To the naked eye, the wall looked completely unremarkable as it stretched on, but Shiro’s sense of smell might find something.
"The floor is about two or three hundred meters square, I’d say. It seems quite small compared to how the trunk of the World Tree looks from the outside."
"That said, the interior of a dungeon is often protected by a special barrier. It’s dangerous to be distracted by outward appearances alone, Master," Grimo cautioned.
"Besides, even the sturdiest wall is no better than a scrap of paper before Master Lloyd," Jiriel added. "Just please be careful, as too strong an impact could potentially cause the dungeon itself to vanish."
A dungeon was like a living thing and was surprisingly delicate. While they could repair minor damage quickly, there was a risk of the entire dungeon disappearing if I went too far. I’d accidentally misjudged my strength and destroyed dungeons that never respawned in the past, so I had to be careful.
"Woof! Woof-woof!"
"Oh, did you find something?"
Shiro barked at the wall. It seemed it had detected something on the other side.
"Master Lloyd, if you misjudge your strength, it’ll collapse in an instant," Grimo warned.
"On the other hand, if you're too weak, you won't even make a dent. What do you intend to do?" Jiriel asked.
"Just watch. In a situation like this, I just need to open a small hole that the dungeon won't notice."
Dungeons were alive and would immediately recover from any wounds, but it was possible to hinder that repair by continuously applying damage. Lately, I’d had many opportunities to enter dungeons during my battles with Beal, so I’d been able to test various theories.
As I pressed a blade of mana gathered at my fingertips against the wood, it began to scrape the wall away while rotating at high speed.
"Ooh, he’s actually making a hole in the wall! Since it's a single point of focus, it won't just shatter the whole thing!"
"To open a hole in this hard outer wall with such low-level magic... As expected of Master Lloyd."
"Wind System Middle Magic, 'Wind Bore'—this should allow me to make a path... Hm."
After proceeding for a while, the hardness of the wall increased significantly. This, however, was within my expectations. While suppressing the surrounding sound with magic, I switched to the Wind System High Magic, 'Void Rending Bore'.
The wind blades, their power further increased, began to scrape the wall with a thunderous roar.
"High magic... and on top of that, he’s using 'Sound Isolation' and 'Hermit' at such a high level as if it were second nature. He’s as absurd as ever."
"However, the wall is getting harder the deeper he digs. This hardness is on par with the dungeons Master Lloyd creates himself."
It certainly was quite hard. So this was the World Tree. It was a tough customer.
Once again, the speed of my boring slowed down. It was as if the World Tree was focusing all its strength here, almost as if it had a will of its own. I had no choice; I would have to go a bit stronger.
"■■■"
I manifested Grimo in one hand and used 'Searing Rending Bore' via double casting.
With a roar, the wall began to scream as sparks showered everywhere. As expected, the power was outstanding, and the blades of mixed fire and wind scraped through the wood with ease. It smelled a bit burnt, so I’d better ventilate.
"To think he’d force Master Lloyd to use even double casting... quite impressive."
"Indeed. A normal dungeon would have been blown to smithereens."
I was narrowing the area of effect to prevent that, but as a result, it was a struggle to break through. It was no wonder Sylpha and the others were having a hard time. It would have been easier if I could use slightly stronger magic, but doing so might blow away the World Tree itself, so I had no choice but to chip away steadily. I wasn't very good at this kind of tedious work, though.
"W-Whoa, this is bad, Master Lloyd! The hole we just opened is closing up!"
"It seems its regenerative power has increased! Can we still not break through the wall!?"
Unfortunately, the other side of the wall was still far off, and at this rate, the hole I worked so hard to open would close. But that wasn't a problem.
I activated the Earth System Magic 'Adamantine Canopy', focusing it to coat the inside of the hole. A thin metallic film blocked the regeneration. It probably wouldn't last forever, but it should hold for the short time it would take to finish digging.
"Woooooah! Coating the cross-section with metal to prevent regeneration! You had that trick up your sleeve!?"
"To keep digging while doing that... just how many spells is he using simultaneously...?"
Now then, I’d take this chance to pierce through. I focused my strength and thrust.
With a sound like air escaping, a hole opened on the other side of the wall. Good, good, it looked like I’d succeeded.
"Yeah! We finally opened a hole!"
"But what do you plan to do with such a small hole?"
"As long as I can see the destination, I can use spatial transfer."
Inside the dungeon, there was a special barrier that prevented the use of spatial transfer, but once I could see the other side, that was a different story. No matter how small the hole, I could move through it without issue.
"So, Ren, you stay here. When Sylpha notices, make sure to cover for us."
"Got it. Be careful. It might be useless to say it, but don't do anything reckless."
"Yeah, I’m off."
"Woof!"
Just as I was about to activate spatial transfer while waving my hand, I realized Fiona was grabbing the hem of my clothes. Having already activated the spell formula, both Fiona and I were teleported to the other side of the wall.
"Eeeeh!? Wait, what are you doing, Fiona!? You're not supposed to go over there too!"
"Woof! Woof-woof!"
I could hear Ren’s voice from the other side. This was trouble. I could send her back right now, of course, but...
"Fiona, why did you follow me?"
"...I don't know myself. But I felt like I just had to. Please, take me with you...!"
Her expression was as blank as ever, but Fiona was looking at me with a direct gaze. It wasn't much of an answer, but perhaps the answer to her lost memories lay ahead—that might be it. After pondering for a short while, I let out a sigh.
"...Fine. Come along. But be extremely careful."
"! Thank you... very much."
When she pleaded with me, for the first time, it looked as though a light of will dwelt in her eyes. I wasn't so boorish as to reject that. Besides, having Fiona along might help us figure something out later. There was likely a reason to bring her.
"That's how it is. I'm taking Fiona. I'll leave the rest to you, Ren. Oh, that's right, use this."
Directed at the complaining Ren, I tossed an acorn I took from my pocket through the hole. Using the acorn that rolled onto the other side of the wall as a medium, I activated the Tree System Magic 'Wooden Effigy'.
What were created were wooden dolls that looked exactly like me and Fiona.
"This should help fool them for a bit, right?"
"...I feel like I've been getting roles like this a lot lately."
Sorry, Ren. You’re just the easiest to work with.
"I wonder if it's really okay to use these dolls every single time..." Grimo muttered.
"Well, surprisingly, no one ever notices..." Jiriel replied.
"...Well, I guess we just have to have her do her best."
It was the usual, so Ren should be able to manage somehow. Or rather, I hoped she would. While feeling Ren’s judgmental stare on my back, I headed into the darkness.
"Man, you really saved me, Gizagiza-kun. Your spatial transfer is just so handy."
"Tch. Always using me so conveniently..."
Guisarm clicked his tongue. Despite being subjected to a tremendous amount of pressure, the Holy King wore a nonchalant expression. The two of them, who had been watching from far behind as Lloyd opened the hole and transferred, followed suit as soon as the boy’s presence vanished.
"...Hmph, fine. So, what kind of scheme are you up to this time? Is there something interesting sleeping under this old tree?"
"Ah... I’d love to tell you, but I haven't quite grasped any solid proof yet myself. It's more like I only have clues, but I really don't think it'll turn out to be nothing, you know?"
"As unplanned as ever. Well, I suppose I can't talk, given I'm accompanying such an idiot."
"Isn't that right? Is it really okay for a demon to be so friendly with a mere human? Or maybe you're actually a nice guy deep down?"
"Hahahaha..."
The moment after he laughed loudly, a tremendous shockwave slammed into the area right next to the Holy King. In the spot where the impact struck, a slash mark far exceeding the attacks of Sylpha and the others was carved.
"...Don't get cocky, you Dog of God. If you think you're leading me around with a binding of this level... your life won't be long."
The binding placed on the revived Guisarm via the Magical Song was a relatively light one: he was forbidden from attacking anyone except Lloyd. In truth, bindings imposed on others could have their effectiveness significantly weakened depending on the contractor’s perception.
For example, when you ask someone to go shopping for you, misunderstandings can occur if communication isn't perfect. The shop, the price, the item... since the judgment is ultimately left to the person asked, the contract conditions inevitably become loose.
This was true even between humans. Naturally, it became far more pronounced between different species, and the perception of a demon—an enemy of humanity—was entirely different. A prohibition on attacking through a binding didn't necessarily activate according to the caster's perception, and if there was a large gap in power, the effect of the binding itself weakened. To take an extreme example, it was naturally possible to release a large-scale attack and hurt people by catching them in the crossfire.
Binding a powerful demon like Guisarm was akin to tethering a wild beast with a leash meant for a puppy. Even when shown the fangs of such a beast, the Holy King just gave a silly smile.
"...Hehe, that’s more like it." He gave a lick to the blood dripping from his sliced cheek. "If I couldn't handle a rowdy horse like you, I'd never be able to become God. Feel free to bare your fangs whenever you like. I may be a pacifist, but I can think of at least sixty-six ways to suppress you, Gizagiza, without even fighting."
"...Interesting. Shall we try it?"
"If that's what you want, I'll take you on."
The Holy King whistled, and the resulting shock caused Guisarm’s hair to fly up with a roar. Guisarm looked surprised for an instant, but immediately released black mana from his body, and a tremendous storm erupted in the area. After the two of them stared each other down in the midst of it...
"Just kidding. Hahaha, well, let's just take our time looking around. It's not often you get a chance to explore the inside of the Tree of Genesis, is it?"
"...Very well. I'll let you live for now. As long as you keep me entertained. Kukukuku..."
Reversing their tone, the two of them began to walk off together as if they were on good terms. It seemed neither of them intended to show their true hand just yet. After they left, the wall damaged by the earlier mana storm showed no signs of regenerating.