Thanks to Chronos and the others, we effortlessly passed through the magnificent garden and successfully infiltrated the imperial castle.

Of course, we eliminated the guards at the castle gate. I had braced myself for more soldiers to swarm us inside, but that concern proved unnecessary. Instead, I felt disgusted by the utterly tasteless atmosphere of the interior.

“The inside of the castle is even more repulsive.”

The lighting was minimal, as if deliberately symbolizing "shadow." The furnishings that should have adorned the interior were all unified in black and gray. A jet-black carpet, gray vases, unfamiliar dark purple flowers, and even the lights burned with an eerie blue flame—everything about it was unappealing.

“This way.”

As I carefully surveyed my surroundings, Levia pointed in a direction. Naturally, we relied on her knowledge to navigate the castle.

Contrary to the commotion outside, the castle interior was eerily silent. Despite our previous caution, there was not a single soul in sight. The unnatural emptiness was unsettling, but for now, we followed Levia’s lead.

Given the disturbances at the gate and garden, our infiltration should have already been exposed. Yet, no soldiers appeared as we advanced. Passing through the grand entrance and ascending a staircase, we emerged into an extensive corridor, so long that we couldn’t see its end.

“Still no one here…”

“This doesn’t feel right.”

I agreed with the Hero’s furrowed-brow remark. Enemies could burst from the doors lining the corridor at any moment. We proceeded cautiously, ready for an ambush, but with each step, the lack of confrontation left us increasingly uneasy.

—Perhaps that damn lizard intended this all along.

Just by keeping us on edge, he was already ensnaring us in his trap. …I had to change my mindset.

—If they’re not coming out, then we’ll just do as we please.

Even if we were ambushed, we could handle it. Our stamina was still sufficient.

…

Swiftly but silently, we advanced through the castle. No one spoke during our march.

Our destination was the throne room—the very symbol of Shade End, where past emperors had ruled. That damn lizard was most likely there. Only Levia knew the precise route.

Ideally, we would have studied the castle’s layout before executing this mission. However, its structure was far more intricate than expected, and merely glancing at a floor plan once or twice was not enough to grasp its entirety. The biggest risk in this situation was losing Levia or having her incapacitated. To prevent that, we surrounded her in a protective formation.

But then, an anomaly occurred.

“…Huh?”

It happened about ten minutes after we had passed through corridors, turns, and halls before entering yet another hallway. Levia suddenly stopped, her voice filled with confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

“Something’s not right. We were moving forward, but suddenly… we’ve gone back.”

“Gone back?”

I questioned her, and she hesitantly nodded. That response made me reevaluate my surroundings.

To be honest, the scenery had been so monotonous that I had already wondered, “Aren’t we just walking the same path over and over?” before Levia even voiced her concern. But finding proof of that was another matter.

“What about you two?”

“…”

Both Freesia and Weiss simply shook their heads. They hadn’t noticed anything either. However, the one who had sensed the anomaly—Levia—was now convinced of it.

“There should have been a spiral staircase leading upward past that hall. But instead… Did we take a wrong turn somewhere? No, that can’t be. I distinctly recognized the second turn as our landmark, and yet—”

Levia’s growing confusion and frustration were evident. Muttering to herself like a person in a trance, she repeatedly went over the route in an attempt to reassure herself.

The sensation that only she could perceive was shaking her confidence. Then, snapping out of it, she turned to us, her face on the verge of tears.

“I-I’m sorry! I must have made a mistake somewhere—”

“Calm down, Levia.”

I stopped her and met her deep purple eyes, speaking firmly.

“Not one of us doubts your judgment. We left the responsibility of memorizing the path entirely to you. We respect and trust your decisions.”

“Cl-Clay…”

We were in a castle inhabited by a transcendent being that loomed over the world—a place entirely under his control. Strange occurrences were to be expected. We never assumed reaching him would be easy. That was precisely why, when faced with unexpected circumstances, we had to remain composed.

“Take your time. Let’s unravel this problem one step at a time. You said the path ‘returned,’ right? Are you sure about that?”

"Y-Yes."

"Specifically, how far back were we sent?"

"To the corridor we saw immediately after climbing the stairs leading upward."

"Hmm. And yet, the staircase that should have been behind us, leading to the lower floor, is gone…"

We had advanced quite far, yet now we were back at the starting point. Even though the exact point we returned to was clear, the staircase that should have been there just moments ago had disappeared. What this meant was…

────Had we been unknowingly guided to retrace our steps? No, if that were the case, there should have been more signs. Besides, the magic of the shadow dragon is too dense in this castle for us to notice something like that…

As I organized my thoughts, a strange sense of unease settled in.

Right, the interior of this place is controlled by that damn lizard’s shadow and magic. If it’s subtly distorting our senses without us realizing it…

"So in short, we’re dealing with perception obstruction and sensory paralysis caused by high-density magic…"

This type of specialized effect is commonly referred to as—

"Looks like that damn lizard has deployed barriers all over this castle."

"Then…"

Hearing my conclusion, Freesia’s face stiffened as if she had come to the same realization. I nodded.

"Yeah, unless we do something about this barrier, we’ll keep walking in circles."

"No way…"

Levia’s face turned pale with despair, but I shook my head—there was no need to worry.

Barrier techniques generally have key focal points, and if even one of those cores is destroyed, the entire effect is nullified. It’s troublesome to get caught inside one, but once the cause is identified, there are plenty of ways to counter it.

If we locate an area where the density of that damn lizard’s shadow and magic is strongest and crush the core that must be hidden there, the barrier will collapse easily. However, finding it is the hard part—the barrier’s perception obstruction is a major hurdle. are fragile by design and easily destroyed once discovered, so of course, they come with measures to conceal their cores. A barrier like this one, imbued with such effects, is particularly troublesome. The core itself is hidden from perception.

Even so, this wasn’t a problem.

"Once the trick is revealed, there are countless ways to deal with it────"

For example, if we could simply bypass the effects of the barrier and leap through space itself, we could reach our destination directly.

I pulled out a glass vial from my pocket. Inside was a dark red liquid with a slight black tint—blood.

"…!!"

Freesia and the others gasped, instantly recognizing what it was.

Before the Dragon Slayer War began, on the day I asked them to fight alongside me, I had obtained their consent and preemptively collected five vials of blood. Originally, this blood was meant to be used in our confrontation with the shadow dragon, one of our trump cards for this war.

"Hah────"

I decided to use one of them now.

────I had hoped to save it a bit longer, but this is the right moment.

We could search the castle blindly and might eventually stumble upon the barrier core. But there was no guarantee, and it was impossible to predict how much time it would take. Our goal is to defeat the shadow dragon, but ultimately, that’s just a means to end this pointless battle as quickly as possible. Given the situation, this was the most reliable choice.

"Ngh────!!"

Uncorking the vial, I pressed it to my lips and downed it in one go. The thick, metallic liquid slid down my throat, filling me with an indescribable mixture of pleasure and unease.

A deep thirst was quenched, bringing a sense of fulfillment. But at the same time, my entire body, every cell, craved more, an uncontrollable urge rising within me. I forced myself to suppress the burning desire, taking a deep breath to regain control. And with that, a new magic awakened within me.

"Haa… haa… haa…!!"

This was the hereditary magic passed down through the Chronostaria bloodline────Flash Magic. As if it were second nature, I instinctively understood how to use it.

────First, locate the barrier core. Among the dense magic, where shadows are concentrated even further… something faintly bubbling up, like a spring…

"────There."

Sharpening my senses, I found the core almost immediately. With that, all obstacles were gone.

Now, I just needed to pinpoint its exact location, mark the coordinates with my magic, and—

"Your Highness, I’ll be borrowing your magic."

All that was left was to forcibly leap through space itself.

A sudden feeling of weightlessness hit me. My vision swayed for an instant. And in the next moment, I was standing before a magic stone overflowing with unnatural energy and shadow.

Without hesitation, I struck, shattering it instantly. The oppressive magic and shadow that had ruled the space vanished in an instant.

Just like that, the barrier core was destroyed.