"Being watched by the Abyss? D-don't say that, you're giving me chills!" Paimon hugged herself tightly.
"Don't be afraid," Lumine comforted her. "If anything, that just makes it clearer—this anomaly is probably tied to the Abyss Order again. Let's keep investigating."
The four of them moved out, following the faint traces left by the Hilichurls.
On the way, Dainsleif asked, "I still don't understand why you're all here."
Paimon explained, "We got a commission from the Adventurers' Guild—they asked us to investigate why the Hilichurls are gathering abnormally in The Chasm."
"The Chasm… so that's where we are—beneath it. Even I have never ventured this deep before. But… I think I might know the answer you seek."
"Eh? But you just said you've never been here! How could you know?"
Dainsleif lifted his head toward the upside-down city above. "It's understandable that you can't sense it. The peculiarity of this place lies in the fact that its environment weakens the effect of the curse."
"Curse?" Lumine repeated. "I remember my brother saying once that you, Dainsleif, are afflicted with a curse of immortality—wandering endlessly, forced to watch the people you once swore to protect turn into Abyssal monsters…"
"Hmph. No need to recite it word for word." Dainsleif didn't deny it. "For hundreds of years, that curse's torment has clung to me day and night. But when I came here, for the first time, my body felt a moment's reprieve. Right now, I can feel it calling out to me—begging me to stay."
Lumine's voice grew heavy. "So that means… the Hilichurls are cursed too. That's why they came here…"
"Yes. Do you know why Hilichurls always wear masks?"
"Masks…"
Of the four, two wore masks.
Dainsleif's Khaenri'ahn heritage was obvious, but Victor Wang—who had worn a mask since the moment they met—had never taken his off either. Still, his face and a Hilichurl's were worlds apart, so Lumine and Paimon didn't think much of it.
But Dainsleif's gaze lingered on Victor Wang's mask, uncertain. "Hilichurls hide their faces because they fear their reflections—the faces that stare back at them from the water. Compared to the people they dimly remember being, their current forms are too grotesque, too filled with despair."
A deep sadness welled up in Lumine's chest. "So Hilichurls really are Khaenri'ahns… cursed with undeath, trapped in those forms…"
"The curse of immortality isn't truly eternal," Dainsleif continued. "Under the slow erosion of time, both body and soul are gradually worn away. Even if they don't die in the conventional sense… when a Hilichurl senses that its end is near, it instinctively seeks a quiet, dark place—to bid farewell to centuries of suffering. For them, this place, where the curse weakens, must feel like the perfect coffin."
Paimon's expression softened, eyes clouded with sorrow. "So that's… what it really is…"
"Wait. Enough talk. Enemies ahead."
As they neared the inverted city, shadowy figures emerged from the dark—the Shadowy Husks, attacking without hesitation. The group fought back, defeating them swiftly.
"These things appeared in Enkanomiya before… I didn't expect to see them here."
"Shadowy Husks?" Dainsleif corrected softly. "They are Black Serpent Knights, once members of Khaenri'ah's Royal Guard."
"Royal Guard—wait!" Paimon's eyes widened. "You mean they used to be your subordinates?!"
"They were. But now… look at them—overwhelmed by their curses, stripped of their honor and reason. Their fighting style, their aura… hmm?"
Sensing a gaze from above, Dainsleif turned. A single Black Serpent Knight—distinct in form and bearing—stood silently watching them from the ruins. The atmosphere tensed again.
"Wait, he seems… different."
Stopping Lumine before she could attack, Dainsleif locked eyes with the knight. After a few seconds, the knight turned away and left.
"What was that about? Did he recognize you?"
Dainsleif shook his head, though doubt flickered in his tone. "Such miracles shouldn't be possible after that cataclysm… Let's just call it coincidence. We should keep moving."
"But something's blocking the path ahead," Lumine noted. "Could there be a mechanism nearby?"
"No need to waste time," Dainsleif said. "Khaenri'ahn engineering and the stench of Abyssal power—I know them all too well."
He raised his right hand, conjuring a flame-like blue energy that shimmered like smoke. In an instant, he shattered the Abyssal barrier surrounding the inverted city.
They crossed floating debris, stepping onto what was once the ceiling—now the floor—and entered the ruins.
Not far in, more Black Serpent Knights appeared. After defeating them, they found another group in a chamber on the second level. These knights behaved strangely, as though guarding a corner of the room.
When Dainsleif spotted several Hilichurls cowering there, he began to understand. He tried to call out—but the knights lunged first, forcing him to fight back.
When the last of them fell, Paimon fluttered toward the corner. "Finally, they're down! Quick, let's see what they were protecting!"
She froze midair, blinking in disbelief. "Huh?! Th-these… Hilichurls?"
"…As I suspected. These Black Serpent Knights weren't guarding any secret of the Abyss Order," Dainsleif said quietly. "I should have realized sooner."
"But what's going on with these Hilichurls?" Lumine asked.
"As I said before," Dainsleif replied, "this is how their story ends—aging, fearing the light, and slowly merging with the darkness."
"But then… why would the Black Serpent Knights guard them like this?"
"—!"
Before they could think further, more knights poured in from outside, roaring as they surrounded the group.
"The knights are attacking again!" Paimon shouted.
"————!"
"It's that same one from before! They're all backing off—is that special knight giving orders?"
"…Halfdan?" Dainsleif called uncertainly. There was no reply. The knight—Halfdan—simply turned and withdrew.
"Hey, Dainsleif, you know that knight?"
"…If it's really him… how tragic."
"Dainsleif?" Lumine prompted softly.
"Heh…" Dainsleif gave a bitter laugh. "You wanted to know why the Black Serpent Knights protected those Hilichurls. It's because, to them, this is their duty. I just recognized that one—the one who ordered the others to stand down. He was once a young elite of the Royal Guard… his name was Halfdan."
Dainsleif stepped forward a few paces, distancing himself from Victor, Lumine, and Paimon, leaving only his solitary back in view as he stared toward where Halfdan had gone.
"I still remember… on the day Khaenri'ah fell, before I reached the palace, I told Halfdan, 'Tell all the Black Serpent Knights—no matter what happens, protect the people of Khaenri'ah.'"
He turned, eyes shadowed by sorrow—a grief too deep for words. Soon, he closed them.
"It's true—we bore the title of 'Royal Guard.' But in the face of such calamity, titles meant nothing. Before the power of the gods, there was only one identity left on this earth: Khaenri'ahn."
"Perhaps, in what remains of their broken minds, these knights still believe they are guarding Khaenri'ah's people. They see these ruins as the last bastion of their homeland… and the dying Hilichurls as citizens in need of protection. The cries we heard—they weren't threats."
Paimon's voice trembled. "Then… what were they saying?"
"Run. It's hard to recognize after all this time, but I could hear it—that was Ancient Khaenri'ahn for 'Run.'"
"They were… warning the Hilichurls?" Lumine whispered.
"Yes. To think that such a will could endure—undiminished through five hundred years of despair—truly, it's a miracle born from hopelessness."
"T-Then I misjudged them…"
"It's fine," Dainsleif said softly. "Even I once mistook them for enemies. Come—with this curse upon us, the least we can do is keep moving. They won't stop us anymore."