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My gaze was fixed on the portrait hanging in the room.

Daisy.

I had first met her as a staff member at the Red Bear Inn, and she was the leader of a terrorist organization called The Future of the Empire, but her true identity was the princess of the Ionia Kingdom.

Being in the room of someone who had died in my arms created an indescribable feeling.

I looked at the portrait with a bitter expression.

Indeed, she bore a striking resemblance.

Fifteen years had passed since the fall of the Ionia Kingdom, so this portrait must have been painted before that.

The image of the young girl in the portrait looked quite similar to Ella, except for the color of her eyes.

However, the Ella I remembered didn’t look this calm, nor was she adorned in such a lavish dress.

Crucially, beneath the portrait, a name was inscribed in small letters. Daisy of Ionia.

It seemed that Daisy was indeed her real name. Since her homeland had already fallen, perhaps she decided to drop her surname.

Remembering someone who is no longer here always stirs complex feelings.

I didn’t want to stay here any longer. My mind was too cluttered; it would surely interfere with my need for rest.

Just as I was about to leave for another room, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘Now that I think about it…’

There was a smell of blood permeating all over the palace, yet this room alone was remarkably clean.

While other rooms showed clear signs of barricades erected to fend off the undead, Daisy’s room seemed untouched, as if it had never been attacked, even showing signs of a hasty escape.

Did she have an opportunity to leave the palace before the attack?

If so, there was a high probability that something remained here.

I took my instincts seriously and began to search Daisy’s room carefully, hoping to uncover information about the circumstances from fifteen years ago.

However, it seemed she wasn’t the type to keep a diary, as I couldn’t find any records that provided insight.

Instead, I found a ring in a drawer.

It was an ornate signet ring engraved with the emblem of the Ionia royal family, tucked away in a corner, deep inside a nearly empty jewelry box—so deep that it could be easily overlooked.

In terms of size, it was just right for a child’s finger.

Given the context, the owner of this ring must be Daisy.

Had she not been able to take her signet ring in such a desperate situation? By the time she realized it, the royal palace had already been captured, so it would have been impossible for her to come back and retrieve it.

This was a vital object that proved her status as a direct descendant of the Ionia royal family. Perhaps Daisy had desperately sought this ring in her lifetime, but… sadly, I had no need for it.

Trying to suppress my disappointment, I was about to place the ring back where I found it when—

Fwoosh-!

Suddenly, a bright light began to emanate from the ring.

“What…!?”

Instinctively, I threw the ring aside, bracing for a trap or an explosion.

However, the ring that fell to the ground merely glowed softly; nothing else seemed to happen.

Why is it shining all of a sudden?

The moment I cautiously picked up the ring, I felt a powerful magical energy connecting it to somewhere entirely different.

That was when I realized. This signet ring was a guide to a hidden dimension.

But knowing the direction and location alone wouldn’t be enough. The crucial part was the power to open the door.

For the royal family of Ionia, that wouldn’t have been a problem. Their bloodline contained the ability to easily open doors to other dimensions.

However, opening dimensions wasn’t something only the Ionia royalty could do. With sufficient power, even an ordinary person could create a dimensional door.

With a swish—

I drew Ezetus from thin air.

The power of Ezetus to cut through the nonexistent. Normally, just with Ezetus alone, it would have been quite challenging, but now, connected to this ring leading to a hidden dimension, I could manage.

Rustle—

Slice!

I succeeded.

I opened a dimensional door leading to the hidden realm. It was possible because the signet ring indicated the location.

But what lay beyond remained a mystery. Still, considering it was a place accessible only to members of the royal family, it likely wouldn’t be overly dangerous. Even if some danger existed, it didn’t matter to me.

Without hesitation, I stepped through the dimensional door.

With a sensation of being pulled in, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a vast mountain of gold.

“…Is this a treasure vault?”

Suddenly, I recalled the task Elizabeth had entrusted to me.

The capital of Ionia, Karia, had fallen overnight, and the undead were only interested in the flesh of humans, showing no regard for the treasures they hoarded.

And since no one, including the S-rank adventurers, had reached the royal palace until now, there was still a high probability that many riches remained in the royal treasury.

Elizabeth had explained that the treasures piled up there would undoubtedly aid in defending the city.

Yet, try as I might, I couldn’t find any place that resembled a treasure vault within the palace.

‘At this rate, it’s no wonder I couldn’t find it.’

The power that flowed in the bloodline of Ionia connected to another dimension. Having such power, they could link the treasure vault to a different dimension from the start. Then only the members of the royal family could access the vault, and there would be no need to worry about it being taken.

Glimmering jewels and gold filled the surroundings, but my gaze passed over them dispassionately.

This was the treasure vault that once served as the national treasury of a kingdom. If I were to take the treasures from here, I would become a wealthy person comparable to a king, but I had no interest in such things.

From the very beginning, my focus was on Ella and the Undying Legion Commander.

This was a hidden space that could only be accessed with the royal signet ring. Perhaps there was a clue about Ella hidden here.

Carrying that expectation, I glanced around the interior of the treasure vault while moving deeper inside.

The vault didn’t just contain gold coins. As I went further in, there were various scrolls, magical artifacts, and precious swords and expensive magical materials that I had only heard about from rumors.

As I nonchalantly passed by those things and moved further in, I finally reached the end of the treasure vault.

“……”

There stood a shabby and insignificant iron door. It didn’t match at all with the grand and splendid treasure vault, and instead evoked a sense of unease with its foreign appearance.

Contrary to its appearance, the iron door was protected by a remarkably powerful barrier.

If it had remained this strong even after many years since the kingdom’s fall, it was easy to infer that the wizard who cast this barrier was most skilled.

Something must be inside. I could think of nothing else.

However, no matter how sturdy the barrier was, it could be easily cut through by Ezetus’s blade.

With Ezetus, I tore through the barrier in a single motion, and the moment I stepped inside through the door—

A storm of intense dark energy engulfed me.

“Ugh…!?”

This place was of a different dimension. I could only describe it that way.

With such power and concentration, and immense pressure…!

The exotic magic from another dimension filled this place. It felt reminiscent of when Daisy had opened the door to the Dark Realm in the capital. But in terms of scale, it was incomparable.

At that time, it was just a door that had opened, but now this was already another dimension…!

[Ahhh! Help me!!]

[How unfair! It’s so unjust!]

[I don’t want to die! Why must I be the one to die?]

[I want to live! I want to live more!!]

A bone-chilling cold seeped deep into my bones.

It wasn’t just the low temperature. The vengeful spirits of the dead and the aura of death were relentlessly leading the living toward death.

A phrase from Lewelin flashed through my mind.

‘The Undying Legion Commander must have used that girl Ella to open the door to the underworld. From there, he summoned the legion of the undead.’

The door to the underworld.

If there was a living hell connected to the underworld, this must surely be it.

My heart began to race wildly. An intense instinct surged in my mind, and I impulsively stepped forward.

Just as one cannot slice through a waterfall, there was no point in attempting to cut through the storm of dark energy surrounding me with Ezetus.

The only option was to endure and press on.

I pushed forward, bracing myself against the swirling storm, step by step, little by little.

This place was already the underworld, and for the living to linger in the realm of the dead meant coming closer to death. It didn’t matter how strong one was; it was simply the way of the world.

With each step I took, my body grew closer to death, gradually chilling.

But the more that happened, the more fiercely my heart thundered.

Cutting through the dark energy and forging ahead, endlessly onward.

At one moment.

I halted my steps.

“I found it.”

Leaving behind the wide-open door to the underworld.

Before me was someone lying silently, their eyes closed as if they had fallen into a deep slumber, encased in icy crystals.

Not knowing what to say to you.

Not knowing what expression to wear.

“Ella….”

I simply collapsed into stillness right there.

 

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