8th Iteration (1)
8th Iteration (1)
The bitch who stabbed her comrade in the back to save herself and deserves to be chewed up and killed.
Who was he talking about? It didn't take much thought.
'Baek A-rin?'
The 8th Iteration was aiming for Baek A-rin.
Was that even possible?
They were in the same Tower, but these were clearly separate spaces. Leaving aside how he even knew, there was no way he could easily break the walls dividing them.
'No, he's done it before.'
Back when he experimented with the Three Ends in the Tower.
From the floor where the past was manifested, all the way down to the first floor where the first-years were entering the Tower. And not just that—holes had been punched into various other spaces too, letting innocent monsters tumble down.
Why wouldn't the 8th Iteration be capable of the same?
Lee Ha-yul's fingertips, steeped in lightning energy, were tinged red. He clenched his aching right hand.
'So... this is the result of blocking it half-way.'
Needless to say, it was overwhelmingly more powerful than Senior Daera's Heavenly Thunder.
The 8th Iteration had deliberately inflated his innate talent. It seemed entirely possible for such a Heavenly Thunder to break a wall.
Destroying a wide area like the Three Ends did might be difficult, but he could at least punch a hole through.
[She's a different person.]
Lee Ha-yul, having confirmed this in his spear of purification state, turned his head.
[She's certainly the same person, but she's clearly a different person.]
The Baek A-rin the 8th Iteration knew and the Baek A-rin of this world were not the same.
"I know that."
The 8th Iteration, looking down at Lee Ha-yul from atop a rock, nodded.
"But do you think that bitch would be any different?"
The 8th Iteration shifted his bow and muttered. His eyes glowed bright blue. Deep distrust flickered within them.
"Fake or real, their essence is the same. In the end, she's the same bitch."
[...I don't think I'm one to condone it, but... there was a reason she had no choice.]
"Was she brainwashed?"
Lee Ha-yul's expression twitched at the immediate reply. The 8th Iteration, who had been fiddling with an arrow drawn from his waist, shrugged.
"Was her head split open and she was being controlled? Did she just go crazy? Or was it because I was an asshole? I don't know the details. My 'eyes' couldn't see it then."
At the moment he faced death... he hadn't been able to think of it because of the overwhelmingly sticky and violent vortex of emotions.
"So just kill her."
The 8th Iteration spoke coldly.
"That thing's a ticking time bomb. If you leave her nearby, she's guaranteed to go off in a big way. The only certainty is that whenever it blows, everything's going to be completely fucked."
Baek A-rin's personal martial power was also dangerous. She was strong enough now, but even more so when factoring in her future potential.
Was that all? Her status as the Heir of the Azure Sea was another issue.
In the 8th Iteration's own timeline, she'd stabbed him in the back alone. But later, she might lead her own forces and betray them from within.
She was an absurdly dangerous variable. No matter how you looked at it, if she went off, the worst was unavoidable.
"Killing her is the easiest, safest, and surest way."
The 8th Iteration tilted his head.
"Think I can't kill her here? Don't worry. My place is the same now as it was back then—a worthless fake—but if I really mean to, I can kill her."
A manifested fake. His circumstances were the same. His physical condition? It was a little different and downgraded, but this was more than enough to spare.
"The aftermath? What's there to worry about? This is the Tower of Growth. If someone suddenly dies in the Tower, the responsibility falls onto the Tower Master—"
[I can resolve it.]
The 8th Iteration's words cut off.
His gaze landed on Lee Ha-yul, who had stepped forward. Lee Ha-yul clutched the necklace.
[I'm preparing a method or two. I also have a rough idea why it happened. I have a countermeasure for it too... so I can resolve it.]
The 8th Iteration shut his mouth.
The voice that reached his ears was unique. He could feel the desperate emotion piercing his chest.
'A spoken command? No, it's a bit different. A surface-level mindscape projection... the Confession Necklace? That interrogation artifact?'
The 8th Iteration's expression turned bizarre. He had been granted fragments of knowledge during his materialization, but he didn't know the precise situation of the Real One.
In truth, he hadn't even had the luxury to think deeply in that direction.
"...What could a fake piece of trash even argue for? Still..."
The 8th Iteration let out a breath. Crackle! The lightning energy condensed in his breath surged. His previously calm face slowly twisted.
"Thinking coldly, there are plenty of reasons to kill her... but frankly, I want to kill her for personal reasons too."
The 8th Iteration shook his head. Lightning energy dripped from his bristling hair.
"More than that, I want to kill her even without the cold reasoning."
[......]
Lee Ha-yul pressed his lips shut.
This was a matter of emotion, not reason. In that regard, he couldn't exactly blame the 8th Iteration for his thoughts.
"I'm just a pathetic fake, so I can't control my emotions. So try and stop me."
With those words, the 8th Iteration raised his bow. An unprecedented surge of lightning energy boiled up violently.
"A high and mighty Real One like you can handle that, right?"
At the same time, he added those final words with a playful grin. Feeling his skin prickle with numbness, Lee Ha-yul raised the spear of purification.
[I feel the same way.]
Lee Ha-yul was no different when it came to prioritizing emotion over reason.
[I also have personal reasons to keep her alive. So I will stop you.]
The 8th Iteration grinned. Crackle snap! Small bursts of lightning energy shot out around him. Before that, Lee Ha-yul had already kicked off the ground.
- Boom!
A thin bolt of Heavenly Thunder slammed into the spot where he had been standing. Kwa-gagang! A belated explosion hammered his ears.
It was fast. He knew that well, but even while detecting the precursor signs, it was hard to dodge.
- Kiririk...
A sound tickled his ear.
Before he knew it, the 8th Iteration had drawn his bowstring taut. A tangible, elongated arrow was nocked onto the string.
- Kwaaaaang!
His body was violently repelled backward. He left the ground instantly and soared into the sky. Lee Ha-yul frowned and unfurled three pairs of wings.
With a single flap, his body came to a featherlight stop. The spear shaft that had blocked the arrow, along with the hand holding the spear of purification, trembled faintly.
'Heavenly Thunder.'
The 8th Iteration's system title was Heavenly Thunder. The name of his unique ability was the same.
In practice, Heavenly Thunder did make up a large portion of the 8th Iteration's overall power.
But his unique abilities didn't end there.
There was no sound.
A single arrow had stuck to him.
It was fast. But slower than the Heavenly Thunder. There was enough distance, and he could track its trajectory. He could dodge it with more composure.
Before that complacent thought could even fully form, the single arrow divided.
Most archery-type expansion abilities included a technique or two of that nature. Lee Ha-yul also possessed such an expansion ability.
Divine Archery Expansion Ability
Downpour
But the scale of the expansion ability now unfolding was on another level.
One became hundreds. And those hundreds divided once more.
Tens of thousands of arrows densely covered the sky. They flashed, lightning energy and aura coiled around each arrowhead.
Divine Archery Expansion Ability
Sure Hit
All those arrows came hurtling in, aimed at a single point. Lee Ha-yul, who had meticulously observed their trajectories, released the spear of purification and thrust both hands into the subspace.
Soon, two swords were pulled out. Ooouuung! The instant pure white aura coiled over the blades, the swords moved, leaving afterimages in their wake.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations
Three Heavenly Swords, Aerial Chaotic Thrust
The two swords carved madly through the air in all directions. They never collided. Finding the optimal paths, sword strikes filled every direction without a single gap.
- Kwa-gagang!
The two swords mercilessly deflected and cut apart the arrows targeting him from all sides. Screeeak... his sharp senses caught a faint noise.
The 8th Iteration's figure had never vanished from his observation. He still stood atop the rock, nocking a jet-black arrow onto the string.
'An artifact.'
Its name was Silent Consent. He already knew its function and had finished confirming it through observation.
- Ooouuung!
Space wavered.
The warping occurred at the head of the Silent Consent arrow and right before Lee Ha-yul's nose.
It was a covert change that even superhumans with exceptionally good senses wouldn't notice, but Lee Ha-yul didn't hesitate to split the space in front of him.
Sseogeok! The sword carved through empty air. The rippling was cleaved left and right and dissolved into the void. The 8th Iteration's brow furrowed.
'He severed the connection?'
Leaving awareness aside, interference was possible. A space-type unique ability? He really did have a rare one. Clicking his tongue, the 8th Iteration released the bowstring.
The Spatial Leap had been blocked, but it had other functions. The fired Silent Consent erased its presence and melted into the void.
The Silent Consent would hide amongst the countless arrows and aim for his opponent's vital spots.
'Do you know about it?'
Information about the 8th Iteration.
He wasn't sure if it would match completely, but there was a strong possibility that the Real One possessed information about the fakes.
'The Silent Consent. The Spatial Leap was blocked, so is he going for a sneak attack through its reverse-side traversal?'
That was indeed the case. Lee Ha-yul knew it through the original work, and was also measuring and analyzing it in real-time through observation.
The arrows filling all directions were the same. It made his skull feel dizzying, but he accurately struck down every single trajectory without missing one.
- Chajajajang! Ppajik! Chajajak...!
'Tsk.'
But that didn't mean he had any breathing room.
'It's hard to break out.'
No matter how many he deflected, the arrows were endless. All of them moved with chilling precision, tightening their encirclement from all sides.
Suddenly, the nape of his neck prickled. At that sharp signal, he moved the spear of purification. The spear, which had been deflecting arrows, extended its golden blade and thrust forward.
The blue line that shot up from the mountain peak and the spear of purification collided.
- Kwaaaaaang─!
Blue and gold flashed wildly in a tangled mess. The Heavenly Thunder and White Night, having torn into each other, scattered.
Flapping his wings to pull his body away, Lee Ha-yul loosened his numb fingertips and drew his sword back.
- Kaang!
The blade deflected the Silent Consent. Stripped of its aura, the Silent Consent melted back into the air. Even so, it was still trackable by observation...
'Annoying.'
Arrows packed with considerable force kept rushing in, aiming for any opening.
If he tried to guard against a dangerous big hit, the smaller arrows and the Silent Consent would rattle his senses.
It was a vexing tactic. The reason it could be upheld so comfortably was because the archer had secured a place to comfortably shoot his arrows.
He sent a thought. Ooouuung! Pouring out an answer, the spear of purification dissolved into the void.
The 8th Iteration's eyebrow twitched.
His eyes were distant, as if holding the sky itself. Lightning crackled within them. Instead of drawing the bowstring, the 8th Iteration swung the bow like a blunt weapon.
- Kwaaang!
The bow slammed head-on.
The 8th Iteration's eyes flew wide open at the burden pressing into both arms. The empty space the bow struck rippled violently, and Jeong-hwa, who had been thrusting with a golden spearhead, was exposed.
- Kurrrr!
The spearhead's momentum intensified. Kugung! Cracks webbed across the boulder he stood on with a sharp snap. The 8th Iteration twisted the bow and kicked hard off the ground.
'Behind?'
He whirled his body, swinging the bow. Kwajagak! Several ordinary swords shattered.
Magic of every color surged in from behind them.
Then, from the rear again.
Jeong-hwa shot upward, pouring out streams of White Night. The 8th Iteration spun and swiftly released the bowstring, now laden with Heavenly Thunder.
Kwarreung! The bursting Heavenly Thunder drove back the White Night. Mighty as White Night was, it could not tear through Heavenly Thunder head-on.
The Heavenly Thunder that had pushed back the White Night split into dozens of strands. Kwarreung! The magic swallowed by the Heavenly Thunder lost its form all at once and dissipated.
In that interval, the 8th Iteration kicked off the empty air in quick succession and soared.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Sky-Walking Heaven Path
To the 8th Iteration, the sky was no different from the ground.
If he wished, he could move as though flying. Kwaaang! Jeong-hwa, which had at last torn through and absorbed the Heavenly Thunder, surged upward.
The 8th Iteration glanced down at him and curled his body into a round shape.
Divine Bow Expansion Ability
Bow-Body Bullet Shadow
Kung! The instant he unfurled his body, his field of vision stretched out long. The ruined summit, Lee Ha-yul, and Jeong-hwa all receded with tremendous speed.
The distance yawned wide, ripping through the wind.
Yet Lee Ha-yul's form remained crisply visible in the 8th Iteration's eyes.
A figure wrapped round in arrows that easily numbered in the tens of thousands.
Even a tolerably capable foe, once surrounded like that, could not escape.
The 8th Iteration coolly assessed the situation and drew his bow. Urreung! Condensed Heavenly Thunder settled on the bowstring. He was not aiming at Lee Ha-yul but at the empty space... a wall.
'Leave him like that for a moment and...'
That very moment.
From within the barrier of arrows wrapped around Lee Ha-yul, a flash of light blazed, and dozens of sword-lights pierced through the barrier and carved up the surroundings.
- Kwadeudeudeudeuk!
The arrow barrier burst apart with a bang. The shattered remnants of arrows rained down upon the ground. The 8th Iteration's eyes widened.
'...That's...'
Behind Lee Ha-yul's back.
As if harmonizing with the three beautiful pairs of wings, three pairs of translucent arms were visible. The swords gripped in each hand streamed with the same flash of light from moments before.
'A second one?'
The moment an almost unbelievable conjecture flashed through the 8th Iteration's mind, Lee Ha-yul bent his body. A familiar motion. And more than that—his eyes flew wide at the Innate Talent that was expanding.
All-Rounder Expansion Ability
Myriad Transformations - Bow-Body Bullet Shadow
The wind burst, and the gap between them closed in an instant. Lee Ha-yul gritted his teeth and plunged one hand into his Subspace.
His hand emerged. Hwareureuk! A sword-blade of vivid crimson revealed itself. A gentle blaze spread, and the sky grew feverish.
"The Beacon Fire Sword...!?"
[You keep—where do you keep aiming!]
Gritting his teeth hard, Lee Ha-yul brought the Beacon Fire Sword slashing down. Hwareureuk! Unnervingly beautiful Calamity Flame surged toward him.
The calmness was at odds with its utterly chilling force. The startled 8th Iteration unleashed Heavenly Thunder.
'Kuh!'
Heavenly Thunder and Calamity Flame mingled and exploded. Through the gap, six slashes aimed for his vitals. He flung himself backward to evade them, his eyes springing wide.
The three pairs of wings curved forward. Embers gathered at the wingtips. Then Earth Energy and Vitality clung to the embers, and Water Energy and Cold Energy coiled around them.
Calamity Flame, Taesan, Azure Sea...
'A, third... Three Ends! Insane!'
Sound was devoured. A tri-colored sphere shot from the wingtips and flew at him. The size was extremely small—a simplified Three Ends manifested and fired.
But the power contained within could not be dismissed.
The startled 8th Iteration drew his bow. Kwareureureung! Dozens of strands of Heavenly Thunder blocked the Three Ends.
The Three Ends exploded. The swelling sphere turned pure white and swallowed the Heavenly Thunder in great chunks. Holes were bored clean through the Heavenly Thunder.
Kwajajagang! Magic—too many strikes to even begin counting—slammed into the remaining Heavenly Thunder and widened the gaps.
Lee Ha-yul slipped through those gaps like through the teeth of a comb, wings fluttering, rushing onward.
Something else was taking shape behind his back. Mana branching out like tree limbs... Circuits? Circuits flowed ceaselessly, accelerating his body, pouring out magic.
'...A fifth.'
Lee Ha-yul flew in without a beat of delay and thrust the Beacon Fire Sword. No matter what, Calamity Flame was dangerous. The 8th Iteration raised his bow.
The Beacon Fire Sword and the bow clashed, and Heavenly Thunder and Calamity Flame billowed.
Amid a fierce deadlock, each burning and annihilating the other, Lee Ha-yul's hand abruptly shot out and plunged into the Calamity Flame.
'Taesan.'
A flood of Vitality Energy surged from his fingertips. Hwareureureureuk! The Calamity Flame, which had been near orange, flushed crimson and swelled massively.
In an instant, Heavenly Thunder was overwhelmed.
The Calamity Flame surged closer. Dangerous. He had the cloak's leather and other defenses, but taking Calamity Flame head-on was still, of course, dangerous.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Lightning Step Movement
Kwareureureung! Lee Ha-yul's face crumpled. The 8th Iteration's body, about to be engulfed by the Calamity Flame, shot upward like lightning. The speed was so tremendous that the flames could not dare follow.
Lee Ha-yul twisted around.
A patch of empty sky a short distance away.
The 8th Iteration revealed himself from the flickering Heavenly Thunder. The bow was already drawn to its limit, condensed Heavenly Thunder forming on the string.
The sky warped under the lightning energy and Innate Talent spreading in all directions.
Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Thunder Rain Domination
- Kwareureureureung!
Thick bolts of lightning pooled in the sky. The ground bucked wherever an occasional bolt slammed down.
The mountains that the branching bolts of lightning touched melted away; vegetation not even struck caught fire and toppled.
The Innate Talent and momentum surged without limit, and his expression hardened of its own accord. Never before had he expanded his Innate Talent to this degree.
'The 8th Iteration, that is.'
He was the first completed iteration to walk the good-alignment path.
There were faults, certainly, but unlike the earlier iterations, this was an iteration whose strengths stood out sharply.
He had comfortably hunted a 3rd Rank solo, and the 8th Iteration had slain more than four 2nd Rank monsters alone.
There had been no Tower Master of Purgatory, but this was an iteration where he could hold his own against the Tower Master of the Dead and the Tower Master of Bitter Cold.
[...You seemed to be going easy on me, and now you're suddenly trying to blast me away?]
"Yeah. Now that I see it, you're not the kind of opponent I can go easy on."
The 8th Iteration, wreathed in Heavenly Thunder, tilted his head.
"Hey, are you really a second-year?"
[Yes, a second-year.]
"Those techniques... you learned them from other people? Not from me?"
[Yes.]
Letting out a hollow laugh, the 8th Iteration shook his head.
The situation made a rough kind of sense now.
The reason the Tower Master of Growth had deliberately summoned him before the real one, knowing full well it would earn resentment.
Probably so the 8th Iteration's techniques could be passed on to the real one.
Well, of course. They were the same 'Lee Ha-yul,' after all. His own techniques would suit him better.
How? He didn't know that part, but since it was clearly possible, that was why he was going around using them so recklessly.
"Incredible."
The 8th Iteration meant it sincerely. The real one's potential was incredible—far beyond any measure the 8th Iteration had dared apply.
'This is a second-year...'
At the very least, two years remained. And if one assumed time still remained even after graduation...
"Haha..."
At minimum, he would become far, far stronger than someone like the 8th Iteration. Thinking that, a feeling truly beyond description filled his chest.
It was positive, and it was negative. To be honest, there were plenty of sticky, ugly feelings, too.
It was an emotion the iterations who had met Lee Ha-yul before him had experienced, but... the 8th Iteration felt it deeply.
The 8th Iteration, the eighth Lee Ha-yul, was strong. He was unequivocally stronger than the seven who came before.
And yet his death had been so stupefying. A wretched death compared to his strength.
He had not died because he was weak.
The 8th Iteration trusted his comrades.
He believed in Baek A-rin.
While blocking the advance of the Tower Master of Bitter Cold, he paid no mind to Baek A-rin approaching from behind him.
He didn't even worry about her lifting his cloak. Naturally, he assumed it was to heal him.
He didn't suspect her raising her spear, either. He thought it was to intercept an enemy, or perhaps the preparatory motion for a spell.
When the spearpoint aimed at his back, he could have blocked it.
He didn't block it.
Something—perhaps—some intention he couldn't grasp, she must have had.
That kind of faith stayed his hand.
- I'm sorry. Please die in my place.
The trust was betrayed.
The spear he had trusted pierced his back, ran through his heart and chest.
It was an utterly vicious blow.
A frigid curse froze both body and soul, starting from the heart. It crushed him wholly, leaving no margin for revival.
Why had he trusted her?
Lee Ha-yul had a trait where once he trusted, he opened his heart wide, but there was also a precedent.
The seven before him were never betrayed. Baek A-rin had been a comrade many times. There were many desperate moments. Even so, she had never once stabbed him in the back.
- Pudeuk!
His teeth ground together with a chilling sound. His emotions seethed and boiled. The Heavenly Thunder, influenced by his feelings, roiled roughly.
[...Are you okay...]
"It's the Tower of Growth, so the pain will be less, and your life isn't in danger. So... I don't know how you'll use it, but learn it well."
The feeling—hot as hellfire, sticky, resentful—did not dissipate easily.
It couldn't be helped. In the 8th Iteration's experience, that betrayal was not so long ago.
He was sorry to say it, but this was also taking out his anger on someone blameless. Still, the other was learning something from it, so it would probably be fine.
The 8th Iteration loosed the bowstring.
Divine Bow · Heavenly Thunder Expansion Ability
Clear Lightning Flash
A thunderclap pierced through space.
* * *