Three days of rapid descent into the deep sea.
Around us, there was absolutely no sunlight, making it almost impossible to see even a step ahead.
Lucia, nestled in Evan’s arms, was shaking uncontrollably.
The deeper we went, the lower the water temperature dropped exponentially.
Had he not raised the heat of his body with magical power, he would have died of hypothermia before reaching Cordelia.
Thinking this, Lucia clung even tighter to Evan’s body.
Through their skin touching in the cold water, warmth was transmitted.
‘…It must be really cold.’
Evan accepted this without hesitation.
After all, the temperature where they were now was colder than the ocean in the dead of winter, and it continued to drop the deeper they went.
No matter how well one could endure the cold… No, even if one were a demon, being continuously exposed to such temperatures would be tough.
‘I need to warm things up a bit more.’
Evan let his magical power flow out stronger than before, raising his body temperature.
As a result, Lucia’s shivering seemed to ease up a bit.
“Ugh…”
However, the situation was still dire.
They were still far from reaching Cordelia, and the water temperature would continue to drop.
If he used too much magical power to raise their body temperature, he might collapse from magical exhaustion before they ever reached Cordelia.
‘Should I have brought a thermal capsule or something?’
At that moment, as Evan paused for a moment of regret, a streak of light swiftly passed in front of his eyes.
Curious, when he took a closer look, he realized it wasn’t just light—it was fish.
Fish glowing with a red and yellow light, like lava.
Seeing this, Evan quickly lunged to grab a few of the fish.
Startled by the sudden movement, the fish flailed, trying to escape, but he quickly shoved one of the fish into Lucia’s mouth.
“Ugh?!”
With the sudden fishy sensation in her mouth, Lucia tried to spit it out.
But Evan covered her mouth, preventing her from doing so.
In the end, the fish was swallowed down her throat instead of being spat out.
Lucia glared at him as if to ask what he was doing, but soon realized she didn’t feel cold anymore even as she was separated from him.
’Looks like the marine knowledge I heard from Sio came in handy.’
The fish he had just caught was a ‘Magma-nia.’
Named for its glowing body radiating heat, it was reportedly consumed by people when they caught a cold to keep warm.
Seeing that she wasn’t shaking anymore was a relief, indicating it might have worked for Lucia too.
Thinking he would have to feed her the rest when her body temperature dropped again, Evan stored the Magma-nia in a pocket dimension.
Then, he silently gestured to her that they should move on, taking her hand to lead her downward.
Her hand felt warmer than before.
*
Three days passed again.
Evan continued to move downward, catching visible Magma-nia while keeping Lucia close.
At the speed they were going down, they had probably reached about 10,000 meters below sea level.
The pressure from the magical power wrapped around their bodies was beginning to feel burdensome.
‘But we’re almost there now.’
Since the journey had been relatively uneventful, they should arrive at Cordelia in about two more days.
Just as Evan resolved to press on a little more, he suddenly sensed a sharp killing intent surrounding them and quickly turned his body.
Swoosh!
Something skimmed past Lucia’s side.
Blood flowed from the spot where it had brushed against her.
‘What the…?’
Evan quickly glanced around, but he saw nothing.
It could have been due to the darkness where he couldn’t even see a step in front of him, but it also felt strangely suspicious.
Only the prickling killing intent confirmed that something was there.
Swoosh!
Again, something grazed her body.
This time it was her shoulder.
‘If I’m wrapped in magical power strong enough to withstand this pressure and I’m still getting wounded…’
It had to be at least a high-grade level 2 monster.
If they were unlucky, it could even be a level 1 monster.
‘Great.’
Because he had to endure the pressure, he could only use his magical power to protect their bodies. If he engaged in battle now, there would be no magical power left to sustain them.
Especially against an unseen enemy.
‘If I want to avoid a fight, I have to get as far away as possible.’
Evan’s choice was to flee.
He tightened his grip on Lucia’s hand and began to descend as quickly as possible.
[Kirrrrreeee!!!]
Then he heard a bizarre sound, as if something was chasing them.
Though he still sensed no presence, the stabbing intent was a testament to its pursuit.
‘Damn it.’
From the killing intent he felt, the speed of the creature chasing them was clearly faster than their descent.
Evan thought for sure they’d be caught and hesitated for a moment before stopping.
He stood still for just a moment.
Poof!
Something punctured through Lucia’s arm.
She shuddered in pain as her arm was pierced.
At the same time, her grip slackened, and she released Evan’s hand. But he quickly grasped her hand firmly again.
‘It’s definitely right in front of us.’
He could still feel the killing intent, and it wouldn’t want to let go of an injured prey.
Evan shifted Lucia behind him and closed his eyes, waiting silently.
Waiting for the moment it would strike again.
A tense moment of silence passed.
Suddenly, he spun around, stretching his hand forward.
[Kiieee!!!]
Blood sprayed as the transparent monster revealed itself.
Otosha.
A gigantic, deadly creature with eight sharp tentacles, resembling a fish with dozens of shark-like teeth—it was a low-grade level 1 monster.
Had he not managed to block the attack just now, its tentacle would have pierced Lucia’s heart.
Evan grimaced at that thought and, seizing the chance, ripped into the monster’s insides with the hand that pierced its body.
[Kirrrreeee…!!!]
An otherworldly groan erupted from Otosha as it attempted to retaliate, thrusting its tentacles toward Evan’s body.
But Evan was faster.
He grasped Otosha’s neck and twisted it violently.
Fortunately, Otosha couldn’t retaliate afterward.
It sank, a lifeless body with a broken neck.
‘Lucia…’
After ensuring the monster was truly dead, Evan immediately checked Lucia’s wound.
It wasn’t a life-threatening injury at present, but since it was quite deep, it could lead to excessive bleeding if not treated soon.
He quickly used his magical power to apply pressure on the wound, trying to staunch the bleeding.
Lucia flinched slightly in pain.
But this was merely first aid.
It was just a temporary measure to buy her a little more time.
To treat her completely, they had to reach Cordelia.
‘…I guess there’s no choice.’
While it was a risky move, it was still better than letting Lucia die, so Evan decided to go for it.
‘I’ll use my magical power to get there.’
He wrapped his arm firmly around Lucia’s waist and took off, moving downward with all his might.
He moved like a cannonball being fired.
The two of them headed deeper into the abyss.
*
Three hours had passed since he began moving with Lucia.
Evan gradually felt his consciousness fading.
His body was losing strength, and his vision was becoming increasingly dark.
‘Am I already nearing magical exhaustion…?’
Though he had rushed due to using his magical power, they still had a way to go before reaching Cordelia.
If he tried to continue without using any magical power to avoid the exhaustion, the pressure of the sea would crush his body in under a minute.
But if he used more power now, he would clearly end up exhausted and sink.
He considered asking Lucia for help, but her condition was looking grim.
It was genuinely the worst situation, where death loomed from any angle.
In the end, Evan bit his lip and pressed ahead with what little magical power he had left.
‘Just a bit more…’
If he could hold on to consciousness a while longer.
If he could push forward just a bit further…
He’d reach Cordelia.
Then he could get Lucia treated…
‘I can also recover my magical power…’
But contrary to his mind, his consciousness kept flickering out.
His vision was darker than before, and drowsiness began to creep in.
Evan’s movements began to slow.
His eyes gradually closed, just as he was about to stop entirely.
“Haah…!”
Evan felt a significant amount of magical power flow into his body.
At the same moment, his flickering consciousness returned to normal.
Since he had no means to recover magical power immediately, he wondered what was happening, and then he noticed Lucia before him, providing him with energy.
Though giving magical power was quite taxing on her body, she pressed on without showing any signs of it.
‘Lucia…’
As Evan quietly watched her, Lucia smiled softly and mouthed words.
– I’m fine. Evan.
The words continued.
– I have a little magical power left, so hurry and head to Cordelia.
Seeing her reassuring words, Evan nodded.
He then used the magical power she provided and started moving forward again.
He still held her tightly, his grip unwavering.
