I collapsed onto my hands and knees with a sharp gasp, sweat pouring down my face and dripping onto the ground, my vision blurring as I tried to catch my breath.
I rolled over onto my back, covering my eyes with my arm as my head began spinning, my body feeling a feverish sensation of hot and cold.
H-Holy shit, I...I’m so drained, I don’t have so much as a drop of energy left. I’ve never felt this completely and utterly exhausted before, I feel like I’m about to pass out.
Huh?
I moved my arm off my face, to see cracks spreading out across the ceiling, several spots crumbling and turning into dust. I let out a grunt as I slowly sat up and unsteadily got back onto my feet, stumbling across and nearly falling over, just barely managing to stay standing.
I should go find Aria...I don’t know if Ciel and Jaden survived, but if they did, they should be with her.
Yeah...guess that’s true.
There should be five of them...the pair wielded by Vaszel, and the ones that were briefly held by Brid, Petrus and Jax. I should take back their remains too, it’s the least I can do after they literally sacrificed their lives in playing their parts in saving the world.
I walked around the area, picking up the unclaid Personalis Arma, finding all five, and wrapping up the remains of the fallen mbers of the team along the way. I carefully stored the remains in Treasury, along with the dormant weapons.
Alright, I should head back now.
The others should be at the other end of this floor...ugh, I really don’t feel like walking any more, I’m running on fus at this point. But I guess I have no choice...
I reluctantly dragged my feet along as I headed back, glancing up as more puffs of dust rained down from the ceiling, thin rays of sunlight peeking through the gaps.
Oh, wait, I got it!
I’ll just ask Acedia or Invidia to-...hm? Wait, where are they?
Seriously?
Huh, that’s weird. The part where my consciousness disappeared, I can explain...but I don’t know why the Apostles would get withdrawn as a result of that.
Well, whatever the reason, the fact remains that none of them are currently summoned...I’d dearly love to summon one of them to carry there, but I don’t even have enough Mana for that.
Do I have any other options? Co on, think...ugh, I’m so tired that I can barely form a coherent thought.
If only I could put my body on autopilot and-...wait, hold on. I kinda sorta can do that!
Ai, let’s use Transfer, take over my body and cover the rest of the distance!
Sweet, thanks, you’re the best!
Request accepted!
Ahh...that’s much better, I can’t feel the exhaustion anymore!
Yeah, I know, sorry.
Mhm, that’s the plan.
Ai then proceeded to painstakingly take over and continue the trek back through the floor, stumbling and wobbling repeatedly.
It felt like we were moving at a crawl, progressing slow and unsteady.
After what felt like an eternity, during which Ai had to request two additional extentions, the other end of the floor finally ca into sight.
Aria’s been propped up against the back wall, she looks fine besides the visible fatigue on her face. Well, it’s a bit hard to tell, my vision’s a bit blurry, and the corners are starting to darken.
Ciel and Jaden are beside her, are they still breathing? I think Ciel is...but again, it’s hard to tell.
I approached the three of them, kneeling down in front of them and starting to take a closer look-...
"H-Hey, man...s-since you’re back, I’m guessing that ans you won," Jaden suddenly spoke, startling .
He’s alive...and more surprisingly, conscious-...hm? I see a shimr around his injuries, it looks like...
"Wow, did you use your telekinesis to fashion a makeshift windpipe to breathe?"
I can see signs that he’s healed a bit, his body’s natural healing is slowly repairing his injuries, thanks to him manually keeping himself alive.
"Y-Yeah. I’m also using telekinesis to keep my broken ribs away from my heart. And to stem the bleeding-...o-ow. It hurts to talk..."
"Just take it easy, man. Focus on staying conscious. Looks like Ciel’s still alive too," I noted with a sigh of relief, before taking a seat against the wall beside Aria.
It looks like Ciel’s natural healing is also keeping her alive, she probably would’ve succumbed to her injuries and died if it wasn’t for that.
Oh, I should take Cleo out of Treasury. I didn’t use the preservation function, and while there’s still a bit of ti before she depetrifies, I don’t know what’ll happen if that happens while she’s still in Treasury.
Most of the ceiling has faded away now, the walls are starting to disappear too, probably won’t be too much longer before the Final Dungeon crumbles and fades away completely.
I wonder what the state of the Sanctuaries are right now? I hope the other Hunters managed to hold off the Monsters long enough.
Huh?
Oh, I...I think I’m starting to lose consciousness.
My...eyelids are...getting heavier...and heavier. Each ti I...I blink, it becos...harder to...open them again.
So...sleepy.
Everything...everything is...starting...to...go...dark...
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