Ten Abysses, created by the Northern God. The real one was hidden in only one. With no way to tell from the outside, the Ancient Undead had split up with their troops to conquer them one by one.

[Hmm.]

Erzebet was in trouble.

[This is tricky.] The undead that populated this particular Abyss resembled mutated Drakes. They had a dinosaur-like appearance, and though they were corpses, they possessed sturdy exoskeletons that the Corpse Spiders’ fangs struggled to pierce.

A guttural clicking sound echoed in the cavern. Perhaps sensing they had their opponent cornered, the creatures stretched their long necks, flicked their tongues, and began to close in. But they only surrounded her, not daring to move recklessly. Thin, almost invisible spiderwebs were spread densely around her.

The stalemate dragged on. She idly flicked a web with her fingertip, lost in thought. ’I don’t have time for this.’

This place was a dud. She had descended to the bottom and found no sign of the Northern God. But as she tried to ascend, the undead had poured down from above as if they had been waiting. Fighting while climbing was always harder than fighting on the way down.

[I’ve always felt this, but you fight cleverly, Northern God.] She crossed her arms, drawing up her Jet-Black. [I’ll just have to force my way through—]

"Erze!"

Erzebet’s eyebrows twitched. Even in this chaotic din, surrounded by enemies, that voice rang clearly in her ears. She looked up to see the boy with the blue hair she adored falling into the Abyss.

[L-Legion Commander?]

The undead that had surrounded her immediately turned their heads toward Simon. Sensing an easier opponent, they began to assume an attack stance.

’Without Pier or Herseva? That’s reckless!’ Without the Legion Commander’s power, entering the Abyss with the strength of a regular Kizen student was suicide. Erzebet urgently swung her arm to send her webs to his aid, but—

’Too late!’

The Drake undead opened their maws wide and lunged at Simon. A fire ignited in her eyes.

’I will protect him!’

A wave of dark blue Jet-Black erupted around her spiderwebs. Seeing this, Simon lowered his arm, resonating with her thoughts.

’Geheim!’

The thin threads of spiderweb swelled into thick, fur-covered chains. Her eyes flashing with a dark blue light, she swung her arms like a mad pianist. A moment of silence hung in the Abyss, then a series of wet ’thuds’. The Drake undead fell in pieces, sliced up like carrots, exoskeletons and all. The attack had even damaged the cave walls, which now cracked like a fruit pie.

[Legion Commander—!] Having dealt with the enemies, Erzebet ran over with a choked sob. She snatched Simon from the air and pulled him into her arms. [Ah! Legion Commander! My light! My sun! Are you alright?]

She spun him around a few times, then lifted him straight up with a jolt. The difference in strength between an Ancient Undead and a human was so immense that Simon was shaken like a doll.

"Erze, I’m dizzy."

[I am so glad you are safe!] After confirming with her own eyes that he was unharmed, Erzebet hugged him tightly, then spoke in a feigned angry tone. [Still, that was dangerous! To jump into battle without Pier or Herseva!]

"What’s so dangerous?" Simon grinned. "You’re here."

At his words, she gazed at him with eyes full of emotion, then hugged him so tightly he couldn’t breathe. He let out a choked "Ugh."

[Those words and that picturesque smile! It feels as though I have received all my rewards for this northern expedition.]

"I-I’m glad," he managed. "What about the Abyss you went to with Herseva?"

"We made it safely to the bottom and back," Simon replied with a shrug. "Of course, the Northern God wasn’t there either. Can you put me down now?"

Surprised that Simon had reached the bottom faster than she had, Erzebet set him on the ground.

[Did you perhaps use the Grand Duke’s flag?]

"I was about to." Simon took the golden flag out of his subspace to show her. "But Herseva stopped me."

Thanks to Herseva pushing herself to drag the undead into the ’World of Sand,’ he had been able to save the flag. Of course, Herseva was now completely exhausted from the backlash of using both her Geheim and her domain.

Hearing the story, Erzebet nodded.

[The Northern God wasn’t in this Abyss either.]

"Good. Let’s move on to the next one." He didn’t know the situation elsewhere, but they had successfully cleared at least two of the ten locations. Simon stepped forward, pressing himself against her as if seeking an embrace. Erzebet smiled blissfully and patted the top of his head as if he were a child.

"Let’s go, quickly!" Simon exclaimed, embarrassed.

[As you command!] She raised her right arm and grabbed a spiderweb. Their feet immediately left the ground as they were pulled upward. [Where shall we go next?]

"Let’s check on Prince first," Simon said with a meaningful smile. "I have a way to resolve this quickly."

---

Riding Erzebet’s spiderweb, the two quickly escaped the Abyss.

[The wind feels nice! Hold on to me tightly.]

"Okay."

Erzebet connected a web to each of the towering undead nests on either side and used it to travel. She pointed to one of the ten Abysses.

[That’s the one Prince went into!]

"Let’s go." They connected a web to the ground and entered the Abyss as if rappelling down a rope. There were no attacks, only the chaotic signs of Prince and his zombie troops’ battle. Undead were crushed like insects everywhere, and deep craters in the walls marked the impact of Prince’s ’Hidden Card Punch.’

[Can you feel Prince’s thoughts?]

"No, not yet." Simon’s eyes were narrowed in concentration. "Looks like he’s fighting pretty deep inside."

The range of his senses didn’t reach Prince’s location. But...

’There’s a more certain way than thoughts!’ With one arm wrapped around Erzebet’s waist, Simon stretched his other hand forward. A low hum filled the air as Jet-Black spread out above his palm like a blueprint, drawing complex formulas and shapes. It was Prince’s ’Corpse Explosion’ magic circle.

’I’ve been researching and improving it all this time in the North!’

Nine magic circles spun and interlinked. Seeing this, Erzebet blinked her long eyelashes.

[What are you doing?]

"I’m using black magic to locate Prince. I’ve deployed the circle, so please keep going down."

Erzebet let out more web, and they descended rapidly. Simon kept the magic circle aimed downward, but it couldn’t find its target and kept spinning idly, making a whooshing sound like a trigger missing its mark.

Then, the magic circle clicked softly as it found its target. Formulas and runes moved busily, preparing for activation.

"I’ve got a lock on Prince! Stop here!"

Erzebet halted their descent. The two dangled from the web, peering into the pitch-black darkness below. Occasionally, a distant, intermittent thump echoed from the depths. Just then, the magic circle lost its target again.

"Erze! A little lower!" Simon shouted.

[Yes!]

As they went lower, the circle locked on again. In this way, Simon prepared the spell while maintaining a precarious distance. The target was locked, but the spell wouldn’t activate; he couldn’t clench his fist, the core trigger. His outstretched palm just trembled. Prince’s ’Corpse Explosion condition’ had not yet been met.

Then...

’!’

The will aligned, the Jet-Black circulated, the magic circles found their places, and the moment to clench his fist arrived. If he missed this timing, it was over.

Simon clenched his fist with all his might.

’Corpse Explosion!’

As the magic circle activated, the sensation of a button being firmly pressed flowed through his body. Having cast the spell, Simon roared, "Now! Go up! Erze!"

Erzebet immediately yanked the web. As their bodies shot upward, a blinding flash surged from the darkness below, as if the sun had just been born in the heart of the Abyss. Searing heat washed over them.

’Here it comes!’

The shockwave, a roaring wall of fire and debris, surged up the chasm walls, threatening to consume them. It was unbelievably fast. His skin stung from the heat.

"We’re going to get caught! Can’t you go any faster?"

[This is top speed!]

The blast shattered the chasm walls as it rose. Simon looked up. The sky was getting closer.

"Now!"

[Yes!]

Erzebet shot out a new web to the side. They each grabbed it, and as the web retracted, they were flung out of the Abyss, tumbling across the snow-covered ground.

A grunt of pain escaped him as they rolled for what felt like an eternity, but Simon’s eyes remained fixed on the Abyss. The moment they were clear, a volcanic eruption of smoke and dust shot into the sky.

"Hah. Hahaha...!" Simon let out a dazed laugh and sprawled on the ground. A massive mushroom cloud billowed into the air. Staring blankly at the sky, he spoke to the ring on his left hand. "Good work, Prince. Leave the rest to me."

The ring trembled twice, then went still. The third Abyss: a perfect clear. He couldn’t confirm it with his own eyes, but if the Northern God had been in there, he would have been obliterated.

’Even after controlling the firepower, it’s this powerful.’

Herseva, Erzebet, Prince—their new techniques were performing brilliantly. The legion had undoubtedly become much stronger.

’Alright, seven places left.’

Simon brushed off his pants, got up, and looked toward the Abysses. Erzebet approached with light steps.

[Legion Commander. Where to now?]

Simon thought for a moment.

"First, let’s split up and—"

A loud rumbling interrupted him. One Abyss was particularly noisy, with blue liquid spouting from it like fountains.

’Amazing.’

The 2nd Legion’s Ancient Undead, Pluto, was fighting right in front of them.