After that, Suzu began drawing the magic array based on those characters, and honestly, the scene was incredibly mesmerizing. The characters Suzu manipulated moved into place and then transformed—not remaining as individual characters anymore, but instead overlapping into multiple concentric circles.
"It worked!" Suzu exclaimed with joy.
Awesome!
"Next, let's link our souls and head inside. This magic array will act as a protective shield, preventing the chaotic spatial currents from reaching us," Suzu began explaining.
Got it!
We quickly moved and entered the gate.
After stepping through, I didn't immediately arrive at the area on the other side. Instead, I entered a different space entirely. The scenery here was completely unlike anything I had seen before!
There was nothing but countless tiny glimmering particles like stars, swirling through the space. Some of them even formed vortexes that moved throughout the area.
So these were what had caused us to be separated…?
"Be careful! Follow the directions I give you to avoid colliding with those vortexes."
Okay.
I tried moving my body and found that it still worked normally. Looking around, I noticed a faint shield surrounding me, with faint characters glowing across its surface.
"Go straight ahead."
I slowly took careful steps forward.
"Do you see that gate up ahead? That's our destination."
Okay.
Following Suzu's guidance, I gradually approached it. The distance to the gate wasn't that far anymore.
At this pace, we were definitely going to make it!
Suddenly, from the right, a spatial vortex rushed toward us.
"Watch out! Dodge it quickly!" Suzu shouted.
Without thinking, I twisted my body to the side and slowly moved away from my previous position, but the vortex was still heading right toward us.
I didn't even have time to check my direction—I just moved quickly backward. In the process, I nearly fell into another vortex nearby.
That was close!
Why is this happening?
Is this karma for what I said earlier?
"There's a chance something is disrupting the space, causing disarray. The spatial vortexes have deviated from their original paths," Suzu guessed.
Seriously?
What kind of thing could interfere with space itself?
"We've been pushed pretty far from the gate already, so we need to hurry and get back. This array won't last forever," Suzu warned.
Hearing that, I immediately picked up the pace. Each step was rushed yet carefully avoided the obstacles in the way.
Suddenly, something shot toward me from the distance at an incredible speed and slammed right into my shield.
Ah…!
The impact shook the shield violently, and to make matters worse, I saw a crack forming on it.
"It's a Void Beast!" Suzu screamed.
What the heck is that?
"They're creatures that live within the Fractured Void. They can control space at will, and it's exhausting to deal with them in here."
Jeez...
Looks like we've got trouble again.
I looked closely at the beast in front of me. It had eight horns on its head, a face like a rhinoceros, and the body of some unknown creature with six legs.
Creatures in this world sure look weird.
But putting aside appearances, that thing was relentlessly attacking our shield. Judging by the look in its eyes, it had clearly marked us as prey.
"Let's go, quickly. The array won't hold much longer," Suzu warned again.
I ignored the beast and began running forward, but after just a few steps, I felt like I hit something invisible. No matter how I tried to dodge to the left or right, I couldn't move forward at all.
"It must have locked the space," Suzu said gloomily.
How are we supposed to deal with this…?
The crack in the shield kept growing. At this rate, it probably wouldn't survive more than ten more hits. I tried launching attacks at it, but every time the attacks got close, they were teleported away.
This is bad.
We're in its domain, and I have no advantage here.
Are we really going to just take the hits…?
Suddenly, something unexpected happened...
The Void Beast, still attacking us, suddenly stopped and turned its head back, letting out a scream like it had seen something terrifying.
I even noticed its body trembling slightly.
What's going on??
I looked in the direction it was staring and, to my surprise, saw what looked like a figure standing there... The figure was tall and upright, and it resembled a human.
A human…?!!
How could a human even get in here??
But the form was definitely humanoid.
I couldn't be mistaken, especially when I could even make out their clothing—and they had some accessories on them too.
I couldn't see their face, but the silhouette seemed masculine. That tall and balanced frame couldn't belong to a woman. And although I couldn't see his face, I had a strange feeling that he was still quite young.
I tried to observe further, but all I saw was the figure standing still. Meanwhile, the Void Beast kept screeching like it was about to die. After a while, it finally couldn't take it anymore and ran off in another direction.
Was that person helping me??
I kept trying to get a look at their face, but even with Enhanced Senses and using my Heaven Eye, all I could see was a swirling mist hiding it.
Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of a faint smile from the figure—and then, their body began to fade away.
"Wait!"
I shouted, but it was already too late.
The figure had completely vanished.
Who was that…?
That subtle smile reminded me of the Spirit Queen—she also smiled in that mysterious way before vanishing...
Seems like this is just how powerful beings behave.
"For some reason, I feel like it's the same person who helped us before," Seina suddenly spoke.
What?
That person? But why?
"For now, we don't have any information. Let's just get out of here first," Seina said.
Yeah, that's true.
Though my heart was still uneasy, getting out of here took priority.
After that, I successfully passed through the gate and returned to the dark, gloomy land. I also regrouped with Meradis's group. During this time, they hadn't been attacked by any other creatures and had simply waited for us.
I assume the recent battles must have drained everything, so this area had become relatively peaceful and safe for now. The only target left was that eye.
Seems like everything had settled down, but my heart was far from calm.
There was someone extremely powerful watching me from the shadows. Sure, they were helping me for now—but who knows what could happen in the future?
Haizzz...
Why is my life so hard… Even as a spider, I still end up being targeted.