How much time had passed?
When I finally came to my senses, Esther was looking down at me with a face that looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
["Ah, you're alive."]
"…You almost seem disappointed I didn't die?"
Esther feigned ignorance.
["No way, right? If you die, I die too."]
"Hmph..."
Despite what she said, her face somehow looked like she regretted it...
Well, that wasn't the important part.
"Hmm…"
I slowly looked around.
A wilderness stretched in every direction.
Ruins scattered here and there.
Even traces where the earth looked like it had been turned inside out.
All of it—an all-too-familiar scene to me.
This was the very location where the Earth Branch once stood, and also where the battle with Ouroboros had taken place.
'So, I've returned.'
That strange spiritual realm I'd once been dragged into.
The moment I came into contact with an unidentified object stored by the Church of Morte, I'd been pulled back into that place once again.
'Dragged in again.'
To be honest, the experience of being helplessly pulled somewhere wasn't pleasant, no matter what I might gain from it.
Still, if there was one bit of good news, it was that unlike before, I now had a better idea of what might have caused me to get drawn into that mental world.
The catalyst: An object held by the Church of Morte.
The cause: Carl Marcus's unique bloodline.
And in addition, I'd obtained a clue about the nature of that mental world, something I'd never known before.
'It definitely said Watcher.'
I recalled the alert window I'd seen just before I lost consciousness.
Where before there had been ■■■■ obscuring the name, now it clearly displayed "Watcher."
'Watcher, huh...'
Now that I think about it, I know nothing about the Watcher.
No, I doubt any The Defense player knows anything about it either.
That's how alien the Watcher is to this world.
'…Well, I suppose that makes sense.'
To meet the Watcher, you must satisfy two conditions: contact between the object from the Church of Morte and Carl Marcus's unique bloodline.
Even I had never seen Carl Marcus before, so it was nearly impossible anyone else had met both conditions.
Even if some player had by chance played as Carl Marcus, without the overpowered cheat of unlimited ammo, they'd never survive that brutal beginning.
'I almost died too, honestly.'
As that memory floated to the surface, I was struck again by just how much time had passed.
It felt like only yesterday that I was nearly killed running from the Skull Hound...
'Come to think of it, the Skull Hound's true identity was Janus, right?'
Though our first meeting wasn't exactly pleasant, I had spent a long time with Janus in many ways.
["What are you thinking about so hard?"]
"Just… a bunch of stuff."
["Like what?"]
"Nothing special."
["Hmph. Well, I'll let it slide then."]
"It's not about letting it slide. It is nothing special."
["Yes yes."]
One thing was certain, no matter how much we bickered.
Carl Marcus's bloodline, the Church of Morte, the Great Spirit, and the Great Will were undeniably vital clues to clearing The Defense.
Maybe I hadn't cleared the game yet precisely because I'd overlooked the secrets related to the Church of Morte.
'And now, even the Watcher.'
There was a time when I thought I knew almost everything about this world.
But having lived through it, I realized I still knew so very little.
'Well… no need to get impatient.'
All I could do was give it my all.
That was all that mattered.
* * *
'That aside...'
Before leaving this place, there was one more thing I needed to check.
Along with the [Rift Space] I'd acquired before, I had now obtained a new "rift" ability.
'Might as well try it out.'
As the saying goes, seeing is believing. The best way to understand this new ability was to use it directly.
[Activating 'Rift Shift'.]
How should I describe it… it felt profoundly bizarre.
My surroundings were momentarily drained of all color, and then shifted into a familiar landscape in an instant.
If I had to put it into words, it felt like I had passed through something briefly.
["What… was that just now?"]
Esther spoke with a sour expression.
Only then did I realize that while I was still seeing the same scenery, I had actually moved quite a distance.
Roughly 10 meters, by my estimate.
'Did I just use a shortcut through the [Rift Space] to move a long distance?'
To be sure, I felt the need to use the ability once more.
For the experiment, I left a mark on the ground where I stood.
'This time, let's focus… and push the travel distance to the max.'
No matter how great an ability is, it's useless if you can't control it.
Testing how much control I had over this power was essential.
[Activating 'Rift Shift'.]
Again, my vision lost color—but only for a split second.
It didn't even last 0.1 seconds.
'Distance from the marked point… around 20 meters, I think.'
In less than 0.1 seconds, I'd traveled 20 meters.
The mechanism felt similar to warp technology in sci-fi films.
'…This is broken.'
Teleportation.
Or blink.
[Rift Shift] could very well be called either.
["Did you just cross space itself?"]
"Looks like it?"
["That's ridiculous… how did you even do that?"]
"Think of it as a similar ability to this."
As I thrust my hand into the [Rift Space], Esther's face turned pale.
["…You know, it feels really weird every time you open that space."]
"Really?"
When I widened the rift entrance even more on purpose, Esther's face became quite a sight to behold.
["…You're twisted."]
Ignoring whatever Esther was saying, I kept working.
After testing it a few more times, I confirmed the max range for [Rift Shift] was about 20 meters in any direction.
Not too short, not insanely long, but considering how useful that 20 meters could be in combat or emergencies, it was an incredible ability.
'Cooldown time… seems to be around 10 seconds.'
It wasn't especially short or long.
If the cooldown had been shorter, I could've skipped using Horus altogether and just chain-shifted to cover huge distances—but that didn't seem viable.
'Still, it's an insanely strong skill.'
Unfortunately, I couldn't use [Rift Shift] to move with Horus.
Given that my clothes and gear moved with me, it looked like there was some kind of size restriction on the space I passed through during the shift.
Not that I was too worried about it.
'Well, the [Rift Space] entrance grew over time too, so this one probably will too.'
Even if it didn't, [Rift Shift] was already absurdly powerful on its own.
'With that confirmed… time to move.'
By hunting Ouroboros, one of the stage bosses, I had forcibly cleared the stage that was supposed to happen later.
But the demonic beasts and monsters that had gathered for the wave wouldn't just vanish.
Soon, they'd return as a new disaster called a "multi-wave" in Ark.
'But multi-waves have longer grace periods before starting compared to regular waves.'
Moreover, this particular multi-wave was likely to be the largest one yet.
That's why I had to make the most of this golden window of opportunity.
'Time to finish the Silk Road.'
I grasped Horus's bone reins.
There was still a lot to do.
* * *
The clearing of Church of Morte branches continued under the name of paving the way for the Silk Road.
After erasing the Earth Branch, which was basically Church of Morte's central base in Ark's western region, wiping out the remaining branches was a breeze.
No complex strategy required.
As always, I simply climbed onto Horus, pulled out the NOA-31 Anti-Behemoth Gatling Gun and CRN-842 Hemp Rocket Launcher, and bombed every visible branch to oblivion.
BOOM────!
KRAAAASH!
Horus flew through the rising flames and smoke.
Church of Morte tried desperately to resist the bombardment, but there was no stopping the onslaught from the sky.
That's why anti-air systems are critical in war.
'Almost done now.'
With this, I had crossed the Rubicon with Church of Morte.
The final showdown—one that would only end with the death of either me or the Church—had officially begun.
'I do need to learn more about the Great Spirit, but… it can't be helped.'
No matter what secrets Church of Morte might hold, right now, what mattered most to me was the Ark and the Silk Road.
[You have destroyed multiple Church of Morte branches in succession!]
[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]
[Your Honor stat has increased.]
[11 → 12]
It always felt good to raise the Honor stat.
Though it was hard to raise, each point was absurdly effective thanks to the [Path of the Hero] trait.
'Since it boosts all stats at once.'
Of course, there was a definite risk to it.
If I lost Honor or had it drop for any reason, all my boosted stats would drop accordingly.
That was why I couldn't afford to be exposed as a defector inside Ark.
'Well, not just for the stats. I'd be screwed anyway if I got found out.'
Sure, I might be able to protect Ark from the outside, but loitering near it while marked as an enemy would be pure suicide.
I did belong to the Shadows, a supra-legal group that could move freely in and out of Ark, but there was no reason to burn my clean identity.
'That's a problem for later...'
By now, the western Church of Morte branches in Ark were almost completely cleared.
In other words, the western path was more or less finished.
'This should be enough for trade with Sandstorm Caravan and other forces.'
When trading, both the Sandstorm Caravan and Ark would bring their own guards, so monsters weren't a huge concern.
'Then… guess it's time to go.'
With the western route of Ark now complete, it was obvious who I had to meet next.
'The Sandstorm Caravan.'
Time to meet one of the most important business partners for the Silk Road.