[Underground 11th floor, River of time]

Countless corpses of flowers floated on the boiling river.

Gushing

Bloodsoaked Jade flowers largest specimen ever bared its teeth, swinging its massive head.

However.

Boom! Crackling!

Nearly eight huge bolts fell on it, tearing apart the Jade Flowers head.

Thud-thud-thud-splash! Splash! Splash!

Fluids and flesh rain down like a drizzle, disturbing the surface.

It was all because of seven large fangs and a smaller eighth one.

Tss-tss-tss-tss-tss-tss

The concentrated aura, boiling the surrounding river just by its presence, emanated from Vikir, or shall we say an older Vikir.

Sitting atop the piled Jade Flowers corpses, an old man closed his eyes.

Despite wrinkles and grayness, his posture resembled a well-forged sword.

Vikir.

He opened his eyes, stroking his lightly changed hair and a long beard.

Its time to leave now.

Time flows like a river.

After an unknowable amount of time, Vikir confirmed all his stats were at 798.

Crack!

The true scale of equality broke in that moment.

This should be enough.

Vikir stepped down onto the corpse of the last Jade Flower he killed moments ago.

The rewards for exterminating the Jade Flowers forming colonies on the river are piled high in Vikirs hands.

Golden candies and other countless candies filled Vikirs grip.

He swiftly exchanges the candies for candies of a higher level.

[Crunch-crunch]

Vikir turns his head at the sound of approaching footsteps.

There, towering over him, baby madam who had grown to a size where Vikir has to crane his neck to look at her.

[Time truly flies.]

Decarabia blinked his eyes amidst Vikirs white beard.

Despite slaying Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, and Ballaks warriors, Vikir remains at the mouth of the Flow of the Mighty River.

Then.

[Why havent you left?]

A voice echoed in the air.

Vikirs gaze falls upon a familiar presence floating nearby after a long time.

It was a fairy.

[Is there truly no end to this madness?]

The fairy grumbled as if dying of boredom from seeing Vikir. Well, it had every right to feel that way. From the perspective of a frustrated innkeeper, how could it look at a stubborn customer who refuses to leave despite being warned not to hunt the Jade Flowers, all while lingering on the floor?

The fairy expressed its annoyance.

[Are you really not leaving yet? Youve eaten enough to satiate yourself, havent you?]

It was on the verge of tears.

Then, Vikir spoke up.

Yeah. Its time for me to leave.

[!]

Instantly, the fairys eyes widened.

The stubborn man who always remained silent and closed his eyes despite being asked to leave the floor seemed to engage in conversation today for some reason.

[Have you finally thought it over? W-w-w-when will you leave?]

Vikir clapped his hands towards the fairy he clearly favored.

It depends on your attitude. Come closer. Lets talk.

[Y-yes? W-w-w-what do you mean?]

At the suggestion to come closer, the fairys expression briefly showed fear.

But fairy, seemingly eager for him to leave this floor, approached despite its hesitance.

Still, keeping a considerable distance.

However, the distance the fairy deemed safe was meaningless to Vikir.

Snap!

In an instant, Vikir reached out, seizing the fairys neck before he could react.

Dont be a bitch, I just wanna talk?

[W-w-w-what are you doing?]

But the fairy couldnt finish its sentence.

Vikir pressed on both sides of the fairys cheeks, forcing its mouth open before stuffing something inside.

[PR/N: ( )]

It was a reddish liquid contained in a leather pouch.

Gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-

The fairy had to drink the liquid Vikir was forcing into its mouth, unaware of what it was.

And soon, the reaction followed.

[No-o-o-o-o-o-o!]

With a terrible scream, black smoke began to billow from the fairys mouth.

A sensation as if its internal organs were melting tormented the fairy.

Hmm.

Vikir calmly looked down at the struggling fairy beneath his foot. Fairies, created from the essence of invincibility and the essence of the abyss, a product of magical engineering, cannot be destroyed except by their creator, the demon. However, the fairy before him was undoubtedly dying, albeit slowly and painfully.

[Wha-whats happening?]

The fairy seemed oblivious to the pain it was experiencing.

Well, who knows? Perhaps its the revenge of all the humans who suffered in this tower until now.

Vikir replied in a dry voice, but the fairy didnt hear his words.

With a dreadful hiss, the fairy eventually dwindled into nothingness.

Impressive effect.

Vikir shook the leather pouch containing the reddish liquid he held in his hand. It was none other than Figgys blood. Despite the passage of a long time, it hadnt evaporated or decayed, remaining in the pouch just as it was.

Its not your typical blood.

After killing Figgy, Vikir had preserved his blood in the leather pouch. When he first noticed the faint scar on Figgys forearm, Vikir felt a sense of unease, typical of a seasoned demon hunter.

Figgy, was your blood always this dark?

Huh? Oh, yeah, its always been like this. Oh!? Just to let you know, Im not turning into a demon or anything! Seriously, its been like this since I was young! The doctors used to say theres a lot of iron in my blood, but since entering the abyss, it seems to have gotten darker?

Vikir nodded as he watched the fairy dissipate into a handful of blood essence.

If my judgment is correct

* * *

You might be the key to collapsing Amducias abyss tree.

Vikir spoke up. Having cleared the 11th floor, Vikir faced Tudor, Sancho, Figgy, Bianca, and the warriors of Ballak, all with tense expressions.

Me? Figgy was taken aback, feeling the weight of everyones attention.

But Vikir was serious.

While spending time at the Flow of the Mighty River, I continued to research and contemplate. It seems there are peculiar properties in your blood.

Figgys blood reacted not only to demons but also to fairies, monsters, and others. While it didnt elicit a strong response on its own, when applied to a blade or mixed into an aura, it had a significant effect.

I intend to clear the tower in one fell swoop with this.

It was a matter Vikir had endlessly pondered during his decades by the Flow of the Mighty River.

In the original timeline before Vikirs regression, the tower was conquered a bit later. However, by then, most heroes had been eliminated, leaving only one person to clear the towerthe genius among geniuses, Camus.

At that time, we didnt even know the tower was the work of a demon.

Even in such uncertain circumstances, Morgs genius shone through as she cleared the tower.

But since she was not present in the tower anymore. Someone else had to clear it.

Moreover, back then, Figgy wasnt even in school.

Perhaps Figgys reason for dropping out of school wasnt simply due to bullying.

Perhaps it was because he felt something was different about his blood, something that set him apart from others, something he feared.

Vikir looked at Figgy again.

?

A presence within the tower altering the causality. Perhaps he would become the biggest variable in the future.

Vikir grasped Figgys shoulder and said, The reason you woke up first is because theres something you need to do first.

Something I need to do?

Figgy lowered his gaze to his hands.

Then.

Vikir.

Tudor called out to Vikir. As Vikir turned his head, Tudor extended his tightly clenched fist forward.

Take this.

On Tudors outstretched palm lay something gleaming with golden light candies.

Why are you giving this to me?

Why not?

The one who responded to Vikirs question wasnt Tudor but Bianca, who stood beside him. Soon, Sanchoo, Figgy, Ahul, and the other warriors of Ballak also handed golden candies to Vikir.

These are rewards for completing missions. But I think you would benefit from them more than I would.

Please, Vikir! All I can do is share my blood!

As you wish, hero Please

Everyone had the same look in their eyes.

After a brief moment of silence, Vikir nodded.

I wont waste them.

The golden candies found their way into Vikirs hands.

*Crinkle*

Combining the rewards for mission completions and all the candies collected while hunting demons, the number was quite substantial.

With an expectant gaze, Tudor asked, Are you going to eat all of them at once and then go meet the destroy of the tower?

No. Theres something I need to do before that.

Vikir lowered his head once before retrieving an item from his pocket.

Everyones eyes widened.

[Return Scroll] / Scroll / Grade: ?

A scroll that allows one to return to the tutorial zone once, providing an answer to the question Where do you want to go, my lord?

*Warning: Using this item will reset your level.*

It was a return scroll that would take them back to the very first stage.