I stood in front of the gray pillar.

According to the Silane tactician Maden, inside this pillar was a shallow cave, and inside that was a “root.”

And the being known as the Worst guarding that root—was the final obstacle.

The biggest problem was the combat ability of that Worst.

Maden had explained about it last night before we returned to the tent.

“The pure combat level of the Worst... I suppose I should put it in terms you can understand: it’s Sixth Rank.”

“It doesn’t use anything like a ‘domain.’”

The fact that a Sixth Rank didn’t use domain skills didn’t make it any less formidable.

And I was already convinced this 13th floor would present obstacles even beyond the Sixth Rank.

She was strong.

Ban Iner, that person.

Her rank of Sixth wasn’t a lie.

And it was likely she had once died on this very floor.

There was no way what I’d experienced so far was everything.

I recalled the gallery comments we exchanged just before falling asleep yesterday.

Currently, there were two dimensional trade credits available. The plan was to first neutralize one root before deciding what item to receive.

Of course, if during battle things got desperate, I would just grab whatever was available.

Archmage: Yeah, I think it’s likely she did die.

Archmage: Though the term “did die” is a bit inaccurate in this case.

Archmage: Whatever the Tower’s reason for reviving her, I’m sure it had some agenda.

Absolute Monarch: Right—and that reason is probably not one that benefits you, Climber.

Sword of Light: High probability.

Ice Queen: Frozen... that’s right...

Dragon King: Beltui—You should always doubt everything~~

The seniors’ «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» suspicion was justified. Logical. Rational.

But I was gradually wearing down those warnings.

A comrade who fought beside me, risking their life, killing enemies together.

Someone like that—how easy was it to keep doubting them?

BOOM! CRASH!

“Nice! These pillars break real easy!”

Alongside Ban, who was swinging her sword cloaked in blue aura at the pillar, I also swung my blade.

After smashing the gray pillar and clearing the debris completely, beyond it lay an opening like a burrow—

“I’ll hold off that thing. You stab the divine stone into the root.”

A grotesque creature stood still.

It looked like it was made by blending together every kind of insect imaginable.

“You think you can hold it?”

“We’ll find out.”

Ban Iner had climbed all the way to Pandemonium 13 without even something like the Transcendent Gallery. I trusted her judgment.

And there was also what Maden said:

“Paralyzing the root is like stabbing the heart of its child, the Worst.”

“The Worst’s power and vitality stem from the activation of that root.”

I pulled a spear out of my inventory.

A black javelin I’d used plenty by now.

I had no plans to deal fatal damage to that thing with it.

This was just to create an opening.

To give Ban the first strike.

I slammed my right foot forward. Whipped my right arm like a lash.

The black spear shot toward the Worst.

Ting!

The Worst swatted away the spear effortlessly.

Ban and I kicked off the ground at the same time.

WHOOOSH!

I passed right by the Worst and Ban Iner, pressing forward.

My sword was wrapped in white aura.

CRAAANG!

As expected—just reaching the root wasn’t enough.

Ssshhh...!

I layered aura atop aura on my blade.

And without hesitation, I brought it down dozens of times.

BOOM! KRAAANG!

I glanced behind me.

Ban and the Worst were exchanging attacks at speeds nearly impossible for the naked eye to follow.

No time to hesitate.

I brought my sword down, compressing as much aura as I could.

Over and over—dozens of strikes.

The invisible shield shattered into pieces.

I thrust the divine stone deep into the spiral core at the center of the root.

Then—something collapsed behind me.

CRACK!

The Worst’s massive body was falling forward.

Ban roughly yanked her sword out of its corpse.

Since I’d paralyzed the root, the Worst’s greatest weakness, I received about 30% on my experience bar.

I ended the Visographica recording—just a few minutes remained.

Haa...

Ban exhaled and turned her gaze to me.

“It’s done, right?”

“Probably.”

Ban began wrapping bandages around herself, struggling one-handed.

I took the bandage and wrapped it around her wounded waist.

“Oh, so you’re not totally clueless after all?”

Ban patted my shoulder once I finished tying it.

After a moment staring at the Worst’s corpse, she pointed toward the cave exit.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

As we stepped out of the cave, the Silane warriors rushed toward us like they’d been waiting.

“The root has been paralyzed!”

At Turiana’s words, Ban opened her mouth wide.

“Whoa, you can instinctively sense that the root’s paralyzed?”

Turiana and the Silane warriors shook their heads.

“Not exactly—we can’t sense the root itself. But we can feel that the land Dranas had corrupted is once again ours.”

Ban nodded.

“Got it.”

Turiana clapped her hands.

CLAP!

“I was expecting each root to take at least two days to destroy, so clearing one this fast is a huge win!”

Behind the Silane warriors, covered by thick cloth, were the corpses of the fallen.

“How many died?”

When I asked, Turiana answered without hesitation.

“Three Silane warriors fell in battle.”

On the faces of these pale-skinned beings, there was no sign of grief.

“It’s fine. They died glorious deaths under the name of the Azure Heavens. Their deaths were necessary—for Halo’s future.”

There was no madness in her voice.

It truly seemed to be their nature, and that made it feel all the more uncanny.

“Let’s return!”

Turiana led the warriors and us back to the assembly hall near the tents.

Before sunset.

We made it back in time.

I sat on a bench in front of the assembly hall.

As I watched the setting sun, Ban Iner came over and sat beside me.

“...”

Ban said nothing, simply looked up at the sky.

But in my mind, instead of the sunset, I kept replaying flashes of her fight with the Worst.

“You’re strong.”

At my words, Ban grinned.

“I started at Fourth Rank when I entered the Tower. This damn Tower forcibly dragged me up to this point.”

Ban asked me a question.

“What about you? What Rank did you start at?”

I almost tried to come up with a convincing lie—then gave up.

Making up a lie would’ve just been more exhausting.

“I didn’t even know what a rank was. Didn’t have mana either.”

I felt Ban’s gaze shift.

From looking at someone vaguely interesting... to staring at a total lunatic.

“You had zero combat experience?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, right. You said you came from a world where weird flying things carry 500 people in the sky. A peaceful world, more or less.”

Ban added,

“Then you must’ve nearly died a bunch of times.”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh, right. Something’s weird with my friend window. Nobody’s there.”

“What?”

I decided: if Ban showed any strange signs, I’d start doubting her again.

And sure enough, a strange sign appeared.

“I feel like... there was someone there, but now there’s no one.”

Ban added,

“I don’t remember... That’s the thing.”

She scratched her silver hair.

I asked her a question.

“The previous floor?”

Ban slowly shook her head.

“I remember what I did on Floor 12. But I can’t recall the Exchange Meeting just before that... Maybe it’s stress-related.”

Ban added more, to fill the silence left by my thinking.

“Well, in the Tower, it’s the future that matters, not the past. I’ll probably remember eventually as we keep climbing.”

I had been planning to ask whether she remembered the Pioneer senior.

But this made it seem much less likely she would.

Abnormality.

The Ban Iner beside me might not be in a normal state.

That possibility now existed.

Shrine Maiden: Hawawa~ The worst-case scenario is if she suddenly loses her mind and tries to kill the Climber-sama. Gutter Swordsman: If the Tower’s messing with her mentally, that risk is very real.

I know.

Until the curtain falls completely on Floor 13, I must remain suspicious.

***

Heavenly Demon.

The man using that nickname in the Transcendent Gallery stroked his beard.

His right-hand man, Monstrous Demon, had once said the beard would look better shaved, but he had no intention of shaving it.

Title: Neutralized one root for now.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

Ban is strong. I was considering whether to ask if she remembers the Pioneer senior, but she seemed off even before I asked. Looks like she can’t recall any of the Exchange Meeting sequences.

Attachment: 120371298381092.mkv

ㄴ Is this really how you're supposed to fight on Floor 13? Impressive, though.

ㄴ Sixth Rank, after all.

ㄴ Spear King: Hmm... for someone that skilled to die... yeah, Pandemonium really is brutal.

ㄴ rly lol, what kind of place has a Sixth Rank just show up as a normal monster on Floor 13??

ㄴ Admin: Memory issues... Might not just be the Exchange Meeting. Could affect other floors too.

ㄴ Sword of Light: This makes it almost certain she died at some point.

ㄴ Archmage: The real question is, why did the Tower bring her back on Floor 13?

ㄴ Pioneer: Yeah, when we met during the Exchange Meeting, she fought just like this. I remember her being in the waiting room on Floor 12. After the Exchange Meeting, she must’ve reached 13 pretty quickly. At least according to my friend list.

ㄴ So she died after that.

ㄴ Not even sure if this Floor 13 is the same as last cycle’s.

ㄴ Room Conspiracy Theorist: The case is in the dark... What we need is a detective! The world is a closed-room mystery!

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman: Her judgment, her movement—all top tier.

ㄴ Sword of Light: I thought she was just good with a sword, but her archery’s solid too.

The Heavenly Demon typed slowly on his floating keyboard.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: Hmm. That really is solid movement.

Detective work or not, Heavenly Demon found himself more focused on Ban’s combat footage than solving mysteries.

Her movements as a swordswoman facing the Worst. Her steady pressure. Her precise shots while midair—leaving no opening at all.

“No wasted motion.”

If difficulty was determined by talent—

Then she seemed at least equal to himself, a Hard Mode climber.

But was there really a massive gap in talent?

At least based on this, it didn’t seem that way.

“Maybe her talent bloomed just before it was cut short.”

Floor 13.

This was the floor where the original Ban Iner fell.

“Don’t die, Climber.”

Crack!

Heavenly Demon casually crushed a walnut shell and popped it into his mouth.

Crunch—