Here… the sky itself was almost completely filled with insects.
No matter which direction one flew, their vision would quickly be swallowed by the swarm.
Kanzaki Rei could only follow the fluctuations of mana. Fortunately, Izparut's magical signature carried far enough that he could roughly determine his direction.
And the waves of mana came one after another—roaring, surging—impossible to miss.
As he sped closer—
A sudden, intense heat washed over his senses.
His perception locked onto an ocean of flames engulfing the sky.
「Tier 6 Fire Magic: Erupting Sea of Ten Thousand Flames」
—BOOM!
In an instant, the overwhelming swarm was devoured by fire. And as the insects were consumed, their bodies condensed into molten magma—only to explode violently!
The eruption gave birth to an even more intense inferno, spreading farther and wider.
A scorching wind brushed against Kanzaki Rei's body.
—RUMBLE!
Almost simultaneously, he was completely engulfed by the sea of flames—only for it to surge past him, extending far into the distance behind.
Using the swarm itself as fuel…
A chain-reaction of fire propagation.
Magic that spread through enemy corpses wasn't uncommon.
But something this fast—this violently efficient—
Kanzaki Rei had only ever seen one like it.
Within his 400,000-kilometer perception range, the flames hadn't even existed a moment ago.
And in the very next instant—
They filled everything.
He couldn't even tell how far the inferno had spread behind him.
And yet—
Standing within the flames—
He suffered no damage whatsoever.
Even in a situation like this, the spell had precisely controlled its damage output.
It did not harm humans.
—Snap!
In the next instant, the flames shifted—
Transforming into piercing frost!
And then—
Detonating into a roaring sea of lightning!
The power escalated layer by layer. Kanzaki Rei could feel the elemental waves expanding outward.
The outer layer burned with fire.
The inner layer froze with ice.
And deeper still—thunder raged.
Even monsters with extreme fire resistance could not survive such a constantly shifting assault.
Kanzaki Rei accelerated further.
Even now, though he was within Izparut's spell range—
That didn't necessarily mean he was close.
After several more seconds at near-maximum speed—
The elemental tides continued to surge and evolve around him.
This was the "Guidance" technique Izparut had mentioned.
Using one spell to guide another.
Expanding their range—propagating their effects—turning localized magic into wide-area devastation.
—RUMBLE!
Suddenly—
Fragments of space itself seemed to peel away before his eyes!
Tier 5 Origin Magic: Nullification of Reality and Illusion.
—HUM—
"Iz!"
At last, Kanzaki Rei caught sight of a figure.
Standing amidst mountains of insect corpses—
Radiant, like a blazing sun.
"…Kanzaki Rei?"
The response came, filled with disbelief.
Izparut's voice carried unmistakable shock.
How could Kanzaki Rei possibly be here?
This was the Hive.
And yet—not only had he survived—
He had found him?
Kanzaki Rei didn't waste time explaining.
Instead, he manifested a vast array of arcane runes around himself.
They spiraled outward, filling the surrounding space in an instant.
To an ordinary person, even a single rune would take immense time to decipher.
But when Izparut saw them—
His pupils shrank.
Shock spread across his face.
He understood immediately.
These were the same arcane symbols he had shown Kanzaki Rei in the previous timeline.
According to Izparut himself—
If he ever saw these runes again, he would instantly understand everything.
And so—
In a single moment—
He grasped Kanzaki Rei's origin.
First came astonishment.
Then—delight.
"Haha! You really didn't disappoint me!"
"You're probably the second greatest mage alive now—right after me!"
Second only to you?
Kanzaki Rei wasn't about to accept that so easily.
After everything he had experienced, he knew this world was filled with too many unknowns.
Even whether Izparut truly stood at the top… was uncertain.
All he could say for sure—
Was that Izparut was extraordinarily powerful.
If it were limited to below Level 9, though…
He might have some confidence.
Before Kanzaki Rei could respond, Izparut had already turned his gaze skyward, excitement blazing in his eyes.
"Perfect timing—I need an extra pair of hands. Care to help?"
Kanzaki Rei stopped nearby. "Izparut… what are you planning?"
The swarm here was endless.
No matter how many he killed, it felt like it wouldn't shake the foundation of this place in the slightest.
"These rift channels are an excellent subject for research."
Izparut's tone brimmed with enthusiasm.
"They actually connect to locations all across the world."
"If we can figure out how they work… we might be able to construct spatial magic that connects anywhere in the world."
A truly epoch-making concept.
Originally, Izparut had been worried about what was happening outside.
But now that Kanzaki Rei was here—
It meant things were likely under control.
Still, Kanzaki Rei couldn't help but feel some concern.
For him, this was just a simulated future.
But for Izparut—
This was reality.
If this truly was the Hive…
Then there could very well be genuine Tier 9 monsters lurking within.
"Master Izparut… there could be Tier 9 monsters here, right?"
"Hmm. Possibly."
"But…"
A faint smile curled at Izparut's lips—tinged with a hint of madness.
"If I miss this chance to uncover the secrets of these rifts… that would be a real shame."
Kanzaki Rei considered for a moment—
Then nodded.
"…Alright."
This was only a simulation.
If Izparut could truly grasp teleportation magic here—
That would be invaluable.
Perhaps in the previous timeline, the reason he hadn't succeeded…
Was because he had abandoned his research and returned to the surface.
"Izparut—what do you need me to do?"
Izparut raised one hand.
—SHUA!
The countless rifts scattered through space began to align in orderly patterns.
Gradually, Kanzaki Rei began to discern their structure.
—BOOM!
The rifts suddenly burst open!
From within them, countless new insects spilled out—
Each one engraved with spatial runes across its body.
"Can you trace the source of these creatures?"
"…Yes."
Izparut understood him well—he even knew what abilities Kanzaki Rei possessed.
Those arcane runes hadn't just conveyed information about the time reset.
They had contained nearly everything the previous Izparut had known.
Through Hidden Origin, Kanzaki Rei connected with the newly emerged spatial insects.
「Phase Insect」
They all pointed toward a single origin.
High above—
Atop the hive—
Hung a spider, suspended upside down within a vast web.
「Phase Spider」
And it—
Was the source of every rift within the Hive.
...
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