They will strike the first blow. A tail sweep and then claws and an attempted bite.

Weird isn't the right term, Sylviette is wrong.

[Corrupted] is the [status] that [Scan] revealed to me. As I used the [skill] they became aggressive and I couldn't delve deeper.

Normally, the gargoyles of this floor are [lv: 35] and this makes them enemies within my reach. It is the beginning of the dungeon after all.

But I don't know if this is the case. Their actual [lv] is [???] due to corruption.

Ci-cin, Ci-cin.

I still dodge and dodge but, in the darkness, I struggle to see. The light beam of the substance that corrodes them allows me to dodge them at the last moment, avoiding their tails, legs, jaws, and wings.

[Will-o'-the-wisp], [Will-o'-the-wisp], [Will-o'-the-wisp]

In sequence, the fires release their frost.

The area lights up and I can make out the edge of the steps we are fighting on and the hole in the doors. Despite the liquid, it seems to be regenerating.

I would like to use [Poison cloud] and envelop the area in a blanket of poison.

But Sylviette is fighting. She is fighting alongside me armed with two long knives. They have a gold and silver blade in the shape of a bird of prey.

The blades glow green and lilac and appear to have some magical properties. Sylviette doesn't speak and holds off a gargoyle by herself.

At a certain point, she extends her hand and a shower of [Fire darts] fills the environment, illuminating it as if we were not in the dungeon.

The rumble of a powerful explosion.

Destruction everywhere.

I take this opportunity and…

[Will-o'-the-wisp]

[Will-o'-the-wisp]

The remains of the two gargoyles freeze in the flames.

[new skill obtained]

[Blue jet]

In the re-emerging darkness, Sylviette is illuminated by my flames. She is not hurt. Only her hair hangs messy.

What elegance!

Ci-cin!

“You've been amazing!”

“You say? Diplomats are trained for expeditions.”

“True, I hadn't thought about it… to look at it like this you have nothing to envy of a heroine!”

It's so exciting to have someone fighting alongside me. Not like when I fought alone, to bury the dead.

This time it's different.

Joy.

Gratification.

Excitement.

Here's what I feel. It's an overwhelming mix of emotions and I feel like I'm blushing and moving my ears up and down.

“N, you shouldn't take this lightly… I mean, the Devil and then these gargoyles aren't normal, right?”

“I'm not taking things lightly! I'm just excited! I know something serious is happening, but—it's a new sensation, I feel like I'm in the stories of the heroes I've welcomed over the years!”

Sylviette shakes her head and then raises her still-armed arm, pointing to the door.

“I understand. But you didn't answer. This isn't normal, is it?”

I nod.

“It is not. They are the effects of the Devil's corruption, although I am not yet sure what that entails.”

“Will we have to face more?”

“At each change area delimited by doors.”

“What area are we in now?”

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Sylviette's tone is calm as usual. I call the grimoire to me and check if this area has been mapped.

Of course, it is. My ancestors have already mapped the areas near the entrance.

“This is the Stair zero-zero-zero-zero-zero-zero… -zero-twenty-two area.” I read all the zeros without taking a breath. “We are about to enter Corridor zero…” pause, “followed by one, two, three… twenty-six zeros and then one hundred and four!”

Sylviette rolls her eyes. “How big is this place, sorry?”

“Huge!” I spread my hands to underline the concept. “No one knows how big it is! Bakenekro usually visit few places, haven't we already talked about it?”

Sylviette puts away her weapons. “Maybe.”

Ci-cin.

I walk away and reach the door. The air is so hot near the hole and smells like molten metal that I have to move away and hold my nose.

From the other end of the hole, the light trail continues and a distant noise can be heard. Like a sea crashing against walls.

“There is something wrong?”

“Can I check for a second, Sylv?” I consult the map again. Usually, it contains nothing other than the names but, for the most important rooms it is always like this, sometimes there is also a note or a caption.

“Sylv? It sounds strange, my younger brother…”

I prick up my ears. “Do you have a younger brother?”

“Yes, is it important?”

“Nothing, nothing… it's just—what's it like to have a younger brother?”

Sylviette shakes her head. “You're too relaxed, N. Indeed, gods don't think like mortals.”

I can't blame her. I haven't been mortal for a long time...

The map shows nothing and the grimoire disappears, swallowed up by darkness.

I walk up to Sylviette and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Sylv, I'm worried. That's why we are doing our best.”

[Dungeon path] teleports us into the corridor beyond the doors.

♦

It's not that I'm stupid or naive. I fully realize that Sylviette is not one hundred percent reliable.

I met her twice. The first one we had fun together and the second one brought the [Devil] with her. Sylviette plan was suggested by the God of Wisdom and she indeed knows nothing about its plans, as do I.

Her behavior is what makes me suspicious. We've been traversing the dungeon for days now, yet she still hasn't revealed the details of her affair.

Was she scammed?

For sure?

It's not that I want to doubt her, but the further we get, the more I wonder why she doesn't tell me about it. What purpose does the God of Wisdom have in killing the [Devil]?

And then, if the [Devil] is indispensable in this universe… why want to murder it?

I have to reflect and the empty and silent corridors give me plenty of time to do so.

Reorganizing my thoughts is less tiring than expected.

The living exists. When they die, they are physically taken to the Underwasteland, as they disappear from their home world. Here I put them to sleep for eternity. Everyone has their space and everyone will dream what is right for them to dream. This is according to the System at least.

And here's the hard part.

The System is just a system. No will, no intelligence. The System was created simply to work. And in this operation, [obliteration] is foreseen, a practice whose side effects generate errors—as in the case of illicit resurrection carried out via the [core].

Errors are absorbed and empower the [Devil] but…

…the [Devil] is dead and if it were to rise again, with its immense power…

...would the error be such that the System would collapse? Would anyone else reabsorb it?

Backup?

What if the backup [Emperor] was needed in this remote eventuality?

Ah! My head is frying… it's such a complex situation.

And these dark corridors continue, indistinguishable from one another.

Every corridor that intersects with this corridor is equally dark. Silent.

I notice that I am shaking slightly, despite appearances I must be more tense than I want to admit.

The sound of our footsteps and insects. Of our steps and insects.

At least here the environment is less cramped and the air less suffocating due to the fluorescent sewage.

I take a breath of air and then collapse as I exhale.

“Sylv, are you okay? I'm exhausted.”

A calm voice returns from the darkness. “Yes, but I'm worried.”

“Worried?”

“Will we be able to reach the Devil at this speed?”

“Hmm… I think so, I mean. Unless it knows the way, it will have to take time to decide the route.”

“You're too superficial to say that. The Devil is a being infinitely superior to ordinary mortals, it may have inconceivable skills.”

“Are there people like that in your world?”

“Yes, myself, when I had the ring, I was able to use prescience to some extent. Do you remember?”

Oh, the ring! I completely forgot!

“Sylv! But can't we use your ring to figure out how to optimize the hunt?”

There's a break. The footsteps echo in those spaces. “I don't have it anymore…”

“Did the authority take it away from you?”

“Yes, it was after I revealed about the house in the desert. Of the dungeon…”

“I am sorry. It must have been tough…”

“More like getting used to no longer having an ability like prescience. I had forgotten the difficulties of the unknown. The God of Wisdom came later.”

Ci-cin.

I stop. I turn my head into the darkness where I glimpse Sylviette's silhouette.

“Tell me a little about this god, please.”

She waves her hand, but it's dark and I don't see any clear terms.

Let's continue the journey.

“There's not much to say. It appears in a dream and then I start feeling it during the day too. It's always in the corners of my vision, a distant buzz.”

A scary thing in short, other than God of Wisdom!

“But how can you trust such a being?”

“When it speaks it is persuasive and also seems to know everything. The collusion between institutions and the Devil, the falsehoods of my leaders—have proven to be true.”

I think back to Kirlh'iau. Brutal and efficient. A villain from the world of Ilnerio.

An evil…

What if it too had been deceived in the end? Maybe Kirlh’iau was in good faith! Maybe I [obliterated] it in the Arena, even if it didn't deserve it.

A sense of guilt adds to the growing anxiety. Especially because I know I can't repair that damage.

“I was stupid anyway. N, I think the God of Wisdom wants to corner this place.”

“Uh, I think so too… but do you mean something specific?”

“I mean, isn't the Devil the first unusual thing to happen?”

“No, it isn't. It sent the disciples against me and then eliminated a being of level ninety-nine… and closed the Golden Doors.”

Sigh.

The corridor begins to tilt and a buzz becomes audible.

Ci-cin.

“Something wrong? Why did you stop?”

“Sylv, we have been deceived!”

“What!?” I hear Sylviette running closer and leaning down the slope. Her low, metallic heels clack loudly on the stone pavement. “Oh… but this.”

“We are facing a precipice.”

I kneel at the edge. With my nail finger, I touch the still-warm slime which stops abruptly.

“The Devil crawled all the way here and then it fell, or it jumped.”

I get up and start to formulate some hypotheses. These chasms may be one of the reasons why Kirlh'iau itself moved faster than expected.

Hmm…

Maybe with the suggestions of the God of Wisdom.

“So, what do we do?” Sylviette comes back to me.

“We're going down too.”