Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety: Reunion
Passing between the black pillars, they emerged into a pale blue ice cavern. Despite being deep inside a cave, the place was brightly lit, as though light were shining down from somewhere far above through the transparent blue ice. While Karen carefully moved forward in a crouched posture to avoid slipping, Licht strode ahead a few steps before turning back.
“Lumi? What’s wrong?”
“Kyukyu…”
Hearing the riding dragon’s cry, Karen finally noticed something was off and looked back. From the moment they had entered the tenth floor, Lumi hadn’t taken a single step. Even when Licht pulled at it bridle, it planted its feet and refused to move forward.
“…Well. It’s not unheard of for a riding dragon to do this on a floor where a dungeon boss is present. Unusual for the tenth floor, but not impossible.”
Despite calling it something that happened from time to time, Licht said it with a deep crease between his brows.
“So Mr. Julius hasn’t defeated the boss on this floor yet.”
“That would seem to be the case.”
He said it with a look that suggested he thought more was going on than that. Without stating exactly what he suspected, Licht tied Lumi’s reins to one of the gate pillars.
Karen hesitated over whether to channel magical power into the earring. Now that they were on the same floor, the magic wouldn’t be blocked. If she channeled magical power into the earring—the one in the color of Julius’s eyes—the one Julius wore in her own eye color would grow warm. She went back and forth, and in the end decided against it. If Julius were in the middle of a fight, it would break his concentration.
“Karen, I know your body is hurting.”
Karen flinched and backed away, clutching her hand instinctively. Licht gave her an exasperated look.
“Hiding it won’t do any good. Your face is completely red, for one thing.”
She had been aware of a stinging pain across her face, but hadn’t realized it was obvious to anyone who looked. Karen covered her face with her hands, but it was already too late.
“I know full well this will be hard on your body, but I want to reach Julius as fast as possible.”
Karen felt a wave of relief. Licht had been entrusted with her by Julius, but his first priority was the same as hers—Julius himself. Not being fussed over was oddly comfortable, and she nodded without hesitation.
“I feel exactly the same. It doesn’t matter what it costs me.”
“Your generous agreement is much appreciated, Karen.”
Licht smiled and thanked her—and as he spoke, he was already supporting Karen’s body as he knocked her unconscious and she began to fall.
“It’s hard on you either way, but you being unconscious is the fastest option.”
Karen clawed her way out of a dream in which she was drowning in the sea.
“Gah—cough, cough!”
A brutal shot of alcohol had been forced into her, going up her nose and leaving a sharp sting at the back of her throat. Licht looked down at her as she coughed with tears in her eyes and held up a flask.
“This stimulant works pretty well, doesn’t it? It’s not a potion, though—just dwarven fire liquor. That means I can use it as many times as needed.”
After coughing to her heart’s content, Karen looked around.
“Where are we…?”
She didn’t know when she had lost consciousness. She didn’t remember, but it seemed they had arrived at their destination.
They had passed through the ice cavern and now stood in a place where an enormous pit yawned open all the way to the sky. The sky itself was so distant that the rim of the cliffs far above blurred and disappeared. All that was visible was a single sliver of sky, like a crack in the earth. It struck Karen as somehow familiar, though she couldn’t recall why. Inverted icicles jutted up all around like spikes.
And directly before Karen and Licht, embedded in a wall of blue ice as if it had always been there, was a door. A pair of black double doors with golden geometric patterns traced across their surface. It was the so-called “boss room” door Karen had once heard adventurers talking about in a tavern. Its official name was the Door of Trials.
“We’re going in, but don’t do anything reckless.”
“Understood.”
“If the pain gets to be too much, drink a potion. But if you do, stay back—don’t come forward.”
Karen’s entire body ached as though she’d sustained bruises all over, whatever manner of transportation had brought her here. She endured it in silence, keeping her expression neutral. If she drank a potion now, there would be nothing left in reserve. While she confirmed that the alchemy cauldron and World Tree ladle strapped to her pack were intact, she answered:
“I’m still all right.”
“If something happens to you, Julius might very well cut ties with me. …Though bringing you somewhere like this in the first place probably means I’m already done for.”
Licht looked quietly, mournfully resigned. Karen smiled at him with her reddened cheeks.
“I’m the one who brought you, Master Licht. So if Mr. Julius is angry, it’ll be at me.”
“You’ve got it easy. Julius would never hate you.”
Karen thought Julius probably wouldn’t hate Licht either. Bringing her all the way here had unmistakably been for Julius’s sake, and Julius would understand that. She chose not to say it aloud and said something else instead:
“Mr. Julius is inside, right?”
“Most likely. Stay behind me.”
“Yes.”
Karen gave a brief answer, and Licht slowly opened the door.
Beyond it was another prison-like chamber—open to the sky, surrounded by walls of ice and inverted icicles hanging down like bars.
And in the middle of that prison lay a massive humanoid monster of deep blue, easily five meters tall, sprawled on its side.
Licht pushed Karen behind him and murmured:
“Just sleeping…? No—”
Through the gap between Licht’s arm, Karen found the one she had been looking for and cried out.
“Mr. Julius!”
“— Karen?!”
On the other side of the fallen monster. Julius was standing before the two black pillars at the far end of the ice prison—the gate to the eleventh floor—and at the sound of Karen calling his name, he turned around immediately.
He looked somewhat worn, but all in one piece, healthy—and on the tenth floor of all places, his complexion was clear, even glowing, and the expression on his face at Karen’s sudden appearance was one of complete and utter disbelief.
Karen’s eyes filled with tears, and she channeled magical power into the earring with everything she had.
“Whoa—?!”
Julius gave a violent start as the earring seared with heat. Karen fixed him with a glare and broke into a run. The monster wasn’t sleeping—it was on its side in a pool of blood. She sprinted past it and threw herself at Julius.
Julius caught Karen’s body without the slightest effort as she crashed into him.
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