The 26th Floor, Temple (2)

"Charge!"

We tore across the crimson plain. This was the world of terror, where even breathing felt sticky and thick — but I didn't slow down.

The tactic we'd prepared was simple.

I would hold the Great Warrior, and the climbers would deal with the heretics.

Going by the mountain of corpses I'd seen in the vision, the Great Warrior grew stronger with every death. Which meant the more climbers who fell, the harder this fight would become.

Speed was everything. Let's end this as fast as we can.

That was when the earth itself began to shake. A colossal tremor rolled up from somewhere deep underground, as if an earthquake had struck.

The vibration was familiar.

The Great Worms we'd met in the Dumi Desert.

Had they been hidden here in advance?

With nothing left to hold them back, the monsters burst up through the ground without hesitation. Great Worms, giant scorpions, crimson monsters — and among them were beasts we'd never even seen in the desert.

This isn't good…

They weren't all that strong, but the climbers would be facing monsters they'd never encountered before. Their appearances were grotesque, to boot.

I worried the sudden reinforcements would shatter the climbers' morale.

I need to set an example — show them these things are nothing.

I was sprinting at full speed, so there was some distance between me and the climbers following behind. Enough of a gap to take down a Great Worm.

The moment I thought it, my body was already moving. Shifting direction and leaping took an instant.

"Greeeeaaagh—!"

Riding the momentum, I howled as I sprinted up the tilted body of the Great Worm.

Three seconds to reach its head.

The axe I'd drawn back behind my head came crashing down, and a torrent of lightning followed. The scorched Great Worm seized and toppled. I wrenched the axe ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠free and leapt off.

"They're nothing! Don't slow down! Charge! Charge!"

My lead foot hit the ground; I tilted my left leg to deflect the landing and drove myself forward.

The monsters' appearance had been sudden, but Ha Heijeong's response was just as fast. Her firm voice rang out from the rear.

"Scatter when the monsters charge! Aim for the heads! Mages — intercept the Great Worms!"

"Scatter!"

"Heads! Go for the heads!"

The climbers echoing her orders in unison put my worry to rest.

The Great Warrior stood behind the monster horde and the heretics. He was charging straight at us, but far too many obstacles lay between us. The battle with him was bound to get ugly. Fighting deep in enemy territory would be better than brawling next to my allies.

I planted my feet and launched forward, swinging the axe in light arcs to sweep the monsters aside. I had to carve a path at speed, so I didn't bother killing each one cleanly — the climbers running behind me would finish them off.

Running alone. Enemies on every side. To the monsters, a lone runner must have looked like easy prey. The ones around me gaping their maws and lunged.

Axe in one hand, I drew a dagger with the other — fast reactions demanded it.

"Kyaack!"

Behind me, the tail of a massive scorpion stabbed in on a diagonal. First, I opened the throat of the crimson monster in front of me with the dagger, then twisted at the waist and swung the axe backward. The scorpion's severed tail thudded to the ground.

I couldn't afford to slow down, so I turned the recoil of the twist to my advantage. The momentum of the backswing was overcome with pure arm strength, and the axe came down again — burying itself in a monster's nape. My body spun a full rotation to the right.

The spinning force tore the axe free while the dagger in my opposite hand sank into the scorpion's left skull.

"Kyeck…"

With a last gurgle, the dying scorpion crashed to the ground. I stomped down on its carcass with my right foot and leapt.

Six meters into the air. Ahead, the monsters gaped their maws toward me, stretching out grotesque claws and tails.

I had to finish this before I landed. A chain of lightning followed.

I kept the mana carefully measured, but the power was still devastating. Amid the collapsing monsters, I stepped on empty air and found my footing — stamped down on the skull of a monster too slow to fall, then off the tail of a giant scorpion, kicking off into the air once more.

In under five seconds, I crossed sixty meters midair.

My landing point was flat ground between the monsters and the heretics — and I came in leaning forward. No choice but to roll across the ground. Speed meant life. I used the rolling momentum ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to snap my legs and hips upright.

"Kill the unbelievers!"

"He's alone! Don't be afraid — surround him!"

The instant I rose, I gripped the axe long and swung it in a wide horizontal arc.

Whum— Beneath the heavy rush of wind, the crisp crackle of sparks rang out sharply. A single swing of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the axe felled five heretics.

"Enough!"

Just then, the Great Warrior's steely roar erupted from behind the heretic lines.

"I will deal with that one myself. Faithful, go forth and guide the other unbelievers."

With the Great Warrior's words, no enemies came for me anymore. Even the monsters behind him turned their gaze away, and the heretic ranks parted like the Red Sea to clear my path.

"Kill every unbeliever and offer them to Terror! Charge!"

"Charge!"

As the heretics streamed past me, my eyes locked with the Great Warrior of Terror fifty meters ahead. His burning gaze had grown even redder, and a repulsive mana now pulsed from his entire body.

Only one thing remained between us: the fight. But there was still something I needed to ask first. Not that his answer would ever change. I clenched my teeth.

"What happened to Komet?"

"Komet? Ah… you must mean the heretic Great Warrior."

The Great Warrior paused briefly, then twisted his mouth into a smile. Instead of waiting for an answer, I readjusted my grip on the axe, for no reason I could name.

"The heretic Great Warrior is in that world you were sealed in. Buried somewhere in that pile of corpses, I'd imagine."

You cowardly bastard.

I didn't spit the words out. If I'd been in the Great Warrior's position, I'd have done the same. I forced my lips, trembling with fury, into a crooked twist.

"It won't work like that this time."

"How tragic, unbeliever. All things are the will of Terror — the heavens have already tipped in our favor. And this time, I will not be so easily beaten as before."

With that, we hurled ourselves at each other as if bound by a promise.

I used Lightning Step, then released it almost immediately. Whether it was the blessing of his enthroned deity or the Great Warrior simply holding his own pace, he kept his speed. Honestly, he looked a little strained — but even now, without wielding the full power of his divinity, I could feel that he was stronger than me.

No. I can do this.

I exhaled a shallow breath and refocused. The Great Warrior extended his right arm, leveling the spearhead toward me.

Two attacks to expect: a thrust driven with his full weight, or a rising diagonal slash. I stared down his arm, ready to respond to either in an instant.

He's swinging up.

The spear cut through the air, arcing from the lower left to the upper right. I rotated my right shoulder and brought the axe down along the opposing diagonal — and just before impact, the Great Warrior turned his wrist. The strange, half-rotated spearhead wrapped around the lower edge of my axe.

Clang—

Axe and spear locked together. He meant to test strength, it seemed — so I relaxed the hand gripping the axe. Riding the force of the spear shoving upward, my body soared skyward with the weapon still in my grip, like a rhinoceros beetle flipping its opponent clean over.

That was fine. There's something I have to do before fighting the Great Warrior anyway.

It was exactly what I wanted. My top priority had never been the duel — it was Komet's sword and necklace.

The battle with the Great Warrior came after. Komet was gone now, but these were the goddess's holy relics I'd discovered through the hidden mission — the very tools the Great Warrior had used in his sacrificial rites.

If I take the sword and necklace, maybe I'll find some kind of clue.

It was the thought that even if I couldn't wield the goddess's power, perhaps I could clear away this crimson world — the nameless dread and the clinging, sticky mana. I wanted to carve out even a slightly better situation for the climbers.

I steadied myself midair and touched down on the ground. Behind me, the Great Warrior watched me with a puzzled expression.

Right — he can't understand how I got launched that easily.

No — even if he'd figured it out now, it was already too late. I whirled and sprinted toward Komet's sword. The Great Warrior's urgent voice rang out behind me.

"You! What are you doing!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

I had no intention of answering. The Great Warrior hastily kicked off the ground, but I already had momentum on my side. I hurled lightning at the heretics swarming around the sword and reached the blade and necklace.

The holiness I'd felt when I first saw them was gone; they now glowed with a repulsive crimson light.

"Do not!"

The Great Warrior's voice cracked with panic — but there was still distance between us. Seeing him charging so frantically convinced me: pulling out that sword would change something.

As I swiftly sheathed the dagger and reached for the sword, a doubt flickered through my mind. Wait — if he's this desperate, why did he leave it just sitting here?

I mean, sure, he couldn't fight with it or use it nearby… but did he really never imagine I'd go for the sword? Careless. Careless.

I seized the necklace and the sword's hilt at once and pulled with all my strength. The sword came free without the slightest resistance.

But the crimson world did not vanish.

Is it because the sacrifice was already made?

I couldn't tell. All I knew was that a chilling mana was now seeping from the sword and necklace. A primal, visceral revulsion — and yet I couldn't let go. In that instant, the Ring of the Dawn Breeze responded.

A flash of blue light — and in the same breath, my vision inverted.

My sight was still drenched in blood-red. But something had changed: instead of the open plain, an endless mound of stacked corpses now rose to greet me.

And once more, this was the world of terror. As the tide of the outer battle turned against him, the Great Warrior had locked me away in here.

I'd been through this once before, and I'd anticipated it, so there was no panic.

Last time it was ten minutes. How long this time?

Please, Ha Heijeong — hold the line well without me…

Even as I worried, a strange mana from my left hand shattered the thought. That's right — the Ring of the Dawn Breeze had reacted to the sword and necklace. There'd even been that flash of blue, if only for an instant.

Even if the crimson world spread over the plain wasn't dispelled, something definitely happened.

Otherwise, the Great Warrior would never have fought so hard to stop me. There was no way back to the plain on my own power anyway — so finding whatever clue this place held was my job now.

But I had no idea where to start looking. In that aimless moment, my sponsoring deity suddenly crossed my mind.

Why is the sponsoring deity just sitting there at a time like this?

After the elixir to save that old man and the information sponsorship on the 16th floor, he'd gone quiet again. If he sponsored me more often, maybe he'd slap a penalty on my stats, but I'd grow that much faster.

No — if the sponsoring deity is staying out of it, it means I can find my way through this myself.

What could I even do? I didn't really understand divine power or curse-breaking. Purification — that was fire, wasn't it? Should I try setting something ablaze anyway?

Fire, fire… And in the stream of passing thoughts, lightning surfaced. Could I purify something with lightning?

Hmm, probably not… but no harm in trying.

I concentrated lightning into my left hand, the one holding the sword. A dazzling storm of it crashed down over the crimson blade — and nothing changed.

Doesn't seem like it. Should I make a real fire, then?

As it happened, I had flint in my mimic pouch. Just as I reached for my belt, my whole body froze.

Something struck my mind like a bolt out of nowhere.

The 24th floor. The Dumi Desert. Komet had relayed to me what the goddess told him — and now, clearer than it had ever been, that sentence circled in my head.

"Let there be a dawn. I shall come soon."