Chapter 83: Promise to the Future (3)

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EP.83 Promise to the Future (3)

The Ascension Ceremony.

Just as everyone in the world knows that chain letters originated in England, it is abundantly clear that Yu Parang’s tumultuous life story began with this very Ascension Ceremony.

‘Come to think of it, I might have been too disinterested.’

Nevertheless, it’s also an undeniable fact that Parang had known far too little about the Ascension Ceremony until now.

But well, Parang has her own justifications. After all, wasn’t the information given to her too scarce to begin with?

‘Let’s just be glad that I can learn a little about it now, even if it’s late.’

Not falling into negativity at times like this is another of Parang’s strengths.

She was now watching the Slayers in the midst of their ascension.

Looking down, she could catch glimpses of the sea between the clusters of light.

This means the ascension has just begun.

‘So, soon…’

Crack, crackle.

‘This scene, as expected.’

The bodies of all the Slayers begin to crack and split, with brilliant golden light flowing out from between the fissures.

It’s the awakening of the flesh.

Since this part was included in the Slayers’ calculations, they didn’t show any particular signs of surprise.

“The feeling is quite peculiar…”

And their artifacts, too, crack and split before plunging into the sea with a splash.

This was also expected, so there’s no big surprise.

“What a shame. I had grown fond of it.”

“Aira, I didn’t know you could get attached to objects.”

“It’s not an object, it’s a gift. One you made.”

Hunter Han Siwoo gave an awkward smile.

And so, the development that everyone knew continued. The Slayers ascended higher and higher.

“Oh, Siwoo.”

“Yes?”

“Your current quest, it’s ‘Ascend’, right?”

Hunter Han Siwoo glanced at the air before answering.

“Yeah, why?”

“Then what does it say for the reward? I just realized I never asked.”

Han Siwoo’s [Great Journey] is a personal skill that gives rewards for completing sequentially given quests, and penalties for failing them.

It’s the last quest to appear in the story, and also the last piece of original knowledge Parang knows.

Though she can’t trust it much now that she knows the original has changed.

“It just says ‘???’.”

“I see. How novel.”

Fortunately or not, this part is the same as the original.

Russell chimed in with a question.

“What’s this? Shouldn’t you be a bit surprised when question marks suddenly appear on a quest that was clearly defined before? Why are you reacting like that?”

Parang kindly answered.

“Question marks often appear for important quests. It’s not an unprecedented phenomenon. In fact, it happens quite frequently.”

It was the same when reading the original. Among fans, the derogatory term ‘SAFQ’ (Shit Another F*cking Question mark) was often used.

“I see. That’s a really annoying skill. But how do you know all this?”

‘Oops.’

“Uh… Silo told me.”

“Those guys seem to know all sorts of things. Anyway, let’s keep watching.”

The Slayers, too, didn’t seem to feel much about the reappearance of the question mark, with only a brief stir among them.

And then, about 20 minutes later.

The Slayers completely broke through the clouds and rose above the sky.

Being the sky of a modern fantasy world, the scene that unfolded was quite different from Parang’s home planet Earth.

First off, there were two layers of clouds.

The cloud that the Slayers had just broken through was below, and above was a golden cloud layer that exuded an unmistakably sacred atmosphere.

The lower clouds are engulfed in blue and red flames, burning fiercely, and occasionally blue and red pillars of fire shoot up, connecting the upper and lower layers.

Between them, eight-winged golden dragons and house-sized eagles with five heads, along with all sorts of sacred beasts, fly about, while from the golden clouds above, lightning strikes seven times in each fleeting moment.

Humans have named this place ‘Purgatory’, and ordinary people don’t even think of ascending above it.

Due to this hellish environment, it’s virtually impossible to launch space vehicles except for Silo.

Also, the Slayers’ boss battle that wasn’t quite a boss battle took place here.

“To think we’d come here again. And so soon…”

“It’s been a week, right?”

“It’s so fast that there’s no time for nostalgia.”

They giggle and exchange jokes.

Parang felt a sense of regret watching this. After all, it was a story she had loved.

And then, up and up again.

Finally, the Slayers reached just below the golden clouds.

At last, they passed through the clouds and…

Whoa-

The space above the golden clouds was revealed.

“Indeed, it’s worthy of being called heaven.”

Above the golden clouds, paradise unfolded.

In the center stood a mountain-like palace made of gold and marble, while apple trees with platinum trunks and golden leaves grew here and there, and between the clouds, pure white milk and golden honey gushed forth and receded repeatedly.

Clear, bright bell sounds rang out occasionally, and glass rabbits, doves, deer, and squirrels frolicked happily on the clouds, while looking up, countless stars and galaxies seemed ready to pour down, embedded in the sky.

However, there were no gods or angels anywhere.

That’s because the Slayers had killed them all.

And according to their expectations, the ascension should have ended here.

But as we well know, the ascension did not stop there.

At first, they had imagined a happy life in paradise, but as the ascension didn’t stop, they gradually began to realize something was amiss.

“Aira.”

“Yes?”

“By our calculations, we should have stopped by now, right?”

“That’s right. I’m quite surprised too.”

“The ways of the world, how nothing ever resolves so easily. I suppose the sins of my past life must have been quite great.”

The woman in priestess attire shook her head with her eyes closed.

Regardless, the ascension showed no signs of stopping, and the speed of ascent only increased.

Eventually, they ventured into space, finally confirming with their own eyes that the Earth was not dinosaur-shaped.

By this point, everyone realized that something had gone wrong.

“This is bad. We don’t even have our weapons.”

“No need for discussion. Whatever comes, we’ll just cut it down.”

“Why is everyone so pessimistic? It’s not like we’re guaranteed to have a fight.”

“There’s this thing called statistics. Usually, when something goes wrong, fighting whatever appears in front of us tends to solve it.”

The Slayers all completed their battle preparations.

Though they weren’t sure what had gone wrong, they anticipated a battle soon.

Well, it’s not that they’re muscle-heads or battle maniacs, it’s just the path they’ve walked.

Given the genre, after all. While the causes of problems varied, the solutions always culminated in battle.

And then, their vision suddenly went dark.

“It’s coming…!”

After a moment of silence.

“What…!”

“This, what…!”

“E-Everyone, stay calm!!”

Russell, unable to contain his curiosity, asked again.

“What’s going on? What’s the situation now?”

“Probably after their vision went dark, they were transferred into water. Their vision is still dark, but they can feel they’re in water, so they’re panicking.”

Vertea deduced clearly.

While Oceanos couldn’t feel it since tactile sensations weren’t shared, the Slayers must have realized something had changed, going from space to suddenly being in water.

“Then why is their vision still dark?”

“Think back. Remember when we saw Alexandra’s memories? The place where the Slayers were first transferred was inside that mysterious pit.”

That was certainly true.

“Even so, how could the ascension ceremony lead directly into that damned pit? It’s obvious to anyone that they’ve fallen right into a trap.”

If that’s the case, it certainly explains why their vision is dark now.

“Let’s keep watching for now.”

“Alright.”

The memory began to play again.

“Seems we’ve been transferred into water. Everyone, stay alert. Let’s gather first, then slowly ascend.”

Hunter Han Siwoo calmly gave instructions.

The others also skillfully positioned themselves, slowly closing the gaps between each other.

In the midst of this.

Kuguuuuuuuung

“Aaaaaaaaaaah-”

The entire area shook violently, filled with an eerie sound that could hardly be thought to come from any living being.

Probably the entire pit was vibrating and making noise.

As the entire space trembled and screamed, even the Slayers seemed bewildered.

While sudden changes in situation were one thing, this had clearly crossed a line.

As they were in chaos and confusion, someone spoke.

“Siwoo, look up!!”

“Huh?”

Brrrrr-

A bubble, created by someone somewhere, rose straight up.

As they turned their gaze there, they could see a tiny light leaking in from above.

“Do you see that up there? It’s likely to be the way out!”

“You’re right. Everyone! Let’s head that way for now!”

The Slayers swam towards the source of the leaking light.

“Amateurs.”

“Indeed.”

Russell and Elvira clicked their tongues.

Light seen in the sea should never be trusted. How naive of them to follow it.

Parang was about to express disappointment at this part… when.

‘Wait a minute, this.’

Isn’t this a case of a reincarnator belittling the original protagonists?

‘T-That’s not allowed!!’

As far as Parang knew, no character who had taken such an approach had ever met a good end.

Parang, barely managing to keep her mouth shut, praised herself for her remarkable self-control.