Chapter 160. Abyss
The Hedgehog Summoner suddenly showed unusual symptoms.
He was enveloped in a blinding light and transformed into an egg.
It seemed that the strange behavior of the Hedgehog had merely been a precursor to this transformation.
【Luna-chan】─Oh! It looks like little Hedgehog has entered the evolution stage!
【Bubble Bubble】─Maybe he received a buff from Melody Fox. But we can’t be sure he’s evolving just yet.
【Pururu】─I was worried sick, thinking he was injured again.
【Mysticism】─Don’t scare people like that! 😡
【Hwang Mir】─Haha, this is ridiculous.
【Yumi】─Now that you mention it, Medical Angel didn’t spray any pink liquid and just watched quietly…
【Yumi】─By the way, Hedgehog really doesn’t evolve in an ordinary manner, does he?
【Rizenova】─That’s exactly what makes the Hedgehog Ball’s charm so unique.
Anyway, I was relieved.
It wasn’t that something was wrong with Hedgehog’s body.
I crouched down to take a good look at Hedgehog’s egg.
Although it was a large egg, compared to other monster eggs, it was quite small.
It was just a bit bigger than an ostrich egg.
【Pururu】─I’ve been wondering, what would happen if we cracked that egg?
【Yumi】─Why would you even want to know that?
【Mysticism】─😠 Stop that useless curiosity!
【Rizenova】─Don’t get any weird ideas.
【Hwang Mir】─Wouldn’t breaking the egg cancel the evolution?
【Bubble Bubble】─I told you, the evolution isn’t confirmed yet.
【Bubble Bubble】─Besides, in this state, it’s likely immune to most attacks.
【Luna-chan】─That’s right. It should be able to withstand most external impacts now. It must have incredibly high defense since it’s in such a defenseless state.
【Mysticism】─Its durability is awesome! 😃
【Pururu】─What if Solorb attacks it?
【Bubble Bubble】─It probably wouldn’t survive that.
While I was admiring the egg, Merino crouched beside me and intently observed Hedgehog’s egg.
She then cautiously poked it with her finger.
─Doom-ba.
“Meep?!”
As Merino’s finger touched the egg, it vibrated slightly, and a familiar sound came from inside.
With her mouth slightly open,
Merino tapped the egg again.
─Doo-doom-ba.
“Meep meep?! The egg is talking…!”
【Pururu】─Haha, even the egg isn’t normal.
【Hwang Mir】─It may look plain among the monsters, but it’s got a real distinctive personality. Haha.
【Mysticism】─🤭
Merino, intrigued, continued to tap the egg.
Then, as if caring for a baby, she gently hugged it to her chest.
“I’ll take care of you. Be born beautifully.”
─Doo-doom-ba.
While Merino was carefully cradling the egg,
the one who gave the buff to Hedgehog, Melody Fox, was tugging at Bastet’s front paw with her mouth.
［Kyu, kyu.］
［Daong?］
［Kyu, kyu, kyuuu.］
［Understood, daong.］
Bastet nodded,
then walked over to Merino.
［Merino-daong. Please hand over that egg.］
“Meep? Please don’t take my baby.”
［If you don’t hand it over to us, Hedgehog might not hatch, daong. So, please give it to us right away.］
“Meep?! That can’t happen! I’ll give it to you right away!”
Merino, startled, quickly handed over the egg.
Bastet took the egg,
then moved into the crystal sphere house,
carefully placing it on a mattress before curling up around it.
Melody Fox also quietly approached and pressed herself close to the egg.
Following them into the crystal sphere house, I asked Bastet,
“Bastet. You just said Hedgehog might not hatch; what did you mean by that?”
［I just made that up. Melody-daong asked me to take care of the egg, daong.］
“Melody asked you for that?”
［Yes, daong. Judging from her cry filled with worry directed at me, it was clear, daong.］
I turned my gaze to Melody.
Melody, confirming Bastet’s words, squinted her eyes and nodded.
It seemed that she didn’t fully trust Merino with the egg.
Well, that was understandable.
It wasn’t about trust; Merino was the weakest, being ranked F-grade.
［Uhm… suddenly, I’m feeling very sleepy, daong…］
［Kyu.］
Both, now wrapped around the egg with care,
Bastet and Melody slowly closed their eyes and soon fell asleep.
***
The world of undead spirits.
Abyss.
A part of the Hedgehog Summoner’s consciousness, containing his soul, arrived here.
［…Doom-ba? Where am I?］
In the pitch-black darkness,
Hedgehog looked around with a dazed expression.
［What happened? I was just dancing with everyone…!］
Hedgehog couldn’t understand why he had suddenly ended up in such a place.
It was certainly not like before when he’d been turned into a doll by the Stone Maker.
There was no memory of meeting the Stone Maker.
And the feeling of being in this place was completely different from when he’d been turned into a doll and trapped in darkness.
Could it be that Gauntlet secretly used a Dispatch Ticket?
That thought crossed his mind briefly, but he shook his head, dismissing it.
The Gauntlet he knew wouldn’t send him on a dispatch without saying anything.
［Did everyone just leave me behind and go somewhere?］
Wandering in the darkness, Hedgehog began to call out his friends’ names at the top of his lungs.
Hoping that his voice would reach them and that they would come to find him.
［Gauntlet! Merino! Kino! Princess! Necro… went to the underwater village… Medical! Melody! Black Magma Slime! Iris! Azeras! Nyara! Artpega! Bastet! Jafaaaaan!!! Where is everyone?!］
No one responded to his cries.
But he didn’t give up and continued to call out their names.
Time passed like that.
Exhausted from walking, Hedgehog stopped and sniffled.
Then, calming himself,
he once again carefully looked around.
［…But this place, it feels strangely familiar.］
A sense of familiarity,
almost like coming home.
It was only then that Hedgehog realized this sensation was the same as that of the Abyssal Undead Spirits.
［If my doom-ba friends are here, they might know where this is! I should summon them and ask!］
Hedgehog wiggled his hips.
He tried to summon his spirits… but
［…Doom-ba? Summoning isn’t working!］
He couldn’t summon them.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t connect with the spirits.
［Doom-ba friends! Answer my call!!!］
Of course, the spirits couldn’t respond.
They were currently disconnected from him.
Hedgehog struggled to summon his spirits.
He bounced his hips up and down, side to side, dancing more energetically.
And then.
［Doom-ba…］
［Doo-doom-ba…］
［Hedgehog…］
Above Hedgehog’s head,
very large figures began to appear.
Seeing them, Hedgehog jumped up and down excitedly and shouted.
［Doom-ba friends?! You finally answered my call! I knew I could count on you!!!］
Unfortunately.
The spirits hadn’t responded to his call.
Hedgehog soon realized this.
［Move aside.］
A voice came from somewhere.
At that command, the spirits parted like the Red Sea.
［Tch. Their size is always bothersome.］
［So weak, yet so unnecessarily large.］
Through the spirits,
other spirits began approaching Hedgehog.
They were SS-grade Abyssal Undead Spirits.
Their bodies were infinitely smaller than the S-grade spirits, but their souls held a rank that was incomparable.
And then.
Seeing them, Hedgehog finally realized that this was the homeland of the spirits, the Abyss.
［You all. Don’t just stand there; kneel, all of you.］
One SS-grade spirit looked at Hedgehog’s S-grade spirits and commanded.
The S-grade spirits trembled and immediately knelt.
Those without legs lay flat on the ground.
Seeing this, Hedgehog cried out in fury.
［Don’t give strange orders to my Doom-ba friends!!!］
［Silence.］
The SS-grade spirit’s voice fell low.
At that chilling voice, Hedgehog hiccuped and stepped back.
The SS-grade spirits had already reached right in front of Hedgehog.
They stopped in place,
looking down at Hedgehog with cold expressions and began to speak.
［It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Hedgehog Summoner.］
［This one looks the dumbest of all we’ve seen so far.］
［Looks like yet another Hedgehog Summoner will die today.］
［Shall we proceed with the contract in the usual way?］
［Of course.］
Hedgehog Summoners had a unique evolution method different from other species.
To evolve, they had to contract with a higher-grade spirit than their current spirits.
This was the requirement for evolution.
For reference, their existing contracts had been formed naturally from birth.
Anyway,
the SS-grade spirits’ contract condition was this:
Defeat them in battle.
A simple yet immensely challenging condition.
If the Hedgehog Summoner won,
the defeated SS-grade spirit would be bound forever as his summoned spirit.
If the Hedgehog Summoner lost, only death awaited him.
Before starting the battle for the contract, the SS-grade spirit explained this rule to Hedgehog in full.
Hedgehog’s face showed bewilderment.
［D-Doom-ba?! So I’m here for evolution! But I have to fight and defeat you?］
Having to defeat a summon to make a contract…
This was an incredibly unfair condition for a summoner.
Especially for one like Hedgehog, who barely had any combat ability.
Thus,
since the beginning of time, not a single Hedgehog Summoner had ever succeeded in this contract.
There had never been an SS-grade Hedgehog.
In other words,
for the Hedgehog Summoner species, evolution was practically synonymous with death.
［That’s a ridiculous condition! I’m a summoner! Let’s compete in dance instead!］
Suggesting a fair dance-off.
But the spirits, of course, didn’t consider it.
The spirits were in a superior position, and Hedgehog had no choice but to comply with their terms.
［My Doom-ba friends can judge, and we’ll see who dances with more flair…］
Thud-!
［D-Doom-ba?!］
Interrupting Hedgehog’s words,
the SS-grade spirit’s attack shot down rapidly, striking the ground.
Fortunately, it missed.
He was able to dodge by dancing his butt skillfully.
Thanks to the evasion boost from Melody Fox’s buff.
［Oh. You dodged that? Not bad.］
［What is this creature? Dodging attacks with such vulgar dance moves.］
［This one seems a bit different from the other Hedgehog Summoners.］
［Hold back a bit. It’s been a while since we had such fun, so let’s not kill it too quickly.］
［Doom-ba!!! You vile spirits!!!］
The SS-grade spirits adjusted their strength, continuing their assault.
Their twisted smiles mirrored those of villains enjoying tormenting a weaker creature.
Hedgehog’s S-grade spirits couldn’t help him.
If they were in the outer world, it might be different, but in the Abyss, the words of higher spirits were law.
［Hahaha! Look how well it dodges!］
［The dance is even more repulsive up close.］
［It seems to be the ultimate evasion technique earned at the cost of dignity.］
［Doom-ba! It’s not repulsive! My dance is stylish!! If I contract with you, I’ll make you dance this all day!!!］
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［I’ve now found one reason not to lose.］
［I’d rather die than dance like that.］
［It’s not like any of us would ever make a contract with it.］
［Doom-ba!!!］
Hedgehog fled desperately, dodging the spirits’ attacks.
And then,
thud-!
He made a rare mistake.
His step got tangled in his dance, causing him to stumble and fall.
［D-Doom-ba…!］
It was over.
Realizing death was upon him, Hedgehog closed his eyes tightly.
And just then…
Flash-!
［Kyuah!］
［Daong to the rescue!］
Two monsters tore through space and arrived in the Abyss.
They were Melody Fox, who tried to intervene in Hedgehog’s evolution, and Bastet Daong, who crossed over using Melody’s power.
Of course, their physical bodies remained in the Ancient Labyrinth, and only a part of their souls entered the Abyss.
Responding to the light, Hedgehog opened his eyes again.
In his sight were Melody and Bastet.
Hedgehog looked at them with a face full of emotion and shouted.
［Me-Melody! Bastet!! You came to save me!!!］
［Kyu!］
［Melody-daong’s concern was spot-on. Those dangerous beings are attacking Hedgehog, daong.］
［Kyua, Kyuooou!］
Translated, Melody’s words meant:
“I told you, I had a really bad feeling about this!”
Of course, no one understood her.
Anyway,
upon Bastet Daong’s arrival, the SS-grade spirits stopped their movements.
They instinctively realized.
This soul was on the same level as them.
Their playful attitude turned serious in an instant.
This opponent was not one to be taken lightly as they had with Hedgehog.
Still, they weren’t overly cautious.
It was just one opponent.
With numbers on their side, they were confident they could win.
Meanwhile,
Bastet knew she couldn’t face them alone.
So she decided to use her trump card.
She had no doubt she could use it in this realm, where only souls could manifest.
［Daaaaaong!!!］
In a split second,
Bastet’s powerful roar echoed through the Abyss.
And the world, shrouded in darkness, was momentarily bathed in brilliant radiance.
［You called.］
Responding to Bastet Daong’s call, Solorb’s spirit cast its light into the Abyss.