The next day.

The day of the final battle had dawned.

We first decided to split up from Adwin and Xenia at the inn.

[It feels strange to say this now, but sending Adwin to the underworld is one hell of an idea.]

Yeah, except it kinda sounds like we are really killing him.

I said to Adwin, “Do you think you can handle it?”

“Of course. I memorized the path to the underworld you showed me back then.”

“You know what you need to do, right?”

“Of course.”

Adwin could identify whose world the bubbles of the underworld belonged to.

Not only that, but by touching a bubble, he could share its vision and communicate with the corresponding soul.

He was going to serve as our sort of control tower today.

Lisel asked, “But the bubbles in the underworld are clustered together in huge numbers. Can you touch several at once?”

“Yes. I will be existing there as a soul myself, so no matter how many there are or how far apart they are, it won’t be a problem.”

“I don’t understand that at all…”

“I felt the same way yesterday when you split Mime, remember?”

Xenia interjected. “But are you sure it’s really okay for me to sit this one out?”

“I’m not happy about losing someone as capable as you, but there is no other way. Adwin needs someone to ring the bell for him. You learned from Neril yesterday, right?”

“Yes. I can even hear the bell ringing in my dreams.”

“Don’t forget to keep healing Adwin’s body, too. If you leave a body empty after the soul leaves it, it dies fast.”

Xenia nodded with a determined expression.

Adwin smiled. “So my life is in your hands, huh?”

“Ugh. Don’t say it like that, it makes me nervous.”

“Come on, don’t worry. What’s the worst that could happen? I die? Literally.”

“That’s even worse.”

And with that, we split into two groups.

We had done all the preparation we could.

All that was left was to give it our best.

Beyond the door beneath the Imperial Palace.

A world of white.

Or more precisely, a world covered by tens of thousands of white doors.

Everyone looked around, eyes darting.

Neril spoke. “Just as I thought.”

“Hm?”

“I don’t see any red door. You said that would be the special room.”

“I only guessed that it might be.”

“Well, everything just looks white to me. What about the rest of you?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Neril sighed. “I thought maybe you had to reach a certain level of fame to see it, but apparently not.”

“Hmm.”

“Maybe there is some other condition. Considering only the Hero can see certain things… maybe you have to be one to spot it?”

I shrugged and scanned the surroundings.

Ah.

There it was, a single red door standing out vividly in the distance.

I started walking toward it.

The others followed, quiet enough to stifle even their footsteps.

Soon, we arrived before the red door.

“Good. This is it.”

“Mide.”

“Relax. Just follow the plan. Adwin, can you hear me?”

I spoke to the air.

Soon, Adwin’s voice echoed through all our souls.

[Yes, I can hear you loud and clear.]

“Found it faster than I thought, our world of bubbles.”

[I roughly memorized the location the last time we came.]

“The bell’s ringing properly?”

[Yes, no problem at all. Xenia was nervous, but it was unnecessary worry.]

Neril snorted. “After I stayed up all night teaching her, she better not mess up. She is an idiot, but not that much of an idiot.”

[Um… just so you know, Xenia can hear this too. She is not speaking because she is focusing, but she can hear everything.]

“Great. Xenia, if you make a mistake, I’m never putting a preservation spell on your meat again.”

[Ah. The bell sounds… somehow brighter now.]

Anyway, that meant everything was ready.

I took a deep breath.

“Opening it.”

We all swallowed hard.

Swoosh.Bang.

I opened the red door to the special room, then stepped inside.

Even though I had described what was waiting within beforehand, everyone instinctively covered their mouths.

Here, the seasons and terrain shifted in the blink of an eye, a truly deranged world.

The kind of place that made you want to turn and run.

‘This isn’t just a matter of change. Something feels… wrong.’

[Hmm. A place that drains you mentally.]

Then I heard Idria’s voice through Adwin’s link.

[Mide? You are here?]

[Yeah. Tell Pirensha to bite her tongue.]

[You realize she can hear this too, right? And you do know that sounds suspiciously like a death threat?]

Then Serein chimed in.

[If you’re told to do it, just do it. If you don’t want to bite your tongue, slit your artery instead.]

[…Serein.]

[Yes, yes, Serein.]

[I’m Pirensha, actually.]

[Don’t bother correcting me. I don’t like you anyway.]

Given that Serein had almost been dragged across the Redby River when her soul was tied to Pirensha’s, that hostility wasn’t surprising.

But still, this was a reunion with her dead sister, and their banter was so casual it made me shudder.

Then Idria spoke.

[Enough chit-chat. Pirensha.]

[Mom, she started it…]

[I know it will hurt, but I need a drop of your blood.]

[Sigh… fine. Hey, Serein. Mind if I imagine this as spitting on you? Ptooey.]

At that, Serein’s eyebrow twitched.

Originally, Offense was supposed to draw the blood painlessly with his tool, but Serein, unwilling to lose, bit her own tongue and spat too.

[Ugh. Like mother, like shameless daughter. Ptui!]

[Yeah, I’m my mom’s kid!]

[And I thought your mother was Idria?]

[I meant my human mother, you idiot.]

[Idiot? You calling me an idiot?]

Their conversation was growing increasingly childish.

‘If Serein had lived with Pirensha as a real family, I guess this is what they would have been like.’

[Both of them have fiery tempers. If they had grown up together, that household would never have had a quiet day.]

‘I heard Pirensha was calm and gentle when she was alive.’

[Probably an act. She is just like Serein, through and through.]

Anyway, Neril approached the saliva mixed with blood that Serein had spat.

She grimaced.

[Ugh. Disgusting.]

[Disgusting? Watch your mouth, seriously.]

[That was your party member talking! You got mud in your ears?]

[Guess you crap through your ears, huh?]

[Yeah, and you through your mouth!]

[Both of you, quiet. Shut up.]

At Neril’s cold voice, the squabbling spirits fell silent as if on cue.

How was that even possible?

I couldn’t remember the last time I respected Neril this much.

Neril opened her spellbook.

The wide range search magic circle created by Beyond had been exclusively sealed beneath the Imperial Palace. No doubt, taking that magic outside was strictly forbidden.

“That spell is written in your book? I thought it was carved only under the palace because it wasn’t allowed to be taken out.”

“Beyond’s pages were sealed, remember? It was something he did secretly, without the emperor knowing.”

“So even he had a sly side.”

“Like you don’t.”

I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that.

Anyway, the spell was massive. Even for Neril, whose growth had skyrocketed after converting her fame into power, it still took a while to prepare.

But soon after.

Wiiing.

A vast magic circle spread out, centered on the spot where Serein’s blood-mixed spit had landed.

It was magnificent, yes… but the fact that the centerpiece was spit mixed with blood ruined the grandeur.

“It’s done.”

“Where is Pirensha? Now that I think about it, I’m not even sure what form this thing shows the results in.”

“Like this.”

Neril raised her palm.

Floating about ten centimeters above it was a miniature version of the same magic circle, about one-thirtieth the original’s size.

“Think of it like a compass. The needle points this way… huh. About 480 kilometers away.”

That was an absurd distance.

So this really was an entire world in itself.

Lisel spoke.

“If we asked Mime to fly us there, we would be there in the blink of an eye, but…”

“This mission is stealth. We stick to the plan.”

“Yes, Mime. Split.”

Mime grumbled.

“Oh king, I must say, this hurts quite a bit even if I don’t complain.”

“Yes, I understand. Split.”

“Truly, your majesty’s authority knows no bounds.”

At this point, I couldn’t even laugh at his quick mood swings anymore.

Shhhk.

Just like yesterday, Mime split himself cleanly in half. From each separated form, new arms and legs grew out.

I probably shouldn’t say this, but the sight was somewhat nauseating.

“What are you thinking?”

“That I’m grateful for how devoted you are to us.”

“As long as you know. Then, your majesty, I will take to the skies.”

Fwoosh.

Mime A soared upward.

Meanwhile, Mime B perched on Lisel’s shoulder.

Now there was only one last preparation left.

Hoo…

Offense pulled out the Branch of Corruption from his coat.

Then, in a resolute voice, he declared,

“I accept the solitude and loneliness of being left behind.”

With a snap, he broke the branch.

Everyone except me flinched in shock.

Serein asked urgently,

“Offense, that wasn’t your wish, right? Wasn’t it to find your parents?”

“That one got pushed to second.”

“Why? Why would you…”

“Don’t know. Ask Mide later.”

“Hm. You’re embarrassed, aren’t you?”

She smiled faintly, but genuinely.

“Hehe. No wonder you’re embarrassed. Who would have thought Offense had such a cute wish?”

“Quiet. That’s why I wanted to say it silently.”

“Huh?”

I cut in.

“You can say it silently.”

“…What?”

“I made my vow silently too. Pretty sure Neril did the same.”

Neril nodded.

“You were there when I broke mine, remember? I didn’t say it aloud.”

“I… I was giving a speech then… wait, why didn’t anyone tell me that?”

“Didn’t think you would be curious.”

“Ugh.”

Offense’s face twisted in disbelief.

Serein, clearly enjoying this, smiled again.

“Still, I think it’s a wonderful wish.”

“Stop teasing me.”

“I’m serious.”

“Anyway, let’s start.”

Offense waved his hand.

And then…

“Ugh!”

We were all sucked into our own shadows.

This was the core of the operation: Movement through shadow sorcery, utterly undetectable stealth.

Inside the shadow, it was surprisingly comfortable. It felt completely different from any space I had ever created.

Offense’s voice echoed.

“As you know, this sorcery normally only allows me to move through shadows I can see with my own eyes. But now…”

“Is it possible?”

“Yes. The sorcery’s power has become unbelievable. Mime B, give me a description.”

Mime responded,

“Mime B? You mean me? What an absurd…”

“Please describe it, Mime.”

“…About two kilometers ahead lies a desert. Twenty sand dunes in a line. There’s a suitable shadow under the third dune.”

“Good.”

Offense closed his eyes and focused.

The next moment.

Our bodies trembled.

We couldn’t see what was happening outside, but instinctively, we knew.

We had just traveled two kilometers in an instant.

Offense exhaled lightly.

“Phew.”

“Did we actually move?”

“Yes. Want to step out and check?”

“You joke too easily.”

“Let’s go to the next. Mime B, report.”

Grumbling, Mime B continued,

“The terrain has shifted into mountains. Three kilometers ahead stands a massive tree reaching the sky. Beneath it, a swamp casts a good shadow.”

“Got it.”

We shifted again.

Offense kept repeating the process.

Mime B received surface information from Mime A. He then described it as precisely as possible.

Offense, using only those verbal descriptions, imagined the shadows in detail, and moved us from one shadow to another, without ever emerging into the light.

There could be no stealth more perfect than this.

“Unbelievable. The sun just set. No good shadows in sight.”

“You said it was midday just a moment ago.”

“Exactly. That’s why I said unbelievable. Wait a minute, this crazy world should… ah, there. Morning again. Move.”

Sometimes the erratic nature of the special room’s world stalled us briefly, but it was so volatile that we never had to stay hidden for long.

The sun would set and rise again before we could even finish a sigh.

We kept moving.

Until Mime B finally said, after what felt like half a day,

“We are here.”

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