“No. We’re not going up.”
“If we don’t kill it, going upstairs will only play right into its hands.”
“We’ll finish it off right here.”
Merka’s beautiful eyes shifted slightly. He braced both hands against the inner wall of Turing’s body and adjusted his position.
“Sweetheart… let me get some air.”
At Merka’s words, Turing immediately expanded its body, forming a small round opening.
Merka clawed his way to the opening and poked his head out. Facing the fierce wind rushing toward him, he flipped his hand and sent several bird-shaped plectrum servants flying.
With their nimble flight, they wove through the crystal skeleton soldiers as if they were moving through an empty land, soon vanishing at the end of the corridor.
“At first glance, this floor seems to be an endless straight corridor…”
“But we’ve already traveled so far. If we really had been moving in a straight line through this β-level, we should’ve reached the end of the wall by now.”
“Exactly. This corridor actually has a curve.”
“This entire β-level is actually made up of corridors coiled into a spiral, one ring wrapped around another.”
“In other words… behind this slightly bulging wall, there must be another corridor.”
Merka turned his gaze and suddenly pointed toward the smooth mirror beside him.
The Power Angel appeared at once. It roared, every muscle across its body bulging as it drove its sturdy arm straight into the wall.
In an instant, the tremendous impact spread like a boulder crashing into a still pool. A terrifying shockwave rippled across the entire mirrored wall. The mirror shattered into countless fragments, which flew through the corridor like silver-clad flies.
Just as Merka had expected, a massive hole in the mirror revealed another corridor beyond it.
“The lighting here is dim, and countless corridors reflect back and forth on both sides of the mirror. An ordinary person might have trouble noticing it… but this mirror actually has a curve.”
“But for me, with magical vision, a trick like this is useless.”
Merka patted the chimera beneath him and said firmly to Turing,
“Let’s go. We’ll spread out the plectrum servants while charging straight for the center of the β-level’s spiral.”
“That way, we’ll find aside in no time.”
Merka suddenly thought of something and immediately added,
“Oh, right. Try to conserve your magic, too.”
“In this situation, let me use the magic for now.”
“After all, we’ll still be relying on you when it’s time to fight that thing.”
Turing shook its enormous beastly jaws, then gave its head a slight shake and exhaled a thick white smoke that reeked of blood and killing intent.
“…Understood.”
Turing answered Merka in a deep voice, tapped one hoof against the ground, then abruptly wheeled around and charged through the hole Merka had blasted open.
Turing charged forward without slowing, smashing through the mirrors of several corridors in one breath. Merka climbed from inside Turing’s body to its neck, raising his right hand high as he continuously released plectrum servants for reconnaissance.
Merka clung tightly to Turing’s fur, which was as hard as steel needles. A pale-blue ghostlight glowed in his right hand as it traced a brilliant arc through the air.
They rampaged through the β-level, scattering small blue birds everywhere. Before long, a blue gale began to sweep through the entire faded, dim β-level.
Turing’s indestructible black silhouette dragged a long trail of smoke through the azure phantoms, like a malevolent star pulling a streaming tail of flame behind it.
On Turing’s back, Merka gritted his teeth. He clung desperately to Turing’s neck while consuming his mental strength almost frantically, searching through the plectrum servants’ vision for any sign of aside.
The twofold strain was so severe that Merka could barely keep his body upright, and he nearly tumbled from Turing’s back.
“I found it.”
Merka wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and revealed a sly smile, as if his scheme had succeeded.
Fortunately, before Merka’s strength ran out, he finally found aside.
