Chapter 663: Eclipsed Maw [2]

A single figure stood on top of a tall cliff, overlooking the distant crimson sea as her black hair fluttered in the air.

"He must be the merchant..."

Delilah’s soft voice drifted through the air as her sharp black eyes shifted from the sea to the distant city. The dark marble shimmered under the pale sunlight, reflecting the growing crowd as more people emerged from their homes, filling the once-empty streets.

It was a beautiful sight.

One that Delilah found herself admiring often.

But at the same time.

’I’d like to sightsee with...’

Delilah pursed her lips while closing her eyes.

Having spent the past couple of days there, she managed to figure out just as much as the others did.

Putting the two and two together, she felt almost certain of the identity of the merchant.

He was none other than the person that she was looking for.

"...."

Standing in silence, Delilah’s fists slowly clenched as she once again focused her attention on the distant sea.

Remnant South...

That was where the merchant was supposedly headed. She wanted to cross the waters and go to him, but she couldn’t.

The presence that stood in the middle of the sea wasn’t something she felt like she could handle without putting up a massive struggle.

Although she felt somewhat confident in defeating it, she still didn’t want to take the risk. The fight might provoke even greater creatures that lurked within the Mirror Dimension. Although Delilah knew she was strong, she also knew that she was far from invincible.

All sorts of people and monsters lurked in the deepest corners of both worlds.

Not only that, but she wasn’t alone.

She had the cadets from the Academy to take care of. While she was comfortable bringing them here, she only did so because she was aware of just how strong she was. What was there to fear when she was present?

Her strength was what gave her the confidence to bring them.

But... This time, things were different.

The creature was very strong.

She didn’t know whether it was worth taking the risk.

".....?"

Delilah was about to fade from the spot when her head suddenly flicked towards a certain direction, and her eyes narrowed.

She felt a sudden movement coming from the monster.

It... had started to move. Although she couldn’t tell where it was going, she saw a small and narrow gap that she could exploit without alerting it.

Delilah didn’t waste a single second and located all of the cadets.

She was just about to move to them when she paused.

For the briefest of moments, her brain lagged as she found herself questioning why she was doing what she was doing.

However, that merely lasted a couple of seconds before she snapped out of it and faded from the spot.

Merchant...

Right, she was going to the Remnant South to look for the merchant.

But what was his name again?

***

"That’s deep..."

Lazarus stared at the gaping hole that seemed to defy all sorts of laws of gravity as his expression turned grave.

The muffled sound of water pouring into the pit only deepened the sense of dread, each splash echoing loudly in his ears.

"Here."

The Saint appeared next to Lazarus, holding onto what appeared to be a harness.

"In case something happens, we’ll be able to pull you out with this."

He proceeded to point at his waist

"You put it directly from your waist and then your upper body. If something happens, we’ll act immediately."

"...Oh."

Lazarus grabbed onto the harness and inspected it. At first glance, it looked just like a regular harness. It didn’t even look to be very durable. A long wire was attached to it as Lazarus carefully inspected it.

’This one feels a bit more durable.’

But even so...

"Don’t worry about it. It’s a very special relic."

The Living Saint said, seeing the doubt in Lazarus’s face. In the end, Lazarus pit the harness on before hooking the wire behind him. Then, turning his head, he looked towards An’as and Anne.

"You are going to be fine by yourself?"

"...I am."

Lazarus replied while looking at Anne.

This mission was something that he was supposed to handle by himself. There was no need for Anne and An’as to come... not that they wanted to go in the first place.

The Maw was extremely dangerous. While Anne’s help would indeed be useful, taking into consideration that this had something to do with his past, Lazarus thought it was best if he went by himself.

He couldn’t have his secret exposed. Especially not when it involved his and Noel’s safety.

"Well, sure..." Anne dismissed with her hand, looking at the distant Maw with a frown. "I did teach you everything that you need in order to survive. I think you’ll be fine."

"Thanks."

Lazarus then turned to An’as, who looked back at him with a frown.

Eventually, he sighed,

"I actually think it’s best if I go with you."

"What...?"

"....?"

Both Anne and Lazarus looked at An’as in confusion. Was this the same An’as they knew? Did he actually...

"Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to go."

An’as dismissively waved at them.

"The only reason why I believe it’s best to go is because of the primordial one..." His tone lowered as he looked around.

"What if everyone suddenly forgets about us? What would we do then? I don’t think I can—"

"Don’t worry about that. The Goddess has already given me a rundown on your situation."

The Saint chuckled, taking out a small notebook from his pocket.

"I’ve already thought things through. In case I do forget, you can tell me to check my notebook."

"...Ah."

An’as’s face relaxed after seeing the notebook in the Saint’s hands.

"If you put it that way, then I have nothing else to say."

He stepped back while keeping his eyes on the Saint. His expression didn’t show much, but Lazarus could see the subtle sparkle in his eyes.

He shook his head.

’Looks like he still somewhat idolizes the Saint.’

Eventually, checking everything, Lazarus stepped onto the top of the handrail and looked down. The water was calm, and he couldn’t sense any monster beneath him. It was all clear from this point.

"You can go ahead. There are no monsters or pirates. Everything is clear."

Hearing the Saint’s voice, Lazarus took a deep breath.

Looking back for the last time he stepped forward and fell down towards the water surface, faint ripples formed under his feet as he gracefully landed right above the surface before he rushed towards the distant Maw.

ROOOR!

A thunderous roar of crashing water grew louder as he neared the Maw, crimson spray bursting into the air with every powerful cascade.

Eventually stopping by the edge of the Maw, Lazarus looked down, his calm gaze focused on the deep pitch of black that met his gaze.

Despite how hard he tried, he couldn’t feel anything beneath, and his stomach churned with unease.

However, he was ready.

Slightly turning his head, a cat appeared on his right, while on his left was an Owl alongside a crab as it raised its claws before speaking.

"I’ve set up a connection."

"I can tell."

Lazarus closed his eyes and felt a certain red not far from here. In case something turned sour, he hoped he could transfer his body to the connection.

Whether it worked or not, he wasn’t sure, however, it was worth a try.

Opening his eyes again, Lazarus looked towards the crab.

"Are you okay with following me?"

The crab didn’t have to follow him into the Maw.

Their transaction had somewhat ended the moment they had arrived at the Remnant South. If it wanted to leave, it could. Lazarus didn’t plan on forcing it to stay with him.

Eventually, however, the crab shook its claw.

"Don’t get me wrong, human. ...It is more about helping myself than anything else. Didn’t you say yourself that this is the way to get rid of the primordial one’s influence?"

"It is..."

"Then I must help. You aren’t the only one who has been targeted by the great primordial one. I am also one of its targets. Helping you is the same as helping myself."

"Right..."

Lazarus was already aware of this. He had just asked in order to make sure.

Seeing that nobody had any objection, looking at the ship one last time, Lazarus took a step forward and his body plunged into the depths of the Maw, his world turning dark at the same time.

ROOOOR!

Immediately after jumping down, Lazarus felt a wave of cold air brush over his entire body as his hair and clothes started to flutter intensely, the darkness beneath him growing more and more intense.

Closing his eyes, Lazarus imagined an Azure orb, and his entire body started to become lighter, his fall slowing down at the same time.

Like that, he started to slow down mid-fall as the darkness around him persisted.

"....."

Lazarus didn’t know how long he continued to fall, but eventually, the sound of water falling became even more pronounced. It now thundered so loudly in his ears that it started to feel uncomfortable.

BOOM! BOOM!

It almost felt as though thunder was striking against the Maw each second.

Eventually, however, Lazarus managed to reach the bottom of the Maw as his feet touched the surface of the water.

Even so, he still couldn’t see.

In the end, flicking his hand, a coral appeared as it started to pulse a dim red light.

It was also in that moment that he finally caught sight of the water beneath him as his breath paused.

’That’s...’

He had a hard time describing what he was seeing.

However, looking down, it looked like the water surface was fragmented into many pieces. Sort of like shattered glass, and looking closely, Lazarus felt like he could see images and recordings.

Yes, recordings...

Recordings of what appeared to have been a massive and grueling fight.

And as he slowly turned his head to stare at a specific fragment, his face paused.

That...

That was without a doubt Noel.