Omophnes' Eternal Rest
"Lady Omophnes has entered eternal rest."
No answer came.
Was the shock simply too great? Or was it pure indifference?
He could not tell which, but Didascalia felt the weight of a genuine threat settle over him all the same.
"It seems she met her end while attempting to chastise the irregular—Player Seong Yujin."
Flap-flap—
His wings kept twitching, betraying the unease he could not quite suppress.
Still no reply.
Didascalia chewed on his twisted lip and pressed on.
"A player who has only just reached the twenty-first floor possessing enough power to kill the Tower's Punisher? That makes no sense. We need some method of restraint—any method."
At last, someone spoke.
"Oh—Lord Akair!"
Among the thirteen—no, now twelve—Administrators, the oldest existence, the sacred origin itself.
The moment Akair opened his mouth, color returned to Didascalia's face.
That had been the conclusion of the Grand Council.
The hypothesis that Seong Yujin might be a regressor had proven false—Didascalia had verified it personally.
That was precisely why they had simply watched until now.
The attempt to use that Eliyah creature had failed. Even Omophnes, the only one among them who could kill players of her own will, had failed.
The remaining options were few.
"Even so, we cannot simply leave him be. At this rate the Tower will collapse."
Seong Yujin was strong.
Far too strong.
If he continued climbing floors and growing at this pace, the Tower would inevitably crumble.
Akair chuckled dryly and continued.
This time would be no different.
Whatever Seong Yujin did, that vast cycle would not twist.
That was Akair's judgment.
Didascalia did not share it.
"I have a bad feeling. Seong Yujin is clearly different from other players."
Perhaps—
Just perhaps—
Even Lady Akasha herself might come to harm.
That unease kept pricking at his instincts without rest.
This time Didascalia could find no reply.
Akair was not wrong.
Irregulars like Seong Yujin had appeared, however rarely.
Non-human beings had been summoned into the Tower and stirred up chaos for a season. In one world a Demon King had invaded and smashed the Tower wholesale. A planetary god had even intervened directly once.
Compared to those, Seong Yujin should have been nothing…
And yet it feels ominous.
Didascalia shuddered.
Even thinking of Seong Yujin was enough.
An unexplainable dread swallowed him whole.
Neither that mighty homunculus, nor the Demon King who ruled hundreds of dimensions, nor even a planetary god had ever given him a sensation like this.
"Player Seong Yujin killed an Administrator. That is something none of those beings you mentioned ever managed."
Didascalia's voice trembled as he spoke.
Akair's tone grew a shade more grave.
Didascalia seized the opening at once.
"We need restraint. Now that Lady Omophnes has entered eternal rest, we can no longer hand down direct death. But I propose we employ other methods."
After a long silence Akair's words finally came, and Didascalia let out a breath of relief.
If the oldest among them had decided, the rest of the Administrators would follow without question.
And that prediction proved correct.
The most talkative among them barged into the conversation.
Akair shut their mouths and turned back to Didascalia.
"Of course!"
Didascalia nodded rapidly and spoke before anyone could stop him.
"If an Administrator cannot step forward to kill him, then we simply put another being forward in our place, do we not?"
Just as they had once used Eliyah Ventrick.
Akair's concern was understandable.
Yet Didascalia had no intention of repeating the exact same mistake, even if the approach looked similar on the surface.
"Last time we gave him no help at all. We merely allowed inter-floor travel. This time will be different."
He would raise them properly.
Just as Seong Yujin raised his own companions, Didascalia would do the same.
If a Tower Administrator provided full support while skirting the edges of the rules, any player could grow strong beyond imagination.
"I've been thinking hard ever since I lost the Flower Keeper on the twentieth floor."
Didascalia wore a triumphant, nauseating smile.
"There are a few standout players around the fifteenth floor. Every one of them possesses outstanding talent and feels no hesitation toward murder. Excellent material, all of them."
When Akair showed interest, Didascalia grew even more animated.
"Four of them in total. If you loosen the restrictions on me just a little—for only a single month—I will use them to eliminate Player Seong Yujin without fail."
Akair asked the other Administrators, and answers burst out as though they had been waiting.
Those who remained silent either had no interest or simply did not care. With this exchange, the decision was essentially made.
"Yes! I'll have to do a few things that brush right up against the limits, you see."
"Thank you, Lord Akair!"
Didascalia bowed his head with a delighted grin.
The conversation ended there.
Didascalia bared his teeth in a disgusting smile.
"Just wait, Player Seong Yujin. You—and everyone you care about—I'll turn you all into my toys."
He was certain.
No matter how much Seong Yujin enjoyed the protection of the Akasha System, no matter what unidentifiable abilities he wielded—
"Those four will be more than enough to catch up."
Players who devoted themselves more to their own instincts than to climbing the Tower, who had turned their attention elsewhere.
Their talent was downright demonic.
If he lent his hand to people already that gifted?
"Someone like Player Seong Yujin can be removed anytime."
Flap-flap—
His wings beat without rest, driven by rising anticipation.
"This is no time to linger. I must go prepare at once."
Floor Leap [A]
Destination: the fifteenth floor.
The desert city of Ezhara.
"Aaaah, are we really leaving? Can't we rest just one more day?"
"No."
Just how long had she been enjoying the hot springs and saunas?
Lee Sia was bright red from head to toe as she whined.
"Aww, why not?!"
"Then go die still soaking in the hot spring."
"…Why would I die?"
She blinked, unable to understand.
He clearly was not talking about passing out from staying in the water too long.
"Remember that woman we fought?"
"Yeah, that scary woman."
"More of her kind could show up."
"Ah—then we have to move. Ji-hoo, what are you doing? Get ready!"
Sia scrambled to prepare for departure.
The fear of facing another existence that terrifying—and possibly not surviving it—had washed over her in an instant.
The two servants changed clothes and stepped outside at once.
"So what do we do? Hunting?"
"That's right, but we have to go a bit far."
"This coat's warm. Doesn't matter how far it is now."
Sia tried on the pure-white fur coat Yujin had bought and looked utterly confident.
"Good. Then let's buy some more food and a few extras and head out. It'll take about a week."
She flinched at the word "week."
But only for a moment. Wearing a reluctant expression, she followed Yujin out of the Tale of Blooming Frost Flowers.
"What are we hunting that we have to go that far?"
"A hidden boss. I need something from it."
"Something you need?"
"I'll explain everything later. For now just follow me."
This was no time for conversation.
He needed to obtain the Ice Crystal [B] as quickly as possible and climb to the higher floors.
Using the credits he had earned at Morak-Morak, Yujin quickly purchased everything necessary, stuffed it into Chunbae's mouth, and set off to leave Frost Veil behind.
"Oh, leaving already?"
At the stairs they ran into a familiar face.
The captain of the guard.
He greeted Yujin and the 3 No with a friendly expression.
Looks like he pocketed a fat commission.
Yujin's stomach twisted a little, but he showed nothing and asked,
"Is the gondola fixed?"
"It is. Fortunately repairs finished just an hour ago. You're quite lucky."
The captain laughed heartily and pointed at the huge mass of metal behind him.
"With this you won't have to climb the stairs the hard way. Quite a convenient thing, isn't it?"
True enough.
Yujin and the 3 No would not tire from stairs, but it still saved a great deal of time—useful enough.
"Then we'll go up right now."
"Will you?"
The captain nodded and held out his hand.
"Three hundred credits per person. Total of twelve hundred credits, guests."
…These bastards never let a single thing pass free.
Yujin chewed his lip lightly and pulled out the credits.
"Filthy expensive."
A single night at the ultra-luxury inn Tale of Blooming Frost Flowers cost five hundred credits.
And this was more than half of that.
"Isn't that just how it is?"
The thirsty man digs the well. If you don't like it, you buy the water.
Yujin glared at the captain with flat, dead-fish eyes, then handed over the credits.
"See you next time."
"I'd be grateful for that."
Was this a captain of the guard or a con artist?
Yujin shook his head and climbed onto the gondola.
Grgrgrgrgrnnn—
The massive metal cage, suspended from chains thicker than a grown man's forearm, began to move.