Chương 59: Chapter 52 - It's just ectoplasm

The arch's white light didn't feel like a portal. More like an elevator with extra effects, because the floor took me down on a descending platform. The asteroid swallowed me. The platform took me inside a hollowed-out rock the size of a stadium. Someone had mined it out generations ago and left the skeleton behind. Gantries, catwalks, dead floodlights, a crane hanging from the ceiling like a hanged man. Pockets of blue-tinted artificial atmosphere glowed here and there, stitched together by walkways.

Between them, nothing. The far wall of the asteroid was simply missing. The chamber opened into raw space with only a thin energy barrier that maintained the atmosphere inside the asteroid. Two more asteroid shards drifted beyond, connected to mine by tether lines. And each of them had a missing wall, replaced with a thin, translucent barrier. Ah, crap. Golden text unfolded in front of me. [TRIAL OF ASCENSION — THE THREE IGNITIONS] [Objective: Ignite all three beacon pyres within the same sixty seconds.] [Conditions: The entrant shall rely solely on their own person, possessions, and tools. External aid is prohibited, punishable by disqualification, spiritual forfeiture, and applicable surcharges.] [Time limit: None] [Oxygen remaining: 32 minutes] How sweet of them. No time limit, but limited oxygen. Whoever set this trial up must have felt extra funny. Surcharges. Even the trial billed extra. I spotted the first pyre easily. A brazier of pale stone on a raised platform across the chamber, cold and dark.

The second sat on the nearest drifting shard, maybe four hundred meters of vacuum away. The third shard was further out, turning slowly, its pyre winking in and out of view. Anyway, three pyres within sixty seconds on three asteroids weren't happening with one person. This trial was built for a party. A fire mage on each rock, a countdown, applause. For a solo entrant, it was built to be impossible, which was presumably what the five-silver waiver was pricing in.

Might as well get paid extra when the climber isn't returning. Well, anyway, time to do the trial. I pulled on my power. Astarielle! She burst into existence in crimson flame, took one look around, and wrinkled her nose.

"It smells like an abandoned mine in here."

"We've got another trial to do." I gestured at the golden text.

"Can you see that?"

"Yep." She read it. Her lips curled, slow and predatory.

"Own person, possessions, and tools. So, your closest, dearest, most invaluable companion either counts as a tool, or you aren't passing the trial."

"Pretty much. It should work, though."

"By precedent on the earlier floors, I never counted as a participant." She spread her hands.

"Frankly, it's insulting, and I'll be billing you for emotional damages, but it should be fine." The text didn't flash red. Didn't disqualify me. Didn't do anything. Silence as acceptance. My favorite legal doctrine. With a focused thought, I summoned Ashy and Yushi. Ashy popped in mid-stretch, saw the open wall of stars, and gasped.

"Space! Are we in space? Can I fly in space? That'll be awesome!"

"You're about to find out." I pointed at the far shard, the spinning one.

"Yushi, that rock. There's a stone brazier on it. Get inside the rock, wait at the pyre, and when I give the word, light it." Yushi drifted a lazy circle around me, fan over her face.

"Ku ku ku... Damian-sama sends poor Yushi through solid stone, across the void, all alone. Yushi has read this manga. This is how horror arcs start. And they never end well for the heroine." Astarielle snorted.

"You aren't the heroine here."

"They never end well for the schoolgirl either."

"Yep!" Ashy giggled.

"The schoolgirl always dies the most horrific death. Couldn't happen to a nicer person among us, though. Good luck!" I cleared my throat.

"Anyway, as the residual ghost, you are the horror arc here, Yushi."

"Flatterer." She spun around a bit, wind howling out of nowhere. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I spun toward Ashy.

"You fly to the other rock. Astarielle and I will handle this chamber." Astarielle's eyes narrowed.

"So, I only get the local brazier duty?"

"You get the pyre because you're the only one who can hold this chamber if something crawls out of the walls."

"Right!" Ashy said.

"Sure! Just how do I put it on fire? Like, I don't have any fire spells. I have no spells!" Hmph. Well, that was a problem. I glanced at the others. Yushi giggled.

"I can save poor Ashy-chan. My ectoplasm is flammable, so I can cover her in it, then Astarielle-san can set her on fire, and then Ashy-chan can light up the pyre." Astarielle pointedly cleared her throat.

"Astarielle- sama," Yushi corrected herself.

"Ehm," Ashy glanced at me with big, pleading eyes.

"That cannot be sanitary. Or safe. Or reasonable."

"But it will work," I said.

"Want the leather cap for damage reduction?"

"No," she snapped.

"This is already a nightmare. No need to make it worse."

"All right." I motioned at the asteroids ahead.

"Everyone, get into position." With a giggle, Yushi faded. Ashy turned into the sword, switched to an aluminium base, and bolted out. She flew through the barrier, aiming toward her asteroid. Void moths flew out from my Asteroid's side. Oh, of course, there were enemies. I glanced at Astarielle.

"Support her." Ashy spun mid-nothing, slashing at a moth. She cut it, but didn't kill it. Astarielle charged six crimson fireballs and fired them at the moths. They flew into space through the shield. The fires lost most of their light. They hit the moths, exploding into tiny fire bursts. The cold of space really didn't help the fire burn. Nor did the lack of oxygen. As the moths tried to swarm around Ashy, she spun like a saw blade. She cut through one moth, but the others got onto her.

Astarielle gathered energy for another spell. She stepped forward, releasing a thick, crimson lightning. The lighting hit one moth, burned it, and jumped onto others. Ashy used that opportunity, stabbing one moth, slashing another across the neck. Astarielle channeled the lightning, shocking the moths. Ashy cut them all, did a victory spin, and flew to the asteroid. No more moths impeded her way. She got behind the barrier, flew behind the corner, and then returned to the barrier's edge. Yushi appeared behind her.

I couldn't see details over the distance, but it looked like Ashy jumped in her skin, and Yushi giggled. After a bit of spinning, Ashy stayed still. Yushi floated above her, bent over, and started vomiting ectoplasm all over Ashy. Even Astarielle covered her mouth.

"Disgusting." Oh, yeah. Ectoplasm covered Ashy over the entire blade. With a giggle, Yushi vanished. After a moment, she appeared in her asteroid. With a wave of her hand, she made a rock float to her. She vomited ectoplasm over the stone and then waved at us. I motioned at Astarielle.

"Light them up."

"You should tell that to me more often." She formed three fireballs, intensified them, and fired them. One curved to our brazier. It hit straight, setting it ablaze. The other two nearly vanished in space, but made it through to the asteroids, and hit the rock and Ashy, lighting them up both on fire. Yushi and Ashy both flew inside their asteroids. Golden text floated in front of me.

[TRIAL OF ASCENSION — CLEARED] [ENEMY DEFEATED — VOID MOTH (x11)] [Drops: Void Moth Wing Membrane (Uncommon) (x4), Moth Void Dust Sac (Common) (x7), 7 silver, 30 copper] [Access granted: FLOOR 32] Huh? That was… it? I summoned the lantern of eternal suffering. It drew in the souls, and the ones from space too. Still just a few souls. Did they… make the trial intentionally easy, so they could select the climbers they wanted to enter? This was a test of preparation, not of strength or any ability.

Come to think of it, the floor 27 tests were random, so they could be adjusted to not have a fight. Floor 28 test had multiple stages, with the final one being a fight, but it wasn't all that difficult. One could probably get around it through explosives if the stages weren't random, which they might have been. And this stage required preparation, again.

I didn't know the trials of floors 29 and 30, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were similar, either preparation-based or with random stages, so Paradise could get a climber they wanted to get to their floor there with just preparation. A floor in the center of the chamber opened, revealing a staircase. Ashy flew back, still a bit burning. She spun and floated to me.

"I need to file a complaint!" A giggle echoed around us. I raised an eyebrow.

"About?"

"About Yushi. She could have totally vomited on a rock in my asteroid too, and then I could have tossed it into the pyre as she did. The whole vomiting on me was absolutely unnecessary! And she knew!" Yushi giggled.

"But it was most entertaining." Astarielle, snorting, pointed with her hand down. That meant don't unsummon me. I unsummoned Ashy and Yushi.

"What is it?"

"You asked me to find out about Mephistopheles. Since you have barely been summoning me lately, much less on Earth to continue my research, I actually did." She crossed her arms.

"I asked around. I talked to every succubus known for spreading gossip, and believe me, there are many. Nobody knows of him. I met two of his assistants, and they've had nothing either." Hmph.

"I asked around his harem, too. Normally, I wouldn't ever be able to get close, but he hasn't been around in so long that the harem concubines are free to roam around. Nobody's seen him in almost a year." I frowned.

"Isn't he pretty high up in Hell's hierarchy?"

"That's the thing. He's an unaffiliated high demon. Not at the level of a demon princess, but still, he's been around for at least five hundred years. He's no weakling." She started pacing, heels clicking on ancient stone.

"Word is he left on a hunt. He went looking for interesting souls. That's normal for him. It's practically his hobby. Except that he never spends more than a couple of weeks away from his harem. I mean, why have a harem if you don't use it, right? But there hasn't been any contact in eleven months."

"That is suspicious. Any hints of him flying toward the tower?"

"Well, spiritually speaking, the tower's on Earth, and one always hunts for souls around Earth. How old is the Mefista name?" she asked.

"Because naming an artificial goddess like that is like naming a sausage after the pig." Yes. I got that too.

"There's nothing about Mephistopheles in the pamphlet page I gave you, though."

"There might." She shrugged.

"We don't have much context for it. But it's suspicious. I wouldn't be surprised if he was running the show behind Paradise." That was an option.

"Thanks. That's great work." She formed a massive, satisfied smile.

"Much appreciated, Master. Now, is there any way you could reward your lowly servant?" She bowed a touch mockingly, making sure the cleavage lined just right.

"I'll see about that." I unsummoned her. She vanished with a click of her tongue. Not with Cassandra coming around. I walked toward the exit. Time to see Paradise's floor.