Ch-271. **Ancient Demon**
—
Iâve felt something like this before.
*When I absolved Priest Andrew of his sin.*
The House of Marquis Weiser.
Back when Hudson and I visited the place to meet Serengeti.
After the warp malfunctioned and a dimensional rift opened, skin-hybrid monstrosities attacked. In order to protect the cityâs civilians, Priest Andrew broke a taboo.
The Prayer of Exaltation is something that may only be used to praise the Goddess.
Yet he used it on meâon Randolph.
As a result, Andrew lost all his divine power and aged decades in an instant. I forgave his sin.
I even used an indulgence to restore his faith.
*I definitely felt the Goddessâs presenceâher willâback then.*
But the Twin Goddesses are dead.
Leah perished along with destruction, and Pina chose death herself to save me.
The Goddessâs body vanished, but perhaps her will remained.
In the end, Priest Andrewâs divine power grew even stronger, and he, too, was saved.
This time was no different.
The blessings and sanctuaries used by the holy knights of the Church posed no problem for me at all.
It felt as if I were standing beside the Goddess herself.
Even though this body is not Randolphâs, but my ownâPark Hyun-myungâs.
*The Goddessâs protection still remains in this world.*
The will the Goddesses left behind continues on.
Otherwise, the continued existence of the Church itself would make no sense.
Still, something felt off.
Do they truly know of the Goddessâs death?
The Popeâwho claims to communicate directly with the Goddessâmight know.
Perhaps he is keeping silent to prevent chaos.
But with the deaths of the two Goddesses, the Church has clearly stagnated.
*Even if the Pope remains silent, others must feel it too. Children chosen by the Goddess are no longer being born.*
Saints, holy sons, and even the highest-ranking clergyâ
They must have stopped appearing altogether.
That is likely why Cardinal Johansson pushed his son into the Empire.
*The Church is searching for a way to surviveâŠ*
The Church recently lost its war against the Balrog Cult as well.
It wasnât an all-out war, but for a Church that had never known defeat, it must have been a tremendous shock.
In my view, Aaron is a device meant to ease tensions with the Empire, which has reached a boiling point.
A kind of gift.
*Though he doesnât know it, Aaron was sent straight into a dead end.*
The holy knights accompanying him were strong, but compared to the Reaper Cult or the Eight Housesâ Knight Order, they were far inferior.
Aaronâs own level wasnât particularly high either.
Too weak to be sent with the expectation of victory.
*Aaron, the son of Cardinal Johansson, is bait.*
From the very beginning, Aaron was chosen as a token of the Churchâs âsincerityâ toward the Empire.
Perhaps they intended to use his deathâif the Empire killed himâas leverage in negotiations.
With the Church already at war with the Balrog Cult, clashing with the Empire as well would be dangerous.
They called it a gift, but in truth, it was no different from bait.
A lure tossed out in hopes that a fish would bite.
Aaron probably entered the tournament with a sense of duty to elevate the Churchâs nameâŠ
But from my perspectiveâknowing the Twin Goddesses are deadâAaron was nothing more than a textbook *scapegoat*.
To Cardinal Johansson, Aaron must have been a painful weakness.
Judging by his conduct alone, he was ill-suited for the Church.
For the son of a cardinal, he lacked dignity.
*Aaron joined to glorify the Church and Cardinal Johanssonâs name, but in truth, the Church and the Cardinal sent him here hoping he would die⊠How cruel.*
I could be wrong.
But I judged the probability of that being the truth to be high.
Otherwise, even considering Raigaâs proclamation, I couldnât fathom the Churchâs true intent in officially sending Aaron.
That was why I had intended to kill him.
Dying by my hand would be less unjust than dying at the Empireâs.
âYour sin is absolved, Aaron.â
But I changed my mind.
I decided to let him live.
If there was even the slightest chance for repentance, giving him another opportunity didnât seem so bad.
For now, thoughâ
*Roughly two hundred. Not bad.*
Wiping out the enemies before me mattered more.
From the 11th to the 15th floor.
This so-called âEqual Struggleâ trial of the Tower is a form of *culling*.
Its purpose is to eliminate as many âpotential championsâ as possible under equal conditions.
Forfeiting is no longer possible.
The moment we distributed our stat points, even forfeiture was sealed off.
The fact that such a âtrapâ was prepared meansâ
*War God Karas⊠is this truly your will?*
He desires that everyone kill and be killed until a single, absolute strongest is born.
Like solitude itself.
Just like the sacrifices of those children in that space Sonora and Isabella experienced.
âŠIt seems War God Karas has misunderstood something.
He feels oddly desperate.
I should climb higher and find out why.
ăâHeavenly Demon Descentâ has been activated.ă
ăDuration: 42 secondsă
ăAll skill mana costs reduced by 50%.ă
ăAll 3-star or lower skills within the âDescent Areaâ are sealed.ă
ăAll âenemiesâ within the âDescent Areaâ receive a powerful debuff, losing 1 mana per second.ă
ăEnemies with a mana difference of 100 or more enter a âCombat-Incapableâ state.ă
ăThis effect is absolute.ă
*Fwoooosh!*
In an instantâ
Wings of black flame unfurled from my back.
Massive wings, large enough to blot out the ceiling.
This was the form of an evil god.
The true form of the *Heavenly Demon* from ancient times, before it was sealed.
At the same timeâ
âAhâŠ!â
âW-What is thatâŠ?!â
*Hissssssâ!*
A single black *halo* rose behind me.
Before that powerâbearing all the worldâs ill omenâeveryone trembled.
They couldnât move.
They dared not resist.
â**Heavenly Demon Reincarnation**
â**All Demons Bow in Submission**
When the Heavenly Demon returns, all demonic paths submit.
Believers or notâit makes no difference.
But those who refuse to submitâ
*GROOOOARâ!*
Meet death.
—
—
âD-Divine power is working!â
âLord Aaron! Your body is recovering!â
âYour severed arms and legsâ!â
The holy knightsâ faces lit up.
No matter how much divine power they poured in before, Aaronâs severed limbs wouldnât reattach.
Yet suddenly, divine power flowed, the limbs rejoined, and regeneration began.
âA miracle!â
âAhhh!â
The knights sighed in relief.
He had returned from the brink of death.
But their voices didnât reach Aaron.
â*Your sin is absolved, Aaron.*
Aaron knew that everything began from that moment.
From the instant his sin was forgiven.
Divine power that had been stagnant began flowing again through his blood.
Rotting flesh regenerated, scabbed wounds sprouted new skin.
The Goddessâs blessing and protection were saving him.
And that wasnât all.
*An indulgenceâŠ*
A true indulgence had been applied.
Something only a handful within the Church could ever useâ
And even then, only three times in their entire lives.
Yet one had been issued to him.
And yet, no matter how he looked at it, that man was no devout believer.
Calling him a priest would be a stretch.
*That person exists beyond the Goddessâs love.*
And now Aaron knew for certain.
Not some vague expressionâbut what that man truly was.
He was one who conveyed the Goddessâs will.
Noâmore preciselyâ
ââŠThat man is the Goddessâs will itself.â
*GROOOOARâ!*
A halo like a black sun swept across the land.
Before it, all were erased.
âT-That⊠that formâis that truly the Goddessâs will?â
âBut the Goddess symbolizes benevolence and abundance. That form isâŠâ
âDestruction⊠annihilation⊠isnât that more fitting?â
Of course, one could objectâhow could someone wielding such ominous power be the Goddessâs will itself?
It didnât match benevolence or abundance at all.
But Aaron shook his head.
âCanât you see?â
His gaze lifted above the manâs head.
Yet the holy knights could only tilt their heads in confusion.
âWhat do you mean?â
âWe see nothing.â
Aaron smiled.
âSmile. The Twin Goddesses are smiling.â
Aaron, son of Cardinal Johanssonâ
Had become a fanatic.
—
—
ăWelcome to the 15th Floor of the Tower.ă
ăThe number of challengers who have reached the 15th Floor is 560.ă
ăWhen 60 are eliminated, the path to the 16th Floor will open.ă
ăPrepare yourselves. âEqual Struggleâ will begin in 30 minutes.ă
The Tower of the War God, 15th Floor.
A completely different atmosphere filled the space.
ââŠâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
No one huddled together to plan, nor did anyone try to form alliances.
Their minds were already overloaded to the point of bursting.
Only the scene they had witnessed on the 14th Floor replayed endlessly in their headsâ
The overwhelming might that erased nearly two hundred people in an instant.
*They called this an equal struggle?*
*What part of this is equal?*
*What is that thing? Is it even human?*
Only now did they realize how unfair this trial truly was.
It had never been fair to begin with.
They had all tried, in their own ways, to gain an advantageâonly to realize it was meaningless.
The Hyun of Adrium.
He was different.
Different from themâperhaps even from everyone in this world.
The signs had been there.
From the moment he instantly mastered the *Life-and-Death Scripture*.
Seeing invisible letters, mastering unlearnable techniques, earning Raigaâs favor.
A genius who perceived something entirely different from the same thing.
Yet everyone gathered here had been praised as a âgenius.â
Did that mean the Hyun of Adrium was a genius among geniuses?
*A monster.*
A monster.
A calamity beyond wordsâsomething even âgeniusâ failed to describe.
*We canât win.*
*A disaster, because humans cannot oppose it.*
*That thing itself is a disaster.*
Everyone lost the will to fight.
ăâEqual Struggleâ has begun.ă
The start was announced, yet no one fought.
They only tried to stay as far away from *him* as possible.
Except for one person.
âI, a lowly servant, greet the Great One.â
It was Aaronâthe fanatic.
His attitude was completely different from when we met on the 11th Floor.
He followed the calamity with utmost reverence.
All his limbs were restored, and his divine power shone more clearly than before.
*âŠThis is uncomfortable.*
Aaron lay prostrate, lifting his head only slightly.
The glittering light in his eyes was deeply unsettling.
It was hard to believe he was the same person.
Still, it wasnât bad.
Because right now, I was in a combat-incapable state anyway.
ăThe duration of âHeavenly Demon Descentâ has ended. You enter a âCombat-Incapableâ state for one day.ă
ăâHeavenly Demon Divine Art â Record of Life and Deathâ activates, absorbing mana.ă
ăMana has increased by 10.ă
ăâTrue Transcendent Earth Swordâ absorbs blood and strengthens by one stage.ă
ăUpgraded to âSupreme Transcendent Earth Swordâ.ă
ăThrough âGreat Legacy,â the hidden class âDestructionâ has been synthesized.ă
ăWould you like to inherit the hidden class âDestructionâ?ă
Messages continued to appear.
Leaning against the wall, I examined them one by one.
I was still growingâeven here.
But it wasnât enough.
Not to reach the top of the Tower.
âKill!â
âDonât retreat!â
Belated sounds of battle echoed from various places.
I slowly closed my eyes.
How much time passed like that?
ăThe trial of the 15th Floor has concluded.ă
ăThe remaining 500 challengers advance to the 16th Floor.ă
ăStats have been restored.ă
ăOn the 16th Floor, the struggle against âAncient Demon Sanshaâ begins.ă
ăChallengeâand prevail!ă
âŠâŠ
âŠâŠ
ăThe presence of âRandolphâ is detected.ă
ăThe presence of âPark Hyun-myungâ fades.ă
