The contaminants that had burst through the curtain of light flooded in like a torrent. "Upstairs!"
Dark gave the order decisively and rushed toward the upper floor at once. But a streak of white light flashed past him, and Oli shot ahead even faster, reaching the next floor in just a few strides.
Following close behind, Dark discovered that the upper floor was also completely empty! Oli, who had entered first, glanced around and quickly said, "Not here. We need to go higher."
This floor was very different from the one they had been teleported into.
The entire space was divided by wall panels, and there should have been a large number of rooms.
They had noticed it earlier while examining the outside through the windows: this floor's outer walls had no windows.
They could not see any farther up due to the black mist, but Dark guessed that floors with windows were probably rare, perhaps intended to allow flying creatures to enter and leave.
His guess was evidently correct.
Oli charged upward at the front.
Unable to outrun Oli, Dark could only shield Aurora as he followed behind.
Twin Holy Knights brought up the rear.
Now that they were on the stairs, the group no longer hesitated. They rushed upward at full speed.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten floors had been left behind.
At last, the "partition floor" that had kept the contaminants below was completely corroded, and the contaminants surging up from directly beneath them began to spill upward.
The floor where they had originally been was completely filled with contaminants. But after filling that floor, the contaminants' upward surge slowed, continuing to creep upward bit by bit.
When Dark and the others noticed this, they could not help but breathe a sigh of