SAAE 36

Chapter 36

Of course. Anyone would feel that way—as long as they weren’t an idiot.

There was nothing more foolish than going back to people who had abandoned you once already.

Louis wiped the sweat that trickled down his forehead with the edge of his hand and looked around.

Leonard and Ariana were nowhere to be seen. The two of them had gone off somewhere again, spending time together.

Irritation flared sharply inside him.

A sandy beach that was no different from a barren wasteland.
Scorching heat and maddening thirst.
On top of that, after fighting several battles while starving, his stamina was completely drained.

He was at his limit.

Grinding his teeth, Louis muttered,

“…We need to get rid of that woman.”

The plan to escape this damn tower together with Leonard kept getting delayed.

All because of Ariana Silvester—that woman.

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me… you’re saying we should kill Lady Silvester?”

“If necessary.”

There was no reason he couldn’t.

“Rosette was fine, so why should that woman be any different? Don’t you think?”

“But…”

Felix thought Rosette and Ariana were different cases.

Unlike Rosette, who was from another country, Ariana had a close relationship with Leonard.

“Ariana is Leonard’s lover.”

“No. She’s an obstacle.”

Louis coldly cut Felix off.

“Nothing but a hindrance that offers Leonard no help whatsoever.”

“……”

“Romance is something he can indulge in as much as he wants once we’re out of here.”

Felix was terrified of Louis’s cold-blooded side, but he did his best to speak calmly.

“No matter what… killing Ariana? More than anything, Leonard would never just stand by and let that happen.”

“Do you think I don’t know that?”

Louis gave a bitter, sneering smile.

“For now, I’m planning to separate her from the group as naturally as possible.”

“……”

“But if that doesn’t work, then there’s no helping it.”

If the plan failed, he would kill her.

At Louis’s declaration, everyone fell silent in shock.

But Louis, having already made up his mind, was resolute.

“So cooperate. All of you.”

The ceiling collapsed, sending up a massive cloud of dust.

Coughing violently, I barely managed to find the fake Swan.

He was unconscious, his body twisted at an unnatural angle, pinned beneath a huge piece of rubble.

“Ugh… disgusting…”

The second brother lifted the massive boulder.

I snatched the pendant necklace from the fake Swan’s neck beneath it.

As I rubbed the necklace—stained with black blood—against my clothes to wipe it clean, Isael approached.

“Did you find it?”

“Yeah. We don’t know when those things might swarm us again, so let’s move to another space for now.”

“Okay.”

I was uneasy, not knowing what might be waiting in the next space.

But there was a door there, and if we wanted to go down to the next floor, we had no choice but to go that way.

“First, let’s avoid the zombie horde.”

More than anything, we needed to leave quickly—before the dead fakes revived or new ones appeared.

I turned to the first brother and asked,

“How do you use this necklace?”

—Give it to me.

I handed it over immediately.

Soon, the first brother absorbed the necklace into his body.

Then he reached out and grabbed my arm with one hand and Isael’s with the other.

At that moment, my vision warped violently.

“…Ugh.”

Feeling dizzy, I squeezed my eyes shut.

When I opened them again a moment later, an entirely different scene lay before me.

“Uh…”

I stared blankly, mouth agape.

“This is…”

The first floor.

The first floor of the tower—the one I had already passed through.

“…Is this for real?”

For a moment, my mind went completely blank.

I looked around in a daze, then quickly regained my senses.

Because I realized this wasn’t real.

If we had truly been sent back to the first floor, I would’ve rather gone insane—but this was all fake anyway.

Isael seemed to grasp the situation just as quickly, remaining calm without showing much confusion.

“Rosette. Are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m fine. Totally fine.”

When I smiled back at him, Isael frowned as our eyes met.

“…Why?”

Why are you looking at me like that?

Then Isael asked in a serious tone,

“Are you really okay?”

“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine?”

I blinked blankly, and Isael frowned even more.

“Your face is really pale right now.”

“No, really, I’m fine. I was just a little startled, that’s all…”

Is my face really that pale?

As I absentmindedly touched my cheek, Isael watched me with a serious expression.

He looked genuinely worried that I might be hurt somewhere.

“I’m really okay, so don’t worry.”

I smiled at him again and said,

“But it looks like we got out safely. You did great, Isael.”

“…You too.”

Isael glanced back at the restless spirits.

“Thanks to them, we made it out unharmed.”

“That’s right. Guys, it’s all thanks to you!”

At my words, the spirits swayed slightly, as if rejoicing.

I watched them fondly, then looked around once more.

“It really is the first floor…”

This is so crappy. Seriously.

Even knowing it isn’t real, it still feels crappy.

“Why did we end up moving here, of all places?”

As I pondered, a possibility suddenly occurred to me.

“We might be able to find items.”

The items I had obtained on the first floor.

If all the items that Leonard’s group had already taken were fully recreated here…

“What a jackpot.”

My heart started pounding.

“Isael, sh-should we try going over there first?”

Even my voice was trembling.

“…You really don’t look well.”

“Who, me?”

“Yeah. You.”

Isael added firmly,

“It’d be better to rest for a bit before moving on.”

“No!”

I blurted out urgently.

“Let’s rest later. I’m fine, okay? Come on, hurry, follow me.”

I quickly turned and started walking.

Just thinking about getting my hands on those great items again made me want to grin nonstop.

If I smiled here, everyone might think I’d lost my mind.

“The zombie horde seems to be completely shaken off. Perfect.”

As if possessed, I walked ahead, with Isael and the spirits following behind me.

At that moment, I was the very embodiment of a jar of desire.

“Crazy!”

This ring is still here too!

I quickly slipped the ring onto my finger.

Admiring the brilliant emerald ring with satisfaction, I clenched my fist.

Pop!

“Just as I thought.”

Thankfully, it worked properly.

Seeing the barrier instantly form in front of me filled my heart with joy.

“This is mine now.”

Smiling contentedly, I relaxed my clenched hand.

The moment I spread my palm, the translucent barrier disappeared.

Though this was a replica manifested by demonic power, its performance was strangely identical to the original.

“This place must be a space created based on my memories.”

All the items seemed to be perfectly reproduced exactly as I remembered them.

“Alright. Let’s go, everyone.”

I led them onward to the next location.

This first floor looked like a long-abandoned temple.

The ruin-like, eerie atmosphere was no joke, but while it had been scary at first, now it didn’t bother me at all.

Compared to the other floors, this place was practically a five-star hotel.

“And I’ve already been through this entire first floor once before.”

Aside from the cleverly hidden traps, there wasn’t much danger here.

This was the item-acquisition zone before the real trials began.

“And I already know most of the traps here.”

Recovering the items I’d already obtained before was smooth and effortless, like water flowing downhill.

“Isael, this one’s for you.”

I held out a ring set with a blood-red ruby to Isael.

“Here. Put it on.”

It wasn’t just because it matched the color of his eyes.

When you clenched your fist while wearing this ring, it transformed into a dark crimson armor that covered the arm all the way to the elbow.

It was a broken-tier item that boosted both defense and attack.

Yet, whether he knew that or not, Isael simply stared at the ring with a strange look in his eyes.

What is he just standing there staring for?

“Put it on.”

“……”

“What, is it not your style?”

I pushed the ring right up to his nose, pressuring him.

“Even if it’s not your style, just wear it. I think you’ll be able to use it really well.”

“It’s not that… No, I’ll wear it. Sure.”

Isael carefully took the ring from my hand and put it on.

On the ring finger of his left hand.

The ring tightened perfectly around Isael’s finger.