Chapter 193
Chapter 193
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 193
Chapter Title: The Investiture Arena
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Inside the Magic Tower stood another tower—a subspace aptly named Babel—and Go Yohan was on its 50th floor.
Thud.
Kartul stood there, Ogre's twin greatswords plunged into the ground, his eyes blazing blue as he remained motionless like a doll.
"It's the Investiture Arena."
Go Yohan's voice echoed through the space.
"A trial arena that only those who have passed the tests in five-floor and ten-floor increments can reach."
Go Yohan and Yusehwa had designed Babel's structure together.
"The path to the 50th floor and its trials..."
A faint smile played on Go Yohan's lips as he spoke.
"...are also the process by which Travania's Holy Knight Michael became a knight."
Babel's lower floors required starting with bare hands.
Just like that.
"As I proved myself."
The process by which the name Michael had resounded throughout Travania.
"So that those aspiring to knighthood could prove themselves."
That was how Babel had been built.
The knights Go Yohan desired were not the common knights of Travania; he wanted them to possess the qualifications of holy knights like himself.
"I wonder how many will make it."
Go Yohan murmured to himself.
He already knew the path he had walked was far from ordinary.
And that no one could easily follow it.
"I even thought maybe no one would reach it."
Despite all the deliberations during Babel's construction.
"But already, one, two... eleven have arrived."
Of course, their situations and processes weren't perfectly identical to the past Michael's.
They were players with long years of experience.
Unlike Go Yohan, who had only a rag barely qualifying as clothing and his bare fists.
Even so.
Even then.
'Eleven.'
Eleven had followed that path without giving up and proven themselves.
Grip.
Why was that?
This strange emotion stirring in his chest wasn't unpleasant.
Rather...
"More will arrive."
And an answer came.
At that voice, the smile on Go Yohan's lips deepened.
"And it's not just eleven."
In that moment, a hand extended from beside Go Yohan.
The hand, revealing pale white skin, was like a work of art in itself.
Tremble.
The instant that sculpted hand shook.
Twitch.
Kartul's pupils, who had stood like a doll until now, dilated sharply.
Fwoosh!
Before Go Yohan's nose, Ogre's twin greatswords crossed down in an instant.
A colossal terror that had made even Go Woojin before becoming a city wall feel death just by facing it.
Ripple.
Behind the twin greatswords, red eyes flickered with intensity enough to cleave the world in two.
Yet Go Yohan didn't so much as flinch, as if unaware of it.
Hum.
A faint ripple of light.
And with it.
Kwaaaa!
Kartul's form exploded forward.
Everything became a flash of light, followed by darkness enveloping the scene.
In the world slowly regaining its light, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
An enemy that all who reached the Investiture Arena had struggled against, one that demanded they steel themselves for death.
Even the top rankers would have had to calmly accept a gruesome death without the new power of knighthood—Kartul.
"......"
He remained frozen.
A thin line pierced through his torso.
And a massive hole through his chest.
Finally.
Drip.
Collapsing and melting away like wax, Kartul's form was a shocking spectacle that even new knights wouldn't easily believe.
An instant.
Boom!
That was the time it took to fell Kartul.
Of course, the Kartul before them lacked the full prowess of the orc great chieftain original, but Yusehwa had invested enough to grant it nearly half its power.
Considering it was their first step into transcendence.
"Because we're here."
This absurd scene was shock incarnate.
Slink.
A black shadow rippled.
The owner of that artistic hand.
"We'll go even higher. To the place the Captain once reached..."
Only three knew Babel's structure.
Go Yohan, whose life had mirrored Michael's.
Yusehwa, who had made it reality.
And the one who had coordinated it all in between.
"To the 100th floor."
Yoon Seung-ah.
"Seung-ah."
An unexpected fruit had fallen.
And from its cracked shell emerged her—Yoon Seung-ah.
"Someday, together with the Captain."
Yoon Seung-ah in black attire, her exposed skin so starkly white it felt like a glitch in the world.
Slink.
The face revealed from the removed hood had also changed.
She had always been beautiful enough to rival Go Minji.
"And forever after."
Now, she seemed to deny reality itself with her appearance.
Her lustrous black hair cascaded long, tousled by the wind.
"Yeah."
Seeing her, Go Yohan smiled.
"Take care of things. Seung-ah."
"Yes, Captain."
She smiled brightly in return.
*
*
*
The cityscape below glittered like tens of thousands of fireflies.
Luxurious furniture and a comfortable interior.
"Who's going?"
A red-haired man gazing out the window asked.
"Me, Byul, and Timothy."
"After all that talk, just three?"
A sneer curled on the red-haired man's lips.
"That's how scared they are."
A voice came from behind.
A silver-haired man appeared.
For some reason, his face wasn't clearly visible, but the aura within him seemed far from ordinary.
"When we were chosen and gained this power, it felt like the world would kneel at our feet, right?"
As the silver-haired man spoke.
Ripple.
Black haze began rising behind him.
It was as if the surrounding mana was boiling and screaming in response to his emotions.
How powerful that force was.
Crack!
Cracks began forming on the inner walls and glass, designed to withstand the 120th floor.
Those fissures revealed the man's emotion.
"No."
Fear.
An unconcealable terror.
In truth, it was not the mana screaming, but him.
"Who would've thought such a monster existed."
"......"
"They called them demons, but what the hell is this? They acted like they'd give us the world and immortality, and this is what we get?"
The silver-haired man spat irritably.
And then.
"Go Yohan."
At the name from the red-haired man's lips.
Flinch.
The silver-haired man trembled.
"Yeah. Go Yohan. That crazy monster."
Having contracted with demons, they could sense it.
The demons, who had seemed ready to traverse the world and trample everything beneath their feet, were hesitating.
And.
'They're afraid.'
Those inhuman monstrosities, describable only as such, were frozen in fear, merely observing.
"Haa. Good thing."
The silver-haired man, gripped by terror, finally seemed to shake it off.
"We've got our own monster, 'you,' after all."
The red-haired man.
"That's why even three of us are going. It's a major announcement, right? We're going because we trust you."
"......"
"So take responsibility."
"I will."
In that instant.
Slink.
The silver-haired man vanished.
Left alone, the red-haired man quietly closed his eyes.
Slink.
In the room cracked and shattered everywhere by the silver-haired man, a miraculous event occurred.
Swoosh.
It returned to pristine condition, as if nothing had happened.
As if time had flowed backward, not a single gap remained.
"Talking about responsibility after contracting with demons."
A sneer reformed on his lips.
But.
"Yeah, I'll take responsibility."
That smile carried another emotion.
Fear.
Shatter!
The wine glass in the red-haired man's hand exploded into pieces.
But the shards floated in midair, refusing to fall.
"Even the angels cowering in fear."
The man's murmur.
"Well, fine. We've bought time."
From what he'd heard.
"They plan to summon a god."
To summon a god, they were lying low.
*
*
*
The Magic Tower's major announcement finally arrived on D-Day.
People had already gathered in front of the Magic Tower.
The atmosphere in Korea had been somewhat subdued due to recent events, yet no one had expected such a crowd, and surprised faces were everywhere.
"Wow."
"How many people is that?"
"Over a hundred thousand, at least?"
Over a hundred thousand people, it seemed.
Since the announcement was open to the public, all sorts had flocked there.
At the same time.
Squeeze.
Faces filled with fear were visible here and there.
"What if there's a demon...?"
"What if there's another terrorist attack...?"
They were terrified by the events so far.
"Would Go Yohan let that happen?"
"No way something's going to happen, right?"
Even those comforting others had fear lurking in their eyes.
Today, as they moved to witness what might become a historic moment as agents, they couldn't hide that sliver of dread.
"Who could be hiding among all these people?"
"They even reopened the airports that were closed for a bit, right?"
Foreigners were commonplace.
"I heard almost no players are left in Korea..."
"Hey, that guy over there—isn't that South Africa's ranker Astiva?"
Amid them, players.
Even those who looked like rankers.
Murmur, murmur.
In the past, Korea had held its own as a player powerhouse, but now, aside from Go Yohan, it was sorely lacking.
'What if one of them goes berserk?'
Were the remaining players enough?
"More than that..."
There was a greatest fear.
"It's been ages since Go Yohan last showed up. Is it really okay?"
With faith in Go Yohan even starting to waver now.
-The event will begin shortly.
A voice resounded.