Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Witch Adora
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A pitch-black cave.
A place thick with the stench of rotting corpses.
The foul smell was enough to make one's stomach churn.
'Where is this?'
The location itself wasn't what mattered.
A chill crept across his skin.
The entire space brimmed with overwhelming magical power.
It was proof that a being of 'magical concentration' far beyond Kankun or Layer Guardian Torg existed nearby.
'...Is this really Adora's camp?'
It had to be the 'Witch of Death, Adora'.
The message that popped up contained those exact words.
No matter how many times he read it, the fact that he'd been summoned to 'Adora's camp' remained unchanged.
Yet there had never been a single mention of anyone switching camps after being summoned in the Tower of Arrogance.
Common sense dictated that once you chose a camp, you could never change it.
'The Tower of Arrogance summoned me to Adora's camp.'
Why?
Was it because he'd helped Kankun attain Sword Heart?
Since it was directly referenced, there didn't seem to be any other reason.
But all he'd done was guide Kankun not to fear magic. He'd merely given a slight nudge to help him break free from death magic on his own.
It wasn't that Kankun had suddenly used Sword Heart.
It meant Kankun himself had already been on the verge of reaching the Sword Heart realm.
He'd been just one step from the top of the final staircase, so with Park Chan-woo's advice, he'd climbed it effortlessly.
'Do you want me to help Adora too?'
The picture the Tower of Arrogance desired.
It seemed to want Kankun and Adora to clash at their absolute best, with only one remaining.
Just as Kankun had overcome his weakness to achieve his realm...
Perhaps it hoped Adora would change in the same way.
'...It wants both of them to reach perfect completion.'
That way, it could create an even more flawless 'Creator'.
Honestly, Park Chan-woo had no idea exactly what qualifications were needed to become a Creator.
He did know, however, that all Creators were 'Lords of the Abyss'.
Yet both Kankun and Adora were far from being Lords of the Abyss.
If it could grant 'Creator qualifications' without being a Lord of the Abyss... just as Dagon said, the Abyss would be in an uproar.
It was top-secret information of immense value.
The fact that even the demon merchant Dagon avoided it meant the events unfolding in the Tower of Arrogance were far from ordinary.
'Whatever it is, I need to reach the top.'
The Tower of Arrogance likely wanted him to help Adora overcome her weakness as well.
Kankun had been the problem.
He loathed and feared magic, avoiding Adora entirely.
So what about Adora?
Unlike Kankun, she actively climbed the tower—treating her own wounds and gathering relics.
At first glance, she seemed to have no such issues.
In fact, she appeared perfect.
'...Adora's weakness.'
Witch of Death.
The very name evoked pure 'revulsion'.
Witches emerged from the deepest depths of the Abyss.
Though their numbers were exceedingly few, the demons of the Abyss branded them 'cursed breed'.
In truth, their magic embodied all manner of loathing and contempt, and among those, wielding 'death' marked them as the most accursed beings.
And Park Chan-woo partially agreed with the demons' view.
'Witches are emotionless dolls.'
By nature, witches lacked joy, anger, sorrow, or pleasure.
They were born with innate talent for black magic, able to wield all manner of ominous powers.
The problem lay in the aftermath of black magic.
Unlike magic that pursued truth, black magic defied it.
Thus, wherever witches gathered, 'rifts' inevitably formed.
Rifts that gnawed at the Abyss and summoned incomprehensible horrors.
That was why demons living in the Abyss had no choice but to see witches as cursed.
Who would welcome someone freely wrecking their home and yard?
'To find her weakness, I need to get close.'
Such was the task of uncovering a witch's weakness.
Observation from afar wouldn't cut it.
With his decision made, Park Chan-woo opened his 'Inventory'.
In Adora's camp, at least, he'd have to go full-fledged mage.
"You've already filled the display case?"
"Isn't this straight-up monopolizing?"
Challengers climbing the tower in Adora's camp grumbled.
Countless challengers had relentlessly pushed to reach the 3rd floor, but a tiny elite group had monopolized the relics, dominating everything.
The display case could hold only 10 relics.
You could swap them out for higher-grade ones, but all 10 slots were filled with at least low-grade relics.
With more than 3 mid-grade or higher, it was no small feat for average challengers or alliances to replace them.
And above all, one person had claimed most of the display case.
"...He filled six slots all by himself."
"The guy's a real monster."
Overwhelming didn't even begin to cover it.
A terrifying feat, an unstoppable advance!
A monster that crushed even the faintest spark of challenge existed here.
"'Han Shin,' was it?"
"At this rate, he'll snag all ten slots."
"Damn it..."
They gnashed their teeth, but there was no way around it.
The higher the floor, the steeper the difficulty spiked, and the 'Muscle Spiders' inhabiting the 3rd-floor cave snatched lives at the slightest lapse.
Muscle Spiders lived up to their name—spiders packed with bulging muscles. They tore human flesh like paper the moment they grabbed hold.
"Gaaahhh!"
Screams echoed incessantly.
The pitch-black cave connected to countless holes, making it impossible to predict where Muscle Spiders might emerge.
And so...
"I-I can't go any further!"
"We'll all die if we stay here!"
After reaching the 3rd floor, more and more gave up advancing.
Over half had already retreated to lower floors.
But that wasn't the only problem.
"Where the hell is Adora, anyway?"
"How should I know? Get close, and you're cursed!"
Adora didn't move with the others.
She had no choice.
Approaching her triggered a 'curse'.
It drained your life force until you withered into a mummy and died.
The frontrunners had already pulled far ahead, and no one could travel with Adora, leaving those stuck behind in dire straits.
Of course, a few trailed her from the very edge of the curse's range.
"This is brutal."
"Is she reviving dead monsters?"
Adora's surroundings teemed with countless 'Muscle Spiders'.
Muscle Spider Queens appeared frequently among them.
But they were corpses.
The Witch of Death, Adora, had massacred them with black magic and turned them into her soldiers.
"Even the 1st and 2nd floor Layer Guardians..."
"No match for her."
She had revived the Layer Guardians from death as well.
A legion numbering over 500 strong.
With humans only able to help by swapping relics, the situation looked hopeless.
"Anyway, let's follow from as far back as we can. If we just join in on Layer Guardian hunts, we'll each get a Coin at least."
They couldn't afford to miss out.
Participating in Layer Guardian hunts with Adora rewarded '1 Coin' each.
By now, Coins' importance went without saying.
If they could grab them, they'd risk their lives for it.
"Hm?"
"What's that guy?"
En route to the 3rd floor's Layer Guardian.
The group spotted someone approaching from the opposite direction and tilted their heads.
A bluish helmet.
Six horns, a face twisted in despair.
A grotesque appearance that would haunt dreams!
Golden radiance gleamed on both shoulders.
A faint golden aura swirled around him—what of that?
But the crowning touch was the staff.
Unremarkable at first glance, yet inexplicably captivating.
"A mage?"
"Layer Guardian?"
Nothing was known yet about the 3rd floor Layer Guardian.
In a place overrun by Muscle Spiders, any being unafraid of Adora had to be the Layer Guardian.
His dazzling appearance lent weight to that theory.
After all, the Witch of Death Adora was no mere mage could approach.
Soon, the witch's legion and the man faced off.
"......"
"......"
Gulp!
The onlookers couldn't look away.
What would Adora do?
Based on past encounters, she'd unleash black magic barrages.
She tolerated no one blocking her path.
See?
Even now, she was preparing black magic.
Kieeeh!
Kiiiiieh!
Hordes of monsters charged to kill the man.
But then.
Thud!
Out of nowhere, the man dropped to one knee.
"I see the descendant of the 'Black Witch'."
Drip!
Adora, mid-cast with both hands, froze.
At the same moment, the monsters halted as if by magic.
Adora spoke in a flat voice.
"Do you know 'our mother'?"
"As one who studies truth, how could I not know the progenitor of all demons?"
The first witch.
Known as the Black Witch, revered as the 'mother' of all witches.
There was no way Park Chan-woo wouldn't know her.
Adora spoke.
"Begone."
She wouldn't kill him since he knew the progenitor of all demons, the Black Witch.
But her demeanor radiated icy chill.
Park Chan-woo looked up into Adora's eyes.
White eyes devoid of any emotion.
Just like any other witch—blank and idiotic.
"Witch of Death. You know well that you've been abandoned by the 'Black Witch'."
"......"
Adora gave no reply.
Silent affirmation.
It was just as Park Chan-woo had suspected.
Adora had a problem too.
A massive one.
Otherwise, a witch wouldn't emerge from the Abyss's deepest depths!
Park Chan-woo declared boldly.
"I will resolve it for you."
"Resolve what?"
"The death magic engraved into 'Kankun's' heart."
"...?"
"Something felt off about it."
"What are you talking about?"
She played innocent.
This was where the real gamble began.
Park Chan-woo rose and extended his right hand.
Then.
Whoosh!
A 'Flower of Life' bloomed in his palm.
The Flower of Life contained the 'death magic' that had devoured Kankun's heart.
Adora tilted her head.
It was unmistakably her magic. A special spell she'd engraved into Kankun's heart.
"How do you have that?"
"I took it from Kankun."
Direct confrontation.
He thought he knew Adora's problem, her weakness.
Park Chan-woo stowed the Flower of Life.
"Only I can solve your problem."
"I have no problem."
"But first, one question."
Park Chan-woo ignored her denial.
Adora paused briefly before speaking.
"...Ask."
Park Chan-woo tensed inwardly.
The most crucial question.
He'd bluffed with all his might, but if he was wrong, Adora might kill him.
Park Chan-woo asked slowly.
The worst question he'd imagined.
"Could it be... you love Kankun?"