"I don't really like the one behind that 'him'."
I reassured Yoon Jiyeon. "We won't need to confront him. We just need to find the exit door of the underworld, which is located inside his castle, to get out."
"And what about the path rules?"
Taehyun was right. At first glance, we were stuck here until we fulfilled the conditions.
I opened the current path window.
+
[Path]: Floor '-1'
Category: S+
Description: Sacrifice your fear to change floors.
Time limit: None
Reward: 100,000 stellaron
+
But the path only mentioned that we could escape by sacrificing our fear, it didn't say it was the only way out. This place had been created based on the popular image of the underworld, so the normal exit should still exist. And thanks to Kwon Joonseo's memories, I knew where it was.
All we had to do was reach it and pass through the gate to reach Floor 0.
"The path is just an additional escape route. We can still take the pedestrian exit."
Their eyes lit up. Being trapped in a world of desolation and lava had made them lose all hope, but now their smiles were beaming at me.
"But first, we'll have to make it through Hades' entire manor, so stay alert."
***
Yoon Jiyeon was the first to enter the manor. She had now fully mastered the art of the sword, so she reacted instantly when two guards—one on either side of the entrance—leapt at her.
She jumped into the air, spinning her blade, and beheaded one of them. As she landed, she swept the legs out from under the second and slit his throat as he fell.
It was impressive, even having already seen her fight in Kwon Joonseo's memories. In fact, she was even more impressive now.
The halls of Hades' castle were mostly empty, except for a few busts of Olympian gods and goddesses placed here and there.
The guards were usually positioned near doors and entrances, so it was fairly easy to anticipate their locations and take them by surprise.
Our way was easy to follow since I had my astrolabe guiding us through the path. Thus, It wasn't something I particularly liked.
From what I'd gathered so far, and the little I'd gleaned from the memories, paths were both prewritten fates you could follow to ensure a particular outcome but they could also be much more.
A path was an infinite field of possibilities branching into more infinite fields. There were as many paths as there were beings.
But if a path represented a being's 'fate', it had to begin at their origin. And anything with a beginning must, by nature, have an end. That's one of the reasons following this astrolabe unsettled me.
['The Witness Burdened by Regrets' is warning you.]
I know it's dangerous, but it's the best solution we have right now. We won't reach the top of this tower without taking any risks.
['The Witness Burdened by Regrets' is warning you about your memories.]
['The Witness Burdened by Regrets' is warning you about '■■■■■a■■ e■■■'.]
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 "If I brought you here, it's because I appreciate you."
"You appreciate me?" 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 [Your existence is acknowledged by an entity tinged with regret.] 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
「 This place was intentionally left empty. 」
…My blade pierced straight through the guard's body. He collapsed with one final groan.
[You have slain a 'Guard of the Underworld'.]
[You receive 200 stellaron as a reward.]
I paused to catch my breath. My head was throbbing.
['The Witness Burdened by Regrets' is warning you.]
"You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a strange feeling of déjà vu."
Relieved, Taehyun skipped joyfully toward the next guard to take him down. Honestly, it was kind of terrifying how much the apocalypse had changed this kid's personality.
As we made our way through the immense home of the King of the Underworld, the golden thread of ether emitted by the astrolabe grew thicker. I made the group pick up the pace.
"We're almost at the final room—get ready!"
We sprinted as fast as we could down a wide hallway until we caught sight of a large double door at the far end.
Taehyun was far ahead of us. Damn, how many points had that kid pumped into agility
Suddenly, the thread from the astrolabe was cut off.
I barely had time to spot a golden glint above Taehyun.
[You have used 1,000 stellaron.]
[Your agility has increased.]
[Your agility is now 80.]
I pushed my legs as hard as I could and launched forward, skimming the floor. I reached out with my left arm, grabbed Taehyun around the waist, and crashed into the wall to the right.
BOOM
A deafening thud rang out.
I looked toward where I'd just pulled Taehyun from. A massive golden suit of armor now stood there, its paladin sword embedded in the ground exactly where he'd been.
Yoon Jiyeon had stopped where I'd been standing just moments earlier. She stared down the armor with a determined gaze.
***
Yoon Jiyeon drew her sword from her inventory and looked away from Taehyun and Kim Honja to focus on the armor.
It was a simple golden armor—except it stood at least six meters tall and nearly touched the ceiling. Through the helm, Yoon Jiyeon saw nothing but emptiness.
The armor moved… without anyone inside?
If Kim Honja really knew a way out like he'd said, then they had to defeat this armor.
[An 'Entity Tinged with Regret' is requesting you to activate 'The Pact'.]
[You have accepted the terms of 'The Pact'.]
[Status 'Transcendent' activated for 10 minutes.]
[All your stats have been multiplied by 10.]
Yoon Jiyeon felt a powerful energy surge through her. She felt like she could leap over the armor entirely.
Without thinking, she pushed off the ground.
The wind howled in her ears and rustled through her blonde hair.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She was now above it.
Beneath her, the colossal armor creaked as it raised its head.
"J-Jiyeon!"
She heard Kim Honja's warning and tightened her grip around her sword.
The armor's arm swung its massive sword toward her. It was like watching a wall come crashing down at full speed. A cold sweat ran down her forehead, but she didn't flinch.
She blocked the behemoth's strike with her slender blade and was hurled toward the ground almost instantly.
She clenched her fists. Every muscle was tense. In a situation like this, she should've been in despair but strangely, she felt completely confident.
[An 'Entity Tinged with Regret' is protecting your mind.]
The paladin's heavy sword hovered over her like a Damocles' sword.
She heard a sound to her left. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Taehyun and Kim Honja charging at the paladin. Kim Honja's eyes glowed with a dark light.
That's right—she'd unlocked abilities too. She'd completely forgotten, thinking it was silly
[Skill 'Sword Mastery' Lv. 1 has been activated.]
[Your sword techniques have slightly improved.]
The paladin now focused on her companions, and Yoon Jiyeon seized the opening.
Her legs propelled her toward the armor's back. She stabbed her sword into a gap in the neck area and pulled with all her strength.
The armor gave way slowly—centimeter by centimeter—until the helmet flew off into the air.
She looked toward Kim Honja.
He catched her gaze and rushed toward the helm, understanding the assignement.
His sword quickly pierced the armor's golden plating, which exploded in a burst of blue smoke.
[Status 'Transcendent' as run out of time.]
[You have defeated an 'Animus of the Underworld'.]
[You receive 12,000 stellaron as a reward.]