“Even if it’s only three times, that’s fine. It’s my life, so let me do as I please. Take everything I have instead.”
After staying up all night, I realized there was only one choice left.
“Are you the Death King?” What a grand title! It’s so grandiose that it’s ridiculous! Remember this: I’m one of the Thirteen Evils who destroyed the Eternal Cliff. I am the master of the waves that crash against all shores. I am the Ninth Sea Lord, the Pirate General, the Mad—!”
“I heard that you defeated the Mad Blood Sea Lord! Impressive. The rumor is that you also cleared through ten floors at once. I see. Indeed, you are undoubtedly a new rising star who has appeared after the Sword Emperor. However, remember this: All the Star Signs in the night sky were once called rising stars. Allow me to introduce myself. I, the bearer of a good lesson, am... well! What more is there to say? I am the living proof of a divine miracle! The Thirteen Evils! The Forest Keeper of the Full-Blooming Pine Cones in the White Night. My title shall instill fear—“
“I won’t say much. The more you talk, the shorter your life tends to be. Fear me. Tremble. Today, I will teach you one truth—”
“Uhhh, can you spare me, please? Yeah, I did torment people a bit. No, I actually tormented them a lot... wait! Just a moment! It’s only natural for people to become ill-tempered after living for over three hundred years. I’ve enjoyed every pleasure there is out there; the only joy left for me was tormenting others! Wait, you can’t go in there. No, no! That blood isn’t human! I’m telling you! Ah, shit. Shit! I forgot to clean up after I killed—”
“I have no regrets. You know? Torturing people is really fun.”
“You’re strong. Death King, you said? The Sword Emperor was just a Hunter, yet he earned the title of emperor. The next one in hierarchy is the King? The Tower is quite strange. Its principles revolve around one’s birth and living a good life. Now it wants me to have a good death too? If your life is inevitable, then your title would also carry your destiny, and my end would be no coincidence.” Latest content published on novelFɪre.net
“Damn it! Damn it! I didn’t do anything wro—”
“I’m going to go mad.”
“That’s why I initially proposed that we should join forces and attack. Why didn’t anyone listen to me until only twelve of us became three? Are you idiots, brothers? Come to think of it, we are... In return for becoming so strong that we don’t need others telling us what to do anymore, we’re going to pay with holes in our throats. What a bargain...”
“Hahahaha! Death King, don’t think you’ve won! Even if the Thirteen Evils are destroyed, there will be two, three—yes! As long as my brothers’ will lives on, we will fight forever—”
“Phew.” I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. “That was really tiring and long...”
[Shiny summarizes it as a series of battles as epic as a grand historical drama.]
“If we had filmed it, we would have planned a 102-episode series. Thanks to the love and attention from the fans, it would have continued into seasons two, three, and four, becoming a legendary series. Due to an unfortunate incident midway through, however, it suddenly gets canceled, making it an even more tragic legend.”
[Shiny agrees wholeheartedly!]
The Guardian watched us praise ourselves with a look of disbelief.
—Are you guys doing a skit or something? You just killed twelve Hunters.
“Ah, now that I think about it, why were there only twelve if it was supposed to be the Thirteen Evils? I should have asked that before I killed them, but I forgot.”
[■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.]
—Well, I killed one of them one hundred fifty years ago.”
“I see. Even after one hundred fifty years, they couldn’t find a replacement...”
Even the sixtieth floor was suffering from a labor shortage. Countless Hunters wanted to climb the Tower, but the reality was that there weren’t enough Hunters in the upper levels. I felt bitter as I sheathed my holy sword.
The Guardian crossed his arms and glanced over, but he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on the castle behind me, where the Thirteen Evils had once dwelt.
The castle was ablaze, billowing smoke. Even from this distance, the acrid smell of fire wafted through the air.
“I know,” I said nonchalantly. “They’re persistent. They followed us again.”
—It’s annoying. For how many days has this been going on?”
I tilted my head. “Hmm, about two weeks?”
—Ugh, this is stressing me out. Hey, hey. Can’t you just go catch them? How long are you going to ignore them?”
“They’re just following me, not showing any hostility. I’m going to leave them alone.”
Yes, I was being stalked. Probably. I added “probably” because I had no idea who was following me or what their purpose was.
—What if it’s an assassin? There must be quite a lot of people who hate you for saving those Spiders.
The Guardian’s suggestion was extreme. I shrugged and started walking.
“If someone hates me so much that they have to send an assassin to survive another day, they would send it to the Spiders they have a grudge against, not me. I left myself vulnerable yesterday and the day before, just in case, when I was sleeping outside. But they never got too close.”
—That’s strange... Why? Why are they following you?
—Ah, their brain has gone rotten.
“At least their temper didn’t go bad, unlike someone else.”
We followed the forest path, strengthening our friendship along the way as we always did. The mysterious person neither approached nor moved away from me, maintaining a consistent distance. Aware of their presence at the back of my mind, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Ah, I’m thirsty. I wonder if there’s a stream where I can completely quench my thirst. There should be one in a forest .”
[■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■.]
As soon as we stepped out of the forest, we saw a stream flowing right before our eyes. Two deer-like animals dipped their noses into the water and licked the stream. That meant the water was safe to drink. Without thinking, I approached the stream.
The deer on the other side glanced at me as if to ask, “What is that ugly animal?” but I ignored them. It would have been easier if I had brought a water container, but homo sapiens had hands.
I scooped up water with my hands and gulped it down. “Wow! Refreshing! I feel better now.”
The Guardian gave me a sour look.
“Huh? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that? Do you have something to say?”
—It’s just that... It’s a little weird.
“What exactly is weird?”
The Guardian narrowed his eyes.
—Kim Zombie. Aren’t you too lucky lately?
“Huh? Too lucky? What do you mean?”
—Look. Just when you were feeling thirsty, a stream suddenly appeared. The day before yesterday and yesterday, too. Come to think of it, you’ve been strangely lucky for the past ten days.
“Is that so? I don’t really feel it.”
—Do you think it makes sense that there is a water source everywhere you go on this vast floor? Even when you try to sleep, you happen to find some firewood lying around. You may not know this because you’ve lived in a world where clean water and heating are guaranteed, but you get these things only when you’re ridiculously lucky.
I furrowed my brow. “It’s not exactly guaranteed. Mr. Sword Emperor, that’s not strange. We knew there was a water source in this direction from the beginning, so that’s why we chose this route, right?”
—What? What are you talking about?
“You’re talking nonsense! We got information before we left the village that there was a stream here, so we planned a route ahead of time to make sure that I wouldn’t starve or die from thirst.”
Just as the Guardian was about to speak, his expression changed subtly.
[■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■.]
—... Right. That’s right.
“Yes, the sixtieth floor is much wider than the floors we’ve been on so far. If I don’t get information about the geography of this place in advance, I’ll definitely get lost. You told me that, right? I worked hard to gather the maps in the village, so what are you talking about right now?”
—Right... Hmmm? That’s true. Why did I think you were just lucky? It wasn’t luck; it was the result of thorough preparation.
The Guardian crossed his arms.
“Right? All this silly talk just made me hungry.” I flicked an aura shot and killed one of the deer-like animals. It hadn’t seen humans before, so it wasn’t wary of me, simply drinking from the stream. It was an easy catch.
“Luckily, there was meat nearby. Oh, dry firewood. Let’s have a barbecue again today.”
—Were the animals on the sixtieth floor really this stupid? No, wait a minute. Why are there ordinary animals here? As far as I remember, this area used to be swarming with monsters...
—... well, actually, there weren’t just monsters here. Hmm. Yeah. Is this good? Are you happy that you’re having all the barbecue by yourself?
“It’s fucking great.”
—No, you’re just a weirdo.[1]
From the direction we had just come from, a little girl suddenly jumped out of the bushes. As soon as she reached the stream, she collapsed with a thud, whimpering.
“Huh?” I quickly approached the girl, holding a freshly roasted deer hind leg. “Are you okay?”
“Ugh... Meat... Meat...”
The girl sniffed, looking dazed. It was as if she were smelling with her soul rather than her nose. She had clearly been drawn by the smell of the deer roast and had walked here instinctively.
“Here, take it slowly.”
“Ugh... T-thank you...” The girl took the hind leg from me and devoured it. “Guh! Ug-ughh! W-water!”
Fortunately, I happened to have a water container on hand. How fortunate. Otherwise, I would have had to scoop water with my hands and give it to the girl, which would have been quite awkward.
The girl drank so quickly that water dripped from the corners of her mouth. She gulped, her throat rattling, and finally looked as though she could breathe again. “T-thank you! You saved my life!”
“It’s nothing. In a place , drifters have to help each other.”
The girl lowered her face in embarrassment and glanced up at me. “If you hadn’t been here, I would’ve starved to death. You’re my savior.”
Despite having wandered through the forest, her clothes and hair were surprisingly neat. She seemed to have gone through a difficult time, yet she wasn’t dirty at all. Above all, she was incredibly beautiful. Really beautiful. Since meeting Raviel, I hadn’t thought about people’s appearances, but this girl made me reconsider.
I smiled. “I’m glad I could help.”
Raviel was much prettier.
The girl furrowed her eyebrows slightly. Then she lowered her head and muttered, “Strange... Could it be... Yes, then ?”
[■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■■■■.]
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.” The boy looked up with a bright smile. “It’s nothing!”
He was a boy with a blinding smile. His clothes were so tattered that it was impossible to guess how long he had been wandering the forest. His body was covered in wounds, yet he had not lost his smile. He tried his best to express his gratitude to me. His face radiated an innate innocence.
The boy clapped. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t even asked your name yet!”
“Savior, would you please tell me your name?”
I smiled. “Of course, my title is Death King.”
“Death King... Death King!” The boy’s mouth was agape. “Death King? You mean the one who cleared ten floors at once not too long ago?”
“Hmm, yes. That’s probably me.”
“Wow! That’s amazing! How did you get so lucky? I heard all the Constellations buzzing about you and wondering who you are. And here you are, of all places, in this forest where I’m lost!” The boy grabbed my hand excitedly. “It’s truly an honor to meet you!”
He smiled so brightly that it made the sun seem dim in comparison. “I’m your fan, Mr. Death King!”
1. The joke is from a Korean movie named 좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈 (The Good, the Bad, the Weird). ☜