Reality hit Liohime Kitagami like a truck as a disorienting feeling emerged from the transportation mechanic.

Losing his balance, he kneeled down, trying to keep his head clear and his equilibrium balanced.

--He had arrived at the second layer of the Paradisus Legion, and he was too stunned to speak as he glanced at the ethereal setting around him.

Far off in the distance, he could see a lush scattering amount of trees and foliage that seemed to stop at a mountainous wall that encircled the entire layer, stemming up until it touched the black ceiling that contained sunlight from several gaping holes that dawned onto the ground below.

With only a little bit of illumination present, Liohime was able to notice the stark contrast of this layer with the first.

The second layer was one of mainly rocky terrain, with the Lost Forest in the distance being pretty much the only exception. On his left, he could see the jagged edges of the cliff that he was currently on extending out all the way into an isolated, misty land, and he was unable to recognize anything past that.

Wait, cliff…?

The thought had just struck him, and Liohime looked behind him, with his eyes widening with shock and a tinge of fear.

This isn't funny, he thought. Not funny, at all.

He was at the edge of a rocky cliff, with the Land of Spikes below, a terrain that mostly featured enormous and vast amounts of stone-like spikes that protruded out of the earth. Just beyond that land was the mountainous wall that marked the end of the second layer.

Therefore, he was able to conclude that he was at the outermost end of the second layer.

Although he was a bit scared of heights, and he had noticed the harsh location of where he was at, Liohime took some time to ponder his current location, not noticing the faintest of cracks below his feet.

((

"The entry to the third and final layer is not through the center, as it is blocked off and covered by earth. The second layer is divided into three main areas, and to reach the third layer, you must travel to the opposite end from your starting point in the middle."

))

The client said that the starting point would be from the middle, but here I am, on the edge of the second layer. What's up with that? Anyway, the center of this layer is blocked off by a large column of earth, so that's correct. I'm currently at the edge of the Lost Forest, which means that I'm already at the closest location to the third layer! Sweet!

Now, all he had to do was to most likely venture closely around the edges of the Lost Forest in order to reach the Waterfall of Hell, and he would most likely be the first person to reach the third and final layer of the Paradisus Legion.

"I don't see the Waterfall of Hell here from this side of the edge, but I'm pretty sure that I'll see it soon," he muttered to himself in excitement.

Thus, he took a step forward-

And immediately stopped.

In his front, several feet away, lay the lush bushes that led onto the forest ahead of him.

He could see three figures behind those bushed, stooping down without any movement.

His heart skipped a beat, as the memory of Ophiel talking about some of the threats of this particular place came to mind.

((

"Terrifying rogue Magical Beasts roam the area, and we can't forget the rumors of powerful bands of the only surviving humans there who seek to kill any who enter that region. Do you also really wanna risk your life by heading into a place like the dungeon district, where it is reported that Beasts and humans alive turn insane and kill each other?"

))

Only one of those threats was now looking straight at him, with their presence and facial features mostly hidden by the tall leaves.

He inhaled and exhaled lightly, with quick but short breaths as he also froze for a split second.

Then, a sound from below interrupted his focus, and a horrifying sensation of dread filled him as he noticed what was about to happen as his gaze went downwards.

Crkk.

The edge of the cliff on which he stood on was about to crumble.

A cold chill ran down his spine, but his legs reacted first.

Liohime kicked off the ground, as soon as a loud crack and several rumbles followed.

The land below him disintegrated, and feeling no terrain under his legs, Liohime held his breath.

He wasn't going to make it.

No!!!!

Stretching out both of his hands, he grabbed onto the newly formed edges of the cliff in front of him as the rest of the stone from behind had fallen into the spiky structures below, leaving his body dangling as he held on with all of his might.

Liohime Kitagami was one wrong move away from being impaled, but that death was slowly approaching either way if he were to remain dangling while holding on to the edge.

I gotta…use my upper body strength now…or else I'm dead.

He tried to climb up, but one wrong glance below shuddered him, and his fear kicked in, making his arms weak as he began to panic and struggle.

S-SHIT!! I CAN'T DIE HERE!!

The fear plagued his insides like a black paint that covered a former white canvas. The more he pushed himself upwards, the more he thought about the concept of death, and his strength was slowly being wasted.

It would be only a matter of time until Liohime Kitagami would plunge, and despite the thought of summoning Shihon had emerged, he had no clue where she would be summoned onto. He decided not to risk her safety as well.

However, he thought about the reaction time that Shihon would have, and he began to think about it again, but the situation at hand snapped him back to reality.

It was at that moment that he stopped, and looked upwards, hearing giggling noises and…snorts from above.

He eyed three women with leather caps woven into pig heads, with tribal markings on their cheeks and under their eyes.

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