Chapter 35: Moment of the Stars (2)
"Ranker in the top 10, Reina Frontier, was ambushed on Layer 35."
"She sustained only minor injuries before turning the tables, eliminating the assassins and exposing their identities!"
"They claim there was someone pulling the strings behind it. If things go south, this could blow up into something much bigger."
The news hadn't been released to the public exactly as Reina wanted, but it was already spreading throughout the entire Tower 3445, centered around the Residents' Federation. Naturally, nearly every faction was in an uproar. However, unaware of the core issue—the existence of the Assassin Gallery—they were flipping out for entirely different reasons.
"Until now, Moonlight Sword Radiance and their guild Over Moon have always hung back, staying neutral and observing. But this incident might push them to join the new forces."
"Those idiots... You're really sure those bastards didn't orchestrate it?"
"Y-yes, definitely not. They've sent word that they're just as shocked as anyone."
Dyke, the ranker leading the large guild Rakno Mercenary Corps, bit his lip at his subordinate's report.
Right. They might've conspired on a personal level. But why those four of all people!
The four assassins whose identities had been revealed: Decar, Shioko, Barun, and Algos. The factions they belonged to were part of what the tower's residents commonly called the old forces.
The old forces were groups with a history dating back to the initial appearance of Tower 3445, but now they held only about half their former power. This was due to the emergence of the new forces.
"Can they even prove their innocence?"
"I'm not sure. But with things blowing up like this, if Over Moon gets serious, they might have no choice but to pay reparations..."
"Damn it! Do we really have to watch that bastard Jeong Chan-su strut around even more!?"
Dyke slammed his fist on the desk and spat out the cigarette dangling from his lips.
The new forces referred to Jeong Chan-su—who had rocketed from the tower's starting point to the number one rank in just a few years—and the faction around him.
Leading his group, Jeong Chan-su had effortlessly shaken off the checks from the old forces, who outnumbered his own and had been entrenched in the tower far longer, swiftly becoming the tower's dominant power. The old forces, in extreme opposition to his faction, had mostly been purged through clashes. The survivors, like Dyke's Rakno Mercenary Corps, were those who had chosen coexistence with the new forces.
But choosing coexistence didn't mean they viewed the new forces favorably.
Moonlight Sword Radiance itself is small in numbers and not that impressive... but there've been rumors that Jeong Chan-su's been trying to recruit them. If they flip, we're in deep shit.
Reina and her guild Over Moon had always stayed one step back in the tower's power dynamics, focusing solely on climbing. Their neutral stance was close to that, but if it started to tip, it would be fatal for those already obsessed with the shifting balance.
Dyke's face hardened as he shot up from his seat.
"We'll convene the council first! Spread the word—hurry!"
Dyke urged his subordinates into action. The deed was done; to contain it, striking first was the better play.
"Guild master. We've received a message from the head of Rakno Mercenary Corps. Regarding the Reina Frontier incident, he's proposing a council meeting for all faction leaders."
Naturally, Dyke's council proposal reached the new forces' leader, Jeong Chan-su. His right-hand man, Kim Dong-su, who had delivered the news, stood blankly beside him, waiting for a response as Chan-su read it impassively.
"She's okay, then?"
"...Pardon?"
But the words from his utterly expressionless face caught him off guard.
"Sh-she sensed the ambush in advance and countered it with minimal injury, from what I heard."
"I see."
Kim Dong-su couldn't help but be flustered by Chan-su suddenly asking about Reina's well-being first. And yet, Chan-su showed no big reaction even upon hearing she was unharmed.
What's his angle?
Of course, it wasn't out of nowhere. Just before Kim Dong-su's report, his contracted constellation had casually dropped a hint.
The constellations are paying a lot of attention to her lately.
It wasn't news Reina—who was already at her contract limit with constellations—would care about.
"Are there constellations telling you to eliminate her, like they did with me?"
Unaware of Fate Road or the fan galleries, Jeong Chan-su knew well that constellations weren't omnipotent or noble beings. One of his own had even tempted him with a huge reward to take her out.
"Hahaha. Removing promising rivals early is just good strategy, no?"
"Before rival, she's a valuable asset for conquering the tower."
"Then hurry up and add that girl to your harem. If you do, even if others try to take her out, we'll step in and protect her."
Chan-su furrowed his brow at the chuckling constellation's reply. It wasn't wrong, probably. His constellations had indeed treated those under him favorably, never hostile.
"Guild master?"
"...Tell them we'll attend."
Kim Dong-su's words snapped him out of his brief reverie. With a small sigh and a shake of his head, Jeong Chan-su instructed him to send the reply. He was swamped, but he couldn't skip something involving Reina.
In the end, this incident ballooned into a massive event, drawing out leaders from both factions dividing the tower.
"This is getting bigger than I expected... I just wanted to grill them a bit and call it a day."
At the very moment faction leaders were converging on Layer 35 for political reasons, the person at the center, Reina, sat cross-legged on her hotel bed with a deep sigh.
"Sigh, Lady Reina, you need to be more aware of your position."
Kim Ji-eun, who had rushed to her side in an instant, shook her head.
While running the guild and nurturing it, Kim Ji-eun handled nearly all operations. She had the skills and temperament for it. Meanwhile, thanks to her, Reina could focus purely on climbing and training—but her aversion to attention meant she sometimes forgot her own influence.
"On the bright side, it means our standing and influence have risen that high. Enough that the tower's major factions are watching their step around us."
"How touching. Remember when we both got ignored and kicked out trying to join an assault team?"
"When was that, even?"
Reina chuckled at Kim Ji-eun's shrug of her slender shoulders. It wasn't all bad, truly. As Ji-eun said, this was a chance to reaffirm and etch her influence in this tower into everyone's minds.
It wasn't just growing her presence in the constellations' community, Fate Road. Her reputation was steadily building in the real world too.
"...The council's tomorrow. Anything you want out of it?"
Kim Ji-eun, who would lead the charge again tomorrow in that brutal political arena, asked what Reina desired.
"I'll make it happen, just like always."
She slid her knee onto the bed, embraced Reina's head, and whispered softly. This wasn't new. Ji-eun's fervent activity—earning her the nickname "rabid loyalist" among others—had built their faction to this point.
"I know both old and new forces covet us. But not yet. Being the balance weight is enough for now."
"Then..."
"In exchange, we'll extract some compensation from those the assassins belonged to, one way or another. Even if they're truly innocent, they're not blameless."
Reina murmured her demands from within Ji-eun's embrace. It was a reasonable ask, all things considered.
"Leave it to me."
Kim Ji-eun's eyes gleamed as she stroked Reina's hair with a sly grin.
···
'As expected, chaos here too.'
After sending Kim Ji-eun off and lying alone on the bed, Reina naturally logged into the gallery. Surveying the public opinion there and checking info users had pulled from various galleries and boards, she let out a small sigh.
This incident had sparked more than one or two fires. The biggest was Reina's video hitting the unified best, boosting fan gallery traffic and rankings yet again. And the Assassin Gallery—having failed their mission and gotten provoked by Reina—was now being reduced to rubble by excited fans and trolls pouring in from everywhere.
'Am I making too many enemies?'
In the process, plenty of places had flipped out. The Assassin Gallery and their clients, suddenly mocked, were seething with hatred toward Reina right now. Fans of the factions the assassins belonged to—played by the Assassin Gallery—were now getting their comeuppance from Reina and venting their fury. Even Jeong Chan-su's faction fans, who already kept her in check, were mad at the sight of him being dragged around by her.
Reina bit her lip, watching the reactions in real time. Sure, she was in the position of judging those who targeted her by killing them in turn—but she couldn't do much for her gallery users getting attacked by rival fandoms.
'Hah, in the end, I'm the most important, huh.'
She gave a wry smile at the replies. Everything in the fan gallery revolved around its subject, Reina. Her success was their pride; her shining moments, their strength.
'They always whine there's nothing to see. Should I let them take a pic? But I'd need to change clothes for that.'
Guilt over deceiving and toying with them, desire to care for them, gratitude for their help, urgency to exploit them more now that things were this way—it all mingled, slowly changing Reina's heart.