Banished to the Abyss After Defying the Author-Chapter 5: Where the World Shouldn’t Be

They walked in silence for a time.

The mountain path stretched ahead—empty, broken, carrying the bitter scent of scorched stone.

The wind brushed past them in uneven gusts, whispering through cracks left behind by battles no one remembered clearly anymore.

Noah walked in front, unhurried.

Victoria followed a step behind him, her grip on her sword loose but constant, as if letting go—even for a moment—might make everything collapse again.

She spoke without looking at him.

"...Are you really alright?"

Noah didn’t slow.

"And Grandem," she added, carefully. "Is he truly dead?"

Noah exhaled. The sound carried more impatience than exhaustion.

"I’m fine," he said. "And yes. He’s dead."

A pause.

"If you want," he added casually, "I can bring him back."

Victoria stopped.

Her fingers tightened once around the hilt of her sword—then relaxed.

"No," she said quietly. "There’s no need."

She started walking again.

"It’s better this way," she continued, her voice steady despite the weight behind it. "Even if he was my fiancé."

Noah halted.

He turned his head slightly—not surprised, just recalculating.

"...So he was," he said. "That explains the hesitation."

She didn’t respond.

Noah’s attention drifted outward, brushing against the structure of the Abyssal World. The sensation made his brow crease faintly.

Dragonforce is tightening the script, he noted.

I can’t read the full narrative anymore.

He looked ahead.

Then stopped again.

"...Victoria."

She looked up.

"Wasn’t the town closer to the mountain range?"

Her expression changed instantly.

She turned in a slow circle, eyes scanning the horizon.

There was nothing.

No walls.

No towers.

No smoke.

No sound.

Her breathing quickened.

She didn’t speak.

She ran.

Chaos surged through her legs, launching her forward in a blur that cracked the ground behind her. Seconds passed. Then minutes.

Still nothing.

She stopped abruptly, boots skidding against stone.

"Where is it?," Her voice wavered—not loud, not desperate, just thin. "Where is my town?!"

Noah appeared beside her without sound.

"It’s been displaced," he said. "Folded. Removed from accessible layers."

Her jaw clenched.

"The Abyssal King?" she asked.

"And Dragonforce," Noah replied.

She turned sharply toward him.

"Who is Dragonforce?" she demanded. "And what is this Abyssal King you keep chasing?" Her hands trembled despite her effort to steady them.

"Before I met you, my life was cruel—but it made sense. Now the ground disappears, kings aren’t kings, and my home doesn’t exist."

She dragged in a breath and held it.

Noah watched her struggle to maintain control.

"I can’t explain Dragonforce," he said at last. "Not because I don’t want to—but because your mind wouldn’t survive the explanation."

Her anger dulled, redirected into confusion.

"...Then tell me about the Abyssal King," she said. "Why you need him. Why you’re here."

Noah began walking again.

"I can’t," he said. "For the same reason."

She followed in silence.

After a few steps, she stopped herself, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. Once. Twice. Again.

"...Focus," she murmured. "The Sable Edge. That’s what matters."

She opened her eyes and caught up to him.

"You promised to help me find the sword," she said. "So let’s stop waiting for things to get worse."

Noah glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

Annoyed. Still angry. Still moving forward, he assessed. Resolve under pressure.

"...Very well," he said. "I’ll help."

Her shoulders eased—just slightly.

"You know where the town is," she said. "Don’t you?"

"Yes."

"And my mother?"

"Yes."

She looked at him, hope flickering despite herself.

"Then we should go."

Noah stopped.

"...We are."

He lifted one foot and brought it down.

The ground gave way.

Not cracked—collapsed.

Victoria screamed as gravity vanished, the world tearing open beneath them. Wind roared past her ears as darkness swallowed the sky.

"Noah—what are you doing?!"

"Saving time," he replied evenly.

They fell.

For hours.

Or minutes.

Time lost meaning somewhere during the descent.

They landed on black ground that reflected no light.

Victoria staggered, staring at the surface beneath her boots.

"It’s... transparent," she whispered. "Like it’s not really here."

"It isn’t," Noah said. "This is the boundary."

She looked up. "Boundary to what?"

Noah stepped closer and lifted her without warning.

She yelped. "Hey—what are you—?!"

"Don’t move," he said. "You’ll fall through."

She froze.

His grip was firm—not possessive, not gentle. Practical.

They passed through the barrier without disturbing it.

Victoria felt it then.

Heat.

Pressure.

Screams that weren’t sound, but intent.

Red light surged upward from an endless chasm. Rivers of lava churned below, and shapes moved within them—devils tearing at one another in a hierarchy built on cruelty rather than rule.

Her breath caught. Cold ran down her spine.

"...This is Hell," she whispered.

Noah’s voice was flat.

"Yes. Worse than people imagine." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Devils noticed them.

They surged upward, snarling, clawing, hungry.

Noah’s eyes ignited with a blue, sharp, unnatural glow.

The devils vanished.

Not burned.

Not shattered.

Gone.

Victoria pressed closer without realizing she’d moved.

Noah didn’t comment.

"This," he said quietly, "is where the Abyss hides what it doesn’t want remembered."

He stepped forward into the crimson-lit darkness.

"And we’re not done falling yet."

Noah’s feet touched the ground of Hell.

Victoria opened her mouth to speak—

—and the world erupted.

Dozens of devils surged out of the crimson haze, claws tearing through the air, fangs bared, bodies twisted by hunger and hierarchy. The pressure hit first. Then the killing intent.

Victoria gasped and reacted on instinct.

She turned and pressed her face into Noah’s chest, fingers clutching his coat as if letting go meant dying.

Noah exhaled.

That was all.

The devils froze.

Mid-lunge.Mid-snarl.Mid-impact.

Claws hung inches from flesh. Wings locked half-spread. Expressions of rage and hunger petrified into stillness—as if Hell itself had forgotten how to move.

Victoria slowly looked up.

Her eyes traced the suspended forms around them.

"...What happened?" she asked, confused, her voice unsteady. "Why are they... stuck like that?"

"I stopped them," Noah said simply.

Then, without looking at her, he added, "And don’t step on the ground."

She stiffened. "Why?"

"If you do," he said calmly, "you’ll die instantly."

Shock silenced her.

Noah stepped forward.

As he approached one of the devils, he released the hold.

Time resumed.

The devil collapsed instantly, slamming into the ground, gasping like something dragged out of deep water.

Noah looked down at it.

"Where is your Devil Lord—Luciferus?" he asked. "I want to meet him. Now."

The devil trembled, pressing its forehead to the ground.

"L–Lord Luciferus is nowhere to be found," it stammered. "We don’t know where he went... or why he abandoned us."

Noah straightened.

He sighed—slow, irritated.

The Abyssal King, he thought. So this is your move.

"...You’re getting reckless," he murmured.

Behind him, Hell burned and waited.

And the descent was far from over.