I Start with 13 Hidden Traits Chapter-140

Ch-140

—

**Swordmaster and Orc Master Raktusha.**

And those on the same level as him—likely the Black King’s core retainers.

They were scolding Raktusha for his failure at the “Mountain of Trainees.”

Even the great Raktusha could only frown at their remarks.

“Human. You clearly mentioned this ‘Tower’ and the ‘Hidden Traits.’ And *that* as well. You’d better be truly useful if you want His Majesty the Black King to value you.”

The dark elf spoke to the Master.

That gaze was the same—looking down on him as someone he could kill at any time.

…Damn monstrous bastards.

“Don’t worry. There’s no one who realized the ‘true nature of this tower’ faster than I did.”

It wasn’t just talent and Hidden Traits.

This tower held something deeper and far more important.

If his prediction was correct, then this tower was…

“Then let’s enter.”

Raktusha led the way into the Tower of Rifts.

The Master shook off his stray thoughts and followed.

Then—

**《The entry requirements for the ‘Tower of Rifts’ have been fulfilled.》**

**《Floor 1 — The Realm of Fractured Levels》**

**《The tower divides entrants by level.》**

**《Give your utmost effort within your respective realms!》**

**《Depending on your combined scores, the final ‘Raid Boss Realm’ will open, and your eligibility to advance to Floor 2 will be determined.》**

**《Once you enter, you cannot leave until the floor is cleared.》**

—

—-

The Demon King frowned.

Because he could feel it personally — Baal, whom he believed impossible to erase, had been erased, and now even the powerful “curse” he had placed was unraveling.

*“A curse containing half of the Demon Realm’s essence. One that no ordinary blessing could ever dispel.”*

A trap prepared to kill Wilhelm.

But Wilhelm was not the one afflicted by the curse.

There was a knight who had sacrificed herself in his stead.

He had intended for that curse to last for eternity.

Yet—

*“The curse was devoured.”*

A curse that could never be undone had been… consumed by something.

A curse containing half the Demon Realm—absolutely impossible to erase.

Only one thing could erase and devour it.

*“A Fragment of Ruin.”*

What he had hidden inside Baal.

Only that deep, abyssal darkness could consume the Demon King’s curse.

Then… was the one who killed Baal also the one who lifted his curse?

Things had indeed become more troublesome.

This also meant an unknown variable had emerged.

*“Even so, nothing changes.”*

The Demon King let out a faint laugh.

In the past, he might have been more concerned.

But now, he only found it amusing.

The appearance of a stronger opponent was an opportunity to test the limits of this “body.”

*–You… Are you not afraid of the ‘Celestials’?*

A dragon bathed in divine radiance.

Even the heavenly dragon known as a Divine Beast now lay fallen, its light extinguished.

One of the “Seven Dragon Gods,” said to be the most powerful of the dragons of ancient times.

*–If the Celestials learn of this, you’re a dead man. To dare lay hands on me—one of the ‘Guardians’…! And in the body of a dead human, no less!*

“Your Majesty Demon King, isn’t this one far too noisy for someone dragged here in chains?”

The King of the Second Hell, Issera.

A half-human, half-dragon—bearing crescent horns and the body of a red-skinned human.

He knocked on the fallen Dragon God’s torso with his knuckles as he spoke.

The Dragon God trembled with indignation.

*–Issera… You, the child of a Celestial and a Guardian—how dare you treat me so! I cherished you greatly!*

“Still noisy.”

When Issera raised his hand, a massive Hellfire formed.

*Shaaak!*

His hand, wreathed in the flames of hell, pierced straight into the Dragon God’s torso.

*Thump! Thump!*

He ripped out the still-beating heart.

Then he knelt on one knee and held it out toward the Demon King.

“It is time for your ‘meal,’ Your Majesty.”

“I have never once doubted your loyalty, Issera.”

“…When the time of invasion comes, I shall also offer the remaining Guardians’ hearts.”

“Good.”

The Demon King nodded in satisfaction and accepted the heart.

Then—

*Crunch.*

*Crunch.*

He devoured the Dragon God’s heart swiftly.

At that moment—

*Hwaaa!*

Color returned to the Demon King’s once-pale body, and “life” surged through him.

*Splendid.*

The Demon King smiled in satisfaction.

His dead body was being restored.

His dormant potential, his accumulated power, and his authority were merging—

And he was growing stronger than ever before.

—

—-

**After a long sleep, Serengeti awoke—and immediately tilted her head.**

“Did I… have a twin sister? Or perhaps an older sister?”

Because a woman with her exact face was standing before her.

Eyes, nose, mouth—every feature identical.

She resembled Serengeti so perfectly that it felt like looking into a mirror.

Hudson wiped sweat from her forehead.

“Th-that’s…”

“No, never mind. Looking closely, she’s a bit different. Slightly uglier than me. I see—you brought a doppelgänger to tease me. But this must be a low-grade doppelgänger, right? Tsk, tsk.”

Even newly awakened after so long, Serengeti still talked nonstop.

A doppelgänger, she said.

It seemed he had no choice but to tell her directly.

“…It’s me, Hudson.”

“Hahahaha. What a funny doppelgänger. Are you saying Hudson became a woman now?”

“It’s… a long story.”

“Very well, doppelgänger. Do you know where Hudson and I first met?”

Hudson replied without hesitation.

“In the castle marketplace. You were chasing a swindler… and mistook me for him, dragged me off. I thought I would die. You tortured me, saying you were searching for accomplices.”

“…And the place where Hudson first confessed to me?”

Hudson let out a small laugh.

“A little hill beside the town. The moonblossoms were blooming beautifully. It was dusk. When I confessed, you were so startled you pushed me, and I nearly fell to my death. If that hill had been any steeper, I definitely wouldn’t be here. Thinking back on it now, that gives me chills.”

“The first gift I ever gave you?”

Hudson brushed her fingers along her own neck.

“A bone necklace. You said you made it yourself from the bones of the first monster you hunted. The blood smell hadn’t fully washed out, so it stank a bit. But I liked it and wore it everywhere… though that led to weird rumors. They said I’d kidnapped a child and used its bones to make the necklace… After that, most of my business dried up. That was pretty rough.”

“…Hudson?”

“Yeah. It’s me, Serengeti.”

“Ah… Hudson!”

Serengeti sprang up and threw her arms around Hudson.

But… everything she heard was *true*?

*What a turbulent love story…*

Everyone listening—including me—momentarily lost their senses.

The tale was so astonishing it made one wonder if this truly was the power of love.

After holding her tightly for quite a while, Serengeti suddenly remembered something.

“But why did you suddenly become a woman? Are you no longer a man, Hudson?”

“…I messed with the ‘Appearance Alteration Potion’ too much. It’ll take time before I return to normal.”

“It’s fine. No need to make excuses. I’ll love you even if you’re a woman.”

“…I’d love you even if you were a man, but… I’m not making excuses. I swear. Really.”

“It’s fine. Truly.”

Pat. Pat.

Serengeti comfortingly patted Hudson’s back.

…She definitely didn’t believe her.

Hudson sighed softly and looked at me—

As if asking me to say something.

Hmm. True, leaving it like this would be troublesome.

So I spoke the honest truth.

“Serengeti.”

“Ah… yes, Heir.”

Coming to her senses, Serengeti hurriedly separated herself from Hudson and cleared her throat.

“Is your body alright now?”

“Yes. I no longer feel any trace of the curse. Thank you.”

“Good.”

Even the remaining curse had been devoured by the “Darkness.”

No trace of it remained in Serengeti.

A powerful knight—and one of my closest aides—

She had finally been restored.

We walked forward, and I told her the truth.

“Serengeti.”

“Yes.”

“Hudson has become a flawless woman.”

“…”

“She even changed her name with the gender shift. Call her ‘Yuri’ from now on.”

“Ah…”

Serengeti seemed slightly stunned.

“Yuri… That’s a pretty name… So no longer Hudson, no longer a man… Yuri.”

Maybe changing the name was too much?

At that moment—

“Serengeti, he’s lying! I’m not actually a woman!”

“…Are you saying the Heir spoke falsehoods?”

“Uh… no, that’s…”

“I’m disappointed. I didn’t think you were the sort to lie to hide your mistakes. We should reconsider our future seriously.”

“…”

Hudson’s face turned whiter than I had ever seen.

—

—

After finally clearing up the misunderstanding, Hudson and Serengeti took time alone together.

Just as I was about to leave the castle, a man approached me.

“Heir, do you have a moment?”

“Andrew.”

Andrew, the priest who gave quests related to honor.

I had planned to visit him anyway to lower my “Sin” value.

Since Andrew was the one in charge of Indulgences—the priest who could replicate them infinitely.

“What is it?”

“If… if you intend to ascend the ‘Tower of Rifts,’ might you take me with you?”

“The Tower of Rifts? Why you?”

“I had a dream… possibly a revelation. I sensed that something there might help improve Andasar’s condition. And… there will be something I must do. Without doubt.”

Andasar.

Andrew’s daughter—once turned into an Eldritch by a cursed grimoire.

Later she drifted to Cramdel’s Death King and became a Dullahan.

Though she eventually returned to Andrew’s care, he must be desperately hiding her.

If the Church of the Goddess learned of this, Andrew would be excommunicated immediately.

*Hmm. I don’t need two healers.*

I needed five people.

Naturally, I planned to take Saintess Seia.

If Andrew came as well, that meant two healers.

I didn’t need two.

But… his words stuck with me in a strange way.

A dream, possibly a revelation.

*Andrew is also a high priest. If he dreamed it, then something is there.*

He was even someone who had once invoked the Goddess’s blessing.

In terms of “revelation,” he might even be closer to it than Seia.

Just then—

“Wh-what is that!”

“A Dryad crossed the warp!”

Suddenly, things grew noisy outside the castle.

When I looked out, I saw a familiar face.

“Brother! Are you unharmed?!”

The High Dryad.

He had come to the fortress.

“I knew you were here! The ‘Verdant’ told me! Please show yourself! I will not leave until I confirm your well-being!”

Still loud as ever.

*

*

In an unexpected direction, the party composition was decided.

With Andrew and the High Dryad joining, two spots were filled.

Just as I was about to fill the remaining two with Serengeti and Isabella—

“…I will withdraw.”

Isabella spoke in a small, shrinking voice.

“I do not deserve to participate. I… I still do not even know if I should have returned here at all.”

“Why do you think that?”

“I asked too much of you, Heir. I nearly…”

“You nearly nothing. In the end, I did not die.”

She was speaking of how she had made me devour the contamination source in her stead.

But because of that, I awakened my fifteenth Hidden Trait.

If anything, Isabella had benefited me.

“…I cannot forgive myself for putting you in danger.”

“I told you I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry.”

It seemed she needed time.

Time to sort through her emotions—through the memories that had suddenly resurfaced.

Those transcendent recollections were undoubtedly still tormenting her.

Even the strongest would struggle to overcome such things.

And she seemed to think that, in her current state, she would only get in the way.

If she thought so, I certainly had no intention of forcing her.

“If you need time, I will give it. But I cannot wait forever.”

“Ah…”

“Sort yourself out before we descend the tower. Our contracted time hasn’t even passed yet.”

“Th-thank you… thank you very much.”

Isabella bowed her head deeply.

Even without climbing the tower, she had plenty to do.

The desert city needed to be reorganized, and if Isaac returned, someone needed to receive him.

There would be much to coordinate, especially working with Hudson, who managed the labyrinth city.

*Then who should be the last member?*

 

 

 

 

---