The 500th floor of the Zenith Tower, Babel.
Unexplored ever since the legendary adventurer Cristo broke through it over 500 years ago.
The dungeon elevator carrying us continued to ascend.
When I looked at Sumire, Sara, Airi, and Claude, they all seemed tense in their own ways.
By the way, the Dungeon Master isn't here.
She said she could freely move between floors and told us, "I'll go ahead and wait."
If the opponent for the 500th floor's Trial of the Gods turned out to be Anemoi, that would actually be comforting…
(Well, that won't happen.) (Eugene)
Optimism is dangerous.
The elevator apparently arrived at the 500th floor while I was thinking.
The doors opened slowly.
A completely empty green grassland spread out before us.
Meaning the opponent of the trial has not yet appeared.
If we head deeper in, the Trial of the Gods should start.
"Everyone, are you ready?" (Eugene)
When I asked, they all silently nodded.
We walked slowly toward the back of the 500th floor.
At that moment…
——Shalararaan…
A sound like a bell rang, and a golden magic circle appeared in the air.
A small figure emerged from it.
(…Eh?)
For a moment I thought I was hallucinating.
But no matter how I looked at her, that familiar figure was…
"L-Laila-sama!?" (Sara)
Sara shouted in surprise.
(Mother!?) (Eugene)
Why is she here?
Unaware of the shock in my heart, the small angel who suddenly appeared looked down at us imposingly from the sky and spoke.
—— "Brave challengers. You have done well to reach this place."
Her tone was formal and stiff, unlike how she speaks normally.
Sara was already kneeling.
The others also wore serious expressions.
I stayed quiet and listened.
—— "For the first time in 500 years, challengers have appeared to take on the Trial of the Gods at the 500th floor of the Zenith Tower. Destiny Goddess Ilia-sama is greatly pleased. The Sun Goddess Althena-sama, who conceived the Zenith Tower, must be satisfied as well. Originally, the creation of this tower began when…" (Laila)
(I see… she came to deliver the words of the Destiny Goddess…) (Eugene)
I wondered why it wasn't Rita-san, but that explanation made sense.
Mother usually works close to the Goddess.
(…Ah, Rita-san and Mariel-san are watching us from over there.) (Eugene)
The normally relaxed angels in charge of the 100th and 200th floors were wearing solemn expressions for once.
Why aren't they coming over?
(It's like when you're relaxing at a regional branch office and suddenly someone very high-ranking from headquarters comes for an inspection. Those two must feel uncomfortable.) (Eri)
Eri's thought transmission reached me.
"Regional branch? Headquarters?" (Eugene)
(Guess that didn't get through to you. Basically, a high-rank angel is here and the low-rank angels are scared stiff.) (Eri)
Makes sense.
Mother is high-ranking as an angel, so Rita-san and the others must be nervous.
Still… Mother's speech is long.
She keeps talking about how wonderful the Goddess is.
I'd like to start the trial already.
(Ah, Laila-senpai's lectures back in the Divine Realm were always long…) (Eri)
Eri muttered.
So it's the same here.
—— "Someone seems to not be listening." (Laila)
Mother suddenly looked this way.
(Oh crap.) (Eri)
"Eh!?"
Did she hear me and Eri talking through thought transmission?
(I can hear you, Eugene, and you too, Eri.) (Laila)
(...…Oh no.) (Eri)
Hieee!
Her voice echoed directly inside my head.
Sara looked at me like, "What are you doing?"
—— "Well, never mind. That's enough about the Goddess. Dungeon Master Anemoi Babel. You're listening, aren't you?" (Laila)
Mother shifted her gaze away from me.
"Y-Yes!" (Anemoi)
Anemoi, who had apparently been crouching and hiding, stood up straight.
She arrived unnoticed.
—— "Your failure three years ago was pitiful, but the Goddess acknowledges your attitude and efforts since then. Continue to devote yourself." (Laila)
"T-Thank you very much!" (Anemoi)
Her voice cracked, and she looked a little teary.
(Anemoi… I'm glad for you.) (Eugene)
Ever since she messed up three years ago, she feared being disposed of by divine punishment.
Looks like she barely received mercy.
Honestly, without Anemoi's help, challenging the 500th floor would've taken many times longer.
No…there's a chance we never would have reached it.
—— "And…there is someone who shouldn't be here. Let's pretend I didn't see them." (Laila)
(She probably means the Demon God.) (Eugene)
Looks like she's letting it slide.
Without the Demon God's advice, we couldn't have formulated this plan.
(Oh boy oh boy…)
I felt like I heard a whisper like that.
… Now then, are you ready? We will begin the Trial of the Gods.
(Huh? Mother is running the trial?) (Eugene)
I thought Rita-san or Mariel-san would do it.
(She wants to watch her son Eugene up close. Abuse of authority.) (Eri)
I-I see.
(Eri, don't say unnecessary things.) (Laila)
Mother's thought transmission came again.
(No way! I changed the thought transmission frequency! How are you instantly hacking in!?) (Eri)
(You're slacking off on the mortal realm. Divine magic improves every day! Hurry up and come back.) (Laila)
(No waaay! I'm relaxing for another thousand years!) (Eri)
My head was noisy.
Mother cleared her throat lightly.
—— "The Trial of the Gods will now begin." (Laila)
She solemnly declared.
A massive golden magic circle formed on the 500th floor.
At the same time, black trees grew out of the grassland.
"Everyone, watch the surroundings!" (Eugene)
I readied my White Sword and called out.
"I'll put up barriers!" (Sumire)
Sumire already started chanting.
Soon, sturdy barriers surrounded us.
Sara and Airi readied their swords, and Claude had begun moving behind the circle…likely aiming to flank it.
Within ten seconds, a black forest had formed.
(What Divine Beast will appear…?) (Eugene)
I expected a rematch with Cerberus, the Watchdog of Hades, but a forest battlefield suggests otherwise.
(A wood-element Divine Beast…?) (Eugene)
Nothing came to mind.
(Hmm… the Great Wood Spirit Dryad maybe…? Actually no, that's unlikely.) (Eri)
Even Eri didn't seem to have an answer.
But… I felt some deja vu.
"Hey, Eugy-kun." (Sumire)
"What is it, Sumire?" (Eugene)
"This black forest, maybe…" (Sumire)
Just as she began speaking, something appeared from the golden magic circle.
We readied our weapons without lowering our guard.
And the next moment…
"Eh?"
Someone -either one of us or the summoned being– made that confused sound.
What emerged was a fallen angel with jet-black wings and silver hair that glimmered like starlight.
"...Eri?" (Eugene)
"...Me?"
Even the summoned person looked bewildered.
—— "Eh? Ehh? Why is it Eri? This isn't what was supposed to…" (Laila)
Even Mother sounded confused in the sky.
At that moment, the Dungeon Master rushed to our side.
"T-This is your chance! With your current strength, even a Demon Lord isn't scary! Show the results of your training!" (Anemoi)
Anemoi sharply pointed at Eri.
Looking at my companions, Sumire and Claude…who are used to Eri…looked deflated.
Sara wore an indescribable expression, and only Airi, who was meeting Eri for the first time, whispered nervously, "So this is the Demon Lord…"
"Hmmm… Why me, I wonder…" (Eri)
Eri stretched lazily and snapped her fingers, summoning a white spear.
"Eri… So you're the opponent for the Trial of the Gods…?" (Eugene)
"Looks like it. Honestly, as opponents for you guys now, I am underpowered…but if the tower chose me, it can't be helped. Laila-senpai, can we start?" (Eri)
Eri held her spear like she couldn't be bothered.
"Eh!? Why… Why is it Eri? That's not what Goddess Ilia told me…" (Laila)
Mother still looked lost.
"Laila-senpai is really flustered for once. Shall we start, Eugene?" (Eri)
"Y-Yeah." (Eugene)
I readied my White Sword again.
"Well, take it easy. With your current strength, there's no way you'll lose to me, a Demon Lord…" (Eri)
That was when…
—— "No no ☆ My cute Eri mustn't say such things."
A voice echoed throughout the tower.
My whole body tensed.
A pressure so strong I couldn't breathe.
This was the same…or stronger…than when I heard the Demon God's voice.
Sumire, Sara, Airi, and Claude, who were farther away, all dropped to their knees.
Next to me, the Dungeon Master's face turned pale.
"Y-Y… You are…!" (Laila)
Mother's mouth hung open.
"...No way." (Eri)
Eri's face stiffened.
The voice belonged to…
—— "In the name of the Wood Goddess Freya, I'll temporarily lift Eri's fall from grace~ ☆ Okay, Laila-chan, take care of the rest."
The suffocating pressure vanished.
"Haa… haa… haa…"
Anemoi gasped for air.
"You okay, Anemoi?" (Eugene)
"I-I'm…fine. More importantly… your companions…" (Anemoi)
Her words made me snap back to my senses.
I ran to Sumire and the others.
"[Mind Heal]." (Eugene)
I used mental recovery magic on the three of them.
Their pale faces returned to normal color, though they were still shaken.
(Claude…?) (Eugene)
I searched and saw Rita-san casting healing magic on him.
It was allowed since the trial hadn't started yet.
Then I turned back toward Demon Lord Eri.
"…She really did it, that damn Wood Goddess woman."
At first, I didn't realize the voice was Eri's.
Her voice was familiar, yet hearing it now made my body tremble.
Her familiar black wings had turned pure white.
The white spear in her hand shone gold.
Her star-like silver hair glimmered even more brightly.
And more than anything…she released a pressure stronger than any Divine Beast we had ever faced.
"Eri… Is that you?" (Eugene)
"Unfortunately, yes." (Eri)
Her reply was softer than usual.
She was suppressing her power so we wouldn't be overwhelmed.
Seeing my companions, they weren't as crushed as when the Wood Goddess spoke, but all of them were intimidated by Eri's presence.
Even I, who had known her the longest.
"To think the Wood Goddess Freya-sama would intervene… Well, technically the 500th floor is just barely outside the bounds of the mortal realm, but… haa…" (Laila)
Mother seemed to have recovered.
"Hey, Laila-senpai. Is it okay for an angel to be the opponent like this?" (Eri)
"There's no helping it. The Wood Goddess herself issued this trial. Hurry up and introduce yourself properly." (Laila)
"I guess I have no choice. Alright then…" (Eri)
Eri gently lifted the golden spear into position.
Even though she moved lazily as always, her stance was terrifyingly beautiful.
Every movement was like a flawless performance.
"I am Erinyes Cherubim, Captain of the First Unit of the Wood Goddess's own Valkyries. I will serve as your opponent for the 500th Floor Trial of the Gods." (Eri)
With a perfect stance and a calm expression, Eri…or rather, the Valkyrie Eri…looked at us.
None of us could say a word.
Instead, a whisper came from the Demon God Loki-sama, who had been silent until now.
"By the way, in the past Divine War, the ones who sealed the Red Dragon were the Wood Goddess's Valkyrie Unit. Though… judging from her current state, she looks stronger than the First Unit Captain from back then." (Loki)
"…That's got to be a joke, right? Demon God-sama…" (Eugene)
"It would be nice if it were… but unfortunately, it's the truth." (Loki)
It was hopeless information.