The Second Footprint

About twenty minutes ago. At the bottom of the Abyss.

".... Uuung~?"

Artie, who had been sound asleep from exhaustion, jolted awake at the sudden noise.

"Uuu~ Joyeon...? Where are youuu~?"

As she instinctively tried to sit up in search of him, Joyeon, who had been holding her, gently took her hand and whispered.

"I'm here. Right beside you. Must've been too loud, huh."

"Aah... It's Joyeon~"

"You can go back to sleep. Just a little longer."

"Uung~ Wanna sleep together~?"

"I'll stay right here, so don't worry and rest. You're sleepy, aren't you?"

"Uuung~ Sleepy~~"

Still half-asleep, Artie burrowed deeper into Joyeon's arms, seeking his warmth. Her soft, bold advance would have been enough to shatter any ordinary man's self-control.

[Title, 'The Only Man Trusted by the Peerless Beauty' has granted immunity to charm.]

Thanks to the title, things never headed in that direction. Besides, this was hardly the time.

-I really thought I was dead~

-Still, way better than jumping off without thinking just to save Artie.

-Kyahaha!

Joyeon was currently at the very bottom of the Abyss—or rather, what could no longer be called the bottom, but deep underground. Before the falling rocks reached the floor, he had shattered them with Bone Spears to reduce their size, then positioned himself in the center of a cone-shaped Bone Armor. By dodging as much as possible, he had avoided being completely buried alive.

"Aah~ Master. As expected, you're incredible. To overcome such a desperate situation all by yourself~!"

Clack.

'Master's sharp judgment is truly remarkable.'

Clack.

'You're amazing, Master~'

"It's not like I've done anything praiseworthy yet."

Joyeon responded dryly to his followers' praise. As he said, aside from the space he occupied, the bottom of the Abyss was completely buried under rubble. It was no time to relax. If he dispelled the Bone Armor, the massive pile of rocks above could collapse again at any moment.

Joyeon called out to his skeletons.

"Red Bone, it's impossible to move the Bone Armor upward and push away the fallen rocks, right?"

-Impossible. That's not what the magic is for, and it's too heavy. If we force it, the armor will break.

"Got it. Then Black Bone, use Bone Spears to make a hole we can escape through. Red Bone, stay beside him and make sure nothing goes wrong with the tunnel."

-Kekek!

-Easy enough. Understood.

"White Bone, you're with me. Let's get ready to kill that fake demon bastard."

-Okay!

After quickly dividing the tasks, his followers approached.

"Master, is there anything we can do to help?"

"Wait a moment. Before I give you orders—Karl, Ron. Come here."

Creak.

At Joyeon's call, Karl and Ron—who had been waiting in their graves, unsure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠when they might be needed—quickly emerged.

Tap.

'Karl, reporting at Master's summons.'

Tap.

'Ron, likewise reporting at Master's summons.'

The two knelt before Joyeon and offered formal greetings. Joyeon paid little attention to their display, simply waving a hand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to dismiss them toward the others before slowly walking around, searching for a place to lay down the uncomfortably sleeping Artie in his arms.

Karl and Ron exchanged glances.

'Should we have come out midway to do something for Master?'

'Can't deny it. Honestly, we didn't do anything.'

'But there was no way out at all.'

'Maybe that was the problem to begin with.'

'...Seems that way.'

Deciding their private conversation wasn't getting anywhere useful, they turned to the other followers.

'Jack, did anything happen up there? Something that might have disappointed Master, for example.'

'Hmm~ Well, I wonder if he might be more upset with May or me. We were slower than Tiasia to go save him... Perhaps he's questioning our loyalty...'

'May, you don't know either?'

'Eeh~ Since you two were with Pon, you probably didn't make any mistakes you don't know about... But I feel like Master might be disappointed that we stayed in our graves even after knowing he was in danger...'

'Young lady, do you know anything?'

'I was with Artie, so I returned around the same time as everyone else... But I couldn't protect her perfectly and even put her in danger... I wouldn't have any excuse even if Master told me to die...'

As their silent exchange grew increasingly serious, Joyeon was thinking something completely different.

-You're really planning to fight a demon? You don't have to. Artie's right here, and that guy definitely thinks you're dead. Why not just run away like this?

'Don't say nonsense. Even if we ignore the demon, there's still Lily Cubus outside who hurt Artie. That woman will never let us go.'

-Th-that's true, but... she'll probably die to the demon anyway? Think of it as them taking care of her for us.

'No, why is a god so scared of a single demon?'

-Scared! I'm not scared! I'm not the one fighting anyway! You're the one fighting! If you die protecting Artie, what happens to her?!

'I don't understand why you think I'll lose.'

-Why?! That's not an ordinary demon! Do you think it was sealed because it was weak? It's the opposite! It was sealed because it was too strong to be dealt with!

'What makes it so strong, then?'

The Ability God shouted in frustration, pounding her chest as she watched Joyeon casually gather scattered clothes from the floor to make a crude bed.

-First of all, its demonic nature! While only about ten percent of humans can use magic, demons can all use it.

'I can do that too.'

-That's not all! He can use his own magic to convert the death energy from corpses into his mana. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠With a hundred thousand undead under his command, he has virtually infinite mana!

'I can do something similar.'

-Undead? Undead that don't know fear or fatigue and multiply the more they fight!

'Haa... I don't know what you think of me, but I can do that too.'

Using magic, infinite mana, commanding undead. Joyeon could do all of it. As he calmly refuted her while laying Artie down on the makeshift bed, the Ability God stammered and tried another angle.

-B-but a hundred thousand undead?! You're underestimating that number way too much! In comparison, you only have a few skeletons and a war troll three ti—

"Don't lump them together like that."

Joyeon's face darkened, and unmistakable displeasure crept into his voice. The followers nearby flinched and tensed at his sudden low growl. Realizing she had touched a nerve, the Ability God quickly backtracked.

-I-I get that they're stronger, but based on what I've seen so far, it doesn't seem like something to get that angry about...?

"......"

Joyeon didn't respond. After laying Artie down, he walked over to his followers.

"...Kids."

Flinch!

At Joyeon's sunken voice, the followers straightened up in unison.

"W-we're ready to receive your orders, Master. Please command us anything."

"...? Why are you all so tense?"

"W-we're not tense!"

"...... Don't tell me you're scared of fighting that demon?"

Assuming his displeased tone had been noticed, Joyeon thought the tension came from fear of the demon. Of course, the followers—who felt no fear toward something as trivial as a demon—were startled by their master's misunderstanding and shook their heads vigorously.

"Th-that's not it, Master!"

Clack!

'Master! We would never fear an enemy, even if it were a Demon King instead of a demon!'

Clack!

'If it's your command, we're ready to fight anyone!'

Tap!

'If you order us to bring back that demon's head right now, we'd even sell our souls!'

Tap!

'For your command!'

Joyeon calmed them down, worried Artie might wake again from their outburst.

"...Right. You wouldn't be scared of things like that."

"That's correct. We are your sword and shield. We will complete any order you give."

"Yeah. You've always said that. And you've carried out my orders well enough... But as you are now, dealing with a hundred thousand undead would still be too much."

The followers remained silent at Joyeon's calm words.

"But you're different from ordinary undead."

Black energy flowed from Joyeon's body and began to cover the floor.

This was the place where a hundred thousand undead had been created. Though not a single corpse remained, something far more important was still here.

Nearly a hundred thousand souls, unable to pass on due to their powerful grudges from unwanted deaths, filled the bottom of the Abyss.

Joyeon's Eyes of the Soul turned toward his followers.

"Not mere empty husks of undead, but my followers."

Realizing what Joyeon intended, the followers knelt before him. The Book of the Dead flew out of his inventory, radiating a dark red glow, while White Bone began chanting beside him, its eyes gleaming ominously.

-[Those without power always meet their end in death.]

"They are beings who must never be looked down upon by others."

-[Even in death, the weak end in death—that is, annihilation.]

"They are existences capable of toying with a hundred thousand undead."

-[You who walk the path of eternal despair, O weak one.]

"Each one of them will become so powerful that no one in this fused world will not know their name."

-[I shall grant you a blessing that twists fate.]

"I will make it so."

-[Despair Bless]

"[Show them what a difference in rank truly means.]"

A hundred thousand souls mixed with the dark red light emanating from the Book of the Dead and began enveloping Joyeon's followers.

...

Ju Joyeon, still only an heir, began leaving his second footprint ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at the bottom of the Abyss—one that the entire world would come to know.