Chapter 130

(1)

1.

“That’s… the Abyssal Rift, huh?”

Ian and Laurea’s faces were set in stone. But they weren’t the only ones—Ivella’s expression darkened too. It was her first time seeing the Abyssal Rift as well.

At that moment…

“Whatever you do, don’t look inside.”

“Exactly. The Abyss… can talk to you.”

Noa and Delia had issued the warnings, having experienced the consequences of peeking beyond the rift themselves.

Luckily, the three of them never dared to divert their gaze towards the abyss. In the meantime, the group was busy searching around to fulfill their original goal.

A little while later, they found what they were looking for.

It was a pitch-black pendant placed at the center of a magic circle—an offering causing the Abyssal erosion phenomenon.

“Now, let’s start the purification.”

Laurea knelt down. With her hands respectfully clasped, she quietly closed her eyes. Just before she began her prayer, she glanced at Ulan with a tense expression.

“I’m counting on you to cover us.”

“Leave it to me.”

Ulan replied curtly.

Had she regained her composure?

Laurea began to recite the purification prayer in a calm voice. Pure white light enveloped the pendant, gradually lightening its color.

“By the way…”

Suddenly, Ian’s lips moved as if he had a curious thought.

“Even if we eliminate the Abyssal erosion with this, how do we close that?”

He pointed at the Abyssal Rift.

It was a valid question.

While they had received reports about the rift being opened, they had zero information on how to close it.

“Well, we just have to wait till it closes.”

“Oh come on, that’s just a joke!”

“When have you ever seen me joke?”

“…Are you serious?”

“Yup.”

Delia nodded earnestly.

And Ian’s face turned pale. That meant they’d have to fight monsters until the Abyssal Rift decided to close.

Then at that moment, a voice of hope pierced through.

“Normally, that would be the case, but it seems we can solve it easily this time.”

It was Noa’s voice.

Hearing that there was a solution, Delia and Ulan turned to her in unison.

“Huh? How?”

“We have plenty of fuel for maintaining the Abyssal Rift right over there.”

The magic circle maintained the rift.

And supplying mana to that magic circle were the high-grade Magic Stones placed around. So if they destroyed the Magic Stones, the Abyssal Rift would also disappear.

Right after understanding Noa’s implication…

Ulan grabbed his axe and asked, “Should we break them?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Noa replied, horrified.

“If we break the Magic Stones, the mana scattered in the air will be absorbed straight back into the magic circle!”

“So, in this case, we need to burn or absorb the mana,”

Ulan frowned, noticing how complicated it was.

However, after pondering Delia’s answer for a moment, a breakthrough came to mind.

“If it’s about absorbing mana…”

Just then, he unexpectedly locked eyes with the White Wolf.

Without even asking, it was already eagerly lapping up the Magic Stone, clearly in the act of absorbing mana.

At that moment, he thought…

“…You didn’t bring us here just for that, did you?”

Ulan’s gaze seemed to ask. The White Wolf didn’t respond, but Ulan’s suspicion was mostly spot on.

[Grrr?]

Playing coy and avoiding eye contact was a clear sign.

Yet its tongue didn’t stop lapping up the Magic Stones. He felt a twinge of being used.

“In any case, this solves things.”

“Yeah. If we’d had to burn mana ourselves, it would have taken ages, so this is a relief.”

Delia and Noa sighed in relief.

Seeing how fast the White Wolf was absorbing mana, they estimated it would finish in about thirty minutes.

But it was too early to relax.

“…More of them are coming!”

With Ian’s urgent shout, Swamp Minions poured out from the Abyssal Rift.

There were three to four times as many as before.

However, there was no need to panic. They had more than enough firepower to face them.

“Gather around Laurea!”

Delia, Noa, and Laurea moved to the center of the formation. Meanwhile, Ulan, Ian, and Ivella braced against each other.

Now it was a battle of endurance.

The goal was to hold on until the purification prayer finished and before the Abyssal Rift closed.

As the second battle commenced, Laurea let out a pent-up breath.

“…Huff.”

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

She soon opened her previously closed eyes.

The prayer had ended. As proof, the black pendant was crumbling into dust.

‘Now that the purification is done…’

She thought it was time to join the fight.

But at that moment, something unexpected happened.

‘Huh?’

Her body wouldn’t move.

More precisely, it felt like her feet were stuck to the ground.

It felt like she was sinking into a swamp, as the ground around her truly transformed into a mire.

What on earth is going on?

Laurea looked down in shock.

Then suddenly, from beyond the now blackened ground came a voice that devoured steel.

【―Finally found you.】

With the chilling voice, Laurea gazed at the scenery beneath the ground.

“…!”

For an instant, she thought her heart stopped.

What reflected in the Reflective Eye was an empty darkness—a chasm so profound that even the ground below was invisible.

Just looking at it was enough to take her breath away; it was a weighty and deep darkness.

As her whole body stiffened in fright, a voice began to speak to her.

【Divine Being’s Envoy.】

【This time, you absolutely—】

【Cannot escape.】

As the sticky voice faded…

Suddenly, the ground caved in beneath her.

Along with it, Laurea’s body sank deep as if she were falling into water.

‘Someone… help me!’

She wanted to scream for help, but her voice wouldn’t come out. The mire had already filled to the brim, completely submerging her.

At that moment, her companions noticed the anomaly.

“S-Senpai!”

“Laurea?!”

With Ian leading, Ivella, Delia, and Noa quickly realized the situation Laurea was in.

And then they were stunned.

“W-Why is the Abyssal Rift…?”

What had just floated in mid-air now seemed to have shifted to the ground.

This meant that sinking under the swamp would directly pull her into the Abyss. Realizing this, Ian desperately reached out.

But that was all he could do.

“…?!”

At the moment Ian faced the Abyss beneath the ground, his body froze stiff like a block of wood.

It wasn’t just him.

Ivella and Delia, who instinctively looked down, along with Noa, also froze in place.

Meanwhile, at that moment, Laurea was completely consumed by the Abyss.

Moreover, just to make matters worse, the Abyssal Rift began to close slowly. This had to be a phenomenon occurring as the mana constituting the magic circle ran out.

Then at that moment…

Whoosh!

A shadow leaped into the Abyss just before the gap closed completely.

With red-brown hair fluttering in the wind,

and the Hero’s Enchantment engraved on his back…

It was Ulan.

“…?!”

Bombarded by gazes of shock, Ulan vanished beyond the Abyss.

A little while later…

Rumblrrr!

The Abyssal Rift had fully closed.

2.

A while after the Abyssal Rift closed, a heavy silence filled the room.

But the silence didn’t last long.

“Ugh, uaaah…”

Both Ulan and Laurea.

As soon as the presence of the two, who had just been there, completely vanished, a sense of despair washed over the group.

“S-Senpai, the Saintess…”

Among them, Ian seemed deeply shocked.

And it made sense. He watched Laurea get swallowed by the Abyss without being able to do anything.

It wasn’t just him having a panic attack.

Ivella also stared at the spot where Ulan had disappeared with a shocked expression, forgetting even how to respond out of sheer surprise.

While everyone was lost in shock,

[Kraaaang!]

A roar resounded, shaking the room.

It was none other than White Wolf’s voice.

With that wake-up call, White Wolf transformed into mist and vanished. Gradually, those who had been in shock began to gather their wits.

“Everyone, snap out of it!”

“Staying in shock won’t solve anything!”

The first to recover were Noa and Delia.

Having faced the Abyssal Rift before, they processed the reality quicker than Ian and Ivella.

Though their words were somewhat harsh, it was the truth. Staying in shock would not bring back the two who’d vanished.

The immediate task was to find a way to rescue Ulan and Laurea, who had been pulled beyond the Abyss.

Recovered from her stupor, Ivella proposed the most realistic solution she could think of.

“First, let’s go outside and ask for help from the professors. Surely they’ll have a method…”

“That won’t work.”

But at that moment, Delia shook her head.

“If we do that, it’ll be too late.”

“But to solve this ourselves…”

“Do you really think we can trust the professors when we consider the fact that Diplyn is an Abyss Worshipper?”

Ivella quickly fell silent.

It was a reasonable counterargument.

In a situation returning to square one, while Ivella and Delia’s faces shadowed.

Suddenly, Ian turned to Noa.

“Do you think it’s possible to open a gap from inside the Abyss?”

“No, that’s impossible.”

Noa shook her head.

She explained that there had never been an instance of a gap opening from inside the Abyss before the Gate of the Abyss opened.

This held true even in the original story.

“So that means…”

“The only way to save them is to open a gap from outside.”

Just like Diplyn had done.

As soon as Noa finished speaking, Ian’s expression darkened again. He had just clung to a glimmer of hope only to lose it once more.

Then at that moment,

Delia spoke up.

“Then, we just need to open it ourselves!”

“Open what?”

“The Abyssal Rift, of course.”

Delia made an enormous statement with a nonchalant expression. Upon her words, Ian’s face lit up.

“D-Do you really have a way?”

“Yes! If we analyze the spells used in that magic circle and recreate them, it is possible.”

Of course, it would take some time.

But theoretically, it was feasible.

Fortunately, the magic circle was almost undamaged. Having made up her mind, Delia immediately began examining the magic circle closely.

But soon, she despaired.

“Ugh, to activate this…”

“It requires six high-grade Magic Stones.”

Both Delia and Noa frowned as they inspected the spell formation.

High-grade Magic Stones were incredibly hard to obtain. Only a High Mage like Diplyn might find a way to get them.

In short, it was impossible to even restore the magic circle at the moment. Everyone faced a bleak reality.

Just when they were enveloped in despair…

[Grrr!]

The White Wolf, who had mysteriously vanished earlier, suddenly returned, now holding a luxurious leather bag in its mouth.

It approached Noa and immediately thrust the bag toward her.

“Huh? What’s this? Is this for me?”

[Grr, grr!]

The wolf nodded.

Noa opened the bag with a puzzled expression, and soon her eyes widened in shock.

“T-This is?!”

Noa’s expression froze as she stared, wide-eyed.

Wondering what caused her intense reaction, Ivella and Delia exchanged glances of confusion.

“What is it?”

“What’s inside that got you so surprised?”

Delia, though she continued to speak calmly, wore an equally dazed expression.

It was understandable.

Inside the bag were high-grade Magic Stones—no less than over ten of them.

“Wait a minute. This bag looks oddly familiar.”

Delia squinted her eyes, looking as if she recognized the bag.

Moments later, realizing who the bag belonged to, she yelled in surprise.

“Right! It’s Diplyn’s bag!”

“What? Really?”

“Look! It has a note sewn inside that says, ‘To my dear Diplyn Cernio’!”

Indeed, Delia’s words were true.

Embroidered inside the bag was the note, “To my dear Diplyn Cernio,” serving as clear proof.

Once they realized the owner of the bag, Noa stared at the White Wolf with even wider eyes.

“How did you get Diplyn’s bag?”

But there was no answer coming.

From the start, the White Wolf didn’t even look at Noa.

It merely gazed silently in the direction of the magic circle.

Realizing this, everyone quickly recalled what they needed to do.

“Let’s analyze the magic circle immediately!”

With the materials in hand, there was no time to hesitate.

Delia hurried to the magic circle to thoroughly dissect the spells composing it.

But at that moment, an unexpected voice interrupted.

“I’ll do it.”

“…Huh?”

“No, I need to do this. It’ll be much faster that way.”

Noa abruptly interjected, her words sounding both sudden and significant.

Delia squinted at her with suspicion.

“What do you mean?”

“It means exactly what it sounds like. I can open the Abyssal Rift in under ten minutes.”

“…Ten minutes?”

That’s absurd.

It would take her over an hour just to interpret all the spells herself. How on earth could Noa open a gap in only ten minutes?

Delia’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“How? How exactly?”

“Just trust me this one time.”

“No. Even if I do trust you…”

“It’s alright; as long as we have the materials, it’s possible.”

Noa was stubborn.

Yet her gaze was sincere.

It sparkled with determination to rescue Ulan and Laurea, carrying an oddly compelling energy that made Delia fall silent.

Then Noa smiled.

“Because the character I played wasn’t only in the Hero faction.”

“Played? Character?”

Delia tilted her head, puzzled.

The unfamiliar terms stood out in this frantic situation.

Meanwhile, Noa didn’t answer but instead focused intently on the magic circle.

She concentrated on Yoomina’s consciousness to recall her memories.

Not just anyone—

Her experiences of playing as an Abyss Worshipper.

Chapter 31. Just Trust Me This Time.