The dragon roared as it regained consciousness, its split eyes glinting with violence as it glared at Tesilid. He could feel its intent to kill weigh down on him oppressively as Leviathion unhinged its jaws again and started filling its lungs with air. It was preparing for its second breath.
"I better take care of that thing first," murmured Tesilid as he reached into the air. He used the cufflinks to reach into Ailette's inventory and grab a healing potion. Downing the bottle erased all of the small wounds that were on his body in an instant and returned him to full health. With that, his body rose into the air as Leviathion released a stream of blue breath, which Tesilid's aura blades quickly moved to block.
Thud! Thump!
The ground started to shake as the battle began, and their fight persisted even after Wevrille Island was destroyed beyond recognition. The ability to access potions at will was essential in the absence of an actual healer, so Tesilid continued to replenish his health using Ailette's potions as he battled Leviathion.
It was a long battle, one that far surpassed the limits of human strength. The fight stretched on as the setting sun painted everything above and below the horizon in red. It seemed like it would never end until, finally, it did.
Thud.
The gigantic weight of the monster's body crashed into the sea. The explosion of water that followed arced high into the air before battering the ruined shoreline with towering waves. This was the end of Leviathion.
Standing atop a destroyed flat of coral reef that once surrounded the island, Tesilid caught his breath. He stared out onto the horizon after putting his holy sword away, watching as the colors of dusk overtook the sky. It felt quite empty, having to witness the sunset alone when he was meant to be enjoying it with Ailette as they had planned.
He scanned his surroundings as waves continued to rise and crash around him, looking for a clue as to where Ailette had gone. But try as he might with all the powers available to him, Tesilid could not detect the dungeon that had sucked her away. The only clue he had was that he had sensed God's interference the moment she'd disappeared.
What am I supposed to do now? He was sinking deeper into a sense of despair when he suddenly remembered an important piece of information.
"Oh, I forgot about that."
His mind latched onto a solution. He took out a teleportation stone from his inventory and headed to Gehenid, the capital of the Ragneif Republic of Magic. The moonlight shattered over the Dark Tower standing tall in the center of the city. Although it was already midnight in Gehenid, the city of mages was still brightly lit and bustling with activity.
Tesilid casually merged into the crowd and followed the flow of people until he reached the Dark Tower. He entered the building and then climbed to the very top, during which time no one attempted to stop him. When he stepped onto the final step, he opened the door and was welcomed by a room full of books and a domed ceiling covered in glowing stars.
This was not only the master of the Mage Tower's room, but it was also where the most confidential documents were kept, a place that was as important as the chamber of forbidden texts in the Vatican's basement. Thankfully, this room had a similar purpose.
"'Cultivation of the Fruit of Truth and the Forbidden Golden Fruit,'" he recited quietly.
Whoosh.
The air around Tesilid began to swirl as he removed a particular book from the shelf and opened it. Five streams of whirlwinds slowly spun as they grew in size, then eventually turned into the gate of the dungeon. He stepped in without a second thought, entering a trans-dimensional space that ignored the laws of physics. Everywhere that the eye could see was covered in bookshelves full of books. In fact, it was almost as if the space itself had been constructed using books as building materials, as everything from the colorful mosaic walls, the high ceiling, the helical stairs, and even the floor was all made out of books. The place looked like an exaggerated version of the Library of All Things.
"Announcement." An otherworldly voice rang out across the library. It was oddly muffled, as if the speaker was underwater, but loud enough to startle anyone who was not expecting to hear it. "Inferinos' royal 'Great Library of Eternity' opened. First unmanned library in the Demon Realm. Sophisticated demons welcomed."
Tesilid followed the sound of the voice to where a large bibleâwhich looked similar to the one that had been in the Library of All Thingsâwas levitating. He walked up the stairs made of books and stepped in front of the book. He noticed that up close, the giant tome looked more like a door than a book. Spotting that the center was wrapped with chains and secured with a lock, Tesilid shoved his hand into his clothes and started digging for something. The Bible of Truth at the Library of All Things where he fought Elantia had not been able to tell him the origins of the floppy disk, so he had received a key in place of an answer.
I thought I would never need this, yet here I am now. Needless to say, he wasn't happy about it in the slightest. He proceeded to slide the key into the lock and turned it, which released the binds from around the bible as clattering noises of chains falling to the ground filled the air. As soon as the bible opened, a spiraling beam of light instantly surrounded his body and scanned him from head to toe.
"Authorization confirmed. Usage of the Great Bible of Truth for three questions approved."
"So it's three questions this time, huh?" This was far more generous than he'd expected. In fact, he had only come with one question prepared.
"One who seeks an answer to a question that the Library of All Things could not provide, what do you wish to know?"
He already knew what he had to ask, but he hesitated.
"What do you wish to know? Ask."
Tesilid needed some time before he verbalized the question because it was one that had been rejected when he asked during Loop Ninety-four. Only after a few deep breaths to clear his mind could he part his lips to speak.
"Where is Ailette Rodeline?"
"Question received. Commencing search."
The Great Bible of Truth accepted the question, which was a stark reminder that his current Loop, Loop One Hundred and Seventeen, was indeed special.
"Search complete."
No one else in this old and broken world shared the same name as Ailette, nor was the bible incompetent this time. Finally, the otherworldly voice rumbled out the answer, sharing the location of the target.
"Ailette Rodeline is..."
When he heard the reply, Tesilid couldn't stop his eyes from widening.
Avoiding the World's Hostility.
Consciousness lit up behind my eyes as I pushed myself up from where I lay inside a dark cave, grabbing my aching head. It seemed that I had been under for quite some time. Just like anyone who wakes up from a deep sleep, it took me a while to recall everything that had happened before I lost consciousness, but as soon as the pieces of my memory came together, I was on high alert.
"Tesilid!"
My shouted voice echoed in the darkness as I did my best to calm my pounding heart. I exhaled in a long stream as if I was trying to breathe out the confusion and shock surging inside me, and only when I could finally pretend that I was calm did I manage to find my words.
"Agnes, how much time has passed?"
There was no response.
"Agnes?"
The necklace around my neck was silent, and I realized I couldn't sense Agnes' presence.
What is going on? Did the dungeon go as far as to reject her spirit because the location is only meant to contain one person?
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World advises that you don't need to worry about Agnes Azlette.â
â¬The Scale that Judges Souls advises that you have been asleep for exactly a day, and the time in this dungeon flows two and a half times slower than reality.â
I was as relieved by what Lord Voice said as I was intrigued by Lord Scale's words. Apparently, nine hours had passed for Tesilid, so what had happened to him while fighting a rank 183 monster? I wasn't a pessimistic person, but I wasn't entirely optimistic either. Feeling the tips of my fingers tremble, I clenched my fists to sever this unpleasant reaction.
"Ha... I can't believe this happened."
All he said was that he wanted to live. There's nothing wrong with talking about a natural desire for survival. What was so bad about suggesting that we survive together?
"It doesn't even mean anything..."
My voice trailed off as I spoke. In truth, I could not argue that the system was biased in its decision or that it had exaggerated the situation because a small corner of my heart seemed to have accepted the judgment. It was a humorous situation because they had confirmed that the long-lasting affection and pity I had for Tesilid Argente hadn't just intensiï¬ed but had transformed into something else entirely.
But still... Isn't this too harsh? I never once admitted anything out loud.
"It's unfair... Completely unfair..."
But this wasn't the right time and place to complain, so I clenched my teeth and raised my head.
Fine, I can admit it. This is my fault. I had decided to take full responsibility for the situation because my mind hadn't been strong enough to pull away from the intensity of the moment. I tried to approach the issue from a more logical point of view. There were still ways to recover from this situation because I could leverage the VIP Point Shop operated by the Supreme Merchant of All Things.
I remembered her telling me that the luxury wristwatch was a one-time return artifact that could rewind the life of a transmigrator, which meant I could convert all of my gold into cash and buy anything I needed from the Transmigrator's Item Shop. I can earn one point per 100,000 cash spent, which means I could secure 50,000 points if I exhausted my entire wealth. Then, I could use the 50% off coupon that Granny God gave me to purchase the return artifact. Then...
Then I would need to die. The return can only happen under the condition that I die. I was planning my next step when I was interrupted.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World is infuriated with you!â
I felt a strange chill explode in my body as my god's rage made me shudder involuntarily.
"Lord Voice?"
I remained confused as they fiercely berated me.
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World barks that they didn't enter this contract with you to see such a pathetic end.â
â¬The Voice that Shapes the World demands that you instantly discard that horrific idea.â
Their harsh rebuke made me feel upset in many ways.
But...
But...
But...
Words crowded in my throat for quite some time, and it took a while before I could sort them all out.
"Then what am I supposed to do? Tesilid went to the next Loop, and it's not like you can send me to that timeline."
Tesilid who had shared memories and emotions with me had left to a timeline that I could never reach, forcing him to wander around alone in a world that had been reset again as he waited for the world to turn its back on him once more.
"Then at least erase his memories so that it's less painful..."
Speaking with resentment made me realize, once again, that I didn't want to just simply save the worldâI wanted to save a world that was home to Tesilid Argente.