Nikke, something’s seriously wrong with this evacuation point! Chapter 130 130: Loophole

"Behind the throne?"

Charon lowered his gaze toward the now fully restored Shittim Chest. On its screen sat Rose, whom he hadn't seen properly for quite a while.

Now that the bullet hole had been repaired, the Shittim Chest looked just like an ordinary tablet computer. Rose's existence resembled a desktop assistant, except unlike a Live2D avatar, she looked more like an interactive live-action movie inside the screen.

「What… what is it? Why are you staring at like that?」Rose's expression beca visibly unnatural, her eyes instinctively drifting to the side.

Ever since entering this area, Charon had kept the Shittim Chest inside his system backpack. Even so, Rose had been able to talk to him freely and observe the outside world through so unknown special perspective. But that created one particular situation: she could see everything Charon did, while he had no way of seeing her expressions or reading her emotions.

That tiny sense of safety she had enjoyed was now gone.

Under Charon's unwavering gaze, even as a being made of data, Rose could still feel embarrassed.

"It's just that before now, I never really got a good look at how you currently appear." He studied the little face on the screen as it gradually reddened. "But now I'm sure of it. This face is you. You're Rose. You still kinda resemble the old you."

「Of course I do!」Rose crossed her arms and let out a huff as she turned around. Through the screen, all he could see now was her slender back, and through the long white hair, the tips of her ears glowing bright red.

Truthfully, Charon had been sowhat afraid that Rose might actually beco so kind of vessel for another person's resurrection. But now he could finally relax. Rose was herself. Compared to the confident and radiant woman she would beco in the future, the only difference now was simply that she hadn't grown up yet.

Though that petite loli body type…

…Well, never mind that for now. Nikke bodies could probably be swapped out anyway.

「Instead of judging my appearance, why don't you go check behind the throne already?!」

"Alright, alright, I'm going."

After calming Rose down, Charon glanced toward the passage leading to the next floor, which had appeared along the side of the hall after the boss died.

The sa white light as before. Passing through it would take them directly to the next academy floor.

But before that, he needed to investigate the place Rose had been urging him toward repeatedly.

Behind the throne was only about a ter of space. The hall itself was dimly lit, relying solely on the two floating blue flas for illumination, making the shadows behind the throne especially deep. If he hadn't looked carefully, Charon probably would never have noticed anything hidden there.

Inside the darkness was an inconspicuous black square-shaped recess.

"I see." Charon instantly understood everything. Almost imdiately, he pulled out the Error Block from his backpack and pressed it directly into the recess.

Although he had already adapted to the crushing heaviness it imposed on him, if he could get rid of it sooner, he wouldn't hesitate for even a second.

The Error Block fit the recess perfectly. It sank inward at a steady pace until it beca flush with the floor. There was no chanical clicking sound, yet the throne began to tremble before slowly opening apart, revealing a staircase leading downward.

"Now this is classic…" Charon grinned widely, not just because he had unlocked a hidden feature, but because his entire body suddenly felt light again.

He had never imagined that the heavy armor set he wore could ever feel this comfortable.

「It really does fit RPG ga logic. So, going down? Or heading straight to the next stage?」Rose asked.

"We've already co this far. There's no way I'm not checking this out after all the suffering I went through." Charon answered without a second of hesitation, imdiately heading downstairs. However, he gripped the machine gun in his hands tightly, practically radiating fear of death.

Whether there was another boss fight waiting below or sothing else entirely didn't matter. If it turned into trouble, he'd just run.

But to his complete surprise, there was neither a boss nor treasure below.

It was simply a corridor that looked like it was still under construction. At the end stood a freight elevator of the sort usually found at construction sites, with thick cables extending upward into unseen darkness.

「Should we go up?」Rose asked softly.

The surroundings were unnervingly silent. Even the 8-bit background music that had previously filled the air had completely stopped. The place truly felt like a forgotten space abandoned by its creators, and there was no telling where this elevator would lead.

"Of course." Charon smiled faintly. "After all, we don't exactly have the luxury of playing by the rules, do we?"

The seventy-two-hour limit was simply too short. Charon didn't have ti to spare. Any unexpected place like this was worth trying at least once.

Just in case.

Rose sighed softly.

「Well… I am your external brain, after all. Go ahead without worrying. Whatever happens, I'll do my best to cover for you. But if I really can't handle it… then you'll have to figure sothing out yourself.」

Charon stepped onto the elevator, only to realize there were no buttons whatsoever.

Just as he was wondering how to operate it, cheerful 8-bit music suddenly began playing in his ears, like the celebratory tune heard after clearing an old-school RPG.

Then, a young girl's voice echoed out.

Gentle. Calm. Carrying nostalgia and sorrow that felt as though they had endured through countless cycles.

"…You've worked hard."

Charon abruptly looked upward into the darkness overhead.

"I knew you would co," the voice whispered softly, as though speaking right beside his ear. "No one except you would be foolish enough to carry sothing so 'useless' all the way here."

"This tower is Kivotos's gravestone. Every floor is stacked with corpses known as 'rules.' Under normal circumstances, you would need to endure endless battles, shed your final drop of blood, and exhaust the last of your thoughts before ever reaching the top."

"But… I don't want that for you."

"I was created as a key for destruction. Yet in the final mont, I only wished to beco a key that could open the future."

The elevator began to move.

A powerful sense of weightlessness washed over him, yet Charon's body felt impossibly light, allowing him to stand steadily in place.

"This elevator connects directly to the top floor. It exploits a bug in the world itself, bypassing every hardship and every trial."

"This is the final backdoor I left behind… the last 'loophole' I can offer you."

The voice grew quieter and quieter.

"Go, Sensei."

"This path can only be used once. The mont you reach the end, it will close forever."

"So please… reclaim the blue sky that belongs to us."

And then the voice vanished completely.