Although Kanzaki Rei had been meticulously reenacting everything exactly as it had happened before—replicating every detail without deviation—

Egemissa hadn’t caused any unexpected chaos this time.

That, in itself, surprised him.

At this moment, Kanzaki Rei’s perception was focused on Luoyan.

She had been the inheritor of the Dark Church back then. Later, she had undergone monsterization—and after that process, Seika Kiyomi had killed her.

Which meant—

At this point in time, Seika Kiyomi was also present.

Not just her.

Aside from Kanzaki Rei’s own team—composed entirely of inheritors from major churches—

There was another team active in the Secret Sea at this very moment.

A team possessing God-Tier talents.

Back then, Kanzaki Rei had known nothing about any of this.

But now, looking back—

Things were far more complicated than he had originally thought.

"Kanzaki Rei, what are you planning to do?"

Kumironi approached him proactively.

Now that they had reached this point, there was no longer any need to continue mimicking past actions.

Kanzaki Rei replied, "Kumironi, can you come with me somewhere...?"

"There’s something I want to check."

Kumironi smiled. "Mm~ of course."

"Little Rei, you’ve definitely got something in mind again, don’t you?"

In Kumironi’s eyes, Kanzaki Rei had always been a reliable child. Whenever she was uncertain, his suggestions were often worth following.

"I think there’s something in the sea. But we might need to dive for a while."

After a brief pause, Kanzaki Rei turned to look at Yelia.

"Big sister Yelia, would you like to come with us?"

Yelia tilted her head slightly, confusion in her expression.

"Go together? Where are you planning to go?"

From her perspective, Kanzaki Rei’s invitation was puzzling.

At this point, she held no hostility toward him.

"I am, after all, a deciphering scholar. During the puzzle-solving earlier, Egemissa gave us a hint."

"I think it might be related to the third stage of the trial."

Yelia frowned slightly.

"If that’s the case... then it’s worth a look."

Kanzaki Rei wanted Yelia to come along mainly to observe the divine artifact in her possession.

Only with the Sword of Purifying Flame Judgment would it be relatively easy to deal with Lomo.

Without that artifact, the fight would become troublesome.

As for taking the artifact from Yelia—

There were plenty of ways to do that.

"Hey? Not bringing me?" Rhine pointed at himself.

Kanzaki Rei had invited Yelia, yet showed no intention of inviting him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Ah...

Right, there was this guy too.

His presence was so faint it was easy to forget him.

Mostly because Kanzaki Rei still didn’t know what role he played—last time, he had simply been dragged along by Roya like an extra.

Well, whatever.

If he was associating with Roya, then he probably had some hidden significance.

Might as well bring him along.

"How could I not? Brother Rhine, I was just about to invite you."

Rhine burst out laughing.

"Haha, that’s more like it! No way you’d leave me behind."

Even if he didn’t understand what was about to happen—

If there was something interesting, he’d join in.

"So, where exactly are we going?"

Kanzaki Rei pointed toward the ocean.

"The deep sea."

Rhine froze for a moment.

"Why?"

With their current strength, they weren’t afraid of ordinary marine monsters.

But for most class-holders, the ocean was still far from a comfortable environment—

Cold, dark, and filled with unknown dangers.

"The Secret Sea might be on the verge of destruction. But there could be a way to stop it."

"Egemissa just gave a hint."

"He implied that the method lies in the deep sea—in the abyssal depths."

Of course, the "hint" from Egemissa was something Kanzaki Rei had fabricated on the spot.

But as a deciphering scholar, he could plausibly interpret clues others couldn’t.

So his lie sounded convincing enough.

Whether Yelia and Rhine fully believed it didn’t matter—

Kumironi trusted him completely.

After all, Kanzaki Rei had already solved numerous puzzles for the Church of Life.

He could effortlessly break restrictions that others couldn’t even comprehend.

In matters of deciphering, Kumironi had absolute confidence in him.

"Alright, I’ll go with you." Yelia nodded in agreement.

With only a brief exchange—

The group reached a consensus.

Kanzaki Rei led the three of them straight into the depths of the ocean.

Before returning to this day, he had done extensive preparation—studying the nature of the ocean within the White Tower.

The Sea Abyss.

One of the three great abysses.

According to theoretical models, no matter where one descended in the ocean—

If they went deep enough, they would inevitably reach the Sea Abyss.

Though no pure theory had definitively proven it.

In practice, however—

It had always held true.

The four of them descended rapidly.

With Kanzaki Rei at the front, a streak of light extended behind him.

The water parted as they moved, greatly increasing their speed.

Kumironi couldn’t help but marvel internally.

Back then, she had been the one carrying Kanzaki Rei through the skies.

Now—

He was the one leading her.

Just how far had he grown?

The magic Kanzaki Rei was using now was already at the sixth tier.

The same level as Izparut’s.

And faintly—

She could see Izparut’s shadow in him.

But how long had it been?

April 1st.

In reality, Kumironi and Kanzaki Rei had only been apart for a few days.

Yet the power he displayed in every movement—

Revealed a depth that was anything but ordinary.

A kind of composure, free of impatience.

At this rate, they would reach the first layer of the Sea Abyss in about two or three hours.

In truth, they could go even faster.

Kanzaki Rei hadn’t yet used [Second Forbidden Magic — Time].

Accelerating time would further increase their speed.

That magic could accelerate or decelerate time by up to ten thousand times.

But Forbidden Magic consumed enormous amounts of mana.

Casually activating it would cost tens of billions of mana per second.

Still—

At that level of consumption, Kanzaki Rei could bear it.

If necessary, he could even overdraw his body slightly to exceed his mana limits.

Most mages, when lacking mana, would overextend themselves to cast spells.

Especially with Forbidden Magic—

Which was typically used only once in a lifetime, at the cost of certain death.

The ocean grew deeper and deeper.

They had likely descended nearly ten million kilometers.

Suddenly—

The space before them opened into vast darkness.

The oppressive weight of the ocean vanished, replaced by emptiness.

They had reached the first layer of the Sea Abyss once again.

But this time—

Within the emptiness, Kanzaki Rei’s perception detected countless humanoid monsters.

He could even vaguely make out angels—

And figures clad in the robes of the Church of Life.

Who would have thought—

That before his arrival...

The Sea Abyss had already been this lively.

...

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