After moving away from the fountain area, we arrived at the summit area.
It seems we have made it.
I had thought something would be waiting for us, but there is no such sign.
There’s just ground and walls.
…Hmm.
Everyone moves from the stairs to the summit.
“Noel, that.”
“Yes.”
I take out the transparent orb that I had entrusted to Noel.
Since I made a point to give it to her, I thought it must have some significance…
“Nothing’s happening, is it?”
As Sepia says, nothing happens to the orb.
(Were we misled?)
In the end, it’s just an old legend.
There must have been people who reached the summit before us, but perhaps they kept quiet because nothing happened.
Maybe they wanted others to face the same disappointment.
These things do happen sometimes. When you’re an adventurer, there are occasions where you go deep into a labyrinth only to find nothing of value.
“Victor.”
“Yes.”
“Nothing is happening.”
“That can’t be… This is the place closest to the heavens. There must be something here that connects to the celestial realm.”
Victor insists, but nothing is still nothing.
“Let me see that.”
Mastema says, so I hand her the orb.
Mastema peers into the orb while scanning the surroundings.
“There. I knew it.”
Mastema, looking through the orb at the far end of the room, seems to have spotted something.
I move behind her and peer into it myself.
There, a four-winged angel is reflected.
The next moment, my feet leave the ground.
Gravity has reversed.
Noel and Arnella are still standing as they were.
The two rush toward us in a panic, but they won’t make it in time.
Sepia, Mastema, and I have been flipped upside down.
We are thrown into the sky.
In the blink of an eye, we are far from the summit of the Tower of the Sky, and it disappears from sight.
All around us is just open sky.
I grab hold of Mastema, who is capable of flight.
Sepia… seems to be doing fine.
I use wind magic to create a flimsy platform beneath my feet. Better than nothing.
It seems we were judged by our mana or something like that.
Victor is beside me.
After a brief pause, someone appears before us.
It is the four-winged angel we saw through the transparent orb.
At some point, the angel had taken possession of the orb.
She looks slightly older than Victor, a woman with shoulder-length chestnut hair. She is as beautiful as one would expect of an angel.
“What are you?”
“I am not ‘what.’ I am Raziel.”
Her voice replies.
The angel named Raziel seems to be of a higher rank than Victor, based on her presence. She is likely an archangel.
“To those who have ascended the Tower of the Sky, I shall present a trial.”
“Wasn’t the tower itself the trial?”
“That was merely the selection process.”
With those words, Raziel opens a book.
“A demon, two humans, and a broken angel. I understand your circumstances.”
The pages of Raziel’s book flip automatically until they stop at a specific one.
“Now, let us begin.”
Magic power gathers around Raziel. She must have done something.
The moment Raziel acts, Mastema releases her grip on me and lunges at Raziel.
It’s natural for demons and angels to clash upon meeting.
Victor catches me, so I am unharmed.
But in the next moment, I am swallowed by the surrounding light.
Sepia too. It’s impossible to avoid.
Sepia and I reach out to each other, but the distance is too great.
We are engulfed in light, and I feel as though I am falling.
Victor has disappeared.
He must have been sealed back into the sword.
I keep falling for some time.
Just as I wonder how far I’ll go, my feet suddenly touch the ground.
It wasn’t exactly a landing; there was no impact.
This light-filled space likely isn’t a physical world.
I survey the white expanse around me.
It’s enough to make my eyes hurt.
Raziel reappears.
But she is clearly weaker than when I saw her earlier. This must be a mere projection or an illusion of some kind.
“Human who has ascended the Tower of the Sky. Your trial is… this.”
The moment Raziel speaks, the surrounding space changes.
What… is this?
As far as I can tell, we are in a city ravaged by battle.
The buildings are burning, and the invading soldiers are raping women and stealing anything of value.
I have no memory of a scene like this.
Raziel has also disappeared.
What am I supposed to do?
She mentioned a trial, but what am I supposed to accomplish here?
I notice that I am no longer equipped with my weapons.
No, that’s not it.
I look at my hands and arms.
This is me, but it’s not me.
My body has become that of an ordinary soldier.
Is this why Victor isn’t here?
I have a cheap sword at my waist.
Looking around, it seems that the soldiers in the same uniform as me are attacking the castle.
For now, I have no choice but to follow them.
But the looting soldiers disgust me.
I despise thieves, and I hate these marauders just as much.
I silently step up behind a soldier who’s engrossed in assaulting a woman, and I grab his neck with my right arm.
“Mmmph!?”
Caught by surprise, the soldier barely manages a grunt before I snap his neck.
His body then disappears.
This isn’t real, then.
I drag the dazed woman to a more secluded spot and cover her with a blanket.
After dispatching a few more marauders, I head towards the castle.
