Chapter 204
Chapter 204
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: Tower of the Gods (5)
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His boss at work, the incarnation who had contracted with the "Creator of the Invisible Hand," and the man who had been sniped by the Demon God Gremory—Kim Byung-han!
I'd thought he was dead since he hadn't been seen for a while, but who would've guessed he'd be hiding in my house of all places.
His survival instincts were nothing short of miraculous.
"Why are you in our house?"
"I, I knew the address... Gahk!"
The grip around his throat tightened further, cutting off his words as he gagged helplessly.
"A mere insect dares..."
Ataraxia radiated killing intent.
To him, Kim Byung-han was no more than a bug.
And not just any bug—a bug that had sneaked into the house of one of the exalted ones.
For a bug to speak in the presence of the exalted one was unforgivable.
He deserved to be burned a hundred, a thousand times over.
"Let him go."
"Yes."
Thud!
Ataraxia released his grip without hesitation.
Kim Byung-han collapsed to the floor, trembling violently as he alternated fearful glances between Ataraxia and Park Chan-woo.
'Who the hell is that guy?'
He looked at least two meters tall.
And the strength was overwhelming.
He'd dragged him in with some kind of telekinesis, and when he released that killing intent, breathing had become impossible.
It was an overwhelming gap in power.
The kind where a single flick of the finger could end him.
Shiver!
He couldn't even meet their eyes.
They looked like grim reapers straight out of hell.
Park Chan-woo alone was a handful, but now he had this untouchable monster by his side.
"I'll ask one last time. Why are you here?"
Gulp!
"I, I just... I wanted to confirm if you're really Park Chan-woo from the 'Third Night'..."
The man who had claimed first place in every faction's trial.
Park Chan-woo's name was seared into the minds of everyone who had participated in the 'Third Night'.
But no one knew what he really looked like.
Even the Korean government and the 'Abyss Safety Division' were staying completely silent about it.
That's when Kim Byung-han remembered Park Chan-woo, his former subordinate.
'That guy's got potential!'
He'd known from the start that the guy was no ordinary person, ever since the Abyss appeared and he started slaying monsters solo.
Sure, he'd ditched the group shortly after entering the 'Tower of Pride'.
But his skills were the real deal.
Even Im Chang-yeol, the head of the Seoul Alliance, had acknowledged it.
"So you broke into my house just to confirm that?"
"N-no! I came to propose we team up!"
"Me and you?"
It was laughable, the kind of thing even a stray dog would scoff at.
Teaming up meant fighting together, but Kim Byung-han was useless outside of his thieving tricks.
Kim Byung-han shouted desperately.
"Han Shin! Han Shin is alive!"
An unexpected name popped out.
Han Shin.
I'd already heard he was missing.
Even if he was alive, with the Moon Lord Aheta dead, his incarnation contract would have ended.
"And what about it?"
"He's turned into a monster!"
"A monster?"
"Y-yeah. He devoured a doppelganger and went insane. He's not human anymore, not an incarnation, not even an Abyss monster—he's become something even stranger...!"
It was still nonsense I couldn't wrap my head around.
Why would Han Shin eat a doppelganger, and how did he turn into something that's none of those things?
"Explain it so I can understand."
"W-well..."
Kim Byung-han started explaining the whole story as best he could.
The Second Night.
He'd encountered Han Shin dying there, and the doppelganger had tried to copy him but failed.
Then, after Han Shin won the fight, he suddenly started devouring the doppelganger alive.
Park Chan-woo, who had been listening quietly, asked,
"So how are you still alive?"
There was no way Han Shin would have let him, the one who'd attacked him, live.
Especially if he'd become a monster—he should've killed Kim Byung-han on the spot.
Yet here he was, perfectly fine.
"He cursed me. Those creepy eyes... Every night, his eyes follow me. No matter where I am, it feels like he's watching. Ughhh!"
A curse, huh.
But I didn't sense any curse on him.
Or rather...
"Did you take something from Han Shin?"
At the same time, Kim Byung-han's pupils dilated.
"Y-yeah. The 'Creator of the Invisible Hand' ordered me, and I... I mean, I'm an incarnation, but I don't attack people! I can only steal things... When I stole this from him, he froze for a moment. That's how I barely escaped..."
In his rambling, Kim Byung-han confessed to being an incarnation.
Before long, a small glass vial appeared in his palm.
A strange symbol was etched on the vial.
"This is..."
Ataraxia reacted first.
"Do you know what it is?"
"It's the seal of Demon God Belial."
One of the 72 Demon Gods—the vial bore Belial's seal.
A treasure coveted by the Creator of the Invisible Hand, and stealing it had made Han Shin pause.
"H-Han Shin's chasing me for this."
"Just toss it."
"I can't. It's definitely cursed...!"
It did give off an eerie vibe.
If the Creator hadn't reclaimed it, it must carry a powerful curse.
Soon, Kim Byung-han dropped to his knees.
"Please, save me. If you leave that monster Han Shin alone, he'll become a scourge on humanity. We have to kill him as soon as possible...!"
To him, Park Chan-woo was his only hope.
If he really was the Park Chan-woo from the Third Night, he'd be the only one who could take on Han Shin.
But Park Chan-woo had zero intention of teaming up with him.
"I'll take that vial."
Instead, he held out his hand.
Kim Byung-han looked at him with strange eyes and said,
"Th-this? If you can take it, I'd be thrilled..."
Items stolen with the Creator's power could be transferred, but this vial was the exception.
It always came back to him like a magnet.
No matter how amazing Park Chan-woo was, could he handle an item bearing a Demon God's seal?
'Nothing to lose.'
It was a hopeless situation anyway.
Kim Byung-han bit his lip and cautiously handed over the vial.
Zzt!
A sharp, electric tingle ran through his hand upon contact.
It was infused with a powerful curse.
Not just any curse.
'A curse that drains origin power.'
The vial held a curse that absorbed the very essence of life.
Just possessing it would kill the owner—which meant Han Shin had been carrying it.
I had no idea what connection he had to Demon God Belial.
'Elision.'
If it was a curse, it wouldn't work on me.
Soon, a star shaped from light floated above his hand.
Elision's star absorbed the curse from the vial and transferred it to the shadow spirit Chronos.
...It worked.
The curse's power had been converted into pure mana.
One of Holy Spirit Magic Elision's abilities.
With the curse fully dispelled, the vial's true nature was revealed.
📛 Name:Belial's Shame📜 Description:A glass vial that once contained Demon God Belial's shame. It is now empty, and carried a curse that would surely kill its possessor, but it has been dispelled by 'Elision'.✨ Unique Options:
The glass vial that had sealed Belial's shame.
In other words, it once held something shameful that Belial wanted hidden from others.
And Han Shin had possessed it.
'Did Han Shin take the shame that was inside?'
That seemed likely.
Questions remained about how Han Shin got it, but with this vial, I'd naturally know if he was nearby.
If he was climbing the 'Tower of the Gods,' it'd be even easier to track him.
"Whoa, it transferred...!"
Tears of joy streamed down Kim Byung-han's face.
He was over the moon about handing off the cursed vial to Park Chan-woo.
Of course, to Park Chan-woo, it was like a gift.
Watching Kim Byung-han cheer like he'd won the lottery, he thought,
'I need to upgrade the house's security level.'
Needless to say, Park Chan-woo had no intention of climbing the 'Tower of the Gods' with Kim Byung-han.
"I'll set up the Eight Realms Barrier."
After chasing Kim Byung-han out, Ataraxia began installing barriers around the entire house.
A powerful security barrier that would incinerate anyone attempting forced entry.
Since humanity hadn't reached this level yet, incidents like this wouldn't happen again.
'More useful than I thought.'
Ataraxia was more versatile than expected.
Barriers had far more complex structures than standard magic.
Most dragonkin even looked down on 'barrier magic'.
Dragonkin were the strongest race, with no need for barriers.
Yet Ataraxia had mastered barrier magic as well.
His magical prowess was exceptional.
No wonder even the dragonkin-nemesis 'Black Witch' had recruited him.
With the house's security upgraded, they headed straight for the 'Tower of the Gods'.
'...No end in sight.'
The tower pierced the heavens.
Its first floor had countless 'doors' for entry.
"LFG: Level 20+ warrior for party!"
"Healers, priests—anyone?"
"Let's climb together!"
Amid the massive crowd already turning the entrance into a marketplace, people were forming parties to tackle it, others trying to profit off them, and alliances eyeing each other warily in competition.
Park Chan-woo quietly slipped into the throng.
When he stood before a door,