Chapter 79: A Peaceful Clear

The moment the timer ran out with the crystal intact, it counted as a victory. A successful clear. Right then, a bright flash exploded, forcing everyone to close their eyes on reflex.

When they opened them again, they were no longer somewhere in the kingdom, but inside a pure white space.

Endlessly wide, large enough to hold every survivor without feeling cramped.

"This is...?"

Even Raive, who’d been watching the battle from above, was suddenly standing among everyone else, back in a physical body.

He’d truly been "revived" once the trial ended!

’I was worried the angel might actually lie, so this is a relief.’ He let out a thin smile.

"B-Brother...?!" ℯℯ𝑙.

"Hmm?"

A voice called out, pulling his head around. Hershey came running toward him, tears overflowing as she threw herself into his arms.

While Raive had been bound by the contract, Shymine and Hazel had kept her from approaching him, so she couldn’t hold back anymore.

"So you really survived." Hazel walked over, smiling herself.

"You should’ve seen how we took down monsters stronger than even you!" Shymine boasted beside her. "It was a close fight!"

"I know. I saw." Raive nodded, acknowledging what they’d pulled off. "Though it was Therese who finished her enemies first. Wasn’t her skill less rarer than yours? Makes you wonder..."

He didn’t forget to tease them a little, of course.

Heap on nothing but praise, and they might get cocky, careless. He didn’t want that.

’A little firmness mixed in is just the right amount of love and care.’

[As expected, quite a number survived from this batch...]

Just as everyone started to relax, a figure appeared, her voice ringing inside every head present. All eyes turned up toward the lazy-looking archangel drifting idly above them.

But her attention wasn’t on the crowd. It was fixed on one person.

Her gaze locked onto Raive and stayed there a good while.

[All thanks to you, irregular.] She sighed.

[Anyway, a total of 847 survived this batch. The highest number across all batches so far—be proud of yourselves, humans.]

"I-It’s really over...?"

"OOOOH! We survived!!!"

"Finally... Finally!"

Cheers, cries, and laughter broke out everywhere, the reality of having cleared the second trial finally sinking in. But amid the noise, Raive neither smiled nor cheered.

He just met the archangel’s gaze with a deep frown of his own.

It wasn’t over yet.

There should still be something waiting for them. The trial’s rewards.

As if reading his mind, the archangel scoffed and finally looked away. With a wave of her hand, items floated into existence before each survivor.

Everyone’s reward was different.

Quantity, quality, even item type—no two people received the same set.

[All rewards are calculated automatically, based on your individual contribution toward clearing the trial.]

The archangel declared.

[So if you received nothing, that’s no mistake. It simply means you earned no achievement worth rewarding.]

’So there are others who got nothing too?’

Raive looked around, surprised. Just as she’d said, quite a few people stood empty-handed. Raive among them, along with the other fifteen former "impostors."

They’d technically contributed by fighting monsters, sure, but Raive figured that their contribution counted for the impostor, not for them.

In a sense, getting guaranteed survival for the clear just by having their impostor killed was already a reward in its own right, if you looked at it right.

Raive didn’t feel bad about it, or bitter.

But others clearly weren’t taking it the same way.

"Hey, don’t fuck with me! Where’s my damn reward, you chicken-winged bitch?!"

"This is unfair! Why don’t I get anything when I fought in the defense?!"

"A scam... this is a scam! Give me my rewards back!"

A fair number of them started shouting at the archangel, a few even hurling insults, like fear wasn’t a concept they understood. The result was something none of them would forget.

CRACKLE! BOOOM!

Lightning cracked down on top of everyone complaining, coming out of nowhere.

They turned to charred corpses instantly, smoke rising off them as they dropped where they stood. The people standing beside them screamed in shock, terrified they might’ve been caught in the blast too.

[Ahh... I don’t tolerate complainers. You should’ve listened to what I told you.]

The archangel explained.

She didn’t look bothered, as if killing was as easy as breathing for her.

But to Raive, it looked less like punishment and more like a demonstration—proof of exactly how far above them she stood.

[Anyway, now that rewards have been distributed, you may return to your own dimension. The exit’s right over there, so help yourself...]

She pointed behind the crowd. When everyone’s gaze turned there, where nothing had stood before, a giant white portal now waited.

[Detected successful clear of the second trial.]

[Updating the save point...]

[Overwriting Slot 1...]

[Success!]

At the same time, Raive’s Auto-Load skill rang inside his head, notifying him of the trial’s completion. That, finally, convinced him beyond doubt—the second trial was truly over.

It hadn’t been a clean clear, though.

Over a hundred lives lost.

A perfect run was tempting to chase, but he wasn’t sure what the archangel might do if he actually reset for it.

’This result’s good enough. No point getting greedy.’ Raive told himself.

With the exit opened, the archangel vanished just as suddenly as she’d appeared. Free at last, everyone began filing toward the portal, one after another.

Large as it was, it couldn’t take them all at once.

Raive and his team hung back, intending to be the last to leave. And as they waited—

"E-Excuse me..."

A familiar voice called out.

They turned to find Hercy—the woman whose projection skill had helped Raive spread information fast. Her skill leaned toward utility over combat, so it was a surprise to see her hugging a reward at all.

"Yes?" Therese answered her with a gentle smile. "Do you need something, Miss Hercy?"

"T-That..."

Hercy fidgeted, hesitating, then caught everyone’s eyes on her and pushed through the awkward silence.

"I...! I want to group, you join... huh, a—wah...! I join... group..."

She stumbled over the words several times, blushing to her ears from embarrassment.

Raive just smiled, watching her struggle.

"You want to join, is that it?" He asked.

She straightened up, nodding. "Y-Yesh!" Still stuttering all the same.

But Raive didn’t mind. He extended a hand, as if offering a handshake, and said with a clear, friendly smile.

"Then welcome to the team!"