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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Unasked Questions
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The flow of time in the Demon Palace differs from that of the outside world.
This was a fact I had mentioned once before.
Time within the Demon Palace changes drastically depending on the floor.
As such, not much time passes in the outside world compared to the time spent descending through the Demon Palace.
The reason for this varying time flow on each floor of the Demon Palace is simple.
It is to extend the maturation period for the apostles who reach the lower levels of the Demon Palace.
The 2nd floor is three days, the 3rd floor seven days, the 4th floor fifteen days, and the 5th floor a full month.
Up to the 5th floor, the time difference is somewhat predictable.
However, from the 6th floor onwards, the discrepancy grows progressively larger.
6th floor: 45 days.
7th floor: 100 days.
8th floor: 180 days.
9th floor: 365 days.
We are currently on the 8th floor.
One day in the outside world translates to 180 days here.
Our time and the surface world's time are flowing completely differently, with a 180-day disparity.
Fortunately, there is no physical aging within the Demon Palace.
While this was likely intended for the apostles, it applied to humans as well.
It had been a month and a week since Isabel and I were caught in the Demon Palace's transfer and became isolated.
Compared to breaking through the 9th floor in just a week, we had barely managed to cover half the distance in a month.
The 8th floor was a place where buildings, unlike anything seen in reality, formed peculiar shapes and interconnected with each other.
Beneath buildings so tall they seemed to touch the sky, a purple river flowed.
Peculiarly, the purple river would regularly surge skyward in a spiraling column.
Being highly acidic, even a slight touch would melt skin.
When the river surged, we absolutely had to avoid it.
The 8th Floor, Skyscraper of Apostles.
It was the most dangerous floor in the Demon Palace, a fortress composed of an endless labyrinth.
We had faced death's door five times here.
The moment that truly felt like a crisis was just now.
The 8th floor's Named Apostle, Lifeblood.
Lifeblood's special ability was the power to absorb life on contact.
Its body, composed of liquid, was impervious to physical attacks.
This meant that Isabel's and my attacks had little effect on Lifeblood.
In the end, I barely managed to escape by using a Lightning Caller.
Isabel and I gasped for breath simultaneously.
This was the result of barely escaping after a fierce battle with Lifeblood just moments ago.
"Haa, heuu, I'm sorry, because of me."
Isabel spoke, barely catching her breath.
During the fierce battle with Lifeblood, Isabel made a desperate move to escape.
But for a month and a week now, she had been constantly expending her stamina.
Her dwindling stamina had finally tripped her up, putting her in danger.
I could feel that her physique had diminished compared to before.
Rest was non-existent; I couldn't even remember the last time we properly slept.
Given that we had been on a forced march, this was the price of burning both fat and muscle simultaneously.
The human body consumes its stored nutrients to survive.
No matter how rigorously Isabel and I had trained, we were still human.
At least for men, having more muscle mass helps, but women's muscles are not equal to men's.
If subjected to the same amount of exertion and fatigue, women would naturally deplete their reserves first.
"Isabel, eat this."
I rummaged through my bag and offered jerky and a biscuit with my right hand.
"I'm fine."
"Your condition is terrible right now. If you lose any more stamina, you'll collapse and won't be able to get up."
"I said I'm fine. Besides, the same goes for you, doesn't it?"
Isabel said that and tried to hand the jerky and biscuit back to me.
But both of us were exhausted.
Our hands collided, and the jerky fell to the ground.
I barely managed to keep the biscuit from falling.
If it had fallen, it would have shattered.
Seeing this, Isabel bit her lip and apologized.
"Sorry."
It was a situation that arose from trying to be considerate of each other while in a sensitive state.
I pushed the biscuit into Isabel's mouth.
In the end, Isabel had no choice but to accept and eat the biscuit.
"Make sure to save your water too."
Just as I said that and reached for the remaining jerky with my left hand.
I merely tilted my body and froze solid.
Then I quickly extended my right hand and picked up the jerky.
Isabel, who was chewing the biscuit, watched this scene silently.
And soon, her eyes slowly widened, and she rushed towards me.
"You!"
"What's wrong? Did you want the jerky that badly?"
"That's not it!"
Isabel gripped my left shoulder and arm.
Then she immediately pulled up the clothes that covered it.
The moment it was revealed, my left arm was blackened.
As if it had lost all vitality, my arm was completely unresponsive.
As expected, I was exposed by my movement just now.
Isabel's face turned ashen.
Her eyes trembled violently as they met mine.
"...You touched Lifeblood trying to save me earlier, didn't you?"
Just before Isabel was about to touch Lifeblood.
I rushed towards Isabel while summoning a Lightning Caller.
In the process, as I pulled her into an embrace, some fragments of Lifeblood splashed onto my left arm.
I hadn't expected such a small splash to cause this much damage.
As a result, my left shoulder cannot be raised.
It was simply blackened and completely unresponsive.
This was the price of having the life drained from my left arm by that creature.
"It's fine. Lifeblood's effect is only active on the same floor. It'll be resolved once we move to the 7th floor."
My combat strength was reduced, but there was no problem with moving forward.
When I told this to Isabel, her body trembled faintly.
"If you use Goddess's Wings..."
"That's not an option."
As she insisted on Goddess's Wings, I immediately refuted it.
"Your Goddess's Wings are our last remaining trump card."
The 7th floor, which comes after the 8th.
There's a single gatekeeper there.
A gatekeeper who always guards that spot, preventing entry from both outside and inside.
To defeat that creature, we need a high-output power like Isabel's Goddess's Wings.
Isabel's stamina had noticeably dropped.
If she expended Goddess's Wings in this state, there would be no way to advance to the 7th floor.
"Isabel, you absolutely must save your Goddess's Wings until then. If we can just reach the 7th floor, we can somehow rejoin the advance party."
At the current level of the students from Gerion Academy, they can definitely break through to the 7th floor.
I believe in them.
That's why we have to reach the 7th floor no matter what.
I extended my right hand and chewed the jerky, swallowing it.
The sweet taste of the jerky spread in my mouth, and vitality surged.
Originally, I intended to give it to Isabel, but now I needed to convey my definite will to survive.
So, I clearly showed my resolve in front of her.
"Isabel, it's natural to get hurt in this situation. But one thing is certain: we will escape the Demon Palace safely."
Our food supplies were diminishing rapidly.
We couldn't afford to delay here and expend more stamina.
I reaffirmed my resolve once more.
"Let's go."
"..."
Isabel's face showed she had much to say, but she deliberately held it back.
She could question me once we were out.
What was needed now was strong mutual trust.
And so, Isabel and I pressed on.
***
We were one-third of the way from reaching the 7th floor.
Our food supplies were almost entirely depleted.
Typically, the rear guard, being in the safest position, would carry the food.
As the vanguard, the two of us naturally had less food.
However, this was somewhat expected.
Fortunately, I was familiar with the 8th floor's ecosystem.
The Demon Palace also had a somewhat established ecosystem, meaning there were edible things.
However, even those edible things usually had some effect on the body, but it was better than starving.
But foraging for food while avoiding the apostles' eyes was more challenging than anticipated.
Magical beasts released by the apostles constantly roamed the vicinity.
If detected by them, it would immediately lead to battle.
If we failed to eliminate them, it was obvious they would summon apostles.
Thus, we couldn't let our guard down.
I roasted the mushrooms we had barely managed to find using the flames from the magic sigil I conjured on my finger, then chewed and swallowed them.
These mushrooms had the disadvantage of containing toxins that numbed the taste buds, but we were in no position to be picky.
If it could fill our stomachs, we had to eat it.
Any problems arising from that could be dealt with once we got out.
Isabel was also chewing mushrooms, following my lead.
Whatever I managed to find, she ate without the slightest doubt.
Isabel's knowledge of the 8th floor was limited to the Named Apostles.
So, in these matters, she completely trusted me.
She never asked how I knew such detailed information about this place.
However, during our breaks, Isabel constantly gazed at my left arm, which had been affected by Lifeblood.
Nearly two months had passed since we were transferred.
Isabel and I had helped each other to get this far.
Therefore, this injury was solely due to my carelessness.
If I had grasped the situation more clearly and proceeded, I wouldn't have been caught.
"Isabel, let's rest here today."
A path where the apostles' routes cleverly didn't overlap.
We decided to rest there, leaning against a wall.
In about a week, we should reach the entrance to the 7th floor.
We had made good progress so far.
We just needed to hold on a little longer.
"You."
Isabel was sitting next to me.
We were sitting as close as possible to each other.
This was so that if either of us sensed anything amiss, we could react immediately and move simultaneously.
Isabel's shoulder was touching my right shoulder.
She hugged her knees to her chest and parted her dry lips.
"Can I ask you a few things?"
This was Isabel, who had never asked anything until now.
Anything she was curious about, she could ask once we were out of here.
With that thought, she had swallowed all her questions.
But as time passed, our food ran out.
My left arm had been immobile for a long time.
Isabel, too, had reached her physical limits.
I could clearly feel how thin her body had become.
Perhaps because of this, she seemed to feel she could no longer put off her questions.
If she didn't ask now, she might not get another chance.
That's what she must have thought.
I indirectly sensed how unstable Isabel's state was.
But I didn't point it out now.
"I'm a man with many secrets, you know."
"It's just like you to joke even at a time like this."
Isabel's head gently touched my shoulder.
"But please, answer me seriously now."
What did she want to ask?
Isabel had harbored countless questions about me all this time.
Our relationship was one that had formed around the figure of Lucas.
A relationship that began with my insulting remarks about Lucas.
"The day you first came to the Academy."
I had been putting on an act all this time, but eventually, the truth would be exposed.
Isabel had looked straight at me more keenly than anyone else.
"That time you insulted Lucas, was it for my sake?"
"..."
I had long known that Isabel harbored doubts about this.
Those quick-witted individuals near her had already realized this point.
Even if she, the person concerned, had tried to ignore it, there was no way she hadn't noticed.
It was simply a question she had continuously put off because she couldn't bring herself to ask it.
Today, she finally threw that question at me.
My lips wouldn't part.
As I said before, Isabel's and my relationship was extremely complicated.
A relationship where so many emotions had accumulated that it was impossible to easily find a clue to unravel it.
I had certainly played the "Blazing Butterfly" arc countless times.
But even I, with all that knowledge, couldn't tell how Isabel's and my relationship would change if I answered here.
Beyond this point lay an unknown world.
A world I knew nothing about.
"It wasn't for you. It was for me."
Isabel, having heard my answer, looked up at me.
"...Really?"
"..."
She had asked me to speak only the truth, not lies.
What I had said to her was certainly not a lie.
However, I couldn't say it wasn't a complete lie either.
Because it was definitely for her sake too.
"You know, I've been watching you more closely than you think."
Isabel, who would often gaze at me intently.
Her gaze was sometimes terrifyingly persistent.
"And every time, I kept wondering. Why would someone like you say those things that day, and for what purpose did you do that for me, a stranger?"
Isabel's own struggles.
There would have been no clear answer to those struggles.
I am Hanun Areida.
She had never been involved with Hanun.
However.
"That power of yours, to change your appearance at will."
She had seen me freely change my appearance twice.
Once as Bikamon, and once as Hania.
"Seeing that power, I kept thinking. You might not be Hanun after all."
Furthermore, she had met the real Hanun.
The stories the real Hanun must have told her, stories I wouldn't know.
It was natural for her to harbor doubts amidst those stories.
"I've definitely met you before."
Isabel's hand had somehow tightly gripped my collar.
Her two eyes, like the sun, trembled violently.
That gaze was so intense that even I couldn't tear my eyes away.
"Who exactly are you?"
A desperate voice escaped Isabel.
"Who are you, to have revived me and helped me rise again?"
The question she had harbored ever since immediately after her second year.
It was the moment she threw that question directly at me.