining the structure of a floor in front of someone like that was about as useful as teaching a silkworm how to wrinkle. Rin turned her head in embarrassment — which, fortunately, meant she missed the awkward smile tugging at Zion's lips.
I don't actually know any of this...
Zion managed a bitter smile. At present, both Rin and Ifrit were under the impression that she was the great Saintess of legend. The problem was that, unlike the Saintess who had climbed beyond the 120th Floor, Zion had never ascended a single floor in her life. All she could do for now was change the subject before her entire bluff came crashing down.
"We should hurry, before it gets any later."
"Ah, right. Sorry, Zion."
"It's all right. I'm simply a little worried about the children."
Is Sis actually a living angel?
Zion and Rin were currently on the second floor — a place also known as the Floor of Eternal Night. True to its name, night never ended here. And they had climbed this far for one reason only: someone had asked them to.
A few nights ago, a visitor had come to Zion late in the evening. A girl in tattered clothes, her body covered in scratches.
"Sis, please save my brother."
"All right. I understand. Let's treat your wounds first."
"We're trapped in the eternal darkness. So please... save us from the wolves..."
She had left those few words behind and vanished before Zion's eyes. Even now, the memory sent a chill down her spine. Whether it had been a prank or a lure into some kind of trap, she couldn't say — but she couldn't ignore it either. There was always the chance that the plea had been genuine. After talking it over, they had decided to climb to the second floor.
"Kkyaung!!"
"Yes, yes. I haven't forgotten you either, Fafnir."
At some point Fafnir had draped his head over Zion's shoulder, howling as if to remind her he was still there. Zion smiled and stroked his head — and immediately felt an intense stare boring into her from the side. She turned, wondering what it was this time, and found Rin watching them with naked envy.
A reliable companion... right?
For the first time, Zion felt her faith begin to waver.