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Chapter 139: Isabel’s Doubt
Time flows differently inside the Demon Dungeon compared to the outside world.
This is something that was mentioned before.
The flow of time within the Demon Dungeon drastically changes depending on the floor.
Thus, the time that passes outside is far less than the time spent descending through the palace.
The reason for these time distortions on each floor is simple:
It is meant to extend the maturation period of the Apostles who reach the lower depths.
The time differences are as follows:
2nd floor: 3 days
3rd floor: 7 days
4th floor: 15 days
5th floor: 30 days
Up to the 5th floor, the time differences remain somewhat predictable.
However, from the 6th floor onward, the disparity increases dramatically:
6th floor: 45 days
7th floor: 100 days
8th floor: 180 days
9th floor: 365 days
We are currently on the 8th floor.
For a single day to pass in the outside world, 180 days must elapse here.
The time discrepancy between us and the surface is a full 180 days.
The only fortunate thing is that in the Demon Dungeon, the body does not age.
This is likely meant for the Apostles, but it also applies to humans like us.
It has been one month and one week since Isabel and I were caught in the Demon Dungeon’s spatial shift and became isolated.
Compared to when we cleared the 9th floor in just a week, we have barely made it halfway through the 8th floor in over a month.
The 8th floor consists of bizarrely structured buildings that are interconnected in unnatural ways.
Beneath the towering structures, which reach toward the sky, flows a purple river.
This eerie river periodically erupts in whirlwinds, surging upward toward the sky.
The river is highly acidic—contact with it causes flesh to melt instantly.
Avoiding it when it surges is crucial.
8th Floor: The Apostles’ Skyscraper
This is the most dangerous floor in the Demon Dungeon, a fortress constructed of an endless labyrinth.
So far, we have encountered mortal danger five times.
The closest brush with death happened just moments ago.
The 8th floor’s named Apostle—Elixir of Life.
Its ability: Absorbing life upon contact.
Its body, composed entirely of liquid, is immune to physical attacks.
That meant that neither Isabel’s nor my attacks had any effect on it.
In the end, I used one of my Lightning Talismans to barely escape.
Both Isabel and I gasped for breath.
The intense battle against Elixir of Life had left us utterly exhausted.
“Haa… huff… I’m sorry… because of me…”
Isabel struggled to catch her breath as she spoke.
During the fight, she had made a desperate move to escape.
But after a month and a week of nothing but exhausting battles, her stamina had run dry.
She had reached her limit and ended up in a dangerous situation.
I could tell she had lost weight compared to before.
We had no proper rest, and we couldn't even remember the last time we had a proper sleep.
Marching through this floor nonstop had burned away both fat and muscle.
A human body consumes stored nutrients to survive.
No matter how rigorous our training was, we were still human.
For a man, having more muscle mass made it slightly easier to endure.
But a woman’s muscles were not the same as a man’s.
When subjected to the same amount of exertion and fatigue, a woman’s body would reach its limit first.
“Isabel, eat this.”
I rummaged through my bag and handed her some jerky and biscuits.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re in no condition to say that. If you keep losing stamina, you’ll collapse and won’t be able to move.”
“You need it just as much as I do.”
Isabel tried to return the food to me.
But both of us were too exhausted.
Our weakened hands clumsily bumped into each other, causing the jerky to fall to the ground.
At least the biscuit didn’t drop.
If it had, it would’ve crumbled into pieces.
Seeing this, Isabel bit her lip and apologized.
“…Sorry.”
It was a situation born from mutual exhaustion and concern for each other.
I simply pushed the biscuit into her mouth.
With no other choice, Isabel reluctantly ate the biscuit.
“Make sure you drink some water, too.”
Just as I reached for the fallen jerky with my left hand, I suddenly froze.
Then, with my right hand, I hurriedly grabbed the jerky.
Isabel, still chewing on the biscuit, silently observed this.
A moment later, her eyes widened in shock, and she lunged at me.
“You…!”
“What? Did you want the jerky that badly?”
“That’s not it!”
Isabel grabbed my left shoulder and arm.
Then, she yanked up my sleeve.
What was revealed was a completely blackened left arm.
It looked as if all life had been drained from it.
My arm was utterly motionless.
She noticed.
Isabel’s face turned deathly pale.
Her trembling eyes locked onto mine.
“…You got hit by Elixir of Life while saving me, didn’t you?”
Just before Isabel was about to be touched by it,
I had used a Lightning Talisman and pulled her away.
In the process, a fragment of the Elixir splashed onto my left arm.
I never expected such a small fragment to have this much effect.
Now, I couldn’t lift my left shoulder at all.
It was simply blackened, completely lifeless.
A price paid for losing my arm’s vitality to that thing.
“It’s fine. The effects of Elixir of Life only apply on the same floor. Once we reach the 7th floor, it’ll be resolved.”
My strength had been reduced, but we could still move forward.
When I explained this to Isabel, her body trembled violently.
“If I use Goddess’s Wings, I can—”
“No.”
I immediately rejected her suggestion.
“Your Goddess’s Wings is our last resort.”
Beyond the 8th floor is the 7th floor, where a Gatekeeper awaits.
That entity allows neither entry nor exit.
It must be defeated to proceed.
We will need Goddess’s Wings, an ability with immense power, to defeat it.
Isabel was already exhausted to the point of collapse.
If she used Goddess’s Wings now, we would have no way to survive the 7th floor.
“You must save Goddess’s Wings until we reach the 7th floor. If we can get there, we can reunite with the vanguard.”
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With the current skill level of the Zerion Academy students, they should be able to push through to the 7th floor.
I believe in them.
That’s why I must push forward.
I reached out with my right hand and took a bite of the jerky.
Its slight sweetness spread in my mouth, reviving my energy.
I had intended to give it to Isabel,
but I needed to prove that I would survive no matter what.
So, I made my resolve clear in front of her.
“Isabel, injuries are inevitable in this situation. But one thing is certain—we will escape the Demon Dungeon alive.”
Our food supply was dwindling rapidly.
We couldn’t afford to waste time and stamina here.
I reaffirmed my determination.
“Let’s go.”
“….”
Isabel had countless things she wanted to say.
But she swallowed her words and pressed on.
There would be time for arguments once we got out.
What we needed now was strong trust in each other.
So, Isabel and I pressed forward.
* * *
With one-third of the way left to the 7th floor, our food supply was nearly gone.
Normally, the rearguard—who occupied the safest position—held most of the food.
As the vanguard, the two of us naturally had little to carry.
But this was something we had expected to some extent.
Fortunately, I knew the ecosystem of the 8th floor.
Like any labyrinth, this place had some form of ecology, which meant there were things we could eat.
However, most of what was edible had some kind of effect on the body.
Still, eating them was better than starving.
The real challenge was finding food while avoiding the Apostles' gaze.
All around us, the Apostles' demonic beasts prowled ceaselessly.
If they spotted us, combat was inevitable.
Failing to eliminate them would only lead them to summon an Apostle.
So, we couldn't afford to lower our guard.
I barely managed to procure some mushrooms and roasted them with the flame ignited from my magic engravings.
These mushrooms had the downside of numbing the taste buds due to their toxicity,
but we weren’t in a position to be picky.
As long as it filled our stomachs, we had to eat whatever we could.
Any problems that arose from that could be dealt with once we got out.
Isabel, too, chewed on the mushrooms just as I did.
She accepted whatever I found without a shred of doubt.
Her knowledge of the 8th floor only extended to the named Apostles.
So, in matters like this, she placed her complete trust in me.
She never asked how I knew all these details.
Instead, during every break, Isabel kept staring at my left arm—the one wounded by the Elixir of Life.
It had been almost two months since we were transported here.
She and I had come this far by helping each other.
That injury was nothing more than my own carelessness.
If I had assessed the situation more thoroughly before advancing,
I wouldn’t have suffered it.
“Isabel, let’s rest here for today.”
We found a passageway where the Apostles' patrol routes didn’t overlap.
With our backs against the wall, we decided to rest there.
In about a week, we would reach the entrance to the 7th floor.
We had made it this far.
Just a little more endurance, and we'd be there.
“You.”
Isabel was sitting beside me.
We were seated as close as possible, ensuring that if either of us noticed anything unusual, we could react instantly and move together.
Her shoulder lightly touched mine.
Hugging her knees to her chest, she parted her dry lips.
“Can I ask you a few things?”
Until now, Isabel had never questioned anything.
She had swallowed all her questions, thinking she could ask them after we got out of here.
But time had passed, and our food was gone.
My left arm had been immobile for a long time.
Isabel, too, was reaching the limits of her stamina.
Her frail frame was evident even through touch.
Perhaps that was why she felt she could no longer push her questions into the future.
If she didn’t ask now, she might never get the chance.
I could feel just how uneasy she was.
But I didn’t point it out.
“I’m a man of many secrets.”
“That’s exactly like you, joking at a time like this.”
Isabel’s head lightly rested on my shoulder.
“But this time, answer me seriously.”
What did she want to ask?
She had harbored countless doubts about me all this time.
Our relationship had been forged around a man named Lucas.
It began when I first spoke ill of him.
“The day you first arrived at the Academy.”
I had put on a decent act, but eventually, all facades crumble.
Isabel had always seen right through me.
“You insulted Lucas that day… Was that for my sake?”
“……”
I had known for a while that she had doubts about that.
Those around her, sharp as they were, must have realized it too.
Even if she had chosen to ignore it,
there was no way she had missed it entirely.
It was simply a question she had been too afraid to ask.
But today, she finally brought it to light.
My lips wouldn’t part.
As I said before, my relationship with Isabel was incredibly complicated.
So tangled in emotions that I couldn’t see where it would lead.
I had played Flame Butterfly countless times.
Yet, even I couldn’t predict how my answer would change our relationship.
Beyond this point lay an unknown world.
A world I knew nothing about.
“It wasn’t for you. It was for me.”
At my response, Isabel looked up at me.
“…Really?”
“……”
She wanted nothing but the truth from me.
And what I had said wasn’t a lie.
But that didn’t mean it was the whole truth either.
Because, in part, I had done it for her too.
“I’ve been watching you more closely than you think.”
Isabel often gazed at me in silence.
Sometimes, her stare was so intense it felt unsettling.
“And every time, I kept wondering—
why someone like you said those things that day,
why you helped someone you had no connection to.”
She had pondered it countless times.
Yet, no clear answer had come to her.
I was Hannon Irey.
She had never been connected to Hannon in any way.
However—
“That power of yours… The way you change your appearance at will.”
She had witnessed it twice.
Once as Vikamon,
and once as Hania.
“Every time I saw it, I couldn’t shake the thought—
that maybe you weren’t really Hannon.”
Moreover, she had encountered the real Hannon before.
The things he had said to her—things I wasn’t aware of.
Amidst them, doubts must have taken root.
“I’ve met you before.”
At some point, her hand had clenched tightly around my collar.
Her golden eyes, burning like the sun, wavered violently.
Her gaze was so intense that even I couldn’t look away.
“Who are you?”
Her voice trembled with desperation.
“Who are you, that you saved me and made me stand again?”
This was the question that had lingered within her since the end of her second year.
And now, at last, she had thrown it straight at me.
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