Chapter 1237 - To the Stage
Severance, connection. Passing through the teleportation, senses connected, and after a momentary blank, the vision opened.
And—
"......Oh."
I was in the midst of an unfamiliar sight.
Looking around, there were people, people, people. A wave of those who had gathered at the entrance of the Eastern Faction War Base [Underground Castle of Different Strata -Ruvalest-] just a few seconds ago in terms of bodily sensation, right before the teleportation.
The positions were exactly as in my 'Memory'. But the "place" was different. No, the layout (dot-emphasis: layout) or the size of the site was similar, but it was clearly outdoors (dot-emphasis: outdoors), not indoors.
In short—
"...Ruins?"
"It's collapsed."
Right nearby. As Irori, who was sent along with me through teleportation, muttered, followed by Gossan's overlapping words, we were standing in a square where rubble (dot-emphasis: rubble) was piled in a circle.
Again, an unfamiliar, unseen sight.
However, a definite sense of déjà vu (dot-emphasis: déjà vu) was in my 'Memory (here)'. Thus, that was probably...
"—...Haru."
"...Yeah, indeed."
Even closer than Irori and the others, right next to me—including my partner (Sora), who couldn't possibly not have received a participation request if it wasn't 'Player versus Player
Even without the 'Memory' Gift, many probably reached the same thought instantly.
Looking up, there was the starry sky, the usual sight. Looking around, there were walls, though the shape was different (dot-emphasis: though the shape was different), the usual sight. And what lay there was rubble of what seemed to have been a "castle," an unusual sight... in short,
To a place that shared the space and atmosphere of the "original," which was similar yet different from the stage of the Four Pillars of the "realm" that the conquest members (us) and the spectators had seen in the past.
We, who had been sent here,
"......Alright, Rotta."
"Leave it to me."
Grasping the situation of still 'knowing nothing' took only a few seconds. That level of understanding was a common trait for everyone standing here, not just me, and not just the rankers.
Thus, Rotta... the former rank title holder [Insighter], who had followed here as if it were the most natural thing, responded to the [Monarch] who issued the command by calling his name without hesitation.
Responding,
"Open wide—
Shifting the brilliance of his eyes from green to an onyx-like jet black.
The spirit vessel of the mystic eyes (dot-emphasis: mystic eyes). The insight eye of the [Insighter] that made his name what it was, namely, the eye that knows upon seeing. The Fifth Step [Karma Eye that Seizes Heavenly Knowledge (Akashic Record)]—the authority it possessed was the deciphering of existence (dot-emphasis: deciphering of existence).
To put it simply, what the 'reading eye'—which changed the manifested result depending on the target of the ability's execution—possessed was the power to instantly understand every corner of the "structure" of whatever it looked at.
In other words, for the past twelve times.
The reason Istia obtained the 'map' of the Four Pillar Labyrinth, leaving the South and North behind, was...
"...Yes, as expected, it's quite narrow (dot-emphasis: quite narrow). This won't even take five minutes."
None other than that. It was because an absurdly capable person was fully exerting an absurd authority that, when activated with 'terrain' as the target, exerted its effect over tens of kilometers.
Thus, once the understanding was complete, immediate action. Nodding with trust at his right hand (Rotta), who set about creating a map using the 'memory' or rather 'knowledge' that wouldn't fade for a while after the execution of the ability,
"Haru."
The next one Gossan turned his eyes to was me.
I knew it, it was as planned. In that case...
"Leave it to me."
Following Rotta, time to perform my role.
"Bullet."
Summoning a crimson short sword in one hand. And throwing it with all my might toward the night sky.
Sure enough, the small blade flying and tearing through the sky—without being blocked by anything, soared high into the sky with its momentum intact. Okay, then let's go (dot-emphasis: let's go).
"Rocket" activated. Watched over by Sora next to me, and Kanata next to her who had also naturally joined the battle, as well as my master in the ranker circle and the two little ones, I executed a leap straight upward, which would be suicidal in the usual Four Pillars.
Normally, this action would catch on the height limit of the labyrinth, colliding with an invisible force field, repelling, and knocking me down... but with the short sword sent ahead, I had already confirmed that there was no such thing (dot-emphasis: no such thing) this time.
Thus,
"Yo, up we go."
Several hundred meters in the air. While catching and releasing my own thrown Bullet, I activated the aerial walking ability of "Talaria Record" in parallel with posture control.
Standing in the void, looking down.
"......................I see."
What was reflected in my vision was... compared to the 'Four Pillar War' so far, quite narrow as Rotta said, yet the full picture of an overwhelmingly vast stage to an absurd degree.
What held the rubble of the "castle" and the large "crystals" of different colors—white, green, red, and blue—at the apex was, to put it simply and bluntly, the appearance of a bleak (dot-emphasis: bleak) 'fortress'.
The pitch-black castle walls, like the Four Pillar labyrinth forming a square, were high and splendid... but the fact that all four castles that were supposed to be protected were collapsed, and furthermore, the inside was truly empty (dot-emphasis: truly empty), regardless of the outer perimeter. Combining both, it was hard to say it looked good even as a compliment.
Again, it was far narrower than the usual stage, but because there was nothing there, it also looked needlessly wide.
—And, what further held such a narrow space was a vast land.
Just how far did the desolate plains continue as far as the eye could see? At least the "edge" could be seen, and beyond that was filled with the void just like the past Four Pillars...
But, anyway, it was vast.
Measuring the distance by eye was a scale that was at least impossible for me, which was indeed a thought material that made me sense the difficulty of this Four Pillar War, which I didn't want to think about.
In other words, this vastness will be necessary, right? Well, something like that.
"...Alright."
The 'Memory' was instantly completed without delay. While releasing the aerial walk and falling, I continued to gaze at the edge of the land floating in the space that couldn't be seen except from a high altitude.
Thus, while falling. The brief time until I set foot on the ground again.
The vast stage still showed no signs of "something" appearing.
Roughly speaking, if you imagine a small square (narrow, but not as narrow as it sounds) in the center of a giant circle (stupidly wide, easily surpassing the conventional Four Pillar labyrinth), you're mostly correct.
Also, regarding Rotta-san's details, taking a thousand chapters until their first detailed appearance, what's up with that.