“Jiro-san, I wish you good luck.”
“Ah, thank you.”
I had done all I could to prepare to save the instructor.
Regarding supplies, the president had done as much as he could.
This included not only food and drink but also recovery potions, camping equipment, and items for both cold and hot weather.
Although I stored them in my sub-space, as a precautionary measure, I was also provided with another Magic Bag containing the same amount of items.
In terms of equipment, it wasn’t my usual combat armor.
It looked like a spacesuit, but it was designed with magic stones embedded inside the armor, allowing it to withstand contact with Chaos for a short time. It’s called chaos-resistant clothing.
Because it was designed to counter Chaos, its sealability and durability were top-notch.
The drawbacks were that it was rigid, significantly limiting movement, and the fingertips were also firmly fixed, reducing dexterity.
Furthermore, putting on this protective suit by oneself required considerable effort.
While taking it off was relatively easy and could even be forcibly separated, putting it on was a real ordeal.
This time, I asked the staff for assistance to speed up the process.
Now, in front of me, I stood in a black, lake-like place, about to be seen off by my wives, including Suella.
A farewell greeting through a transparent cover that was like glass but not glass.
Hugs and kisses had already been exchanged before donning this armor-like protective suit.
“Alright, I’ll handle the initial acceleration. The rest is your job. I’m counting on you, Human King.”
“Leave it to me.”
Before me lay locations on the continent where Chaos was surging, all designated as no-entry zones.
The presence of the Demon Lord’s Army stationed there suggested something was amiss.
However, this was the territory governed by the president, so there were no nobles to object.
It was 6 AM.
I hoped there wouldn’t be anyone complaining at this early hour, but even if something arose, the president would likely resolve any issues.
“Eshlee, are you alright?”
“I-I-I’m fine.”
“No, you don’t look fine.”
No, a problem seemed to have already occurred.
Eshlee, wearing a protective suit similar to mine, was connected to me via a special backpack-like device, as if being carried.
The weight itself wasn’t significant, but from an outsider’s perspective, it must have been a rather surreal sight.
This was a measure to prevent us from getting separated in the Chaos.
The defense of the Holy Sword and the defense of the Saintess.
These two, along with various other pieces of equipment, would allow us to navigate through the Chaos.
However, at the crucial moment, Eshlee was completely frozen with tension.
I couldn’t simply dismiss her feelings.
“You’ve been training for nearly three years. What is this now?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“Then firm up your resolve.”
I had done what I could.
There was no more time to spare.
Now, all that was left was to draw out the best possible outcome.
As for Eshlee, I had negotiated with the president, and he had paid her compensation.
I heard that Eshlee’s family had recently been protected by the Demon Lord’s Army and were now living in the territory managed by the president.
Eshlee had confirmed this and had also paid her “price.”
“Besides, you can now defend against the president’s attacks, even if only for a short duration. Which is more frightening, Chaos or the president’s attacks?”
“Well… now that you mention it, Chaos doesn’t seem so scary.”
And, more importantly, Eshlee had grown stronger.
Especially in terms of defense, I could confidently assert that she was a skilled individual, if not the very best in the Demon Lord’s Army.
After all, in the latter half, she had continuously trained solely to enhance the barrier’s strength.
The training method involved enduring the attacks of the president, who was the most feared and strongest in the Demon Lord’s Army. It might sound simple to just endure an onslaught of physical and magical attacks, but repeating the cycle of a barrier cracking with one strike and being destroyed with the second was mentally taxing.
If she let her guard down, he would mercilessly aim for destruction with the first strike, and considering the outcome of being blown away, he wouldn’t hold back.
The president’s restraint was exquisite.
She could block it just now.
But he would strike precisely at the edge of what she could defend against, making it impossible for her to relax.
This meant she couldn’t afford to slack off or let her guard down.
And she couldn’t stop thinking.
Why?
Because she couldn’t defend against the president’s attacks unless she was constantly thinking about how to do so.
Thinking “this is good enough” leads to stagnation.
Questioning “is this good enough?” is the beginning of progress.
Trying and failing repeatedly “what if I try this?” is the beginning of evolution.
Believing “this was good” is the end of growth.
Eshlee grew in the Dimension Room and eventually became capable of defending against even the president’s full-power attacks, albeit for a limited duration.
Of course, this was under various conditions.
Even so, I believe she achieved growth beyond that of an ordinary person.
During that process, Eshlee began to exhibit an expression that seemed like enlightenment. But rest assured, when you fight against beings like the president, who are beyond “cheat” and closer to “bugs,” most people develop that kind of expression.
I found it perplexing when she nodded with an understanding look after I told her I had gone through the same thing.
“Now, you seem to have made up your mind. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
Seeing that Eshlee’s tension had eased, I nodded at the president’s question.
Then, my body began to float gently.
At that moment, my eyes met with Suella and the others.
I gave them a thumbs-up, directed at their worried faces.
“I’ll be back soon.”
With those words, I was lifted by the president’s magic and carried over the Chaos.
“Well then, I might as well go all out for the first time in a while, without affecting tomorrow too much.”
The president accompanied me, and together we gazed at the surface of the Chaos.
The sightseeing flight lasted only a few seconds, and before I knew it, our vision was filled with the black surface of the Chaos.
“This is where Chaos erupts. I’ll lower you now.”
“Understood.”
Then, the president’s magic began to permeate the surroundings.
As we were slowly lowered, the surface of the Chaos began to swirl.
The vortex gradually accelerated and simultaneously grew larger.
What started as a vortex about a meter in diameter doubled, tripled, and quadrupled in size within seconds.
The larger the vortex became, the deeper we could descend into the Chaos.
And we, Eshlee and I, descended into it.
“This is the Demon Lord’s power. It’s incredible. To think that such Chaos could be repelled so easily.”
“That’s probably something only the president can do.”
We continued to watch this scene as we were slowly lowered.
We were descending slowly, but we were already over two hundred meters down.
Despite being in the center of a vortex with such centrifugal force, we felt no physical interference, such as being pulled or shaken by the surroundings.
This was all because the president was repelling it for us.
Even considering that he was trying to allow us to dive as deep as possible into the Chaos, there were probably only three people in the Demon Lord’s Army capable of such precise magic control.
Eshlee was genuinely impressed by the skill.
As we descended further, to the point where the president floating in the sky above appeared as a tiny speck,
“I’m sorry, Human King, but this seems to be the limit.”
“No, it’s sufficient.”
We finally reached the bottom of the vortex.
It could be considered an achievement to create a vortex with an estimated depth of two thousand meters, against a being like Chaos, where magic interference is difficult to affect.
“Eshlee, this is where the real fight begins.”
“Understood.”
“As planned, I’ll handle the outer barrier, and you handle the inner barrier.”
“Yes.”
Hearing “the Demon Lord’s limit” felt strange, but he hadn’t shown his true extent.
In fact, if precision wasn’t a factor, he might have been able to create an even larger vortex reaching deeper.
This was likely the limit for safely bringing me and Eshlee close to the bottom of the Chaos.
I drew the Holy Sword from its scabbard at my waist and channeled magic into it.
I had practiced using the Holy Sword countless times.
I had used it so much that even my partner, the Ore Tree, would get sulky.
Thanks to that, I could now use the Holy Sword’s abilities with ease.
A platinum membrane enveloped me and Eshlee.
The strength of this barrier depended on compatibility, but it was strong enough to block the president’s attacks.
This wall, only about ten centimeters thick and allowing us to see through it, had the strength of dozens of nuclear bunker walls combined.
It was guaranteed to endure against Chaos as well.
“I’m ready.”
“I’m ready too.”
Inside that barrier, another barrier was deployed through the Saintess’s spell.
This barrier was golden, I guess you could call it. It shimmered with a golden hue and was quite sturdy, having been reinforced in the Dimension Room.
“President, please lower us.”
Now, all that was left was to descend.
“Understood. I wish you the best of luck.”
And finally, Eshlee and I entered the Chaos.
The levitation magic, which had temporarily stopped, resumed its descent, and the barrier first touched the Chaos.
“Are you alright?”
“This much load is not a problem.”
I felt only a slight resistance, like tearing wet shoji paper, but conversely, that’s what I felt when sinking knee-deep into the Chaos.
I hadn’t sunk entirely yet, so I couldn’t say for sure, but if the load was this much, I could endure it.
Then, from my knee to my waist, from my waist to my shoulders, and from my shoulders to my head, I sank deeper and deeper until finally, the tip of my head was enveloped in darkness.
Thanks to the barrier’s luminescence, it was bright only within the barrier.
“So this is the inside of Chaos.”
“The magical load isn’t that high. Valse-san, can you hear me?”
“Yes, I can hear you. You really did enter the Chaos.”
There was absolutely no visibility, and outside the barrier was perfectly black.
Due to the dense magic, I couldn’t sense any living presence.
It was a space that seemed to completely seal off the five senses. Trying to find a single person in such an environment would normally be impossible.
At the very least, it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of such a cheat-like High-ranking Spirit.
“Time is of the essence. Please guide us.”
“Understood. Well then, let’s just dive straight down for now.”
The deeper you dive into Chaos, the more all sorts of concepts disappear.
In reality, the concepts probably exist, but they are so mixed together that their conceptual meaning can no longer be maintained.
This substance called Chaos is made of contradictions.
Hot yet cold.
Hard yet soft.
Bright yet dark.
In this manner, various meanings are intertwined, forcibly creating contradictions.
Therefore, physical phenomena like water pressure do not exist in this space. While buoyancy, gravity, and light exist, they also do not exist.
We, who are gently submerging while maintaining the Holy Sword’s barrier in that Chaos, are the exception. The surroundings act according to the norms of Chaos.
“Oh?”
“What is it?”
I had thought there was no one else in this space besides us.
I had convinced myself of that.
“That’s strange. There are several reactions.”
“What?”
However, Valse-san sensed the presence of beings that should not be detectable within Chaos.
“What do you mean?”
Inhaling unfamiliar beings.
“There’s no ‘what do you mean.’ I can faintly sense beings that have entered the Chaos and are moving around.”
“Has a creature capable of surviving in Chaos been born?”
“You’d want me to say that’s impossible, but it’s not zero. Besides, aren’t there more likely possibilities?”
Understanding what she was referring to, I let out a deep sigh upon hearing Valse-san’s words.
“Another troublesome matter.”
I felt like putting my hands on my head, facing trouble right at the start of our mission.
Today’s Quote:
“When you begin, do so decisively and swiftly.”
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