Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Emperor (2)
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“Why did the Imperial Palace attack the Divine Cult?”
Having been away for ten days, my memory was a bit hazy, but I’d heard the 65th floor was set in the martial world, so I thought there was a rule about the government and the martial arts world not interfering with each other.
“We don't know either. We weren't on the best of terms, but they've never attacked us like this before... More importantly, we shouldn't be standing here. Please, come out quickly.”
Something felt off, but at Go Hwa-yeon's urging, I left the pavilion with my companions.
Once outside, I saw flames soaring from the main building we had first entered.
I could also hear the clang of swords and spears.
“Then, your father...”
“Father went to the main gate with the Protectors.”
Judging by the fierce sounds of battle still ringing out, the fight seemed to be ongoing. Is the Heavenly Demon weaker than I thought?
My impression when I met him was anything but...
“Shouldn't we go help him?”
“I can't let our benefactor get caught up in a fight between the Divine Cult and the Imperial Palace. Father said he would just hold them off for a bit and then withdraw, so you don't need to worry. More importantly, this way, quickly...”
I followed Go Hwa-yeon to the back gate.
“If you go straight this way, you'll reach the marketplace...”
As she was speaking, I pulled Go Hwa-yeon forcefully toward me.
“Sir?”
*Kwang— Shuk— Shuk—*
With a deafening roar, countless small blades rained down and embedded themselves where Go Hwa-yeon had been standing.
If I'd been a moment slower in sensing the killing intent, she would have turned into a porcupine.
“For rats of the Demonic Cult, you have sharp senses!”
Along with the shrill voice, a man in a golden mask materialized out of thin air.
“Master Oh, be careful! I think that's a Celestial Warrior of the Golden Guard!”
Celestial Warrior?
I figured the Golden Guard was some organization under the emperor, but I didn't know what a Celestial Warrior was.
Still, judging by the tense expression on Go Hwa-yeon's face as she warned me, he must be no ordinary foe.
“Everyone, prepare for battle. Alpen, take Geum-yong and go inside with Lady Go.”
Following my command, my companions moved in perfect sync and formed a line.
I, too, drew my sword and charged.
I swung, intending to cut him down in a single blow, infusing my blade with a great deal of will.
*Whoosh—*
As I felt my blade slice through empty air, the man's form dispersed like smoke.
Don't tell me this is that body-flicker technique you only see in martial arts novels?
Seeing it in person was truly amazing.
“With that sluggish speed, you couldn't even touch my shadow in a hundred years! Die!”
I sensed killing intent from behind as a sword flew at me, but I immediately turned and advanced to meet it.
*Slice— Thud—*
The blade of his sword was cleanly sliced, falling to the ground.
“Th-this is...”
He let out a bewildered voice, apparently shocked that his sword had been cut.
“Aside from your speed, you're nothing special.”
I swung my sword once more to finish him, but he vanished again.
I spread my will through the surrounding space to track him... Dammit! He was heading for my companions.
“Watch out!”
Almost simultaneously with my warning, countless small blades rained down on my companions.
I thought I might have been too late, but thankfully, Rina and Timi reacted in time.
*Ting— Ting— Ting—*
The rain of blades failed to pierce the double-layered barrier Rina and Timi had erected, deflecting off harmlessly.
At the same time, a golden flash erupted.
“Hanna?”
In front of the fallen masked man, who had a long diagonal gash across his body, stood Hanna with her sword drawn.
“Hyeon-ung, we're fine.”
Right, this was the Labyrinth. I'd spent so much time with my powerless companions outside the Labyrinth that I'd become a little overprotective.
“H-how can mere girls possess such an absurd protective aura... Sorcery...”
“Why is the Imperial Palace targeting the Divine Cult?”
“I will tell nothing to the lackeys of the Demonic Cult! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
[You have defeated Jang Jin-sam, a Celestial Warrior of the Golden Guard.]
Perhaps having bitten his tongue, he lowered his head as a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
“Mister? I think he's dead.”
“He's dead.”
“Kkyuing!”
Geum-yong, who had been in Alpen's arms, shot toward the corpse like an arrow.
[You have acquired Celestial Warrior of the Golden Guard's Jade Token x1.]
[You have acquired Gold Ingots x11.]
“Master Oh and your companions are truly incredible! Each Celestial Warrior of the Golden Guard is considered to be among the top ranks of the Central Plains' 100 greatest masters.”
“He was fast, but other than that, he didn't seem very threatening...”
This was the level of a top-ranked master? Maybe the martial artists of the 65th floor were weaker than I thought.
Or maybe I was just too strong...
I wondered if we really needed to run.
After all, the Emperor was one of the three leaders I needed to defeat to clear the 65th floor.
Ah, of course, the Lord did say that all the summoners who targeted the Emperor had failed, and recommended the others...
“Lady Go, wouldn't it be better to go and help the Cult Leader now?”
“Father will be fine. In fact, we might just get in the way... Ah, of course, I'm not saying you're not skilled enough, Master Oh, but Father said he wouldn't fight to the end...”
Well, since she said it was fine, it didn't seem right to keep insisting on helping, so I nodded and we left the pavilion.
Fortunately, aside from that Celestial Warrior fellow, there seemed to be no other ambushes.
After walking for about ten minutes, Go Hwa-yeon, who was leading the way, turned around.
“I think it's best we part ways here. If you keep going a little further, you'll find plenty of inns.”
“Lady Go, where will you go then...?”
With the Divine Cult under attack, I was reluctant to let Lady Go travel alone.
Especially since her guards, Dupal and Jeongpal, weren't with her.
“There's a branch of the Divine Cult about an hour's walk from here.”
“Then we'll take you there...”
“No, it's alright. It's a secret branch, so I can't bring outsiders... Thank you so much for earlier. You saved my life twice...”
“It was nothing.”
“No, it was. It's not much, but please take this...”
Go Hwa-yeon took a blue jade token from her robes and handed it to me.
“It's an Ice Jade Token, signifying the Young Leader of the Sun and Moon Divine Cult. With this, you'll receive the finest treatment at any Sun and Moon Merchant Guild branch throughout the Central Plains.”
“But if you give me this, Lady Go, what about you...?”
“I'll be fine. I can just have it reissued.”
She practically forced it into my hand, so I accepted.
[You have acquired the Ice Jade Token.]
“I wasn't able to properly reward you, but if you use that token, word will reach me, so we may be able to see each other again.”
“Ah, I understand. I'll keep it safe and return it to you later.”
“You don't have to give it back. I think my father took a liking to you as well, Master Oh, so he won't say anything.”
As she spoke, Go Hwa-yeon's cheeks were flushed.
“Alright. I will keep it safe and return it to you the next time we meet.”
“Yes. I will eagerly await the day we meet again. Please take care.”
“You too, Lady Go.”
I was still a little worried, but since she insisted she was fine, we said our goodbyes and parted ways.
“Mister, I think she's totally hitting on you.”
“Hitting on me? She's just being grateful.”
“Hyeon-ung, where are we going now?”
“We need to find a room first.”
First, I needed to get a new room at an inn and gather some information.
Thankfully, I met Go Hwa-yeon and learned how to clear the 65th floor, so now I just needed to investigate the reputation and details of each faction.
“We didn't get to finish the video earlier. I want to watch more.”
“Um, Hyeon-ung, aren't you going to call for Bio?”
Ah! Right. I was so busy handing out the video recording crystals that I completely forgot about Bio.
He was going to be disappointed when he found out.
I thought about calling him once we got to the inn, but since there was no one around, I took Bio's card from my inventory and called out.
“Bio Rein, master of the forgotten space.”
I was worried he might not appear if his business wasn't resolved yet, but Bio emerged in a flash of purple light.
“Bio.”
“Bio!”
“It's been a while, everyone.”
“Did things go well... What's wrong?”
He replied without even looking at our companions' cheerful greetings, his eyes fixed on me.
“I've wrapped things up for now. It seems you... haven't had any trouble.”
“Trouble? Why?”
I wondered if his sudden departure had something to do with me.
“If nothing happened, then that's good. More importantly, it seems you're still on the 65th floor?”
How anticlimactic.
“We only just got up from the 60th floor. And you disappeared, saying you had urgent business. Still, I figured out the condition for clearing this floor.”
“Oh, that couldn't have been easy. You must have gone through a lot.”
He praised me, but it seemed he had no intention of telling me himself.
“Well, it wasn't that hard. Let's talk while we head to an inn.”
My companions' appearances were quite different from the residents of the 65th floor, so I figured it would be best not to attract too much attention.
As we walked to the inn, I explained what had happened.
Thankfully, just as Go Hwa-yeon had said, there were many inns nearby, so we got a large room.
“So the Divine Cult was attacked by the Imperial Palace...”
Bio looked lost in thought. He was usually so confident, no matter what he did...
“Do you have any ideas?”
“Nothing certain yet. Still, it would be best to clear the 65th floor quickly.”
As if I didn't want to clear it quickly?
“So, are you going to actively help?”
“I'll have to see how things play out, but yes, I will.”
“Huh?”
I expected him to say no, of course. He was acting completely different from usual.
“What's gotten into you?”
“What do you mean? Companions are supposed to help each other.”
“This isn't like you.”
What on earth had happened while he was gone...?
“Hyeon-ung, isn't it a good thing that Bio is offering to help?”
“That's right. Why the long face when he says he'll help, Mister?”
No, I was glad to have the support, but his sudden change in attitude felt a bit unsettling.
There's that saying, after all: when someone starts acting out of character, it means they're about to die.
“Since you have a connection with the Heavenly Demon, it would be best to target the leader of the Martial Alliance.”
“Wait, why are you leaving out the Emperor?”
Huh?
It was only for a split second, but Bio definitely winced slightly.
“Are you going to target the Emperor?”
“I haven't decided yet, but the Emperor is also one of the three leaders, right? And they just attacked us.”
“Didn't you say you were just caught up in the fight between the Divine Cult and the Imperial Palace?”
“A fight is a fight.”
Bio also seemed to be subtly hoping I wouldn't target the Emperor.
“Fine. The choice is yours.”
“Bio, do you perhaps know something about the Emperor?”
Nice question, Hanna. I was just about to ask that myself.
Instead of answering, Bio looked around and snapped his fingers.
“Bio?”
The world began to turn gray.
“Bio?”
Just like when I met Arpeus, everything stopped.
My companions were all frozen in gray.
“The emperor of this place, Ju Won-hong, is of the same race as the ones who brought summoners like you to this world.”
The race that brought us... wait a minute.
“No. The Emperor is an angel? What does that even...”
“I don't know the exact details of his crime, but I heard he was exiled here for committing one.”
I'd always thought that I might have to fight angels eventually as I descended the Labyrinth.
But the 65th floor seemed too soon, didn't it?
“May I explain further?”
“Yeah. Tell me.”
According to Bio's explanation, perhaps as a restriction from his exile, he doesn't attack summoners first.
But the moment he is attacked, he will unleash his true power.
“You could say the Emperor is a kind of trap designed by the angels.”
It was certainly a vicious trap for summoners.
Even for those unfamiliar with martial arts, the Emperor would seem like an easier target than the imposing figures of the Martial Alliance Leader or the Heavenly Demon.
That explained why Lord Almondeu said that not a single summoner who targeted the Emperor had made it to the next floor.
“Tsk, time is running out. Once this moment passes, I won't be able to give you any more information.”
Looking around, I saw the gray hue tinting the world was gradually fading.
“Just one more thing. How does he compare to me now?”
“Before you awakened your will, it would have been certain defeat. But now... you have a chance.”
So there was a possibility.
“Then let's make the Emperor our target.”
Honestly, things had gone quite well for me since coming to Elsia.
I'd met companions I cherish, and thanks to my good traits, I hadn't suffered too much.
But not suffering much wasn't the same as not suffering at all.
In the first place, any summoner was bound to hate the angels.
How could anyone think well of the beings who threw us into this unforgiving world without a single word of explanation, and who continue to abduct people and inflict pain?
I am a summoner, too.