Chapter 31
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Savior Yulia
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“It hurts. It hurts.”
A white flame roared up from the wound on his shoulder.
It was driving out the evil energy left by the beast’s fangs. Without the sacred flames encircling it, he would have died from the curse or had to amputate the arm.
He climbed the crystal-clear, ice-like staircase alone.
All around was an utter void, devoid of anything.
Only other dimensions, sparsely twinkling like stars, were visible.
In gaming terms, this was a place the operators hadn’t fully built yet.
Whenever Babel set out to invade other dimensions, angels and demons clashed endlessly.
The dimensions Babel was currently invading were the Human Realm, the Beastman Realm, and the Machine God Realm.
Once these three dimensions fell, the war would begin anew.
At the end of the transparent glass staircase.
On a tiny glass platform like thin ice, there was a flowerbed just big enough for one person to sit.
Blue armor thick with moss, and a white, bone-like stone embedded in the collar.
Gonghyeok’s hand grasped the stone.
[You have acquired the ‘Angel Nataniel’s Tombstone.’]
[This item can serve as a medium for the skill ‘Spirit Summoning.’]
[You have obtained the ‘Rusted and Broken Angel’s Armor (S-).’]
- Defense increases according to the user’s mana level.
- Resists all impure energies such as from the Spirit Realm, Chaos Realm, Demon Realm, etc.
- Enhances all holy attribute skills and powers.
- Repairing it may unlock hidden functions.
As he packed away the armor and tombstone, an unknown thought flowed into him.
‘We will be reborn as even higher beings! Yes, like the Dimensional Gods! They’re merely inhabitants of a higher dimension!’
‘Blasphemous fools! The day you complete Babel and challenge the Dimensional Gods will never come!’
‘Demons? Angels? Assigning such labels among humans from parallel dimensions—ridiculous. Fine, that makes it easier for each side to understand.
From this moment, we are the Demon Race. You followers of the Dimensional Gods.’
Gonghyeok’s eyes saw it: dozens of Babels. And in the center...
A massive tower that seemed formed by merging hundreds of Babels.
If the Babel he was climbing now was a small one operated by a ‘Demon King,’
Then that colossal tower probably housed a being like a ‘Demon God.’
[You somehow feel like you understand Babel a little better.]
[Achievement ‘Remains of the Fallen Angel’ unlocked. Completion rate: 100%.]
[As a reward for drawing one step closer to Babel’s secrets, you receive 1 Black Coin.]
Gonghyeok grabbed the black coin. He slowly fed it to the GM’s mouth, smacking his lips.
[Avatar space expanded with Black Coin. Remaining avatar space: 2/3.]
“Every time, these thoughts just sour my mood.”
Not just this ‘Dungeon Tower Babel,’ but countless other Babels were invading different dimensions.
And the ultimate ‘true Babel’ existed separately.
This fact left a nagging unease. But one thing was certain...
‘Once a dimension conquers its Babel, demons never return to it.’
Whether it was a pact with the angels or some dimensional constraint, he didn’t know.
If he conquered this Babel and kept the Human Realm intact, he didn’t care if the other dimensions fell.
‘Just clear it before the beastmen and machine gods.’
If another race cleared it, this Babel would retreat, only for another ‘Babel’ to arrive.
A zero-sum game where all but the one conquering race were abandoned.
Competition between games, between humans, between races.
No sane being could survive in a place like this.
‘Soon I’ll be able to summon an angel. And I need to deal with Mandarion too.’
The near-complete first stage of the Sephirot (Tree of Life), plus the angel’s holy relic.
With the final piece, he could summon an angel and simultaneously complete the 1st Hierarchy, Malkuth.
Gonghyeok set off to gather the last material for the angel summoning.
[You leave the hidden location ‘Angel Nataniel’s Sanctuary.’]
[You move to a random location in the Four Divine Beasts’ Dungeon.]
“Hm, Gong... No, Mr. X. What brings you here?”
“You know him or something?”
Gonghyeok found Soma Sangai’s party wandering the dungeon. Easy with the GM’s map.
The seven hunters excluding Soma kept their distance from Gonghyeok.
The worst murderer, unpredictable. That was X’s infamy on the 2nd floor.
“I’ll show you the way. There’s an achievement and reward you need at the western end.”
“Understood.”
Soma answered without a moment’s hesitation. He had resolved to become the Vajra Guardian for Gonghyeok and Yeonsi. The leader’s command, once trusted, was followed without question.
That was his identity as the Dalai Lama’s protector, a veteran of battlefields.
Gonghyeok handed Soma the bonus dungeon key and the last ‘Angel’s Tear.’
“At the western end, there’s a long-range attack beast, Mandarion. When you enter its territory, use Diamond Indestructibility no matter what. Then charge straight through whatever attacks it makes and open the door with this key.”
“That’s it? It doesn’t sound too easy...”
“No, it won’t be easy at all. It wasn’t placed there to be beaten—it’s a blocker. Finally, its attacks leave a severe curse aftermath.”
Gonghyeok’s finger tapped the transparent ‘Angel’s Tear.’
“Eat this gem then. But only after Diamond Indestructibility ends, within 1 second, or you won’t even twitch a finger before dying. I guarantee it.”
“Understood. If you advise it, it must be right.”
Soma’s gaze shifted to his party behind.
“Leave the party behind. They’ll just die following.”
“...Understood. But why send me alone for such an important reward?”
Guardian King, Soma Sangai.
He had to form ‘Nirvana,’ one of Babel’s top raiding clans.
To do that, he couldn’t linger averagely near Gonghyeok. He needed massive rewards and rapid growth to become a top-tier hunter.
Gonghyeok’s gaze turned northward.
“I have business with the people who went north.”
With that, Gonghyeok vanished. Soma nodded once and separated from his original party.
The separated group sighed heavily as they walked.
“That Soma guy who just left? He’s super skilled and reliable, right?”
“Yeah. Sigh, we gotta head out as soon as we find the exit. We came assuming he’d tank well, but this...”
“If we can even find the exit properly...”
Thud.
They were chatting about their top-tier tank leaving.
Relying on wall torches, ahead of them dangled a comrade’s head who’d been talking until moments ago.
As if unaware it was severed, his lips moved calmly: ‘...Who knows.’
“Wh-what!?”
“Derun! Everyone, attack forward!”
Six avatars appeared, instantly lighting the dark dungeon.
Thud, thud.
But footsteps came from behind.
“See, I decided to kill 100 up to the 3rd floor.”
The long crescent blade in his right hand spun gracefully.
Thud.
Another head rolled away.
“But I’ve only got 10 so far. Gotta fill the quota.”
“You fucking murderer!”
After a brief scream, silence fell over the dungeon.
Beside the pile of corpses, damp cigarette smoke rose, soaked in blood.
“Should I just quit this X shit? Hiding my identity means I can’t even smoke properly...”
Gonghyeok’s eyes turned to the dungeon’s north.
The location of 《Northern Holy Beast Gerennil》.
And the direction of this dungeon’s exit.
“I need to meet her.”
Yulia Froebel.
My idol from 200 years ago.
Maria was overjoyed.
“Yulia sis, a white coin? That’s an insane reward!”
“I’ve never even heard of coins like that. And the devil’s tomb...”
The tomb of the devil Bahkto, guarded by 《Northern Holy Beast Gerennil》.
Gerennil, trusting the ‘2nd floor savior,’ opened the path.
Yulia’s party of 10 entered.
A landscape beyond human comprehension: cracked earth with weathered skulls and shriveled bat wings.
Yulia alone ascended, returning with a white coin and an S-rank item.
Maria was truly ecstatic.
She’d lost an entire toe to X.
Hope for clearing the 2nd floor gone, plunged in despair, then Yulia came.
‘Don’t give up. I’ll save everyone.’
With a slightly sad face, she miraculously achieved the first draw.
The white coin and S-rank item held no appeal.
They were permitted only to Yulia.
‘Right?’
Even other comrades’ faces were genuinely bright, no pretense.
Everyone followed Yulia wholeheartedly.
‘We couldn’t even enter without Leader Yulia’s savior title.’
‘We did nothing, so nothing to regret. Haha.’
No one envied Yulia taking the white coin and item.
A powerful party united around wise Yulia, free of needless dissent or greed.
And they’d only met less than a day ago.
Throb. Maria’s head pounded on one side.
She shook her head to shake off the pain.
Then smiled at Yulia.
“Sis, congrats on the white coin. And the item too.”
“Yeah.”
For some reason, a shadow hung on Yulia’s face.
“Yulia, you okay? You look pale.”
“I’m fine. I was just worried because I don’t know exactly where this is.”
A middle-aged hunter who’d followed Yulia since the 1st floor voiced concern.
Yulia gave a vague reply, and the group fell silent.
In the continuing quiet, Yulia at the front moved her lips unseen by all.
‘I’m not wrong.’
She repeated it to herself, face hidden from everyone.
She and her party pressed forward into the dark dungeon.
“Sis! Ahead!”
Maria’s piercing scream rang out.
Oh no! Yulia snapped her head up, scanning around.
For the frontline to miss it—what trap or monster? Where had her attention been?
Self-reproach for her carelessness, she focused where Maria screamed.
There...
“X ahead! It’s X! X!”
A man in a blood-red hood and fanged hound mask stood there, white fangs prominent.
Maria’s hysterical screams continued.
Gonghyeok waited at the passage.
Easy to pinpoint Yulia’s location with the GM’s map.
“Everyone, fall back!”
“We’ll attack first!”
Yulia’s party instantly readied for battle.
Just as they moved to strike without question, Yulia’s sharp voice slapped their ears.
“No, stop!”
“Leader!”
“Yulia, we need to attack now!”
Yulia met her party’s eyes heavily and spoke.
“Everyone, fall back. I’ll handle it somehow.”
“......Be careful, Yulia.”
With consent, Yulia faced X again.
“We don’t want to fight you. Will you let us pass?”
“I’m not here to fight either.”
Yulia and the party flinched.
‘First time hearing X’s voice.’
‘Sounds pretty young?’
“I just want to talk a bit. With Yulia Froebel and all of you.”
Gonghyeok’s finger pointed at Yulia and the party.
“With us? But how do you know my name...”
“That’s not important. If I wanted, I could learn from those around or analysis avatars.”
“True. But what talk do you want?”
Yulia’s eyes stared straight at Gonghyeok’s mask.
“If you want to talk, remove the mask. I don’t want to converse with someone I can’t trust.”
Gulp. Swallowing sounds from behind Yulia.
“You’re demanding I remove the mask for talk? Right now?”
“To you, it might sound that way. But I just want mutual trust to make the conversation possible.”
“Trust, trust, trust...”
For a moment, laughter seemed to echo from behind X’s mask.
“Yulia. You see me as an equal trading partner now?”
Gonghyeok’s crescent blade spun once.
Clang.
Maria instinctively checked if her own head was still attached.
But no head rolled. Just the long crescent blade rolling indifferently, clanging.
“Hiding my face from a beauty is rude. I’ll remove the mask. And drop my weapons too.”
Clang, clink, clatter clatter.
Not just the crescent blade. Iron chains, greatsword, longsword, dual swords, katar, knuckles, spear, obsidian sword, caltrops, greaves—weapons of all kinds littered the dungeon floor.
“Yulia, I don’t intend to fight you. But have your party fall back. I don’t make a habit of showing my face to just anyone.”
“Bullshit! Kill him now...”
“Enough!”
Yulia’s roar echoed off the dungeon walls.
The hunter about to attack during the unarmed moment froze, glancing at Yulia.
“Everyone, fall back further. I’m the strongest here.
Even unarmed, they won’t last seconds against him.”
“......Got it.”
Yulia sent her party back.
The dungeon torches were dim. From a distance, faces were hard to discern.
“Now, remove the mask.”
“If you insist.”
Click. The hound mask came off.
“Oh my god, you’re young. No, young-looking. 25? No, 20?”
“Killing people has nothing to do with age.”
“Right. Of course.”
Yulia and Gonghyeok’s eyes met again.
They’d locked eyes during the previous draw, but masked.
First time face-to-face.
About 20 seconds passed.
Clear bewilderment crossed Yulia’s face.
Simultaneously, the corner of Gonghyeok’s mouth curled slyly.
“Yulia. What’s wrong? Something off?”
“No, nothing. But you said you wanted to talk—why say nothing?”
“Oh, right, we should talk. Shall I start with why you’re flustered?”
Gonghyeok pointed to his eyes.
‘Including last time, two abilities used, no effect. This time, even the mask off.’
“That’s what you’re thinking now, right?”
“!?”
Yulia’s mouth gaped in shock.
“Now, shall we talk to the people behind?”
Gonghyeok passed Yulia, shouting loudly.
“Hey, you lot. How was the devil’s tomb?”
“You bastard, how do you...”
“But where’s the reward? The coins and S-rank item. Who has them now?”
“That’s... with Leader Yulia...”
Gonghyeok chuckled, spreading his arms slightly.
“So Yulia took it all alone. You guys really have no complaints? None at all?”
Groans and silence from the party. Gonghyeok pointed at Maria.
“Especially you, Maria. Back on 1F, you slit an innocent man’s throat for a few coins. Someone who’d never killed, not even a monster.
Anyone here killed for coins or items? You shadows say you’ve killed too?”
Flickering torchlight revealed shadows tinged red below.
“Perfectly controlling these murderers and trash. Yulia, truly amazing ‘trust.’”
“Ah, aaaah.”
Someone’s groan sparked it; the party screamed in unison.
“Ugh, ugh, uwaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaaaaaah!”
The narrow passage filled with nine screams.
“Stop, everyone stop—!”
Drip.
It was astonishing.
At Yulia’s shout, the nine screams and movements halted instantly.
Eyes unblinking, like a game screen paused.
“Such a wonderful, convenient power.”
“Stop, don’t say it. The power will break!”
“Yeah, yeah. Important for a good person like you.”
Gonghyeok approached Yulia.
“The great savior who kept 150 alive jointly on 1F and found a draw on 2F, Yulia Froebel, is actually...”
‘Brainwashing’—only his lips moved.
“A villainess who does ■■. Manipulating and deceiving everyone’s minds.
Worst kind of person, right? If this got out, how much contemptuous stares? Just thinking about it sounds fun, doesn’t it?”
Yulia’s face drained white.