The Road to Abyss #1
Isabel descended from the carriage emblazoned with the goddess's face, the emblem of the Continental Church. She tilted her head upward, staring at the spire that loomed directly ahead—like a sharp, cone-shaped tower, its height so immense it made her neck ache from the tilt.
She left the priests unloading the crates and boxes behind her and walked straight ahead, unhurried but composed.
Her steps were so light and precise that even the rustle of her sleeves was inaudible.
No matter how much the Saintess was revered, Isabel knew the tower's authority did not reach inside. So she kept her nerves taut, every movement demanding her full attention.
She felt as if she were a thief slipping over a wall while everyone was tense, like a robber sneaking through someone's backyard.
"Hmm……"
Her hand rose toward the massive gray door, locked tight. A low groan escaped her, and she trembled all over.
It was as cold as ice and as heavy as a mountain.
The familiar texture of stone felt like it was cooling her blood to a bone-chilling chill.
Isabel watched the door without a sound, as if she were a beast snarling at it, then slowly stepped forward.
The gap between the doors had widened enough for a man to squeeze through with a crate.
The inside of the tower was far larger than she expected, and the scent of mana drifted from every corner.
The gaudy splendor that buildings of this scale should have flaunted with dignity and power was now gaudy and eye-catching in a completely different way.
Isabel stood there, mesmerized by the tower's splendor for the first time in her life, staring blankly.
She suddenly snapped out of it and continued walking.
In the circular hall at the center, mages gliding past along the corridors connecting the edges of the circle rarely glanced sideways, never offering a greeting.
They respected only mana and magic.
Of course, there was a hierarchy, but it meant nothing except during the rarest of crises.
Isabel scanned her surroundings and spotted a thick, large disc floating and sinking in one corner.
She remembered what Aria had once mentioned: a disc with floating magic activated on the floors.
At the time, Aria had still been stationed in the tower, and even now she was. That's why she told Isabel so many stories.
"If you step onto the disc, you'll be fine. It was built very sturdy, so it won't collapse. Don't worry too much."
Isabel smiled with a slight tilt of her head, waiting quietly for her turn. The mages, still dazed, nodded.
Thanks to hearing Isabel's voice, they regained their senses first. Isabel stepped onto the disc first, and they followed.
Her legs trembled with doubt, wondering if it was really all right.
"To the ninth floor."
Isabel spoke, and the disc on the ground slowly rose.
The priests were bewildered, feeling like they were floating in the sky, but Isabel remained calm and steady.
The floating magic Aria had cast had been far more stimulating and terrifying.
When the disc reached the ninth floor and stopped with a metallic clank, Isabel's foot extended outward.
The disc did not move until everyone who had stepped onto it got off.
The priests, who did not know the secret, stepped with extreme caution, while Isabel walked on the ground as casually as if strolling.
Because the tower was conical, the fewer rooms and shorter corridors there were as one went up.
The circumference shrank.
So there was no need to search blindly; after just a few steps, one could easily find Aria's room.
Each door had a nameplate engraved on it, so it was only natural.
Found it.
Isabel stared at the door engraved with Aria's name for a moment, then lightly knocked.
Knock knock.
"Aria. Are you in there? It's me. Isabel."
Despite announcing her name after knocking, the answer was silence.
Isabel wondered for a moment if no one was there, but then shook her head.
She felt a faint but unmistakable presence of someone.
So when there was no answer after knocking several times, she decided to open the door and enter.
It was rude, but when the other person was not in their right mind, rudeness was sometimes necessary to push forward.
"I'll come in."
Thinking that way, Isabel announced it and carefully turned the doorknob.
It was fortunate she thought this way, because if the door had been locked, she would have had to smash it open.
If she broke the door, chaos would follow, and that would only complicate things.
Spacious yet cramped.
Isabel admired the very spacious room for one person, then ordered the priests waiting behind her to put the crates somewhere.
And she commanded them to wait on the first floor with polite politeness.
Left alone, Isabel stepped deeper inside, searching for Aria's back.
It wasn't just a room; it was a home.
"Ah."
Isabel's eyes sparkled as she saw a woman sitting listlessly on the floor of the living room.
Scattered papers everywhere.
Books filling the desks, along with writing instruments.
Even metal plates used for special experiments.
It was dirty enough to suffocate, but Isabel didn't care at all.
She was just shocked by Aria's appearance as she muttered to herself like a madman, staring into empty space.
"Aria. It's me. Isabel."
Isabel sat at the opposite seat after clearing it a bit, and Aria's eyes, which had been fixed on empty space, shifted to face her directly.
The light slowly returned to her unfocused eyes, and her lips, which had been muttering incomprehensible sounds, pressed shut.
Isabel. Isabel. Isabel.
Aria, who had been half-lost in thought, gazed at the golden hair floating in front of her, then slowly parted her lips.
Despite the unexpected visitor, there was no sign of surprise.
Nor was there any joy.
She was simply indifferent.
"Ah… yeah. Isabel. Isabel, huh. Why did you come here?"
Aria asked with her light purple eyes half-closed.
Isabel internally panicked.
On the surface she looked like she was feeling pity, but the response was so lukewarm it was unbearable.
She wouldn't have reacted like this to a stranger.
Still, because her purpose was so clear, Isabel's lips curved into a line.
As if she was forcing a smile.
"I was worried. I heard you hadn't left your room in half a year, locked up."
"Half a year…? It's already been that long."
Isabel's concern was irrelevant. The word "half a year" only swirled in Aria's head.
She didn't care about the gift her worry had brought.
Isabel's kindness had no value either.
The world looked gray, and nothing tasted even if she ate.
Regret only made Aria more ill.
Her skin was so pale it was deathly white, and her eyes lacked luster.
The limp light purple hair hanging down was the proof.
If she hadn't heard that damn sound that day.
If she hadn't peeked.
If she hadn't been caught peeking with hot breath.
Nothing like this would have happened.
Aria lowered her head, recalling the time she had mixed with the other when she was immersed in curiosity and sweet talk.
The memory locked in a corner with a lock began to shake, squeezing her chest.
Her facial muscles twisted, teeth grinding with a crackling sound.
"Aria!"
Startled by that, Isabel cried out Aria's name in shock, but Aria was only struggling to erase the unwanted memories rising.
She had even thought of using forgetfulness magic to cleanly erase the painful memory.
But even if it vanished from memory, the fact that she had turned her back on the hero wouldn't disappear.
So why wasn't she madly immersed in the magic she was researching now?
Aria slowly breathed out, calming her anger, then loosened the fist she had been crushing, and lifted her head.
"Yeah… thank you for worrying. Now you're busy, right? You should go back."
Isabel was dumbfounded by the blunt dismissal and shouted in a panicked voice.
"Wait! There's one thing I want to ask! Can you somehow relieve the pain I'm feeling every day…?"
"Pain? You look fine. What pain are you talking about?"
Aria tilted her head, interested.
Isabel's expression hardened, and she slowly opened her mouth.
She would never tell anyone else, but Aria was different.
Since they were both accomplices and mages, she believed empathy and resolution would be given.
"Actually, a while ago, the hero came…."
The word "hero" made Aria's eyes flash with madness.
Even the voice she had been listening to with half an ear began to listen fully.
The reason she was locked in this room now was to confess her sins to the hero and receive forgiveness.
So she couldn't help but be sensitive to the word "hero."
The hero, whose whereabouts had been mysterious, appeared, pulled out her nails, and disappeared like smoke.
With a strange artifact.
After listening to the behind story Isabel revealed, Aria slowly extended her hand.
Even though she felt revulsion and jealousy at the audacity of trying to erase the trace of Adonis's name, her expression was utterly emotionless.
"First, extend your hand."
"Okay."
Isabel grabbed the hand Aria was offering and poured mana into it.
She had suspected it might be a magic spell, so she cast the detection magic to find the trace.
It couldn't be natural after thinking about it.
The result was that Aria discovered through search that a magic spell was indeed cast.
The magic circle was so subtle and intricate that even a decent mage couldn't sense it.
It was at least at the level where only someone like Aria could detect it.
But even with such subtlety, because the effect was simple, it wasn't hard to dispel.
If it didn't work, there was the method of carving a magic that prevented her from feeling pain to cancel it.
Isabel released Isabel's hand and pondered what to do.
It was audacious to try to erase Adonis's trace, but at the same time, the desire to wipe it out quickly also arose.
If she had been in that position, she would have lived with that pain forever.
The deprivation of not being able to do so made her feel even more.
"How… can you solve it?"
Isabel asked with worry and hope in her voice.
Aria nodded.
This kind of magic was not something Adonis could cast, but Isabel claimed Adonis had done it.
In other words, she concluded that a high-ranking mage had committed such a thing while appearing as Adonis.
Isabel decided she had to take action even if it meant following the tail of that mage.
She believed there must be some connection between Adonis and this.
"Maybe."
Whoever touched it left a trace so the caster would know.
In other words, it was possible to provoke the caster to come here.
That was why Aria had decided to lift the magic.
"Ah…! You're really the mage praised in the tower! "
Isabel was overjoyed at the thought of escaping the pain.
She didn't even notice the mad mage's eyes sparkling with the idea of using her.
[Curse activated: Trace of Adonis's influence detected on the target's body. Desire to erase it growing stronger by the second.]