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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 83
Now, 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.
Yet, when he saw Christian smiling at him with that faint grin, he couldn’t move his hand.
The one who had willingly approached him first and, for the first time in his life, acknowledged him.
How could he possibly send such a person to their death with his own hand?
Unable to choose either path, his chest dried out with maddening conflict.
Suddenly, Christian frowned.
“Wait, what’s this? Something’s wrong?”
“Huh?”
“Everyone, be on alert!”
“!!”
An abnormality occurred without warning.
The ceiling of the seventh floor of the underground garden suddenly began to quake.
Space twisted—like a swirling vortex.
Kashmir’s eyes widened.
‘This is a transference phenomenon?! Why all of a sudden?’
Transference.
A secret of the underground garden discovered not long ago.
If one had the key for a particular floor, they could immediately transport someone to the connected floor.
The problem was—the seventh floor was connected to the seventeenth.
A floor where only those of at least six-star rank could survive.
Everyone here was in an environment where survival was impossible.
If the transference activated, everyone would die.
‘Why is this happening when I haven’t even activated the key?! Someone triggered it from outside!’
Kashmir realized something and his face turned pale.
The Grand Duke Schuar.
It had to be him—he must’ve used some method to activate the key.
“Everyone, get away!!”
But it was too late.
Fwaaash!!
A massive light began to descend upon them.
An unavoidable situation.
Then, another unexpected change occurred.
“Everyone, draw up your demonic energy!!”
It was Chris’s shout.
At the same time—
KWAANG!!
A fierce explosion went off in front of the others.
The sudden blast sent a gust of wind sweeping over their bodies, flinging them outward.
Collapsed on the ground, Kashmir lifted his head with a trembling body.
‘Did Lord Christian just save us?’
If not for the black magic that exploded at just the right moment, they would’ve been swept away by the transference.
‘Then what about Lord Christian?’
Deep inside.
Christian was still standing right there.
“Ah, no…”
Perhaps he sensed Kashmir’s gaze on him?
Christian smiled faintly.
Fwaaash!
The transference activated.
“No!!”
And just like that, Christian vanished.
Leaving everyone else behind.
* * *
In the darkness.
Chris closed his eyes.
It was a familiar sensation.
‘This isn’t the first time. When I came with the Hero’s party, we also moved through transference like this.’
Back then, the fact that floor-to-floor transference was possible within the underground garden wasn’t a particular secret.
Now, keys have only been found on a handful of floors, including the 7th, but at the time, keys were secured for most floors, so floor progression saved time.
‘Still...’
Chris slightly opened one eye.
—No, don’t!!
—Christian!!!
He could hear voices calling out to him from beyond the subspace.
Urgent cries, as if he had died.
Chris tilted his head in confusion.
‘Kashmir I get, but why are Jupien and Marisa acting like that? Didn’t they both hate me? There’s no need for that much concern.’
In truth, this entire situation was a scripted act he had planned.
When Kashmir hesitated and looked ready to confess everything instead of activating the key, Chris secretly triggered it himself.
‘I already knew how to operate the key from the last time I came here with the Hero’s party.’
At any rate, Chris looked around.
Pitch-black darkness brushed past him like light.
‘So, if this goes through, I’ll be transferred to the 17th floor?’
Chris gazed at the subspace surrounding him.
A space filled with nothing but darkness.
‘The transference in the underground garden works similarly to a gate.’
The basic principle of spatial movement was simple.
You pierce the backside of space to enter subspace, and then pierce the backside of the target location from within subspace to return to the real world.
The problem lay in the subspace acting as a corridor in between.
Subspace could produce infinite unpredictable variables, making it impossible to calculate them with any spell.
The role of a gate was to eliminate those subspace variables.
The current “transference” of this underground garden was the same.
Originally, the moment one set foot into subspace, countless unpredictable variables should have appeared—but instead, it was as tranquil as if he were drifting in a silent cosmos.
Which meant only one thing.
‘It means I can use this.’
Chris pulled out the item he had prepared in advance from his coat.
The Spatial Scissors created by the Archmage Lenin.
Normally, it would be useless because of the unpredictable variables in subspace, but this time was different.
Because the “transference” triggered by the “key” was suppressing those subspace variables.
Using these scissors, he could cut through space and move to the location of his choice.
‘Of course, if the coordinates are miscalculated, I’ll become lost in space. The computation required for this is enormous.’
The processing power needed would overwhelm even an archmage.
But for Chris, it was simple.
His genius extended into computational power as well.
When it came to raw calculation ability, there was no one in the world who could surpass him.
‘Now!’
Chris swung the scissors.
Based on precise and mind-boggling calculations, the exact coordinates were locked in.
A momentary rift opened.
Chris didn’t hesitate—he dove in.
His vision darkened for a moment from the shock of crossing space, and soon after, a cold air touched his skin.
He had succeeded in spatial movement!
‘Did I arrive where I wanted?’
The answer came immediately.
A chilling—
An overwhelming, inescapable pressure crushed down on him.
It was different from the pressure he had felt before when meeting Nogaju.
Spiritual Pressure.
The crushing sensation of a superior existence stepping on one’s 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 he saw it.
A being bound in chains.
Holy nails—numbering in the thousands, perhaps tens of thousands—pierced through its entire body, completely immobilizing it so it couldn’t even move a finger.
Chris gulped and muttered the identity of that being in his heart.
‘One of the Devils of the Four Realms of Gehenna.’
That’s right.
This was the 27th floor of the underground garden.
A floor prepared for demonkind of the Demon King class—9-star ranked beings.
* * *
Meanwhile, back on the 7th floor.
Those left behind wore stunned expressions.
“What… what just happened?”
Marisa’s face had gone pale, like a corpse.
Space had suddenly twisted out of nowhere—and Chris was gone.
If Chris hadn’t pushed them away, they would’ve ended up in the same situation.
‘What happened to Chris? Don’t tell me… he’s dead?’
Thump, thump—Marisa’s heart pounded.
Her consciousness felt faint and distant.
At that moment, Jupien suddenly made a move.
Chaang!
She drew her sword and pointed it at Kashmir’s neck.
“Princess Jupien? What are you—?”
“It was this bastard.”
“!!”
Jupien spat coldly.
“Ever since we got to the 7th floor, this guy’s been suspicious. Speak. What did you do?”
Marisa’s expression turned vicious as well.
Fsshh!
Poison flared from her hand.
It was a poison used for torture.
“Is it true, Lord Kashmir? If you don’t answer, you’ll end up in a state neither dead nor alive, suffering endless agony as every vein, nerve, and organ in your body is ripped apart.”
Kashmir still looked utterly shaken.
Even as Jupien’s blade dug into his neck and drew blood, even as the poison began seeping in through his skin, he didn’t resist.
“…It’s already too late to save Lord Christian.”
“What do you mean?”
“…I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
Kashmir bowed his head in anguish and revealed the full story.
After hearing it, Jupien and Marisa’s faces stiffened.
“If it weren’t for Lord Christian, we’d all be dead right now. Ha… and I let a man like that die.”
Jupien frowned.
Slaaap!
She struck Kashmir across the face with all her strength.
Kashmir’s cheek flared red.
“Shut up, you pathetic coward.”
“…….”
“Christian’s not dead. I’m sure of it.”
At Jupien’s confident words, Marisa and Kashmir wore puzzled expressions.
“I’ve never seen anyone as nasty, unlucky, and cunning as that bastard Christian. So even if it’s the 17th floor, he’ll find a way to survive.”
It was groundless.
But strangely persuasive.
Marisa agreed—there was no way that irritating bastard Christian would die so easily.
‘No, he has to be alive. If he dies this pointlessly, I’ll never forgive him. I’ll poison his grave.’
Marisa ground her teeth.
Jupien said,
“Then open the gate again.”
“Yes, but…? If you go to the 17th floor, all of you will die.”
But Jupien spoke firmly.
“He’s an unlucky bastard, but still, he’s my younger brother, the blood of my family. I can’t just let him die like this.”
“…I’ll go too.”
Marisa reflexively spoke up.
In reality, it wasn’t a wise decision.
As Kashmir had said, the 17th floor was a place beyond their capability to handle. If they set foot there, they wouldn’t survive.
But.
‘If Christian dies like this, it’ll leave a bad taste in my mouth. I won’t be able to stand it.’
Most of all, it had been the same during the previous incident.
And now, again.
They had narrowly escaped the crisis thanks to Christian’s help.
How could they ignore such a debt and still call themselves proper beings?
With that, Marisa rationalized her decision.
“I…”
Kashmir bit his lip tightly.
His chest boiled with emotion.
He too wanted to go save Christian.
But if he couldn’t return from here, his mother would meet her death.
‘Damn, why am I such a mess.’
Though it was only a short time, the words Christian had spoken to him came to mind.
The one who truly acknowledged him.
The one who had called him a friend for the first time.
‘Damn it.’
In the end, Kashmir made his decision.
“…I’ll go too.”
He might regret it, but this time, Kashmir decided to follow his heart.
However, an unexpected voice stopped them.
“Wait. I don’t think it’s wise for just the three of you to go.”
“Head butler!”
Jupien’s face showed surprise.
The pale-skinned, vampire, Simon, had appeared behind them without them noticing.
“Hm. This is troublesome. I did expect something to happen, but I didn’t think it would be this. The 17th floor isn’t an easy place, even for me.”
Simon wore a troubled expression.
His level was 6th star, lower tier.
On the other hand, the 17th floor was a place where only demons, who could fully control their will, could challenge.
Therefore, a being who could perfectly control their will was sure to appear on the 17th floor.
A formidable opponent, even for Simon.
‘What should I do? This doesn’t seem like it adds up.’
Simon narrowed his eyes.
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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