Chapter 349: The key (2)

[Underground 11th floor, ‘River of time’]

Countless corpses of flowers floated on the boiling river.

Gushing…

Bloodsoaked Jade flower’s largest specimen ever bared its teeth, swinging its massive head.

However.

Boom! Crackling!

Nearly eight huge bolts fell on it, tearing apart the Jade Flower’s head.

Thud-thud-thud-splash! Splash! Splash!

Fluids and flesh rain down like a drizzle, disturbing the surface.

It was all because of seven large fangs and a smaller eighth one.

Tss-tss-tss-tss-tss-tss…

The concentrated aura, boiling the surrounding river just by its presence, emanated from Vikir, or shall we say an older Vikir.

Sitting atop the piled Jade Flowers’ corpses, an old man closed his eyes.

Despite wrinkles and grayness, his posture resembled a well-forged sword.

Vikir.

He opened his eyes, stroking his lightly changed hair and a long beard.

“…It’s time to leave now.”

Time flows like a river.

After an unknowable amount of time, Vikir confirmed all his stats were at 798.

…Crack!

The true scale of equality broke in that moment.

“This should be enough.”

Vikir stepped down onto the corpse of the last Jade Flower he killed moments ago.

The rewards for exterminating the Jade Flowers forming colonies on the river are piled high in Vikir’s hands.

Golden candies and other countless candies filled Vikir’s grip.

He swiftly exchanges the candies for candies of a higher level.

[Crunch-crunch…]

Vikir turns his head at the sound of approaching footsteps.

There, towering over him, baby madam who had grown to a size where Vikir has to crane his neck to look at her.

[…Time truly flies.]

Decarabia blinked his eyes amidst Vikir’s white beard.

Despite slaying Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, and Ballak’s warriors, Vikir remains at the mouth of the Flow of the Mighty River.

Then.

[Why haven’t you left?]

A voice echoed in the air.

Vikir’s gaze falls upon a familiar presence floating nearby after a long time.

It was a fairy.

[Is there truly no end to this madness?]

The fairy grumbled as if dying of boredom from seeing Vikir. Well, it had every right to feel that way. From the perspective of a frustrated innkeeper, how could it look at a stubborn customer who refuses to leave despite being warned not to hunt the Jade Flowers, all while lingering on the floor?

The fairy expressed it’s annoyance.

[Are you really not leaving yet? You’ve eaten enough to satiate yourself, haven’t you?]

It was on the verge of tears.

Then, Vikir spoke up.

“Yeah. It’s time for me to leave.”

[!]

Instantly, the fairy’s eyes widened.

The stubborn man who always remained silent and closed his eyes despite being asked to leave the floor seemed to engage in conversation today for some reason.

[Have you finally thought it over? W-w-w-when will you leave?]

Vikir clapped his hands towards the fairy he clearly favored.

“It depends on your attitude. Come closer. Let’s talk.”

[Y-yes? W-w-w-what do you mean?]

At the suggestion to come closer, the fairy’s expression briefly showed fear.

But fairy, seemingly eager for him to leave this floor, approached despite it’s hesitance.

Still, keeping a considerable distance.

However, the distance the fairy deemed safe was meaningless to Vikir.

…Snap!

In an instant, Vikir reached out, seizing the fairy’s neck before he could react.

“Don’t be a bitch, I just wanna talk?”

[W-w-w-what are you doing?]

But the fairy couldn’t finish it’s sentence.

Vikir pressed on both sides of the fairy’s cheeks, forcing it’s mouth open before stuffing something inside.

[PR/N: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)]

It was a reddish liquid contained in a leather pouch.

Gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-

The fairy had to drink the liquid Vikir was forcing into it’s mouth, unaware of what it was.

And soon, the reaction followed.

[No-o-o-o-o-o-o!]

With a terrible scream, black smoke began to billow from the fairy’s mouth.

A sensation as if it’s internal organs were melting tormented the fairy.

“…Hmm.”

Vikir calmly looked down at the struggling fairy beneath his foot. Fairies, created from the essence of invincibility and the essence of the abyss, a product of magical engineering, cannot be destroyed except by their creator, the demon. However, the fairy before him was undoubtedly dying, albeit slowly and painfully.

[Wha-what’s happening?]

The fairy seemed oblivious to the pain it was experiencing.

“Well, who knows? Perhaps it’s the revenge of all the humans who suffered in this tower until now.”

Vikir replied in a dry voice, but the fairy didn’t hear his words.

With a dreadful hiss, the fairy eventually dwindled into nothingness.

“…Impressive effect.”

Vikir shook the leather pouch containing the reddish liquid he held in his hand. It was none other than Figgy’s blood. Despite the passage of a long time, it hadn’t evaporated or decayed, remaining in the pouch just as it was.

“It’s not your typical blood.”

After killing Figgy, Vikir had preserved his blood in the leather pouch. When he first noticed the faint scar on Figgy’s forearm, Vikir felt a sense of unease, typical of a seasoned demon hunter.

“Figgy, was your blood always this dark?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, it’s always been like this. Oh!? Just to let you know, I’m not turning into a demon or anything! Seriously, it’s been like this since I was young! The doctors used to say there’s a lot of iron in my blood, but… since entering the abyss, it seems to have gotten darker?”

Vikir nodded as he watched the fairy dissipate into a handful of blood essence.

“If my judgment is correct…”

* * *

“…You might be the key to collapsing Amducias’ abyss tree.”

Vikir spoke up. Having cleared the 11th floor, Vikir faced Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, and the warriors of Ballak, all with tense expressions.

“Me?” Figgy was taken aback, feeling the weight of everyone’s attention.

But Vikir was serious.

“While spending time at the Flow of the Mighty River, I continued to research and contemplate. It seems there are peculiar properties in your blood.”

Figgy’s blood reacted not only to demons but also to fairies, monsters, and others. While it didn’t elicit a strong response on its own, when applied to a blade or mixed into an aura, it had a significant effect.

“I intend to clear the tower in one fell swoop with this.”

It was a matter Vikir had endlessly pondered during his decades by the Flow of the Mighty River.

In the original timeline before Vikir’s regression, the tower was conquered a bit later. However, by then, most heroes had been eliminated, leaving only one person to clear the tower—the genius among geniuses, Camus.

“At that time, we didn’t even know the tower was the work of a demon.”

Even in such uncertain circumstances, Morg’s genius shone through as she cleared the tower.

But since she was not present in the tower anymore. Someone else had to clear it.

“Moreover, back then, Figgy wasn’t even in school.”

Perhaps Figgy’s reason for dropping out of school wasn’t simply due to bullying.

Perhaps it was because he felt something was different about his blood, something that set him apart from others, something he feared.

Vikir looked at Figgy again.

“…?”

A presence within the tower altering the causality. Perhaps he would become the biggest variable in the future.

Vikir grasped Figgy’s shoulder and said, “The reason you woke up first is because there’s something you need to do first.”

“…Something I need to do?”

Figgy lowered his gaze to his hands.

Then.

“Vikir.”

Tudor called out to Vikir. As Vikir turned his head, Tudor extended his tightly clenched fist forward.

“Take this.”

On Tudor’s outstretched palm lay something gleaming with golden light – candies.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Why not?”

The one who responded to Vikir’s question wasn’t Tudor but Bianca, who stood beside him. Soon, Sanchoo, Figgy, Ahul, and the other warriors of Ballak also handed golden candies to Vikir.

“These are rewards for completing missions. But I think you would benefit from them more than I would.”

“Please, Vikir! All I can do is share my blood!”

“As you wish, hero… Please…”

Everyone had the same look in their eyes.

After a brief moment of silence, Vikir nodded.

“I won’t waste them.”

The golden candies found their way into Vikir’s hands.

*Crinkle*

Combining the rewards for mission completions and all the candies collected while hunting demons, the number was quite substantial.

With an expectant gaze, Tudor asked, “Are you going to eat all of them at once and then go meet the destroy of the tower?”

“No. There’s something I need to do before that.”

Vikir lowered his head once before retrieving an item from his pocket.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

– [Return Scroll] / Scroll / Grade: ?

A scroll that allows one to return to the tutorial zone once, providing an answer to the question ‘Where do you want to go, my lord?’

*Warning: Using this item will reset your level.*

It was a return scroll that would take them back to the very first stage.