Provocation
Provocation
The Tower Master of the Dead.
A fragment of an invading Tower Master.
Even if his primary combat power lies in his army corps, his true body's martial force is nothing to dismiss lightly.
There had been various circumstances and interference, but this was the bastard the 8th, 11th, and 12th Iterations all ultimately failed to catch.
And that Tower Master of the Dead bore a wound that grievous.
『If you agree to negotiate, I will disclose the circumstances.』
'Tsk.'
Of course he wouldn't just tell me outright.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, turning the possibilities over in my mind.
What reason could there be for the Tower Master of the Dead to sustain that kind of damage?
'Internal strife?'
That was the most plausible suspicion.
Among the Tower Masters who joined the invasion—Purgatory and Bitter Cold—either could have left that kind of harm on the Tower Master of the Dead.
'...No.'
I dismissed the thought.
I had sensed the Tower Master of the Dead coiled inside the tower.
This place was a kind of mental world—a virtual space where will-thought or soul was projected.
Perhaps because of that, I could closely examine the damaged soul lingering within the Tower Master of the Dead.
'It's neither the Authority of Purgatory nor the Authority of Bitter Cold.'
I had experienced both authorities.
I'd been struck by them directly and suffered through them, so there was no way I wouldn't recognize them.
The traces left on the Tower Master of the Dead weren't caused by the Authorities of Purgatory or Bitter Cold.
It wasn't internal strife.
That made things extremely complicated.
Whatever the reason, it meant there was something else out there capable of inflicting that much damage on the Tower Master of the Dead.
- What do you mean by negotiation?
What I really wanted was to tell him to shove it and reject him outright, but since I'd gone to the trouble of taking a risk and entering here, I needed to extract information.
When I asked, keeping my head cool, the serpent coiled inside the tower opened its mouth.
『I propose a ceasefire.』
- That's the most nonsensical bullshit I've ever heard. You bastards are the ones who invaded.
The head I'd cooled shot right back up.
I let out a hollow laugh and tilted my head.
- You crawled in here first, and now you're babbling about negotiation and ceasefires like it means something.
『I do not deny it. We initiated the invasion. However, that invasion was launched without factoring in your existence.』
- So what?
『No one wages an invasion for the sake of defeat and ruin. We were certain of victory then. We are not certain now.』
- You're dressing up "I'm scared you'll crush me" in fancy words.
I frowned and sneered.
The Tower Master of the Dead didn't take the bait. He simply fixed his gaze on me, silently asking about the negotiation—the ceasefire.
At that, I closed my mouth for a moment.
Ceasefire... The word itself didn't carry a bad ring.
Battles that spill blood aren't enjoyable.
Wars that pour out lives aren't good.
I couldn't deny that they were sometimes necessary depending on the situation, but if they could be avoided, avoiding them was best.
The way of the world isn't about smashing headfirst into everything and breaking it with force.
And the opponent was none other than the Tower Master of the Dead.
A bastard specialized in anti-army combat—no matter how caked in restrictions and suppression he was, avoiding casualties would be difficult.
If the Tower of the Dead withdrew, handling the remaining Towers of Purgatory and Bitter Cold would also become easier.
It would also be easier to stay on guard against the unknown something that had reduced the Tower Master of the Dead to that state.
Having thought that far, I shrugged.
- Shove it.
『...That is a refusal, then.』
The Tower Master of the Dead inclined his head a fraction. Even for a snake bastard, he seemed to be furrowing his brow.
- If you had a semblance of a mouth, you'd need to speak straight. You're the one who invaded first, and you're the one throwing a fit right now. You think I'd trust a ceasefire spouted by a bastard like you?
『Trust can simply be bound by an Oath.』
- Uwoong!
At the word "Oath," a wave of will-thought surged forth, and my eyebrows twitched.
'Word Command.'
A supernatural ability that compels through speech.
The Tower Master of the Dead was deeply versed not only in necromancy but also in word magic.
Because my throat was in this state, I couldn't touch the domain of word magic myself, but I could immediately tell just how high a level that word magic had reached.
『It is a self-targeting Oath. With this, if I bind myself and you, there will be no need to discuss tru—』
- I said shove it.
The presence I raised sliced clean through the approaching word magic. I pulled the corner of my mouth up at the Tower Master of the Dead.
- A ceasefire when you're panicking and trying to bolt now is bullshit. Why should I accept it?
The Tower Master of Bitter Cold had tried to kill me outright.
He'd rushed the invasion and even stole Baek A-rin's body to hound me relentlessly.
The reason was one.
Before I could grow any larger, he was trying to trample me.
I had appeared while he was calculating the gains after occupation.
Victory had dimmed, and the signs of defeat had deepened.
Only then did he scramble frantically to try to do something about me.
『Are you intent on compounding unnecessary sacrifice?』
- A son of a bitch who invaded doesn't get to mouth off about that. And the way to end this with the least damage is to carve you up as fast as possible.
Here was a lunatic who had resolved and attempted an indiscriminate, world-scale invasion.
Say he withdraws quietly now that things are unfavorable. Once he's recovered from the damage, is he going to stay meekly tucked away?
At the very least, I didn't think so.
Word magic, Oaths—none of them were omnipotent.
Even if I accepted that Oath right now, I could put in a little effort and unravel it.
Granted, part of that was because I was unusual, but if the Tower Master of the Dead put his mind to it, it wasn't as if he couldn't pull off some scheming himself.
The premise was wrong.
I didn't trust the content or the enforceability of the promise, and I didn't trust the party proposing the promise either.
- From the start, this spatial isolation alone shows your intent. The moment negotiations break down or I show an opening, you're planning to go straight for my throat, aren't you, you bastard.
『It is merely a natural defensive measure.』
- And that's exactly why I'm going to kill you.
Rationally, the Tower Master of the Dead needed to die now.
The Tower Master of the Dead simply wanted to buy time to recover from his wounds.
Emotionally, I didn't want to let him live.
Lady Ariel, Lady Sierra, Lady Gracia.
The Tower Master of Observation, whom I hadn't yet met but who was surely struggling for my sake.
...The Tower Master of Growth, too.
All through that long span of time, confined inside a tower—rotting in loneliness while helping me.
It was all because of that bastard.
For that reason alone, I didn't want to let him live.
'If it weren't for that goddamn bastard in the first place, I'd be nestled in Baek A-rin's arms resting comfortably right now.'
My teeth clenched tight on their own.
The negotiations had collapsed.
The hostility I'd deliberately held back, just in case, began to seep out.
- Uuuuu...!
The undead prowling around me shrank back, cowed.
Amid the darkness writhing in turmoil, the darkness around me settled into a stillness like that of the cosmos.
At that point, the Tower Master of the Dead stopped hiding his presence as well.
Hostility flickered in the serpent's eyes. The thought-residues receiving their master's will also bared their fangs, drawing back their distance.
『Tower Masters are rulers who stand upon reason and rationality. To them, you are nothing more than a tool to fend off the invasion. Would a ruler set loose a tool that has served its purpose and now threatens its own master?』
- I'll have plenty of time to think about that after I stab you to death.
『You are far too dangerous.』
The Tower Master of the Dead fixed his glare on me.
『In the thousands of lives I have witnessed, I have never seen anything like you. In countless worlds, there has never been a sprout such as you. You are an irregular existence that deviates from the natural order.』
- What's certain is that some pissant assessment from the likes of you isn't worth a damn thing.
He was grating on my nerves with every shit-stained word.
In that case, returning the favor was only proper.
As luck would have it, a perfect sore spot to jab him with was staring me right in the face.
- Those wings
Weak for their size, riddled with holes in the membrane—a sorry excuse for wings.
『......』
The Tower Master of the Dead fell silent.
I hitched the corner of my mouth up high and pointed at the wings attached to the Tower Master of the Dead.
- What's a brat who can't even fly doing with a pair of those?
『Shut your mouth.』
Kwooong! The darkness heaved the moment my words ended, as if it had been terrified into motion. Behind the bastard, condensed darkness and undead churned together in a vortex.
An overwhelming pressure bore down on me, pinning me in place. The undead that had been baring their fangs opened their jaws wide.
In other words, I'd touched a nerve.
Without lowering the smirk tugging at my mouth, I kept going.
- What's the matter? Were my wings just that enviable?
As the thought formed, my Innate Talent bloomed behind my back.
Splitting into three pairs, a brilliant five-colored radiance unfurled within the darkness.
『......!』
The serpent's eyes, brimming with hostility, flew wide open.
At that, I gave my wings a little tilt, flaunting them, and let my scorn soak in.
- A pathetic little Earth Dragon brat crawling on the ground, with nothing to do but stare up at the sky.
The moment the words left me, the darkness that composed this world grew thicker. Like a liquid of high viscosity, the blackness turned sticky and began to melt.
This wasn't mere hostility.
It was viscous killing intent and resentment. Envy so naked it bordered on primal jealousy.
A cloying sense of inferiority that thousands of years of life had failed to resolve.
Its density and weight were absurd beyond measure.
- So, you want to do this right here?
But I had absolutely no reason to be afraid.
The moment I made up my mind, my Innate Talents all boiled up at once.
- Fwoosh!
A spark kindled to life. The spark devoured the darkness and Thought Residue before they could flee, flaring into a Fire Horse.
Soil and rock packed into the darkness, shaping an earth, and a mountain suddenly thrust upward.
Water poured down to form a sea, and frozen water shaped a glacier.
Calamity Flame, Azure Sea, and Taesan.
After them, incomplete Innate Talents also blossomed.
A bright light dyed heaven and earth, and a thunderbolt crashed down. Wind that had spread from the silent sky settled atop the mountain's peak.
This was a mental world, a Virtual Space. Thanks to that, will and Innate Talent were laid bare without filter.
『...Get out of my sight.』
Glaring at the Innate Talents that had seized the entire area in an instant, the Tower Master of the Dead spat the words.
I didn't even bother to sneer. I simply pulled my consciousness back.
.
.
.
If the Tower Master of the Dead launches an assault right away, it'll be difficult to connect the Gate in time.
'Not much I can do about it when my Authority manifestation is still so shaky.'
I clicked my tongue softly to myself.
To think he'd pick the exact few days when my body and soul are separated to pull this shit.
For now, the Tower Masters on our side still maintain a solid defense.
If his True Body had descended, he'd have had to endure catastrophic losses.
Even if he wins this invasion, the Tower Master of the Dead will suffer far more harm than gain.
'...So now it's not a matter of profit and loss, but a matter of survival, is that it?'
If only there were a little more time.
Of course, this is my own karma.
Because all I had to do was stay put in Siyoram, as the Tower Masters advised.
'Still, I didn't want to do that.'
I could have secured a safe, certain victory. But I would've lost too much in the process.
I didn't want that.
I'm greedy by nature. I want to grab hold of as much as I possibly can.
And as it happens, my aptitudes are so immense that even the Tower Masters acknowledge them.
That means if I just put in the effort, it's possible. No reason not to.
'First, I have to deal with the Tower Master of the Dead.'
Now that negotiations have collapsed, he's not going to give me time to recover.
He took injuries too, but the likelihood that he'll come charging in right away is high.
The consciousness I had detached returned to my main body.
The exchange with the Tower Master of the Dead had lasted only an instant.
Even if there was a discrepancy, it would be a dozen or so seconds at most.
Before I went, I'd let them know it would only be a moment, so there shouldn't be any issues.
I let out a heavy sigh and spread my detection wide, and I sensed Seo-yul staring intently at my face.
"?"
Her posture was different from before.
Unlike earlier, when she'd had me on her lap and was hugging me from behind, now she was holding me face-to-face, as if cradling me.
"......."
After studying my face for a moment, Seo-yul let out a relieved sigh—then ground her teeth hard.
"Dad, do you seriously want to watch me lose my mind?"
- Uh, umm...?
* * *
Lee Ha-yul vanished from sight.
But the space could not immediately reclaim its original darkness.
Wrapped around the tower, the Tower Master of the Dead glared at the spot where Lee Ha-yul had been.
Lee Ha-yul's manifested Innate Talents still stained the space.
Now that the focal point was gone, they would gradually be buried by the darkness if left alone, but for now they remained distinct, exuding vivid Innate Talent even within the blackness.
『.......』
Just how utterly absurd that was—
The Tower Master of the Dead understood it all too well.
Innate Talent is the greatest Axis that constitutes a being.
It is what most sharply distinguishes you from others. It is the element that makes one's own existence stand out.
Such an Innate Talent is difficult for an individual to contain more than one of. The more special and dense an Innate Talent is, the more it diverges from other Innate Talents, and Repulsion occurs.
This is a law of nature and a principle of the world.
It is a fundamental, elementary component that allows the world to hold its shape.
Yet this thing called Lee Ha-yul denied that logic outright.
He harbored multiple Innate Talents.
Each and every one of them a dense, special Innate Talent that the Tower Master of the Dead could not afford to dismiss.
He had taken a multitude of them into his body, and he was still taking more in. He would take even more in the future.
'He is dangerous.'
Even his current achievements are chilling.
But what he fears more is the growth yet to come.
A callow insect, born and raised upon the earth for less than half a century, had already reached this point.
What about the future?
Fifty years, a hundred years, a thousand years. There isn't even a need to go that far.
Give him just half of half the time he has been given so far, and he will become an existence the Tower Master of the Dead cannot possibly handle.
How could such an existence be possible?
He could not comprehend it at all. There was likely no being across all the worlds who could.
That was just how staggering and unfathomable an existence Lee Ha-yul was.
'I made the wrong choice.'
The Tower Master of the Dead swallowed his regret.
This world had not even seen a full century since it truly began to bloom.
And yet its potential had raised up five Towers.
For all its immaturity, there was much to be gained here.
He wanted the power to wash away the foul heavenly mandate. To break the oppression laid upon him by the Heavenly Dragons he longed to crush between his fangs.
That was why he had initiated this invasion—
But the Tower Masters of this world had gone and created a catastrophe that even they themselves could not handle.
The Tower Master of the Dead pressed his body against the tower.
Negotiations had broken down. He had expected it, but now that it had come to this, there was no room to back down.
In the end, before Lee Ha-yul grew any further—he had to crush him now, in this incomplete moment.
The Tower Master of the Dead closed his eyes.
The swirling darkness and undead stilled, then seeped slowly into his wounds, as if riding a current.
The darkness that soaked into the wounds was annihilated. The undead that crawled inside rotted and crumbled away.
Wounds and curses that had burrowed deep into his very soul and taken root. The Tower Master of the Dead clicked his tongue at their sheer viciousness.
He had to recover from the injuries inflicted by 'Lee Ha-yul.'