Absolute darkness.

Absolute silence.

Absolute void.

I am falling towards a distant center. I do not see them. But I hear my bells ringing, my hair floating above me.

I used [Dungeon path] to appear near the Interface and found nothing.

There are no distant flashes.

There is nothing.

Just my fall.

Gron is held tightly in my arms. Dal is further down. The weight difference gave him the advantage.

So, this is what Irferno, the [lv: 93], can do.

I did not expect such a move.

The [Devil] and [Leviathan] did not prepare me.

Their wisdom, while causing damage, is different from this desire to create holes. Empty.

Unbridgeable porosity.

I cannot even get angry. I would like, I feel the anger, the humiliation.

But what is its fault?

Irferno is little more than an automaton. An excavation machine is thrown into crisis by the irreconcilability of the roles assigned to it.

I hold Gron. Even its fur flutters. I feel it move. At least the air remained. Otherwise, its fur would not move.

It is a heavy air. Sultry. The dusty residue of the explosion.

That anger.

Wrath.

Distress.

“N!”

“Dal?”

The voice comes from below. It is barely audible due to air movement and distance.

“I spotted it!”

“Really?”

“Yes. It aims at us. I imagine it will engage in battle in less than an hour.”

“How can you see it? An hour means it's still far away, right?”

“Hmm… far away. It's fast. It's a skill. I can modify my sensory apparatus. At this moment, I have disabled sight, taste, touch, enhancing hearing and smell.”

So temporarily better hearing than mine? Remarkable.

“I'd say let's start the fight.”

“What? But it's still very far away!”

“I'm not in the best shape, although for Gron, I'm better than I ever was at the time. We will use the time available to make fun. I have indispensable skills to compete with a destroyer of this caliber.”

I cannot hold back a ‘wow’ of admiration. I am ashamed as if I felt in common with Y. But that is fine. On the other hand, Y is not to blame either. On the contrary—

She was flawless. She sacrificed herself after fixing the System as best she could.

I cannot even blame the elves.

Of course, materially, it is their fault. They used their technology to disable the ancient [Sanctuary], however…

…I cannot blame them. Amerio, I saw.

If all elves are becoming like this—no, this is not the time to think about such things.

How it went, it went.

I do not have to think about it.

I have to prepare for the fight, make a plan, and hit hard. I may not be a [lv: 90], but we're close.

I will not be defeated today.

Not in my house.

I am the [Empress] of the Underwasteland.

♦

“Meat shield”, “Impenetrable skin”, “Indissoluble tissues”, “Thermal adaptation”, “Cancellation of nausea”, “Psychic resistance”, “Emotional resistance”, “Superior concentration”…

Dal recites the names of the [skills] he uses out loud. This way, even if I cannot see him. I can understand.

My body relaxes and strengthens, I feel my mind freeing itself from thoughts, and my anxieties disappear.

“Superior Physical Strength”, “Superior Agility”, “Magic Shielding”, “Magic Amplifier”, “Blood Acidification”, “Accurate Aim”, “Radar Hearing”…

The minutes pass.

The amount of [skills] Dal knows is impressive.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

By themselves, none of these [skills] are useful in these circumstances. Added up, they become a sort of forest of remarkable power-ups.

A more unique than rare case, given that usually every creature I have ever met—including myself—knows a few techniques.

Related to [priority] and compatibility of [type], [class], and [job].

“Dal, how do you know so many techniques?”

“A skill. My body can implement skills from properly treated magical items. Over the years, I have found and assimilated many, so—”

“I understand. Uh, now I can see it!”

In the darkness, I see a glow. I hear the gasps and roars.

The silhouette of a fire-veined serpent among the scales in flight. It zigzags and does not maintain a straight trajectory.

It enters and disappears in a cloud of thick smoke that it emanates.

Irferno.

“Prr. From this distance can I hit it with buffs?”

I look at Gron. Despite the darkness, thanks to buffs, I can glimpse its silhouette.

“Maybe, but it's still a long way off. Let me finish preparing. N, how much longer will the fall last?”

I looked down.

I glimpse my legs, Dal's mirrored armor, and the darkness. The darkness could very well extend to infinity.

“I have no idea. I think a lot anyway.”

“Well. Increased Magic Piercing”, “Greater Magic Disruptor”, “Critical Rating”…

Dal turns his attention back to activating buffs.

I return to focus on Irferno.

Despite its inconsistent pace, I have no doubt it is aiming for us. Does it consider us an obstacle? Yet Irferno has never seen us and wants to find us in an area following great destruction.

In the darkness, I glimpse its draconic jaws opening wide. The inside of its palate is a scorching beacon.

A furnace.

It is still far away, but maybe I can already attack it. The hypothesis does not arouse any emotion in me. I only evaluate the actual advantage that this action could bring me.

It is a strange feeling. Due to the emotional suppression and enhancement [skills] used by Dal.

I wait a few more moments.

Dal is not saying anything anymore. I guess he's done.

I raise my arm and point it at my target.

It continues to writhe. Not an easy target, given the distance. But it is not difficult either, given the size and my enhanced aim.

Small electric arcs sparkle between my hands.

[Blue jet]

[Blue jet]

[Blue jet]

By falling, I adjust the trajectory of the shots.

Three blue shots dive at very high speed into the darkness.

Seconds.

Minutes.

Electrical explosions. Sinister roars that are lost.

I see the six-winged body and the large, intricate horns. The blue light outlines it for a few moments in its completeness.

A reptilian body with six front legs and two back legs. A tail and a sharp spine.

The being resembles a dragon covered in black metal and with irregular jaws and claws. Suitable for crushing. Dig.

Certainly not eating.

As I contemplate, my enemy is swallowed by darkness. Its mouth gives off a hot jet. The surrounding air sways, a mirage of itself.

“N, watch out!”

A shock wave arrives before the sound. I feel my bones shatter, my skin cooks and I am pushed backwards. I can tell by the new direction my hair is flying.

[Immortality] regenerates me without problems.

“Gron!?” I feel his body in my hands. There is something that—

“I am fine. Prrr. Cosmic regeneration is amazing. Dal had to share a skill of this type first. Now, if you'll excuse me.”

Gron jumps out of my embrace.

A rain of fire, [Fire dart] starts ahead of me.

They are more direct and hotter than anything Gron has ever managed to shoot. After a few moments, it shoots again and again.

Two [Fire spheres] and an even more impressive series of [Fire darts] start from below.

That barrage is lost in the darkness. Dots are increasingly smaller and more distant.

BOOM!

The roar of the explosions paints the area red and yellow on an extended front.

The arrival of a new shock wave throws us even further away.

They did not hit it. Irferno emerges from that wall of flames intercepted by its counter-offensive.

As the flames evaporate, I see its eyes catch fire. But nothing happens. It resumes its approach with its uncoordinated flight.

I look around.

It takes a moment to realize.

Stains. Holes. Porosity in the air itself. They appear randomly, forming clusters that pile up in increasingly larger holes.

A new burst from afar. Dal and I must be quite far apart by now.

Another smaller discharge from another side. It must be Gron.

[Blue jet]

[Blue jet]

There are two shots that I fire hoping to distract it. What catches my interest are these holes. I try to avoid them in the fall, and luckily, despite their growing size, they are distant from each other.

They start.

The entire horizon fills with lights coming from these floating holes. I observe Irferno as it passes by the holes dissolve. Its eyes are on fire.

Inside the openings, I see three-dimensional spaces. From some flows water, grain, and other materials.

There are rooms in bizarre houses, hovels, caves, mountainous scenery, alien deserts, and on and on.

Holes to other locations?

Reality?

“N! A meadow, N! MEOHHH!” Gron's cry catches my attention.

Where? I cannot even see it with my enhanced vision. I do not feel it anymore. Has it disappeared?

Emotional suppression prevents the wave of panic from overwhelming me.

“N! I'm Dal, don't go into the holes. Don't—AH, Damn it! The arm, N! Avoid the holes!”

Just as those words arrive, a shock wave hurls me deep far. I manage to avoid some holes, but my hand grasps the two-dimensional edge of one.

I have to try to understand what they are.

My fall stops.

I see another rain of fire starting from a great distance.

I am hanging with one arm and my legs dangling. The edge of the hole is immovable.

The fingers that are beyond the threshold feel like they are immersed in a liquid. They're melting away. The [skills] used by Dal limit the pain I can feel. But the hand feels glued.

Digestive holes depicting random landscapes?

What kind of [skill] would that be!?

A new shock wave detaches my arm and hurls me away. The limb regenerates and—

[Blue jet]

[Blue jet]

[Blue jet]

Air combat is ineffective against that being. But that is enough to attract Irferno's attention. It is not that far away anymore, and I can try to fight it in another way.

[Necromancy]

I hit the back of the [Whalelich]. Knowing how to fly, the creature becomes a support, arresting my fall.

I stand up on its back.

As fearsome as it is, a necromancer whale cannot do much in this situation.

[Necromancy]

[Necromancy]

The [Fiend] and Mircalla emerge from the massed darkness.

The [Fiend] immediately takes flight. Specializing in acid shooting and melee, it stands no chance. It must serve as a diversion.

Mircalla is different.

She is full of streaks, bumps, and inaccuracies in the shape of her. There are some small corals, and her hand has badly penetrated the Atmosphere-eater.

What does it mean?

What—

Mircalla does not wait for my instructions and splashes at the speed of light.

Different from usual. Behind her remains an aura of error, a sort of tattered specter that dissipates in a few seconds.

Delivering them the Atmosphere-eater was a mistake. Either because of the corruption of the sword, or because the weapon is a living thing, and I forced it to dissipate?

Hmm… this hypothesis is the result of my mental state. I have to ask Y to fix it anyway. Complications may arise…

I hear Irferno roar.

The holes all around begin to expand further. However, their edges become blurred, and the images lose clarity.

I have the sperm whale approach a hole. I dip a finger.

Sigh of relief.

The more they expand, the weaker they become. I make the sperm whale move away and see a new burst of fire. Several balls and more volleys to follow.

From Irferno a sort of bluish-green mass has appeared that mixes with the flames of the veins.

I hear roars, and suddenly, I see a phosphorescent jet. The acid of the [Fiend].

We're pretty close.

Now I can.

[Red sprite]