Chapter 171: I’ll Send You a Gift
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 171: I’ll Send You a Gift
Humanity has always been faced with the problem of survival.
But things are a bit different now.
To think they would actually conquer the 5th Floor.
It was quite unexpected.
Indeed, human persistence is truly remarkable.
However, you see...
There is such a thing as the limitations of one's birth.
A floor that marks the ultimate limit of where a human can reach.
Such a thing exists.
A massive, insurmountable barrier.
No matter what tricks they use, they will never be able to cross over to the 8th Floor.
The 8th Floor is the wall of humanity.
A towering wall that can never be scaled.
Or perhaps, a pit of despair with no known end.
A place where the undying Roas cling like dregs.
A place where cosmic horror lurks.
Of course, we were halfway successful in our exploration of that 8th Floor.
And so, while searching for the entrance to the 9th Floor, we... gave up on descending any further.
After piercing through the abyss of the 8th Floor.
After reaching a place by sacrificing countless Demon Kings.
There was nothing there.
No Labyrinth Lord.
No clues to stop the quickening of the great malice known as the Labyrinth.
There was nothing.
Because the 9th Floor did not exist.
Because we could not find a path leading to the 9th Floor.
In the end, we had to give up.
The path to the deepest part was not permitted to us.
So, we decided to head upward instead.
Since we couldn't go down, we chose to go up.
I suppose it was a natural conclusion.
Since we couldn't see the end.
We decided we might as well escape this hell.
It’s not that we didn't try.
We simply changed our direction at the edge of despair.
Did you think being a Demon King made us any different?
We are just like you.
We struggle desperately to survive.
We resist to escape the fate we've been given.
Because that malice swings its blade at everything.
We, who have strayed from the laws and gained a will of our own...
Perhaps to the Labyrinth, we are nothing more than thorns in its side.
“Is the Wandering Demon King not a bit different from us?”
“Of course we’re different from that dragon-obsessed freak who spends all day looking for some dragon named Caesar or whatever. To begin with, Nihila—that thing is a being created directly by the Labyrinth.”
“Are we not also beings created by the Labyrinth, in a broad sense? We were born in the Labyrinth and gained power here.”
“No! We are spontaneous births. Beings who survived for a long time and gained free will. Isn't that what we are?”
“Was there truly no intervention from the Labyrinth in our birth? What if that pitch-black malice is what sired us? What if our very thoughts are all within the palm of the Labyrinth’s hand?”
“There’s no need for such a desperate hypothesis. To think our struggles are all part of a plan set by the Labyrinth... it’s horrifying.”
“I believe the fact that we haven't been swallowed whole is proof that we are beings endowed with free will.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying!”
As far as I know, no being was a Demon King from the very beginning.
Monsters who woke up in this land, repeated countless lives, and suddenly attained enlightenment.
Those are the beings humans call Demon Kings.
The heretics of the Labyrinth.
Or perhaps its bastards.
Those who escaped mindlessness and gained intelligence through chance.
Beings who then conquered the 7th Floor and made it their home.
In a way, we might also be 'human' in a broad sense.
Because we can think and learn.
“That human who conquered the 5th Floor. He seems intent on descending all the way to the bottom.”
“I wonder if he’ll still want to descend after witnessing the abyss of the 8th Floor? Those lots don't even have a ship to sail the 8th Floor.”
“In the end, they’ll all just burst from the deep pressure. It’s impossible for a human body to withstand the deep pressure of the 8th Floor. Unless, of course, they give up being human.”
“Who knows? Those people create so many peculiar things. They might be able to make something that can withstand the deep pressure of the 8th Floor.”
“Even if they do. They won't be able to find their way on the 8th Floor. How do they expect to move forward without a compass?”
“That... I suppose you're right.”
Will humans really be able to reach the 9th Floor?
When even we failed?
I think it’s impossible.
Do you know how many Demon Kings died just to explore the 8th Floor?
To begin with, the act of entering the 8th Floor itself is a difficulty bordering on the impossible.
Even if you break through the gatekeeper and open the gateway.
Below it lies nothing but an endless abyss.
The paradise created by the undying Roas wringing out the last of their lives.
The hell created by their deaths.
Everything is shrouded in darkness.
It is like an archipelago.
The model gardens created by the Roas.
They are scattered about like islands.
If you don't keep a proper heading, it's all too easy to get lost.
There are cases where people get trapped on an island made by a Roa and end their lives there, unable to escape.
Of course, dying trapped in a Roa's garden might be the best option on the 8th Floor.
The abyss is so deep that it's actually better to stay in a Roa's model garden.
The moment you lose your way in the darkness, you must face the erasure of your very existence.
“The fact that we can communicate is very important. Perhaps we could cooperate with the humans.”
“Erphin. That is impossible. Not only is there too great a difference in our modes of existence, but to the humans, our very presence is a calamity and an evil that must be purged.”
“Cut the crap about coexistence. What coexistence with those weak insects! They’ll just try to parasitize us.”
“Do you seriously think cooperation with humans is possible? Erphin, humans and monsters are polar opposites.”
Not everyone thinks the same way.
Everyone has their own reasons.
We’ve only gathered for a moment because our goals happen to align.
Rather than a perfect team, we are closer to strangers who couldn't care less what happens to one another.
I know.
They aren't otherworlders like me.
Since they were monsters of the Labyrinth from birth.
They absolutely loathe the idea of humans.
Of course, even though it’s been countless years since I fell into this world.
And my sensibilities have become similar to theirs, I still like humans.
Well, I keep trying to suggest we get along with humans.
But it won't be easy.
There probably aren't any other Demon Kings as friendly toward humans as I am.
It’s just a shame.
“But what if our goals and the humans' goals are the same?”
“Do you really think they could be? Our very existence is poison to humans.”
“Coexistence is absolutely impossible. Until one side is completely annihilated. There is only war.”
“None of you have any romance.”
“You’re the only one looking for romance, Erphin. Wake up. We need mana to live. We need a massive amount of calories.”
“Exactly. If it weren't for the World Tree, we would have eaten each other long ago. And yet, what? Coexistence with humans? Monsters and humans both struggling for survival. What a lovely pair they'd make.”
It’s true.
From a monster's perspective, a human is nothing more than a single meal.
In fact, humans are quite delicious.
Since cannibalism is a basic requirement for a monster, I suppose I could be considered guilty of that sin as well.
“It’s just a shame.”
Still, I don't want to give up on my dream.
Humans are very delicious.
But I still love humans.
Because I was once human.
Before I came to this world, I was just an ordinary girl.
“If only I hadn't played that game... I wouldn't have ended up falling here...”
“Game? That story again? A past life. How ridiculous.”
“Nihala! Past lives exist. My memories guarantee it.”
“Hey! Erphin! You’re a nutcase. A nutcase’s memories? They’re bound to be a jumbled mess.”
“Morto. That’s uncalled for. A relationship cannot continue without mutual respect.”
“Lecturing me again, Nihala? Tsk, look at these weaklings and what they're doing.”
“Morto, you are the weakest one here.”
“Nihala. Are you crazy? Want me to kill you and eat you?”
“Both of you, stop. Fighting will only consume your strength. If they attack us when we are weakened, we’ll have no answer.”
“Damn bastards.”
We might hold the title of Demon King.
But the real ones are something else entirely.
There are the monsters who call themselves the Four Heavenly Kings.
And that crazy lizard bastard coiled around the roots of the World Tree.
I suppose you could say there are ranks even among Demon Kings.
We are the weak ones.
From a human's perspective, we would be unbelievable monsters.
But from the perspective of other monsters, we are clearly weak.
“Well, let’s end this regular meeting here. We won't reach a proper conclusion anyway.”
“What about the ones we sent up to the 6th Floor?”
“They’re all still alive. They’ll enter the 5th Floor soon.”
“If only they could reach the surface, I’d like to get a taste of the outside air.”
Even if we do nothing, the Labyrinth will eventually erupt.
But that would mean our free will disappears.
Our goal is to escape before we fall under the direct control of the Labyrinth.
That’s why, while looking for various methods, we decided to send up our minions.
After seeing that insect who called himself the Saint in Black dragging monsters of the Labyrinth upward, we decided to try and copy him.
The mana concentration gets lower the higher you go.
Our power will weaken, but that’s fine.
As long as we can escape.
I just want to get out.
And if I can go up, I want to try talking to them.
With the human who won against the Labyrinth.
“What was his name again?”
“I couldn't find that out. Rummaging through an adventurer's brain isn't an easy task.”
“That’s a shame. I wanted to at least know his name.”
“We’ll find out soon enough. Once the minions go up to the 5th Floor.”
It’ll be fun.
Because I sent my gift up with them.
I wonder how the person who conquered the 5th Floor will react.
Will he like my gift?
Or perhaps he’ll end up hating me.
Whatever it is, it’s exciting.
Waiting for a new change, that is.
A week has already passed since the reorganization of the Underground City was completed.
The 2nd Strategy Team had wiped out most of the monsters remaining in the Underground City and succeeded in fixing the monster spawns to the Plaza Section.
Furthermore, the Platinum Badges who had obtained new bodies had finished adapting to their new physical forms.
And here, we discovered a surprising fact.
“Does even their race change?”
“Looking at how their skin color changed... it seems so.”
“The soul has overwhelmed the flesh.”
Abram and I were observing the Gladiator Brothers.
They were twin brothers of Latin descent. However, the bodies given to them were Caucasian and Asian, respectively.
Because their races were different, they looked completely different from how they did in their past lives.
But after quite some time had passed since they obtained their new bodies, something amazing happened.
“Their physical appearance is becoming almost identical to the appearance of their souls.”
Their appearance from when they were alive was being applied to their newly obtained bodies.
In fact, this was almost the first time I had properly observed the process after giving someone a living human body.
Because until now, Roy had always been inside a Golem body.
I hadn't had the chance to observe a dead person's soul inside a living person's body for this long.
‘It’ll completely change by the second week.’
The body was following the appearance of the past life.
Since science had no place in the handling of souls to begin with, Abram and I decided to call this anomaly 'Soul Synchronization.'
“It’s becoming similar to my body when I was alive.”
Chloe opened and closed his hands, fidgeting with them, before nodding.
He looked extremely satisfied. It was an unexpected result.
“By the way, has a new Saintess Candidate been decided?”
“I’m not sure yet. The Pope hasn't said much, and no separate revelation has come down. Perhaps the Goddess is also in deep contemplation.”
“Aha...”
A Saintess is created in two ways.
The first is for humans to directly raise a Saintess Candidate and have her verified by the Goddess.
The second is for the Goddess to directly designate a Saintess Candidate and send her down to the humans.
Freya was a Saintess created through the first method.
She had been thoroughly educated as a Saintess and raised as such.
‘Well, she’s sleeping over there right now, though.’
Freya was sleeping inside a nest she had made at some point.
“Well, I expect a result will come out soon.”
“I hope a new Saintess appears quickly.”
“Indeed.”
While I was chatting with Abram, a Golem came running toward us.
“We found it!”
The Golem soon delivered the news.
It seemed Arachne had been discovered.