Floor 26, Holy War (1)

Ha Heijeong and I had talked through everything we could about Floor 26, but I didn't feel any clearer for it.

Having failed to protect Komet, there was no telling how the next floor might change.

The keyword was human sacrifice.

The Great Warrior of Terror had once sent me to another world with nothing more than a simple rite. So what might he be capable of, having made a Great Warrior of another god his sacrifice?

Ha Heijeong and I had come up with two possibilities: either he would show illusions to every climber on the field, or the Great Warrior of Terror would become monstrously strong.

If we got any say in it, I hoped for the latter.

The illusions would keep coming, and without Lightning Flash, the other climbers wouldn't be able to fight properly.

If it's only the Great Warrior getting stronger, I can probably hold him back somehow.

I couldn't spend the whole time worrying, so I ran combat drills three times over and eased my body in the hot spring. There was little else to do beyond that — I ate what I'd been craving and slept for a while.

I strapped on my armor and helped Dobby into the new plate armor I'd bought for him. And then — it was time to climb to Floor 26.

An endless blue plain spread out before my eyes — it looked like the vast Mongolian steppe from a documentary. And across that wide plain, we stood facing down our enemies.

The three kingdoms that had betrayed us, and the heretics behind them. Our side fielded four kingdoms, yet there was hardly any difference in numbers.

The funny thing was that both sides marched under the flags of the Blue Dawn Wind.

They must not be able to declare themselves heretics outright yet. The soldiers' morale would collapse if they did.

Thinking that, I swept my gaze across the enemy ranks packed onto the plain. As expected, there was no sign of the Great Warrior or the heretics. Were they hiding among the common soldiers, waiting to reveal themselves once the war truly ignited?

Right then, as if he'd known the exact moment, the Pope made his way over to me.

"Lord Kwon Suhyeok. We have been awaiting you."

"Sorry? Awaiting me?"

I'd distinctly heard that the Pope couldn't use the goddess's power. Had he somehow reached her in the meantime?

"Lady Ha Heijeong asked to meet with us when the holy war began."

"Ah... I see."

Inwardly I'd been hoping the Pope had gained the goddess's power — it would have helped, even a little. Well, after witnessing his faith on Floor 25, the odds of him suddenly channeling her strength did look slim. For now, he was nothing more than a spiritual guardian for the soldiers.

Reading the disappointment on my face, the Pope asked carefully, "Is something the matter? Your expression does not look well."

"Ah — no, I'm quite all right."

"That is a relief. I feared your condition might be poor with the holy war upon us."

It's because of you, actually. I couldn't say that, so I managed an awkward smile.

"Then allow me to explain the battle plan."

"There is no need for me to meet with the other kings?"

"...I am the supreme commander of this holy war."

I'd put it delicately, but the Pope caught my meaning and frowned. The Pope — a man who seemed to have washed his hands of combat entirely — was the supreme commander? Just how deep must the faith of the kings who hadn't apostatized be?

The question flickered through my mind, but the Pope's offended face came first.

"Forgive my rudeness. I meant no disrespect. Where I come from, popes were never exactly schooled in the art of war."

"No, no, it is a matter of no consequence. First, Lord Kwon Suhyeok, as supreme commander of the relief forces—"

That was when the mood of the battlefield changed. From the center of the plain, where the heretics' command post stood, a spine-chilling wave of demonic power began to erupt. I turned my head first, and the Pope followed. The enemy soldiers opposite us were no different — everyone on that field was staring at the source of the wave.

And there, a crimson portal tore open.

What is that? Summoning heretic reinforcements? I dismissed the thought at once. No. A portal roughly three meters across was far too small to bring an army through — and there was no need to call for reinforcements now of all times.

If they do that, their own soldiers' morale will fall off a cliff... Anyone who realized they stood on the heretics' side would run.

The crimson portal hung in the air, and a hush settled over the battlefield. Then a single figure stepped through.

The Great Warrior of Terror.

The long black spear. The black robe etched with uncanny patterns. But something had changed: the left arm I'd severed hung whole from his shoulder again, and in that hand he gripped Komet's sword. His crimson eyes, red enough before, blazed redder still.

As the Great Warrior swept his gaze across the battlefield, the portal vanished.

One Great Warrior. That's it? That's the end? It defied all reason — for an instant, my mind simply seized. What could he possibly do, arriving alone? And he'd made a point of announcing himself a heretic to the entire field. Short of being a complete idiot, no one could miss what that meant.

Sure enough, a stir was already running through the enemy ranks. I focused my hearing, and the buzzing came through sharp and clear.

"Wh-what the hell is that?"

"They're saying the Pope apostatized? Or is it King Harun who's the apostate?"

"Damn it! This is no time for that! We have to run!"

"The king has apostatized! Run!"

Then a mana-charged shout rolled out over the silent battlefield. One of the enemy commanders appeared to have grasped the situation in an instant and was barking orders. At his cry, the soldiers on the far side began to flee without so much as a glance behind them.

"It's the heretics! The Pope was never the traitor!"

"Damn it! Run! Fall back!"

Soldiers in the front lines flung away their very weapons and turned their backs. Amid the chaos, the only ones holding their positions appeared to be heretics disguised as common soldiers.

Damn it. Of all the timing.

The Pope, blindsided by the sudden turn, stood wearing a dazed expression. It was that far outside the bounds of sense. Still — the man is supposed to be the supreme commander...

The instant I moved to rouse him, the Great Warrior's voice rang out. It was barely more than a whisper, yet every soul on the plain could hear that sinister murmur.

The Great Warrior drove Komet's sword into the earth, then drew Komet's necklace from within his robe and hung it upon the hilt. An ominous premonition crawled up my spine. My instincts were sounding the alarm. I couldn't just take the hit like last time.

I triggered Lightning Flash and, pouring out half my mana in the same breath, brought lightning crashing down on the Great Warrior.

What the—

But I couldn't so much as stall his movement. In a world slowed to a crawl, the Great Warrior moved at my exact speed. With a single sweep of his hand, he raised a barrier of blood and batted my lightning aside.

The power of a divinity, beyond all doubt — and it had grown stronger than before, beyond all telling.

Before I could close even half the distance, the Great Warrior laid his hand upon the sword. Blood-colored radiance settled over Komet's blade. The blue glow within the sword resisted for a heartbeat — then faded away without a sound.

The Great Warrior closed his eyes and offered his prayer like a chanted spell.

The world bled red. As in the terror realm I'd seen before, my vision inverted into crimson — but the scene before my eyes was no vision of hell. Just a plain, red as blood.

Across it, the soldiers who had been standing there — ally and enemy alike — began collapsing where they stood, helpless. Withered and contorted, like men drained of every last drop of blood. And as they fell, the world deepened into an even darker red. A vile demonic miasma filled the air until each breath came thick and sticky.

What in the world is happening...

On the silent plain, the only ones still upright were the climbers, myself among them, the heretics — some thirty thousand by the look of them — and the Pope. No one else.

Shaken as I was, I made myself think. A god enthroned could not lay a hand on climbers directly. That was the only reason we had survived whatever this was. The relief of being alive outweighed even the horror of watching thousands die — and for that, a small thread of guilt coiled in my chest.

Damn it. ...Wait. What about the Pope? Even with the goddess confined, had she spared her own Pope? A Pope who had lost his faith, of all people? There was no other explanation to be had, and I couldn't begin to fathom the goddess's heart.

In that instant, the Great Warrior's aura turned on its head. An unfathomable dread — an overwhelming presence — swept across the plain like a blade.

Damn it — no time to stand here. Most of the climbers were still frozen, blindsided by the inexplicable. Right now, the only allies left on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this battlefield were the climbers, every last one of us. We would have to take Floor 26 on our own strength alone.

"Snap out of it, all of you!"

I shouted with mana packed into every syllable, and only then did the climbers come back to themselves. In a situation like this, orders had to be given one by one. There was no chance of a perfect battle plan, so I started from the bare basics.

"All climbers! Reform ranks! Warriors to the front! Mages, fall back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and get your spells ready!"

Having shouted myself hoarse, I left the Pope behind and raced desperately for Ha Heijeong. She was already running to find me, so we met within moments. She'd covered a fair stretch of ground; Ha Heijeong dragged in a hurried breath, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her face tight with unease.

"Can you take him?"

There was no room for panic, no time to ask how everything had gone so wrong. At her words, I turned my gaze on the Great Warrior. His presence was beyond any comparison to before — he looked far stronger than the Factory Manager. And on top of that, he would be wielding divine power.

"Only one way to find out. He's playing on a bigger stage now, sure — but he's still inside the range we expected, isn't he?"

The Great Warrior growing stronger on Komet's sacrifice. Countless soldiers' lives had been heaped on top of Komet's, but either way, this was exactly what Ha Heijeong and I had braced for.

"Then it's settled — the climbers deal with the heretics, and you take the Great Warrior."

"Got it."

"The high priests will funnel every buff they've got into you... but magical support will be a stretch."

"That's fine. If it's not you casting it, I'd rather have nothing. It would only get in the way."

Anxiety still showed on Ha Heijeong's face, so I talked her up a little and flashed my most confident smile. She let out a short laugh at the sight — some of the tension had come loose.

"Someone's feeling sure of himself."

"Why? You're the one who keeps calling me the hope of Earth."

"...Don't get hurt."

"I won't."

Ha Heijeong tapped my shoulder once and turned away. When her eyes flicked back at me, I smiled — don't worry — and a moment later she was issuing detailed orders to the climbers.

The heretics, for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their part, were nearly finished reforming their lines. As I swept the battlefield, my eyes met the Great Warrior of Terror's. Even from more than a kilometer away, that blood-red glare was vivid. His sinister voice rolled out across the plain.

His divinity must have climbed with the sacrifice — an unknowable terror now threaded the Great Warrior's voice. I was fine; Indomitable saw to that. But the climbers with weaker minds trembled where they stood.

"Lord, protect me from the wicked..."

"Allah is great..."

Those from Earth who had a faith cried out to their gods; those who had none ground their teeth. Morale was at rock bottom. Even if it was all for show, I had to turn the mood around.

I called lightning down through the crimson sky, and thunder flashed blue between the blood-red.

KRA-KA-KA-KOOM—

The bolt slamming into the heart of the enemy lines snapped every climber's attention back to me. Seizing that opening, I roared at the top of my lungs.

"All climbers! Prepare for battle!"